Lucknow, January 29: A farmer in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district set himself on fire, protesting the acquisition of his agricultural land for an irrigation project and demanding higher compensation for the same, officials said on Saturday.
Babbu Kushwaha, a resident of Jhir village, set himself ablaze on Friday and was rushed to the Jhansi Medical College. He succumbed to his burn injuries Saturday.
Washington, January 29: US President Barack Obama has called on Egyptian authorities not to use violence against raging political protests, and drove home his message in a 30-minute phone call to President Hosni Mubarak.
His warning came Friday as the United States toughened its line on Mubarak’s government, a key Middle Eastern ally, warning it would review billions of dollars in aid to Egypt based on the behavior of the security forces.
London, January 29: The world is facing a ” chocolate drought”, says an expert, whose warning is prompted by fears the globe’s sustainable cocoa supplies could be exhausted by 2014.
Political unrest in the Ivory Coast, the source of almost half the world’s cocoa beans, has depleted the number of cocoa farmers there. Many have fled the country or are smuggling the crop into Ghana, where it is selling at a far higher price, says British chocolatier Angus Kennedy.
Hyderabad, January 29: Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi clarified that he would not quit politics and would continue to fight to solve peoples’ problems. Mr Chiranjeevi received a grand welcome when he visited Dharmavaram from Anantapur on Friday.
Juneau, January 29: Sarah Palin issued a scathing response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, alluding to a popular internet slang to describe what she thought of the speech.
In a lengthy missive on Facebook, Palin noted that the speech was dubbed “Winning the Future,” and suggested that the acronym of that title, “WTF” , is an apt way to sum up the speech.
She also told Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren that Obama’s speech had “a lot of ‘WTF’ moments.” She called Obama’s ideas for some investments “half-baked .”
-Agencies
New Delhi, January 29: Afzal Guru, a convict in Parliament attack case who is facing death sentence, has approached the Supreme Court for being shifted from Tihar jail to his home state Jammu and Kashmir jail.
Afzal Guru, in his petition, has contended that his family members and relatives are finding it difficult to meet him and therefore he should be shifted to J&K jail.
The Supreme Court yesterday adjourned the hearing of his petition for two weeks.
Mumbai, January 29: The black money stashed in banks abroad belonged to the people and must be utilised for their welfare, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said Saturday.
“The Indian Youth Congress is ready to ensure that this money can be channelized for public welfare activities,” Gandhi told reporters here while replying to a question on the huge unaccounted cash stashed in foreign banks for tax evasion.
Washington, January 29: Americans who still doubt that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii may soon have access to a copy of his birth record, but it will cost them.
Tired of requests from so-called “birthers” asking to see Obama’s birth certificate — and hoping to make a dent in the state’s projected $800 million budget deficit — state legislators have proposed a bill that would offer a copy of the coveted document to anyone who asks and charge a $100 fee.
Kabul, January 29: A deputy governor of one of Afghanistan’s southern provinces was killed Saturday in a roadside attack, officials said.
“Kandahar Deputy Governor Abdul Latif Ashna was martyred when he was on his way to the office in a car,” a statement from the provincial governor’s office said.
“An explosive-laden motorbike parked on a roadside was detonated which killed Ashna. It happened in Khwajak Baba area in Kandahar City on Saturday morning,” the statement said without giving any further details.
–IANS
Cairo, January 29: Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday addressed the nation for the first time since deadly protests erupted against his regime, vowing reform but showing no sign of relaxing his decades-old grip on power.
Four days after angry protesters first took to the street and with at least 27 people killed in subsequent street battles, a stoney-faced Mubarak said he had sacked the government and would pursue economic and political reforms.
Hardoi, January 29: Three persons, including a woman, were on Saturday killed and seven others taken ill following leakage from a gas pipeline of a private chemical factory in Sandila industrial area, police said here.
Sri Ram (50), Mhole (45) and Indrana (44) died after inhaling the gas leaking from Amit Hydro Chemical factory in the wee hours this morning, Superintendent of Police Luv Kumar said.
The gas was Benzene chloride, according to officials.
He said seven persons were taken ill of which two have been referred to trauma centre at Lucknow in a serious condition.
Mumbai, January 29: The nine Muslims who have spent four years in jail for the Malegaon blast should not be granted bail, said the CBI in court today.
On the 17th of this month, the men asked that they be released because of Swami Assemanand’s confession that right-wing Hindu groups were responsible for the blast which killed 37 people in the communally-sensitive town of Malegaon in Maharashtra in 2006.
Hyderabad, January 29: Eight persons were feared killed and 15 others injured when a lorry crushed two auto-rickshaws, including a seven-seater, three motorcycles and a bicycle on the dangerous Nagole-L B Nagar route here on Friday night.
According to police, the driver of the lorry, who was on his way to Uppal from LB Nagar, lost control of the vehicle near the Nagole crossroads around 9.15 p.m. Within seconds, he hit a bicycle, two motorists and went on to crush a seven-seater as well as an auto-rickshaw.
Hyderabad, January 29: Five Nigerians were arrested on Friday for duping a school teacher from Nalgonda of more than Rs 18 lakh, in a case of lottery fraud. CID officials police arrested the five accused from Delhi. They are 45-year-old Joseph Ifeanyi Ibeneme alias Mark, 29-year-old Smart Chidi Oko, 28-year-old Jacob Uchenna Obuh, 34-year-old Iruka Jonathan and 33-year-old Jerry Chinenye Douglas.
Mumbai, January 29: Valentine’s Day is a just a fortnight away and love already seems to be in the air. Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif seem to have been bitten by the love bug once again.
The duo, who had certain differences between them, have reconciled and were spotted together in a Mumbai suburb.
The Kapoor kid took his ladylove for a ride in his plush Audi R8 and the two looked very much in love.
Ranbir and Katrina’s relationship hit the rocks when the actor was linked with his ‘Rockstar’ co-star Nargis Fakhri.
Hyderabad, January 29: Telangana activists went on the rampage on Friday, pelting stones at a public meeting addressed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and damaging 15 vehicles in Nalgonda district of Telangana region.
A few policemen, including a deputy superintendent, were injured when protesters resorted to throwing stones at a meeting the chief minister was addressing as part of ‘Racchabanda’, a government programme aimed at taking the administration to the doorsteps of people.
Chennai, January 29: Remember police officer Alex Pandiyan, his majestic voice and stylish side burns? For fans of ‘super star’ Rajinikanth, ‘Moondru Mugam’ was a phenomenon in the early 1980s.
The variety the actor brought to the three roles he played in the film took him to new levels of stardom.
Yet again, Rajinikanth will play three roles in his next project ‘Raana’, which brings the Rajinikanth-director K.S.Ravikumar-composer A.R. Rahman combination together after nearly a decade.
New Delhi, January 29: The former Kadapa Congress MP and son of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has clarified to the Election Commission (EC) that he wanted to register the name of his political party to be launched formally as YSR Party.
His clarification was conveyed to the EC early this week following a letter written by the Commission which wanted him to clearly state whether the organisation he wanted to register is “YSR Party” or “YSR Association” as the two names were found in the application for registration.
Mumbai, January 29: Valentine’s Day is a just a fortnight away and love already seems to be in the air. Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif seem to have been bitten by the love bug once again.
The duo, who had certain differences between them, have reconciled and were spotted together in a Mumbai suburb.
The Kapoor kid took his ladylove for a ride in his plush Audi R8 and the two looked very much in love.
Ranbir and Katrina’s relationship hit the rocks when the actor was linked with his ‘Rockstar’ co-star Nargis Fakhri.
Hyderabad, January 29: Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has clarified to the Election Commission (EC) that he wanted to register the name of his political party to be launched formally as YSR Party.
His clarification was conveyed to the EC early this week following a letter written by the Commission which wanted him to clearly state whether the organisation he wanted to register is “YSR Party” or “YSR Association” as the two names were found in the application for registration.
Cairo, January 29: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on early Saturday said he had ordered the Cabinet to resign and said he would name a new one ‘tomorrow’.
Egypt plunged into chaos on Friday when tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Cairo and other major cities to demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Some of them clashed with security forces, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 1,100 others.
Washington, January 29: US President Barack Obama called Friday for the Egyptian government to respect the rights of its people, following days of protests demanding the ouster of President Hosny Mubarak.
The US leader spoke from the White House, shortly after telephoning with Mubarak, who had just given his address vowing not to step down but announcing that he was firing his cabinet.
“What’s needed right now are concrete steps that address the demands of the Egyptian people,” Obama said.
Mumbai, January 29: Guess all is going well between Kats and Ranbir Kapoor. The duo were clicked together by a passerby, on the roads of Mumbai recently.
Kats and Ranbir were enjoying the ride in latters red-coloured Audi R8. As per sources, “Ranbir loves his Audi which is a two-seater. He is back in town after shooting from Rockstar in Delhi and took some time out for Kat, who is also not that busy with the outdoor shootings, for a ride around the city.”
–Agencies
Mumbai, January 29: Prakash Jha’s next film Aarakshan, will have Deepika Padukone playing the lead. She has started working on the film. The actress was very nervous about the shoot as this is her first film with the director.
Deepy was in Bhopal, shooting at a college, when she suddenly had a nervous break down on looking at the crowd. After seeing the crowd of hundreds gathered at the college campus, she literally fainted.
Hyderabad, January 29: An unidentified person was found murdered in the Kismatpur area of Rajendranagar on Friday.
Police found the head of the deceased at one place and torso at another. The deceased was identified as Chandu of Kismatpura. Old enmity is suspected to be the motive for the murder.
NSS