New Delhi, February 03: In a startling disclosure, WikiLeaks cited a classified Pentagon study as saying that long-running hostilities between nuclear-armed neighbours – India and Pakistan – can eventually lead to a nuclear war in Asia.
According to the files released by the whistleblower website, the US warned at a non-proliferation meeting in 2008 that an atomic conflict between India and Pakistan could result in 12 million deaths.
Nellore, February 3: Panic prevailed among people of Udayagiri and Varikuntapadu mandals in Nellore district in the wee hours of Wednesday after mild tremors rocked some villages.
According to reports, the mild tremors lasted for a few ‘moments’, led to the villagers running out of their houses in panic. The tremors are also reported to have led to some minor cracks being developed on the walls of some houses in villages.
The villagers claimed that they experienced the tremors thrice in succession.
Hyderabad, February 3: While formally welcoming the long overdue arrest of former Telecom Minister A. Raja and his former colleagues in the department, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today demanded that the Government of India come out of its stupor and energetically and aggressively pursue an anti corruption agenda.
Hyderabad, February 03: “The proposal to provide a special package to Sultan Bazar owners and tenants is aimed at dividing them and hoodwink the public,” said C Ramchandraiah, founder, Citizens for a Better Public Transport in Hyderabad.
The so-called special package announced by Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) authorities makes it attractive only for owners, Ramachandraiah told Express. The assurance to rehabilitate traders and hawkers to complexes in Chikkadpally is an eyewash as there are no vacant shops, added Ramchandraiah.
Chittoor, February 3: The attempts of the Forest Department officials to push the ‘invaders’ in the form of a herd of elephants back into the forest area ended in failure on Wednesday, leaving the officials to continue to ask people to remain under ‘curfew’.
The forest officials had earlier in the day launched `Operation Gaja’, utilizing the services of two well trained pachyderms, Jayanthi and Ganesh, to push back the invading herd in the forests bordering the Pedaparthykunta, Rallapalli and Soudaginepalle areas of Chittoor district.
Hyderabad, February 3: The Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, Dr P Shanker Rao, on Wednesday demanded that the Congress senior leader, Mr G Venkatswamy be immediately expelled from the party for his outburst against AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi.
Hyderabad, February 3: Unprecedented security arrangements were witnessed in and around Barkas on Wednesday in view of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s visit to the area as part of the Racha Banda programme.
Comparison to an unannounced ‘curfew’ was forthcoming from the residents, especially after police forced business establishments and schools in area to close down.
Hyderabad, February 3: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday instructed Revenue officials to hand over documents of a 30 acre plot of land, belonging to the Muslim Wakf Board which had earlier been acquired by the government, to its rightful owner.
Former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy had earlier agreed to release 80 acres of the original 3,500 acres of land belonging to the Wakf Board after the High Court had passed orders.
Washington, February 03: Some five months before the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, India had warned the US about increasing “white faces” in terrorist camps along Pak-Afghan border and the attempt by jihadi groups to acquire fissile material to “fabricate a crude bomb beyond a dirty bomb”.
According to a US diplomatic cable dated May 30, 2008, released by WikiLeaks the then National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had said this during a meeting with the visiting American Senators Russ Feingold and Bob Casey in New Delhi.
New Delhi, February 03: Delhi Police today filed a charge sheet in the sensational case of rape of a call centre employee from Mizoram by five men.
Police submitted the 65-page charge sheet in a Dwarka court, two months after it made the first arrests in the incident which took place on November 24 in south Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan when the five men allegedly abducted the 30-year-old woman and raped her.
“We have submitted the charge sheet. We have named 59 witnesses, including the victim’s friend who managed to escape from the clutches of the criminals,” a senior police official said.
Cairo, February 03: Shots rang out Thursday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square as violent clashes broke out between anti- and pro-Hosni Mubarak protesters leaving five people dead and over 600 injured.
The running clashes took place for over 12 hours with daybreak witnessing an escalation in the deteriorating situation as gunfire was being heard in this city of 18 million. Faced with the escalating protests, the octogenarian president has said he would step down only at the end of his term in September.
Dhaka, February 03: A teenager in Bangladesh died after being raped and then whipped 100 times following a fatwa by local clerics this week, a media report said.
The Dhaka High Court directed the authorities concerned to explain why they failed to protect the teenager who was raped and then whipped following the fatwa (religious edict) by local Muslim clerics, Daily Star reported.
Hyderabad, February 3: The Congress High Command is likely to suspend senior party leader and CWC member, Mr G. Venkatswamy, for his outburst against the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, on Tuesday.
The octogenarian Congress leader, in an unexpected manner, stirred the hornets’ nest by launching a tirade against Ms Sonia Gandhi and made a scathing attack on her foreign nationality. He also demanded her to step down immediately as the president of the Congress to pave for an Indian national to take over and save the party from crumbling.
Hyderabad, February 3: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will inaugurate 17th Commonwealth Law Conference at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) here on February 6 at 9.30 am.
The Prime Minister will reach Begumpet airport at 7.45 pm on February 5 in a special flight. After ceremonial reception, he will directly drive to Raj Bhavan and have night halt.
On February 6, Dr Singh will inaugurate Commonwealth Law Conference at 9.30 am.
The Prime Minister will leave for Delhi at 11.05 am on the same day in a special flight from Begumpet airport.
NSS
Raipur, February 03: Maoists in Chhattisgarh say they will release five captive policemen only if the government gives up its plan to set up an army training centre in a forested territory.
This is one of 11 demands put forth by the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in the restive Bastar region. The policemen have been in their captivity since Jan 25.
Cairo, February 03: At least four anti-government protesters have been killed and 14 others injured as supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak opened fire at people in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Clashes continued into the tenth consecutive day on Thursday as the crackdown on demonstrators calling for the ouster of Mubarak is turning more violent.
At least three people were killed and more than 1,500 others injured during clashes between protesters and plain-clothes policemen in Cairo on Tuesday, reports said.
——-Agencies
Hyderabad, February 3: For popular film actress Navneet Kaur and her husband Ravi Rana, who were among the 2,834 couples who got married at a mass marriage ceremony at the Science Core grounds on Wednesday, the event would be probably etched in their memories throughout their lifetimes.
Memorable considering the fact that their marriage ceremony is destined to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records and the Limca Book of Records as the biggest ever mass marriage ceremony performed in recorded history.
Dubai, February 03: More than 80 percent of students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) start smoking when they are as young as 14 years, a survey has found.
Tobacco use among teenagers remains a concern for health authorities as new data shows a quantum leap in the number of student smokers in the past five years, Khaleej Times reported citing a global survey.
The study was conducted last year by the health ministry’s Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in coordination with US Centres for Diseases Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation.
Cairo, February 03: Human rights groups have condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Egypt as clashes between protesters and pro-government forces continue in Cairo.
Amnesty International said the violence in the capital’s Tahrir Square on Wednesday seemed to have been orchestrated by the authorities to suppress the continuing protests.
The rights group also accused the Egyptian army of allowing security forces to flood into the flashpoint square to attack protesters.
Tehran, February 03: Firefighters have managed to extinguish a huge fire engulfing a number of oil tanks on the Iranian southern island of Qeshm in the Persian Gulf.
Lightening struck an oil tank in Qeshm early on Wednesday, setting it ablaze with flames quickly extending to other nearby tanks, Head of Iranian Offshore Oil Company Heydar Yarveisi told Mehr news agency.
“There were no casualties on the ground,” Yarveisi added.
A crisis management committee was set up by Oil Ministr Massoud Mirkazemi to address the issue.
Cairo, February 03: Supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attack journalists in Cairo in an effort to disrupt the coverage of the violence used against anti-government protesters.
A Belgian reporter was arrested and beaten after he was accused of espionage in Cairo while al-Arabiya correspondent Ahmed Abdullah and journalists from the BBC, ABC News and CNN were attacked, CNN reported.
Jordan, February 03: Jordanian opposition parties say Marouf Bakhit, who has been newly appointed as prime minister, is not the right person for the job and must step down.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II bowed to public pressure inspired by the revolt in Tunisia and Egypt and sacked Prime Minister Samir Rifai on Tuesday, appointing former ambassador to Israel, Marouf Bakhit, as the Arab country’s new premier.
Auckland, February 03: A New Zealand man faces a legal suit for allegedly crying out another woman’s name while making love with his ex-partner.
The complainant told the court that the 30-year-old man, who is also the father of her children, called out another woman’s name while having sex after a Saturday night party last year, the New Zealand Herald reported Tuesday.
Describing their love-making session in the court, she said the man called out another woman’s name – “the one that was at the party” – and she got angry.
Mumbai, February 03: While shooting for Aarakshan in Bhopal, Prakash Jha apparently asked the movie’s lead actress Deepika Padukone to report on the sets on time.
This is Deepika’s first movie with Jha, and naturally the actress is new to his way of working. While Deepika usually arrives late on the sets, Jha on the other hand is very punctual and likes to finish his shoot on time. Not just Deepika but her co-star Saif Ali Khan, who plays a professor in the film, is also rarely on time.
Hyderabad, February 03: The city police on Wednesday arrested an office boy who stole `20 lakh from the office of Sanjay Chemicals India Private Limited at Pender Ghast Road. The thief was apprehended within 10 hours and `19.99 lakh was recovered from him.
The accused, Thakur Santosh Bahudur, 21, is a Nepali and had been working with Sanjay Chemicals for two years.
“At 8.53am on Tuesday, Santosh entered the office and stole the money and fled from the spot,” said the additional commissioner of police (co-ordination), Ms A.R. Anuradha.