Month: February 2011

Omar for equitable development of all regions

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Jammu, February 02: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said his government was determined to carry out “equitable” development of the state without consideration of who represented a particular region.

“Our government is determined to seek equitable development of all regions and sub-regions. In this direction, a network of schemes and developmental projects have been launched across the state,” Omar said addressing the district development boards of Kathua and Udhampur here.

SC seeks AG’s response on making Radia tape public

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New Delhi, February 02: The Supreme Court today sought a response from the Attorney General on a petition seeking complete disclosure of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia’s telephonic conversations with various public figures.

A bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly asked the Attorney General G E Vahanvati to file his response within two weeks and posted the matter for hearing on March 8.

The tapes reportedly include her conversations with ministers and corporate czars, which were recorded by the government in 2008-09.

Airport Line: Home Ministry to call meeting

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New Delhi, February 02: The fate of Delhi Metro’s most sensitive link between Connaught Place and the airport may be decided this week when the Home Ministry is likely to convene a meeting of officials from CISF and the concessionaire to break the stalemate over the security issue.

The meeting is likely to be held tomorrow or Friday at the instance of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), whose representatives may also be invited for the meeting, sources said.

Iran, Kuwait keen on boosting trade ties

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Tehran, February 02: “The establishment of a joint trade council between Iran and Kuwait will play an effective role in strengthening relations and increasing the level of trade between the two countries,” IRNA quoted Ghazanfari as saying on Tuesday.

He called on Iranian and Kuwaiti trade officials to provide businessmen with all legal facilities to promote relations.

The Iranian minister expressed the country’s readiness to have Kuwaiti trade delegations and economic activists travel to Iran and become familiar with the country’s trade potentials and capacities.

ITBP chaos: Centre hits back at UP; says adequate force not deployed

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New Delhi, February 02: The Centre on Wednesday hit back at the Uttar Pradesh government for the violence and chaos that occurred during an ITBP recruitment camp at Bareilly resulting in the death of 19 aspirants, saying there were “only a handful” of state policemen to maintain law and order.

“Despite the clear request and advance intimation by the Commandant (ITBP), it is learnt that only a handful of police personnel were deployed around the ITBP campus. When candidates started converging at the ITBP camp for registration, initially the process went on smoothly.

Muslims are terrorists in the eyes of KKR

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Hyderabad, February 02: The views expressed by Chief Minister Mr. N Kiran Kumar Reddy in New Delhi during his speech at chief ministers’ meeting on internal security reflect his mentality that how he possesses distracted views towards Muslims even today.

2G scam: CBI arrests former telecom minister A Raja

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New Delhi, February 02: Former Telecom minister A Raja was today arrested along with his two former associates in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.

Raja arrived at the CBI headquarters this morning, a day after his brother A K Perumal was questioned by the CBI about alleged funding of some front organisations owned by Telecom companies which had been allocated spectrum from October 2007 to January 2008, official sources said.

Helicopter crash: Pilots may have saved many lives

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Nasik, February 2:The presence of mind shown by the two pilots of an Army helicopter which crashed here today in a residential area may have saved many lives, a police official said.

Both the pilots died in the crash.

“Had the pilots bailed out immediately after noticing fault in rotor blades, they would have saved their own lives, but the helicopter would have certainly crashed into a densely populated area, killing many more,” he said.

World Cup will be our biggest gift to Tendulkar: Dhoni

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New Delhi, February 02: As Sachin Tendulkar gears up to play probably his last World Cup, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian cricket team is desparate to make it a special one for him by gifting the champion batsman the trophy which has eluded the side for 28 years.

In his two-decade long illustrious career, during which he has featured in five World Cups since 1992, Tendulkar has virtually every batting record under his belt but a world title is the only trophy which is missing from his cupboard.

Heart attack risk higher for women whose mothers had strokes

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London, February 2:Women whose mothers are victims of stroke are at a far higher risk of a heart attack.

Women may be more at risk of inherited forms of heart disease. In men, it tends to be triggered by lifestyle factors such as diet, drinking and smoking.

Oxford University researchers looked at more than 2,200 female patients who had suffered a stroke, heart attack or angina, the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics reports.

They found that a far higher proportion of the women’s mothers had suffered a stroke compared to their fathers, according to the Daily Mail.

Aamir will be the baddie in Dhoom 3

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Mumbai, February 02: After months of discussions, Bollywood perfectionist Aamir Khan has finally said YES to Dhoom 3. The superstar signed on the dotted line last night. He will be seen playing a baddie which was essayed by John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan in the first and the second part respectively. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will once again play the cop and his tapori sidekick.

The film’s script and storyline is being kept secret, but Aamir Khan has himself confirmed that he was ‘highly impressed’ when he heard the script.

Ranbir Kapoor had a narrow escape….

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Mumbai, February 02: Recently, during the surprise visit by the IT officials to Katrina Kaif’s home, it is heard that Ranbir Kapoor had a narrow escape of being caught at girlfriend Katrina Kaif’s flat, as he left a couple of hours before the IT officials arrived.

Says a source in Bandra, “Apparently, Ranbir and Katrina have been meeting almost every night at her place after he finishes his workouts at a gym nearby. That night too (the night before the raids on January 23), RK came over a little after 10 pm and spent some time with her.”

India should be proud of its democracy: Khurshid

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New Delhi, February 2:With some Arab countries witnessing mass movement for democracy and reforms, Union Minister Salman Khurshid today said India should be proud of its democracy despite disagreements among various sections.

“If you look around the world, I think, Indians can congratulate themselves that the untiredness of our democracy, underscore the fact that the democracy is indispensable and democracy is the best way in which one human being can respect other human being,” the Water Resources Minister said at a workshop on Water and Climate Change.

Sonia comments withdrawn by Andhra Congress

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Hyderabad, February 02: G Venkataswamy, Senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh, who 12 hours ago demanded Sonia Gandhi’s resignation as Party President, today said he is ready to withdraw all his comments.

“I had to make those comments because I was worried that the party may suffer in Telangana region. I am ready to withdraw all comments…I request her (Gandhi) for a separate Telangana,” he said today.

Al Qaeda’s dirty bomb poses risk of nuclear 9/11: WikiLeaks

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London, February 02: Al Qaeda has been trying to stockpile “dirty” nuclear explosives and recruit rogue scientists to plot 9/11-like terror attacks in world’s major cities, secret US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks have revealed.

Tomihiro Taniguchi, the deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has warned the US that the world faces the threat of a “nuclear 9/11”, if stores of uranium and plutonium were not secured against terrorists, the Telegraph reported citing the leaked documents.

Go home, army tells Egyptian protesters

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Cairo, February 02: A spokesman for Egypt’s Army urged protesters Wednesday to end demonstrations and return home, saying it was for the sake of stability of the country.

The address was made on state television, as thousands of protesters were again streaming in the late morning to Tahrir Sqaure in central Cairo, to protest against President Hosni Mubarak.

Late Tuesday, Mubarak said he would step down, but only at the end of his term in September.

Meanwhile, pro-government rallies were also planned for Cairo.
–IANS

Go home, army tells Egyptian protesters

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Cairo, February 02: A spokesman for Egypt’s Army urged protesters Wednesday to end demonstrations and return home, saying it was for the sake of stability of the country.

The address was made on state television, as thousands of protesters were again streaming in the late morning to Tahrir Sqaure in central Cairo, to protest against President Hosni Mubarak.

Late Tuesday, Mubarak said he would step down, but only at the end of his term in September.

Meanwhile, pro-government rallies were also planned for Cairo.
–IANS

MLA S Ve Shekher to join Cong ahead of TN Assembly

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Chennai, February 2:Unattached MLA and former AIADMK leader S Ve Shekher today said he would join Congress to give the party a boost ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Shekher, elected from Mylapore constituency in Chennai, had recently met party general secretary Rahul Gandhi before deciding to join Congress.

Shekher, axed from the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK in 2009, said he had met Gandhi two months back and would join the party “under instructions” from Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in-charge of party affairs in the state.

Man sued for calling out wrong name during sex

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Wellington, February 2: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.

Seoul: Koreas leaders’ meeting likely

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Seoul, February 02: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has, for the first time, said a leaders’ summit with rival North Korea is possible, if planned inter-Korean military dialogue proves effective.

During a live television interview on Tuesday, Lee was asked about the possibility of holding a summit between the leaders of the two Koreas in case next week’s bilateral military talks succeed.

“I don’t deny it. We can have a summit if needed,” the South Korean president said.

Yemeni president vows to finish term

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Sanaa, February 02: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has announced that he will not run for re-election following demonstration that called for a political change in the Arab nation.

“No to hereditary rule and no to life presidency,” Saleh said on Wednesday during an emergency session of parliament and the consultative council.

Last Thursday Sana’a was the scene of an anti-government demonstration of thousands of people calling for the ouster of President Saleh.

They also called for an end to what they call unilateral action taken over the constitution.

US aims for prolonged stay in Iraq

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Washington, February 02: A new US Senate report advises that a large contingent of American troops should remain in war-torn Iraq past the agreed withdrawal date set for the end of the year.

According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, which was made public on Tuesday, American diplomats may not be safe in Iraq if the US military pulls out its remaining 50,000 troops there.

This comes as the United States prepares to deploy some 17,000 US diplomats and security contractors to the Mesopotamian country over the next few months.

Media persons banned from entering Darul Uloom seminary

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Muzaffarnagar, February 2:Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has banned media persons from entering its premises till February 23 as they felt that their presence was affecting students’ preparations for the upcoming examinations.

There has been an increased media presence at the seminary following the controversy generated by Vice-Chancellor Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi’s remarks on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Darul Uloom Maulana Abdul Khalique told PTI.

Population enumeration of Census 2011 from Feb 9-28

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New Delhi, February 2:The vital part of Census 2011 — the population enumeration — will be conducted across the country simultaneously between February 9 and 28.

Registrar-General and Census Commissioner C Chandramouli today said the biggest-ever census attempted in the history of mankind enumerating the country’s 1.2 billion population will be conducted across 35 states and Union Territories.

During the massive exercise, all citizens of the country will be counted classifying various factors and according to their gender, religion, occupation and education.