30 Council members retire

Hyderabad, March 30: Thirty members of the Legislative Council, constituting one-third of the strength of the Upper House, retired on Tuesday on completion of their four-year term.

Council Chairman A. Chakrapani and Deputy Chairman Mohd. Jani were among those who retired. All the outgoing members were felicitated before the House adjourned sine die after passing the Appropriation Bills.

Sambasivudu murder case: four surrender

Nalgulda, March 30: Four persons — Shakeel, Feroze, Abu, and Imram — from to the Old City of Hyderabad and claiming to have murdered Sambasivudu, former Maoist leader and polit bureau member of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), on Saturday night, surrendered to the police at Choutuppal police station, about 50 km from here, on Tuesday.

Telugu Desam Party celebrates 30th formation day

Hyderabad, March 30: The Telugu Desam Party celebrated its 30th formation day on Tuesday with party president N. Chandrababu Naidu calling upon workers and functionaries to rededicate themselves towards uplifting the downtrodden and eradicating poverty.

Addressing party workers after cutting a huge cake at NTR Bhavan, the TDP headquarters here, Mr. Naidu said that the TDP was born out of a historical necessity 30 years ago and asserted that there would not be any compromise with the basic principles on which the party was founded by former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao.

Rahul recovers from fractured leg, travels to Mohali

New Delhi, March 30: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will Wednesday make his first major public appearance after he fractured his leg when he accompanies his mother, party president Sonia Gandhi, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal in Mohali, party sources said.

Rahul Gandhi fractured his leg three weeks ago during a workout at home.

The prime minister had invited Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other family members for the match, the sources said. Gursharan Kaur, the prime minister’s wife, will also be in Mohali.

Haryana issues guideline on Education Act

Chandigarh, March 30: The Directorate of Elementary Education in Haryana has issued guidelines for the effective implementation of the Right to Education Act.

Giving details of the guidelines, a spokesman of the Directorate said here today that every child in the age group of six to 14 years would be provided eight years of elementary education by all the government schools, government aided and recognised schools.

Naidu targets Jagan in land allotment debate

Hyderabad, March 30: Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday accused the State government of creating neo-landlords out of corporate houses and capitalists by snatching lands from the poor at low cost and handing them over to projects, industries and special economic zones enabling them make huge earnings.

Asif Balwa, Agarwal remanded in CBI custody till April 1

New Delhi, March 30: Asif Balwa, a cousin of 2G spectrum case accused Shahid Balwa, and Rajeev B Agarwal, arrested for their alleged role in the scam, were today remanded in CBI custody till April 1 by a Delhi court.

“Both the accused are remanded in police custody till April 1,” Special CBI Judge O P Saini said.

The CBI sought their remand for custodial interrogation, saying they were not revealing “the true facts and circumstances of the criminal conspiracy which led to the transfer of Rs 200 crores to the bank accounts of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd.”

Amount spent on Dalai Lama security shrouded in secrecy

Shimla, March 30: The amount spent on providing security to Tibetan spiritual leaders – the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa – continues to be a secret.

A legislator’s attempt in the state assembly to get the information from the state government Wednesday proved futile.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal launched a scathing attack on the central government for not providing timely information on the amount spent on the two Buddhist leaders’ security and said it has so far failed to reply in this regard.

Newly-wed woman commits suicide

Lucknow, March 30: A newly wed woman allegedly committed suicide in Madiyaon area here, police said.

20-year-old Ragini was found hanging in her room yesterday, they said, adding that the family members of the deceased have alleged that she was being harassed by her in-laws for dowry.

-Agencies

Rs. 1,552-crore annual credit plan released

Vizianagaram, March 30: MP Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi has released the annual credit plan for priority and non-priority sectors for the fiscal 2011-12 at the District Consultative Committee/District-Level Review Committee meeting with bankers.

The plan outlay has been put at Rs. 1,552.77 crore as against Rs.1,320 crore last fiscal.

Notices ordered to TTD over ‘Thousand pillar mantapam’

Hyderabad, March 30: A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Nissar Ahmad Kakru and Justice Vilas V. Afzulpurkar, on Tuesday, ordered notices on a writ petition filed seeking stay on reconstruction of ‘Thousand pillar mantapam’ in Tirumala.

India, Sri Lanka for better ties over fishing

New Delhi, March 30: India and Sri Lanka have called for better relations among their fishing communities, and agreed that there should be no use of force in the sea dividing the two countries.

The decisions were taken at a two-day meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries that ended here Tuesday. The last meeting was held in Colombo in 2006.

“To ensure the safety and security of fishermen, both sides agreed that the use of force cannot be justified under any circumstances,” an official statement said.

State rapped for failure to cancel land allotment to Hindujas

Hyderabad, March 30: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has faulted the State government for its inaction in cancelling allotment of 1,122.38 acres of land near Visakhapatnam to the Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited (HNPCL), which had failed to set up a power plant.

The CAG questioned why the government did not take back the land in Devada village and allot it to other parties willing to supply power at competitive rates in view of the severe power shortage.

Unutilised land

53 bonded labourers rescued

Sangareddy, March 30: Ramavanth Rajput is in his early 30s. A native of Borde village in Kalhandi district of Orissa, Ramavanth and his four-member family migrated to Begumpet tanda in Sangareddy mandal of Medak district in search of greener pasture. But his dreams were shattered and instead he landed in a debt trap after taking an advance of Rs. 28,000 while working at a brick kiln.

Time investment key to successful careers, says senior banker

Vijaywada, March 30: “Students should invest their time working towards charting out their career rather than only thinking about it. But the problem with most youngsters these days is that they do not work towards a career goal and face problems on entering the job market,” opined K.V.S.M. Sudhakar, senior vice-president and circle head, Axis Bank, while delivering the keynote address on ‘Career Planning’, at a programme organised by The Hindu Business Line Club for MBA students of Koneru Lakshmaiah University near here on Tuesday.

Singareni Collieries is all set to achieve production target in time

Hyderabad, March 30: Even as the current financial year is coming to an end, the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is on the threshold of achieving its annual production target well in time, notwithstanding the interruption caused to the coal production due to frequent floods, two-day strike by coal workers, disruption in power supply, and other reasons in the current fiscal.

Call to make Kalam’s dream of a just and honest society a reality

Narsapur, March 30: A. Prasanna Kumar, Director, Centre for Policy Studies, Visakhapatnam, on Tuesday expressed anguish over several disciplines falling under the schools of social sciences and humanities getting eclipsed by the ‘market-driven’ courses in the post-globalisation era in the country. Speaking at a seminar on ‘Human resource development and good governance’ held here under the aegis of the Gandhian Study Centre, an arm of Sri. Y.N. College, Mr.

‘Next century belongs to mobile Internet’

Hyderabad, March 30: The past decade of Internet usage saw users leaping from 400 million to two billion, but the next decade will belong to mobile users, said N. Chandrasekharan, CEO, Tata Consultancy Services.

Moderating a panel discussion on ‘Universal, Inclusive World World Web (WWW) – The Next Frontier’, as part of the 20 {+t} {+h} International World Wide Web Conference here on Tuesday, he said that focus will be on bridging the gap between those using internet on desk and laptops and those accessing it on their mobiles.

‘Project delays result in cost over-run of Rs. 27,140 cr.’

Hyderabad, March 30: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has expressed concern over the inordinate delay in the completion of irrigation projects that had resulted in huge cost over-run of Rs. 27,140.46 crore.

The non-completion of projects in the stipulated time has not only escalated the cost of the projects, but resulted in blocking Rs. 35,886 crore invested so far in 34 projects depriving the intended benefits of the projects.

12-year-old on school trip delivers baby

London, March 30: A 12 year-old Dutch girl, who did not realise she was pregnant, delivered a baby girl when she was on a school trip.

“Neither the girl nor her family had realised she was pregnant, and there were no external signs to show it,” the Telegraph quoted a spokesperson for health services as saying.

The girl was from Groningen in the north of the Netherlands.

She felt violent stomach pain when she was on a day out with her classmates last week.

12-year-old on school trip delivers baby

London, March 30 (IANS) A 12 year-old Dutch girl, who did not realise she was pregnant, delivered a baby girl when she was on a school trip.

“Neither the girl nor her family had realised she was pregnant, and there were no external signs to show it,” the Telegraph quoted a spokesperson for health services as saying.

The girl was from Groningen in the north of the Netherlands.

She felt violent stomach pain when she was on a day out with her classmates last week.

Betting on cricket matches, 3 bookies nabbed

Hyderabad, March 30: Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills police on Tuesday nabbed three cricket bookies involved in betting on cricket matches and recovered cash, TV sets, Laptops and cell phones from their possession.

In the first case Jubilee Hills police raided a room at Gayatri Hills and arrested J Shivaji while seizing Rs 44,000 in cash, one colour TV, laptop, 13 mobile phones, one calculator from his possession.

Police told that the bookie Shivaji hailed from Vijaywada and he was arrested earlier also on the charges of accepting betting on cricket matches.

Rahul recovers from fractured leg, travels to Mohali

New Delhi, March 30: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will Wednesday make his first major public appearance after he fractured his leg when he accompanies his mother, party president Sonia Gandhi, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal in Mohali, party sources said.

Rahul Gandhi fractured his leg three weeks ago during a workout at home.

The prime minister had invited Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other family members for the match, the sources said. Gursharan Kaur, the prime minister’s wife, will also be in Mohali.

Obama nominates two Indian American to key posts

Washington, March 30: US President Barack Obama has nominated two Indian American women to key posts in his administration, according to a White House statement.

Chicagoan Deepa Gupta was nominated as member of National Council on the Arts, while Nisha Desai Biswal has been named as member, Congressional-Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China, it said.

The release also announced nomination of seven others to key administration posts.