Islam is an all-embracing way of life. It extends over the entire spectrum of life, showing us how to conduct all human activities in a sound and wholesome manner. It does not allow a hierarchy of priests or intermediaries between Allaah and human beings, no farfetched abstractions and no complicated rites and rituals.
Ahmedabad, March 29: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today demanded that the Centre take legal action to stop publication of a controversial book on Mahatma Gandhi written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Lelyveld.
“I strongly condemn the contents of a new book on Mahatma Gandhi in which there is perversion of views. Gandhiji had preached to the world truth and non-violence and to write about him in such a manner is in very bad taste,” he said.
“The Central Government should take legal action against publication of this book,” the BJP leader said.
Gurgaon, March 29: An army man strangled to death his 30-year-old wife in front of their four-year-old son and locked up the boy in a room with the dead body, police said Tuesday.
The gruesome incident happened at their Sushant Estate house.
“Monika, who worked with a telecom company, was strangulated to death two days ago. Her husband Hari Prakash, an army man, is the prime accused as his 4-year-old-son is an eyewitness,” a senior police officer said.
Patna, March 29: A vigilance court today framed charges against former MP and senior Congress leader Anirudh Prasad ailas Sadhu Yadav and 21 others in connection with the multi-crore flood-relief scam.
Designated vigilance judge Ajit Kumar Sinha framed the charges against Sadhu Yadav and the others after hearing their counsels and the prosecution on the scam relating to rampant irregularities in distribution of relief worth Rs 10.69 crore among the victims during floods in Bihar in 2005.
New Delhi, March 29: The Congress Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had no moral right to question it on the Shunglu committee findings against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over lapses ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games and asked the party to apologise to the nation for misleading the country on its Hindutva ideology.
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), March 29: A policeman was found murdered near a bridge in this city Tuesday, an official said.
Krishnakant Singh, a head constable with the traffic police, was found dead near the Panki bridge.
“Prima facie it appears the constable has been murdered. His body bears bullet injuries,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Shailendra Lal told reporters in Kanpur, some 80 km from Lucknow.
Nalgonda(AP), March 29: Four persons, claiming to have killed TRS polit bureau member and former Maoist Sambashivudu, surrendered before police in Nalgonda district today.
Four persons, including three from Hyderabad, surrendered at the Choutuppal police station claiming that they had murdered Sambashivudu, district SP Rajesh Kumar said.
“They are yet to reach the district headquarters. Then we will begin interrogating them,” he said.
Mumbai, March 29: The Maharashtra government Tuesday indicated that it would take steps to ban “Great Soul – Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggles with India”, penned by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Joseph Lelyveld.
The book, authored by a former executive editor of the New York Times, reportedly has certain objectionable references to Gandhi and portrays the Father of the Nation in a poor light.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said he has already spoken to the central government on the issue.
Mumbai, March 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invite to his Pakistani counterpart for tomorrow’s cricket World Cup semi-final match between the two nations has brought to fore divergent view among top leaders of long-time allies BJP and Shiv Sena.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani had said here yesterday that he had no objection to India inviting the Pakistan President and the Prime Minister for the World Cup semi-final cricket match at Mohali as long as there is zero tolerance to terrorism.
Baghdad. March 29: At least 20 people were killed and 75 injured Tuesday when Iraqi security forces stormed the provincial council headquarters in Tikrit to free hostages taken by gunmen, security sources said.
The gunmen had set off two car bombs outside the provincial council’s headquarters before storming it and taking an unknown number of people hostage.
Among those killed in the aftermath were four generals of the military police and a number of local officials and civilians, police said.
New Delhi, March 29: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and other members of the family are expected to watch the high-voltage World Cup cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali tomorrow.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also sent an invitation to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to watch the match between the arch-rivals.
It is expected that Rahul, despite nursing a fractured leg, his sister Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra, would be in attendance to enjoy the big match of the tournament.
Chandigarh, March 29: Just hours before the start of the crucial India-Pakistan cricket World Cup semifinal, light rain lashed Chandigarh and nearby Mohali late Tuesday evening.
The showers were accompanied by thunder and strong winds.
India and Pakistan play each other at Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali in a day-night encounter Wednesday.
Earlier, the weatherman had predicted that rain could play spoilsport in Wednesday’s high-voltage match.
Colombo, March 29: Sri Lanka entered their second successive World Cup final, defeating New Zealand by five wickets at the R. Premadasa Stadium here Tuesday.Set to score 217, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 47.5 overs.
Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored with 73 while captain Kumar Sangakkara made 54.
Earlier, Lasith Malinga (3/55) and Ajantha Mendis (3/35) took three wickets each.
Sri Lanka lost the 2007 World Cup final to Australia.
—IANS
Mohali, March 29: With nearly 4,000 security personnel, over 150 CCTV cameras and helicopters keeping an eye, the venue of Wednesday’s cricket World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan resembled a fortress.
Punjab Police have also cordoned off the entire area falling in the nearly 2.5-km radius around the the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium where the day-night match would be played, with prime ministers of the two playing nations in the sepectators’ stands.
New Delhi, March 29: Construction equipment major JCB India Ltd Tuesday launched its first domestically-built 16-valve diesel engine, which is Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) compliant.
“These latest technology engines, would offer immense fuel efficiency to our customers. The domestic production of JCB engines will enable us to provide the best quality product,” said JCB India managing director and chief executive Vipin Sondhi.
According to Sondhi, the company will immediately start placing the new engines in its product ranges like backhoes, which would be followed by other models.
Chennai, March 29: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday hinted at his party DMK forming a coalition government after the state Assembly Elections if the situation warrants so.
To a question on the post-poll scenario and if DMK would go in for coalition rule, Karunanidhi said if the ‘voting pattern’ changed and there was a situation wherein only such a rule was possible, “we will then discuss it with other parties and decide”.
Congress, DMK’s key ally, is learnt to have made a pitch for power-sharing in the event of DMK-led alliance coming back to power.
New Delhi, March 29: Two Provincial Chief Ministers from South Africa today called on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, seeking cooperation with the national capital in IT, environment and urban planning.
Chief Ministers of Limpopo province C C Mathale and Eastern Cape province Noxolo Kiviet sought bilateral cooperation in the specified areas.
They told Dikshit that the South African Provinces are keen to upgrade their IT infrastructure for which they are looking for support from Delhi.
New Delhi, March 29: The Supreme Court today expressed concern over a media report about starvation death of six adivasis in the Morpalli village of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district and asked its officials to visit the area and give a report.
Morpalli was in news over allegations that security forces allegedly burnt 34 village homes and granaries, sexually assaulted two women and killed a man on March 11.
A bench comprising justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked the commissioner appointed by it to visit the area along with the collector of the district and submit a report.
Damascus, March 29: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accepted his government’s resignation Tuesday following days of protests.
The decision came a day after Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said al-Assad was about to announce important decisions that “will please Syrians”.
State media reported that al-Assad was expected to address the nation later in the day.
The government was previously reported to have agreed to lift the country’s state of emergency, which has been in place since the Baath party took power in 1963.
London, March 29: Faint traces of radiation from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have been traced to the Scottish city of Glasgow, officials said.
The radiation was, however, “extremely low” and the Scottish government said there was no threat to public health, Sky News reported.
Traces of radioactive iodine 131 were picked up by an air sampler in the city, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said, adding that the value of the sample was low and similar to those detected in other European countries like Iceland and Switzerland.
New Delhi, March 29: The CBI Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it would require two more days to formally file charges in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the apex court that it will formally file the charges April 2 instead of its earlier deadline of March 31.
The charge sheet against former communications minister Andimuthu Raja, four officials and two telecom companies will arraign them for forgery, conspiracy, cheating and abetment, the agency said.
A supplementary charge sheet will be filed April 25.
New Delhi, March 29: Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan returned “disappointed” from a surprise inspection of the Airport Metro Express Line today on a host of operational issues like the current frequency of trains on the high-speed corridor and non-availability of refreshments at stations.
New Delhi, March 29: Private airlines will operate two additional flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Chandigarh to cater to high demands of air tickets by the cricket fans keen on watching World cup semi-final between India and Pakistan at Mohali.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher will operate an additional flight each from Delhi and Mumbai to Chandigarh, which is adjacent to Mohali, tomorrow.
“On March 30, Jet Airways flight 9W 2063 will depart from Mumbai at 0350 hours and arrive at Chandigarh at 0600 hours.
Chennai, March 29: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi Tuesday said he was open to forming a coalition government in the event of a hung house, and reiterated that his son and Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was his political heir.
In an interview to a news channel, he said if there was a change in the voting pattern making a coalition imperative for political stability, the DMK will discuss the issue with its allies.
New Delhi, March 29: The Supreme Court today extended by another six months the tenure of the Justice Wadhwa Committee formed to go into various issues relating to the Public Distribution System (PDS).
A bench comprising justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma extended the time of the committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice D P Wadhwa.
The apex court had formed the committee by an order of July 12, 2006. As per the order, the committee, headed by Justice Wadhwa, was also to be assisted by a Commissioner N C Saxena.