Hyderabad, March 05: Congress MLAs hailing from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions have decided to visit New Delhi after the ongoing Budget session of the state Assembly and put pressure on the party high command to keep Andhra Pradesh united.
Islamabad, March 05: Two US lawyers Saturday arrived in Pakistan to provide legal aid to a US official facing trial for gunning down two Pakistani men, Xinhua reported.
The shooting deaths in January in Lahore have caused a diplomatic row between the two allies.
The US had earlier said that Raymond Davis is a consulate employee but later said he is a CIA contractor.
Davis had told the police that he fired in self-defence, but investigators have rejected his claim, saying that he had intentionally fired at the two men.
Chennai, March 05: The opposition camp in Tamil Nadu is expectedly happy with the dramatic decision by the ruling DMK to exit the UPA government and also announcing the break up with the Congress party in the April 13 assembly elections.
“The AIADMK-led alliance will win the elections hands down now,” DMDK presidium chairman Panruti S. Ramachandran told IANS.
The party, led by actor turned politician Vijayakant, had struck a seat-sharing deal with the AIADMK Friday night.
Chennai/New Delhi, March 05: Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK Saturday ended its seven-year alliance with the Congress and pulled out of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government after running into roadblocks over seat sharing in assembly elections only a month away.
The dramatic decision, announced after a meeting of DMK leaders including Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, robbed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government of majority support in the Lok Sabha where the Congress-led UPA coalition will now have only 256 MPs — less than the half-way 272.
London, March 05: Singer Lady Gaga is threatening to sue an ice-cream parlour over a new flavour made with breast milk.
Gaga’s lawyers began proceedings against the makers in London’s Covent garden over their ‘Baby Gaga’ flavour, reports dailystar.co.uk.
According to the 24-year-old singer, it was “nausea inducing” and intended to take advantage of her reputation.
———-IANS
Kolkata, March 05: Member of India’s 1983 World Cup winning team Kirti Azad Saturday expressed concern over the side’s weak bowling and said the co-hosts could face problems against good teams in the knock-out stages.
“(Skipper M.S.) Dhoni is a glib talker. But the bowling is a weak link,” Azad told mediapersons here.
“In both the matches, the opposition has good scores against India. So far, it’s ok. But against a strong opposition, the bowling can cause the side’s fall,” said Azad, a batsman and an off-break bowler in his playing days.
Visakhapatnam(AP), March 05: The BJP today said it has extended support for creation of a separate Telangana state as smaller states would pave way for good governance and faster development.
“Smaller states would develop faster with transparent administration and accountability which is witnessed in states like Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand and Jharkhand that were formed when the NDA government was in power at the Centre,” party?s National spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman told reporters.
Bhubaneswar, March 05: A white paper released Saturday by a media organisation here detailed more then 30 incidents of attacks on scribes in Orissa during the past five years.
Expressing concern over the rising incidents of attacks, the document demanded stringent action against those involved in such crimes.
“A distinct pattern has begun to emerge in the targeting of journalists in the state” read the white paper released by Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP).
Kolkata, March 05: Sixth-seeded Krishna Suresh of Andhra Pradesh toppled defending champion Ashutosh Singh to bag the men’s singles crown while Maharashtra’s Kyra Shroff clinched the women’s singles honours at the National Grasscourt Tennis Championships here Saturday.
In a big serving match, Suresh got the better of Delhi’s Ashutosh 6-4, 7-6(7-1) after a 92-minute fight at the Calcutta South Club.
Krishna took the first set breaking Singh in the seventh game. The second set went with serves to roll into the tie break where Krishna raced past Singh to claim the title.
Mumbai, March 05: Bollywood is an arena where the “fittest” doesn’t survive but the most unswerving one manages to. And this applies in Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor’s case. Buzz has it that a telecom company wanted to have a young and a happening actor to endorse their brand. Imran and Ranbir were the two choices but either of them had to be chosen.
Apparently, the top bosses of the telecom brand had a brain storming session to zero in on the ideal ambassador for their product. Imran’s “clean image” is what won him the contract over his friend and contemporary Ranbir.
Lucknow, March 05: BJP today said corruption is the biggest issue before the country with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself “in the dock” over appointment of a tainted person as CVC.
“Despite P J Thomas being an accused in a corruption case, the PM appointed him as the CVC and now he is in the dock for his decision,” Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said at a seminar here.
Vijayawada, March 05: Opposition TDP on Saturday appealed to the Telangana supporters to withdraw their proposed agitation on March 10 as it would disrupt the intermediate examination scheduled for that day.
“Please do not spoil lives of students,” TDP legislator Devineni Umamaheswara said talking to reporters here.
Telangana protagonists, including political parties, have planned ‘Million March’ in Hyderabad to press for their statehood demand.
Hyderabad, March 05: Opposition parties put the Andhra Pradesh government on the mat in the state Assembly on Saturday over the incident of police firing in Srikakulam district in which two villagers were killed on February 28.
The government, however, did not concede to the opposition’s demand for a judicial probe into the incident and payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of those killed.
London, March 05: Lowering air pollution in main cities of 12 European countries may save 19,000 lives each year and add in average about two years to the life span of the inhabitants.
Previous studies have also shown that air pollution not only increases the risk of developing childhood asthma but also reduces the effectiveness of medications in treating the condition.
a three-year probe conducted by a team of 60 scientists coordinated by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance, studied the effects of air pollution on heath in 25 major cities in the European Union.
Tripoli, March 05: A group of Saudi youths has called for a “Saudi Revolution” on March 20, using Facebook, to demand democratic and political reform in the monarchy.
The Facebook group, which has over 17,000 members, also called for a “Day of Rage” to be held on March 11,
Activists now allege that state security forces have shot dead online activist Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahadwas, 27, the main administrator of the Facebook group calling for the coordinated protests.
Tehran, March 05: Head of Kurdistan’s Environment Protection Organization Kheirollah Moradi says four rangers have been killed by counter-revolutionary elements.
The bodies of the rangers, who had gone for patrol on Friday, were found by a mountain climber, Moradi told media on Saturday.
Explaining that the rangers had been killed by fire arms, Moradi added that “initial investigations show that this terrorist attack has been carried out by counter-revolutionary elements.”
New Delhi, March 05: The campus placement at IIM, Lucknow, concluded today, with a total of 528 offers being made for a batch of 366 students, said the institute in a statement.
“This is the largest graduating batch to be placed across all IIMs, till date,” the statement added.
The offers made include 70 pre-placement offers, 213 lateral offers for higher entry placement and 245 offers during the final placement week, said the statement adding, 206 companies participated in the placement process this year.
New Delhi, March 05: Kenyan batsman Maurice Ouma Saturday slammed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to trim teams for the 2015 World Cup.
The apex body has decided to cut down the number of teams from 14 to 10 for the next edition.
Ouma, who stepped down from captaincy last year to make way for Jimmy Kamande, feels Kenya deserves a place in the World Cup more than any other associate nation.
“The ICC’s decision doesn’t make sense to us,” said Ouma at a media interaction ahead of their match against Canada Monday.
Kolkata, March 05: West Bengal state Congress president Manas Bhuniya Saturday said the assembly poll tie-up with the Trinamool Congress should follow the formula used in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls as it was “most viable and reasonable”.
During the Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool candidates were in the fray in 28 or two-thirds of the 42 seats. Congress nominees contested the remaining one-third or 14 seats.
Mumbai, March 05: Grieving over the loss of her Oscar memorabilia, “Slumdog Millionaire” child actor Rubina Ali Saturday said she lost all her good memories to a slum fire.
Rubina’s hut was burnt down in a massive fire that raged through Gareeb Nagar, a congested slum close to the suburban Bandra railway station in Mumbai, Friday night.
Over 2,000 homes were destroyed in the fire that raged through the night and was put out early Saturday morning.
“I lost all the books, wooden toys, photographs and awards that I received for the film,” she said in a choked voice.
Rio De Janeiro, March 05: Twenty-two people were killed and 23 others injured Saturday when a passenger bus collided with a truck in southern Brazil, Xinhua reported.
The accident occurred on a highway in Brazil’s Santa Catarina State. The injured were taken to a hospital.
The bus was carrying 40 passengers at the time of the accident, while the truck was loaded with wooden planks.
It was not immediately clear about the number of victims from each of the vehicles.
———IANS
Sidhi(MP), March 05: The mortal remains of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Arjun Singh were brought here today from Delhi in a special Indian Air Force helicopter.
The chopper carrying the body of the departed leader landed at Panwar airstrip in the district.
Large number of people raised slogans like ‘Arjun Singh Amar Rahe’ when the helicopter touched the base.
Singh’s two sons, Ajay and Abhimanyu, daughter Veena Singh and his long time personal assistant, Mohammad Yunus, also arrived in the same helicopter.
The Hague, March 05: Libyan state television has accused the Netherlands of spying, following the capture of a Dutch navy helicopter and its three-strong crew by militias loyal to embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi, Dutch state radio (NOS) reported Saturday.
The Netherlands is engaged in intense negotiations with Libya in a bid to gain the release of the three marines.
“The aim of the helicopter (Lynx) mission was to drop or pick up spies on Libyan soil,” Libyan state TV said, alleging “an international conspiracy” against Gaddafi, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
New Delhi, March 05: With six more flights bringing in stranded Indians from Libya, India said Saturday that over 9,200 people had been evacuated from the strife-torn country. But thousands are waiting to be brought home.
The external ministry said that in the past 24 hours, two Air India special flights from Tripoli, one from Sebha in Libya and three flights from Djerba in neighbouring Tunisia had reached India.
At least 220 Indians returned to Mumbai Saturday from Tunisia via Dubai on an Emirates flight.
Nagapattinam(TN), March 05: Eight fishermen were injured in Tarangambadi in the district after they were attacked by a group over differences in distribution of boat engines at subsidised rates under a government scheme, police said today.
According to police one Mahibalan, in charge of distributing the engines, refused to allot an engine to a person, following which he lodged a complaint with the fishermen’s panchayat.