Thiruvananthapuram, April 02: Sangh Parivar today called for a social boycott of the controversial book on Mahatma Gandhi by former Editor of New York Times Joseph Lelyveld in which it is said the Father of the Nation was a bisexual.
New Delhi, April 02: The Supreme Court will start from April 19 the regular hearing of the petition filed by industrialist Ratan Tata in the Niira Radia tapes conversation case.
In the petition, Mr Tata has objected to the leakage of his conversation with corporate consultant Radia to the media, alleging that such leakage has violated his right to privacy as a citizen of India.
Hyderabad, April 2: Central government rewarded Justice Srikrishna with a new post for submitting report against formation of separate Telangana state.
Justice Srikrishna submitted his report as the chairman of the committee formed to look into the issue of bifurcation of the state, in which all in all he recommended for keeping the state united.
Now central government has appointed him as the chairman of Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission. His duty is to propose financial policies and reformations in them.
Hyderabad, April 02: E-healthcare can be propagated through sensorenabled mobile devices as it can reduce travel time and help save lives in case of emergencies, according to A P J Abdul Kalam, former president.
Speaking on ‘Web for societal transformation’ at the four-day 20th International World Wide Web conference here on Wednesday, he urged all the stakeholders to provide useful information to pubic using 3G and 4G technologies and that it can be a reality with concerted efforts in research.
Mumbai, April 02: Enthusiastic cricket fans, vigilant security officers, giants screens at restaurants and bars, packed hotels, Mumbai was buzzing with uncontainable excitement before the start of the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.
Mumbai and other Maharashtra cities woke up to a sunny day. With the Maharashtra government already declaring it a special public holiday, private offices also followed and declared it a half working day.
Hyderabad, April 02: Hyderabad, Apr 1 (PTI) The Union Urban Development Ministry may set up a consultative committee involving representatives of various states to finalise a uniform checklist for real estate developers, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai) said today. Credai president Lalit Kumar Jain said Urban Development Kamal Nath has acknowledged the need to set up seamless and uniform guidelines applicable across the country.
Gainesville, April 02: An evangelical pastor whose church burned a Quran last month said he was “devastated” but did not feel responsible for the killings on Friday of seven UN workers in a violent protest in Afghanistan.
“We are devastated by that information, that news,” Terry Jones, the head of the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, said. “We don’t feel responsible for that.”
Moscow, April 02: Japan’s unfolding nuclear disaster is “much bigger than Chernobyl” and could rewrite the international scale used to measure the severity of atomic accidents, a Russian expert says.
“Chernobyl was a dirty bomb explosion. The next dirty bomb is Fukushima and it will cost much more (in economic and human terms),” said Natalia Mironova, a thermodynamic engineer who became a leading anti-nuclear activist in Russia in the wake of the accident at the Soviet-built reactor in Ukraine in 1986.
Chennai, April 2: Corruption and quality of governance are major campaign themes in the five states going to the polls starting Monday, but nowhere is it more evident than in Tamil Nadu.
Even as political parties sharpen their attacks on one another, the Congress and its ally-cum-Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK are facing most of the heat over corruption.
Political activists and pundits say this is but natural, considering the involvement of DMK veterans in the mind-boggling spectrum allocation scam that has also dented the image of the Congress-led coalition.
Mumbai, April 02: Kareena Kapoor will launch a range of clutch bags. The collection will be named after her nick name Bebo.
Says a source, “Kareena was recently appointed brand ambassador for a range of handbags. The company observed that their sales shot up after she began endorsing the product.
They were so happy that they came up with the idea of having a limited edition clutch called Bebo!”
Currently, Kareena is in talks regarding the bag line.
New Delhi, April 02: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will on Saturday file its first chargesheet in the 2G spectrum scam. The chargesheet will be filed in the special court of Justice OP Saini.
Highly placed sources informed that besides those arrested in the case including former telecom minister A Raja, his personal aide RK Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura, former managing director of Etislat DB (earlier Swan Telecom) Shahid Usman Balwa, a name of an MP may be mentioned in the chargesheet.
Washington, April 02: India, which along with China is one of the world’s “documented growth stories”, offers some of the largest opportunities for American companies and the “challenge” for US companies is to come and see the “potential of India”, says Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of India’s most successful corporations.
“The opportunities for US companies is vast volume markets of the world,” he said participating in a panel discussion on “The Shifting Global Economy and Implications for Trade” at the US Exim Bank Annual Conference here Friday.
Lucknow, April 02: Cricket fans here thronged theatres Saturday to watch the India-Sri Lanka final, elated that the authorities had given their nod now after having refused permission to screen the India-Pakistan semifinal on the big screen.
“Cricket fans are flocking to our counters for purchasing tickets. We have only a few tickets left now,” Shahdab Ali, duty manager at Pheonix Mall, told reporters here Saturday.
Tirupati, April 2 : Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Saturday left for Mumbai to watch the World Cup final, but not before praying at Tirumala temple here for his team’s success in the match against India.
Accompanied by his wife, the visiting dignitary, who had a ‘darshan’ of Lord Venkateswara and offered special puja Friday evening, participated in the special rituals Saturday morning.
Washingto, April 02: A Texas school district put the brakes on an Arabic language program after an angry backlash from parents made national headlines.
The Mansfield school district issued a statement contradicting media reports that it was planning “mandatory Arabic classes.”
“Recent concerns have been raised by parents concerning plans for the curriculum,” the district said.
“Therefore, Mansfield ISD is slowing the implementation process and will be seeking input from parents in a variety of ways.”
A resolution passed by the Mahmood Madani faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind (JUH) at a meeting of its managing committee held in New Delhi on March 7 says that “Muslims should be convinced for regular practice of namaz and keeping fasts during the month of Ramadan. Youths should be persuaded to practise salam, don their Islamic identity and create a religious atmosphere at home.” The Jamiat also proposed the setting up social reform committees in villages and towns to ensure that Muslim residents live by “Islamic rules and social values.”
New Delhi, April 02: Mr. L.K. Advani, once again, describes December 6, 1992 as a saddest day of his life, not because Babri Masjid was pulled down on that day, but this day damaged the credibility of his party.
L.K. Advani is the leader who brought a bad name to India. He is the leader who incited educated and illiterate Hindus against Muslims for political gains. He is the leader who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of death of Muslims and Hindus as a result of his Rath Yatra to build temple on the same site where Babri Masjid was situated.
New Delhi, April 02: After the hit romantic comedy “Tanu Weds Manu”, Kangana Ranaut plays a cop in just-released “Game”. The actress, who says she makes an effort to do selective work, will be seen in light-hearted roles in three forthcoming films.
Kangana’s three forthcoming releases are “Rascals”, “Double Dhamaal” and “Happy New Year”.
Tirupati, April 02: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the renowned Tirupati temple here Friday evening and prayed for the success of his country’s cricket team in Saturday’s World Cup final against India at Mumbai.
The visiting dignitary had “darshan” of Lord Venkateswara and offered special “puja”, said officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of India’s richest temple.
Kadapa, April 02: Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy today said he is likely to contest the by-election to Pulivendula assembly constituency scheduled to be held in May.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, said at Vempalle village that he is ready for contesting in Pulivendula.
He, however, said he will abide by the high command’s decision in the matter.
The by-polls to Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly seats are necessitated as Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalakshmi quit as MP and MLA from the two seats respectively.
Mumbai, April 02: Model Poonam Pandey’s plan to strip if India beat Sri Lanka Saturday has angered the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) women’s wing which has sought police action against her.
In a letter to Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, BJP Mahila Morcha state president Nita Kelkar said Saturday’s World Cup game at Wankhede Stadium shall be graced by Indian President Pratibha Patil and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
“To strip in front of a large gathering in celebration of India’s victory is highly condemnable and deserves to be halted and foiled forthwith,” Kelkar urged.
Tripoli, April 02: Libya described coalition air strikes against it on Friday as a “crime against humanity”, saying at least six civilians were killed in an attack on a village in the east of the country.
“Some mad and criminal Prime Ministers and Presidents of Europe are leading a crusade against an Arab Muslim nation,” a government spokesman,told reporters.
“Sounds familiar? … It’s a crime against humanity.”
Mohali, April 02: A woman International Cricket Council (ICC) official has been booked for showing disrespect to the Indian flag by stomping on it and some balloons that had the tricolour printed on them, police said Saturday.
The accused official was identified as Holika Sen Oberoi, who works as legal advisor to ICC. She was allegedly seen doing this outside the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here Wednesday afternoon when India was playing against Pakistan. She was booked Friday.
New Delhi, April 02: Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), which is also the official `Car Partner` of the event, today announced that all the members of the Indian Cricket team will get the all-new Hyundai Verna if they manage to pull off a victory against Sri Lanka in tomorrow`s summit clash.
“We will be extremely delighted to felicitate the Indian cricket team with the all-new Verna much ahead of its market launch in the country. This is part of our continuous effort to bring passion to cricket,” HMIL managing director and CEO Hang-Woo Park said in a statement.
Hyderabad, April 2: Special arrangements are underway to issue passports, immediately after the draw, for the Hajj aspirants selected by Andhra Pradesh state Hajj committee who don’t have passports.
In a joint meeting of Regional passport officer Hyderabad Mr Srinivas Gotru and Hajj Committee it has been decided to set up a special counter for selected Hajj aspirants.