Kerala, April 29: ‘Pope John Paul II wished to take a dip in Ganga’ Thrissur (Ker): Late Pope John Paul II, who will be beatified on May 1 ahead of conferment of sainthood by the Vatican, had an unfulfilled wish to take a dip in Ganga river, considered holy by Hindus.
John Paul conveyed his wish to take a dip in the Ganga to a senior Catholic Bishop from Kerala who met him at the Vatican in 1986 before the Pontiff’s visit to India that year.
Anantapur, April 29: Israel, the tiny nation with just 70 lakh population and 400 km long and 120 km wide is a vibrant economy despite a poor annual rainfall of 550 cm.
The nation’s economy thrives on agriculture and horticulture exports and is a highly developed country with the state of the art technology adopted in all sectors including Agriculture, according to V. Narasimha Reddy, Chief Executive Officer, Anantapur District Cooperative Central Bank (ADCCB).
India’s lack of killer instinct is often blamed for the side’s lackadaisical performance on field. And there’s quite a bit of truth behind this saying. Team India has more often than not choked in pressure situations in the past, snatching the most improbable of losses from the jaws of victory.
Hyderabad April 29: Tension gripped at Uppuguda railway station when a 38-year-old man bled to death during an attempt to catch a train on Thursday morning.
Following the incident, enraged mob went on the rampage and threw stones and boulders on the booking counter.
Washington, April 29: Reporter Lara Logan Lara Logan has spoken out for the first time since her terrifying sexual assault in Egypt, describing how attackers ‘raped her with their hands’.
The 39-year-old CBS foreign correspondent said she was convinced she was going to die when the frenzied mob tore her away from her film crew and bodyguard in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
A group of at least 200 men beat her, pinched her and tore at her clothes in a 40-minute attack that only ended when a group of women came to her aid.
London, April 29: Prince William and Kate Middleton were today pronounced man and wife at the majestic Westminster Abbey where the couple exchanged vows in the presence of some 1,900 guests, while millions of people around the world watched the ceremony live on TV.
29-year-old Middleton wore an ivory and lace gown designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, while the Prince, 28, was attired in the red tunic of an Irish Guards Colonel – his most senior honorary appointment.
Washington, April 29: A state of emergency has been declared in nine states after the death toll from the catastrophic storms and tornados that swept through the southern United States has risen to around 300, with 204 confirmed fatalities in the state of Alabama alone.
In the six states including Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky, the death toll amounted to 290, Fox News reported, bringing the total fatalities across the whole region to around 300.
This was the worst tornado outbreak since 1974 when a super tornado killed 315 people.
Lucknow, April 29: Several BJP activists were injured and detained in Lucknow today after a clash broke out with Police while they were protesting against the Congress and other parties for rejecting parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the 2G spectrum scam.
Shouting slogans against the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a large number of BJP activists who included the party’s state president Surya Pratap Shahi, hit the streets and headed towards the Vidhan Sabha.
Mumbai, April 29: With names like Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma and Freida Pinto being tossed about for months, it has now been confirmed that a new face will be the female lead of Dhoom: 3.
Yash Raj Films yesterday announced that the thriller will not have a known female star but a newbie.
The hunt is on
Producer Aditya Chopra and director Vijay Krishna Acharya are keen to cast a fresh face to play the female lead role in the movie for which a hunt is on.
Damascus, April 29: The Muslim Brotherhood called on Syrians to take to the streets ahead of Friday prayers and help the besieged city of Deraa, where a rights group said civilian deaths from a tank-backed army attack rose to 50.
It was the first time that the Brotherhood, ruthlessly crushed along with secular leftist movements under the rule of late President Hafez al-Assad, had called directly for protests in Syria since pro-democracy demonstrations against Assad’s son, President Bashar al-Assad, erupted six weeks ago.
Baghdad, April 29: A Sunni imam’s family and four Sunni brothers were killed in separate incidents in central Iraq early on Friday, just hours after a suicide bomber killed 10 Shiite worshippers in a nearby mosque.
The violence in restive Diyala province comes with months to go before US troops must withdraw, and as a series of American officials visited Baghdad to press Iraqi leaders to decide whether or not they want an extended US military presence.
Sholapur, April 29 (Siasat News): It is now very much confirmed that Islam is gaining momentum with every passing day and even the opponents of the religion, speak in its favour.
After Shankar Acharya’s historic address with an Islamic gathering, it was the turn of a Hindu Police Commissioner viz Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay of Sholapur, was invited by a Muslim organization to express his thoughts regarding Islam.
Hyderabad, April 29: “Student should move ahead by studying hard. Today whoever has progressed in any field and has set the world on fire it’s his great efforts behind his success. These views ere expressed by Mr. Zahid Ali Khan editor Siasat addressing the concluding session of the polytechnic entrance coaching conducted by Siasat at Mahboob Husain Jigar Hall Siasat premises Abids. He exhorted the students to benefit from the facilities provided to them.
Mumbai, April 29: Shaikh Yasmeen Bano, a key prosecution witness in the 2002 Best Bakery case, has moved the Bombay High Court alleging that she was “lured and misguided” by a social activist into giving false testimony against 17 accused persons, of which nine were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yasmeen filed the petition earlier this week, after no action was taken on her letter dated June 17, 2010 addressed to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
Hyderabad, April 29: The historic Makkah masjid building falls into a state of dilapidation thanks to the negligence of state government.
While chemical flooring was carried out on the roof of the historical Makkah masjid 20 years ago, with a guarantee of 5 years, no measures have been taken to protect the roof by carrying out chemical flooring for a second time.
Manama, April 29: People in Saudi Arabia have taken to the streets to protest against the violent Saudi-backed crackdown on Bahraini anti-government protesters.
Demonstrators in the eastern city of Qatif denounced Riyadh for backing Bahraini forces in destruction of mosques and holy sites, Media reported on Friday.
On March 13, Saudi Arabia deployed military forces in Bahrain upon Manama’s request to quell the nationwide protests.
Manama, April 29: Bahrainis have held a protest rally outside the Saudi embassy in London against the military intervention of Saudi Arabia in Bahrain to help the Persian Gulf regime’s crackdown on pro democracy demonstrators.
Participants in the rally hit out at the international community especially the western countries for turning a blind eye to the gross violation of human rights by the al-Khalifa regime in Bahrain voicing support for the pro democracy uprising in the country, Islamic Republic [of Iran] News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Ahmedabad, April 29: The UPA government or the Sonia-led Congress does not have the gumption to punish Narendra Modi.
Politicians often make loaded remarks to convey what they have in mind without spelling it out explicitly. However, when a country’s prime minister takes to such an exercise, it means he wants to say something specific but does not like to face the storm it might evoke.
Mumbai, April 29: Model-turned-actress Kavita Radheshyam, who will be seen in Vikram Bhatt’s forthcoming TV series Who Done It Uljhan, has gone nude to raise awareness on animal protection and prevention of cruelty towards them.
The actor, who will be seen in films Paanch Ghante Mein Paanch Crore and Om Allah, has gone nude for the cause.
As per reports, Kavita claims that posing nude is her way of expressing anger towards the cruelty on animals that takes place in India.
London, April 29: From St Andrews to the Abbey – a look back at the royal couple’s relationship from university to union.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding is the blossoming of a relationship that has spanned nearly a decade. Their romance started at St Andrews University where the pair arrived as freshers in September 2001.
With the agreement of the media William was allowed to lead a relatively private life at university. Away from the public eye his friendship with fellow history of art student Miss Middleton took shape.
Hyderabad, April 29: YSR Congress party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted that his foremost preference is educational and financial development of minorities and told that he would try to effectively implement the schemes which were launched by his father late Rajshekhar Reddy for promotion of minorities.
Talking to the Siasat in an exclusive interview, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who is in the fray for Kadapa lok sabha bye elections expressed contentment over the remarkable enthusiasm and complete support of minorities in the election campaign.
New Delhi, April 29: After the startling interview of Niels Christian Nielsen aka Kim Davy , the incharge of Purulia arms drop, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) asked Thursday if any Indian agency was involved in the 1995 arms drop in Purulia in West Bengal for which the Ananda Margis were blamed.
“The latest revelations on the arms drop are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilize the Left Front at that time,” the party said in a statement.
Islamabad, April 29: Pakistan today successfully tested the nuclear-capable Hatf-VIII or Raad cruise missile which has a range of 350 kms, the military announced.
The indigenously developed low-flying stealth design missile, which can carry a nuclear or a conventional warhead, was tested at an undisclosed location.
The Inter-Services Public Relations said the test of the missile Raad was successful.
The Raad, meaning thunder in Arabic, which was tested for the first time in August 2007, can be launched from combat aircraft.
-PTI
Manama, April 29: Four Bahrainis were sentenced to death, while three others got life term for killing two policemen.
The National Safety Court passed the death verdicts on Ali Al Sankees, Abdulaziz Hussain, Qassim Mattar and Saeed Abduljaleel. The court sentenced three others — Hussain Jafar Abdulkareem, Sadiq Ali Mahdi and Isa Abdullah Kadhem — to life in prison.
They were convicted of murdering policemen Kashef Ahmed Mandhour and Mahmoud Farooq Abdulsamad.
Mumbai, April 29: At the music release of Ready on Monday evening Zarine Khan clung to Salman’s side with single-minded determination while the film’s leading lady Asin maintained a discreet distance happy to let Ms Khan (who has only a guest appearance in the film) be the superstar’s arm-candy for the evening.
Everyone knows Salman Khan was in his element at the music release of Ready on Monday evening at Film City.