Month: June 2011

Aussie soldier killed in Afghanistan

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Kabul, June 07: An Australian soldier has been killed during an operation in southern Afghanistan where a large cache of munitions belonging to militants was destroyed.

The casualty was the 27th Australian death in the Afghan conflict and the fourth in two weeks.

Australian Defense Force chief Marshal Angus Houston said early on Tuesday that the 23-year-old combat engineer was killed in Helmand province late on Monday.

Houston stated that the munitions cache included 70 anti-personnel mines, which are often used by insurgents to make improvised explosive devices.

Yemenis seek Saleh’s prosecution

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Sanaa, June 07: Yemenis have called for the prosecution of President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the killing of hundreds of anti-government protesters.

Celebrating Saleh’s departure, thousands of Yemenis gathered at Change Square in the capital of Sana’a on Monday, saying Saleh must be brought to justice for his crimes against humanity.

Forces loyal to Saleh killed hundreds of anti-government protesters and wounded many others since the beginning of anti-regime demonstrations in late January.

Girl molested, thrown out of car in Gurgaon

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Gurgaon, June 07: A 25-year-old girl was allegedly molested and then thrown out of a moving car near a mall in Gurgaon Monday night, officials said.

Police would conduct a medical examination to verify if the girl was raped. A manhunt has been launched for the accused, who reportedly belongs to a rich family from Gurgaon.

According to officials, the girl works with a property dealer in Gurgaon and had gone with the accused in his car to show him a flat in Delhi’s posh Vasant Kunj area.

Complete Aadhaar works by March next year: CM

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Hyderabad, June 07: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday directed the departments concerned to complete the work on Aadhaar cards in all the 23 districts by the end of March, 2012 ‘at any cost’.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to complete the work taken up in the seven districts in the first phase at the earliest.

Despite Azad’s statement, will go ahead with last Delhi trip: KK

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Hyderabad, June 07: Congress leader from Telangana K Kesava Rao on Monday brushed aside the hints given by Union Health Minister and Congress In-Charge for AP Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad that any solution to the contentious separate Telangana issue would not be forthcoming soon, by saying that the proposed ‘last trip to New Delhi’ on June 9 and 10 would go ahead as scheduled.

Licences for pets mandatory, Rs 1000 per female dog

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Hyderabad, June 07: Special cells will be formed on priority in all the Municipalities to notify and address the dog bite cases as per the Municipal Act which the state government was firm on implementing in view of the gravity of the situation.

The Municipal Administration Department is also contemplating to make it mandatory for pet dog owners to obtain license strictly on payment of Rs 50 each.

For female dogs the owners will have to pay Rs 1000.

Speaker aims to revolutionise House, Paperless Assembly by year-end

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Hyderabad, June 07: Newly elected Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Monday sought to bring in a revolutionary change in the way proceedings are conducted inside the House by setting a December-end deadline for a ‘paperless Assembly.’

In his first official meeting with the Assembly staff, Manohar, who is also presently the Chairman of the Legislature Committee on Wildlife Protection and Environment, said that the staff must ensure that his dream of turning the House into the country’s first ‘Paperless Assembly’ by December end turns into a reality.

No Trust fiasco leaves MLAs’ double standards exposed

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Hyderabad, June 07: The recent No Trust Motion notice, though skipped, glaringly exposed the double standards of the political leaders particularly that of the Congress leadership which had dramatically left out the burning issue which was raised indiscriminately in the recent past by YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

Having raised the issue, the Kadapa leader, known for his defiance and outspoken quality, remained stoical and silent which apparently irked Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who left no chance to highlight it and then blame the former.

Solution to T tangle not so soon, hints Azad

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New Delhi, June 07: Hinting that any solution to the contentious separate Telangana issue would not be forthcoming soon, Union Health Minister and Congress In-Charge for AP Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday expressed confidence that the state government would be able to tackle the impending threat of intensified agitations for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Namaste Telangana launched, aimed to counter distorted T image says KCR

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Hyderabad, June 07: Stating that it would truly be a ‘people’s newspaper’ to counter the ‘pro-Andhra media’, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday launched a new Telugu Daily, ‘Namaste Telangana at the Ravindra Bharati in the presence of media luminaries.

KCR told the gathering that the new daily is aimed to effectively counter the ‘distorted’ image of Telangana being presented by the existing newspapers in the state.

Traffic restrictions announced: Fish medicine

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Hyderabad, June 07: City Police Commissioner AK Khan on Monday ordered restrictions on traffic movement in view of the administration of fish medicine at the Exhibition Grounds, Nampally on June 8 and 9.

Mr Khan said that patients coming in four wheelers from the Public Gardens side for fish Medicine will park their vehicles at the Government Junior College for Girls, Nampally, and proceed on foot through the Ajanta Gate.

If the parking space at the Government Junior College for Girls, Nampally, is full, these vehicles will be parked at the Public Gardens.

PM defends Delhi police action against Ramdev and supporters

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New Delhi, June 07: Breaking his silence on the police action at Ramdev’s protest congregation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said it was “unfortunate” but unavoidable even as the political battle on the issue heated up with the BJP knocking at the President’s door demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss black money.

In his first comments on the issue, the Prime Minister Singh, who has been accused of mishandling the situation, said, “It is unfortunate that operation had to be conducted but quite honestly, there was no alternative.”

New Congress chief for Andhra Pradesh

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New Delhi, June 07: Seeking to put its house in order in Andhra Pradesh, Congress today appointed senior state minister Botsa Satyanarayana as PCC President.

Botsa is a member of influential Kapu community to which filmstar Chiranjeevi, who merged his Praja Rajyam Party with Congress, also belongs. Another senior minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, also belonging to the same community, was also in the running for the post of PCC chief.

Ramdev is a ‘mask’ for RSS, says Congress

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New Delhi, June 06: The Congress Monday accused yoga guru Baba Ramdev, whose fast against corruption and black money was forcibly ended after Saturday midnight, of being a mask for the rightwing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“He (Ramdev) is only a mask,” party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said at a party press briefing here.

Dwivedi also took a shot at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for staging an agitation at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, while they represented an ideology that was responsible for his assassination.

Woman refuses to accept talaq by post

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Ahmedabad, June 06: Shama Malek received a post from her husband which had ‘talaq’ written three times in it and the letter had signatures of two witnesses to process the divorce. However, she refused to accept this letter as divorce and instead approached the court demanding alimony from her husband.

From Guantanamo to Makkah

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The Grand Mosque in Makkah is a very long distance in every sense of the word from Camp Delta, the infamous US Navy detention center at the base at Guantanamo Bay, but life has its ironies and this one involves the journey made by former Guantanamo prison guard Terry Holdbrooks, who performed Umrah last week.

Hindi saves girl from flesh trade

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Mumbai, June 06: 17-year-old from Karnataka foiled an agent’s plan of selling her to a city brothel by pretending to not know the language and then raising an alarm on hearing about the deal

A 17-year-old Kannadiga’s presence of mind coupled with her knowledge of Hindi saved her from leading the life of a sex worker in Mumbai’s brothels.

In search of a job, Sapna reaches Bangalore where Santosh befriends her and promises her a job in Mumbai for a better pay.

Saudi bans men from lingerie shops

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Riyadh, June 06: King Abdullah has issued a decree limiting work in lingerie shops to Saudi women only in a bid to reduce high female unemployment in the conservative kingdom, state media reported Monday.

SPA news agency said the king also made employment at certain industrial facilities, including drug manufacturers, exclusive to Saudi women, and backed a programme to encourage production by families.

Election of speaker, deputy speaker undemocratic: Ashok Gajapati Raju

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Hyderabad, June 6: Election of speaker and deputy speaker by dividing the house indicates that the government’s belief in democracy has faded away. Declaring the incident occurred the day before as undemocratic Mr. Ashok Gajapati Raju said that the elections of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were against the established procedures.

Cops hit on our chests: Ramdev female supporters

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New Delhi, June 06: They are in hiding, but still in fear. An orphanage at 13 Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place has become an unlikely refuge for about twenty five female followers of Baba Ramdev. They claim they were manhandled by drunken police officers after they formed a human barrier to protect the yoga guru from the cops.

Promotion opportunities to disabled govt. employees

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Hyderabad, June 6: The State government would take effective measures to strictly implement Rule of Reservation in promotions to the disabled employees on par with the SC and ST employees in the State from next week. Minister for Women, Child, Disabled and Juvenile Welfare, Ms V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy assured this while speaking at a function organized by the State Differently Abled Employees’ Welfare Association here on Sunday.

Election of speaker and deputy speaker, proof of Jagan and Congress match fixing

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Hyderabad, June 6: The election of Congress candidates as speaker and deputy speaker has proved match fixing between Jagan and Congress. Addressing a press conference MLAs Mr. A Revanth Reddy and Mr. T Nageshwar Rao said that party is confident of winning the no confidence motion moved by TDP but the secret alignment between Jagan and Congress has now become public. They said that it was repeatedly claimed by Jagan that the government is at his mercy but by voting in favour of Congress candidate the day before he has proved that YSR Congress is not separate from Congress but is a part of it.

TDP corporators held in a bid to stop CM’s convoy

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Hyderabad, June 5: Sayeedabad police on Sunday arrested Telugu Desam corporators who were trying to stop Chief Minister Mr. N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s convoy.

Following the inauguration of E library at Chanrayangutta Barkas when chief minister’s convoy was to pass by Sayeedabad area on Sunday morning, TDP corporators led by TDP GHMC floor leader Mr. Sanghi Reddy, Srinivas Reddy tried to stop CM’s convoy while holding placards in their hands. They were demanding to provide ration cards and houses to poor as per the announcement made during Rachabanda.

Monsoon claims 23 lives in Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram, June 06: Heavy rains lashing many parts of Kerala have claimed 23 lives since the onset of south-west monsoon on May 27, besides causing large-scale loss to crop and property, officials said today.

Most casualties, mainly due to drowning in swelling rivers and flash floods, were reported from Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.

With water level increasing at Kuttanad, the state’s rice bowl, in Alappuzha district in central Kerala, many low laying places were now under threat of flood, they said.

Water has also entered some houses in low lying areas.