Month: June 2011

Cairo, June 29: Egyptian security forces have fired tear gas on around 3,000 protesters, including family members of those who were killed in the popular uprising early this year, leaving several injured.

A thick cloud of tear gas engulfed Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the massive protests that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak, as agitators were last evening seen running and covering their faces to protect themselves from lachrymatory agent’s irritation.

Kabul, June 29: Pakistan on Tuesday called for the “blame game” to stop as the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan met to discuss security in the region amid a Taliban insurgency and heightened tensions over cross border shelling.

President Hamid Karzai has condemned the firing of 470 rockets from Pakistan into Afghanistan over the past three weeks. Islamabad says only that “a few accidental rounds” may have crossed the border when it pursued militants who had attacked its security forces.

Venenzuela, June 29: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has appeared on television for the first time since his surgery in Cuba, dismissing recent US claims that he is in critical condition.

Venezuela and Cuba released new photographs and video footage of the 56-year-old president on Tuesday, walking with Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, AFP reported.

Chavez had not made a public appearance since June 10, when he went to the Cuban capital Havana to have a pelvic swelling removed.

Ankara, June 29: Almost a third of Turkish parliamentarians have boycotted their swearing-in ceremony to protest the detention of eight newly-elected lawmakers in connection with an alleged coup plot.

The lawmakers have been detained as part of an investigation into Ergenekon, an alleged nationalist network accused of hatching a plot to bring down the government, DPA reported on Tuesday.

Washington, June 29: Two senior US military commanders on Tuesday told Congress that Pakistanis are aware of Mullah Omar’s whereabouts in Pakistan.

The duo added that Islamabad is paying no heed to the requests made by the United States to locate him.

Vice Admiral William McRaven and Lieutenant General John Allen are now given the responsibility of watching over all US military operations in the Pak-Afghan region.

“Do we believe Mullah Omar is there with the knowledge of the ISI and the upper echelons of the Army?” asked Senator Lindsey Graham.

Islamabad, June 29: Slain al-Qaeda-linked militant commander Ilyas Kashmiri “may also have been part” of the Mumbai attacks but India’s claim that he may have been supported by Pakistan is misplaced, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.

Malik claimed he had confirmation that Kashmiri had been killed in a US drone attack on June 3.

Malik said the Mumbai attacks were carried out by non-state actors and “used against Pakistan”.

Hyderabad, June 29: A day after Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav’s niece Mayuri died under suspicious circumstances, forensic experts of the Osmania General Hospital who conducted post-mortem said prima facie, it was a case of suicide.

Kabul, June 29: NATO helicopters fired rockets at gunmen on the rooftop of a besieged Kabul hotel early Wednesday, ending a more than four-hour standoff between militants and police that left at least seven dead and eight others wounded, Afghan officials said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said six suicide bombers attacked the Inter-Continental hotel frequented by Afghan officials and foreign visitors. He said two were killed by hotel guards at the beginning of the attack and four others either blew themselves up or were killed in the airstrike or by Afghan security forces.

Hyderabad, June 29: The Telangana issue is occupying the centre-stage once again.With Telangana Congress leaders setting June 30 as the deadline for the party high command to take a decision in favour of a separate state, mercury is rising in the political barometer.

This apart, the recruitment of sub-inspectors of police in Hyderabad is also brewing into a political storm since Telangana leaders demand that Hyderabad be declared a part of Zone VI before the written examination is conducted.

Hyderabad, June 29: In a statement loaded with political significance, PRP chief Chiranjeevi on Tuesday said people wanted to see him as the chief minister of the state.

Chiranjeevi, answering a question while participating in a private function here, said: “Where is the need for me to act in the role of a chief minister in a film at a time when the people wanted to see me as chief minister in real life.” Considered a Freudian slip, the PRP chief’s statement may not go down well in the Congress circles since his party is yet to officially merge in the Congress.

New Delhi, June 29: Under attack from civil society activists, the media and some of his own party members, over perceived communication gap over critical issues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided on a media outreach plan that kicks off with a meeting with some senior editors Wednesday.

The prime minister will meet a group of editors of regional and national dailies Wednesday, government sources told.

Pune, June 29: In a scathing attack on the Central Government, social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday said it consists of people “who are drunk with power”.

The Gandhian was reacting to a query on whether he would be compelled to undertake a fast unto death in the absence of a positive response from the government in incorporating the provisions suggested by the civil society in drafting a strong Lokpal bill, widening its scope and purview.

New York, June 29: Mahatma Gandhi-led Salt Satyagraha during India’s independence movement has been named among the 10 most influential protests in the world by America’s prestigious Time magazine.

In March 1930, Gandhi embarked on a 24-day march from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad to the small seaside town of Dandi, attracting followers along the way.

The assembled throngs watched as he and dozens of others dipped into the sea to produce salt.

Riyadh, June 29: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference, an umbrella organisation representing 57 Muslim nations, says it has changed its name to better reflect the group’s international role.

A statement from the Saudi-based group says it will henceforth be known as the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation. It will retain the same acronym OIC.

OIC says the members’ foreign ministers endorsed the change of the name during a meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, today.

Amsterdam, June 29: The Dutch parliament passed a bill Tuesday banning the slaughter of livestock without stunning it first, removing an exemption that has allowed Jews and Muslims to butcher animals according to their centuries-old dietary rules.

If enacted and enforced, religious groups say observant Jews and Muslims would have to import meat from abroad, stop eating it altogether, or leave the Netherlands.

Manama, June 29: The Bahraini regime has released 20 more medical professionals accused of anti- state activities but vows that they would soon face military trials.

Military trials of 48 doctors and paramedics that were detained during a brutal crackdown on massive Bahraini protests in March are to continue, even though all but 14 of them have now been released, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

While welcoming the move, lawyers for the imprisoned doctors and nurses view the release with suspicion.

Manama, June 29: Saudi forces are reportedly to withdraw from Bahrain after four months of aiding the Manama regime in cracking down on protesters.

Around 1,000 Saudi military and police forces were deployed in Bahrain together with forces from the United Arab Emirates in mid-March.

The deployment took place upon Bahrain’s request to help Manama crush the popular revolution it has been facing since mid-February.

“The Saudi troops will be withdrawn starting on Monday,” a source within the Bahraini government said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Hyderabad, June 29: Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Tuesday revealed that the PCC, on behalf of the ruling Congress, would appeal to the state government to share the burden of increase in prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

Talking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, Mr Satyanarayana said that the steep hike in LPG prices will affect the poor and middle classes. “In this context, the PCC will appeal to the government to share the burden,” he said.

Hyderabad, June 29: Denying the allegations levelled against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy that he had ‘made’ Rs 100 crore from the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project, two Ministers from Telangana on Tuesday lashed out against Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao and Telangana Political Joint Action Committee convenor M Kodandaram for their comments.

Hyderabad, June 29: Major Industries Minister J Geetha Reddy on Tuesday criticised Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao and Telangana Political Joint Action Committee convenor M Kodandaram for alleging that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had received Rs 100 crore as ‘kickbacks’ for giving the nod to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project.

Dr Geetha Reddy, speaking to media persons at the Secretariat and later at the Gandhi Bhavan, maintained that it was not proper to level charges that Rs 100 crore was received by the Chief Minister as kickbacks.

Hyderabad, June 29: Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Tuesday defended the statement issued by Nalgonda MP Komatireddy Rajagopal that Congress will bite the dust in Telangana region if it fails to take a favourable decision on the Telangana statehood demand.

Talking to media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, the PCC chief stated that Mr Komatireddy Rajagopal has expressed the sentiments of the people of the region on Telangana and he saw nothing wrong in the statement.

Hyderabad, June 29: Advising Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to fill the four lack vacancies instead of concentrating on the ‘Yuva Kiranulu,’ Telugu Desam Party politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Tuesday criticised both Central and State government for their failure in eradicating poverty in the country.

Mr Ramakrishnudu however did not elaborate on how the governments could eradicate poverty without launching employment generation schemes such as the ‘Yuva Kiranalu’.

Hyderabad, June 29: The Chief Minister on Tuesday gave the green signal for the construction of three new ports in Srikakulam district, another one in Narsapur of West Godavari district, besides nodding for the sanction of Rs 300 crore for the Tirupati International Airport.

The Chief Minister, at a review meeting on Ports and Airports at the Secretariat on Tuesday, approved three ports to be built in Bheemunipatnam, Kalingapatnam and Vamanapadu in Srikakulam and another in Narsapur in West Godavari district.

Hyderabad, June 29: Minister for Ports and Airports Komatireddy Venkatareddy on Tuesday asserted that Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal was gradually losing his senses as evident from his absurd comments on the deletion of Clause 14 F of the Presidential Order and the separate Telangana issue.

Talking to media persons at the Secretariat after attending a review meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr Venkatareddy said that Hyderabad city is part of Zone Six and efforts were on to materialize deletion of Clause 14 F.

Hyderabad, June 29: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will leave for New Delhi on Wednesday where he is likely to discuss some very crucial matters on hand with the Congress High Command.

Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy is likely to meet the Central leadership in New Delhi and seek its consent for the much delayed Cabinet expansion, deletion of Clause 14 F, merger of the Congress and the Praja Rajyam Party and the PRP members’ induction into the Cabinet.