Tokyo, August 17: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 jolted eastern Japan on Wednesday, public broadcaster NHK said.
The quake, which struck at 9:23 a.m. (0023 GMT), was also felt in Tokyo.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued, NHK said.
–Agencies
Hyderabad, August 17: The Telangana movement received a setback on Tuesday, as 10 Congress ministers who had resigned to push the statehood demand, returned to their posts. On Tuesday, nine Telangana ministers attended the cabinet meeting called by chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy at his camp office at Begumpet.
On July 4, 47 Congress legislators, including 11 ministers, had resigned. So did 11 parliamentarians, including one from the Rajya Sabha. All the resignations were rejected on technical grounds.
Hyderabad, August 17: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has blamed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for demolition of portions of Devdi Mehdi Nawaz Jung, a Grade-I notified heritage building.
“It is the responsibility of the GHMC to maintain and protect heritage structures as per government orders,” said HMDA officials and urged GHMC authorities to take stringent action, including criminal proceedings, against the culprits.
New Delhi, August 17: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev will meet President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Wednesday to submit a memorandum against the arrest of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare. Ramdev will meet the president at 11.45 a.m., said a statement from the guru. He will then go to Tihar Jail to meet Hazare, it added.
Hazare was jailed here Tuesday ahead of his fast for an effective anti-corruption law.
Ramdev supported the activist’s previous protest here at Jantar Mantar.
Ahmedabad, August 17: For Dr Bhramarlal Joshi (Mewada), 81, marriage is welcome no matter what your age. On Tuesday, Joshi, a former lecturer in Sanskrit, tied the knot with a 61-year-old spinster, Pramodini Paranjpe.
While Dr Joshi is from Ahmedabad, Paranjpe (now Mrs Joshi) used to live with her nephew and his wife in Vadodara. Dr Joshi and Paranjpe met and married through the organisation, Bina Mulya Amulya Sewa, run by Natu and Sheela Patel.
Dubai, August 17: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan received the Islamic Personality of the Year award from His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Shaikh Khalifa was selected for the coveted award by the Dubai International Holy Quran award (DIHQA) in its 15th edition.
Islamabad, August 17: Twelve people have been killed in fresh cases of shooting in the violence-plagued city of Karachi after a few days of relative calm, according to reports yesterday.
Influential Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party said one of its workers and a sympathiser were among the victims and demanded swift action by the law enforcement agencies to arrest the culprits.
New Delhi, August 17: Two promoters of a Faridabad-based private firm, wanted by CBI for allegedly using their links with sacked CWG committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi to secure a lucrative contract for a Swiss firm, on Tuesday surrender before a Delhi court.
Promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International, A K Madan and Purshottam Arya, evading arrest since February this year and declared proclaimed offenders, surrendered before Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh who remanded the duo to judicial custody.
Hyderabad, August 17: Mild tension prevailed at Chandrayanagutta and Barkas for some time on Tuesday morning when the town planning officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) made a vain bid to demolish a residential-cum-commercial building belonging to Mohammed Pahelwan at Chandrayangutta crossroads in old city.
Pahelwan is the key accused in the attack on MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi recently.
Washington, August 17: The American military acknowledges that it has launched two unilateral airstrikes in Iraq in June, almost a year after President Barack Obama declared an end to the US combat mission in the country.
The spokesman for the US military in Iraq, Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan, said on Tuesday that the air raids had been carried out against militants targeting American troops, AFP reported.
Bhopal, August 17 (Pervez Bari): In a chilling incident a Muslim woman RTI, (Right to Information), activist Ms Shehla Masood was shot dead from point blank range by unidentified person here in broad day-light in Bhopal.
According to police she was shot dead at about 11.30 am (IST) when Ms Shehla, was leaving for her office from her residence in posh Koh-e-Fiza facility in her car. She was found slumped in the driver seat by her relatives with bullets piercing her neck. According to her aged aunt Rubab Zaidi was entering her car to leave for office when she was shot by a person.
Bhopal, August 17 (Pervez Bari): A high level probe has been demanded into the root cause of the violence following stone-pelting incident in Itwara locality of Bhopal wherein tensions ran high as Muslims and Kanjars came face to face in the wee hours of August 11. The incident flared up following mud splashing incident from a bike.
Bhopal, August 17 (Pervez Bari): The Social Democratic party of India, (SDPI), has condemned the arrest of Anna Hazare and his colleagues and questioned the Union Government that the democratic right to protest is being curtailed.
Bhopal, August 17 (Pervez Bari): More than 150 survivors of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the World’s worst industrial disaster, on Tuesday went to the Madhya Pradesh Governor’s residence and demanded immediate release of activist Anna Hazare and his aides and restoration of the constitutional rights of protesters against corruption.
The survivors, who were led by five NGOs working for their welfare, demanded a strong Lokpal bill and also handed over a memorandum addressed to the President of India to the authorized representative of the governor.
Hyderabad, August 17: It is a glimmer of hope, yes; but not all that is required. That is what the boys wrongly implicated in the Makka Masjid blast case think of the compensation recommended by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).
The real compensation, they feel, would be to punish the cops who tortured and subjected them to third degree methods.
New Delhi, August 17: Despite being offered release, Anna Hazare spent the night in Tihar Jail refusing to come out insisting on an unconditional release and permission to launch his fast at Jai Prakash Narain Park.
The Gandhian’s aide Manoj Sisodia came out of the jail last night and said Mr. Hazare told the authorities that he will come out of the prison only after a written unconditional permission is given to continue his fast at J.P. Park, where he was to launch his hunger strike on Tuesday.
Hyderabad, August 17: Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved reports of two expert committees and also the CBI that probed the helicopter crash in Nallamala forest in which the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed on September 2, 2009.
The probes concluded that the crash of Bell 430 chopper carrying Reddy was “purely an accident” and ruled out any sabotage though they pointed to “negligence” on part of some officials of AP Aviation Corporation Ltd (APACL).
Hyderabad, August 17: The West Zone team of the Commissioner’s Task Force on Tuesday arrested a notorious rowdy sheeter, Syed Osman, and foiled a murder conspiracy.
According to police, Syed Osman is the rowdy sheeter of Habeebnagar Police Station and was a member of gangster Khaiser’s gang.
In November last year, Ibrahim, Khaiser, Abdullah alias Chaush, Osman, Majeed and others killed one Fazal, a rowdy sheeter of Panjagutta PS and co-brother of gangster Ayub Khan due to gang rivalry between Khaiser and Ayub Khan.
Hyderabad, August 17: Telangana Political Joint Action Committee Chairman Prof M Kodandaram on Tuesday called upon people of region to make the general strike to be launched at Indira Park on Wednesday morning a grand success.
Washington, August 17: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday acknowledged that ally Pakistan keeps ties with anti-India terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba, but said Washington had “no choice” but to maintain its relations with Islamabad if it has to fight al Qaeda in the region.
In possibly the first such hard-hitting statement on Pakistani establishment’s links with terror networks by a top US official of the level of Defense Secretary, Panetta said the US is concerned by this and such issues make ties with Islamabad “complicated”.
Hyderabad, August 17: Speaker Nadendla Manohar on Tuesday served notices to suspended senior TDP leader Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy and his party colleague Harishwar Reddy under violation of Privilege Rights of House.
Seeking explanation from them within a week, the Speaker asked them as to why they lodged a police complaint against him under ‘missing man’ at Saifabad police station when he went to attend Common Wealth Speaker’s conference in London.
Hyderabad, August 17: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) plans to double the Property Tax collection by the end of current fiscal.
Hyderabad, August 17: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday warned the government of serious consequences if it takes action against those expressing solidarity with civil activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
Bhopal, August 17: A prominent Right to Information activist and supporter of social activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign was shot dead outside her residence in Bhopal on Tuesday morning.
Shehla Masood was shot dead by an unidentified assailant outside her house in the city’s posh Koh-e-Fiza locality as she was on her way to an anti-corruption campaign being organised by her and other activists in support of Mr. Anna Hazare at the Bhopal Boat Club.
Riyadh, August 17: Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will “soon” return to his country from Saudi Arabia, despite growing protests by the Yemeni people demanding him to step down.
In a speech from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, aired on Yemen’s state television on Tuesday, Saleh said to his supporters that he would see them “soon in the capital Sana’a,” AFP reported.