Month: September 2011

Hyderabad, September 23: Over 200 trains scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Telangana were cancelled in view of the two-day rail blockade called by Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) to demand separate statehood for the region, authorities said Thursday.

According to a statement from South Central Railway, 55 express and 88 passenger trains have been cancelled.

The railway authorities have also partially cancelled 63 trains, including 33 express trains. They have diverted 55 trains and rescheduled four, which pass through the region.

London, September 23: With former US President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky’s steamy affair grabbing headlines, Clinton had to face an impeachment with the Lewinsky scandal becoming a dark blot in his political journey. Latest news that has emerged suggest that Clinton had another secret affair with Eleanor Mondale, the daughter of former US vice president Walter Mondale. She is understood to have maintained a diary that gives intimate details of the said affair.

Gurgaon, September 23: The funeral of former Indian cricket captain and the last Nawab of Pataudi state, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, will be held at the family’s burial ground at Pataudi, 26 km from Gurgaon city, Friday afternoon.

Mansur Ali Khan was the last Nawab of Pataudi state. He held the title till 1971 when the central government abolished the princely purses and privileges system.

His family still has its palace in Pataudi town, much of which has been leased out to a leading heritage resort chain which runs a hotel there. A portion of the palace has been retained by the family.

Tehran, September 23: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lambasted the world’s bullying powers for taking the liberty of infringing on the rights of other nations.

Delivering an address to the UN General Assembly’s 66th annual session in New York on Thursday, Ahmadinejad said the bullying powers “seek their progress, affluence, and esteem in destruction, poverty, and humiliation of others.”

Mumbai, September 23: Shiv Sena on Thursday voiced its strong opposition to social activist Anna Hazare’s plans to visit Pakistan in connection with anti-corruption movement.

While speaking to a two-member delegation from Pakistan at his native village Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare had said he would like to go to Pakistan if “my visit is going to help the anti-corruption movement there”.

“Anna should have told the delegation that they should tell Pakistan to stop terrorism,” Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said here.

Jaipur, September 23: The Rajasthan government on Thursday issued a notification to constitute an inquiry commission headed by a retired judge of Rajasthan High Court Sunil Kumar Garg. The commission will probe the circumstances which led to the firing and loss of human lives and damage to public properties.

Nine members belonging to the minority community were killed and several injured in the recent Gopalgarh violence in Bharatpur district with leaders of various political parties blaming the district administration and police for the incident.

United Nations, September 23: S M Krishna, External Affairs Minister, met Hina Rabbani Khar, his Pakistani counterpart and exchanged pleasantries.

The brief encounter took place at the SAARC Foreign Ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly which is currently on here.

Krishna extended sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent floods in Pakistan during the meeting.

—PTI

Mumbai, September 23: BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad on Thursday said here that his party was against the use of allegations of human rights for helping the terrorists.

Addressing party workers after inaugurating the Mumbai unit of BJP’s Human Rights Cell, Prasad said the party always condemned genuine human right violations.

But, the practise of making human rights violation allegations to protect terrorists and criminals was needed to be dealt with “sternly”, he said.

New Delhi, September 23: “I am not a minor and do not need a lawyer”, Abid Hussain, one of the arrested accused in the Delhi High Court blast case, on Thursday told a court here before being remanded to NIA’s custody for 14 days.

Hussain, who was produced before Special NIA Judge H S Sharma, said during in-camera proceedings he was a major and did not need a lawyer to defend himself, sources said.

Hyderabad, September 23: Over 50,000 auto-rickshaws in the Telangana region would go off the roads for 48 hours from Friday mid-night.

The Telangana Auto Drivers Unions’ JAC has called for a 48-hour auto bandh to express solidarity with the Sakala Janula Samme, the general strike for the cause of Telangana.

Hyderabad, September 23: Tension prevailed for several hours at Koti circle when a Telangana activist climbed a hoarding and threatened to commit suicide if the Ministers from Telganana do not resign immediately.

The youth, identified as Srinivas, 24, hails from Manchiryala mandal in Adilabad district. He climbed on a 30-feet tall hoarding near Women’s College at Koti at about 10 am. He called up the news channels from his cell phone threatening that he would commit suicide if the Telangana ministers do not submit their resignations for the cause of Telangana and join the general strike.

Gangtok, September 23: A mild intensity earthquake of 3.9 magnitude hit Sikkim Thursday night, just four days after a powerful temblor hit the state, leaving behind a trail of deaths and devastations.

According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) sources, the quake measuring 3.9 magnitude in the Richter scale hit the state at 10.15 pm. The epicentre of the quake was in Sikkim, .

Panicked residents in the state capital came out of their homes during the tremor.

Mexico, September 23: Eleven more bodies were dumped on roads in and around Mexico’s eastern port city of Veracruz on Thursday, two days after 35 bodies were left under a busy underpass nearby, local officials said.

The grim discoveries came amid a spate of violence in Veracruz city and the eponymous state and coincided with a national meeting of prosecutors there.

On Thursday, police found bodies dumped in three areas of the city, including four on a road in the city center, according to an official from the state prosecutor’s office, who declined to be named.

Hyderabad, September 23: The Special Team of DCP South Zone on Thursday arrested a woman who used to cheat the innocent people on the pretext of black magic and magical cures.

The woman, Musheda Sultana, alias Baji, was arrested from her residence at Ghazibanda. Police have also seized the material that is normally used in performing black magic. A case has been registered and further investigations are on. (INN)

Chandigarh, September 23: The burial of former India captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who died in a Delhi hospital on Thursday, will take place at Pataudi village in Gurgaon district Friday afternoon.

“The burial will take place at 2.15 pm. I will be representing Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at the burial,” Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner P C Menna said.

He said the district administration is ready to make any arrangements in case VVIPs descend at village Pataudi.

“We are ready to put in place any arrangement to deal with the VVIP visits,” Meena said.

New Delhi, September 23: Days after he joined Twitter saying he was now in the “madhouse”, author Salman Rushdie may be realizing that the social media site can be just that.

On Wednesday, Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen got into a micro-blogging spat, with the Bangladeshi writer accusing him of “begging” for followers and chasing women.

“Salman Rushdie is begging everyone to follow him on Twitter. He’ll feel embarrassed if he doesn’t get a million followers,” she tweeted, adding, “Be aware of Salman Rushdie! He wants to get girls in his ‘whipped cream range’.”

London, September 23: Veteran actress Dame Helen Mirren admits the photograph of her in a red bikini while holidaying in Italy will always haunt her since it is a lie.

The 66-year-old actress was photographed wearing a red bikini while holidaying in Puglia, Italy, with her husband Taylor Hackford in 2008, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

New Delhi, September 23: Indian cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar described the demise of former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as a “terrible loss to cricketing world” which would be hard to fill.

Tendulkar paid tribute to Pataudi, saying that world cricket will badly miss a hero like him.

“It’s a terrible loss to the cricketing world. I had the privilege of meeting him on a few occasions. World cricket will miss a hero like him. I really respected him,” Tendulkar said in his condolence message.

United Nations, September 23: Amid a last-ditch American effort to head off a Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations, India has reiterated its absolute “unequivocal support” for a Palestinian state.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who arrived here Thursday to address the United Nations, sent a letter Sep 19 to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas assuring him of India’s full support at the UN, India’s permanent representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri , told the strong India media contingent present here.

Islamic housing is a blend of the belief system, teachings and values of Islam, and the prerequisites and influences of indigenous cultures, climates, topographies, building materials, talents, technologies, and economies. The former is characterized as universal, total, permanent, immutable, and absolute.

Hyderabad, September 23: Encouraged by the success of preventing Civil Supplies Minister D Sridhar Babu from addressing a press conference on Thursday, the Secretariat Employees JAC announced that henceforth, no Telangana minister will be allowed to function from their official chambers in the State Secretariat.

Ahmedabad, September 23: Two factions of the VHP clashed on Thursday over an SMS sent to one of the faction members taunting Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the presence of large number of Muslims in the Sadbhavana mission fasts.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha told The Indian Express that a VHP member, Alpesh Patel, had sent this SMS to another VHP member Narendra Kholia a couple of days back. Kholia apparently switched off his cellphone and did not communicate with Patel till they met on Thursday.

Islamabad, September 23: Two million Pakistanis have fallen ill from diseases since monsoon rains left the southern region under several feet of water, the country’s disaster authority said Thursday.

More than 350 people have been killed and over eight million people have been affected this year by floods that officials say are worse in parts of Sindh province than last year, when the country saw its worst ever disaster.

Kuala Lumpur, September 23: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday backed Pas’ intention to implement hudud in Kelantan.

He said that, in principle, the Islamic law could be implemented.

“Looking at specific areas, there is clear guarantee of an administration of justice and it does not, in any way, infringe on the rights of non-Muslims,” he said when met outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Jalan Duta.

The de facto PKR leader, however, said he was giving his views in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the opposition grouping, which includes Pas and DAP.

Mumbai, September 23: The Shiv Sena Thursday opposed social activist Anna Hazare’s plans to visit Pakistan to encourage anti-corruption activists there.

“Before accepting the invitation, Hazare should have told Pakistan to first stop terrorism (against India),” party MP Sanjay Raut told reporters here.

Raut said that though his party supported Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, it felt he should have told the Pakistanis who called on him to first tell their leaders to end terrorist activities in India.