Month: December 2011

Abuja, December 02: As many as 44 Nigerian pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia during the annual Haj pilgrimage, the National Haj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Thursday confirmed.

National Commissioner in-charge of Policy, Personnel Management and Finance at NAHCON Yusuf Ibrahim confirmed the deaths to reporters in Abuja.

“I can confirm to you that the number of deaths of Nigerian pilgrims as on today (Dec 1) is 44,” Xinhua quoted him as saying. But he did not reveal the deaths’ cause.

Hyderabad, December 02: All opposition parties on Thursday staged a walkout from the State Legislative Council in protest against the hike in property tax in municipalities and municipal corporations.

Hyderabad, December 02: Primary Education Minister S Sailajanath on Thursday took serious objection over the Telugu Desam Party obstructing the condolence motion meant to pay tributes to Mahbubnagar MLA N Rajeshwar Reddy on the first day of assembly session.

London, December 02: A Christian worker in Britain has filed a lawsuit after losing her job when she exposed a campaign of systematic harassment by fundamentalist Muslims.

In a landmark legal case, Nohad Halawi, a former employee at London’s Heathrow Airport, is suing her former employer for unfair dismissal, claiming that Christian staff members, including her, were discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.

New Delhi, December 02: A Sikh pilot and a crew member of a Jet Airways flight were asked to take off their turbans during a security check at Milan airport before the plane could leave for Delhi, despite the Italian government’s promise against continuation of such practice.

Taliban London, December 02: A US aid worker has been held hostage by Al-Qaeda, the terror group’s chief Ayman al-Zawahiri stated Thursday in a video.

Warren Weinstein was kidnapped from Pakistan’s Lahore city by armed men, the Guardian reported.

Al-Qaeda abducted the elderly USAID contractor Aug 13. Zawahiri, in the video, termed him being “neck-deep in American aid to Pakistan”.

Hyderabad, December 2: According to the press note of Urdu academy Andhra Pradesh the last date for online submission of applications for the scholarships for the year 2011-12 provided by the state government to the Urdu medium students has been extended to December 15.

Urdu medium post matric (from intermediate to PhD) and pre-matric (from II to X) students can submit their applications online at apsmfc.com and uaap.in till December 15.

Kabul, December 02: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered the release of a rape victim who was jailed for adultery after being raped.

The president’s office said Thursday that the woman, named Gulnaz, and her attacker have agreed to marry.

Gulnaz was sentenced to 12 years in prison after reporting that a relative had raped her.

Karzai announced her pardon after a meeting with judiciary officials and receiving a petition for her release with nearly 5,000 signatures.

The woman has been raising a child she had by her attacker while in a Kabul prison.

Hyderabad, December 02: The State Government will submit a comprehensive report to the Centre on the drought situation in the State in the next 15 days.

Making a statement in the State Legislative Council on Thursday, Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy said that the enumeration of the affected farmers of both, agriculture and horticulture crops, was in the advanced stage of completion. Enumeration work has been completed in about 10 districts. Computerisation of list of beneficiaries of the affected farmers was in progress.

SAN ANTONIO,December 02 :(Thanks NYTIMES)The call came into the behavior specialists here from a doctor in Afghanistan. His patient had just been through a firefight and now was cowering under a cot, refusing to come out.
Multimedia.At War Blog: As Soldiers Leave Iraq, Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Stay (December 1, 2011)

Post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. Specifically, canine PTSD.

Mumbai, December 02: After the Censor board raised objection to the use of the word ‘sex’ in the forthcoming Kareena-Imran starrer ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’, necessary change has been made.

The board had asked producer Karan Johar to remove the ‘s’ word from ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’ trailer, so as to qualify for U-certificate.

Written and directed by debutant Shakun Batra, the film pairs Imran and Kareena for the first time.

But Karan got his own back yesterday. Talking about the issue, he said, “Censor and I have the same problem…we both don’t have sex life.”

Hyderabad, December 2: Masjid Hayat Bakshi Begum has the privilege to be the most beautiful and the magnificent among the tombs and the mosques constructed from the early days of Sultan Quli Qutub Shah’s period i.e. from 1518 to the last period of Qutub Shahi regime i.e. till Aurangzeb Aalamgeer laid a siege to Golconda for the second time. It is the finest piece of architecture with its beautiful carvings and well-shaped minarets. The azure coloured floral design on its roof looks so fresh as if someone has painted it just the day before.

Kolkata, December 02: The Dalai Lama on Thursday said he considered himself as a “son” of India and he carried the message of ahinsa wherever he went.

Addressing students in Kolkata, the Tibetan spiritual leader said wherever he goes he carries the message of ahinsa and the country’s spiritual leaders should promote love and religious harmony in India and outside.

“I consider myself as a son of India,” he said.
I consider myself as a son of India: Dalai Lama

Nagpur, December 02: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev lashed out at the ruling government for allowing 51 percent FDI in retail sector saying that UPA leaders were speaking like middleman for foreign retail companies like Walmart, Tesco.

Ramdev also criticised prime minister Manmohan Singh saying that he was speaking like the “president of Walmart”.

Hyderabad, December 02: Following the arrest of senior IAS officer Y Srilakshmi by the Central Bureau of Investigation for her alleged role in the Obulapuram Mining Corporation’s illegal mining case, the state government on Thursday issued orders suspending her from the services.

Basti, Uttar Pradesh, December 02: In a unique protest, a snake charmer on Wednesday came to the Haraiya tehsil headquarters, opened his basket and released nearly 100 poisonous snakes, causing a virtual stampede among the staff.

The snake charmer alleged that the tehsil staff were asking bribes for him to transfer a plot of land in his name, but the poor man was not in a position to give bribe.

He decided to teach the corrupt staff a lesson.

Hyderabad, December 02: The Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly on Thursday paid rich tributes to Mahbubnagar MLA S Rajeshwar Reddy who passed away on October 30 due to cardiac arrest.

Moving the condolence motion on the first day of winter session of legislative assembly, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy lauded the services rendered by Rajeshwar Reddy in serving the people of his constituency. He said that Rajeshwar Reddy was instrumental in taking up several developmental works in Mahbubnagar district.

Hyderabad, December 02: As expected, the 5-day winter session of the State legislative assembly began here on Thursday on a stormy note.

Action started an hour before the beginning of the assembly session. TDP MLAs Gali Muddu Krishnamma Naidu, Dhulipala Narendra and Mutkupalli Narsimhulu served notices of No Confidence Motion, as per the rules, to Assembly Secretary Raja Sadaram.

New Delhi, December 01: Overturning its two key decisions within a day, the Parliamentary panel examining the Lokpal Bill on Thursday favoured exclusion of group C officials from Lokpal and not to tamper with the present selection process of CBI Director despite opposition by at least 10 members.

A day after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Law and Justice had finalised its report on the Lokpal Bill, its Chairman Abhishek Singhvi called an emergency meeting this evening to discuss the two issues afresh.

Chennai, December 01: AIADMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Thursday said her party MPs will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi Friday and submit a memorandum pertaining to Kerala government’s stand on Mullaperiyar Dam.

In a statement issued here, Jayalalithaa said: ‘As the Kerala government is blowing up the issue, a delegation of Members of Parliament belonging to AIADMK will be led by M. Thambidurai to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday morning at 11.30 a.m. and submit a memorandum.’

Kolkata, December 01: Six people including two women, were arrested for running a sex racket in the city Thursday, police said, adding that a woman, being trafficked out of the city, was also rescued.

‘Six people were arrested in the afternoon today for running a sex racket from a house under the Garfa police station in South Kolkata. The persons arrested includes Sunil and his wife who ran the racket while the others were accomplices. A woman who was purportedly trafficked outside the city has been rescued,’ Joint Commissioner of Crime, Damayanti Sen told IANS.

Mumbai, December 01: Sunny Leone knows that she has a language problem but still agreed to work in “Jism 2”, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt says, adding “she categorically told me that choosing to be a porn star was her personal choice”.

“She is well aware that language could act as barrier, but is ready to put in that extra effort. She has agreed to do ‘Jism 2’, which will be made under Pooja Bhatt’s banner, Fish Eye Network. Now they will work out things with Sunny’s agent and work out the nitty-gritties,” the 61-year-old told after his brief visit into the “Bigg Boss 5” house.

New Delhi, December 01: In a significant move ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress Thursday said the government was working speedily to give reservation to minorities within the OBC quota.

Congress spokesman Raashid Alvi said here that the party had mentioned in its election manifesto of 2009 too that it had pioneered reservations in government jobs and educational institutions for minorities in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on the basis of their social and economic backwardness and was committed to adopting the measure at the national level.

Mumbai, December 01: HIV-infected people like Hasina only makes us realise on World AIDS Day that the stigma surrounding people with HIV has not yet reached the ‘zero level’ marked by UN.

“My in-laws have been trying to take over my house since my husband died of HIV-AIDS. I am undergoing ART medication for HIV infection. My in-laws started beating me with sharp objects in the night on the 28th. I was being admitted to JJ hospital. But my in-laws got bail,” says Hasina who carried the electricity bill issued against her name with her.

Srinagar, December 01 : Lawyers in Kashmir Thursday boycotted courts for the day protesting the proposed amendment to the Ranbir Penal Code, special to Jammu and Kashmir, to provide immunity to the army during its operations in the state.

Work in the local courts remained suspended Thursday as members of the Kashmir bar association stayed away in daylong protest against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement that the Criminal Procedure Code would be amended to provide immunity to the army during its anti-militancy operations in the state.