Washington, December 09: Indian American lawyer Preeta Bansal, who was an adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign before serving in the administration, has been appointed to a key administration post.
Preeta Bansal has been appointed Member of the Advisory Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, the White House said in a statement, which also announced the appointment of Boris Bershteyn to the same position.
Hyderabad, December 09: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Thursday hailed the decision of Andhra Pradesh High Court granting bail to party’s politburo member Cheruku Sudhakar.
“The High Court has undone the injustice done by the State Government,” TRS MLA K Tarakarama Rao said while addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan. He said grant of bail to Cheruku Sudhakar clearly indicates that he was wrongly booked under the National Security Act by the State Government. He announced that the party would wage a legal battle against the government for misusing the NSA.
Hyderabad, December 09: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday granted bail to Telangana Rashtra Samithi politburo member Cheruku Sudhakar, who was detained for 12 months under the National Security Act, 1980.
Bangalore, December 08: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka Thursday evening demanded External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s resignation following the launch of a police probe into his alleged role in illegal mining when he was chief minister in 1999-2004.
‘Krishna should resign immediately,’ the party said in a statement here, pointing out that its first chief minister in the state B.S. Yeddyurappa quit ‘soon after’ the then Lokayukta (ombudsman) N. Santosh Hegde indicted him in illegal mining.
New Delhi, December 08: The Congress party began a series of briefings to its MPs on the suspended FDI in retail decision, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying the move could have helped contain inflation.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will follow suit with a briefing on Friday.
Mukherjee said that the FDI will bridge the gap between the farm-gate and the retail prices.
New Delhi, December 08: Telangana activists are eagerly waiting the birth day of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on December 9. It was on this day in 2009, Home Minister Chidambaram has announced that the Telangana process was set in motion. There were jubilations all over Telangana and people sang paeans of Sonia and said it was her birthday gift. Soon their adulation withered as the center withdrew from that stand on December 23.
New Delhi, December 08: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who turns 66 on Friday, will not be celebrating her birthday this time also to “avoid inconvenience to people”.
Like last year, keeping in view the inconvenience caused to people, Gandhi has appealed to party workers not to come to Delhi on her birthday, party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
She does not want people to take a lot of trouble and spend money to come all the way to Delhi from far off places to greet her, he said.
New Delhi, December 08: As debate rages on the issue of inclusion of the Prime Minister in the proposed Lokpal bill, a sizable section in the government is against the move, contending it was fraught with “dangerous consequences” for the country.
A Minister, who declined to be identified, said there was a likelihood of bringing the ‘C’ category employees “in some form” under the Lokpal.
New Delhi, December 08: As the debate goes on over bringing CBI under the ambit of proposed Lokpal, the investigating agency wants it should be given more functional autonomy and the process for selection of its chief should be made more “rigorous and transparent”.
The agency is making a strong pitch for ensuring that its legal authority and operational effectiveness are not diluted when the proposed Lokpal becomes a reality, CBI sources said.
New Delhi, December 08: Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to reveal next week the party’s strategy on the way ahead against the backdrop of FDI in retail put on hold and key allies calling for greater coordination in the UPA.
Party sources said Gandhi is likely to address a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) General body next week.
This will be the first CPP meeting being addressed by Gandhi in a few months as the Congress President had skipped the monsoon session on account of ill health.
Islamabad, December 08: “Pakistan does not have the same record so far as proliferation is concerned. Secondly, Pakistan has not voluntarily placed itself under the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency or the Nuclear Suppliers Group,”.
Smith said India will have to agree to a range of safeguards before shipments begin.
The Australian defense minister said he had assured Indian officials the new export policy did not extend to Pakistan.
Australia’s ruling Labor Party voted on Sunday to overturn a long-standing ban on uranium exports to India.
New Delhi, December 08: In a major embarrassment for parliamentary democracy, a scuffle broke out between Congress leader Rashid Alvi and Bharatiya Janata Party leader S.S. Ahluwalia in the parliament complex Thursday in full media view.
The two senior politicians were coming out of a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on unique identity number (UID), when Alvi alleged that Ahluwalia had leaked the committee report to the press.
Ahluwalia then tried to snatch Alvi’s mobile phone, and allegedly pushed him.
New Delhi, December 08: The Supreme Court on Thursday said contemptuous remarks against the judiciary will weaken the institution, though it was not averse to bonafide expression of opinion on corruption and its shortcomings if made with some basis.
The apex court said the judiciary was still one of the institutions which had “withstood all kinds of pressure” and has remained a strong pillar of democracy.
New Delhi, December 08: A Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam accused on Thursday sought bail from a court here on the ground of parity with the 2G spectrum scam case accused who were freed from jail on orders of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.
“Both the cases are related to allegations of financial irregularities. Both the cases are also similar in their alleged effect on society and causing loss to exchequer.
New Delhi, December 08: Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday demanded the resignation of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in the wake of registration of a case against him by Lokayukta Police, saying such a step would not be taken “without basic homework”.
“If this is based on sound preliminary enquiry then they ought to step aside. Lokayukta Police would not register an FIR without basic homework. This is why we must have sound and independent Lokayuktas in all states,” she told agency.
New Delhi, December 08: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday blamed Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments for lack of development in Bundelkhand and accused them of improper channelisation of funds meant for centrally-sponsored welfare schemes.
“Today poor people are aware. They know what is good or bad for them. The real problem or lacunae is that the government is not reaching you. Especially governments in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have such deficiency,” he said interacting with a group of people from Bundelkhand who told him about problems related to lack of development.
Hyderabad, December 08: “While under-nutrition affects the rural population, obesity affects the young and middle-aged in urban and semi-urban areas, who are among the most productive workforce in the country,” said Dr KS Lakshmi, as she presented a talk on obesity organised by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) here on Wednesday.
Mumbai, December 08: Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor, who is making her comeback on the silver screen after a hiatus, will be stepping in the shoes of veteran actress Hema Malini for the remake of Satte Pe Satta.
Reportedly, Vidya Balan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit were approached for the role essayed by Hema in the yesteryear hit.
“I am doing Satte Pe Satta. The film will start soon,” Karisma told reporters here, after announcing her association with oneline store – Babyoye.
Actor Sanjay Dutt will be playing the role of Amitabh Bachchan and will also produce the film.
Madina, December 08: The Ministry of Labor has given Umrah companies six months to Saudize the positions of their branch directors, supervisors and receptionists. The move follows a recent complaint to the Minister of Haj that many directors of Umrah companies are non-Saudis.
A source said that the Labor Ministry has urged all companies to follow the directive to Saudize the jobs issued by Crown Prince Naif, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior. The ministry has ordered the companies to draw up a short-term plan to replace foreign directors with Saudis.
–Agencies
Mumbai, December 08: German car major Audi Wednesday acknowledged the success of Bollywood blockbuster Bodyguard by presenting an Audi Q7 to Salman Khan.
Audi India head Michael Perschke handed over the keys of the sleek white SUV to Salman at a function here in celebration of “Bodyguard” emerging as one of the top Bollywood grossers of 2011.
“Both stars of the movie, Salman and Kareena Kapoor, had extensively used the Audi Q7 and Audi ASL to zoom around in Bodyguard,” said an official.
–Agencies
Beijing, December 08: In a bone-chilling incident in China, a father set his three-year old daughter on fire after dousing her with kerosene.
The man was enraged and was involved in an argument with his estranged wife. The man used to physically torture his wife regularly.
A Chinese website ChinaSmack reported that the girl suffered from 14 per cent burns (both third-degree and second-degree burns) on her body.
The little girl has been disfigured for life and her hands will not be able to function normally ever again.
–Agencies
Camp Adder (Iraq), December 08: There is almost nothing left of this sprawling military base near Nasiriyah, once a main hub for operations in southern Iraq, now reduced to more or less a fortified truck stop on the road to Kuwait.
Twelve thousand US troops were stationed here at the height of the Iraq war, with the usual complement of barracks, chow halls and other facilities. The military has dismantled most of these structures and shipped them out of the country, leaving behind kilometres of dusty lots surrounded by high concrete walls.
Mumbai, December 08: The annual poll’s findings reveal the Bollywood actors, whose films and songs have been consistently high on the most-downloaded charts, pointing to their levels of popularity among mobile users.
Kaif stayed on the top position for the third consecutive year, while Jacqueline Fernandez came fourth, pushing Priyanka Chopra to fifth.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan did not reflect in the top-five list. In the male actors category, Khan topped the list, as a lot of users downloaded his pictures from the last released film, Ra One.