Month: January 2012

Riyadh, January 29: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti (religious chief) has launched a virulent attack on the social networking site Twitter, saying it has become a platform for promoting lies, newspapers in the Gulf Kingdom reported on Sunday.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh, in a Friday prayers sermon, was referring to what he described as countless Fatwas (Islamic edicts) by Moslem scholars from Saudi Arabia and other countries.

He said those scholars are promoting false allegations, issuing erroneous fatwas and attacking venerated religious and social personalities.

Dubai, January 29: An Asian housemaid admitted to the Public Prosecution to have indulged in adultery even as the person involved in the crime said she was his girlfriend.

According to a report in ‘Al Khaleej’, the owner of the house had complained to police that a stranger had entered his house at about 3am and that his cook had seen the accused while he escaped by jumping over the fence. Unfortunately, in his attempt to flee the place, he left behind his passport, which led to his arrest.

Tokyo, January 29: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has urged the eurozone countries to restrain their debt crisis quickly, calling the crisis the biggest threat to global economy.

“It is indeed the major source of risks for the global economy,” Noda said, speaking via video link from Tokyo to Davos forum in Switzerland.

“Within the eurozone there should be major steps to alleviate the concerns of the international community and the markets,” he added.

Hyderabad, January 29 (INN): The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested Emaar Hills and Township CEO Vijaya Raghavan in the Emaar-APIIC scam.

Vijaya Raghavan was taken into custody when he came to the Dilkusha Guest House after being summoned by the CBI. He was questioned for a few hours and was later arrested. He was later produced before the Special CBI Court which sent him to judicial remand till January 30. On court’s direction, he was later shifted to Chanchalguda Central Prison.

Unnao/Hardoi, January 29: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed both Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati for “gross neglect” of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress general secretary who was on a whirlwind tour of a series of state assembly constituencies in Unnao and Hardoi districts, adjacent to Lucknow, projected his party’s efforts for the welfare of the community, especially stopping in Muslim-dominated pockets.

Tehran, January 29: War planners at the Pentagon are stepping up efforts to make the largest conventional bomb more powerful in order to use against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, was specifically designed to take out the facilities built by Iran deep underground for its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Kolkata, January 29: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said he wants the talks between the state and central governments on the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the valley to be speeded up.

“I would like to see things move a little faster. But these things have a life of their own, a time of their own as these are not the only issues in front of the ministry of defence.”

Indore, January 29: Dismissing BJP’s promise of constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya as a poll gimmick, the Congress on Saturday accused the saffron party of trying to foment communal trouble, along with RSS, in run-up to the Assembly elections.

BJP in its poll manifesto for Uttar Pradesh has promised of constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya, an issue which had once propelled the party to the centrestage of national politics.

Mumbai, January 29: Ooh La La girl Vidya Balan took tips from her sister Priya, who was pregnant, while shooting for Sujoy Ghosh’s film Kahaani.

“Vidya was very keen to get all the nuances right of a pregnant woman. And it was sheer coincidence that during the same time, her sister was also pregnant. So, whenever she would get time, Vidya talked to her and also observed her mannerisms, movements and moods during pregnancy”, a source close to Vidya told HT City.

Basara, January 29 (INN): Lakhs of devotees along with wards thronged the Gnana Saraswati Temple at Basara in Adilabad district to perform `Aaksharabhyasam’ ritual to mark Vasant Panchami.

The devotees, after taking a holy dip in the river Godavari, made a beeline to the temple right from the wee hours of Saturday. Special pujas were performed at the temple and Vyasa Maharshi temple on the banks of Godavari seeking blessing of Goddess Saraswati.

Hyderabad, January 29 (INN): Telugu Desam party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday called upon people not to become slaves to the habit of liquor consumption.

Hyderabad, January 29: Minority Welfare Minister Syed Mohammad Ahmedullah halted the decision of giving a building on lease by the waqf board in Abids. He issued stay order on the file of the decision taken by waqf board in this connection and directed to issue show cause notice to the board.

Washington, January 29 : Defence secretary Leon Panetta acknowledged publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the US in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May.

Panetta told CBS’s 60 Minutes, in a programme to be broadcast tomorrow, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on Osama’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Hyderabad, January 29 (INN): City-based Confederation of Voluntary Organisations (COVA) will launch a two-month long campaign ‘Movement for Activation of Area Sabhas and Ward Committees’ on Tuesday, 31 January from 2 pm to 4 pm at Press Club, Basheer Bagh, here.

Mr. J. M. Lyngdoh, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Justice A. Lakshmana Rao, former Chief Justice, A.P. and Allahabad High Courts, Prof. Fatima Ali Khan, president, Apna Watan, Sardar Nanak Singh Nishter, president, COVA, will grace the occasion.

Hyderabad, January 29 (INN): The Health and Sanitation wing of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Saturday temporarily closed down two hotel for not maintaining hygienic conditions in their premises.

The GHMC officials conducted surprise visits in the areas of Nizampet Road at Kukatpally and inspected 27 eating establishments. The officials temporarily shut down Sri Sai Mayuri Tiffins and Meals and Sai Krishna Tiffins and Meals as they did not maintain hygienic conditions.

Nandigama, January 29 (INN): Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation would purchase 4,000 buses by March-end. This was revealed by Corporation Managing Director B Prasada Rao here on Saturday.

Participating as chief guest in the 44th annual day celebrations of Kakani Venkataratnam College, Mr Prasada Rao said that the government had already given its go ahead to this plan. This new fleet of buses would help in reducing the pollution levels apart from meeting the commuters’ requirement.

Hyderabad, January 29 (INN): A city court has convicted two notorious automobile offenders for the theft of a four wheeler in the Banjara Hills police station limits.

Three accused including Kandavali Suresh and Chammarthi Prabhakar Raju were arrested by the city police on the charges of theft of a four-wheeler on May 5, 2010. The accused Kandavali Suresh was awarded 16 months rigorous imprisonment while Raju would face imprisonment of one year along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in default one month rigorous imprisonment. (INN)

New Delhi,January 29 :A CITY court on Saturday sentenced five men to life imprisonment for raping a mentally challenged 17- year- old girl for three days. Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau, terming the rapists “ inhuman” and “ barbaric”, observed they had given a “ lifelong trauma” to the victim and her family.

Lucknow, January 29: Alleging the Congress was mainly responsible for the poor state of Muslims in the country, Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid Maulana Ahmad Bukhari today appealed to Muslims to vote for Samajwadi Party candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

In a joint press conference here with Mulayam Singh Yadav, Bukhari said the SP chief had promised him that his party would work for betterment of Muslims in the event of its coming to power in the state.

Therefore, Muslims should ensure victory of Samajwadi Party candidates, he said.

Davos, January 29: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is drawing massive crowds in his country, has declared that “army’s days are over” in Pakistan and vowed to have “best relations” with India.

“Let me assure you that democracy is set to take off in Pakistan. You just wait till the elections. The time has come for a true democracy in Pakistan,” Khan said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit being held here. “The army’s days are over.

London, January 29: Passengers aboard a Finnair flight from Helsinki to New Delhi on January 17 were  treated to a pleasant surprise, when the cabin crew, most of them wearing Indian attire, began a live performance of Om Shanti Om number from the eponymous Bollywood hit.

The cabin crew did this dance number to celebrate India’s 63rd Republic Day in advance and the YouTube video was posted on January 26 (R-Day) which has so far garnered 540,000 viewings in a single day. It was posted on FinnAir’s YouTube channel.

New Delhi, January 29: Yoga guru Swami Ramdev today said black flags being shown or shoes being thrown at leaders like Rahul Gandhi were because of their karma (work).

‘I never asked anybody to throw shoes. What can I do if somebody throws shoes at politicians like Rahul because of their karma (work)? Yet I feel proud that the whole country except a few people are with my movement’, said Ramdev.

He however appealed to his supporters not to throw shoes at any body nor show black flags.

Hyderabad, January 29: With the bypolls for seven Assembly constituencies in Telangana region round the corner, the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are gearing up to meet the challenge. While the Congress is harping on the “dev­elo­pment and anti-corruption” mantra, the TRS is banking on the T-sentiment and is confident of winning all the seven seats.

Mumbai,January 29:Sharad Pawar plays arms twisting game against Congress as latest surveys predict congress loss in assembly elections.Having lost not even one election in the 45 years of his political career so far, union minister and veteran politician Sharad Pawar has said he wants to bid adieu to politics to make way for the younger generation.

“It’s enough…It is the responsibility of people like me to encourage younger people and younger leadership to continue to work in (his) political party,” Pawar, the union agriculture minister, said in a TV interview.

New Delhi, January 29 :Falak was found fourdays ago in New delhi battered and abondaned is still struggling for survival.The condition of the battered two-year-old baby in Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center, AIIMS, is critical but stable. But doctors say there is a high chance that she may remain in a vegetative state even if she survives.

“The child’s condition is the same as it was on Friday. She is stable but critical. It has been a day since she was taken off the ventilator,” said Dr Deepak Aggarwal, associate professor, Neurosurgery, JPNATC.