A man, accused of raping his 23-year-old tenant, has been let off by a Delhi court after she confessed that she had consented to the sexual act and that she had deposed falsely under the police pressure.
Additional Sessions Judge Mahesh Chander Gupta acquitted Delhi resident Shambhu Nath Mandal of the rape charges on the woman’s admission.
Stoking a controversy, West Bengal government has banned English and mass-circulation Bengali dailies at state-sponsored and aided libraries in the state which will make available only eight selected newspapers.
The order by the Mamata Banerjee government in an official circular evoked criticism today from Trinamool ally Congress, Left parties and also the intelligentsia which said the decision was “undemocratic, undesirable and worse than censorship.” A demand was also made to withdraw the circular.
A woman in Taiwan killed herself by inhaling poisonous fumes while chatting with friends on Facebook and none of them alerted authorities, police said Tuesday.
Claire Lin killed herself on her 31st birthday, March 18, Taipei police officer Hsieh Ku-ming said.
A local magistrate’s court on Wednesday directed the Marine Drive police station in south Mumbai to conduct inquiry into a private complaint against Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, for his alleged interference in criminal cases against Congress MLA from Vidarbha, Dilip Sananda.
Abdul Malik Chaudhary, a Mumbai resident, filed the complaint in magistrate’s court last year, seeking criminal case against Deshmukh, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister.
Bharatiya Janata Party state president G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday criticized the State Government for not taking up discussion on people’s issues in the budget session of Legislative Assembly.
Talking to media persons at Assembly Media Point, Kishan Reddy said that the government has totally failed to address people’s problems in the House despite opposition raising them for discussion. Stating that the farmers in the State were in a pathetic condition, he said that the government should have taken up their problems in the House and announced relief measures.
The State Government on Wednesday admitted that a prime land situated between Nagole and Uppal has been encroached upon.
In his reply to a question raised by MLAs D Sudheer Reddy and Kuna Srisailam Goud in the State Legislative Assembly, Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy said that an extent of 406 sq yards, in Sy No 588/1 of Uppal Khalsa village, has been encroached by P Mohan Rao and got it registered. He said there were no encroachments in T Sy No 45. In Sy No 60, out of 6.07 acres, an extent of 3.0 acres has been encroached.
Roads and Buildings Minister B Dharmana Prasad on Wednesday informed the State Legislative Assembly that the works on Road Over Bridges (ROBs) would be completed soon.
Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy on Wednesday denied that students were put to great inconvenience in getting admissions in colleges due to abnormal delay in issuance of caste, income and residential certificates.
In his reply to a question raised by MLA G Rama Naidu and others in the State Legislative Assembly, the minister said that a time limit of 30 days has been fixed for issue of Community, Nativity and Date of Birth certificates. There is a proposal to fix a time limit of seven days for Income and Residence certificates.
The State Government is planning to set up 30 new Rythu Bazars across the State.
Replying to a question raised by MLAs R Surya Prakash Rao and Payyavalu Keshav during Question Hour in the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Marketing and Warehousing Minister M Mukesh Goud said that out of 30 proposed Rythu Bazars, the feasibility reports were awaited in respect of 26 Rythu Bazaars. They include Rythu Bazars of Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation. In respect of four Rythu Bazars, proposals are under examination, he said.
The State Government on Wednesday admitted that it has reduced the quantity of kerosene and sugar being given on each ration card in rural and urban areas in the State.
Health and Family Welfare Minister DL Ravindra Reddy on Wednesday denied the reports that the maternity mortality rate has not come down in the State.
The minister made this denial in his reply to a question raised by Congress MLA K Kannababu and others during Question Hour in the State Legislative Assembly. (INN)
The State Legislative Assembly could function for hardly 14 minutes on Wednesday with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party members disrupting the proceedings seeking discussion on the suicides for the Telangana cause and demanding resolution on statehood for the region.
Minister for Major Industries J Geetha Reddy informed the State Legislative Council that 22 joint ventures have been taken up by APIIC and other companies with salient features of agreements and ratios.
Replying to a question raised by Ibrahim bin Asadullah Masqahi and B Bhaskara Rama rao, she said that Rs 20 crore have been received as value assets from joint ventures. She said that the government does not have any intention to withdraw the shares of APIIC. (INN)
AICC secretary and in charge of AP affairs K B Krishna Murthy on Wednesday warned of serious disciplinary action against the leaders who make comments against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Congress High Command.
Telangana Political Joint Action Committee chairman Prof M Kodandaram on Wednesday condemned the remarks of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy attributing suicides of students in the Telangana region to love failure, scoring of low marks and financial problems.
CPI MLA K Sambhasiva Rao on Wednesday came down heavily on the State Government for not responding on important public issues in the budget session of the State Legislative Assembly.
Former Congress minister J C Diwakar Reddy on Wednesday said that the political leaders from Kurnool and Anantapur districts were in favour of Rayala-Telangana State.
Talking to media persons in the Assembly premises, Diwakar Reddy said that the Rayalaseema leaders were in favour of formation of Rayala-Telangana although the coastal Andhra leaders were opposed to the bifurcation of the State. He said that he would take up this proposal before the Congress High Command in New Delhi after consulting all leaders from the region.
Senior Congress leader and MLC K R Amos on Wednesday condemned Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s statement that the stakeholders should come up with a clear stand on Telangana issue.
Talking to media persons at Assembly media point, Amos said that Chidambaram, who holds a responsible position, should not make such remarks and shift the responsibility on the stakeholders. He said that the Constitution of India has provided the Centre with full powers to establish smaller states under the Article 3.
Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra have decided to bury the hatchet.
Days before they sizzle at an upcoming cricket event in Chennai next Tuesday, the two spoke to each other at Mukesh Ambani’s party at Antilla on Monday night.
The two apparently couldn’t see eye-to-eye after working together last in Salaam-E-Ishq in 2007. But, it seems like they have decided to start afresh.
The report quotes a source: “It’s not a secret that both Salman and Priyanka were not on talking terms after a spat while working on a film before. They haven’t worked together since that.
They are back. Superstars Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif returned to Mumbai as they returned from London after shooting for Yash Chopra’s romantic film, yet untitled.
When Shahrukh Khan was asked how the movie was shaping up, he replied: “It is going really good, superb!”
And when he was asked if the name of the film has been decided as London Ishq, SRK replied: “I don’t think so, yaar! I don’t think that’s true.”
After roping in Shah Rukh Khan as lead in her still-untitled next, Farah Khan has selected Anushka Sharma as her leading lady.
Anushka is very excited with the offer, and has agreed in principle. And the modalities are being worked out.
The report quotes a source: “Farah obviously wants someone big in the film; someone who is hot and happening. Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were the obvious choices but Anushka has won the race.”
The source added, “Farah too is quite fond of Anushka. She was quite impressed by her dancing abilities in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.”
In a tragic incident, a 23-year-old woman and her two-year-old child burned to death in Tripura after a family quarrel, police said Wednesday.
Following a squabble with her husband, Sarifa Begum was set on fire at her home at Fhulbari village Tuesday night.
Sarifa’s child Jahangir, seeing his mother on fire, tried to rescue her but he was also engulfed in the flames, a police spokesman told reporters.
A global medical device company Wednesday announced the first implant of a one-of-its-kind cardiac plug which can help curb strokes in patients with cardiac disorders. Stroke is the second leading killer after heart disease.
“Called amplatzer cardiac plug, it has been launched in India by St. Jude Medical. This is the country’s first percutaneous device closure of the left atrial appendage in patients diagnosed with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF),” a statement from the firm said.
The group of five emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) – Wednesday targeted almost doubling intra-group trade to $500 billion by 2015.
The trade ministers of the five countries at a meeting held a day ahead of the fourth BRICS summit, agreed to remove barriers and boost intra-group trade.
Intra-BRICS trade was recorded at $230 billion in 2011.
The ministers agreed to improve the quality of their trade by focusing on more value added goods in all the three sectors – manufacturing, services and agriculture.
Fortune magazine has listed Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy among the 12 “greatest entrepreneurs of our time” with Apple’s late chief Steve Jobs, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The list is topped by Jobs, whom Fortune calls “our generation’s quintessential entrepreneur. Visionary. Inspiring. Brilliant. Mercurial” while Gates is second for turning “concepts into companies” and changing the “face of business”.