Dubbing the coal blocks allocation controversy as a ‘non-issue’, Congress today challenged the BJP to bring in a no-confidence motion against the UPA government instead of stalling Parliament proceedings. The BJP would not be bold enough to take such a course of action as it would not only expose its “true colour” but also fissures in the party-led NDA, Congress spokesman and JPC chairman P C Chacko told a meet-the-press programme here.
With a showdown between the government and the judiciary looming, top leaders of Pakistan’s ruling party have held meetings to prepare a strategy for the standoff and to decide whether the Premier should appear in court on Monday to face a contempt charge.
The apex court’s order asking Raja Pervez Ashraf to appear before a five-judge bench was discussed at a meeting of the Pakitan People’s Party’s top leadership chaired last night by Prime Minister Ashraf and President Asif Ali Zardari.
China is willing to work with the US to properly handle their differences and promote stable and sound development of military-to-military ties, a senior Chinese Army officer has said.
Cai Yingting, a deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, made the remarks on Thursday in a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter at Pentagon.
Cai, who arrived in the US on Monday for a visit, said the two nations have made key and positive progress in developing bilateral relations since the Obama administration came to power in 2009, reported Xinhua.
The first batch of Andhra Pradesh state Hajj pilgrims will take off on October 6. Saudi Arabian Airlines will carry more than 8,500 Hajj pilgrims from across the state in 24 flights between October 6 and October 19.
Increase in Hajj expenditure still worries the pilgrims and more than 4000 Hajj aspirants, who earlier opted for Green category accommodation, have requested for a downgrade to Azizia category due to fare hike. The traveling expenditure has been increased by Rs 42000 compared to last year.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka arrived here on Saturday on a three-day goodwill mission aimed at wooing back the North-East people who had left Bangalore and some other cities following rumours of attacks on them.
The Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, who also looks after the home portfolio, is likely to visit the northeastern state of Manipur also.
Ashoka arrived at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport near Guwahati around 10.30 am and headed straight for Assam capital Dispur where he is expected to meet Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
Maharashtra NCP President Madhukar Pichad has come out in support of the State Home Minister R R Patil saying there was no need for his resignation as demanded by the opposition over a deteriorating law and order situation and the August 11 violence in Mumbai.
“Patil is a honest and strong leader of the party. It is the job of the opposition to criticise. The question of his resignation does not arise,” he said on the conclusion of a day long study camp of district NCP workers held here Friday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday rejected the Congress-led UPA government’s no-loss theory on the allocation of coal blocks to private players, alleging it was trying to mislead the people.
“When coal blocks are allocated, the right to mine rests with the private allottees, not government of India. Even without actual mining, the government has lost control over those mines at a throw-away price,” Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said at a press conference at the party office here.
Bronze statues of Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, will be erected by the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. HCA is preparing to execute the plant within the next three months. Although statues of many great Australian cricketers have been erected at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but this is the first time that any player is being honoured this way in India.
The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is facing flak for failing in its election promises of restoring democratic and promoting an investment-friendly climate in the state.
The government recently denied former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee permission to hold a party programme, drawing widespread criticism.
Now, an industry body says it is apprehensive about the state’s investment climate.
Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of trouble! Here is a story of a man who did a lot of bad things, but his promise to tell the truth saved him.
Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) and said, “Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?” The prophet said, “Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth.” The man promised to do so and went home.
Their marriage is four decades old but romance hasn’t faded between Bollywood couple Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu.
The couple enjoyed a quiet dinner together at Saira’s 68th birthday, revealed yesteryear superstar Dilip Kumar.
“It was Saira’s birthday yesterday (Thursday). Her friends claimed her attention since morning,” Dilip Kumar tweeted Friday.
“But the late evening was just the two of us, for the quiet dinner at our favourite restaurant,” he posted further.
IANS
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s career-best figures of six for 31 helped India easily enforce the follow-on against New Zealand on third day but inclement weather stood in the path hosts’ victory in the first cricket Test being played here today.
The New Zealand first innings folded at 159 as Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha three for 44 shared the bulk of the spoils as hosts had a hige 279-run first innings lead.
In the second innings New Zealand were 41 for one when umpires decided to call off play. Only 37.3 overs of play was possible on the day.
Buoyed by a strong rally overseas, gold rose to touch a new high of Rs 31,300 per 10 grams in the bullion market here today.
Gold added Rs 185, registering gains for the sixth day in a row, while silver added Rs 950 to Rs 57,800 per kg on
increased buying.
Silver coins also spurted by Rs 2,000 to Rs 73,000 for buying and Rs 74,000 for selling of 100 pieces on strong
demand.
Filmmaker Subhash Ghai has decided to wield the megaphone again and team up with Salman Khan for an action packed masala entertainer.
Ghai had stopped directing films to concentrate on his film school Whistling Woods International. But now he will
soon be getting behind the camera.
He has two films at hand — one with Salman Khan that will roll out next year.
I am returning to direction. I have two films.. one with Salman that I will start next year and other I will start shooting this year,” Ghai told PTI.
A sub-inspector of Kolkata Police allegedly committed suicide today by hanging himself at his residence in Baguihati on the outskirts of the city, police said here.
Kartik Chattopadhyay (50) was found hanging from the ceiling of his room in his residence at Vidyasagar Pally, they said.
The police have found an alleged suicide note from the room, which stated work pressure as the reason behind him
taking the extreme step, they said.
Chattopadhyay was a sub-inspector at Park Street police station in Kolkata.
American officials said they had strong indications that Badruddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network, was killed in a drone strike Friday which claimed at least 18 lives, US media reported Saturday.
“There are indications that Haqqani has met his demise,” The New York Times quoted a senior US official in Washington as saying.
He said that officials were waiting to sift through evidence, including information on jihadist web sites, before they could be certain that Haqqani was dead, Pakistani news agency Online reported.
Drink green tea to get over the nicotine urge, say Chinese researchers — and this is a finding that medical professionals in Kerala have reacted positively to.
A recent study titled ‘A Revolutionary Approach for the Cessation of Smoking’, published in Science China Life Sciences, a peer-reviewed open-access journal, cites how researchers used custom-developed cigarettes with components of green tea as filters in a bid to treat addiction to smoking.
People in the old city areas of summer capital Srinagar helped police chase militants who had snatched a service rifle a day ago, said an official here Saturday.
K. Rajendra Kumar, additional director general (ADG) law and order, Saturday told IANS: “I have conveyed my appreciation to the people of old city who helped our boys catch and overpower two militants who were running away after snatching the service rifle of a policeman.”
The militants were chased in the old city area after they tried to escape in an autorickshaw, he said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday dissolved the party’s Meghalaya unit after his 12 legislators in the state joined the National People’s Party (NPP), a party official said. The dissolution of Meghalaya NCP came hours after P A Sangma joined the NPP.
Accusing the Centre of showing “excessive enthusiasm” in training Lankan defence personnel, chief minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday said it has “mischievously concealed” the training being given to two Lankan officers in Tamil Nadu since May and demanded that they be sent back.
“.. I have expressed in no unclear terms the strong views of my government on imparting training to defence personnel belonging to Sri Lanka”, she said in a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, recalling her vehement opposition to such training earlier.
Delhi Police on Saturday sought a fresh undertaking from one of the prominent members of erstwhile Team Anna to allow their dharna here on the coal allocation issue while warning them against gheraoing the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari.
In an indirect rejection of application for staging a dharna at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, additional commissioner (New Delhi) K C Dwivedi said police need a fresh undertaking from “such office bearer” who can exercise control over everyone participating in the protest.
The former US Navy SEAL who authored a book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is now facing threats against his life in addition to possible criminal prosecution.
An official Al Qaeda website the Al-Fidaa Islamic Network on Friday called him “the dog who murdered the martyr Sheikh Osama bin Laden.” The website also posted name, photograph and age of the former Navy commando responsible for the book.
The government today sought to downplay its action in the cyberworld in the wake of problems in the northeast, saying it is not targetting individual accounts and websites but wants to block objectionable content.
Minister of Communications and IT Kapil Sibal said the government is ready to hold discussions with stakeholders to find a “permanent solution” to the issue.
Condemning the bid to pollute Maharashtrian politics once again, Tanzeem Insaaf said that such parties are behind creating Bangladeshi terror in the Mumbai city who are experts in igniting fire of communalism. The silence of central government and Congress is providing support to their goals.
Mexican environmental authorities are demanding that state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos clean up a crude spill that occurred when a loading buoy sank nearly two weeks ago and polluted six beaches.
The sinking of the buoy (used to load crude onto tankers in deep water) happened off the coast of the southern state of Oaxaca, near the Salina Cruz refinery in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Media reported Thursday that a boat collided with the buoy because it lacked signaling lights, causing it to sink and spill the crude it was storing.