Fee Reimbursement scheme will not diluted, says PCC

Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and 20-Points Programme chairman N Tulasi Reddy on Thursday came down heavily on the Telugu Desam Party for staging dharnas and rallies suspecting the commitment of State Government on the Fee Reimbursement issue.

Decibels rise as Cong, BJP slug it out on coal issue

Congress and BJP today sharpened their attack on each other on the coal block allocation giving a clear indication that the controversy over the issue is going to further escalate in coming days even after the Monsoon session of Parliament concludes tomorrow.

–PTi

Teacher’s Day Celebrated at MANUU

Maulana Azad National Urdu University today celebrated Teacher’s Day with thought provoking lecture by Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice-Chancellor, EFLU on “Teacher & the Society”.

Crimes against women on the rise

Crimes of “serious” nature against women have increased in the last few years and appropriate measures need to be adopted for salutary punishment to those who commit them, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday. He also asked the country’s police brass to take stern steps to check child trafficking.

Karnataka HC judge upholds wifebeating

During a hearing in a domestic violence case filed by a 28-year-old woman, a Karnataka high court judge observed that it was Ok if her husband beat her up as long he was taking good care of her. He advised the victim who complained that her husband beats her up regularly and had once thrown her out of their house, to adjust with the man as all women suffer in marriages. The bench comprised of Justice K Bhaktavatsala and Justice BS Indrakala Justice Bhaktavatsala.

Rumours on Assam riots motivated: Home minister

While addressing at a 3-day police chiefs’ conference in New Delhi, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the communal colour given to the recent ethnic violence in Assam was “unfortunate” and asserted that the “motivated” online rumours were evidence of terrorists resorting to cyber space. He stressed the need for security chiefs to become cyber savvy to locate malicious content and indentify the perpetrators.

Indian-Americans get key spots at Democratic meet

California’s Indian-American attorney general Kamla Harris drew from her own experience to describe the November presidential election as a choice between an America with opportunity for all or tilted to the wealthiest few.

“We are here because we love our country, and we firmly believe in the American ideal that our country should work for everyone,” said the daughter of a Tamil Indian immigrant mother and a Jamaican-American father Wednesday.

Chidambaram discharged from hospital

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who underwent a successful hernia repair laparoscopic procedure at a private hospital here, was discharged on Thursday.

“He is doing well,” Dr N Sathyabhama, Director Medical Services, Chennai Region, Apollo Hospitals, said in a statement here.

66-year-old Chidambaram, who underwent the procedure yesterday, was discharged this afternoon.

–PTI

Gold hits new record high; zooms past Rs 32,000 per 10 gms

Continuing its upward swing, gold on Thursday crossed the coveted Rs 32,000-mark for the first time in the national capital, driven by increased buying by stockists ahead of the marriage season amid a firming global trend.

The yellow metal gained Rs 320 to Rs 32,300 per 10 grams. It has gained by Rs 1,555 per 10 grams in the last two weeks.

Urdu teachers ignored on Teachers’ Day: Mahmood Ali

Strongly criticizing chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, school education minister Partasarthi and director of school education Mr. Shiv Shankar, Mohammed Mahmood Ali president minority cell TRS and politburo member told that on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, the birth anniversary of former president of India Mr. Radhakrishnan, 14 national awards and 100 state awards have been conferred upon the teachers but sadly Urdu medium teachers were completely ignored during it.

Hajj aspirants to be provided accommodation outside Hajj House premises

Hajj aspirants going to Hajj pilgrimage through Andhra Pradesh state Hajj Committee will be provided accommodation at an under construction function hall near hajj House. According to Andhra Pradesh Hajj Committee sources, keeping in view the difficulties faced by the Hajj aspirants due to the shortage of space, it has been decided to arrange accommodation for Hajj aspirants by taking a function hall on rent. There are reports that the permission of the owner has already been sought in this connection.

Depressed Thai woman feeds herself to crocodiles

A 36-year-old depressed woman ‘fed herself’ to crocodiles at a popular tourist attraction in Thailand.

The hard pressed woman had told her husband that she was going to see a doctor and after that she would visit a popular crocodile Farm in Samut Prakarn just outside Bangkok.

She reportedly never returned home but was caught on CCTV cameras entering the tourist attraction around 32 kilometres south of the capital.

The mystery has deepened after the crocodile Farm reportedly denied the incident had taken place, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

Congress playing double game: Mayawati

Accusing the Congress of playing a “double game”, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati Thursday said the UPA government should extend the monsoon session of parliament if it was serious about passing the promotion quota bill.

“(The) government is playing a double game. They introduced the bill when parliament is being disrupted, so that no one is displeased,” Mayawati said.

“If the central government is so serious, they should increase the time of the monsoon session by 10-12 days, so that this bill is passed,” she said.

Raj Thackeray ‘permits’ airing of show featuring Pakistani artists

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray Thursday gave the green signal to airing of the show “Sur Kshetra” featuring Pakistani artists after the officials and producers of the channels met him here, party officials said.

Earlier this week, Thackeray had reiterated the party’s threat to disrupt shooting of “Sur Kshetra” stating that he does not favour the same.

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Classic chicken noodle soup is a comfort food suitable for any time of the year, but especially during cold winter months and when you are ill. There is a reason why it is called Jewish penicillin! This version is made from scratch, so allow time to cook the chicken. Feel free to use this recipe as a guideline, using canned broth and pre-cooked chicken to save time. The soup may be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen.
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped

Congress playing double game: Mayawati

Accusing the Congress of playing a “double game”, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati Thursday said the UPA government should extend the monsoon session of parliament if it was serious about passing the promotion quota bill.

“(The) government is playing a double game. They introduced the bill when parliament is being disrupted, so that no one is displeased,” Mayawati said.

“If the central government is so serious, they should increase the time of the monsoon session by 10-12 days, so that this bill is passed,” she said.

Serious crime against women on rise: Shinde

Crimes of “serious” nature against women have increased in the last few years and appropriate measures need to be adopted for salutary punishment to those who commit them, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday.

He also asked the country’s police brass to take stern steps to check child trafficking.

Parliament paralysed for 12th day

Uproar over coal blocks allocation issue paralysed proceedings of Parliament for the 12th consecutive day on Thursday, drowning most of the Monsoon Session which ends tomorrow.

As soon as Parliament met for the day, BJP members were on their feet in both Houses and raised slogans demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over the coal block allocation issue.

Power of US declining: Chinese daily

China does not want the US to perish nor does it want to dominate Asia, said a state-run Chinese daily, warning that if America launched a bid for strategic containment of China it would be strategic choice that it “could not bear”.

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded her visit to China on Wednesday, an editorial in the Global Times said: “Having a solid understanding of the two powers is critical for the future of regional politics in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Outsourcing is here to stay: Barack Obama aide

Notwithstanding the charges being levelled by the Obama Campaign against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of outsourcing jobs overseas, a top Obama aide has said that both outsourcing and insourcing are here to stay in this highly-globalised world.

Ministers who matter in Manmohan’s cabinet

The slew of ministerial groups set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to assist in consensus-building and decision-making, once headed by Pranab Mukherjee, who was then the finance minister and is now India’s president, are currently chaired by just three ministers: P. Chidambaram, A.K. Antony and Sharad Pawar.

Here is the list of such committees with brief terms of reference and their chairs – a listing that also, perhaps, gives an insight into how authority is shared in New Delhi’s corridors of power along Raisina Hill that houses top ministries.

Engineer’s strike halts Kingfisher’s ATR operation

Kingfisher Airline’s ATR operation from Delhi was crippled following a section of its engineers going on strike since Wednesday night demanding payment of salary.

“As of now four Kingfisher flights have been cancelled due to engineers not joining duty demanding March salary, which has still not been paid to them along with a majority of airline’s employees,” sources said in Mumbai.

This is the fourth strike by engineers since May.

Kingfisher Airline operates short haul destinations such as Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Dehradun, among others with ATR.

‘Declaring Haqqani network as FTO would undercut financial capability’

Designating the Haqqani network a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the US would undercut its financial capability, an American think-tank has said.

Under a Congressional legislation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has to make a determination in this regard by September 10.

Travelling in Asia, Hillary Clinton told reporters that she would meet the deadline.

‘Pak counter-terror betrays utter lack of strategy’

Pakistan’s fresh effort to tackle domestic terrorism “betrays an utter lack of strategy”, said a Pakistani daily that called for a wholesome zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism itself.

An editorial in the News International on Thursday said it was about time the country’s security tsar decided to sit down and put together a “sell-able, do-able and believable domestic counterterrorism strategy”.