Month: September 2012

The differences between Western and Muslim perspectives on freedom of expression and insults against religions are on its peak following a film defaming Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

As the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly opened in New York on Tuesday, September 25 comes amid Muslim fury over the American-made film insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

A French magazine also published cartoons mocking the prophet (PBUH), further angering Muslims.

It created contradictions on the views of freedom of speech over the western and the Muslim world.

A delegation of Telangana NGOs Joint Action Committee called on state Panchayat Raj minister Jana Reddy on Wednesday and urged him to use his influence on government to seek permission for Telangana march on September 30.

With the announcement of direct foreign investment in retail sector it seems that the foreign companies are rushing towards Indian market.

America’s largest company Walmart launched its wholesale cash and carry outlet in the city on Wednesday. With this the number of outlets of Bharti Walmart, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart Stores Inc, spread across India reached to 18.

Newcomer Alia Bhatt says that her father Mahesh Bhatt and her mentor Karan Johar, who is launching her with his directorial venture “Student of The Year” (SOTY), are experts in their genre of cinema and she can’t choose between the two.

“The kind of films my father has made, like ‘Zakhm’, ‘Arth’, ‘Saaransh’, are very intense films. Karan, as we all know, is very youth-oriented, glossy, fun. So I can’t choose between my teacher and my father. I would say I love both of them,” the 19-year-old said here Wednesday at a promotional event for “SOTY.”

Under pressure from pro-Telangana groups, Andhra Pradesh cabinet ministers from the Telangana region Thursday met and decided to call on Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to seek permission to take out a march Sunday.

The decision to carve out a separate Telangana was put on hold in December 2009 following protests. On Sunday, marchers will seek to revive the momentum for the formation of Telangana state.

Minister for Panchayat Raj K. Jana Reddy told reporters that they hoped a march can be held, in keeping with the aspirations of the people.

Why is Dia Mirza excited. The actress’ first Bengali film “Paanch Adhyay” will be showcased at the forthcoming Mumbai Film Festival, starting Oct 18, and she says the feeling is great.

A Reliance Entertainment initiative, the annual event is organised by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).

“I have a Bengali film releasing now during Durga Puja. I am really excited because the film has been selected by MAMI as well in the ‘New Faces of Indian Cinema’ category,” the 30-year-old said here Wednesday at the launch of Body Shop’s new product.

With an ever-increasing number of Indians suffering from heart diseases, a drastic change in lifestyle and eating habits is the need of the hour to tackle the alarming situation with a special focus on youth, say doctors.

Cardiovascular diseases would be the largest cause of death and disability in India by 2020 as per a World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has accused US President Barack Obama of seeking to exploit the Arab Spring revolutions for political gain. He was addressing a gathering of diplomats at the UN through a satellite videolink.

Assange spoke from the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he sought refuge three months ago from extradition to Sweden. He is wanted for questioning on allegations of sex offences, reported guardian.co.uk.

Husband commits suicide after row with wife
(Siasat News): The scuffle between husband and wife on a petty matter caused the suicide of the husband. This incident occurred in Alwal police station limits.

According to police sources, the deceased Mohd. Ismail, resident of Arundhati Nagar, has been running a cycle repairing shop.

Yesterday, he had heated argument with his wife on cooking some dishes. Enraged over this, his wife had left the house for a while.

Following the train-bus collision that killed eight people in Bihar, Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa announced Thursday that there would be no unmanned railway crossing in the country by 2015-16.

“Railways has set a goal to convert all unmanned railway crossings into manned by 2015-16,” Muniyappa told mediapersons here. “There are about 14,000 unmanned railway crossings across the country. We have decided to work for safety of railway and its passengers,” Muniyappa said.

The last date for payment of examination fee for students who wish to appear for the Intermediate Public Examinations, March 2013 has been extended to October 1. While fee can be paid till October 8 with a late fee of Rs. 100. There will be no further extension of examination fee.

Siasat news

Extra measures were in place here Thursday to provide
foolproof security cover to President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit here to address the 18th convocation of Kashmir University.

Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men dotted the nearly eight kilometre route from Raj Bhawan to the Hazratbal campus of the University.

No vehicle was allowed to stop while moving on the route as a security measure.

A Nigerian policeman was among 21 people killed on Thursday, when an oil tanker crashed into buildings in the country’s northern state of Niger, leaving several others injured.

The accident which happened in Kudu village of the oil rich African nation also resulted in burning of several houses.

Eyewitness accounts say the policeman died as he tried to rescue the victims of the resultant inferno while the injured were taken to local clinics for treatment.

Stating that he was not guilty, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday expressed happiness that the Supreme Court had allowed former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh shootout case, to return to the state.

“We are happy that he is allowed to enter Gujarat and will campaign for the state assembly elections. We believe and have firm faith in our leader that he is not guilty,” said BJP leader Prakash Javedekar.

The below-par show of Pakistan’s pace battery in the ongoing World Twenty20 has left the country’s former cricketers worried and they have called for changes in the line-up in the Super Eight stage starting today.

Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has advised the team management to replace the struggling Sohail Tanvir with the experienced Abdul Razzaq.

Google turned 14 Thursday and celebrated its birthday with a doodle of a rich chocolate cake.

“Google” was inscribed across the cake and seconds after opening the site, the 14 candles atop the delicacy get extinguished.

A click on the doodle displayed a list of Google products.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in September 1998. Since then, the company has grown to more than 30,000 employees worldwide.

Pakistan said Thursday that a quadrilateral summit here Oct 2-3 also involving Russia, Tajikistan and Afghanistan has been postponed.

New dates will be worked out after seeking the convenience of the respective leaders through diplomatic channels, Xinhua reported citing the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry did not give any reason for the postponement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to attend the summit along with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Tajik President Emomalii Rahmon.

Actor Nana Patekar doesn’t believe in asking people to watch his films as he feels his job ends once he completes the shooting for a project.

“My work ends when the shoot is over, the dubbing is over. This is not my work to shout and tell people, ‘Please watch my film, it is very good’. If it is good, they will watch, if it’s bad then they will not,” the 61-year-old told reporters here Wednesday.

But given the aggressive marketing and promotion of films, Nana is changing with times, and opening up.

Sri Lanka is continuing discussions with China to purchase 3,000 new buses despite protests by private bus operators in the country, a minister said Thursday.

Minister of Transport Kumar Welgama told Xinhua that discussions are continuing with Chinese companies but a final decision has not yet been reached.

“We are looking at purchasing these buses but we are still having discussions,” the minister said.

The Sri Lankan government announced last week that it hoped to import buses from China to meet the demand in the public transport sector.

Of late Muslims are getting aware of importance of education, the new generation is focusing on education and undoubtedly it is a promising trend. Similarly training consciousness is on the rise among Hajj aspirants who are selected for Hajj pilgrimage and Siasat daily has been providing its services for long in this connection in collaboration with Labbaik society and it has bore positive results. These views were expressed by Mr. Zahid Ali Khan editor Siasat, at the release function of the book “Tarbiat-e-Aazimeen Hajj-o-Umra’ at Mahboob Husain Jigar Hall, Siasat premises, Abids.

In a shocking editorial published in the Dawat of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on 22 September, Chief Editor Parwaaz Rahmani, has lauded K S Sudarshan, former Chief of RSS, and deeply mourned his demise.

Actress Raima Sen, who was not seen in Bollywood for a long time, says she will start shooting for a Hindi film on gangsters from next month.

The 32-year-old actress has delivered some major hits in Tollywood with films like “Baishe Srabon” and “Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish”.

“It is an untitled film having six gangsters and the sole female lead that is me. It is being made by new director Nitin Shinghal who had assisted Pradip Sarkar in Parineeta,” Raima told.

She said the film unit will shoot in the hills of Dehradun and Mussorie.

The shutdown called by separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani against President Pranab Mukherjee’s Jammu and Kashmir visit received partial response here Thursday.

While shops, schools and business establishments remained closed here, very few public and private vehicles plied on the city roads. Government offices, banks and post offices functioned normally.

The main markets in some far flung areas of the Valley remained shut. However, many shops in these areas remained open.

India has rebutted Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s remarks on Kashmir at the United Nations, asserting that the Kashmiri people have “peacefully chosen their destiny” in accordance with democratic practises.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the country’s position on the issue is well known.

Kingfisher Airlines continues to default on its service tax outstandings, amounting of over Rs 60 crore, and the government move to allow FDI policy in civil aviation sector offers the “only ray of hope” to recover the dues from the debt-ridden airline, according to a top tax official.