Month: November 2012

In their most expensive ad war, the campaigns of President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney and their allies spent a record shattering $710 million in just 12 battleground states, according to a media report.

In the most heavily contested swing state of Ohio, the campaigns and the various ostensibly independent committees supporting them saturated the airwaves with $146 million worth of commercials on broadcast and local cable, CNN reported citing a source tracking ad buys.

As the first results from the hard fought most expensive US presidential election started trickling in, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney seemed engaged in a see-saw battle.

There was no major upset as media reports projected the two rival contenders winning the states they were expected to win and battleground states too close to call.

New Delhi : The Indian cricket board Tuesday rejected yesteryears Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore’s demand to name the ensuing India-England series after her husband and former India captain the late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.

Sharmila, in her letter to Board of Control for India (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan dated Nov 2, lashed out at the board for its delay in instituting a Pataudi lecture and a Pataudi Trophy for the upcoming India-England series.
The BCCI, however, said the series is already named after Anthony De Mello, first secretary of the board, since 1951.

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, currently in space floating around in zero-gravity, voted for the United States presidential polls by absentee ballot.

Sunita, along with flight engineer Kevin Ford, exercised her franchise in July while stationed in Russia even before heading up to the station aboard Soyuz ships launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The other four members of the station’s current Expedition 33 crew are all non-Americans — three Russian cosmonauts and one Japanese space ace.

The Syrian authorities have assured Moscow that there will be no use of chemical weapons against rebel forces, Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday.

“I rule out the use by the [Syrian] regime of chemical weapons,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists. “We have received the appropriate assurances.”

Lavrov said Russia had also asked Syria to make a similar pledge to western powers.

Syria has not signed the international Chemical Weapons Convention and is believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, an extremely toxic nerve agent.

Two women in a Russian town are charged with killing their female friend on suspicion that she was the source of their lice infestation, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident took place in Okulovka town in Novgorod region.

“The defendants, aged 21 and 23, kicked and punched their 22-year-old female acquaintance, after which they took her to a field where they continued the beating. The woman died on the spot,” the regional department of the Investigative Committee said.

At least 19 people died in Pakistan Tuesday in attacks motivated by political and sectarian rivalry.

In Karachi, 12 people died. The victims included a Shia leader and his aide. The Shia group Jafferia Alliance has announced a three-day mourning, Xinhua reported.

Two activists of the MQM and ANP parties were also gunned down in Karachi. Several others were killed in Hyderabad and Quetta cities.

Economy was the top issue on voters’ minds as they went to the polls to decide whether to give President Barack Obama a second term or replace him with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to exit polls.

Sixty percent called it the most important issue in a CNN exit poll released as the first results started trickling in Tuesday night from the US presidential election.

Health care is a distant second at 17 percent. It’s followed by the deficit at 17 percent and foreign policy at four percent.

IANS) The World Food Programme has said that it urgently needs $11 million to buy food for some 100,000 people displaced in the sectarian violence in Myanmar.

The food will be supplied to people in Rakhine state for next six months, WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs said Tuesday.

Thousands of Muslims people have been affected in the state after communal violence erupted in June between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslims.

Byrs said that without an immediate donor response, WFP will be forced to cut the existing ration supplies.

Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samakhya (APMS) will be organizing ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ and dharna on November 24 to register its protest against the government’s failure to check increasing crime rate against women. It also decided to burn the Union government in effigy in protest against gas cylinder price hike. These decisions were taken during its State council meeting held on Monday.

The State High Court has permitted the AP Public Service Commission to conduct interviews for Degree College Lecturer posts.

The High Court has, however, ordered the Commission to release the final results only after releasing the key.
The State Administrative Tribunal has ordered the APPSC to conduct interviews only after releasing the key. The APPSC has approached the High Court challenging the state Administrative Tribunal verdict. The High Court has allowed the APPSC to conduct Micro-biology, Chemistry and Zoology subject interviews as per schedule. (NSS)

Union minister and Congress observer to the State Vayalar Ravi has made it clear that there was no truth in the media reports that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy would be replaced. He said Congress leadership has not at all discussed the issue.

Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, he certified that Kiran was performing his duties efficiently and said there was no need to change him.

TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that the people had lost everything in 14 districts because of the lack of knowledge and incompetence of the government in handling Neelam the cyclone.

Speaking to newsmen at Ramakrishnapuram, after resuming his “Vastunna Meekosam” padayatra in the district, after breaking it for a visit to cyclone-affected areas, Naidu recalled that he had said while the government was inactive, the Secretariat slept over such an emergency.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and Sircilla MLA K T Rama Rao has charged the government and Opposition parties with only paying attention to the cyclone losses suffered by farmers in the Seemandhra region neglecting Telangana.

Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has found fault with the TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu for criticizing the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy with regard to the steps initiated by the State Government to extend help to the Neelam cyclone victims.

BJP tonight appeared divided on party President Nitin Gadkari as senior leader L K Advani skipped a crucial meeting of its Core Group apparently unhappy over his continuance in the post. Advani chose not to go to the meeting in the party office on a day of hectic activities triggered by the demand for Gadkari’s resignation by party MP Ram Jethmalani in the wake of allegations of dubious funding for his company Purti. Gadkari was also not present at the meeting since it was discussing issues related to him.

The Samajwadi Party today said it was fully prepared for 2014 Lok Sabha elections and would soon announce names of party nominees for 60 seats. “The party will soon announce names of 60 contestants for the Parliamentary elections,” SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters here. The Samajwadi Party was ready for the coming battle, he said. On BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Yadav said since an inquiry was on into alleged financial irregularities, it was not proper to demand his resignation.

The process of trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case moved a step forward with a local court today issuing summonses to all the 18 accused, including former Gujarat minister Amit Shah. The court directed them to appear before it on November 9. “On November 9, all the accused will be appearing before the court. The local court will then commit the case to the special CBI court,” said special CBI prosecutor Ejaz Khan. The Gujarat High Court on October 16 had dispatched records pertaining to the case to Bombay High Court.

A 15-year-old girl suffered serious burn injuries after a youth allegedly set her on fire for resisting a rape attempt by him in the Chaurdehara village here. The incident took place when the girl was alone at her residence last afternoon and Bhagirath (25), a resident of the same village, barged into the house and tried to rape her, SSP Gulab Singh said. As the girl resisted the rape attempt, Bhagirath poured kerosene on the minor and set her ablaze, Singh said. Though Bhagirath managed to escape he was later arrested by the police team, he said.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has made elaborate arrangements for its two-day seminar beginning here from today. TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao and special invitees of the sub-regional outfit, among others would attend the seminar, the party’s District President, Laxmikanta Rao, said here today. As many as 250 intellectuals would participate in the seminar, he said, adding Politburo members, MLAs, MLCs and 500 party delegates will take part in the event, `Medho Madhana Sadassu’. TRS, fighting for a separate state of Telangana, was born in Karimnagar in 2001.

BJP today said the “absence” of allies at the Congress rally held in New Delhi on Sunday was indicative of the party lacking political support for its FDI policy. “Despite it being a government-sponsored rally, the allies of Congress did not attend it. This is symptomatic of the failure of Congress to convince its own partners on this issue,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman said today.

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today asked Jammu and Kashmir government to complete the election process of Block Development Councils (BDCs) in panchayats within two months after including reservation for women and weaker classes. The state government should finish the process within one or two months and the reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions be done by that time, Azad said while addressing a women’s conference at Dayalachak in Kathua district.

Demanding protection of tribal land under the fifth schedule of the Constitution, CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat today accused Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda of treating tribals like a “football”. “Chief Minister Arjun Munda has taken the tribals for a football, hitting them wherever he wished. Under the 5th Schedule, tribal land cannot be snatched away,” Karat said while addressing a rally organised by Adivasi Adhikar Rastriya Manch here. Accusing Congress and BJP of failing to protect tribal land, Karat claimed the rights of the tribals were being protected only by Left parties.

The man who allegedly raped and robbed a Spanish woman in her flat here has been arrested, police said on Tuesday. Mohammed Anwar Ansari was detained for questioning a day ago. “We had detained Mohammed Anwar Ansari alias Badshah last (Monday) night. After questioning him today (Tuesday), we arrested him,” Assistant Commissioner of Police S Marathe said. Ansari would be produced in court on Wednesday, he said.

A 32-year-old city-based architect, who had gone missing after leaving home on October 23, was found murdered in Nanded in neighbouring Maharashtra. The incident came to light on Monday after the Hyderabad police arrested the main accused in Nanded.

The victim was identified as Hameed Mohiuddin of Saidabad. Hameed, a treasure-hunter, had lent Rs five lakh to his friends Ghouse Pasha and Ishaq of Bandlaguda. The duo failed to return the money and Hameed began pressuring them to return it.