Month: December 2012

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly late tonight passed the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2012 amidst high drama over voting on an amendment proposed by the main opposition Telugu Desam Party. The Congress government faced tense moments after the division of votes was taken but the result withheld due to an objection raised by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. All the opposition put up a united show on the amendment seeking allocation of funds by classifying SCs into different sub groups.

Google celebrated the UAE’s 41st National Day Sunday with a doodle on its homepage on the UAE domain.

The UAE gained independence from Britain on Dec 2, 1971. The innovative doodle depicts a falcon flying in the sky as it carries a banner with the colour of the UAE flag.

This year on UAE national day, Google doodle celebrates the civilization of Umm Al Nar, which existed on an island just off the coast of Abu Dhabi around 2,500 B.C, the US search giant said.

—IANS

The Pakistan government has missed a self-imposed deadline for allowing all tradable items through land routes from India because of stiff resistance from “land-owning elite” in the federal cabinet, according to a media report on Sunday.

The two countries had agreed during a meeting of their Commerce Secretaries in September to open the Wagah border and other land routes for trade in all commodities, including agricultural produce, by the end of October.

YSR Congress honorary president Y S Vijaya today dared the Congress to order an inquiry by a judge of the Supreme Court into the rule of her late husband Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Taking strong exception to the attack by both the TDP and the Congress on her late husband, an emotional Vijaya asked why the two were repeatedly targeting a person who’s no more.

“If there’s anything, let an inquiry be conducted by a judge of the Supreme Court into the rule of YSR,” she said, taking part in a debate on the SC and ST sub-plans Bill in the state Assembly tonight.

A Delhi court Sunday extended for three more days the police custody of Sukhdev Singh Namdhari who was booked for the murder of Hardeep Singh, brother of slain liquor baron Ponty Chadha.

Namdhari, a witness to the Nov 17 shootout at a farmhouse in south Delhi in which both the brothers were killed, has been booked under Indian Penal Code’s Section 302 (murder) for Hardeep’s killing.

Arvind Kejriwal launched his Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Maharashtra unit Sunday with a rally from Mumbai to Roha in Raigad district.

Kejriwal also released a “black paper on irrigation” to counter the white paper released by the government, which gave a clean chit to Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in allegations of irregularities worth Rs.20,000 crore in irrigation projects in the state. Pawar was also irrigation minister during 1999-2009.

Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan wants the Pakistan army to monitor polling in any constituency the poll panel pin-points during the next general elections.

The Tehreek-e-Insaaf chairman said change was possible only through ballot, Online news agency reported Sunday.

The general elections, due in early 2013, would begin an era of modern politics, which would end family-oriented politics in the country, he added.

—PTI

Dashing Indian batsman Virender Sehwag Sunday gave the thumbs up to Lords, Sidney and Ahmedabad, and the thumbs down to Eden Gardens – in terms of the food served to cricketers.

“I love the food served at The Lords, in Sidney, in (Motera at) Ahmedabad. But I am never happy with food served by CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal-the local cricket association in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens),” said Sehwag.

“A lot of times I have opted for only sandwiches at the Eden IPL (Indian Premier League) is different. There the food is not served by the CAB.”

A UAE charity has distributed food to some 900 poor families on Socotra Island in Yemen.

The assistance is part of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s 500 million dirham food aid to Yemeni people. His charity Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation distributed the food.

—IANS

Andhra Pradesh made history Sunday night by passing a bill to give statutory status to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribe sub-plans, ensuring allocation of funds to these sections in proportion to their population. .

The law will also ensure total utilization of funds allocated to these sections in the planned budget.

The Messenger of Allah (Sallellahu alaihi wa sallam) taught the youth the manners of companionship and the custom of giving precedence to elders. Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that the honoured companion Malik bin Al-Hwaireth (R.A.) said: ‘I was with a youth group that visited the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) in Madina for twenty nights. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) was very kind and compassionate. He sensed that we might have missed our families back home and he asked us about whom we had left behind.

A British couple has been arrested in Spain for allegedly pimping out their 11-year-old daughter to an over 70 year-old man as prostitute, a media report said.

Police arrested the expatriate couple on the holiday island of Majorca amid claims they sold the girl, now 15, to the 76-year-old man in exchange for money – for 12 pounds ($19)a time – over a five-year period.

It is understood the mother took her daughter to meet the man on each occasion, with amounts changing hands varying between 12 and 16 pounds (about $19 to 25), The Sun reported.

Jupiter, the largest after the Sun in the solar system, will be at its biggest and brightest tomorrow night much to the delight of sky-gazers.

The planet, which has a system of rings, is at its closest approach and thus would appear more big and bright than usual, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said.

The planet can be seen with naked eyes an hour after the sunset in the eastern direction tomorrow. It will be visible all through the night and at midnight one can spot it in the southern direction at a higher elevation, he said.

Taking a dig at Sushma Swaraj for her statment that Narendra Modi is fit to become the Prime Minister of the country, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh today said she must first make clear if BJP veteran L K Advani also agrees with her.

“It is alright if Sushma feels that Modi is good for the Prime Minister’s job, but she must first tell if Advani also agrees with her on this,” Digvijay said, talking to reporters at Dokaria village in Katni district.

Swaraj had said yesterday that the Gujarat Chief Minister is fit to become the Prime Minister.

Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court has halted its work “indefinitely” after protesters prevented justices from getting to their offices Sunday morning.

The court building is being blockaded by protesters supporting President Mohamed Morsi and his Nov 22 “Constitutional Declaration”.

The justices were not able to get into the court building and do their job because of the massed people blocking the way and shouting threats (against them), the court said in a statement announced on Egyptian television.

BJP leader Gopinath Munde today supported Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as party’s potential prime ministerial candidate, a day after senior colleague Sushma Swaraj said he is “fit” for the top post.

Arun Jaitley, another senior party leader, said BJP is proud of the fact it had a leader like Modi and he is so
popular and a “successful CM” that it is “natural” the party will keep his name “ahead” in the prime ministerial aspirants.

BJP’s Bihar unit chief C P Thakur, meanwhile, claimed that the endorsement of Swaraj, the Leader of Opposition in

Three persons were today arrested from Bollaram area for allegedly setting on fire a door belonging to Jama Masjid in order to stoke communal tension in the city, police said.

The arrested have been identified as S Madan Mohan, Sunil and Uday all residents of Bollarum. The cops are on look out for Sandeep and Bharat of Nizamabad.The incriminating material i.e. Diesel Can, Burnt Cloth, which were used by the accused in commission of this offence were seized. The remaining accused are at large and efforts are being continued to trace out them by forming special teams.

Public sector carrier Air India on Sunday said that it has successfully completed the Haj 2012 operations, terming it as one of the most successful operation ever by the carrier.

“Air India has successfully completed the Haj 2012 operation. In fact, this has been one of the most successful Operation ever by Air India,” the company said.

As per the carrier, the last Haj flight departed Madina for Ahmedabad at 0355 hours today.

The company said that a total of 54,400 pilgrims have been transported during the Haj 2012.

More than 50 people, most of them militants, have been killed in Afghanistan since Saturday morning, Xinhua reported Sunday.

Fourteen people were killed when Taliban carried out multiple suicide bombings and armed attack against an Afghan-NATO military base located in a local airport in Nangarhar province’s Jalalabad city early Sunday.

“Nine anti-government militants, three Afghan security members and two civilians were killed in Sunday morning’s attack against Jalalabad airport,” a local government statement said.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will participate in various programmes on his 10th leg of Indiramman Bata from Monday.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA T Harish Rao stated in the Legislative Assembly on Sunday that his party was secular since its inception and would remain so in future too.

Responding to MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi’s suggestion to TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao for not joining the BJP-led NDA, the TRS MLA said that the TRS has always been a secular party. He said KCR was known for his secular credentials and the TRS too has remained secular since its inception.

At least 15 people died and 24 were injured in a powerful blast in the Syrian city of Homs Sunday, the state news agency SANA reported.

The explosion, which left many wounded critically, caused extensive damage to nearby apartment buildings, the report said.

Anti-government rebels have been locked in a protracted civil war with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. According to the UN, nearly 40,000 have died since the fighting began in March 2011.

—IANS

Former minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Sunday ruled out the possibility of formation of Telangana Front.

Talking to reporters here, Komatireddy said that while the possibilities of formation of a Telangana Front were remote, he might not be a part of the proposed front, if it gets formed. He complained that no one supported him when he resigned from the minister’s post for the cause of Telangana.

Iran will construct a power plant in Iraq to generate electricity for Shiite Muslim shrines in that country, Xinhua reported Sunday.

According to an Iranian energy official, the Islamic republic would construct the power plant to generate 163MW of electricity for consumption in Iraq’s holy Shiite shrines. The electricity generated by the power plant would be used in the holy shrines of Karbala city and the surplus would be sold to the Iraqi government.

Former minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Sunday ruled out the possibility of formation of Telangana Front.

Talking to reporters here, Komatireddy said that while the possibilities of formation of a Telangana Front were remote, he might not be a part of the proposed front, if it gets formed. He complained that no one supported him when he resigned from the minister’s post for the cause of Telangana.