Month: March 2013

Charter for Muslims to be implemented before LS polls: Khan

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With an eye on 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Urban Development minister Mohammad Azam Khan said a charter plan for the welfare of Muslims will be implemented before the elections.

“A charter plan for welfare and betterment (of Muslims) has been given to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. It will be implemented before Lok Sabha polls,” Khan told reporters here last evening.

He, however, did not elaborate on the charter but said it would help in alleviating suffering of Muslims to some extent.

On reservation for Muslims, Khan said it could not be provided without constitutional amendment.

Obama sure immigration reform coming soon

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President Barack Obama is confident that immigration reform to resolve the problem of 11 million illegal immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians, is coming soon.

A group of lawmakers are close to working out the details of their proposal, he said in interviews Wednesday with two of America’s largest Spanish-language broadcast television networks, Telemundo and Univision.

“I’m actually very optimistic that when they return in early April we will see a bill ready to move through the process,” he was quoted by CNN as telling Telemundo.

China to build two Antarctic research stations

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China plans to build two new research stations in Antarctica by 2015 and site inspections are already being conducted by an expedition team, authorities said.

A summer station that can be used from December to March will be set up between the existing Zhongshan and Kunlun stations to provide replenishment and other logistical support, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said Thursday.

The station will be used to study geology, glaciers, geomagnetism and atmospheric science in Antarctica, reported Xinhua.

Shireenjit Kaur is Miss India Indonesia

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Shireenjit Kaur is Miss India Indonesia. She will now represent Indonesia in the Miss India Worldwide contest to be held in Malaysia April 27.

The Miss India Indonesia 2013 beauty pageant, which was organised here earlier this week, witnessed 28 young women vying for the coveted crown. Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh was the chief guest of the event which aims to build a bridge between Indian and Indonesian communities. His wife Neeru Singh, a civil servant who has worked with the UN, was among the panel of judges.

New Governing body for AP Real Estate Developers’ Association

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The Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developers’ Association (APREDA) has announced the new Governing Body for a two year term during its 17th Annual General Body Meeting held here on Thursday.

P Dasharath Reddy has been elected as the new President of APREDA and Chalapathi Rao and B Sunil Chandra Reddy as Executive Vice Presidents. The General Body elected M Vijaya Sai as the Secretary General and K Gopalakrishna as the Treasurer of APREDA.

Tractor yatra for Rayalaseema

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It seems to be agitations galore in the state with all the political parties going to the people either in the form of protest programmes or to highlight the welfare schemes.

While TRS has planned to go on a bus yatra to enlighten people about the separate statehood, Rayalaseema protagonists are planning a different yatra.

Shoe thrown at Musharraf in a Pakistan court

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A man lobbed a shoe at former President Pervez Musharraf when he appeared in a Pakistani court here on Friday, but it did not hit him.
The unidentified man hurled the shoe towards Musharraf while he was leaving the Sindh high court this morning after obtaining a 15-day extension of his pre-arrest bail in a series of cases.

The shoe fell a few feet in front of the 69-year-old former military ruler, who was surrounded by security personnel and TV cameramen.

Footage on TV showed the shoe flying through the air and landing in a group of people in front of Musharraf.

FM offers olive branch to SP, assures all help to UP govt

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In the midst of talk over Samajwadi Party withdrawing support to UPA government, finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday appeared to woo the party, saying the Centre will stand by Uttar Pradesh in its development.

“I want to take this opportunity to assure the chief minister and his team, as well as the president of their party Netaji that government of India is committed to stand by Uttar Pradesh in its development,” he said while inaugurating 300 new bank branches in the state.

5 of a family commit suicide believing they will meet god

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Five members of a family, including three children, drop dead after consuming poison to end their lives and meet Lord Shiva in heaven.

The incident happened on Monday night in Sawai Modhopur’s Gangapur city when an eight-member family, including three children aged between 10 and 16 years, consumed poison suspected to be cyanide. Three of the family were struggling for their lives in two hospitals here.

Woman Maoist surrenders in AP

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A 25-year-old woman Maoist carrying a cash reward of Rs four lakhs on her head today surrendered before the police at Narasipatnam here.

Maoist Sadai alias Sadana was the prime accused in 4-5 encounter cases, including those at Balimela and Gunukurai areas of the district, Officer on Special Duty, Narasipatnam, Damodar said.

She was also allegedly involved in several other criminal activities in the agency area of Visakhapatnam district, he said.

Sadai had been a part of the ultras movement for the last ten years and worked with the Korukonda Dalam, he added.

—PTI

10-year-old boy abducted, killed in Meerut

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The body of a 10-year-old boy, who was allegedly kidnapped in Faridabad, has been recovered from Thana Jani area here, police said today.

The boy was allegedly kidnapped from Faridabad district on Holi, Thana Jani Station House Officer said, adding that one person was arrested in this connection.

The accused was brought here by Haryana Police this morning and, on his identification, the victim’s body was recovered from a forest in Pooth village, the SHO said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem.

—PTI

BSP leader Deepak Bharadwaj’s killers identified

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The Delhi Police on Friday said they have identified the two men involved in the murder of realtor and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Deepak Bhardwaj.

The shooters were Sunil and Purushottam alias Monu, police said.

“We recovered a Skoda car which was used by the duo during the incident. It was recovered from outer Delhi yesterday (Thursday),” a police officer told a news agency.

He added that the car owner, Rakesh, has been taken into police custody. The car has been impounded.

15 arrested for vandalising place of worship

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Fifteen persons have been arrested for vandalising a place of worship at Buchchakheri village in Shamli district, police said here today.

“43 persons were booked for vandalising a religious place on Tuesday, of which 15 were arrested yesterday,” SP Abdul Hamid said.

The trouble arose when the wood, which was to be burnt during the festival of Holi, was found burnt before time, the SP said.

Irate people entered the place of worship of a community and vandalised it, he said.

Police force was rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control, he said.

BSP leader’s killers identified

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Delhi Police Friday said they have identified the two men involved in the murder of realtor and former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Deepak Bharadwaj.

The shooters were Sunil and Purushottam alias Monu, police said.

“We recovered a Skoda car which was used by the duo during the incident. It was recovered from outer Delhi yesterday (Thursday),” a police officer told IANS.

He added that the car owner, Rakesh, has been taken into police custody. The car has been impounded.

Serena Williams to meet Sharapova in Sony Open final

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Five-time champion Serena Williams advanced to the Sony Open tennis final here by defeating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-3.

Williams, ranked No.1, will play four-time runner-up Maria Sharapova for the title Saturday night, reports Xinhua.

Williams had struggled in her previous two matches but played almost error-free tennis in the semifinal, using her superior power to keep Radwanska on the run. They played for 37 minutes and 55 points before Radwanska won a game.

Radwanska, who also lost to Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final, fell to 1-11 against No.1 players.

–_IANS

Pakistani court extends Musharraf’s bail

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Former president Pervez Musharraf’s bail was extended for 15 days Friday by a Pakistani court, a media report said.

Musharraf arrived at the Sindh High Court seeking to extend his period of bail in a series of cases, including the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, reported Geo News.

Musharraf Sunday returned to Pakistan after four years in self-imposed exile, spending time in London and Dubai.

Sri Lanka police probe attack on Muslim establishment

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The police in Sri Lanka on Friday said they were investigating an attack on a fashion store warehouse by a mob including several monks.

Security was strengthened outside the Muslim owned Fashion Bug warehouse at Pepiliyana, just outside the capital Colombo.

The police said that at least 20 men led by some monks had initially carried out the attack on Thursday night damaging the building and property including a vehicle.

6 killed, 12 injured in suicide attack in NW Pakistan

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A suicide bomber targeting a convoy of paramilitary troops left six people killed and 12 others injured in Pakistan”s northwest city of Peshawar on Friday morning, a senior officer said.

Majeed Marwat, inspector general of the Frontier Corps (FC), said that a suicide bomber exploded himself near the convoy when he was stopped at a security check post at Fakhar-e-Alam Road of a military area in Peshawar.

Six people including two women and a FC man were killed and 12 others including three troops were injured in the blast.

Atif Aslam ties knot with long-time sweetheart

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Pakistani singing sensation Atif Aslam has finally married his long-time sweetheart in Lahore.

Atif met wife-to-be Sarah Bharwana at Kirnnaird College about 12 years ago.

According to the Express Tribune, Atif and Sarah became close friends and got engaged in October 2011.

Radio host Dr Ejaz Waris said that the wedding event was intended to be low-key, with no media invited to cover it.

Waris also said that the marriage had not taken place earlier because Atif had some business commitments.

Christians observing Good Friday today

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Good Friday, or the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified, is being observed by Christians across the world.

Churches and cathedrals across the nation have also organized special prayers and masses.

In Goa, prayers and masses are being organized in all the Churches and Chapels to mark the occasion.

Hundreds of devout Catholics gather in Panaji Church of Mary Immaculate Conception to listen to Mass and participate in the way of the cross.

During the afternoon sermon, the priests narrate the sufferings that Jesus Christ took upon himself for the sake of humanity.

Tendulkar named ‘Man of the Series’ against Australia per IBM Social Sentiment Index

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Sachin Tendulkar is the Man of the Series as per IBM Social Sentiment Index for the Border Gavaskar Test Series.

Ravindra Jadeja emerges as the highest trending bowler and fastest social scorer in the series. During the Border-Gavasker Test series, IBM applied advanced analytics software and natural language processing to cricket to build a social score board for the Indian Players.

Robbery case agnst gangrape accused for trial

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An order on the start of the trial in a robbery case involving five accused in the December 16 gangrape will be passed by a Delhi court on April 10.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain today posted the matter for committing it to a sessions court as the offences under which the accused have been chargesheeted are exclusively “triable” by a sessions judge.

Teenaged girl kidnapped, murdered in Maha village

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A teenaged girl was allegedly kidnapped and later murdered by an unidentified man here, police said today.

The 14-year-old victim was kidnapped by a person when she was returning home from school at Sangalat near Khed in Ratnagiri district yesterday.

Later, when the villagers searched for her they found the body, bearing wounds apparently inflicted by a sharp weapon.

—PTI

UN arms treaty not harmful to India’s security interests: US

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The draft of a UN arms treaty that would regulate the multi-billion-dollar global arms trade will not harm India’s national interests, the US today said, allaying New Delhi’s concern over its text.

“While I appreciate the concerns that has been expressed very clearly by India’s representative here, my own view is that this treaty will not be harmful to India’s security and certainly not in any way harm the very strong bilateral relationship between India and the US,” said Tom Countryman, head of the US delegation to the Arms Trade Treaty Conference.

US school shooter had an arsenal at home, in car

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Adam Lanza, who last December massacred 20 children at an elementary school, had an arsenal of several firearms, over 1,600 rounds of ammunition, 11 knives, a starter pistol, a bayonet and 3 samurai swords.

These were among the items discovered by police after Lanza, 20, shot dead 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec 14, 2012 after killing his mother, Nancy, 52, at home.