Month: March 2013

No competition in BJP for PM’s post: L K Advani

by

Amid growing clamour in BJP to name Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha elections, veteran BJP leader L K Advani today said there was no competition in the party for the top post.

“There is no competition for the post of Prime Minister within the party,” Advani told reporters in the state capital Gandhinagar when asked about competition in the party for PM’s post.

Advani, who came to attend a meeting of District Rural Development Agency here, also predicted early Lok Sabha elections.

Actress Meera to contest against Imran Khan in Pakistan election

by

Film actress Meera, who has appeared in two Indian movies, is expected to contest against cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan during Pakistan’s upcoming general election on May 11.

Meera’s mother Shafqat Zohra told reporters today that her daughter may contest against Khan, the head of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, from a parliamentary seat in Lahore that includes the posh areas of Gulberg, Model town, Garden town and Faisal town.

Dhoni shares tips with his racing team

by

India cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s passion for bikes is quite well known. Thus, the two riders of his Mahi Racing Team India were in for a pleasant surprise when the he easily shifted gears while talking to them about the nuances of bike racing and its technical aspects.

Dhoni formed Mahi Racing Team India, which raced in the FIM Supersport World Championship in 2012, to promote superbike racing in India. The team made a good start to the season with Kenan Sofuoglu winning the first race at Philip Island, Australia and Fabien Foret finished fourth.

Online shopping portal officials held for cheating

by

The director and chief operations officer of an online shopping portal have been arrested for cheating several customers by not providing them the goods they bought inspite getting money in advance, said police Saturday.

Arindam Bose, 47, the director on online shopping portal ‘timtara.com’, and his associate Harish Ahluwalia, 35, were arrested from Sector-63 in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida Friday on the basis of over 200 complaints filed against them from all across the country.

KKR preparing to unleash spin mystery duo

by

Alongside the bowling hero of last edition Sunil Narine, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to unleash another mystery bowler in the form of Sri Lankan offie Sachithra Senanayake.

“Senanayake is a different type of bowler and that is why he was picked at the auction. He is difficult to read and along with Narine, he will add to our bowling firepower,” KKR assistant coach Vijay Dahiya said Saturday.

The 27-year-old Senanayake, yet to make his IPL debut, was the highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps in the 2011-12 Sri Lanka Premier League.

Andhra speaker issues notices to 18 Congress, TDP rebels

by

The Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker Saturday issued notices to 18 rebel legislators of ruling Congress party and main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), asking them why they should not be disqualified.

Speaker N. Manohar issued notices to nine legislators each of Congress and TDP after their respective parties submitted petitions, seeking their disqualification. These legislators had defied the whips issued by their respective parties to support no-confidence motion moved by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the assembly against the Congress government a few days ago.

Akhilesh seeks extension of set top box deadline

by

With just a day left for set top boxes to be installed failing which cable TV signals will snap, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Saturday sought deferring of the March 31 deadline by another six months.

In a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari, the chief minister asked him to ensure that the existing analog transmission in seven Uttar Pradesh cities is not stopped.

Phase II of the digitisation process covers Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Allahabad.

Indians vote like cattle: Markandey Katju

by

India is not a full-fledged democracy as 90 percent of its people vote like sheep and cattle, Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandey Katju said here Saturday.

Speaking to TV channel Headlines Today, Katju said: “Ninety percent Indians vote in droves like sheep and cattle. They are like a herd of cattle voting along caste and religious lines.”

“Because Indians vote like livestock, there are so many criminals in parliament,” he added.

It’s a shame that US Congressmen were paid for getting Narendra Modi a visa: Congress

by

Amidst a raging controversy over the funding of the visit of three members of the US Congress, who have spoken for an American visa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the Congressmen rejected allegations questioning the legitimacy of their trip.

The visit of a group of Americans including the three Congressmen — Aaron Schock, Cynthia Lummis and Cathy M Rodgers– and some businessmen has now been mired in a controversy following reports that the team members may have paid between $3,000 (Rs16,000) and $16,000 (Rs8.68 lakhs) each for the trip.

Hindus protest after woman converted to Islam in Pakistan

by

Members of Pakistan’s minority Hindu community staged a protest in southern Sindh province after a Hindu woman converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, according to a media report today.

The protest and a “wave of anger” within the minority community led to the postponement of polls for the Hindu Panchayat in Jacobabad yesterday. Reports from Jhanjhri Street area of Jacobabad said Ganga, the daughter of gold trader Ashok Kumar, married Asif Ali, son of another gold trader Bahadur Ali Surhio, at Amrot

Sharif Dargah after converting to Islam, the Dawn reported.

Panchayat cuts off girl’s hair in public for allegedly eloping with uncle

by

The police has registered a report against 16 people for being part of a tribal panchayat which punished a girl recently, for allegedly eloping, by cutting off her hair in public.

The tribal panchayat at Chikhlar village situated about five kilometres away from Betul district headquarters also punished the girl’s uncle for allegedly eloping with her, by making him run around with a garland of shoes and a grinding stone tied to his chest.

Police investigating source of MMS clip on TV actor Mona Singh’s complaint

by

Mumbai police have registered a case against unknown persons after TV actor Mona Singh lodged a complaint about an objectionable MMS clip on the social networking sites.

Police said they were trying to find out the IP address of the computer from where the clip was uploaded.

Police suspects that the culprit(s) is someone known to the actor.

“We suspect involvement of some local elements and we are trying to trace the IP address of the computer from where it was uploaded,” a police officer said.

A case was registered yesterday under the Information Technology Act.

Jesse Ryder out of coma, has no recollection of attack

by

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has come out of an induced coma and is talking to family and friends but doesn’t have any memory of the attack that put his life in severe danger.

Ryder was put in a state of induced coma after a bar brawl here threatens to end his cricketing career.

However, by Friday he had given a “thumbs up” to his neurosurgeon after his sedation levels were lowered.

HIV spreading among students in China

by

The number of Chinese students registered as infected with HIV is on the rise, with homosexual transmission becoming the major cause of new infections, an official here said today.

A total of 1,700 students were reported HIV positive in 2012, a 24.5 per cent increase year on year, Yu Jingjin, an official with the National Health and Family Planning Commission said.

Of the newly reported cases, 64.8 per cent of the infections are attributable to homosexual contact, Yu said, adding that 87 per cent of the total HIV/AIDS cases in 2012 came via sexual transmission.

Panthers Party demands probe report of NC worker’s death

by

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) Saturday demanded tabling of the Justice Bedi Commission report that probed the alleged custodial killing of a National Conference (NC) worker who had been summoned to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s camp office in 2011 on graft charges.

JKNPP president and legislator Balwant Singh Mankotia raised the issue during zero hour in the assembly and said: “The report of the one-man Justice Bedi Commission should be shared with people and tabled in the assembly.”

Prasar Bharti to be overhauled soon

by

A number of measures like improved content, setting up of a recruitment board, and filling up of vacant posts have been announced to invigorate Prasar Bharti – the country’s public broadcaster.

Of the 3,452 posts which were identified as critical for operations in June, 2009, 1,150 have been filled and a proposal to fill the remaining is under active consideration, a statement issued by Prasar Bharti said Thursday.

Approval has also been accorded to fill 3,023 posts in various categories like production assistant, cameraman, technician and head clerks, among others.

Hazare to begin nationwide tour Sunday

by

Anna Hazare will embark on a year-long, all-India tour from Sunday to campaign for a stronger Lokpal bill, electoral reforms and other issues he has been raising for the past few years, an aide said here.

The first phase of the nationwide tour, planned since a year, will kick off from Amritsar in Punjab, and then to Haryana and Uttaranchal. In these three states, the 75-year old Hazare is scheduled to address meetings in at least three dozen cities and towns, culminating in Haridwar on April 17.

Suspected Hizbul terrorist sent to judicial custody

by

A Delhi court Saturday sent suspected Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Syed Liyaqat Shah to judicial custody till April 12.

Shah, 47, a resident of Dardpora village in Kashmir’s Kupwara district, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur March 20 when he entered India through Sunauli border check post of Kathmandu where he flown in through Karachi.

Seven schoolkids injured in Karachi grenade attack

by

Seven children were injured in hand grenade attack at a school in Karachi Saturday morning, reported Xinhua, citing local media.

Samaa TV said that the incident happened at about 11.20 a.m. (local time) when some unknown gunmen hurled the grenade at the school located in Baldia Town area, and fled.

According to police, the school’s owner was associated with a political party and the attack was due to political differences.

The injured children were shifted to a nearby hospital where three of them were said to be in critical condition.

Infosys team coming to break Rajarhat deadlock: Minister

by

In an apparent move to break the deadlock over its stalled project in West Bengal, IT major Infosys is sending a delegation to West Bengal to find a way to resolve the issue, Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said Saturday.

The proposed project of the IT bellwether firm at Rajarhat in the eastern fringes of the city has failed to take off as the Mamata Banerjee government has been refusing to grant it special economic zone (SEZ) status or attribute a similar status to it.

Pakistan bans Musharraf from leaving country

by

Pakistan Saturday stopped former president Pervez Musharraf from leaving the country a day after a court ordered it.

The interior ministry issued directives to the immigration authorities to put Musharraf’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL), reported Xinhua, citing Radio Pakistan.

It also sent a notification to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which deals with the immigration affairs at the airports.

Man crushes infant daughters to death

by

A man crushed his two little daughters to death after a quarrel with his wife at Gonabana village in Garwah district on Friday, police said.

The accused Ramnandan Goswami was arrested, officer-in-charge of Meral Police station Jai Shankar Singh said. Goswami returned home in a drunken state on Thursday night and had quarrelled with his wife who complained his of having an illicit relation with his sister-in-law.

Goswami again quarrelled with his wife on Friday afternoon and picked up his eight-month-old and two-year-old daughters and crushed them on the ground, police said.

BJP uses Beni”s attack on Mulayam to target Congress

by

In wake of the derogatory remarks made by the Union Steel Minister against Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday alleged that the Congress Party”s fate can easily be determined when its leaders like Beni Prasad Verma attempt to be elections experts. “The fate of the Congress Party can easily be determined when its leaders like Beni Prasad Verma attempt to be elections experts,” said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Newly-married woman allegedly killed over dowry

by

A 20-year-old newly married woman was allegedly killed over dowry by her husband and in-laws in Rasra area in Uttar Pradesh’s Balia disctrict, police said on Saturday.

The woman died due to burn injuries in Sawarupur village on Friday. Her father Raghvendra has alleged that she was killed over dowry, they said.

Police said that the woman’s husband Deepak, father-in-law Shivnath and mother-in-law Dharmawati were arrested on Saturday morning.

–PTI

Panchayat cuts off girl’s hair in public for allegedly eloping

by

The police have registered a report against 16 people for being part of a tribal panchayat which punished a girl recently, for allegedly eloping, by cutting off her hair in public.

The tribal panchayat at Chikhlar village situated about five kilometres away from Betul district headquarters also punished the girl’s uncle for allegedly eloping with her, by making him run around with a garland of shoes and a grinding stone tied to his chest.