Month: April 2013

Hyderabad to host conference on sustainable tourism

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To help boost tourism in South-East Asia, a UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) meeting and three-day conference on sustainable tourism will be held in Hyderabad April 12-14, officials said Thursday.

Organised by the union ministry of tourism, the conference of the UNWTO would start April 12, while its 25th joint commission meeting would be held April 13.

Both the events will bring together delegates from various countries in south Asia, east Asia and the pacific to review the region’s performance in the tourism sector and deliberate on measures for further development.

Ramchandraiah seeks Naidu’s apology for Kapu comments

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Endowments Minister C Ramchandraiah on Thursday demanded that Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu tender an unconditional apology for allegedly making some remarks against Kapu community.

Addressing a press conference in the Congress Legislature Party office, Ramchandraiah said alleged that Naidu made some derogatory remarks against the Kapus and he must withdraw the remarks while tendering an apology.

TRS pickets Renuka’s house

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TRS women’s wing on Thursday picketed the house of AICC spokesperson Renuka Choudhary demanding an apology for her remarks against Telangana agitation.

Telangana Women groups JAC convenor Sandhya along with other activists sat on dharna in front of her residence at Banjara Hills. They were protesting against Renuka’s remarks on people who died during the Telangana agitation.

The protestors had thrown eggs, stones, slippers and brooms at her house. Police whisked them away from the scene. (INN)

Prof Kodandaram appears before court

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Telangana Political Joint Action Committee leader Prof M Kodandaram, MLA Etela Rajender and Jitender Reddy today appeared before a court near here on Thursday.

The leaders appeared before Alampur court in connection with the Sadak bandh case for stalling traffic on the Hyderabad-Kurnool highway demanding a separate state.

Police registered cases against many agitators and Prof Kodandaram was in jail. He was later released on bail. (INN)

BJP calls for AP Bandh on April 9

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The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday gave a call for State Bandh on April 9 over energy crisis and hike in power tariff.

Addressing a press conference at the State BJP Headquarters, BJP State President G Kishan Reddy sought the cooperation of people for the State Bandh. He said that the BJP’s hunger strike over power issue got overwhelming response from the people.

Governor Qureshi calls for end to cow slaughter

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Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi today called for an end to cow slaughter, asking those involved in the practice not to “hurt” the religious sentiments of any community.

Addressing a seminar on cow slaughter here, the Governor appealed to the members of the Qureshi community to give up slaughtering of cows so that “no community’s sentiments were hurt and people could live in peace”.

He also assured them that no action would be taken against them for indulging in the practice so far if they discard it.

Gadar’s wife meets CM

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Balladeer Gadar’s wife today called on chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy along with representatives of some social organizations.

“It is 16 years since Gadar was fired at by some miscreants and no action was taken against them,” they told the chief minister. Though a case was registered there was no progress in it and no one was arrested so far, they said.

Gadar was fired at by a group claiming to be from some unknown group at his Alwal residence in Secunderabad. He survived the attack and since then stopped frequent tours and singing. (INN)

India-Saudi Arabia talks on new labour policy ‘Nitaqat’ begin

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India has started consultations with Saudi Arabia and is likely send a ministerial delegation to Riyadh soon as a new labour policy of providing jobs compulsorily to locals, Nitaqat, has sparked panic and uncertainty among the 2.45 million expatriates.

In late March, Saudi officials started strict implementation of Nitaqat, a new policy aimed at creating employment opportunities for locals. The policy mandates that between 5% and 30% of employees at any enterprise must be locals.

Three men kidnap and gangrape 17-year-old girl

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A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three youths after being abducted in Riyavli Nagla village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

According to the police, the girl was gangraped on Wednesday in a nearby jungle after being abducted by the trio in a SUV. The girl was later threatened with dire consequences, if she revealed anything about the incident.

Police said a FIR has been lodged against the absconding three accused on the basis of a complaint filed the girl’s brother.

—PTI

Woman dies after wrongly treated for cancer

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A Chennai-based doctor and his nursing home have been directed by apex consumer commission to pay Rs five lakh to the father of a young woman who died after she was given treatment for cancer which she did not have.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) held Dr Kurien Joseph and his nursing home guilty of medical negligence for not performing the requisite tests or consulting an oncologist to confirm the woman had cancer before subjecting her to several rounds of chemotherapy.

Alienation hurts growth, says Rahul

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In comments that may be seen as an attack on Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said alienation of minorities hurts the country’s growth as he reached out to the industry for parternship in building a “brave empowered India” with inclusiveness and compassion.

In his first elaborate interaction with the industry, the 42-year-old, a probable Prime Ministerial candidate of the Congress, dubbed as “irrelevant” the talk about whether or not he would lead the country, saying one individual could not address all the complex problems of the country.

Justice Markandey Katju to spearhead ‘Court of Last Resort’

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After seeking pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt and Zaibunissa Kazi, found guilty in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju is set to launch a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) to offer justice to poor and helpless people.

The NGO, named “The Court of Last Resort”, will be headquartered in New Delhi and have branches in the states. It will be formally inaugurated April 15 at a function in the capital at Justice Katju’s home.

Teenage girl commits suicide in Kanpur

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Depressed over being lonely, a 13-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at Hanmunt Vihar in Nobasta area here, police said.

Sapna hanged herself yesterday after her father left for his office, they said.

In her suicide note, the victim said that she took the extreme step as her mother and brother were living in a village and she was feeling lonely, police said.

The family of the victim recently went to their native village on the occasion of Holi. The girl came back to her house in the city with her father but her mother and brother did not return.

–PTI

Assam minister duped of Rs 9 lakh

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An Assam minister Thursday said he had once become a victim of a fake financial institution which duped him of Rs nine lakh.

“I myself was once victim of one such firm, Red Carpet, which duped me of Rs 9 lakh. It was, however, before I had become an MLA,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilomoni Sen Deka told the state assembly.

The minister, however, assured the house that strict action was being taken against such fake companies in the state.

Teenaged girl commits suicide

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Depressed over being lonely, a 13-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself at Hanmunt Vihar in Nobasta area here, police said.

Sapna hanged herself yesterday after her father left for his office, they said.

In her suicide note, the victim said that she took the extreme step as her mother and brother were living in a village and she was feeling lonely, police said.

The family of the victim recently went to their native village on the occasion of Holi. The girl came back to her house in the city with her father but her mother and brother did not return.

Modi to address FICCI meet

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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address the annual general body meeting of the ladies’ wing of industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on April 8 here.

Modi will speak on the topic “Unleash the entrepreneur within; exploring new avenues”, a FICCI official said Thursday.

The Gujarat chief minister’s appointment with the FICCI comes close on the heels of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s address Thursday to another industry body, CII.

Injured Pattinson out of IPL

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Australia fast bowler James Pattinson will miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) and possibly the subsequent Champions Trophy due to an abdominal surgery which will take place Friday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced Thursday.

Pattinson, who plays for defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, will join national captain Michael Clarke (Pune Warriors India) as the second Australian to also miss the IPL due to an injury.

ATM security guard murdered; cash stolen

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An ATM security guard was murdered by some persons, who also damaged the machine and decamped with the cash at Thanichiam in this district early Thursday, police said.

Security personnel had visited the SBI ATM at 2 AM for inspection, affixed their signatures at the security check ledger and also took the signature of the guard. The theft had occurred later, they said.

Police said the exact amount of cash stolen and the number of gang members involved would be known after investigation.

–PTI

Lashkar threatens J&K village council members, girls

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In a bid to derail grassroot level democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Thursday threatened and asked village council members to resign from their elected posts.

The LeT posters threatening village members and asking girls to follow strict “Islamic dress code” appeared in Aharipal village, 50 km from here in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Pranab rejects mercy petitions in 5 cases, commutes death sentence in 2 others

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Out of seven people convicted for heinous crimes, President Pranab Mukherjee upheld execution in five cases commuting death sentence to life term in two others, media reports said. Details of the President’s decision on the pending mercy petitions were not available immediately.

Seven cases of multiple murders, including one in which a rape convict, Dharampal, went on to murder five members of the victim’s family when he was released on parole, were sent to the President for his final decision in February.

The cases involved nine persons in all.

Earthquake of 5.9-magnitude strikes Pakistan

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A 5.9-magnitude earthquake today rocked many parts of northern and central Pakistan, leaving at least three persons injured in Peshawar city.

The temblor, which occurred at around 11.30 am, was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Muzaffarabad, Chitral and Malakand.

The epicentre was located along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, state-run radio reported.

The quake was especially severe in Peshawar, where it was lasted almost 30 seconds, TV channels reported.

At least three persons were injured in the northwestern city, officials told the media.

11 Jharkhand legislators raided for cash-for-votes case

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The CBI Thursday conducted searches at the houses of 11 Jharkhand legislators in connection with the cash-for-vote charges in the 2010 Rajaya Sabha polls.

Sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation said the houses of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislators Vishnu Bhaiya, Suresh Paswan, RJD’s Sanjay Yadav and a few Congress legislators were raided in Ranchi, Jamtara, Koderma, Giridih and other districts of the state.

According to CBI sources, some vital documents were seized during the raids. The CBI has till now conducted searches at more than 15 places in the state.

Six cases of encounters in Manipur not genuine: Panel to SC

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A Supreme Court-appointed committee probing six cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur informed the court on Thursday that these were not genuine encounters and the victims, including a 12-year-old boy, did not have any criminal records.

A bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai perused the committee’s report which said none of the six cases qualify as encounters and they are fake.