Month: July 2013

Egypt army, Oppn ultimatum to Morsi, 16 dead in clashes

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Egypt’s powerful army today warned that it will intervene if people’s demands were not met within 48 hours after millions took to the streets demanding the resignation of beleaguered President Mohamed Morsi, as at least 16 people were killed in clashes across the country.

“The armed forces reiterates its call that the demands of the people be met,” a televised statement from the armed forces said, giving political parties a 48-hour period “as a last chance to bear the historical burden that the nation is currently facing.”

65,000 Indians in Saudi legally secure ahead of visa deadline

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Nearly 65,000 Indians in Saudi Arabia have already collected their travel documents and are legally secure in the oil-rich country ahead of the July 3 deadline to regularise their residency under an amnesty programme.

Around 90,000 Indians had approached the Embassy of India for regularisation of their documents as part of the amnesty programme, which is set to end on July 3, according to a senior official.

There have been calls for extension of the programme considering a large number of applications that are yet to be sorted, but no announcement has yet been made to this effect.

Indian Embassy among 38 ‘targets’ spied upon by US NSA: Report

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The Indian Embassy in the US is among the list of 38 diplomatic missions which were being spied upon by American intelligence agencies, as per the latest top secret US National Security Agency documents leaked by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

US was using a wide range of spying methods including bugging, the Guardian daily in London said quoting the leaked report. “One document lists 38 embassies and missions, describing them as ‘targets’.

Beni Prasad Varma cautions Muslims against SP’s vote bank politics

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Intensifying his attack on Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Union minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday accused him of betraying Muslims, who should be wary of SP’s vote bank politics.

The Congress leader terming the SP government “as government of looters” vowed to settle his 30-year-old score with the SP chief.

The Union steel minister was here today to lay the foundation stone of a steel processing plant, which will have the capacity of producing 72,000 tonnes of steel bars every year.

India, Pakistan exchange lists of prisoners

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India and Pakistan exchanged a list of prisoners lodged in each other’s jails following a 2008 pact, an official statement said Monday.

The foreign office of Pakistan handed over to the Indian High Commission here a list of 491 Indian prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails, while a similar list of 386 Pakistani prisoners was handed over to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi by the ministry of external affairs.

Dhoni out of Windies tri-series, Kohli to lead

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India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni Monday was been ruled out of the ongoing tri-series in the West Indies with a hamstring injury.

Dhoni picked up the injury while batting against the West Indies during the second ODI of the series Sunday here at the Sabina Park.

Board’s interim secretary Sanjay Patel said that senior selection committee has picked Ambati Rayudu as his replacement in the squad. Rayudu will join the team at the earliest.

Virat Kohli will lead India in the remainder of the tri-series.

Vodafone offers DOT Rs.4,000 crore for licence extension

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India’s second largest telecom player, Vodafone India, has offered to pay the department of telecom (DoT) Rs.4,000 crore for retaining 2G spectrum in three circles – Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata – as its licence is expiring here next year.

According to informed sources, Vodafone wrote to the DoT: “For extension of our licences for 20 years along with the current mix of spectrum and a flat spectrum usage charge of 3 percent of AGR, we are willing to pay Rs.4,000 crore.”

It offered to pay Rs.1,700 crore each for Delhi and Mumbai circles and Rs.600 crore for the Kolkata circle.

Four murdered in Delhi

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Four people, including a teenager, were murdered here in the past 24 hours, police said Monday.

In the first incident, an 18-year-old youth was stabbed to death by unidentified attackers outside his house in the early hours Monday, police said.

Police said that Sarvesh, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, was found in a pool of blood outside his home in Amar Colony in south Delhi. A neighbour took him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. He had a deep injury on his neck. A case of murder has been registered.

Our proposals create awareness, says Bengal rights panel

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Even if all its recommendations may not have been acted upon, the West Bengal Human Rights Commission has been successful in generating public awareness and public criticism, its chairperson said here Monday.

“The commission is a recommendatory body and its recommendations are not binding (on the government). Although normally they are accepted, even if they are not, they have an effect on society, on the conscience of people, which is important,” the commission’s chairperson Asok Kumar Ganguly said here.

Some Tripura royals had tried for merger with East Pakistan’

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A section in the then ruling Tripura royal family had tried to merge the northeastern princely state with East Pakistan, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar revealed Monday.

“A section in the former royal family had tried to merge Tripura with the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). But the last king of Tripura (Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (1923-1947) before his death, had expressed his desire to keep Tripura with the Indian union,” Sarkar said while addressing the special one-day session of the state assembly to celebrate its golden jubilee.

Amid Telangana talk, Digvijaya Singh calls on Andhra governor

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Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh called on Andhra Pradesh Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan Monday night.

The meeting assumed significance in view of the statement by the Congress leader that a decision on Telangana issue would be announced soon.

After meeting leaders from both Telangana and Rayalaseema (Rayalaseema and Andhra) through the day, the incharge of party affairs in the state called on the governor Monday night at the Raj Bhavan.

Najeeb Jung is new Delhi Lt Governor

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Najeeb Jung, who has been named the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, is an Indian Administrative Service officer who was planning for his retirement when he was named the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi in 2009, an appointment he did not expect.

Under his leadership the 92-year-old university has progressed from being seen as a “dressed up madrassa” to an acknowledged centre of modern and secular education, research and extra-curricular activities.

NRI booked for rape, fraud in Gurgaon

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A non-resident Indian (NRI) transporter living in the US was booked here for rape and fraud by his Indian wife, police said Monday.

An FIR registered at Sushant Lok police station here alleged that Deepak Kharab, NRI living in California in the US, married a woman without divorcing his two wives.

A 39-year-old divorcee, resident of Aar Dee City here, filed a complaint claiming that the accused married her without divorcing his two wives.

Egypt army gives Morsi 48 hours to compromise in crisis

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Egypt’s powerful armed forces issued a virtual ultimatum to Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Monday, calling on the nation’s feuding politicians to agree on an inclusive roadmap for the country’s future within 48 hours.

A dramatic military statement broadcast on state television declared the nation was in danger after millions of Egyptians took to the streets on Sunday to demand that Mursi quit and the headquarters of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood were ransacked.

19 firefighters die in US blaze

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Wild fire killed 19 firefighters Sunday in Arizona, forestry officials of the US state confirmed.

It was the biggest ever firefighter tragedy in the state as the wild fire in the Yarnell Hill ripped through half of the town, according to reports reaching Los Angeles.

Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman, was quoted by Arizona media as saying that the 19 firefighters were found in an area that also had fire shelters, reported Xinhua.

Govt to seek aid from World Bank, ADB to rebuild Uttarakhand

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Government will seek financial aid from multilateral bodies like World Bank and Asian Development Bank for reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.

He said funds will not be a constraint for rebuilding the mountainous state which had witnessed the worst ever floods last month that killed several hundreds and destroyed properties worth crores.

Left blames Trinmool for panchayat polls in Ramadan

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Lashing out at the West Bengal government for implicating some of its leaders in “false criminal cases”, the Left Front Monday held the Trinamool Congress regime of Mamata Banerjee responsible for the polls being scheduled during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Left Front chairman Biman Bose, who was briefing media persons after a meeting of the combine’s partners, said the booking of number of its leaders in the cases did not bode well for democracy.

Dhoni is not feeling good, says BCCI source

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Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who did not keep wickets against the West Indies during the team’s tri-nation series opener in Jamaica yesterday after sustaining a hamstring injury while batting, is to be examined by the doctors before deciding future course of action.

“Dhoni is not feeling good. He is going to be examined. He has a hamstring issue,” a source in the BCCI said here.

Dhoni handed over the wicket keeping duties to teammate Dinesh Karthik in their opening match last night, which was won by the West Indies by one wicket at Sabina Park, Kingston.

Diesel price hiked by 50 paise per litre

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Diesel price was today hiked by 50 paisa per litre, the sixth increase in rates this year.The increase in rates, which are excluding local sales tax or VAT, will be effective from midnight tonight, Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest oil firm, said.

Diesel in Delhi will cost Rs 50.84 per litre from tomorrow as against Rs 50.26 currently.Oil firms on Saturday hiked petrol price by Rs 1.82 per litre, excluding VAT, as rupee depreciation made import of raw material (crude oil) costlier.

Railway bribery case: CBI awaits nod to act against official

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The CBI is trying to file a charge sheet in the railway job bribery case by July 3 and still awaiting sanction from the ministry to prosecute key accused Mahesh Kumar, sources said Monday.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Ranjit Sinha told reporters here that the probe was still underway.

“The probe is still on. We will try to file the charge sheet,” Sinha said when asked if the agency would meet the deadline of filing the formal set of charges within 60 days.

BJP, JD-U exchange barbs over Modi’s ‘rescue’ act

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday took a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s Uttarakhand “rescue mission”, saying he could not do a similar act as he was not “Rambo”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, long-time ally of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U), hit back, saying being a “Rambo” was better than being a “dumbo”.

News reports earlier had claimed Modi rescued 15,000 Gujaratis in a day from Uttarakhand, which was hit by devastating flash floods and landlides.

Gujarat High Court dismisses petition of top cop in Ishrat Jahan case

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The Gujarat High Court on Monday dismissed absconding Additional Director General of Police P.P. Pandey”s petition seeking quashing of a complaint against him in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

Justice Harsha Devani today dismissed Pandey”s prayer, saying he an absconder despite being a top police officer of additional DGP rank and his plea should not be entertained.

The Gujarat High Court said a cognizable offence is made out in the FIR and adequate proof exists as three out of four accused persons were in prior custody of the police.

Decision on Telangana not an easy one, says Digvijay Singh

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Asserting that the decision to create a separate state of Telangana is not an easy one, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday said whatever decision has to be taken would be taken in the best interest of the nation, in the best interest of the state and in the best interest of the welfare of the people of Andhra Pradesh. “I have had the experience of the division of a state when Chhattisgarh was created out of Madhya Pradesh. It”s not an easy decision and the issues of division are also quite intricate.

Pak all-rounder Abdul Razzaq blames Zaka for ouster from national squad

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Veteran Test all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has blamed suspended Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf for his ouster from the national team. “He (Zaka) doesn’t liked me and instructed captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, coach Dav Whatmore and selectors not to consider me in Pakistan team,” Razzaq alleged him while talking on private channel on Saturday Night. Razzaq, 33, has scored 5080 runs and taken 284 wickets in 265 ODIs. Razzaq, who has been a part of the Pakistan cricket team for 15 years, has also played 46 Tests. (ANI)
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PCB needs to rebuild trust with ICC: Pak editorial

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to come up with a proper and long-term strategy if it wants to rebuild trust with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the global community to bring back international cricket to Pakistan.