Month: August 2013

Tendulkar, Lara on equal terms, says Waugh

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Former Australian captain Steve Waugh today rated Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar as “equals” because they played in different conditions and under different sort of pressures.

“I hate comparisons between players because it unnecessarily creates controversy. Both played under different pressure and for different teams. I would place them pretty much on equal terms,” Waugh told reporters during an interaction organised by Brigade Orchards here.

Lara and Tendulkar were unbelievable players, who won games for their teams, playing under different conditions, Waugh said.

We will promote trade, business with India: PM Sharif

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Relations between India and Pakistan should be like that of two neighbours, with the focus being on trade and business, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today.

Sharif made the remarks while interacting with reporters during a rare visit to Karachi, Pakistan’s financial hub. Asked by a journalist about the state of ties with India, he said relations “should be like how relations are between two neighbours”.

If I continue in Cong, people will beat me up: Cong MP from AP

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“If I continue with Congress, people will beat me up,” party MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao today, two days after announcing his decision to quit the party in the wake of UPA’s decision to split Andhra Pradesh.

“I will decide the future course of action after my return,” Rao told PTI from New York when asked whether he was joining YSR Congress headed by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, which is against bifurcation of the state.

Rao, who is also the Lok Sabha member from Guntur, said that soon after his return to India he would quit Congress as also his parliamentary seat.

BJP must be in fantasy land in projecting Modi as India’s next PM: Rajeev Shukla

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Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said that his party is confident and prepared to fight the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, irrespective of who the opposition’s Prime Ministerial candidate would be.

Earlier on Thursday, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told media persons in Rajgarh “I am saying with full confidence that Narendra Modi will be the country’s next Prime Minister.

Cong messed up Telangana issue, says Jagan’s party

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Maintaining that it was not against the division of Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress today accused the Congress of “hurting” the feelings of one region by failing to properly address the issue.

“We are clear on our stand. We wanted the Centre to play the role of the head of a family and sort out the issue amicably. But it has failed in its duty and has not been impartial. We condemn this deed of the Congress and we are not against separation,” party spokesperson Jupudi Prabhakar told reporters here.

Father burns alive two daughters aged 6 and 7

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In a gruesome incident, a father of five burnt alive two of his daughters after pouring petrol on them near the city police CID office.

“We have booked Govind Rathod for murdering his two daughters by pouring petrol on them and setting them afire. Further investigations are on to ascertain what was the motive behind his act,” Meghaninagar police inspector D A Desai told.

As per the FIR, Govind Rathod, a resident of D-Colony in Naroda area, took his two daughters, Neha (7) and Punam (6), in his autorickshaw, after telling his wife Indu that he would drop them off at their school.

Advani praises Modi, Chouhan

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BJP leader L K Advani today praised Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the same breath saying the two chief ministers have provided good governance in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

The remarks were significant as Advani, who is not on the best of terms with Modi and had even resigned from all party posts after he was made the poll campaign head, today skipped a crucial meeting of party with RSS in the national capital though the BJP said it was because of his prior commitments.

Raja Bhaiyya beams as CBI exonerates him in cop’s murder

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The politician claimed on Thursday that a political conspiracy had been hatched to drag him into the murder case.

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya on Thursday said he was happy the CBI had cleared him in the murder of deputy superintendent of police Zia ul Haq.

The independent legislator spoke to the media after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a final report in a court.

Informed sources say the investigative agency has cleared Raja Bhaiyya and his four aides of the murder and conspiracy charges.

2G scam: Supreme Court issues notice to CBI of Reliance Telecom plea

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Business tycoon Anil Ambani is to appear before the Special CBI court on August 22 and his wife has been summoned to appear a day after.

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from CBI on petitions filed by Reliance Telecom and the other accused in 2G spectrum allocation scam seeking recall of its order by which other courts were barred from hearing in the case.

Lawrence, Adams strip for film

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Actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams will strip down to sensual swimwear for steamy scenes in their latest film “American Hustle”.

Directed by David O. Russell, the film is loosely based on the 1980’s ABSCAM scandal.

In a first look of the film, the actresses’ raunchy female characters sashay their way past the likes of Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Snowden asylum ‘limited blow’ to Russia-US ties: Experts

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After 40 days of being stranded in a Moscow airport, fugitive US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden received temporary asylum in Russia. However, experts say that despite an apparent desire for the least impact from both countries, the one-year permission would still deal a “limited blow” to the Russia-US ties.

The US had made it clear several times that any help to Snowden from Russia would harm bilateral relations, Veronika Krasheninnikova, director of the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies and Initiatives, told Xinhua.

Scherzinger to meet Hamilton in Monaco

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Singer Nicole Scherzinger, who has broken up with Formula One drive Lewis Hamilton, is reportedly planning to take a flight to Monaco to meet her ex-boyfriend .

Scherzinger, a judge on British reality show “The X Factor”, parted ways with Hamilton recently after being in a relationship for over five years. However, the latter has expressed his will to patch up.

“Lewis isn’t racing for almost a month and Nicole has some time off from the show, so she’s decided to fly out to see him,” dailystar.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

Zardari asks US to plan for Pakistan’s economic development

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Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the international community, particularly the US, to prepare a plan for his country’s economic development and stability that has been badly hit by terrorism.

Zardari said this during a meeting Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Islamabad, Xinhua quoted a presidential spokesman as saying.

Jessie J wants kids

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Singer-songwriter Jessie J has been feeling broody and says she wants kids very soon.

The 25-year-old, who is single as of now, has started to think about family life, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“When I turned 25, something changed in me. I see children in my future 100 percent. Very soon. I started thinking I want my kids to look back and say, ‘Wasn’t mummy amazing?’ I’ve really started thinking about what I’m leaving for them,” Marie Claire magazine quoted her as saying.

Police officer, driver killed in Pakistan

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A police officer and his driver were killed when unknown assailants ambushed their vehicle on outskirts of this city in northwest Pakistan, local police said.

The incident occurred on Haryana Road on the outskirts of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakthunkhwa last night.

Station House Officer (SHO) Daudzai Amir Sultan was on a routine patrol along with his driver Javed and guard Imranullah when militants attacked their vehicle and ridden it with bullets, police said.

Obama calls Netanyahu and Abbas on resumption of peace talks

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US President Barack Obama called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on this week’s resumption of the final status negotiation of the peace talks, the White House said.

“The President reaffirmed that the United States stands ready to support the parties in achieving a just and lasting peace based on the two state solutions, and will continue to work closely with the Palestinian Authority to achieve this goal,” a statement released by the White House has said.

US confident of having security agreement with Afghanistan

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The United States has exuded confidence that it will be able to conclude the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with Afghanistan soon after the resumption of negotiations.

The negotiations which were in highly advance stage of completion were suspended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently in protest against US efforts to hold direct talks with the Taliban.

“Significant progress had been made in the negotiations before they were suspended, and we’re confident that we can conclude an agreement soon after they resume,” the State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf.

US and China hold talks over human rights issues

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United States and China held an in-depth and frank discussions on human rights issues during the recently concluded dialogue between the two countries, a State Department official said.

“The two sides held in-depth and frank discussions on the rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and other human rights issues, including specific cases of concern,” said State Department spokesperson, Marie Harf.

US passes resolution to rememeber Wisconsin Gurdwara victims

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US Senate has unanimously passed a resolution remembering victims of the Oak Creek Gurdwara shooting on the occasion of the first anniversary of the tragic incident.

Condemning in the strongest possible terms that horrific shooting, the resolution sponsored by the two Senators from Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, honored the memory of Suveg Singh Khattra, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Ranjit Singh, Sita Singh, Paramjit Kaur, and Prakash Singh, who were shot dead by a white supremacist named Wade Michael Page.

Indian American announces bid to run for mayor in US city

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Chennai-born Indian American Suja Lowenthal has announced her bid to run for Mayor of Long Beach, which is the second largest city in Los Angeles County of California in US.

Currently serving her second term as City Council, Suja is pitted against five other candidates.

Suja Lowenthal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCLA, a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from USC.

BJP alleges Rs. 1,000 cr scam in transport dept

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The Delhi BJP on Thursday alleged a Rs. 1,000 crore scam in Delhi government’s transport department and demanded a CBI inquiry into it.

The opposition party claimed that investigators were not allowed to carry out a thorough probe as high- profile people, including the chief minister, were involved.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Delhi government has been probing the alleged irregularities in award of fitness test of commercial vehicles to a private firm in 2008 without inviting any tender, the party said.

Advani targets Congress over attack on party leader

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Terming as a ‘grim tragedy’ the recent murder of a party functionary in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader LK Advani on Thursday slammed the “rise” in incidents of attacks on members of saffron outfits and asked the Congress whether it was a crime to be nationalist.

Advani on Thursday skipped a crucial meeting of RSS and BJP leaders in Delhi post his public fall-out over elevation of Narendra Modi as head of party campaign committee and participated in a homage meeting to condole the murder of party’s Tamil Nadu BJP General secretary V Ramesh on July 19.

Details of lunch hosted by Sonia to be withheld: CIC

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The details of a lunch hosted by Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at Ashoka Hotel here in 2012 can be withheld from disclosure as no ministry or government department had paid any bills for it, the Central Information Commission has held.

The question was raised by RTI applicant Aseem Takyar who wanted to know from Ashoka Hotel the expenses incurred on the lunch hosted by Gandhi on July 18, 2012.

The hotel refused to disclose the details saying the information was of the nature of commercial confidence and disclosing payments made by its guests would compromise its market position.

Congress MPs, Union Ministers from Andhra Pradesh meet in Delhi

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Upset over the Telangana decision, Congress Union Ministers and some MPs from Andhra Pradesh met on Thursday night in Delhi amid indications that some MPs could resign.

Sources said while the four Union Ministers from Andhra present at the meeting have ruled out their resignations, some of the seven MPs present contemplated doing so to force the party high-command and government to reverse the decision on Telangana.