Month: October 2013

Dokka slams CM for criticising CWC’s decision

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State minister Dokka Manikyavara Prasad on Wednesday condemned Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for criticising the Congress High Command over its decision on Telangana.

Talking to reporters at the State Secretariat here, Manikyavara Prasad said that the Chief Minister should obey the High Command’s decision if he does not agree with the same. Instead, he said that the Chief Minister was indirectly challenging the authority of Congress leadership by speaking against the Congress Working Committee’s decision in public.

SA activists protest at Dokka’s residence

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Several activists of Samaikhyandhra Students JAC on Wednesday held protest before the residence of State Minister Dokka Manikya Varaprasad.

The reaction came an hour after minister Dokka condemned Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for criticising the Congress High Command on its decision favouring formation of Telangana. The activists alleged that Dokka’s statement was against the Samaikhyandhra. Demanding an apology from the minister, they asked him to withdraw the remarks against the Chief Minister. (INN)

Congress Seemandhra MPs stalled T-Cabinet Note: Anantha

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Ananthapur MP Anantha Venkatarama Reddy on Wednesday claimed that it was due to the pressure of Seemandhra MPs that the Centre has not prepared the Cabinet Note on Telangana.

Talking to reporters, here Venkatarama Reddy said that the Congress MPs have been maintaining pressure on the party’s high command to reverse its decision on the statehood issue. He said that the process of Telangana formation has been delayed, if not stalled, due to the pressure from the Congress MPs from Seemandhra region. He said that the delay in preparation of Cabinet Note was one such steps.

TPJAC warns against YSRCP meeting

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The Telangana Political Joint Action Committee on Wednesday warned the State Government against giving permission for the proposed public meeting on Samaikhyandhra by the YSR Congress party.

Indian extradited to US to face charges of raping teenage girl

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A 32-year-old Indian has been extradited to the US to face charges in the 2009 rape of a teenage girl as she walked to her school.

Amit Singh was extradited to the US from India last week and has been arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging him with rape in the first and second degrees, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

He was remanded by Judge Angelo Delligatti and is due back in court on October 11, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. He faces 25 years in prison.

Mass entertainer films will die totally: Salman

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Superstar Salman Khan, who brought mass entertainers back to life with films like ‘Wanted’, ‘Ready’ and ‘Dabangg’, feels that this space might die soon as it is now being overdone.

A new wave of action-masala entertainers was created by Salman and choreographer-turned-director Prabhu Deva with ‘Wanted’ in 2009.

The film earned over Rs 160 crore and changed things for the 47-year-old in the industry after a low phase.

Salman’s ‘Ready’, ‘Dabangg’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and ‘Dabangg 2’ made him one of the bankable stars in Bollywood.

Naidu hints at joining NDA, Babu Meets Narendra Modi

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In a significant political development, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu shared dais with BJP prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the culmination convention of Manthan organised by Citizens for Accountable Governance here on Wednesday.

Spirit of game is more relevant in times of crisis: Dravid

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Former captain Rahul Dravid says the spirit of the game has become more “relevant and important” in the wake of the IPL spot-fixing scandal that plunged Indian cricket into a credibility crisis.

One of the most disciplined statesmen of modern-day cricket, Dravid said, “In times like these when the game is facing big challenges and some of the players get involved (corruption) the spirit of the game becomes more relevant and important.

‘Gracious’ Fawad Ahmed ‘still respects’ Oz legends Walters, Campese despite ‘go home’ remarks

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Former Pakistani refugee-turned Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed has reportedly shown that his performance is not affected either by the harsh words of former champions or unforgiving opposition batsmen.

The Victorian leg-spinner recovered from a dreadful first over against Tasmania on Tuesday to grasp four wickets and set the Victorian Bushrangers up for a five-wicket win in the Ryobi Cup.

L&T Hyderabad Metro unveils train car

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Though the first phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail is expected to become operational in March 2015, people now have a chance to feel and experience the coach they will be travelling in.

A model coach, which is half the size of the actual coach, is on public display at Necklace Road on the banks of Hussain Sagar in the heart of Hyderabad. It will be kept for a month.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Wednesday unveiled the coach built by Hyundai-Rotem consortium in South Korea for the 72-km-long elevated rail project.

India favourites to retain World Cup: Tendulkar

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With exactly 500 days to go before the first ball is bowled in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, batting wizard Sachin Tendulkar has predicted that the trophy will remain in the subcontinent and India are favourites to retain the title.

Tendulkar, who along with Pakistan’s Javed Miandad is the only player to play in six World Cups, hoped that if Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side successfully defended the title, then it will once again provide tremendous joy to the nation while making it only the third country after the West Indies and Australia to win back-to-back titles.

Modi Wants To Dump Telangana to become PM

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After the political parties in Andhra Pradesh, it is now the turn of the BJP to be affected by the Telangana statehood issue.

The national leadership of the saffron party is said to be vertically divided over the sensitive issue.

Though the BJP has been steadfastly in support of the bifurcation of the state, the new star of the saffron party and its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is now believed to be suggesting a U-turn on the issue in order to firm up an alliance with the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam party.

LPG cylinders to be available at petrol pumps

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Cooking gas (LPG) will now be available at select petrol pumps in metro cities after the Oil Ministry has allowed sale of small 5-kg cylinders at retail outlets.

It has also permitted LPG connection portability, allowing consumers to choose or change cooking gas dealer at press of a button, an official statement said here on Wednesday.

LPG 5-kg cylinders will be available at company-owned- company-operated (COCO) petrol pumps, which make up for just three per cent of over 47,000 petrol pumps in the country.

Barack Obama postpones Malaysia visit

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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Wednesday said US President Barack Obama has postponed his upcoming visit to Malaysia this month following the partial shutdown of the US government Tuesday.

Najib said US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Malaysia as the representative of Obama, reported Xinhua citing local media.

Obama was scheduled to visit Malaysia to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur during his trip to Southeast Asia this month, which also includes the APEC Summit in Indonesia and the ASEAN Summit in Brunei.

—IANS

Naidu shares stage with Modi

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Amid reports that TDP is cosying up to NDA, party chief N Chandrababu Naidu today shared the stage with BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at a programme here and heaped praise on the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

He joined Modi and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani at a programme organised here for college students.

Addressing the gathering, Naidu held the Congress-led UPA government responsible for the slowdown in the economy and the falling rupee.

Pakistan violates ceasefire again by firing on Indian posts

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Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire again by firing on Indian posts along the LoC in Poonch district, prompting Indian troops to retaliate.

“Pakistani troops fired on Indian posts along LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district yesterday”, Defence Spokesman S N Acharya said today.

Pakistani troops used small arms and automatic weapons to target positions in Mendhar around 2.30 PM yesterday, he said.

“Our troops retaliated with same calibre weapons and the exchange of firing continued upto 3.30 PM,” he said, adding, “there was no loss or damage to our side in this firing”.

US submits list of 10 defence items for transfer to India

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The US has submitted a list of 10 defence technologies for transfer to India, bringing it into a small group of closest allies with which America shares such sensitive details without export control.

Informed Indian sources confirmed to the PTI that the Pentagon has submitted a list of 10 sensitive technologies for transfer from US to India.

New Delhi is “reviewing” these offers and would get back to the United States soon, with its response, they said.

In Narendra Modi company, Naidu calls Manmohan a Sonia tool

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TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday dubbed Prime Minister Mamohan Singh as a “tool” of Congress president Sonia Gandhi while praising BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Speaking at an event here, Naidu shared the stage with Modi as he denounced what he said was a “drama” by the Congress on the ordinance on convicted parliamentarians.

“We saw the drama around the Ordinance on convicted lawmakers. They brought the Ordinance, then Rahul Gandhi spoke against it,” Naidu said.

“Even the Prime Minister is just a tool in the hands of Sonia Gandhi,” he added.

Pak court orders retrial in Benazir Bhutto murder case

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A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has ordered a retrial of former premier Benazir Bhutto”s assassination case after Pervez Musharraf was named as the main accused. Musharraf, who was arrested by FIA on April 26, is on bail against two surety bonds of Rs 1 million each in the murder case of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson. According to the Daily Times, he also has an exemption from court attendance due to security concerns.

Iran warns Obama ”flip-flop” will threaten trust building efforts

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Iranian foreign minister has warned US President Barack Obama that ‘flip-flop’ threatened efforts to build trust. The comments from Mohammad Javad Zarif came after Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the military option remained on the table in dealing with Iran”s controversial nuclear programme. Zarif tweeted that that Obama needs consistency to promote mutual confidence, adding that flip-flop destroys trust and undermines US credibility.

115,000 killed in Syrian conflict till now: activists

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More than 115,000 people have lost their lives in the 30-month conflict between rebels and the forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, according to activists.

Of this total, 6,000 victims are children, and 4,000 women, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday.

Besides civilians, tens of thousands of soldiers and rebel fighters have been killed in the conflict which began in March 2011 and has escalated into a gruesome civil war, the watchdog noted.

In the month of September alone, 5,000 people died in the fighting, it said.

Six militants killed in Pakistan

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At least six militants were killed and four police personnel injured in an operation launched by the security forces in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi Wednesday.

According to police, the city’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched the operation on a tip-off, killing six militants and recovering a huge cache of arms from the spot, reported Xinhua.

Police said the militants belonged to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban outfit.

–IANS

PM used to tolerating undeserving things: Azam Khan

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Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has taken a jibe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he does not deserve to hold the top job as he is “used to tolerating undeserving things”.

“He (Singh) does not deserve to hold the pivotal position. He is used to tolerate all undeserving things,” said Azam.

He also said that he was saddened by the conviction of two leaders — Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rasheed Masood.

Ordinance on convicted lawmakers:Congress looks for face saver

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Inching towards withdrawal of the controversial Ordinance on convicted lawmakers, Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi today grappled to work out a face saver in the wake of a huge political storm over Rahul Gandhi’s public outburst against the measure.

All pros and cons were discussed and a decision was left to the Union Cabinet which is meeting in the evening, highly placed party sources said after the hour-long Congress Core Group meeting headed by Sonia Gandhi.