Month: April 2014

Maoists kill Odisha tribal

by

Suspected Maoists Wednesday shot dead a tribal man in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, accusing him of spying on them for the police, an official said.

The body of Raju Hantal of Ralegada village, about 700 km from Bhubaneswar, was found in a forest with bullet injuries, Superintendent of Police Akhileshwar Singh told IANS.

Maoists had earlier threatened to kill him on suspicion that he was spying on them. He was not staying at home, Singh said.

But the Maoists managed to get his new address and allegedly dragged him to the nearby forest and shot him dead.

Expedite probe against Virbhadra: Delhi HC to CBI

by

The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the CBI to speed up a probe against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh into allegations of corruption against him.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul expressed displeasure at the status report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation on corruption, money laundering and possession of assets disproportionate to know sources of income of Virbhadra Singh.

Sindhu out of India Open

by

There was a stunned silence in the Siri Fort Sports Complex as P.V. Sindhu’s shot went into the net, giving World No.3 Chinese Shixian Wang the win in the opening round of women’s singles at the $250,000 India Open Super Series badminton here Wednesday.

Sindhu had entered the tournament confident that her 3-0 win-record over the second seed will give her a psychological advantage. But that was not to be as the teen sensation was ousted by Shixian 15-21, 21-12, 10-21 in a marathon match which lasted an hour and nine minutes.

Envoys of four nations present credentials to President

by

Envoys of four countries, including Pakistan, presented their credentials to President Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday.

The envoys who presented their credentials were Monica Lanzetta Mutis (Ambassador of Colombia), Georges de La Roche Du Ronzet Plihal (Ambassador of Guatemala), Abdul Basit (High Commissioner of Pakistan) and Sabit Subasic (Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina), an official release said here.

FIFA bans Barcelona from signing players until 2015

by

FIFA, the ruling body of world football, Wednesday banned Spanish football giants FC Barcelona from signing any new players until the summer of 2015.

FIFA published news of its decision on its official website, saying the ban was the result of Barcelona carrying out “breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18”, reports Xinhua.

14,306 police personnel cast postal ballots

by

A total of 14,306 police personnel, who will be on election duty for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi have cast postal ballots, said a poll panel official Wednesday.

Special felicitation centres were operational in each of the seven parliamentary constituencies of the national capital for the police personnel to cast their votes.

“All the postal ballots will be sent to the Election Commission, which will be kept there till the counting of the electronic voting machine votes,” said the official.

EC notice to Akali Dal for rally during Hola Mohalla

by

The Election Commission Wednesday issued notice to the Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal for organising a political rally in the Sikh holy city of Anandpur Sahib on the occasion of Hola Mohalla despite permission for this being denied.

Punjab Additional Chief Electoral Officer Supreet Singh Gulati said that in the notice, sent to Akali Dal secretary Daljeet Singh Cheema, the party has been asked why it organised a political rally at Anandpur Sahib when the commission had denied permission for this.

Jet mystery may never be solved: Malaysia police

by

The real cause behind the mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370 may never be known, Malaysian police warned today as the frustrating search for the crashed airliner continued in the Indian Ocean without any headway.

“Criminal investigations may go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing,” Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said.

“At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Court dismisses defamation case against Naveen Jindal

by

A court here has dismissed a defamation case filed against Congress lawmaker Naveen Jindal and others by Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary.

Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mittal, in an order made available Wednesday, dismissed the defamation case against Jindal and others saying that the statement made by the accused cannot be said to be defamatory in nature.

The court was hearing a plea by Chaudhary seeking action against Jindal and others for allegedly making a false statement against him at a press conference.

Top shuttlers could miss part of IBL

by

Top shuttlers including Lee Chong Wei, Saina Nehwal or P.V. Sindhu could miss part of the Indian Badminton League (IBL) which is coinciding with the $600,000 Denmark Open Super Series Premier to be held in Odense.

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced Monday that the second edition of the IBL will be held from Sep 30-Oct 15 while the Denmark Open will be held from Oct 14-19.

Last year the inaugural six-team league was held right after the World Championships from Aug 15-31 but this time the organisers are facing problems due to a crammed international calendar.

Modi carries stigma of communal bias, says Omar

by

In a blistering attack on Narendra Modi and BJP, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today wondered over the assertions made by them to look at the problems of the state through a prism of “humanity” when Modi had himself failed to express apology for 2002 riots.

He said BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Modi was devoid of having equal concern for all sections of the society and carried stigma of communal bias.

BJP claims Rahul Gandhi insulted Lalu

by

Seeking to drive a wedge in the UPA alliance in Bihar, the BJP today alleged that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had insulted RJD supporters by neither inviting their leader Lalu Prasad to his rally nor mentioning his name even once.

“Congress is fighting in 12 seats in Bihar piggy back riding on RJD but is insulting its supporters as Rahul Gandhi at his maiden rally in the state at Aurangabad yesterday did not even appeal to people to vote for the RJD,” senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said on Twitter.

Parents of policemen on Naxal areas poll duty complain to CM

by

Parents of young policemen dispatched to Naxal-hit areas for election duty complained to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday saying their wards were without proper body protection and food.

A delegation of parents of the over 100-odd policemen met Parrikar at his residence, saying they feared for the safety of their sons posted in Chandrapur, a Naxalite-affected district of Maharashtra.

The policemen were drawn from the state reserve police squad.

Girl’s body recovered from Jhelum river after 15 days

by

The body of a teenage girl was today fished out from the Jhelum river here, a fortnight after she jumped into the water body from Amirakadal, prompting authorities to raise iron fencing along the bridge.

The body of the girl, hailing from Batmaloo area of Central Srinagar, was fished out from the river at Safa Kadal, a police spokesman said.

The girl, a student of class 8, committed suicide by jumping into Jhelum on March 19 following which the authorities raised the iron fencing on both sides of the bridge to arrest the growing trend of suicides from there.

Pak trying to sell fighter jets, arms to Saudi Arabia: Aziz

by

Pakistan is trying to sell fighter jets and small arms to Saudi Arabia and not to Syria as some reports claimed, Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said.

He said at this point of time there was no Syria-specific agreement and reaffirmed Pakistan’s neutral stance on the vexed Syrian conflict.

Like any country with a flourishing arms industry, Pakistan was trying to sell its arms and there was nothing dubious about Riyadh’s interest in purchasing Pakistani weapons, Aziz said an interview to BBC last evening.

Iran, world powers to hold n-talks from Thursday

by

Experts from Iran and six major world powers will meet Thursday for a new round of talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, Fars news agency reported Wednesday.

Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s director general of political and legal affairs, will lead the Iranian delegation in the negotiations, which will be held April 3-6 in Austrian capital Vienna, the report said.

Iran and the P5+1 group, which includes Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany, held a two-day nuclear meeting in Vienna in March.

Modi vows to bring back black money

by

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Wednesday vowed to bring back the black money stashed in foreign countries if the BJP-led NDA is voted to power.

“If the Bharatiya Janata Party government is formed in Delhi, I promise to bring back the black money and it will be used for welfare schemes for the poor,” Modi said.

Addressing a rally in Nawada parliamentary constituency, the Gujarat chief minister said the Congress-led government was not keen to bring back the black money from foreign banks because they have vested interests to save those who deposited the money there.

Congress trashes Smnriti Irani as BJP’s Goa overseer

by

The Congress Wednesday said Smriti Irani, BJP’s candidate in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, is incompetent as her stint as the party overseer in Goa was lacklustre.

Irani is pitted against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in his bastion of Amethi.

“Her performance as the BJP general secretary for Goa was a disaster. From what we know, there has not been a single decision to curb corruption and pull up the Goa government for sloppy governance,” Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said at a press conference at the party headquarters in Panaji.

Bharti Airtel, IBM join hands for 5 years

by

Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel and IBM Wednesday inked a pact to manage Airtel’s infrastructure and application services in India over the next five years, a company statement said here.

“As we embark on the next phase of Airtel’s growth journey, I am confident that the agreement with IBM will help us offer innovative and cutting edge products and services to our customers, enabling us achieve our vision of being the most loved brand,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said.

Anand to add surprises to his war-room team

by

Five-time World chess champion Viswanathan Anand Wednesday promised a couple of surprises in his team of seconds when he faces defending champion Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship later this year.

Anand at a press briefing here after arriving from Russia, where he won the Candidates Tournament, said he might re-jig his team of seconds, or players who help a champion player prepare for the World Championship.

“I would chalk a new path for a new result. I won’t get a new result if I travel in the old path,” said Anand.

Largest strike in Lufthansa history hits airline

by

Lufthansa pilots began a three-day strike Wednesday, kicking off the biggest protest action in Lufthansa’s corporate history and majorly paralysing air traffic of Europe’s largest airline.

However, local media reported no chaos at Germany’s two largest airports, Frankfurt and Munich, as a spokesman from the latter described the situation as “manageable”, Xinhua reported.

The spokesman said the people were well informed and things were calm in the terminal.

SP manifesto promises job quota for Muslims

by

The Samajwadi Party in its Lok Sabha manifesto released Wednesday has promised job quota for Muslims.

Releasing the manifesto, party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav promised 15 percent job reservations to Muslims if voted to power at the centre.

He also announced that the implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations would be at the core of his government at the centre.

33 kg landmine seized in Jharkhand

by

A plan by Maoists to blow up police vehicles was Wednesday foiled as security forces recovered a 33 kg landmine from the Saranda jungle in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, police said.

During a search operation, a joint team of police and paramilitary forces recovered the landmine planted on a road near Gundijora village in the district, around 140 km from Ranchi. The landmine was later defused.

Security forces have launched a massive search operation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Sonia asks Muslim leaders to ensure secular votes do not split

by

A delegation of Muslim leaders led by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari met Congress President Sonia Gandhi here during which she asked them to ensure that secular votes did not split in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting, which took place at Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence yesterday, lasted for 45 minutes, during which Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari apprised her of various issues pertaining to the community.

Sources close to Bukhari said a decision to support Congress has been finalised and an official announcement is likely to come on Friday.

If came to power, will check ‘misuse’ of anti-rape law: SP

by

Samajwadi Party today said if voted to power at Centre it will check “large scale misuse” of newly formulated legislations including the anti-rape law that came into existence after December 16, 2012 gang-rape case.

“There is a large scale misuse of laws including anti-dowry, SC/ST (atrocities prevention) act and the new anti-rape law that came into existence after ‘Nirbhaya’ rape case. … SP is in favour of implementing them strictly and at the same time will initiate strict action against those misusing them,” the party’s manifesto said.