Guv hopeful of solution to AP Reorganization Act issues thru’ talks
Governor ESL Narsimhan, who is on a three-day official tour of the national capital today said the law and order situation was under control in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States.
Month: March 2015
Centre extends Rs 1,500 crore budgetary support to Andhra Pradesh
The Centre has extended Rs 1,500 crore as a budgetary support to Andhra Pradesh for its new capital.
“This would include Rs 1,000 crore for support to essential amenities for the new capital of Andhra Pradesh… Another Rs 500 crore has been approved which would be spent exclusively for construction of Raj Bhavan, State Secretariat, State Assembly and High Court in the new capital,” a finance ministry statement said.
Master plan for AP capital likely to be ready in June
The master plan for the capital of Andhra Pradesh, coming up in Vijaywada region, is likely to be ready by June.
The Singapore government agencies, which are helping the AP government by preparing the master plan for free, today made a presentation before Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a visit to Singapore.
Naidu suggested some changes in the plan. “The capital city master plan will be refined by incorporating these suggestions and modifications in the next six to eight weeks,” a state government release said here.
Brudwan Blast Case – Khalid Mohammed acquitted
National Investigation Agency removed the name of Khalid Mohammed, a Bangladeshi from Brudwan Blast Case for lack of evidence. It may be noted that he was arrested on 17th November 2014 from Royal Colony Balapur, Hyderabad from the relief camp and was shifted to Kolkata where he was remanded in Judicial Custody. NIA had claimed that he was involved in Brudwan Blast case occurred in West Bengal on 2nd October 2014. It was also alleged that he played a key role in terrorist activities on the border of Bangladesh and Maynamar. NIA had alleged that Khalid had links with Taliban in Pakistan.
Aziz Qureshi challenges Centre to conduct judicial enquiry
Mr. Aziz Qureshi, who has recently been removed as Governor of Mizoram challenged Govt. of India to constitute an enquiry committee to probe allegations of his malfunctioning as Governor of Uttarakhand. He said that he is ready to be hanged if proved guilty. It was alleged that he showed undue favour in extending the term of Vice Chancellors of two universities and also in Uttarakhand Raj Bhavan Golf Club case. He termed these allegations as fake. However, he said that misuse of state aircraft might be a technical error.
Kamal lashes out at ICC, threatens to expose eveything
The simmering row within the International Cricket Council took an ugly turn today with its President Mustafa Kamal threatening to expose “mischievious” designs of some people who had denied him the “constitutional right” to hand over the Word Cup Trophy.
The World Cup trophy was handed over to Australian captain Michael Clarke by Chairman N Srinivasan after the final, but Kamal claimed that the ICC’s amendment of its rules in January 2015 mandated the president to give away trophies at global competitions.
12-year-old raped, burnt to death in Pakistan
In a gruesome incident, a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and then burnt to death in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, media reported today.
The incident was reported from Daharki town of Ghotki district last week.
The victim and her mother used to do tailoring work for a living. The girl was pursued by three men who apparently wanted to purchase bedsheets made by them.
The girl was drugged, raped and then set on fire by the three men, Dawn.Com reported.
The victim’s brother filed a petition at the Ghotki sessions court after the police refused to register a case.
Why Does CBI Not Move Higher Courts Against Shah in Sohrab Case?: Cong
Congress today questioned CBI’s decision not to approach higher courts against a Mumbai special court’s decision to discharge BJP President Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case as the 90-day deadline for making an appeal against the order came to a close.
“We are surprised why CBI did not file any appeal in these cases in the higher courts. We demand that CBI and other agencies looking into the case should make an appeal in higher courts against Shah who is considered to be the number two in the BJP after Narendra Modi.
Newly married woman found dead in Hyderabad apartment
A 27-year-old chartered accountant, who had married recently, was found dead in suspicious circumstances in an apartment at Somajiguda area here today, police said.
Anusha, native of Amlapuram in Andhra Pradesh, worked as a senior executive (finance) at a private company and lived in an apartment which she shared with two other women.
One of them found her dead in her room at 7.20 this morning, police said.
BJP claims to be world’s largest party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday claimed to be the world’s largest party with 87 million members, surpassing the Communist Party of China that has 86 million members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ambitious online membership drive in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah and other senior leaders on November 1, 2014.
One shot dead trying to enter US military base
A person was shot dead by security personnel, while another was injured when they tried to drive into the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in the US, without authorisation, according to media reports on Monday.
The two men, dressed as women, tried to ram the main gate of the NSA headquarters at the Fort Meade military installation in the US state of Maryland, officials said, according to a CNN report.
Convict’s execution postponed by 30 days in Pakistan
Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain has, on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, postponed the execution of murder convict Saulat Mirza by 30 days, Geo News reported on Monday.
Death warrants were issued earlier this month for the execution of the triple-murder convict Mirza to be carried out at 5.30 a.m. on April 1 at the Machh jail in Balochistan province.
IS-inspired teenager in Austria faces terrorism charges
A 14-year-old boy, enamoured with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation, has been charged in Austria with forming a terrorist group and downloading bomb-making plans with the intention to commit a terrorist offence, media reported on Monday.
The teenager, referred to as “Merkan G”, is accused by the St. Poelten city prosecutor’s office of downloading plans on the internet for the construction of a bomb, which he then planned to detonate at either the Wien Westbahnhof railway station in Vienna, or along the tracks leading to it, Xinhua reported citing the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.
EU security policy must not be against Russia: Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said that the European Union’s (EU) security policy must be “developed together with Russia, not against it”.
Speaking after talks with Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb here, Merkel stressed the importance of communicating with Russia on European security policy issues, according to a Xinhua report.
Merkel noted that the EU was able to appear united and resolute through the Ukraine conflict.
PM seeks Saudi help for evacuation of Indians from Yemen
Concerned over the safety of 4,000 Indians in strife-torn Yemen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night sought the help of Saudi Arabia as he held a telephonic conversation with King Salman bin Abdul aziz Al Saud. The Saudi king called up Modi and during the conversation the Prime Minister briefed him on India’s evacuation plan.
Madison, Wilkinson to star in ‘Sharknado 3’
Former Playboy models Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson will add glamour to “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!”.
Both the beauties, who previously starred in reality series “Girls Next Door”, are set to make cameos in the upcoming instalment of the TV movie which will air on July 22, reports eonline.com.
Madison essays Lt. Harrison, a military sergeant who helps Fin (Ian Ziering) and Nova (Cassie Scerbo) at a military base in the Carolinas, while Wilkinson will play Flo, a waitress at a roadside dinner owned and run by Gilbert Shephard (David Hasselhoff), Fin’s dad.
Burdwan blast: NIA chargesheets Assam’s Sahanur, Shaikul
The NIA, which is probing the Burdwan blast case, on Monday submitted a chargesheet in a court in Kolkata which included the names of two Assam-based operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – Sahanur Alom and Shaikul Islam Khan.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed the chargesheet against 21 individuals, including four Bangladeshi nationals, for their involvement in the JMB conspiracy to overthrow the existing democratic government in Bangladesh through violent terrorist acts and replace it with a hardline Sharia-based Islamic regime.
Blanket ban on chewable tobacco in Delhi
A blanket ban on all forms of chewable tobacco came into effect in the national capital from Monday, with Health Minister Satyendra Jain asserting that the move will help save the government’s as well as people’s money in treating oral cancer.
Health department teams accompanied by Delhi Police personnel would fan out in the capital to conduct surprise checks for ensuring strict implementation of the ban, Jain told reporters.
Besides, the government would also launch awareness campaigns about the harmful effects of tobacco on health.
SC upholds Goa minister’s conviction for assault
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Bombay High Court judgment sentencing Goa’s Archives and Archaeology Minister Francisco alias Mickky Pacheco to six months’ imprisonment for assaulting a government servant in 2006.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said in Panaji that any decision on Pacheco’s fate will be taken only after studying the apex court ruling.
Pacheco is the de facto chief of the Goa Vikas Party, which is a partner in the state’s ruling coalition headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and is one of 12 cabinet ministers.
10 killed by lightning in Bihar
At least 10 people, including three children and two woman, were killed on Monday when they were struck by lightning in separate incidents in various Bihar districts, officials said.
Three deaths were reported from two villages under Dharhara police station in Munger district. In the first incident, two children were struck while playing in a field near their home and in the second, a woman returning home from the fields was hit by lightning.
Two people were also killed in Ramnagri Diyara under Barh in Patna district.
Man held for stealing cash from ATMs
A 25-year-old unemployed man who used the easily available sticky glue to steal cash from ATMs here has finally been arrested, police said on Monday.
A resident of Bihar, Azarhuddin was caught red-handed by a security guard on Sunday afternoon while stealing money from an ATM kiosk.
The Bank of India had complained that someone was trying to tamper with the bank’s ATM machines in south Delhi’s Khan Market. This triggered a police alert in the area.
CCTV footage showed the man entering the ATM cabin and pouring a sticky liquid on the “cancel button”.
Blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh
A blogger was hacked to death on Monday in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka, police said.
Three people attacked Oyasiqur Rahman Babu using sharp weapons around 9.45 a.m. in Tejgaon industrial area soon after the online activist stepped out of his house, bdnews24.com quoted Tejgaon zone’s Deputy Police Commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarkar as saying.
He added that immediately after the incident, local residents caught two madrasa students and handed them over to police.
Two blood-stained meat cleavers were found at the scene of the murder.
Anti-Houthi coalition takes control of Yemen’s sea ports
Saudi Arabia, leading the 10-nation coalition undertaking a military operation against the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, announced on Monday the coalition’s control over Yemen’s sea ports, Xinhua reported citing Al Arabiya News.
Ahmed Al Asiri, spokesperson of the “Decisive Storm” military operation, said that the Saudi-led coalition carried out a maritime campaign which succeeded in securing Yemen’s sea ports, where all arriving and departing ships were being screened.
40 killed in airstrike on refugee camp in Yemen: Ministry
A Saudi-led airstrike on Monday hit a refugee camp in Yemen, killing more than 40 people and injuring 250, Yemen’s defence ministry, which is controlled by Shia Houthi militia, said.
The refugee camp in the northern Haradh district, which borders Saudi Arabia, had 4,000 people at the time of the attack. The casualties included women and children, the ministry said without providing further details, according to Xinhua.
Delhi school principal held for embezzling money
The principal of a Delhi government-run school has been arrested on charges of allegedly embezzling Rs.2.7 million meant for students’ welfare, police said on Monday.
Ashok Kumar Singh was arrested by the Delhi Police Anti-Corruption Branch after a complaint was filed by the Directorate of Education.
Singh heads the senior secondary school at Nithari. The Rs.27,35,870 he allegedly stole was earmarked for subsidized uniform, free text books and other areas of students’ welfare. He is currently under suspension.
The stolen money belonged to the academic years 2011-12 and 2012-13.