Gujarat court likely to hear Zakia Jafri’s protest petition

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A protest petition filed by Zakia Jafri seeking rejection of the SIT report giving clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in the post-Godhra riots case is likely to come up for hearing in a local court on Wednesday. Zakia, wife of 2002 post-Godhra riots victim and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the Gulbarg Society riots along with 68 others, had filed the petition in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate BJ Ganatra earlier in April 2013.

Kerala panel to prepare scheme for Nitaqat returnees

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The Kerala government has set up an official committee under former additional chief secretary and Infrastructure Kerala Limited (Inkel) managing director T Balakrishnan to prepare a scheme to facilitate return migrants to take up self-employment ventures.

The committee was set up on the basis of the recommendations made by a cabinet sub-committee headed by Minister for Non-resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) K C Joseph.

The panel was set up to recommend a package for rehabilitating Keralites returning from Saudi Arabia following g implementation of Saudisation programme called Nitaqat.

‘Mosque imams in Makkah should be Saudi’

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The office of the Ministry of Islamic and Endowment Affairs in Makkah has barred non-Saudis from being imams and muezzins.

Abdullah Al-Nasser, head of the ministry’s office in Makkah, said there will be no exception to the ruling, a local newspaper reported.

PM to inaugurate national conference on National Panchayati Raj Day tomorrow

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The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will inaugurate a national conference to celebrate the National Panchayati Raj Day at the Vigyan Bhawan here on Wednesday.

On the occasion, annual awards under “Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Incentive Scheme” (PEAIS), “Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar” and “Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” (RGGSP) will be conferred upon the best performing States and Panchayats.

(i) Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar 2013:

No reference of Vajpayee in JPC draft report on 2G: Chacko

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Apparently seeking to pacify an angry Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chief P C Chacko on Tuesday dismissed reports that the panel has named former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in its draft report in the 2G scam.

“We have the highest regard for Atal Bihari Vajpayee.This report has not mentioned the name of Vajpayee. We have not made any reference to the former Prime Minister,” Chacko, who is also the Congress spokesperson, said at the AICC briefing.

Two abducted bishops released in Syria

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Two Orthodox bishops who were kidnapped by gunmen in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo have been freed, the Zenit.org website said.

A number of senior diplomats and international officials were involved in negotiations to release the two bishops, including the Greek ambassador to Syria, UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The gunmen had snatched the bishops from their car Monday, killing their driver.

Salman Khan’s arch-rival Shah Rukh Khan to host Bigg Boss 7?

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been successfully hosting reality TV show Bigg Boss for the past three seasons but reports are that the actor might not be able to do so this year.

According to reports, the Dabangg actor is very busy with his movies this year and may have to opt out of the show.

And if rumours are to be believed the show’s producers may then approach Salman’s arch-rival Shah Rukh Khan to add his charm and wit in hosting the successful reality show.

Shraddha proud of father Shakti Kapoor

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Shraddha Kapoor is proud of her father Shakti Kapoor’s contribution to the film industry and says she grew up watching his movies and often used to spend time with him on the movie sets.”I used to go with him on the sets of his films…I have grown up watching his movies. To have such an actor as my father, I cannot explain what a proud feeling it is,” she told IANS in a group interview.

Nurse ends life after fight with brother over watching TV

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A 24-year-old nurse allegedly committed suicide at her house here following a petty quarrel with her brother over watching TV, police said today.

Madhupriya, who worked at a private hospital in Panjagutta, injected herself with two bottles of insulin late last night and seemed to have died in sleep at her house in Macchabollarum area, they said based on a complaint lodged by the young woman’s mother. “Madhupriya had a petty quarrel with her brother over remote while watching TV last night.

23,000 Haj pilgrims likely to fly from IGI’s special terminal

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Around 23,000 Haj pilgrims are likely to fly to Jeddah later this year from the special terminus at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Delhi Urban Development and Revenue Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said the city government will make arrangement for providing various facilities to the Haj pilgrims. “23,000 Hajis would fly from Delhi Haj Terminal in the supervision of Delhi Haj Committee,” he said, adding 1,700 Hajis would go to Jeddah from Delhi’s quota. Haj pilgrims from various states come to Delhi to take special Haj flight to Jeddah.

Lovers from Puducherry end life in Andhra Pradesh

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Two lovers, both married and hailing from Puducherry, allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide in East Godavari district today, police said. The deceased, identified as Stalin Sunder Verma (35), a police constable from Puducherry, and Rajeshwari (30) killed themselves by consuming pesticides in a building here, they said, adding that the duo had been missing since March 31. Police said though Stalin and Rajeshwari were married in separate families, they remained in touch.

Protest-related violence kills 53 in Iraq

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A wave of clashes and attacks involving Iraqi security forces, protesters and their supporters today left 53 people dead and prompted two Sunni ministers to quit, sending tensions soaring. The unrest, which also included the kidnapping of a soldier by armed protesters, was the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations in Sunni areas that erupted more than four months ago. The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and railing against the alleged targeting of their community by the authorities.

EU plan to buy oil from rebels ‘illegal’, says Syria

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The Syrian authorities have called the European Union’s decision to allow the import of Syrian oil and its derivatives through exclusive transactions with rebels an “illegal” move and “an act of aggression”.

The EU Council Monday eased the 2011 oil embargo on Syria, allowing EU member countries to buy oil from rebel-controlled areas of the country and invest in the energy sector in those regions.

Egyptian ex-minister jailed for 25 years

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A court in Cairo has sentenced Egypt’s former minister of finance Youssef Boutros Ghali to 25 years in prison for squandering public funds.

The criminal court convicted Boutros Ghali in absentia of squandering some $4.1 million between 2009 and 2010, when he was minister.

Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for Boutros Ghali, who is living in Britain, Al-Ahram Online reported.

Because he has been tried in absentia, he is allowed a retrial and all verdicts in cases against him can be overturned on his return.

Three n-subs to join Russian navy this year

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The Russian Navy will take delivery of two Project 955 Borey-class ballistic-missile submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh, and one Yasen-class attack submarine, the Severodvinsk, by the end of the year, a defence ministry official said.

Everything is going according to plan and there will be “no delays”, said Andrei Vernigora, director of the ministry’s state defence contracts department.

He refuting reports that the Alexander Nevsky would only be put into service only in 2014. It is due to be commissioned with the Navy in September, he added.

Boston suspects learned to make bombs from Al Qaeda magazine

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Suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told investigators that he and his brother learned to make homemade pressure-cooker bombs from an online magazine published by the Al Qaeda, US media reported.

“The brothers read the instructions in ‘Inspire’, an online, English-language magazine that terror monitoring groups say Al Qaeda began publishing in 2010,” Tsarnaev told investigators from his hospital bed in Boston, according to NBC News.

Man rapes five-year-old cousin inside her house

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A man raped his five-year-old cousin in Gurgaon when she was alone in her house, police said on Tuesday. Ajay Kumar, 19, a resident of Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, was arrested in Gurgaon district’s Sohna area for raping his cousin on Monday evening. He was taken into custody within hours of the incident.

Sohna Station House Officer Anil Kumar said the accused was on Tuesday presented before Judicial Magistrate Sukhpreet Singh who sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody.

Youth arrested for kidnap, sexual abuse of minor girl

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A 24-year-old man was arrested today for allegedly kidnapping and sexually abusing a teenaged girl for the last two months here, police said.

The 13-year old girl was reported missing from the first week of February and her parents lodged a complaint that the youth, Perumal, had kidnapped her, they said.

Police traced Perumal to Peelamedu area. During interrogation he confessed to have taken the girl to many places and sexually abused her during the two months, they said.

The girl has been handed over to her parents, police said.

—PTI

Big B to be honoured by Australian university

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Australia’s La Trobe University is all set to honour Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan next month with ‘La Trobe University Global Citizenship Award’.

The first of its kind award will be conferred to the 70-year-old actor while he is here to attend the Indian film Festival of Melbourne.

The university is also introducing a Phd scholarship called ‘Shri Amitabh Bachchan Scholarship’.

Hang child rapists within a month: Uma Bharti

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Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti today demanded that child rapists be hanged within a month after fast-tracking trials in such cases.

“The government should set up fast track courts to try rape cases within 15 days and the rapist should be hanged within a month. Government should decide upon the mercy petition, if any, of the convicts in such cases within 30 days to ensure that the culprit is hanged,” she said.

Bharti was speaking to reporters after visiting the five-year-old rape victim from Madhya Pradesh who is battling for life at a hospital here.

Alleged rapist of 5-year-old Ghansour rape victim nabbed

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After evading arrest for six days, the man accused of raping a five-year-old girl of Madhya Pradesh was apprehended arrested from Hussainabad area of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district tonight

Firoz Khan (35) was hiding in Badi Masjid area at his relative’s place, Seoni’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Mithilesh Shukla told PTI.

Acting on leads, the police zeroed in on Firoz at his relative’s residence where he was hiding and arrested him, the SP said.

Pak police defuse car bomb near Musharraf’s farmhouse

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Pakistani police said on Tuesday they found 45 kg (100 lb) of explosives hidden in a car near the residence where former president Pervez Musharraf is under house arrest, television channels reported.

Video footage showed a bomb disposal squad examining a car near the farmhouse on the edge of the capital Islamabad where the former army chief was detained last week over allegations he had overstepped his powers while in office.

There was no immediate word from police on who they suspected might have planted the explosives.

Bihar govt engineer arrested for sexual misconduct

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A senior Bihar government engineer was today arrested and sent to jail for sexually harassing his junior female colleague.

Sub-Divisional Officer of Bihar State Electricity Board, Avinash Anand was arrested from his office room in Manpur Sub-Division, Additional Superintendent of Police Shafi-Ul-Haque said.

The SDO was produced in the court of chief judicial magistrate who sent Anand to 14-day judicial custody.

The complainant had alleged that the SDO had sexually harassed her on March 23 and followed it again later.

India likely to send army contingent to Daulat Beg Oldi area

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India is likely to send an army contingent to Daulat Beg Oldi area in Ladakh amid the failure of the flag meeting today to end the impasse on the incursion issue with the Chinese side refusing to leave, claiming it to be a part of their territory.
The meeting was held by brigadier-level officers from both the sides in Spanggur Gap in the Chusul sector and India asked the Chinese side to withdraw from DBO and revert to the status quo.

Sources here said the meeting failed to produce any result as the Chinese side refused to move out from the location.

Army Chief meets J-K CM Omar Abdullah, discusses security situation

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Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh, met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his residence here this evening and discussed the present security situation.

General Singh, who arrived at the headquarters of the army”s 16 Corps in Nagrota at the start of a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir earlier in the day, was received by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Army”s Northern Command, Lt. Gen.K.T. Parnaik, UYSM, YSM and 16 Corps commander Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda.