Raipur: At least 22, including Naxals, have reportedly been killed in an encounter with central security forces in Basuguda in Chhattisgarh. Personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Koya commandos launched a joint operation after receiving a tip-off about an important meeting of the Naxals in the area. Basuguda lies between Bijapur and the Dantewada road, both known Maoist strongholds. A second encounter has also been reported in the Dornapal area in the state. Sources say that at least one Naxal has been killed and two others, who sustained injuries, have been captured by CRPF jawans. Nine CRPF men have also been injured in the firing, sources add.
Friday 29 June 2012
Prison guards taken hostage in northern Sri Lanka jail
Colombo, Jailed LTTE suspects have taken hostage at least three prison guards in the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya, police said. Police spokesman Superintendent Sajeewa Madawatta said the three had been taken hostage last evening. The guards are locked up in a room.
The LTTE suspects are on a hunger strike since Wednesday demanding that a fellow inmate, transferred by the authorities elsewhere, be brought back. The inmate is a key member of the LTTE and was transferred to the prison in the north central town of Anuradhapura.
Thursday 28 June 2012
Suicide bomber kills 8 in southwest Pakistan
Islamabad, At least eight people were killed and over 30 injured when a suicide bomber today targeted a bus bringing back Pakistani Shia pilgrims from Iran in Quetta city, officials said.
The blast ripped through the bus and a police vehicle in Hazarganji area of Quetta, the capital of southwestern province of Balochistan.
The bus, escorted by two police vans, was bringing back pilgrims from Iran.Officials at two hospitals said they had received eight bodies. Two policemen were among the dead, witnesses said. Several women and policemen were among the injured. Some of the wounded were in a serious condition, officials said.Officials were quoted by TV news channels as saying thatthe bus was targeted by a suicide bomber. About 40 people were in the bus.
The site of the blast was cordoned off by security personnel. Footage on television showed the bus was reduced to a mangled heap of blackened metal. Rescue workers and local residents could be seen pulling bodies and injured out of the bus.Later, a crane was brought in to pry apart the twisted metal so that the injured could be removed.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been blamed for a seriesof attacks on Shias in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan since last year.
BJP
New Delhi, BJP today expressed disappointment at the cut of just Rs 2.46 per litre in price of petrol and demanded that it should be slashed by Rs 7.50, the amount by which it was hiked recently.
"When the international price of petroleum was $120 per barrel, the government increased the prices here in domestic market but when prices went down to $80 they continued with the earlier prices," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay said. He said the measure of decreasing petrol prices by Rs 2.46 was not an "honest" one by the government.
"Government should show some honesty and take back the entire price hike of Rs 7.40 per litre and not just Rs 2.46. The international price does not support this half-hearted roll back. It should be a full roll-back," Vijay said. The government today announced that the price of petrol will be cut by Rs 2.46 per litre effective from midnight.
Petrol price
Kolkata, With the price of petrol cut by by Rs 2.46 per litre, Trinamool Congress chief and UPA ally Mamata Banerjee said tonight that the price has been lowered with an eye to the presidential election and would be increased later.
"The price has come down because of the presidential election. They will increase the price later," Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister, told reporters before leaving Writers Buildings.
"The price of crude oil has decreased by Rs 100. The price of petrol should have been cut by Rs 10 to Rs 30 per litre," she said.
Wimbledon 2012
Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek move into 2nd round
London: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek brushed aside the challenge of Colin Ebelthite and John Peers in straight sets to progress to the second round of the men's doubles event of the Wimbledon championships here on Thursday.
The fourth seed Indo-Czech pair scored an easy 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over the unseeded Australian combination in just one hour 31 minutes at court number seven. Paes and Stepanek converted three of the five chances in the first set to take lead in just 25 minutes. Second set was no different as the Indo-Czech combination was too good for the rivals.
They next face Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the second round. Erlich and Ram had come through a gruelling five-setter against Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot in their opening round match.
India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna had also booked a second round berth on Wednesday. They had beaten Marcel Felder and Malek Jaziri.
More >>
London: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek brushed aside the challenge of Colin Ebelthite and John Peers in straight sets to progress to the second round of the men's doubles event of the Wimbledon championships here on Thursday.
The fourth seed Indo-Czech pair scored an easy 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over the unseeded Australian combination in just one hour 31 minutes at court number seven. Paes and Stepanek converted three of the five chances in the first set to take lead in just 25 minutes. Second set was no different as the Indo-Czech combination was too good for the rivals.
They next face Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the second round. Erlich and Ram had come through a gruelling five-setter against Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot in their opening round match.
India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna had also booked a second round berth on Wednesday. They had beaten Marcel Felder and Malek Jaziri.
More >>
Wednesday 27 June 2012
LHC
Lahore, A Pakistani court today set September 5 as the deadline for President Asif Ali Zardari to disassociate himself from political activities and warned that he would have to face the consequences if he failed to do so. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial of the Lahore High Court asked the President to relinquish his post of chief of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
A short order issued by the bench in the evening said that if the President failed to act on the High Court's order of last year not to engage in political activities in the presidency by September 5, then the court might initiate contempt of court proceedings against him.
Chief Justice Bandial said the issue had constitutional importance and the court's verdict was in accordance with the Constitution. He said the court has provided the President ample time to resign from his post of co-chairman of the PPP and to suspend all political activities in the presidency.
Earlier in the day, the bench had said it would give another opportunity to the President to act on its order to dissociate himself from political activities. The bench made the observation in response to two petitions filed against Zardari for not quitting the political office of co-chairman of the PPP. The bench noted that the High Court had issued an order on May 12, 2011 that said it expected the President to disassociate himself from political activities as soon as possible.
Top BJP leaders
New Delhi: Making its intentions clear in backing its presidential candidate PA Sangma all the way, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will put up a show of strength tomorrow when the former Lok Sabha Speaker files his nomination.
High-profile BJP leaders, which includes Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, are likely to be present during Mr Sangma's nomination.
Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) head Naveen Patnaik, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy along with senior leaders from Jayalalithaa's AIADMK are also expected at the occasion.
Mr Sangma will be contesting against Congress-led UPA's candidate Pranab Mukherjee, who quit as the country's Finance Minister on Tuesday. Mr Mukherjee will also file his nomination tomorrow. Mr Mukherjee is expected to file four sets of nomination papers signed by top UPA leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
With NDA allies like JD(U) and Shiv Sena supporting the former Finance Minister, the odds are heavily stacked against Mr Sangma with over 56 per cent of the electoral favouring Mr Mukherjee.
However, Mr Sangma, who recently quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to enter the fray for the President's post, is making an all-out effort to improve his chances. He met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday to solicit the support of Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, Trinamool is non-committal on the issue and there are indications that it may abstain. Mr Sangma on Monday had travelled to Hyderabad to garner the support of Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress, which had swept the recent by-polls in the state. Though Mr Sangma was unable to meet Mr Reddy, who is in jail in a corruption case, he met the YSR Congress chief's mother Vijayamma.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Sania, Somdev
New Delhi, Ending days of speculation, Sania Mirza was awarded a wild card entry along with Rushmi Chakravarthi for the women's doubles tennis event in the upcoming London Olympics.
Somdev Devvarman, too, was given a wild card in men's singles, thereby making it the largest tennis contingent ever fielded by India in Olympics.
It was learnt that the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has got a letter from ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti stating that they have awarded wild cards to Sania and Rushmi for women's doubles event and Somdev for men's singles. With their participation confirmed, India will now have seven tennis players competing in London.
Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Visnu Vardhan were the other four selected by the AITA selection committee here last week.
Indian fishermen
Islamabad, Pakistan will release 315 Indian fishermen at the Wagah land border crossing on Thursday, official sources said today.
The fishermen are currently being held at a jail in Karachi, and they will be freed and sent to Lahore to be handed over to Indian authorities, sources told PTI.
Pakistan and India arrest scores of fishermen every year on charges of violating territorial waters. Pakistani officials say over 150 Pakistani fishermen are currently in Indian prisons.
Since India and Pakistan resumed their peace process last year after a gap of over two years after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the two sides have taken several steps to speed up the release of prisoners held in each other's prisoners.
The two countries have released scores of prisoners, a majority of them fishermen. The two sides are working on an arrangement for the speedy repatriation of fishermen detained for inadvertently crossing the maritime boundary.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
New Delhi, As Pranab Mukherjee resigned to contest the Presidential poll, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today took charge of the Finance Ministry portfolio at a time when the country's economy is going through a bad phase.
Singh, a renowned economist, will be assisted by two Ministers of State -- S S Palanimanickam and Namo Narain Meena. A former RBI Governor, Singh was credited with bringing about economic reforms in the country when he was the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government in 1991.
Singh is taking charge of the ministry at a time when the country's growth rate has slowed down, slipping to a nine-year low of 6.5 per cent and current account deficit (CAD) touching a high of 4 per cent.
Besides, Rupee has reached a historic low of 57.97 against a dollar, providing another direct challenge for the Prime Minister. Singh already holds portfolios of Atomic Energy, Space, Planning, and Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. In another decision, Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was today given the additional charge of Small, Micro and Medium Industries after Virbhadra Singh resigned in the wake of corruption charges against him.
Monday 25 June 2012
Book Released
Chennai, A book on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader V Prabhakaran was today released here by city-based historian S Muthiah.
'The Prabhakaran Saga - The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior', authored by senior journalist S Murari, depicts how Prabhakaran built LTTE as an organisation through armed struggle, among other things. The first copy of the book, published by Sage publications, was received by journalist Malan.
Muthiah said improving the economic status of the Lankan Tamils would bring about a positive change in the island. Former Director of South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Madras V Suryanarayan said more than the
economic status, a political solution needed to found to the Tamils' problem.
He said the Island government should be committed in implementing the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LRCC).
Journalists and academicians, who spoke, said the Island nation must take steps to rehabilitate the displaced Tamils. Murari said the book was the result of the innumerable visits he made to the Island as journalist.
Bus crashes
Johanesburg: Paramedics say that a bus has plunged off a bridge in South Africa, killing at least 19 people and injuring 55.
Netcare Limited spokesman Jeffrey Wicks said that the death toll likely will rise. He said 21 people have been hospitalized with three in critical condition.
Mr Wicks said the bus was on a bridge in the small town of Meyerton on Monday when the driver apparently lost control of the bus which then crashed through aluminum barriers and fell several meters (feet) into a ravine. Those killed were trapped in the vehicle.
Sangma
New Delhi, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today claimed that NDA's Presidential candidate P A Sangma would emerge victorious in the July 19 poll as it will be held through secret ballot. "The constitutional mandate of secret ballot which allows MPs and MLAs to challenge their party line and resort to their conscience vote will help Sangma to sail through to victory.
My party is completely sure about it," Swamy said after a book launch in the capital. A day after Sangma said it was not right to rule him off before the Presidential polls, Swamy said Sangma is a representative of 10 crore tribals in the country and that he deserves to win.
Sangma has currently been assured support by BJP, AIADMK and BJD. Trinamool Congress which was earlier backing former President A P J Abdul Kalam as its Presidential candidate is yet to disclose its cards.
Egyptian President
New Delhi, India today congratulated the newly-elected President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi, saying it "respects and welcomes" the verdict of the people of that country and was ready to enhance bilateral co–operation. "Egypt has successfully conducted its presidential elections. We respect and welcome the verdict of the people of Egypt and extend our congratulations to them and President–elect Mohamed Morsi," official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said.
He said "we wish the new President all success and reiterate our readiness for enhancing bilateral co–operation." First non-military President, Morsi, 60, was named the fifth president of Egypt after narrowly defeating former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential polls held on June 16-17.
Sunday 24 June 2012
Youth falls into well
Howrah (WB), A 20-year-old youth today fell into a 30-ft deep well in Liluah area of Howrah district, police said. Rausan Ali Mondal, a mason by profession, slipped and fell into the well at Eksara village. Disaster Management Minister Javed Khan said in Kolkata that fire brigade and disaster management personnel were carrying out rescue work at the site.
"Water is being pumped out from the well where some gas was also found. Divers along with masks, search lights and generator have been sent to the spot," Khan said. The incident came hours after the body of four-year-old Mahi was pulled out from a 70-feet-deep borewell near Manesar where she was trapped for the past four days.
Earthquake
An intermediate depth earthquake has hit Sumatra near Aceh. Shaking could hit VI intensity. The earthquake has been reported as a weak shaking tapering off quite quickly which is good news from these localities. We are still waiting on news from the epicenter. This earthquake was felt by people in Penang in Malaysia quite strongly.
Nigeria's Boko Haram frees 40 inmates in prison break
Abuja, Nigeria's deadly Islamic sect Boko Haram today announced the "martyrdom" of its top leader accused of masterminding a Christmas day church suicide attack that killed 44 people, even as the group launched a daring jailbreak and freed 40 inmates. During prison attack, Boko Haram members threw explosives at the prison gates and shot at prison guards before making their way into the jail in Yobe State. State police Commissioner Patrick Egbuniwe confirmed that 40 inmates were freed during the jail break. "The sect members entered the prison through the emir's palace and freed 40 persons. They were confronted by the military but they carried away their members shot by the military, “he said.
Earlier the radical sect confirmed the death of Habibu Bama, who was accused of masterminding a Christmas day church suicide attack, by the country's security forces. "We are happy for Habibu Bama's martyrdom," Boko Haram said of its member who was a former soldier in a brief statement. Nigeria's secret police, State Security Service (SSS), engaged the sect in a gun battle within the city last week after which it was announced that they had captured Bama.
Bama was declared wanted after the Christmas day bombing at St Theresa's Catholic Church in Madalla near the country's capital, Abuja, killed 44 people. He was also accused of being involved last June's attack of police headquarters and August bombing of United Nations headquarters in Abuja. Boko Haram says its plan is to install Islamic rule in the country of 150 million people divided equally among Christians and Muslims.
Friday 22 June 2012
BJP
Patna, BJP workers in Bihar today displayed photographs of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and raised slogans in his support during a protest rally here against Centre's economic policies.
Apparently sending a strong message to state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his campaign against Modi by pressing for a secular person to be projected as NDA's prime ministerial candidate in 2014 general elections, BJP workers prominently displayed photographs and posters in an expression of solidarity to Gujarat Chief Minister. The BJP workers also raised slogans like "Modi Jindabad".
Raja Parvez Ashraf
Islamabad, Raja Parvez Ashraf, a stalwart of the ruling PPP, was today elected by the National Assembly as Pakistan's new Prime Minister as the country struggled to come out of its latest political crisis.
61-year-old loyalist of the Bhutto family was pitchforked into the hot seat after the original choice Makhdoom Shahabuddin faced an arrest warrant yesterday. But the new leader himself is dogged by corruption charges relating to his tenure as Power Minister.
The 342-member National Assembly chose Ashraf with 211 votes against opposition PML-N nominee Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi who got 89 votes. He will be administered oath of office by President Asif Ali Zardari as the country's 25th Prime Minister.
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Lucknow, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today gave full marks to his party's 100-day old government in Uttar Pradesh, saying the "loot in previous regime" has stopped and the law and order is fully under control.
"I will give 100 out of 100 marks to the SP government in the state. The loot in previous regime has stopped and besides fulfiling promises in party manifesto, the government has full control over law and order", Yadav told reporters here on completion of SP government's 100 days in office. On 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the third front, Yadav said while preparations for the general elections are on, a decision on an alternative front would be taken at an appropriate time.
He also reiterated his party's support to Pranab Mukherjee as the presidential nominee. He said the party's national executive meet, which was scheduled to be held in Kolkata on July 11-12, has been cancelled and the revised dates would be announced after the Presidential polls.
Thursday 21 June 2012
India to soon start exporting rice to China
Rio de Janeiro, India will soon start exporting rice to China as the two countries have resolved the quality and other regulatory issues. Briefing reporters about the outcome of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Environment Summit here, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said that Indian rice exports to China will commence soon.
The two neighbouring countries have mutually sorted out the issues concerning quarantine protocol paving the way for export of premium basmati rice. India is the world's second largest rice producer after China. But, basmati rice is grown only in India and Pakistan. India exported 2.4 million tonnes of basmati rice last fiscal, out of total output of 3.5 million tonnes.
In September last year, the Indian government permitted export of non-basmati rice. Since then, over 5 million tones of non-basmati rice has been shipped. Chinese authorities have given the green light for Indian exports of basmati rice after a long and taxing 6-year process. Negotiations on the issue of rice exports were on since 2006, when President Hu Jintao visited India.
It took another visit from Hu six years later, when he travelled to New Delhi last month for the BRICS Summit in April, to give the final push to a long-running process.
Major fire at Maha secretariat building
Mumbai, a major fire broke out at the fourth floor of the Mantralaya building which houses the state secretariat in south Mumbai this afternoon, fire brigade sources said. The fire broke out at NCP minister Babanrao Pachpute's office, the sources said. Six fire engines have rushed to the spot, they said. So far, there are no reports of any casualties, they added. Maharashtra Chief Secretary has ordered immediate evacuation of the entire building, sources said.
Pachpute said the fire has spread to the Chief Minister's office on the sixth floor. The smoke from the blaze on the fourth floor has engulfed two upper floors of the building. No casualties have been reported so far as the building was evacuated soon after fire was noticed.
Thousands of officials at Mantralaya, which houses the state Secretariat, were seen standing outside as fire fighters battled the blaze, which was suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit.
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Yuvraj Singh
New Delhi: Yuvraj Singh, who is on his road to recovery from a rare germ cell cancer, is targeting return to the cricket field for the ICC World Twenty20 which will be held in Sri Lanka in September.
In an interview to the ICC-produced weekly show, the India all-rounder hinted that he might be available for selection and tagged India as favourites to win the title.
"I think (the) favourites are India because we've got the biggest hitters - biggest hitters in town that's what I want to say. Hopefully I should be back by then. I'm not saying I'm the reason, it's just that I feel we have the strongest side and if we can sort out our bowling out in T20 I'm sure we can be a strong unit. There are other strong teams like Australia, South Africa which always compete at the top level at world events," he said.
Yuvraj, who is perhaps best remembered for his astonishing six sixes off one Stuart Broad over at the ICC World Twenty20 South Africa 2007, however, said he would avoid coming back to play prematurely.
"Playing for India is going to be a huge challenge for me because the body has been under a lot of shock which nobody can understand except me. Only a cancer patient can understand what he is going through. So it's going to be a big challenge for me to come back and play for India again."
Having already returned to light training, Yuvraj believes that his recovery is going well, and is enjoying a healthier lifestyle.
"I'm feeling good. It's been two months since I finished my chemotherapy. Initially my energy levels were low but now I am following my diet and eating loads of food and it's getting better in recovery. I've done six or seven sessions very light training and very light yoga. I'm just getting back into the groove of being a normal person, breathe normally, which is a lot of excitement and fun for me at the moment."
"The support was overwhelming, especially from India. One of the students from a college in Indianapolis came to see me and I felt like I was in India. I just want to thank everybody for their support and for their care. I went through chemotherapy which is hard for everybody but the wishes and the love is what made me come back," said Yuvraj.
Yuvraj also decided to share his emotional journey in coping with cancer in a very public manner via his personal Twitter account.
Explaining the reasons for this Yuvraj said: "There was a lot of speculation on what cancer I had, what had been going on, so I just want to keep everybody in the loop by saying this is what is happening and this is how my treatment is being done and I'm being positive. I just want to spread the message to other people who are diagnosed with such a disease that they can also fight it with the support of their family and their loved ones."
Shahid Afridi
Karachi: Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, is prepared to review his own One-Day International career for the sake of infusing youngsters into the team in time for the 2015 World Cup.
Afridi is in the middle of a poor run, having managed just 28 runs in four innings in a five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. And while he claimed three wickets, it came at 48.66 runs a wicket. Pakistan lost the series 1-3. "Our performance was not what we expected," said Afridi. "Now I want to consult my elders and then decide on my one-day future. I will have to sincerely review where I stand as far as my performance is concerned."
Inconsistency has been a problem for Afridi this year. He took just three wickets in a five-match series against England in February. With the 2015 World Cup in mind, retirement is a possibility, Afridi said. "I will make a decision soon but I have yet to decide on retirement. I will continue playing Twenty20 cricket if I leave one-dayers. I want to leave the stage for youngsters so that Pakistan can have a good team by 2015."
Fielding has been highlighted as one of the reasons for Pakistan's failure against Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka used their conditions very well and they are a strong team in their conditions, so they fared better than us," he said. "We lost mainly because of poor fielding. This has been our weakness ever since I started playing cricket, so we need to overcome that problem."
Afridi previously retired from all forms of cricket in 2011 after a fall-out with then Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt, only to rescind his decision after Zaka Ashraf took over as chairman later the same year.
Pranab Mukherjee
Bangalore, Estranged BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today said UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee is a "suitable man" for the post of President, but that the party central leadership would take an appropriate decision on the issue. "Being a BJP leader how can I support Pranab Mukherjee? He is a suitable man for this august post but I have my
limitations", he told reporters here. "High command will take appropriate decision. So far they have not taken a decision (vis-a-vis Presidential election)", Yeddyurappa said.
"As an individual I can support but as a partyman how can I support", he asked.
Yeddyurappa declined to respond to a query if Mukherjee called him to seek his support. "I don't want to discuss", he said.
Egypt
Egypt’s state news agency said former President Hosni Mubarak is "clinically dead" after multiple strokes, but a lawyer for Mubarak told NBC News early Wednesday that the ousted leader was clinging to life.
Mubarak, 84, had reportedly suffered multiple strokes and heart failure and had been moved late Tuesday to a military hospital from the prison hospital where he was being treated. He was reported to be on life support.
His health has been deteriorating since 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET), his lawyers told NBC. He suffered two or three strokes and his heart had to be restarted with a defibrillator, they said.
Video on Hayat TV showed an ambulance taking Mubarak to Maadi military hospital, the same one where his predecessor Anwar Sadat was declared dead more than 30 years ago after being gunned down by Islamic militants.
"He is in really bad shape," a U.S. official told NBC News.
The confusion over the state of health of the former leader came as his longtime opponents in the Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory of their candidate, Mohammed Morsi, over Ahmed Shafiq, a candidate drawn from the military elite in a presidential election held over the weekend.
An 18-day uprising ended Mubarak’s 30-year rule on Feb. 11, 2011, sparking months of social unrest and political turmoil.
Speculation about Mubarak's health had swirled since he was jailed effectively for life on June 2 for failing to halt the killings of hundreds of the protesters who toppled him.
The President of Egypt for nearly 30 years, Mubarak was an advocate for peace in the Middle East and a major U.S. ally, but Egyptians eventually grew tired of his corrupt regime and he was ousted in a popular revolt in February 2011.
He had been moved to Tora prison hospital from a plush military hospital where he was held during the 10-month trial.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
'Golden words are not repeated'
Patna, "Golden words are not repeated," said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here this evening when mediapersons requested him to clarify his advocacy of a secular person as NDA's prime ministerial candidate in the next general elections.
His cryptic reply came when asked to elaborate the five conditions that he had outlined for selection of the NDA's prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections.
"It was an interview (to an English daily). I don't need to give an interview again," Kumar said ignoring to a volley of questions by the media after emerging from a cabinet meeting.
Pranab
New Delhi, Pranab Mukherjee is expected to file on June 28 his nomination papers for Presidential election. Four sets of nomination papers, each having 50 proposers and seconders, are being readied for the nomination, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said here. Mukherjee could step down as Finance Minister after his nomination.
Besides Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, several Union ministers as also leaders of constituent parties of UPA are expected to be the proposers and seconders of Mukherjee's candidature for the July 19 election.
As part of preprations, MPs of constituent parties of UPA and supporting parties have been asked by Mukherjee's election campaign managers to sign the nomination papers kept in Parliament House.
Dhoni richer
London, Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pipped the likes of 'Sprint King' Usain Bolt, tennis ace Novak Djokovic and teammate Sachin Tendulkar in the latest list of world's 100 richest sportspersons, released by the Forbes magazine.
According to the list, Dhoni is ranked 31st, which is way ahead of Djokovic (62nd), Bolt (63rd) and Tendulkar (78th). Star footballers Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres are also behind Dhoni in the latest list. Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather topped the list with a total earnings of USD 85 million while Fillipino pugilist Manny Pacquiao, with earnings of USD 62 million, and golf legend Tiger Woods, with USD 59.4 million, are second and third.
Of his total earnings of 26.5 million, Dhoni earns 23 m through endorsements. Tendulkar has earned USD 18.6 million with 16.5 m from endorsements. Interestingly, the Indian captain's earnings through endorsements are more than the world's most popular footballer Lionel Messi.
Although Messi is 11th in the list with total earnings of USD 39 million -- his earnings from endorsements is USD 19 million, which is 4 million less than that of Dhoni. Manchester United's star striker Rooney is placed 37th with a total earnings of USD 24.3 million. Djokovic from Serbia, winner of six Grand Slams singles titles, is 62nd with USD 20.6 million, while Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt is 63rd with total earnings of USD 20.3 million.
Maria Sharapova is the richest among women's sportspersons at 26th with earnings of USD 27.9 million. While Roger Federer is ranked fifth in the list, David Beckham (8th) and Cristiano Ronaldo (9th) are the two soccer stars who are in the top-10.
Siamese twins
Betul, Madhya Pradesh: There's an air of anxiety and cheer in a small hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district. 11-month-old conjoined twins Aradhana and Stuti who have been living in the Padhar hospital since birth will be separated, in an operation performed by 23 doctors and 11 nurses from India and Australia. This procedure could last up to 10 hours. This made possible after NDTV viewers and ndtv.com users donated more than Rs. 10 lakhs for them.
Doctors say, the surgery to separate them involves separating the girls' livers which are fused together and also their hearts covered inside a common membrane. "We have a fantastic team for that. It is a complex operation entailing separating the heart and splitting the liver," explains Rajiv Chaudhury of the Padhar Hospital.Just a day before they are separated, their mother says she's waiting to take them home. "I will be in the hospital for the next four days, I am happy that doctors from faraway places have come to operate on them, but I am still tense," their mother Maya Yadav told NDTV.
Ironically, Aradhana and Stuti were abandoned and left in the hospital after they were born. Born into a poor family in Betul in Madhya Pradesh, their father, a farmer with barely two acres of land and their mother, said they were unable to figure out how to treat their twin daughters, who were joined at the chest. Since then, the girls have been looked after by the hospital nurses, doctors and staff.
Doctors will have to wait a week before declaring the separation successful and there maybe years of plastic surgery to normalize the wounds. But for now, a crucial beginning will be made tomorrow.
Nigeria church bombings
Abuja, Nigeria's dreaded Islamist militant group Boko Haram today claimed responsibility for three deadly attacks on churches that left at least 52 people dead and 131 others wounded. Boko Haram, which wants to impose Islamic sharia law in Nigeria, said yesterday's attacks in the cities of Zaria and Kaduna were retaliation on Christians for destroying mosques and, according to the group, turning others into "beer parlour and prostitution joints." "Let them know that now it's the time for revenge God willing," the group said in a statement. "From now on, they either follow the right religion or there will be no peace for them." Government and Red Cross figures on the death toll in yesterday's attacks differed. The Red Cross said the at least 52 people were killed and 131 others wounded in the attacks.
Analysts say Boko Haram is trying to trigger clashes between Christians and Muslims in the country which is equally divided between the two faiths. The series of attacks began when a suicide bomber drove at high speed through a barricade at the EWCA Goodnews Wusasa Zaria church early morning. A Kaduna state official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that blast killed at least 24 people and injured 125. The Nigerian Red Cross Society, however, reported that two people died and 22 were injured in the attack. Within minutes, another explosion occurred at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Zaria, according to Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.
Nigeria suicide attack
From Paul Ohia Abuja, Nigeria's dreaded Islamist militant group Boko Haram today claimed responsibility for three deadly attacks on churches, that led to reprisal killings, leaving at least 75 people dead and 120 others wounded. Reprisal attacks that followed the bombing of churches yesterday in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna has caused a rise in number of deaths to 75 and injured to 120, hospital sources said. A resident of the city, Blessing Audu told PTI that more than 30 bodies were dumped in a single cemetery located in Kaduna even as charred bodies littered the streets. Some murdered persons were dumped inside deep wells by the angry Christian youths, she said, adding that one could see corpses along major streets of the city.
An emergency worker who opted to remain anonymous said the number of dead may be higher According to him, in St Gerald Hospital alone, more than 40 bodies were kept at the morgue even as 70 others were being treated for wounds. People besieged the hospitals today in search of their missing relations. At the Barau Dikko Memorial Hospital, sources said 12 deaths were recorded with 2 others receiving treatment.
At the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria, an official of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency who on condition of anonymity said the death toll has gone up from 18 to 23. Radical Boko Haram sect claimed responsibility for the attack by suicide bombers on the churches located in cities of Kaduna and Zaria stating that their objective is to revenge for past killings of Muslims and desecration of holy places. "Today Almighty Allah has given us victory against Christian Churches in Kaduna and Zaria which led to the deaths of many Christians and security operatives," the spokesman for the group, Abu Qaqa said threatening more attacks.
Andhra Pradesh
Sangareddy Six persons including two women and a child were killed today and seven others injured in a car-lorry collision near Didi village in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, police said today. The victims, all belonging to Purani Haveli locality of the city here, were proceeding to Bidar for fixing the marriage of one of their relatives when the mishap occurred this evening, Zahirabad police said.
The car, carrying 13 passengers, collided with the lorry coming from opposite direction resulting in killing of six persons on the spot, police said. The deceased identified as Mushtaq Qureshi, Noorjahan Banu, Shafi Banu, Samina Banu, Muzammil and Ashraf Qureshi. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, police added.
Sunday 17 June 2012
Eight pilgrims killed in accident
Belgaum (Karna), At least eight pilgrims, including six women, were killed today when a bus went out of control and ran over them on the Bangalore-Pune Highway near here, police said. The victims, who were walking on the roadside, were on "Dindi Yatra" to Pandharpur in Maharashtra, as part of the annual 'Devashayani Ekadasi' fair at the abode of Lord Panduranga. The driver of the bus has been arrested, Yamankanmardi Police Sub-Inspector Basvaraj said. The bus was heading to Belgaum from Chikkodi. Several other injured pilgrims were admitted to Belgaum Civil Hospital, police said.
Thousands of devotees from north Karnataka and adjoining Maharashtra take up this traditional march along the highways to Pandharpur as well as Tuljapur, abode of Goddess Tulja Bhavani, during the season of 'Ashadi Ekadashi',an auspicious day of Lord Vishnu and is a festival of religious processions which is celebrated during June-July.
I always respected Kalam
DMK chief M Karunanidhi, who had said naming of A P J Abdul Kalam in the presidential race has led to chaos, today maintained that he always respected the former President. "Some people are trying to divert the issue. Abdul Kalam himself knows how much I value and respect him and the high post he held. I would always respect him," Karunanidhi told reporters here.
The DMK patriarch had on Friday said, "Kalam in Tamil also means chaos. Anyhow, chaos has broken out in the Presidential election." Announcing UPA's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Chennai on June 30, he said, "For the first time, Pranab Mukherjee would come to Chennai on June 30 to meet the electors. He would seek votes from MPs and MLAs. Arrangements have been made for a reception." Chances of Mukherjee becoming the President are "bright", he said.
He declined to comment on senior BJP leader L K Advani's observation that there was confusion in the Congress over the Presidential polls.
Salman
Mecca, Saudi Arabia was today preparing to bury Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz amid worldwide condolences, as defence minister Prince Salman appeared poised to become the new heir apparent. An aircraft bearing the body of Prince Nayef left Geneva early today for the kingdom's western city of Jeddah, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported. The funeral of the Gulf nation's security czar is expected to take place later in the Muslim holy city of Mecca after sunset.
He will be buried in Al-Adl cemetery near the Grand Mosque, where several members of the royal family and prominent Islamic scholars are interred, the Okaz daily said. "Crown Prince Nayef devoted his life to promoting the security of Saudi Arabia," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, while US President Barack Obama praised his cooperation in the fight against terror that "saved countless American and Saudi lives."
French President Francois Hollande said his country had lost a "friend" and the president of the Swiss Confederation, where Nayef died, offered Bern's "deepest condolences." The 79-year-old prince died of "cardiac problems" while at his brother's residence in Geneva, a medical source in the city who asked not to be identified said.
Nayef's death, just eight months after he replaced his late brother Sultan as crown prince, raises the issue of succession because of the advanced age of the first line of apparent heirs, in a time of turmoil rocking the Arab world. King Abdullah himself is 88 and ailing, and nobody is officially in line to replace Nayef. However, his brother Prince Salman, 76, who took the defence portfolio after Sultan's death, appears to be a strong candidate. "Prince Salman is the most likely successor," Saudi political scientist Khaled al-Dakheel said.
Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at London's Chatham House, said Salman is "generally assumed to be the next in line."
Lightning Strike
Lohardaga, Gumla (Jharkhand), Four persons died when lightning struck them in Lohardaga and Gumla districts, the police said. Three persons died at Nadinagra village in Lohardaga while they were working in the field while an elderly woman was killed by the thunderbolt at Mahuatoli village in Gumla district, the police said.
New MLA
Chennai, Jun AIADMK's Karthik Thondaiman, who emerged winner in the June 12 bye-election to the Pudukkottai Assembly constituency, would take oath as member of the Tamil Nadu assembly. Assembly Speaker D Jayakumar would administer the oath of office and secrecy to Thondaiman in his office,officials said.
Thondaiman, secured 101,998 votes, defeating his nearest rival N Jahir Hussain of Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam by 71,498 votes. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of CPI legislator SP Muthukumaran in a road accident in April.
Friday 15 June 2012
Hyderabad
Hyderabad: At least nine people have died and 10 are critically injured with severe burns in a blast at the government owned Vizag Steel plant in Andhra Pradesh.
The Police Commissioner of Vishakhapatnam, Purnachandra Rao said the blast happened at the high pressured oxygen house of the plant.
The injured have been admitted to the steel plant's General Hospital.
There are fears that the number of casualties could rise.
A technical problem at the unit was suspected to be the cause for the mishap. Sources said the explosion could have been caused due to abnormal build up of pressure in the unit.
Officials at the plant say, the fire due to the blast has been doused. The chairman of the plant who is on leave and out of the country is slated to return today.
Jodhpur
Jhakhar, who had allegedly disposed off Bhanwari's body, had been brought to the court by the police in connection with another case in which he is facing criminal charges. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January this year and has been lodged in the Jodhpur Jail since.
Bhanwari Devi, a trained midwife and nurse, went missing in September last year and the remains of her body were discovered by the CBI four months later. The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged that former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna and ex-MLA Malkhan Singh conspired to get rid of the 36-year-old nurse after she began blackmailing them.
The duo hired two men, Sohanlal and Shahabuddin, to kidnap Bhanwari from a bus and kill her.
Jhakhar, who is a member of the Bishna Ram gang, was assigned to get rid of her corpse, according to the CBI. Bishna Ram took the body to his village in Jalora where his gang burnt her body, smashed her bones and then threw the remains in a canal which were found by the CBI in January.
Thursday 14 June 2012
President again
Hyderabad, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today said there is a leadership crisis in the country and hoped that A P J Abdul Kalam becomes the President again.
"We have a leadership crisis today. We need a Leadership which takes risk and that will happen only when you elect people properly... I expect the next president will be Abdul Kalam," he said at a function here.
He also said terrorism should be dealt with strongly. "You have to make a resolve that you will not negotiate with terrorists until they are ready to surrender. This is the fundamental decision you have to make. Retaliation should not be just killing terrorists. That's not enough as new terrorists will come up. We have to find out their objectives and take a tough line. It needs willpower," he said.
Nitish Kumar
Patna, A P J Abdul Kalam, who has been backed by Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party for Presidential race, arrived here today on a scheduled visit and was welcomed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the airport. Kumar's receiving Kalam at the airport assumes significance in the backdrop of TMC and SP rooting for his candidature for the post of President. Kalam will attend two separate functions in the city on June 15th.
Sangma
New Delhi, Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma today said he remained a candidate for the post of the president and was in touch with all political parties to garner support. "I am in the race that is important. Since I am in the race, I do not like to comment on other candidates," he said and added there was nothing wrong in names being suggested for the post of President.
"We all know that my candidature has been sponsored by two most powerful leaders of the country, honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaji and also honourable Naveen Patnaikji who is the Chief minister of Odisha," he told Times Now. Sangma also said he had been given to understand that NDA would discuss his candidature at its meeting tomorrow.
"I have friends everywhere and I do not like to have any enemies.... I have appealed for support to all political parties... I am very much in touch with them," Sangma added.
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