CURRENT AFFAIRS: 08/10/11

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Gulf NRI's to build India's biggest mosque in Kozhikode

Dubai: India's biggest mosque, surpassing the capital's Jama Masjid is to come up in Kerala with expatriates in the UAE and Middle Eastern countries contributing generously for the project.

Estimated to cost Rs. 12 billion (Dirhams 1 billion), the new mosque, to be called 'Share Mubarak Masjid' is to come up as part of a multi-dimensional knowledge cum recreational centre on the outskirts of Kozhikode, so far known only for its exotic spices, which is home to a large number of NRI's working in the UAE, the Emirates 24|7 reported.

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Centre and the Jammu & Kashmir Government over the allegations of a fake encounter in Poonch.

One of the so-called 'Lashkar militants' killed in an encounter on Monday, turned out to be Ashok Kumar, a civilian resident of Poonch and not a militant.

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the alleged disproportionate assets of YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy after registering a criminal case.

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New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked President Pratibha Patil to reject Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mercy petition.

The ministry had sent Guru's file to the President's Secretariat for a decision last week.

New Delhi: State-owned oil firms today halted jet fuel supplies to cash-strapped Air India for non-payment of dues leading to disruption of some of its flights after cheques of the national carrier bounced.

The Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) supplies were resumed after Air India agreed to make the payments tomorrow to the oil companies following hectic parleys by Civil Aviation and Petroleum ministries to find a solution.

New Delhi: Hardening its posture, Team Anna Hazare today told a Parliamentary panel to recommend to the government to replace the Lokpal bill with a stronger anti-corruption draft legislation, or else the activist would go on an indefinite hunger-strike from August 16.

New Delhi: As many as 67 pilots tested positive during pre-flight alcohol tests since 2009 and nearly one-third of them are from Jet Airways, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply, Minister for Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi presented data of pilots found "positive during the pre-flight alcohol test."

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New Delhi: The decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs to ask President Pratibha Patil to reject Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mercy petition is badly timed, says Kashmir interlocutor Dilip Padgaonkar.

Attack on Indian students not racial, says Australian govt based on study

New Delhi: After intense criticism following the attacks on Indian students last year, the Australian government says that the attacks were not racial.

Referring to a study, a first of its kind held in the country, the Australian government says that that the rates of assault on Indian students were lower than or on par with the general Australian population.

Narendra Modi govt targets another whistleblower cop

Ahmedabad: The Narendra Modi government has targeted another whistleblower cop in Gujarat. It has cleared the file for chargesheeting IPS officer Rahul Sharma for handing over call record details to Nanavati Commission without informing the government.

New Delhi: Jagan Mohan Reddy, one of India's richest politicians, has asked the Supreme Court to stop a CBI inquiry intended to uncover the source of his wealth. He has accused his former party, the Congress, of using the court as "a playing ground for settling political rivalry."

Hyderabad, Aug 11: The Andhra Pradesh High Court had ordered a CBI probe into Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's allegedly gathered assets. The CBI has also been directed to register a case against all others who had invested in the companies which were promoted by him.
Taking into account a CBI report submitted on July 26 and while dealing with a petition filed by state Textile Minister Dr P Shankar Rao along with Telugu Desam Party leaders' petition, the High Court gave the order.

India's prime minister has pulled out of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, stunning organisers who considered him a major drawcard for the October event.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been long-attached to publicity for CHOGM to be held in October, with potential access into India's markets being a major selling point for the event.

f Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in a file photo

Taking a step forward for a final view on the fate of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Home Ministry has submitted his case to the President’s Secretariat for a decision.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken has said he was willing to give clarifications in Parliament on his statement on Suresh Kalmadi’s appointment as Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief. File photo

PTISports Minister Ajay Maken has said he was willing to give clarifications in Parliament on his statement on Suresh Kalmadi’s appointment as Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief. File photo

Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Ajay Maken on Monday stood by his statement that Suresh Kalmadi's appointment as CWG Organising Committee chief was “stamped and sealed” by the NDA regime and said he was “appalled and surprised” by the privilege motion the Opposition moved against him in Parliament.

APAn electronic board shows share index at a bank in Kuala Lumpur. File photo

Asian markets headed sharply lower early on Thursday over mounting concerns about the health of Europe’s banks and France’s debt rating.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8 per cent to 19,319.43, wiping out gains of the previous day. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 2.3 per cent to 1,764.66 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stumbled 2.5 per cent.

London, Aug 10 (IANS) More than 700 Sikhs armed with swords and hockey sticks have been guarding their gurdwaras in Britain amid unending unrest, media reports said Wednesday.

The Sikh men - some in their 80s - took to the streets to protect their homes, businesses and places of worship in Southall area of West London, the Daily Mail reported.

Police officers at the scene where where three men were killed after being hit by a car in an incident locals some were linking to the violence early Wednesday Aug. 10, 2011 in Birmingham, England. (AP / Rui Vieira)

In a significant decision, the government is understood to have requested the President to reject the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who is on death row.
The Home Ministry is believed to have sent the file rejecting the mercy petition of Guru, convicted in the 2001 terror attack and subsequently given the death sentence. The sentence was confirmed by the Delhi High Court and upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Home Ministry is believed to have cited the Delhi government's recommendation favouring Guru's execution. The matter has been under consideration for seven years now and has been a subject of intense political controversy.
The government's intent came to the fore in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran informed the House that the Home Ministry had submitted Guru's case to the President's Secretariat for a decision.

Government rejects Afzal Guru's mercy petition

The government has forwarded the mercy petition of the 2001 parliament attack convict Afzal Guru to President Pratibha Patil for a decision but with a recommendation that he may be executed. The home ministry sent Afzal Guru's file to the President's secretariat last week, minister of
state for home M Ramachandran said in a statement to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Shilpa Shetty got the rare opportunity to go bald and beautiful for her upcoming film, 'The Desire' but chose to let prosthetics do the job instead. While Shilpa might not have the guts or inclination to shave off her lustrous locks, there are many other celebrities– Indian and international, who have gone ahead with it and sported the bald look.

Colombian songstress Shakira has become the seventh most-popular person on the Twitter social network, with nearly 7.42 million followers, her publicist announced Monday.

The artist exceeds in numbers of Twitter fans other celebrities and performers such as Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey, according to statistics compiled by the social network.

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Introduction:

Chicken tikka masala might be on the cuisine world map but, heck, it's not easy to dish up a full course Indian meal, what with the multiplicity of spices and ingredients required. The 'Sweet 'n' Spicy- Indian Recipes' App, available both on iOS and Android claims to make Indian cooking hassle free. Just how good is that claim? Read on to find out.

HP India has launched their latest All-In-One computing solution, The TouchSmart 610 which will be powered by Intel's latest Sandy Bridge CPU and will feature a large 23-inch touch LED display which will support Full-HD resolutions of up-to1920x1280.

Available on: iOS
Reviewed on: iPad
Price: Free

Introduction:

Any Chrome users out there? Apple will not allow a Google web browser on their iPad and Google will probably not develop one for the iOS, so Chrome users are left with Safari on the iOS. But wait - The Diigo Browser is there and it does a pretty good job of copying the Chrome interface.

China's defence ministry has launched its official iPhone app which will allow users to track the activities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), a media report said.

China Daily reported that the ministry launched the first application on the Apple Store and it will allow users to track what the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is doing.

Reliance Communication has launched a new 7-inch 3G tablet which will be powered by Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system called the 'Reliance 3G Tablet'. Reliance will be the first telecom operator to manufacture a tablet.

Samsung India is expected to launch their long awaited Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 tomorrow at an event in New Delhi.

The Galaxy Tabs have already been launched in the United States. They run Android 3.1 Honeycomb and are powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 dual-core processor.

Apple has surpassed Exxon as the world's most valuable company in terms of market cap. As the markets opened on Tuesday morning in the United States, Apple's market cap $341.53 billion while Exxon trailed with a market cap of $341.51 billion.

On January 27, 2010 Apple boss Steve Jobs introduced the world to a little something called the iPad, and suddenly tablet became something other than what you take when ill. A flotilla of other tablets, mostly Android, followed but failed to crash Apple's party. Samsung, with its original Galaxy Tab starring a 7- inch display and Android Froyo, led the charge but to no avail. A year later, here are the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9, both are running Google's tablet OS, Honeycomb. But are they any different from the slew of Honeycomb tablets already flooding the market?

Samsung India have launched their latest tablet devices, the Galaxy Tab 750 and 730, which run on Google's Android Honeycomb operating system.

The Galaxy Tab 750 will feature a10.1 inch display, and will weigh only 565 grams while the Galaxy Tab 730 will feature an 8.9 inch display will weigh only 465 grams.

Mass copying racket in private medical college busted, 13 held

Bangalore: Busting a mass copying racket, Bangalore police have arrested 13 persons on the charges of supplying answer scripts to students appearing for second year nursing examination in a private medical college.

Police with the recovered valuables

Bangalore: The integrity of a private bus driver and the management of the transport company led to the recovery of jewellery worth Rs. 1 crore, which was stolen from a jewellery shop in south Bangalore.

Mother-daughter killed in building collapse, bodies recovered

Amritsar: Bodies of a mother and her teenage daughter were recovered on Tuesday from the debris of a four-storied building that had collapsed due to heavy rain, officials said.

Dead bodies of Mehak (19) and her mother, who were trapped under the debris of a building that had collapsed on Monday due to heavy rain were recovered.

Delhi: Next time you go to the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), make sure you carry a pair of gloves with you. The centrally-located premier medical institute, which caters to hundreds of people on a daily basis, is running short of basic medical equipment, including gloves.

According to institute doctors, there is an acute shortage of many essential things such as Betadine, antiseptics, hydrogen peroxide and gloves. Though all departments are battling the same problem, the department of Gynaecology is the worst, where doctors are asking patients to get the gloves themselves.

New Delhi: A protest by members of BJP youth wing in Delhi turned violent today, with the activists clashing with the police. Members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha were demanding resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on irregularities in the Commonwealth Games.

Delhi: In an incident of real life mimicking soap operas, a Delhi-based model-cum-TV actor has alleged that her husband's girlfriend is threatening to hire goons to rape her, and then release a video of the rape to television journalists.

New Delhi: In a bizarre incident reported on Tuesday, a man was arrested for allegedly opening fire on his wife. The victim, however, claimed that her husband did not shoot her.

According to the statement given by the victim, Sangeeta, she was having dinner with her husband Madan Lal alias Badal when a stray bullet hit her on the palm, then the temple and finally got lodged in her nape. The incident took place around 9pm in the Sabji Mandi area of north Delhi.

Delhi: A 32-year-old mentally disturbed woman allegedly strangled her six-year-old daughter and then committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling in the Surajmal Vihar area of east Delhi on

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Mumbai: The Captain and the chief engineer of cargo vessel MV Rak have been arrested and charged with negligence. MV Rak sank off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday, with 60,000 metric tonnes of coal on board. Both of them were produced in court and have subsequently been released on bail of Rs. 25,000 each.

'Dubai mafia is alive and kicking again'

Mumbai: Within 24 hours, Customs officials at the Sahar Airport have cracked down on two smuggling rackets.

While officials are celebrating the busts, inside sources are worried that the mafia sitting in Dubai has resurfaced and is active owing to the upcoming festive season.

TV actor found hanging in Mumbai flat

Mumbai: TV soap actor Ashish Kamble committed suicide at his Nalasopara residence yesterday. Kamble was working with Doordarshan on one of their serials.

An official from the Nalasopara police said, "Kamble was staying in a rented flat along with his friend Aditya Deshmukh. The night before the suicide, the companions had dinner and went to their respective rooms. When Deshmukh woke up in the morning, he saw Kamble's body hanging from the ceiling and informed the police."

Mumbai: The country's strides in IT-enabled services have had an unfortunate side-effect - the unethical hacking of ATMs.

Its latest victim is Miss India Earth 2002 Reshmi Ghosh, who became popular as Bhumi from Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, who had Rs. 2 lakh stolen from her compromised account.

Mumbai: A rally held to support the Jan Lokpall Bill and Anna Hazare commenced on Tuesday at Dadar station and culminated at Azad Maidan with throngs of people taking to the streets. Below is a timeline of the events of the day.

Pune: The situation in Maval in Pune is peaceful and under control, a day after three persons was killed there in the police firing when a farmers' protest against a dam water pipeline project turned violent.

A magisterial inquiry had been ordered into the firing, District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said.

Pune: At least three farmers have died and 18 injured in police firing during a protest at the Mumbai-Pune highway. The farmers had jammed the express highway on Tuesday morning to protest the diversion of agricultural water away from their land. Police opened fire after the protests turned violent and began pelting stones at police vehicles.

Pune: A 23-year-old BPO employee was stabbed to death last morning by her jealous lover even as a friend of the couple hid in a neighbour's flat.

After killing his girlfriend Nilam Yadgiri, an employee of WNS, Vijay Kumar Dudhare (26), freshened up and changed his clothes, before leaving the flat in Dattanagar.

Pune: Like on any other day, an employee at a petrol pump on the Pashan-Sus road in Bavdhan was just doing his duty when he told a man to await his turn for a bottle of petrol.

Little did he know that this request would leave him and other workers in the petrol pump battered. Some six miscreants beat up employees of the Shinde petrol pump around 8.15 pm on Monday for refusing to serve one of them immediately.

Kuwait follows Saudi in recalling Syria envoy

Kuwait City: Kuwait on Monday decided to recall its ambassador from Damascus, a day after Saudi Arabia took the same step, and announced a Gulf meeting on the bloodshed in Syria.

"We have decided to recall our ambassador from Syria for consultations," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters after meeting a parliamentary committee.

"No one can accept the bloodshed in Syria... The military option must be halted," said Sheikh Mohammed, who also praised the Saudi decision to recall its envoy.

British troop chops off dead Taliban's finger as trophy

London: A probe was launched by the British Defence ministry into claims that a soldier cut fingers off dead Taliban fighters to keep as souvenirs, BBC reported on Monday.

The allegations relate to a soldier from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, who was serving in Afghanistan.

The claims centre on the battalion's last tour of duty in the country. It was deployed in Helmand from September 2010 until April this year, tasked with training Afghan police.

London: A woman will command a warship for the first time in Britain's 500-year-old naval history, a media report said on Monday.

Thirty-nine-year-old Lieutenant Commander Sarah West will take control of the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland. The vessel has 185 crew members, mostly male.

HMS Portland boasts of Harpoon and Sea Wolf missile systems and Sting-ray anti-submarine torpedoes, among others. The 5,000-tonne ship, with a top speed 30 knots, also carries a helicopter and can engage in "total warfare".

15 injured in Russia emergency plane landing

Moscow: Soviet-made plane carrying 36 passengers on Monday overshot the runway and lost one wing in an emergency landing in Russia's Far East, injuring 15 people.

The An-24 passenger plane, en route to Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, had to land in Blagoveschensk after it "deviated from the planned itinerary due to poor visibility and strong gusts of wind," the emergencies ministry said in a statement.

British man sacked for filming 'sleeping' boss

London: A security guard in Britain was axed after he filmed his supervisor asleep on the job. The supervisor, however, claims she was just "resting" her eyes.

Security guard Darrell Welsh posted the 30 second film clip on Facebook, The Sun reported.

The supervisor kept her job after she said she was not really sleeping, but just "resting" her tired eyes.

Washington DC: President Barack Obama on Monday essentially dismissed the first-ever downgrade of the US credit rating, trying to reassure investors and the public that the nation's leaders need only show more "common sense and compromise" to tame a staggering accumulation of debt.

Seeking to demonstrate command in a volatile economic climate, Obama said he hoped the decision by Standard & Poor's would at least give Congress a renewed sense of urgency to tackle debt problems. He said that must be done mainly by taking on the politically difficult issues of reforming taxes and entitlement programs in the coming months.

New York: Wall Street stocks plummeted on Monday as skittish investors, already concerned about the economy, struggled to work out the implications of an unprecedented downgrade of the United States government's credit rating, and sought safer places to put their money.

The declines, coming in the first opportunity for investors to sell since Standard & Poor's cut its rating on the nation's long-term debt late Friday, followed losses in global markets and set United States equities on track to extend losses that for some recalled the days of the 2008 financial crisis. They also reflected anxiety over the United States economy and Europe's debt woes.

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London: Violence and looting spread across some of London's most impoverished neighborhoods on Monday, with youths setting fire to shops and vehicles, during a third day of rioting in the city that will host next summer's Olympic Games.

Skirmishes broke out between police and groups of youths across Britain's capital, and also spread to the nation's central city of Birmingham -- where police said dozens of people were involved in damaging shops across the city center.

Full text of Obama's speech

Washington: President Barack Obama on Monday essentially dismissed the first-ever downgrade of the US credit rating, trying to reassure investors and the public that the nation's leaders need only show more "common sense and compromise" to tame a staggering accumulation of debt.

Here's the full text of Obama's speech:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

State Dining Room

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. On Friday, we learned that the United States received a downgrade by one of the credit rating agencies -- not so much because they doubt our ability to pay our debt if we make good decisions, but because after witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, they doubted our political system's ability to act. The markets, on the other hand, continue to believe our credit status is AAA. In fact, Warren Buffett, who knows a thing or two about good investments, said, "If there were a quadruple-A rating, I'd give the United States that." I, and most of the world's investors, agree.

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London: A wave of violence and looting raged across London and spread to three other major British cities on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s. (Watch: Dramatic video of London riots)

In London, groups of young people rampaged for a third straight night, setting buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looting stores and pelting police officers with bottles and fireworks. The spreading disorder was an unwelcome warning of the possibility of violence for leaders organizing the 2012 Summer Olympics in less than a year.

(AFP photo)

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron's office says he has cut short his summer vacation to lead the response to the escalating London riots - with violence and looting occurring for the third day across the capital.

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess Tuesday to deal with the crisis touched off by three days of rioting in London. Mr Cameron described the scenes of burned buildings and smashed windows on the streets of London and several other British cities as "sickening."

However, he refrained from ordering more extreme anti-rioting measures, such as calling in the military to help the beleaguered police restore order.

London: Widespread looting, several incidents of fire and disorder during the riots in London made last night the "worst" in "current memory" for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

The MPS said today that it responded with the largest policing operation of the three nights to date - approximately 2,500 officers in addition to the 3,500 already on boroughs.

This included receiving aid from other forces and using armoured vehicles to support officers on the ground to clear areas of trouble, the MPS said in a statement.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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