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Flood situation still grim in Orissa

     Jajpur (Bhubaneshwar): Flood situation in eastern parts of Orissa is still grim with more than 200 villages remaining marooned. In spite of a letdown in the downpour since Sunday morning and slight recession of the flooded Baitarani and Brahmani rivers, villages remain cut off from the rest of the state, making it difficult to provide aid to the affected. In Jajpur district, farmers were the worst hit, as their fields got flooded for the fourth time in as many years. "I had cultivated two acres of land this time and all the crops have been damaged. We have lost hope. The floods have been coming every year since 2001, and I have hardly been able to grow anything," said Maheshwar Patra, a farmer. Marooned villagers said that they have so far received just 200 grams of rice and jaggery from the government. However, State government claimed that rescue and relief work was in full gear, but could not give specific figures regarding the same. "We are monitoring the situation constantly, seeing wherever relief is required that people get relief, where boats are required and where repair work can be done. We are monitoring the situation constantly as far as the floods are concerned," Chief Minister, Navin Patnaik said. An estimated 1,000 hectares of farmland are under water all over the state and around 30,000 cattle have gone missing. Even in towns life came to a standstill as floodwaters entered educational institutions, offices and residences. Heavy torrential rains lashed the state for five consecutive days till Saturday, killing at least 36 people in flash floods and lightning.

Mumbai blasts accused sent to custody  (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: Abdul Hameed, who was flown to Mumbai from Srinagar yesterday evening in connection with the Mumbai blasts, was on Sunday remanded to police custody till August 11. Interestingly, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court sent Hameed to police custody on the charges of robbery in the jurisdiction of Nagpada Police Station. Hameed, 35, who was working in Mumbai as a security guard prior to the July 11 blasts, was arrested on Thursday night from Jammu and Kashmir's Potha village in Poonch district. He came under suspicion after Mumbai police found his identity card at one of the blast sites and discovered that he had not reported for work at a private security agency that employed him since the attacks.

Bihar MLA gets life term for murder (Go To Top)

      Madhubani (Bihar): A Madhumani fast-track court awarded the life imprisonment sentence to the sitting MLA from Phulparas, Devnath Yadav along with 27 others in connection to a 1992 murder case. Devnath, who belongs to Samajwadi party, was found guilty of murdering Surendra Yadav, relative of a former minister and Member of Parliament Devendra Yadav. He along with his associates was convicted for lynching Surendra to death, 14 years ago. The ruling of the court comes at a time when the incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called for a rapid disposal of the pending cases. Delivering the verdict, the judge imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Devnath and the other seven accused. The Samajwadi legislator looking disappointed termed the sentence as a "political conspiracy" launched by his rivals. "All this is politically motivated. I am not ready to accept that I am a murderer. The fault lies in the system. I will definitely get justice from the court," said Devnath. The MLA is looking forward to file an appeal against the decision in the Patna High Court.

Gadaria gang leader 'killed', body missing (Go To Top)

     Gwalior: Madhya Pradesh Police today claimed that they were successful in killing notorious Gadaria gang leader Dayaram, but were unable to retrieve his body. Currently a combing operation is on in the Majhera forests, near Shivpuri where yesterday night police had to engaged in a fierce gun-battle with the Gadaria dacoits. Acting on a tip-off, the police and the Special Task Force rushed to the forest to nab the dreaded dacoits who carried an award of rupees 5 lakhs over his head and has been harged with over 50 cases of murder, abduction and dacoity. "He was shot dead on the spot. We are continuing with our search operation with different team. We are well determined to search his body by evening," said Ashok Singh Bhadauria, Police Inspector and the leader of the Anti-Dacoit Squad. However, the police expressed optimism that they would be able to wipe out the gang within a month. Though, the gang has become weak, we hope to destroy the gang in a month," added Ashok.

Bihar CPI-ML protests Indo-US nuke deal (Go To Top)

       Patna: Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) activists took to streets here on Sunday demanding that the Indo-US nuclear deal be called off. Activists said that they were against the imperialist policies of the US. "Our party is carrying out the protest against the imperialist policies of the United States and we demand that the Indo-US nuke deal be called off," said Ramjatan Sharma, CPI-ML State Secretary. The activists also burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W. Bush in a protest. The nuclear energy cooperation deal with the Unites States will get India access to the US nuclear fuel and technology for its civilian nuclear programme. The nuclear deal was given an initial approval by the U.S. House of Representatives last month. It needs to be approved by the Senate as well. The House of Representatives and the Senate will vote again after negotiations on the technical details of the agreement are completed. Moreover, India must complete negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a system of inspections for its civilian nuclear sites. The deal has been criticised by the supporters of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government as well as the opposition saying that New Delhi is submitting to tough conditions imposed by the US and compromising its nuclear security.

Israeli tourists in Manali pray for peace (Go To Top)

      Manali (Himachal Pradesh): Israeli tourists flocked in Synagogue here on Sabbath to pray for peace in their motherland. Israeli tourists in the picturesque Manali valley lit candles and offered prayers on Saturday. Leading them was the Rabbi of the Synagogue Baruch Shenhau. "We are lighting candles as a means of sending our message across to the Almighty to bless and protect our brothers and sisters in Israel. We all are praying that the Israli soldiers kidnapped by Hizbollah return home to safety soon," said the Rabbi. The religious service was an exercise in patriotism and genuine concern for people back home in Israel as they face the heat of ongoing war. As the updates from Israel keep making news bulletin a 'must- see', the expatriates are more and more worried for their kith and kin. "We are really worried because we hear fragments of things and do not really know what is happening. We pray that the war is over soon and there is peace and everything is back to normal," said Shira Koerbel, an Israeli tourist. For Uzigal this is a win-or-perish situation. "We hope that we really finish this war very fast. We hope to go back to our country and do what we must," said Uzigal, another Israli national. The war erupted on July 12 when Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid. The conflict has killed at least 741 people in Lebanon and 78 Israeli nationals. As the war entered its 26th day on Sunday, Israel vowed to continue its offensive against Hizbollah and push forward with its ground offensive into southern Lebanon.

12 Nepalese labourers die in Leh mishap (Go To Top)

      Leh: Twelve Nepalese labourers were killed and five were injured when over 16 houses collapsed in Phyang village, about 23 kms from here, on Saturday night due to heavy rains. Several people were saved after a two-hour long rescue operation, locals said. Meanwhile, the vehicular traffic on Leh-Srinagar National Highway remained suspended for second day today after Phyang Bridge was damage by overnight rainfall following cloudburst. "I'm 75 years old and I had never seen such a flood in my village before. It has caused heavy damages to the villagers. My whole agricultural land is now covered with stones and clay. All of us are at the top of the mountain from last night and we still don't know for how long we will have to stay here," said a villager. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has pressed its personnel and machinery into the service to clear the highway of debris. The overnight rainfall led to flash floods in Leh, Stok and many other villages of the district. Local Administration and Hill Council has also taken all necessary steps to combat the hazardous and damages caused due to the floods and has also taken immediate steps to rehabilitate the affected families. Affected areas have been divided into zones and teams of officers have been constituted and deployed to oversee flood control measures. Services of the Army have also been sought to supplement the efforts of the District Administration in restoration and relief works.

'Kaul confessed he was a RAW official' (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Deepak Kaul, the Indian High Commission visa consular officer who was expelled by Pakistan yesterday on charges of "undesirable activities incompatible with his diplomatic status", a euphemism for spying, has reportedly confessed that he was an official of Indian intelligence agency, RAW. The News quoted an official as saying that Kaul took over as the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief in Islamabad on September 12, 2003. He said Kaul had been assigned to carry out clandestine operations in Pakistan, and was now likely to be posted in Afghanistan or Iran. He would use the Indian "diplomatic missions" situated very close to Pakistani border in Afghanistan for carrying out anti- Pakistani activities, the official said. Kaul was arrested from a kiosk on the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway on Saturday morning. He was accused of travelling to Lahore without prior intimation to the relevant authorities in violation of established diplomatic norms. The official said Kaul was arrested by the law-enforcement agencies and handed over to the Indian High Commission, since he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. India responded Kaul's expulsion by declaring Syed Mohd Rafiq Ahmed, Islamabad's political consular in New Delhi, persona non grata, and asked him to leave the country within 48 hours.

India can qualify for Cup: Soccer coach (Go To Top)

      Kolkata: Dreams of many Indians to see their country playing in the FIFA World Cup may turn out to be true and it could be as early as 2014 edition of the World Cup. The newly appointed national coach of the Indian soccer team Bob Hougton on Sunday expressed hope that Team India may qualify for World Cup in the next eight years. Pinning on some "remarkable developments" that is going to take place in the Indian football scene, Hougton said: "It seems to me that if India does not qualify for the world Cup in 2010, but some where around the year 2014 or 2018 the team can go up because of some remarkable development which is going to happen here". Addressing a press conference here before India's qualifying match for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 against Saudi Arabia, Houghton said with better facility and more money provided for the development of the game, young players could be urged to get involved with the game. Houghton, who has played for Fulham FC from 1966-69 and Brighton from 1969 to 1970, had also been coach for Shenyang Ginda in the Chinese Super League. In his 30-year coaching career, the Englishman has trained players in Europe, Africa and Asia. He was appointed the new coach for Indian football team two months earlier by the All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi after he accepted the recommendations of the federation's technical committee.

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