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PM cuts short Orissa visit due to bad weather

      Bhubaneswar: Continuing heavy rainfall along Orissa's coast between Bhubaneshwar and Vishakapatnam has forced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to cancel his visit to Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region of the state. Indian Air Force helicopters assigned to take Dr. Singh on his aerial survey could not leave Bubhaneshwar due to bad weather. An altered plan for the Prime Minister to fly to Vizag and go from there by helicopter to Koraput was also called off after the air force reported bad landing conditions at Koraput. On Monday, the Prime Minister, who was on a two-day visit to the State, dedicated the Talcher thermal power station to the nation and announced the setting up of a National Institute of Science Education and Research in Bhubaneshwar. He was scheduled to visit the districts of Bolangir and Koraput to study the problem of poverty and rural development. He was also scheduled to interact with representatives of villagers, non-government organizations and district authorities. The Prime Minister has left for New Delhi following the cancellation of his district tour.

Cop probing Mumbai blasts dies mysteriously

      Mumbai: Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vinod Bhatt, a member of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad, who was investigating the 11/7 bomb blast case, was run over by a train at Dadar late on Monday. Fifty four-year-old Bhatt's body was found on the railway track between the Dadar and Matunga stations. Preliminary reports suggested that Bhatt had committed suicide following a domestic dispute. "It is learnt that he had some family tensions, but everything will be clear only after the investigations," said K P Raghuvanshi, the Chief of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad. A post-mortem is being conducted on Bhatt's body at Mumbai's Sion hospital.

Keralite awaits death in Kuwait jail (Top)

      Kochi: A 22-year-old Muslim, hailing from Elathur near Vengali village of Calicut district of Kerala, is awaiting death sentence in the Sulaibiya jail at Jehra in Kuwait following the collapse of a tragic love affair with a Nepali girl. While the girl died in a suicide pact reached between the two, the boy survived, only to be charged with murder. Shoukath, the son of Koyadeen of Pulparappil house, the eldest child in a poor fisherman family of six, has been in the jail since December, 2005. The Jehra court awarded Shoukath capital punishment recently. His relatives came to know about his fate through a report that appeared in a vernacular daily. Stunned by the court verdict, Shoukath's family has now approached Union Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, and asked him to intervene in the matter. They called upon the Minister last week when he came to Kozhikode, and has prepared a memorandum to be sent to the ministry.

     Shoukath had gone to Kuwait on January 8, 2005 on a visiting visa. After working in many shops he got a job in a Malayali-run restaurant. He fell in love with a Nepali girl Yamuna, who was working as a maid in a house nearby. The duo decided to commit suicide after the families opposed the marriage, on December 13, 2005. "Both of them hanged themselves and my brother failed in the attempt as the fan came down with him. People hearing the commotion rushed in and prevented him from making further attempts," says Noushad. But the girl died and Shoukath was arrested by the Kuwait police. There are, however, reports that Shoukath had told police that he had strangled Yamuna to death as per an agreement between them. His suicide was the second part of the scheme, which got failed, he had said. Among his family which awaits a miracle that can save him include mother Souda, younger brothers Noushad and Siddique and two sisters Faheema and Shameeda.

15 more Telangana MLAs suspended (Top)

       Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker K R Suresh Reddy on Tuesday suspended another 15 legislators of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party, as the latter continued with its agitation for the formation of a separate Telangana state inside the House. Tuesday marked the fifth consecutive day of the TRS protest, and no legislative business could be conducted. As soon as the Assembly met for the day, TRS legislators rushed to the Speaker podium with placards, and shouting slogans of 'Jai Telangana'. Others were on their feet, urging the speaker to hold a discussion on the question of statehood. Last week, party's protest had forced the speaker to adjourn the House without transacting any business for three days. As the uproar continued on Tuesday, Minister for Legislative Affairs K. Rosaiah moved a motion seeking suspension of the TRS members. As the agitating members refused to leave, House marshals were summoned to evict them. Two TRS ministers, including party president K. Chadrasekhara Rao had quit the Union Cabinet last week to protest the delay in carving out a separate state.

Jaipur Muslims oppose 'Vande Mataram' (Top)

      Jaipur: Muslim leaders in Jaipur have expressed resentment if singing Vande Mataram would be made compulsory, saying they would not allow children in madrassas of the state to sing the national song during its centenary celebrations. The reaction comes following the directions of BJP President Rajnath Singh that educational institutions in all BJP ruled states should recite the national song to mark the end of Vande Mataram's commemoration year. Mohammad Salim, President, Rajasthan Jamat Islami Hind, said that the BJP was trying to give the whole issue a bitter shape for its own vested interest. "Some people are making this an issue for targeting the Muslims. We do not have any problem singing Vande Mataram but this should not be forced on us. If it is done, it is against the constitution. This is a democratic country. We are not against Vande Mataram, but the song says about worshipping our motherland. We love our motherland but we worship only Allah. So, forcing us to sing the song is like snatching off our democratic right," said Salim. As per directions, all educational institutions, including madrassas, in the BJP-ruled states were to sing the national song at 11:00 a.m. throughout the country on September 7. For the administration of those madrassas, which are running on government grants, the situation has become very complicated. They cannot deny government orders, fearing Islamic fundamentalists issuing the 'Fatwa' at the same time. "If we get a circular from the state government we will definitely follow the instructions," said Dr MD Habib, Principal, Moti Dungri Madrassa. Confrontations on the issue surfaced when Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh directed to organise singing of Vande Mataram across the country on September 7. However, following protests by Muslim organisations, the Minister said the singing would be voluntary. The song, written by eminent 19th century Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, was voted the second most popular song in a poll by the BBC World Service in 2002. The song, composed in a highly Sanskritised form of the Bengali language, first appeared in his book Anandamatha, published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by British Raj, though the song itself was actually written six years prior in 1876.

Vande Mataram yatra by Varanasi sadhus (Top)

       Varanasi: The controversy over the recital of the national song is yet to be resolved as evident from the sadhus in Varanasi who organised a Janchetna Yatra on Monday to encourage the singing of the national song. The sadhus took out a march in the city of Ganges, singing Vande Mataram all through the way. Many people later joined the march and also sang the same. They insisted that the recital of the national song, which laid the foundation of our freedom struggle, can not be withdrawn from its old status as it reflected nation's true identity. "We want to say that Vande Mataram being the national song, it deserves an important place and the one who denies doing so can not be a true nationalist," said Arun Pathak, President, Kranti Shiv Sena. Recently, a directive issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) that oversees education wanted all schools to recite the first two stanzas of the song at 11 am on September 7 to mark the completion of the centenary celebrations commemorating adoption of the national song. However, when some Muslim clerics in Uttar Pradesh objected to this by contending that singing Vande Mataram amounted to worshipping the motherland and Muslims cannot worship any other than Allah. Soon, the HRD minister, Arjun Singh, on a second thought, then diluted the appeal and made the recital of Vande Mataram optional.

Rahul Mahajan weds Shewta Singh (Top)

      Mumbai: Rahul Mahajan, the son of late BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan, wed his airline pilot sweetheart Shweta Singh at Worli here on Tuesday. A simple ceremony took place at 11.31 a.m. 'Mangalashtakas' were also recited at the beginning of the wedding, family sources said. Many political leaders, including BJP leader L K Advani, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, Public Works Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Kalraj Mishra, Shiv Sena executive President Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray attended the event. BJP leaders M.Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, actress-politician Smriti Irani and industrialists Anil Ambani and Rahul Bajaj were also present. Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde, who is married to Pramod Mahajan's sister Pradnya, Rahul's mother Rekha and sister Poonam welcomed the guests. No one from the family of Pravin, Pramod Mahajan's younger brother, attended the wedding function. Pravin is in jail for assassinating Pramod Mahajan at the latter's Poornima building apartment on April 22 in the Worli area after an argument. Pramod Mahajan died from multiple organ failure brought on by gunshot wounds on May 3. Rahul Mahajan is also facing a chargesheet for allegedly consuming an unspecified quantity of drugs on June 1. On Monday, Rahul got permission from a Delhi court to travel to the Seychelles for his fortnight-long honeymoon.

Khushwant to get Punjab Rattan Award (Top)

      Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain (retired) Amarinder Singh will confer the second Punjab Rattan Award on eminent author Khushwant Singh on Thursday, for his "contribution in the fields of literature and journalism". According to reports, Amarinder Singh has informed Khushwant Singh of his government's intention to give him this award. Khushwant Singh will receive an exquisitely crafted silver memento and a citation. A number of guests from Pakistan and other countries are expected to attend the function at the Hotel Imperial in New Delhi on August 31. The first Punjab Rattan award was presented to eminent film maker Yash Chopra at a function in Chandigarh last month. The 91-year-old writer is one among the most famous journalists in India, and he writes exclusively in English. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974. He returned the honour in 1984 in protest over the siege of the Golden Temple by the Army. In July 2000, Sulabh International Social Service Organization awarded him "Honest Man of the Year Award" for his courage and honesty in his "brilliant incisive writing". On February 20, 2006 Canadian High Commission in Delhi gave a rare felicitation to Khushwant Singh on his long and eventful writing career, which had its inception in the years he spent in Canada as a young diplomat at the Indian High Commission.

Bus falls into Alamatti reservoir: 26 die (Top)

      Bijapur (Karnataka): A bus carrying 32 people fell into Alamatti reservoir across the north Karnataka's Krishna river on Tuesday, drowning 26 persons while six swam to safety. The group, which included women and children of Bagsibundu village of Koppal district, was going towards Alamatti dam after visiting the Koodalasangama pilgrimage centre, police said. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has expressed shock over the accident and has directed the officials to expedite the rescue operations.

Kalam gives away sports awards (Top)

     New Delhi: President APJ Abdul Kalam on Tuesday conferred the National Sports and Adventure Awards for 2005 at a glittering ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. The country's highest sporting honours-- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna- - was presented to cueist Pankaj Advani for winning the World Billiards title and the gold medal at the Asian Championships last year. The President also gave away the Arjuna Awards to 15 sportspersons, including Mumbai hockey player Viren Rasquinha, swimmer Shikha Tandon, shooter Gagan Narang and women cricketer Anju Jain. He also presented Dronacharya awards to four coaches and Dhyan Chand awards, given for life-time achievement in the field of sports. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award comprises a cash prize of Rs five lakh, a medal and scroll of honour while Arjuna awardees are given Rs three lakh, a statuette and a scroll of honour. The Arjuna Awards comprises a cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, a statute and a scroll of honour. The Dhyanchand Awards given for life-time achievement in sports and games, comprises a cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, plaque and a scroll of honour, while the Dronacharya Awards comprises cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, a plaque and a scroll of honour.

    Following is the list of award winners: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Pankaj Advani - Billiards and Snooker. Arjuna Award: Tarundeep Rai (Archery), Dola Banerjee (Archery), Manjit Kaur (Athletics), Aparna Popat (Badminton), Anuja Prakash Thakur (Billiards and Snooker), Akhil Kumar (Boxing), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Chess), Anju Jain (Cricket), Viren Rasquinha (Hockey), Ramesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Gagan Narang (Shooting), Shikha Tandon (Swimming), Soumyadeep Roy (Table Tennis), Sushil Kumar (Wrestling), Rajinder Singh Rahelu (Javelin- physically handicapped). Dhyan Chand Awards: Uday K. Prabhu (Athletics), Commander Nandy Singh (Hockey), and Harish Chandra M. Birajdar (Wrestling). Dronacharya Awards: Captain M. Venu (Boxing), Balwan Singh (Kabaddi), Maha Singh Rao (Wrestling), and Ismail Baig (Rowing).

India to host first Special Olympics
Cricket World Cup (Top)

      New Delhi: India will host the first ever Cricket World Cup in Special Olympics, which will be held in Mumbai between November 6 and 13. Nine teams of India, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies will take part in the event that would mark the official launch of cricket as a sport in the Special Olympics. Addressing a press conference here today, former batting great Sunil Gavaskar, who is one of the brand ambassadors for the event, said such events should not be seen just as acts of charity as they brought out the best of character and endurance in sports.

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