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TRS chief on 'fast-unto-death'

     New Delhi: A day after withdrawing support from the UPA government at the Centre, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekara Rao began an indefinite hunger strike here today to press his party's demand for a separate state of Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. The TRS leader accompanied by four other TRS MPs and scores of party activists from Telangana region as well as Delhi, began his fast unto death at the Jantar Mantar here. "We are fighting for the truth. The Congress party had promised for the formation of Telangana as a separate state but now after three years, no work has been done for it. We have been cheated by all the Congress party members and we will fight for that until our death," said Chandrasekhara Rao. Former Prime Minister V P Singh visited the striking TRS leader and expressed his solidarity with his party. "For a long time Chandrasekhara Rao and his party have been struggling for the Telangana state. When the present UPA government was formed, Rao said that he is not keen to hold any post but that he wanted Telangana which is dearer to him and with certain understanding he accepted being a part of the government. But after waiting for three years when nothing has come out, he has decided to resign and fight for the Telangana state," Singh said. Extending support to Chandrasekhara Rao, the former Prime Minister said it was a justified cause and the government should fulfil the commitment that was made. He also appealed to Rao to reconsider his decision to go on fast, saying the TRS leader should look after his health, as he has to keep up the fight for the Telangana cause. The TRS activists, sporting pink-coloured shawls that matched the party flag, sang and danced to folk songs at the Jantar Mantar.

TRS members stall Assembly proceedings

      Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) members stalled proceedings in the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly on Wednesday, a day after two of its ministers quit the ruling UPA Government at the Centre. Demanding the immediate creation of a separate Telangana State, the TRS legislators forced the state Assembly Speaker K.R.Suresh into adjourning legislative proceedings. The TRS, which has five Members of Parliament and 26 Assembly members, has warned that it will escalate its movement for a separate state. TRS members also held placards and surrounded the Speaker's podium, which prompted the latter to adjourn the House again. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President K Chandrashekhara Rao and leader A Narendra resigned from the Union Cabinet on Tuesday. According to sources, Rao is likely to go on a hunger strike in Delhi, from Wednesday to intensify his demand for a separate Telangana state. The Telangana region is spread over nine of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh, and those wanting a separate state say that the economic development of the region has been neglected. The demand for the creation of a separate state of Telangana dates back 50 years.

Quota row: Medicos observe 'Black Day' (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Anti-reservation medicos all over the country are observing a "Black Day" today as a mark of protest against the Union Cabinet's approval of the OBC-reservation draft bill. Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) observed the "Black Day", but continued their work to avoid inconvenience to patients. However, they have decided to go on mass casual leave from Thursday. Intensifying their agitation against the government decision, AIIMS resident doctors said: "We don't want to do anything that affects patients adversely. So, we are only observing a Black Day all over India. Tomorrow we will go on mass casual leave, and after that we will decide what to do next," said Kaushal, a resident doctor at AIIMS. The bill is expected to be placed before the Parliament later this week. On Tuesday, police in Delhi had to resort to firing tear gas and using water canons to disperse student protesters as an outcry erupted over the government's move to increase the reservation to 49.5 percent from 22.5 percent. Protesters say the move does not reward merit and will reduce their chances of securing places for higher education if the law is passed by the Parliament. Institutes like AIIMS and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) already have one of the world's toughest selection procedures and the ratio of competition for the 2006 examination at IIT was a staggering 61 students per seat. The controversial proposal, which faced similar nationwide protests when it was first mooted four months ago, covers Centrally funded universities, medical, engineering and management schools.

Militant hideout busted; SPO killed in JK (Go To Top)

      Jammu: A militant hideout has been busted in Poonch by security forces. Police said that they had recovered ammunition and explosives including 10 kilograms of RDX, 76 rounds of ammunition and fuses, rations and utensils. In another incident a Special Police Officer (SPO), Jagbir Singh, was shot dead in an exchange of fire between militants and security forces at Khari village in Doda District. Singh's body has been sent to his native village in Doda district for the last rites.

UP SEB files FIR against dead  (Go To Top)
by Brajesh Kr. Singh

     Achnera (Agra): Residents of Achnera colony in Agra are shocked after a first information report (FIR) has been filed by the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board (UPSEB) against 21 consumers, many of them already dead, accusing them of electricity theft. Many of the consumers have been booked despite paying the bills. "Cases were registered against 21 persons who were charged with electricity theft. The Junior Engineer (local official) did not conduct any enquiry and lodged a complaint with the police. Cases were also filed against those who had paid their bills and some of them were detained. Later, they were granted bail," said Ramkumar Chahar, a resident of Achnera. The residents are outraged the way they have been made to suffer by the UPSEB.

Mother Mary crying in Kerala  (Go To Top)
by Juhan Samuel

      Cochin: An oily-like substance is oozing out from a statue of Mother Mary at a house in the Fort Cochin area. This is the latest phenomenon to hit the headlines in the last week. It follows reports of water turning sweet in the Mahim Creek in Mumbai and of Lord Ganesha and the Goddess Lakshmi drinking milk offered to them by devotees. A house near Velli at Fort Cochin is witness to this miraculous statue discharging a kind of perfumed oily substance from it for the last four days. Joy and Cini Sebastain noticed the perfurmed oil oozing out of the statue last Saturday. The news has spread like wildfire. Both devotes and non-devotees from across the state are making a beeline for Sebastian's abode and are offering rosaries before the statue. Sebastian's neighbours believe that something wrong is going to happen to the entire world and that is why Mother Mary is crying. According to Joy, a rosary, made of wood was presented by a devotee to his wife to wear it on herself, but she opted to place it under the statue of Mother Mary. After few days, Cini felt a fagrance like Itar in the house and noticed a few drops coming out of the statue. The whole area around the statue was wet. "This incident was noticed last Saturday at around 12 p.m..Though it is not coming out in large quantities, but it's like sweating and drops of perfumed oil," Joy said. Devotees have started praying day and night at Joy's house after this incident.

Girl, unable to pay fees, ends life (Go To Top)

      Thrissur: Unable to pay her fees for her B.Ed course, a 23-year-old girl committed suicide near Ollur. Biji of Viyeth House, Marathakara, hanged herself, police said. According to the police, the girl and her father Balan had some talks on Sunday night regarding the payment of her fees. Balan, who is a daily wage labourer, expressed his inability to raise the fund immediately. Police suspect that Biji might have committed suicide out of her desperation as she had to pay her fees on Monday at the Government BEd College at Ollur. Biji, who had passed her BBA and M Com from the Government College at Kuttanelloor, had joined the B Ed course in Commerce last month. She had already paid Rs 20,000 to the college by taking a loan. It is reported that she had to pay the balance of her fees immediately. Her family had applied for an educational loan from a nationalised bank at Ollur and was waiting for its clearance. Sources said that the delay in getting the loan was a worry for the whole family. According to sources, Biji was a bright girl who scored consistently. Her mother Baby is working as a labourer in a tile factory at Ollur. One of her sisters is married while another is working as a nurse.

Protests against Sikh's hair-raping (Go To Top)

      Kanpur/Jammu: The Sikh community across the country today voiced a strong protest against Tuesday's foolhardy follies of miscreants who forcefully cut the hair of a Sikh youth. In Kanpur, members of Yuva Sikh Sangathan took to the streets to register their anger on behalf of the whole community. "Our Gurus sacrificed their lives for the sake of Hinduism and humanity but the incident of Jaipur is an insulting one for the whole of Sikh community. It is a shameful act and guilty should be punished," said Gurvinder Singh, Member, Yuva Sikh Sangathan. "The guilty should be severely punished and strict actions should be taken against them," added Harvinder Singh, President, Yuva Sikh Sangathan. Meanwhile, the members of Dashmesh Youth Organisation staged protest rallies in Jammu. They raised slogans against Vasundhara Raje's Government for inaction and demanded immediate arrest of the accused. An irate demonstrator, Surinder Singh said, "We are protesting against the incident that happened in Jaipur. The culprits should be punished, so that no such incident should happen in future." They further laid the demand of filing a case of militancy against the culprits and declare them as criminals. "We demand the Chief Minister to file a case against the culprits. If nothing will be done, then there are chances of communal riots which will divide the country in many more parts," said Amreek Singh, member of Dashmesh Youth Organisation. Initially, it was the tension that prevailed in Jaipur after a group of youngsters allegedly beat up a Sikh boy and trimmed his hair, prompting hundreds of members of the community to hit the streets. Seventeen-year-old Inderpreet Singh was reportedly waylaid by a gang of six who dragged him to a deserted place and forcibly trimmed his hair and beat him up, as per the FIR lodged by Singh's parents with the Gandhi Nagar Police Station.

Uma Bharti gets bail in book case (Go To Top)

      Bhopal: Bhartiya Janashakti Party chief Uma Bharti was granted bail on Wednesday after she was taken to custody for allegedly being involved in the printing of a book that discredited the Congress party. After getting the bail, Bharti said, "During the elections in Madhya Pradesh, a book was published which should have carried Kailash Joshi, Babu Lal Guar and my name. But it was not there and a case was filed. Today I was granted bail and I respect the court". On being asked about the recent incident of Sati in Madhya Pradesh, the firebrand leader said that a change in the society's attitude towards widows could only save women from taking such steps. "Widows in the society are treated very badly. They are not given due respect, they are not allowed to be present in any function or occasion as they are regarded as bad omen. And when she dies in her husband's funeral pyre, she is respected as God. So, that is the reason that a women prefers to commit Sati. But this has to change. And only a change in the society can bring about the change in women," she said. Sati, an act of devotion, which means "faithful wife", was common in the heartland region of north India till the British colonial rulers banned it by law in 1829. The practice largely disappeared from public view until 1987 when a young woman dressed in her bridal costume jumped onto her husband's cremation pyre while hundreds witnessed and encouraged her to do so. Her death sparked national outrage and forced the government to ban the glorification of Sati, making it an offence punishable with a maximum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to 30,000 rupees.

Inquiry into fake railway website (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: The Railway Ministry on Wednesday decided to launch an inquiry against a fake railway website called as www.indianrailwaysresults.com/RailMain.htm through its Vigilance Directorate. The site claims to carry results of the railway recruitment examinations. Through a preliminary inquiry by the Ministry it was found that the information posted on the aforementioned site was "totally false and misleading which the promoters of the website seem to have put up for their own ulterior ends". The site claims itself a part of the Railway Ministry and also carries up to date press releases of the ministry. However in one section it claims of displaying results of the recruitment exams carried by the ministry in different zones. On visiting the results section it was found that the zones mentioned in the site were totally incorrect as it mentions 13 railway zones including Howrah and Sealdah as different zones. But there are 16 railway zones with Howrah and Sealdah as divisions of the Eastern Railway zone. Moreover, the names of the "successful candidates" are displayed for Hajipur, Howrah, Kolkata and Allahabad and includes names, mostly from Bihar. Meanwhile, Railway Ministry has lodged an FIR and has urged people not to pay heed to such misleading information.

Mumbai flight back to Amsterdam (Go To Top)

      Amsterdam: A Mumbai-bound US passenger aircraft was escorted by fighter jets to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday, and upon its landing, several passengers were taken off the plane for questioning. The Northwest Airlines plane was said to be heading for Mumbai but the pilot decided to turn back while in German airspace, and soon two Dutch F-16s escorted the plane back, reports BBC. "A number of suspects were taken off the plane- I don't know how many. They're undergoing questioning now," a foreign news agency quoted airport spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang as saying. Snoerwang added that Customs police were investigating the security alert, and airport authorities had no further information on what caused the alarm.

Pankaj Advani bags Khel Ratna (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: World billiards champion Pankaj Advani has been selected for the country's highest sporting honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. The country's youngest-ever national snooker and billiards champion beat Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi to bag the coveted award. Mumbai hockey player Viren Rasquinha, swimmer Shikha Tandon, shooter Gagan Narang and women cricketer Anju Jain were among those who won the Arjuna awards for the year 2005. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award comprising cash award of Rs.5.00 lakhs, a scroll of honour and a medal, is given to one sportsperson in recognition of his/her spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports. Arjuna Awards comprising a cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, a statute and a scroll of honour are given to not more than 15 sportspersons in recognition of outstanding achievements at international level and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and sense of discipline. Dhyanchand Awards for life-time achievement in sports and games comprising a cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, plaque and a scroll of honour are given to not more than 3 sportspersons in a particular year in recognition of their contribution to sports by their performance and continued contribution even after retirement from active sports career. Dronacharya Awards comprising cash award of Rs.3.00 lakhs, a plaque and a scroll of honour are given to not more than 5 coaches for outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis to enable sportspersons to excel in international events. The awardees will be facilitated at the hands President APJ Abdul Kalam on August 29 at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

     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).

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