India news

Lokpal bill draft gets Cabinet nod; Team Anna, oppposition reject it

New Delhi - 21 Dec 2011: The Cabinet finally cleared theLokpaland Lokayukta bill on Tuesday evening, but their key formulations were promptly slammed by bothTeam Annaand the opposition, setting the stage for a continuing confrontation within and outside Parliament. Although government put Group C&D;

Ajit Singh sworn-in union minister

New Delhi - 18 Dec 2011 (IANS):Days after Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh joined the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), he was Sunday sworn-in as union minister. He was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Son

Mutalik held for assaulting BU staff

Bangalore - 18 Dec 2011:Ulsoor Gate police on Friday arrested Sriram Sene chief Pramod Mutalik and five others for allegedly assaulting Bangalore University Distance Education Department Director Dr B R Niranjan. Mutalik's supporters staged a protest in front of the police station and condemned the

Aakash tablet goes on sale for Rs 2500 online

New Delhi - 15 Dec 2011: DataWind, the Canadian company that is manufacturingAakash, has started the online booking and pre booking of the much anticipated low costAndroid tablet. Online booking is for students' version of thetabletand pre booking is for UbiSlate 7, the upgraded version of Aakash.

Muslim MPs seek PM's personal intervention to solve community problems

New Delhi: A delegation of Muslim Members of Parliament beyond political affiliation led by K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday and apprised him about the unchanged situation of Indian Muslims after 5 years of Sachar report and also th

PFI condemns compensation from Mecca Masjid fund

Hyderabad - 15 Dec 2011: Andhra Pradesh State Executive Council of Popular Front of India (PFI) has condemned the state government order for compensation amount from administration funds of Mecca Masjid and Public Garden Shahi Masjid. PFI has demanded implementation of the recommendations of Nat

Hooch tragedy: Death toll climbs to 107 due to spurious liquor

Canning (WB) - 15 Dec 2011 (PTI): Spurious liquor claimed 50 more lives on Thursday morning in South 24 Parganas district, taking the death toll in one of the worst hooch tragedies inWest Bengalto 107. Another 50 people are battling for their lives in several hospitals including some in Kolkata afte

Foundation stone of Rs 40-crore mosque to be laid amid controversies in Kerala

Kozhikode - 14 Dec 2011: The country's biggest mosque is about to be built at an expense of around Rs 40 crore in the outskirts of Calicut city. The mosque, expected to accommodate 25,000 people at a time, is being built by Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musalyar's trust named Markaz, owned by the AP fac

2 Day International Conference Held in Chennai

Chennai - 19 Dec 2011:An extraordinary International conference on "Challenges Before Youth in the Contemporary World" being organized by the internationally reputed think tank Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) in collaboration with Chennai-based Muslim Educational Association of Southern India (

UP polls: Rahul lands at clergy door for Muslim pie

Lucknow - 12 Dec 2011: Desperately seeking Muslim votes to sail through the 2012 Assembly election, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday reached the doorstep of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, the noted Sunni seminary in Lucknow.He spent about an hour with its rector Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadwi, who is also the presid

Anna Hazare ends token fast, says govt will have to bow to the will of people

New Delhi - 11 Dec 2011: Social activistAnna Hazarehas said that the UPA government will have to bow to the will of the people reiterating that he will continue with his fight for a strong Lokpal Bill.Addressing a huge gathering at Jantar Mantar, where he observed a token daylong fast, Anna Hazare s

Harvard drops Subramanian Swamy's courses

Washington/New Delhi - 09 Dec 2011 (IANS): The Harvard University in the US has cancelled Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's summer courses over his controversial article in a Mumbai newspaper, prompting him to retort that the move "stifles personal opinion". "It is a dangerous principle tha

Yasin Bhatkal in custody?

Bangalore - 09 Dec 2011: Has the Yasin Bhatkal been cornered by the Intelligence agencies? According to highly placed sources, the Intelligence Bureau has definite information on Yasin and may "arrest him soon." The IB has been on the hunt for the fugitive IM terrorist, who is allegedly responsi

'Towards Evil Free Society' campaign launched

Bangalore - 09 Dec 2011: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Karnataka, has organized a statewide campaign 'Towards Evil Free Society' from December 9 to 18 to end the menace of corruption in the society. Addressing a news conference here on Thursday, Dr Belagami Muhammad Saad, Secretary of the organization, said

AMRI hospital tragedy in Kolkata: Toll rises to 89, owners arrested

Kolkata: The death toll in theAMRI hospital firein Kolkata has increased to 89. Meanwhile, noted industrialists SK Todi,RS Goenkaand four other directors of the hospital have been arrested and booked for several non-bailable offences, said the police. "Six directors of the AMRI hospital have been ar

Blow to Aadhaar project as Bill is rejected

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has rejected the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill, which was meant to give a legal backing to the Aadhaar project and its aim of using biometrics to create a unique identity for every resident of India. Sources in the Committee s

Rs.7 million released for Muslim youths wrongly held

Hyderabad - 08 Dec 2011 (IANS): Perhaps in the first instance of victims of police torture in a terror case being paid compensation in India, Andhra Pradesh has released Rs.7 million for innocent Muslim youths arrested and tortured in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case. A day after Chief Minister N

FDI in retail suspended to avoid mid-term polls: Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi - 08 Dec 2011 (PTI): Strongly defending its decision to allowFDIin retail, finance ministerPranab Mukherjeetoday told Congress MPs that the government was "compelled" to suspendthe moveto avoid "pre-mature elections". Addressing theCongress Parliamentary Party, Mukherjee also apologised to