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Fri, 12 August 2011
UK riots: 1st victim's uncle was a gangster

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18:20  

Celebrate Independence Day with our special coverage of India at 64

Top stories this evening...

  1. Shunglu: CAG official under scanner for CWG scam
  2. Britain's rioters count cost of unrest
  3. No confirmation of rape in Greater Noida: Govt\
  4. 'Impregnable' ground to air security for I-Day
  5. 3rd cop targets Guj govt in fake encounter case
  6.  Death for Pak paramilitary who killed unarmed man
  7. India's biggest tax evader Hasan Ali gets bail
  8. Govt mulls aid of Rs 1 lakh/cancer patient
  9. Death for Pak paramilitary who killed unarmed man
  10. Ban on Aarakshan disrespect to Censor Board: AB 
  11. Two months on, another Pak journalist missing
  12. Post riots, British PM proposes social media ban
  13. Anna gets permission to fast for three days
  14. Oz study says attacks on Indians not racist
  15. Prakash Jha moves SC to lift Aarakshan ban
  16. Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav sacked
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18:01   UK riots: 1st victim's uncle was a gangster

The suspected gangster shot dead by police was the nephew of a notorious gangland criminal, it has been revealed in the Daily Mail. Mark Duggan's uncle was Desmond 'Dessie' Noonan whose family used to run Manchester's underworld and featured in a 2005 documentary.

Read

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17:57   Shunglu: CAG official under scanner for CWG scam
A senior official of the CAG, which had prepared a report on the Commonwealth Games malpractices, is himself under the scanner of a High Level Committee that went into the irregularities of the mega
sporting event.
In its report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, HLC headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General V K Shunglu has said that R S Mathrani, presently Director General in the CAG, has followed an "arbitrary" procedure to select Engineers India Limited as project management consultant during his tenure as Finance Officer in Delhi University.
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17:54   'Never again': Norway sets up July 22 commission
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg today presented a new commission appointed to determine what lessons should be drawn from the July 22 twin
attacks to ensure nothing similar happens again.
"Thousand of people across the country need help and care. For them, it is vital to get answers to the questions: What happened? And why did it happen?" Stoltenberg said as he presented the commission, three weeks to the day after
rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people.
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17:43   Riots: Brits donate for wounded Malay student
On the Daily Mail: Generous well-wishers donate 12,000 to Malaysian student whose jaw was broken as online campaigns spring up for riot victims and heroes. Read
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17:37   North Korea's new friend?

A rare visit by a North Korean official to Cambodia raises the faint prospect of more engagement with Southeast Asia. But ties with Phnom Penh are complicated, says the website diplomat.com.

Read

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17:28   Britain's rioters count cost of unrest

Britain's rioters are counting the cost of their rampage through London and other cities today, as the streets remain quiet and the police continue their efforts to bring all those responsible to justice, says the bbc.co.uk.

More than 1,850 people have now been arrested, the majority in the capital -- and the front pages of British newspapers are filled with the accounts of those hauled up in court, many during special overnight sessions. Read

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17:18   No confirmation of rape in Greater Noida: Govt
There was no confirmation of any rape in the Greater Noida villages in Uttar Pradesh during clashes between farmers and police in May, government informed the Rajya Sabha.
"An inquiry committee constituted by the National Commission for Women visited the Bhatta Parsaul villages in UP on 12-05-2011. No specific case of rape has been confirmed by the Inquiry Committee," Women and Child Welfare Minister Krishna Tirath said in reply to a written question.
Earlier, some Congress leaders had claimed that women had been raped by policemen during the clashes over land acquisition in these villages.
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16:50   'Impregnable' ground to air security for I-Day
Thousands of armed security personnel are being fanned across the national capital to pre-empt any terrorist strike in the run-up to the Independence Day celebrations.
An impregnable ground-to-air security apparatus is being put in place in the city especially near Red Fort from where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unfurl the tri-colour and address the nation on Monday.
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16:47   Indian used cricket bat to chase away rioter in UK
Of the many stories of Asians countering attacks in London and elsewhere during the recent unrest, one of the lesser known is that of Indian-origin shopkeeper Kiran Bhowan, who used a cricket bat to chase away looters. Three rioters kicked their way into his shop in east London in daylight yesterday, but were successfully chased away by Bhowan. One of the three, aged 17, today pleaded guilty to violent disorder and burglary.
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16:39   3rd cop targets Guj govt in fake encounter case

In a fresh blow to the Gujarat Government, another senior police officer Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rajnish Rai has named Modi's close aide and former state police chief  P C Pande as a conspirator in the Tulsi Prajapati 'fake' encounter case. '

In an affidavit submitted to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Rai accused Pande and an officer O P Mathur -- both known to be extremely close to Narendra Modi, of abusing their positions and for destruction of evidence.

Rai also alleged that Pande tried to delink the Sohrabuddin and the Tulsi Prajapati case since facts were uncomfortable for him and the Modi government.

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16:27   Fritzl's incest cellar to be filled with concrete

The horror house where Austrian Josef Fritzl repeatedly raped abd imprisoned his daughter for 24 years will be filled up with concrete, says the liquidator of the estate. Read the report in the Independent 

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16:19   UK riots: Asian immigrants hit, emerge heroes

People with roots in the Indian sub-continent were some of the worst affected when riots rocked London and other cities in England, but their resilience and determination to thwart trouble-makers was soon hailed as examples of the "best of Britain."

Significantly, so far none of the rioters arrested, named and shamed is from Britain's Asian community. Those hit the hardest include scores of Gujarati businessmen, a Pakistan-origin family and a Sri Lankan shopkeeper who has been reduced to penury.

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16:09   Govt mulls aid of Rs 1 lakh/cancer patient
Concerned over the growing incidence of cancer, the government plans to go in for a scheme under which 100 patients in each district would be provided Rs one lakh for treatment, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that at present the scheme was being run on a pilot basis in 100 districts in 21 states and it would be extended to all districts in a year or two.
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16:06   Bridget Jones 3 in the making

For those who enjoyed the Bridget Jones movies, news is that she will be returning to the screens for the third time - the production house
responsible for the earlier two films is moving ahead with a third instalment of the popular rom-com series. 

Working Title Films, who made 'Bridget Jones Diary' in 2004 and sequel 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' in 2004, have agreed to make a third instalment after spending two years considering the project.

No details have been confirmed as to whether Renee Zellweger, who played the title character in the previous instalments, will be a part of the film.
Colin Firth and Hugh Grant have signed deals to appear in the upcoming movie.

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16:02   'Ban on Aarakshan disrespect to Censor Board'
Prakash Jha's 'Aarakshan' has been banned in three states --UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh -- leaving lead star Amitabh Bachchan wondering whether Censor Board has any significance.
The actor, who plays an upright college principal in the movie, says the ban is a "disrespect" to Censor Board, which had passed the film without any cuts. Jha was later forced to delete certain scenes after protests.
"UP, Punjab and today Andhra Pradesh have given notice to ban the film and not allow it to be projected for another 2 months a provision given administratively to each government... What is the need then of the Censor Board, a statutory body instituted by you, the legislatures and Parliamentarians that govern this land. You nominate what you believe, to disbelieve what you nominate!! Better to remove it altogether then rather than give it disrespect," Bachchan wrote on his blog.
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15:35  
Just in: Gujarat HC rejects IPS officer Rahul Sharma's plea seeking grounds on which he was served show cause notice by the state government.
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15:34   India's biggest tax evader Hasan Ali gets bail

India's biggest tax evader Hasan Ali Khan has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh. His passport will remain in the custody of the investigating agencies.

The Enforcement Directorate has opposed the bail plea of the Pune-based stud farm owner in its reply filed before the sessions court in Mumbai in April, saying, among other things, that he may flee the country if released.

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15:29   A tinderbox waiting for a match
The world was shocked by England's angry rioters. But inner-city violence has smoldered for a long time, explains crime journalist Gavin Knight, in the Daily Beast. Read
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15:16   PC: Anna's fast unjustified
Just in: Home Minister P Chidambaram terms Anna Hazare's proposed fast as unjustified, and says the government is moving towards passing Lokpal Bill. Hazare has been given the nod to fast for a maximum of three days, beginning August 16.
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15:03   Death for Pak paramilitary who killed unarmed man

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier has been sentenced to death for killing an unarmed man in an incident caught on videotape and broadcast on TV, reports bbc.co.uk. Sarfaraz Shah, 22, was shot at point-blank range in Karachi in June.

Read

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15:00   Yuvi, Bhajji, Zaheer: Questions they need to ask
Harsha Bhogle on cricinfo.com on Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer -- three Indian players who must now ask themselves how they want the rest of their careers to pan out. Read
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14:48   Celebrating India's 64th Independence day

If you still haven't, then do read our Independence Day special -- a repository of special stories and slideshows as India celebrates its 64th year as a free nation.

In pictures: The colours of India

In pictures: Yeh hai India

In pictures: We, the people

See the Ganga aarti in Varanasi at least once in your lifetime

They looked African, but spoke Indian

Yeh hai India meri jaan!

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14:40   Riot erupts in southwest China town

The changing face of China.

Thousands of Chinese took to the streets of a southwestern town yesterday, with some smashing police vehicles in the latest protest by citizens angered by the rough handling of local officials, says a Reuters report.

Read more

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14:28   Four EU nations ban short-selling on banking stock
France, Italy, Spain and Belgium have banned short-selling of the shares of banks and other financial companies. It follows sharp gains and losses in bank stocks in recent days, especially in France, on the level of their exposure to eurozone government debt, reports bbc.co.uk.
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14:22   Govt assures farmers of compensation
Meanwhile, ahead of tabling the Land Acquisition Bill in the Parliament, Union Rural  Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has assured the farmers that they will be provided adequate compensation and steps would be taken to ensure that those who are displaced are rehabilitated.

Ramesh told a farmers' delegation in Delhi yesterday, "On the demand of National Advisory Council of Sonia Gandhi (Congress President) and Rahul Gandhi (Congress General Secretary) we have prepared an integrated draft in which we included land acquisition and compensate the rehabilitation of the farmers."

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14:04   Air India will not be privatised, says govt

Just in: In the aftermath of the sacking of Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said he would be replaced soon. He announced in the Lok Sabha today that there was no move to privatise Air India and that  action would be taken if any official was found responsible for losses suffered by Air India.

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13:59   Jaya will have to make court appearance

In a setback to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, a special court in Chennai today rejected her application seeking exemption from personal appearance in the disproportionate asset case.
Special Court Judge B M Mallikarjunaiah also rejected Jayalalithaa's pleas for allowing her to make a written statement and permission to depose through video conferencing.

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13:42  
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2.30 pm
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13:41   Five farmers arrested for attacking cops in Maval

Five farmers were today arrested for attacking the police and damaging their property when cops opened fire on protesting farmers earlier this week in Maval near here, killing three of them, after the agitation turned
violent.
The arrested farmers, all from Kale village in Maval, have been charged for attacking police officers and damaging  their property during the agitation, said Sandeep Karnik, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural.

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13:16   US wants India to slap sanctions on Syria
Seeking wider global action against Syria for its violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters, the US has said it wants India and China, which have large energy investments in that country, to take steps against it by imposing sanctions.
"We've issued more sanctions, tougher sanctions. We're working with our European and other friends. But what we really need to do to put the pressure on (President Bashar al-) Assad is to sanction the oil and gas industry, and we
want to see Europe take more steps in that direction," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
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12:59   Pranab meets Advani, Yashwant Sinha on CWG
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee met senior BJP leader LK Advani today to discuss the conduct of the next week in Parliament. Yashwant Sinha was also present. Parliamentary Affairs minister Pavan Kumar Bansal was with Pranab Mukherjee during the half an hour meet held inside Parliament House, which focused on CWG matters.
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12:53   Anna gets permission to fast for three days
Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Anna Hazare has been granted permission to fast for three days, beginning August 16. But the government says it will take 'necessary action' if required if the fast continues beyond this period.
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12:52  
While on the London riots, another read from the Dawn. How the slaying of the three Muslim men, killed in a hit-and-run lays bare divisions in Birmingham's middle-class community. Read
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12:33   Why overseas Asians enjoy a burning London

Read: Eashwar Sunderasan's blog in the Dawn.

The rioting in London has evoked mixed reactions in the subcontinent. So I was not surprised to read fellow Dawn blogger Caroline Jaine say she was "staggered' by the number of her overseas friends who actually appear happy that London's burning.

 

Agree? Read

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12:17   Two months on, another Pak journalist missing

A group of armed men with covered faces kidnapped senior tribal journalist Rahmatullah Darpakhel from Miramshah, North Waziristan, Pakistan, on Tuesday, tribal sources said. He was associated with an Urdu daily Ausaf, reports the International News. The sources said Rahmatullah was shopping in the bazaar when a group of armed men bundled him into a car and drove away. Read

This comes a little over two months after the May 29 disappearance of journalist, Saleem Shahzad, 40, from Islamabad. His mortally wounded body, showed that senior officials of the spy agency, the directorate for the ISI, directed the attack on him in an effort to silence criticism.

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12:11   Rajan's right-hand man arrested in Bangkok

Fugitive gangster and big-time drug smuggler Santosh Shetty have been arrested in Bangkok by the Thai police. The Mumbai crime branch took him into custody yesterday.

Once the right hand man of Chhota Rajan, on the country's most-wanted list, Shetty is suspected in the February 2009 killing of lawyer Shahid Azmi, who was representing suspects in the serial train blasts, the November 2010 killing of Rajan henchman Farid Tanasha and the October 2010 killing of gangster Bharat Nepali in a Bangkok hotel.

The arrest of Shetty, alias Anna, occurred on Thursday night in a beer bar after he got into a brawl with a few businessmen. A source in Bangkok said the don gave the police a fake passport at the bar, before being booked for assault.

The police later raided his home and found his real passport. After checking their records, they found that he was wanted by the Interpol because of crimes committed in Mumbai. 

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12:05   5.8 magnitude quake hits China, injures 21
At least 21 people were injured and  a number of houses damaged when a 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China, local authorities said today.
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12:03   Maha Oppn seeks dismissal of Cong-NCP govt

Opposition leaders in Maharashtra today met Governor K Sankaranarayanan and demanded dismissal of the Congress-NCP government in the state over police firing in Maval near Pune in which three farmers were killed.    

Leader of Opposition in Assembly Eknath Khadse, Opposition leader in Council Pandurang Phundkar and group leaders of opposition parties in Legislature were among those who met the Governor at the Raj Bhawan this morning.

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12:02   Maha CM meets governor over Pune firing

Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan is meeting Governor K Sankaranarayanan to brief him over the action taken over the firing incident that rocked the Legislature for the third consecutive day yesterday with the Opposition creating a ruckus and calling the police action a "cold-blooded encounter".Two Pune cops have been suspended over the firing.

 

Read: Bruised Maval farmers vow to keep fighting

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11:54  

The Question Hour has been proceeding smoothly in both houses.

Up for discussion is the Calling Attention Motion on the situation arising out of dwindling passenger share and poor financial health of Air India.

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11:48   UK riots: Young yobs back on streets

In the UK, young offenders who took part in the rioting and looting that blighted Britain's streets this week are walking free from court without facing significant penalties, reports the Telegraph.

Read

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11:38   Interveiw with Eithad CEO

Did you know China is planning to build 45 new airports in the next five years? Granted, some of this capacity is probably going to be excessive or at least misplaced, says the Interpreter.

But Chinese provincial governments have form when it comes to building white-elephant prestige projects, and airports are among them. There's no doubt that in aviation, the world centre of gravity is moving east.

Read more

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11:20   Post riots, British PM proposes social media ban

British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks he's found some culprits to blame in the recent riots that have rocked London and other cities -- Facebook and Twitter, reports cnn.
Saying the "free flow of information" can sometimes be a problem, Cameron's government has summoned those two social-networking sites, as well as Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, for a meeting to discuss their roles during the violent outbreaks.

Read

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11:10   Oz study says attacks on Indians not racist

A new study by the Australian government says that attacks on Indian students studying in the country between 2005 and 2009 "should not be interpreted as evidence of racism."

Indians studying in Australia, as well as other foreign students, were "less likely or as likely to be victims of physical assaults and other theft' than Australia's population, in general, according to the report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology on the nature and extent of attacks against international student.

Read the story in the Wall Street Journal

 

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11:05   Prakash Jha moves SC to lift Aarakshan ban

Filmmaker Prakash Jha has moved the Supreme Court to lift the ban on Aarakshan. The SC will hear the plea at 2 pm today. So far, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have banned the screening of the film which releases today.

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10:52   Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav sacked
Arvind Jhadav is being removed as Air India's Chairman and Managing Director with the government deciding to split the post into two and appoint Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi as the chairman.
Rohit Nandan, a Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry, will be appointed the Managing Director of the airline to handle day-to-day functions.
However, the appointment of Nandan and Zaidi is going to be an interim arrangement till the government gets suitable candidates for the two posts.
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10:43  

Headlines this morning

Reddy brothers, loyalists find no place in Ministry (The Hindu)
In a Cabinet expansion in less than four days of the formation of his Council of Ministers, Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Thursday inducted five more MLAs into his Cabinet. Read

Modi government targets another IPS officer (The Hindu)

Rahul Sharma, who was posted in Ahmedabad during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, had given the CDs containing phone call records of the riots to various agencies, including the Nanavati Commission and the SIT. Read

Talks: Anna team said leave NGOs, skipped PM (Indian Express)
Civil society want NGOs kept out of Lokpal purview or at least those which are not govt-aided. Read

90% of people in Amethi support Lokpal: Team Anna (The Times of India)
After HRD minister Kapil Sibal's constituency Chandni Chowk, the constituency of Rahul Gandhi is also said to have rejected the government version of Lokpal Bill. Read

Asia stocks rise after Wall Street lurches higher (Hindustan Times)
Asian stocks opened higher today after promising US jobs data helped propel Wall Street up. Read

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