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Fri, 01 July 2011
WB infant deaths: 'No negligence at hospital'

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18:21   WB infant deaths: 'No negligence at hospital'
No negligence at BC Roy hospital, where infants have died, said West Bengal Health Secretary. Twenty one infant deaths in the last three days have come to light from the Kolkata Hospital. Families claim negligence on the part of the hospital authorities.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the state's health minister, set up an enquiry committee into the cause of deaths and sought its report in 24 hours.
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18:06  
Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee today accused the BJP, CPI-M and JD(U) of trying to gain political mileage out of the Lokpal Bill issue by assessing the civil society's outburst as an attack on the Congress.

"When Anna Hazare was on fast, the CPI-M politburo and the BJP supported him. A JD(U) leader even went on dharna. They thought it was an attack on the Congress and they could take political mileage out of it. But it is an attack on the
parliamentary system and the democratic process," said the finance minister.

Their aim is to use undemocratic means as they cannot win the elections," the senior Congress leader claimed.
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18:01   Nikki Haley's memoir to hit stands in 2012
Nikki Haley, South Carolina's Indian-American Governor is writing a memoir which would hit the stands in January 2012 that will share many previously untold stories about her "fascinating" political journey.

The Sentinel imprint of Penguin Group has acquired the rights of the memoir Can't Is Not An Option: My Story written by the first woman Indian-American Governor has been acquired by Sentinel president and publisher Adrian Zackheim from Robert B Barnett of Williams & Connolly, who has represented among others US President Barack Obama and several of his predecessors George W Bush and Bill Clinton.
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17:04  
The ruling Congress MPs, legislators and state ministers from Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh today said they would resign en masse on July 4 in support of their demand for a separate state.

"The people of Telangana are expecting us to quit our posts for achieving separate statehood. Due to the delay in the formation of Telangana, there is an impression that we are not quitting our posts out of lust for power," Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy said.

"Now we are in a situation that we have to prove that we are not hankering for power. Hence we decided to submit our resignations on July 4," he said after a meeting of the leaders from the region attended by seven MPs, 18 MLAs, nine MLCs and nine ministers.
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17:00  
The US is facing tough competition for "good jobs" from emerging economies like India and China, President Barack Obama has said, as he assured Americans that he will not mortgage their future by cutting down spendings on education and other social security.

"We live in a world where America is facing stiff competition for good jobs from rapidly growing nations, like China and India and Brazil," Obama said in his remarks at a party event in Philadelphia.

"For a long time we were told the best way to win that competition is just to undermine consumer protections and undermine clean air laws and clean water laws and hand out tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires. That was the idea that held sway for close to a decade. And let's face it, it didn't work out very well," he said.
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16:22  
China today turned red as the ruling Communist Party celebrated its 90th anniversary with President Hu Jintao promising political reforms but only under the "absolute control" of the CPC over military and government, as he warned that rampant corruption was eroding the party's legitimacy.

"We must adhere to the fundamental principle of the party exercising absolute leadership over the army and the fundamental purpose of the army as a people's army and cultivate core values for contemporary revolutionary military personnel," Hu said in a keynote speech at a grand gathering marking the 90th founding anniversary of the CPC at Great Hall of the People.

"Corruption will cost the party the support and trust of the people," the President said. The Party is soberly aware of the gravity and danger of corruption, he added.
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16:17   Michael Jackson offered me cocaine: Aaron Carter
Former child star Aaron Carter has said that pop icon Michael Jackson offered him cocaine when he was 15.

Aaron, better known as the younger brother of Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter, has said that he "felt weird" about the things he did with the 'King of Pop', reported OK! magazine.

"I never talked about it, this is the first time, I do miss Michael, I have spent such incredible times with him.

"I did things with him that nobody else did but I was also troubled about what he did to me... He gave me wine. I mean, I could have refused, but I was 15. As for drugs, he gave me cocaine. I felt weird about that and other stuff," said Aaron.
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15:39   Now, Chhatrapati Vada Pav in Mumbai
Vada pav, staple teatime snack in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, is now the "burger" of contention in local politics ahead of the crucial Mumbai civic body elections, eight months away. 

Nitesh Rane, son of senior Congress minister Narayan Rane, today launched the Chhatrapati Vada Pav, to counter the Shiv Vada brand launched by Shiv Sena. 

"We will set up our stalls wherever there are Shiv Vada Pav stalls. If BMC removes our stalls, they will have to remove those stalls as well," he said

The non-profit organisation, Swabhimaan, led by Nitesh opened its first outlet of Chhatrapati Vada Pav at Powai, opposite an outlet recently inaugurated by Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray.

The over 100 Shiv Vada stalls in the city are mired in controversy with allegations that they lack permission of the civic administration.
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15:35   Indians didn't play in game's spirit: Harper
Australian umpire Daryl Harper has admitted that he committed errors while officiating in the first cricket Test between India and the West Indies but said Indian players too did not play in the spirit of the game.

"I didn't have my best game of the year but referee Jeff Crowe, who observed every ball, calculated that I had managed to get 94 per cent of all my decisions correct. That analysis was confirmed from headquarters in our Dubai office," Harper said about the series-opener, which India won by 63 runs. 

"There was one LBW against Harbhajan that would have been reversed had Decision Review System been available. I also failed to detect a no ball when West Indian Bishoo's back foot touched the side or return crease. It's about as common as Indians eating beef burgers," he told Headlines Today.
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15:13   Pak abolishes Religious Minorities ministry
Pakistan has abolished the Ministry for Religious Minorities.

Akram Gill, Minister of State for Religious Minorities, confirmed this to Catholic Fides in what was the last day of his term.

The Federal Ministry for religious minorities was created in 2008 by the newly-elected government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the department had been entrusted to the Catholic Shabhaz Bhatti, killed in an attack on March 2, 2011.
 
The abolition is part of a general plan of decentralization, already approved by the Parliament of Pakistan, known as "18th amendment" to the governmental structure.
 
The government has abolished seven federal ministries, transferring their powers to the regions, for the following sectors: religious minorities, food and agriculture, health, environment, labour, women's development and sports.
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14:57   Money laundering case: Hasan Ali's bail rejected
A sessions court in Mumbai has dismissed the bail petition by Hasan Ali Khan and his business associate Kashinath Tapuria in the money laundering case against them.

Khan has been in jail since early March on charges of laundering a staggering 93 million Dollars through the years.

The Enforcement Directorate has been insisting that the evidence in the chargsheet indicates that Khan could be prima facie charged for waging war against the state. He said Khan and Tapuria had conspired with international arms dealer Adnan Kashhoggi and received sale proceeds of the illegal arms sale. He also said that the US confirmed Khan's transfer of 700,000 Dollars to a UK-based SK Financial through Citi bank in New York.
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14:44   Manmohan Singh meets President
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on President Pratibha Patil on Friday against the backdrop of an imminent cabinet reshuffle.

Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson confined herself to saying that the meeting between the two leaders lasted for 45 minutes during which they discussed the forthcoming Parliament's Monsoon Session and current political situation


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13:33  
Just in: Former DG (Hydrocarbons) V K Sibal booked by CBI oncharges of scuttling probe into discrepancies in oil exploration


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13:23   All-party meet on Lokpal on July 3
An all-party meeting on the proposed Lokpal Bill will be held on July 3.

The announcement came on the sidelines of the hour-long meeting between Anna Hazare and senior BJP leaders in New Delhi.


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13:07   Emile gets 10-yr jail term, Maria walks free
Just in: A local court in Mumbai has sentenced former navy officer Emile Jerome to 10 years in jail for the murder of television executive Neeraj Grover.

The court also handed a 3-year jail term as applicable under Part 2 of Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code to Kannada actress Maria Susairaj. However, Maria already spent the time in jail. So technically, she walks free. Click HERE to read Maria's confession

The court set aside the prosecution's demand for maximum punishment for both the accused under Part 2 of Section 201 and accepted the defence argument that the murder had not been proved.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Emile and Maria.
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12:40   Grover case:Prosecution seeks lifer for Emile
Just in: The prosecution has sought life term for former navy officer Emile Jerome in the case related to the killing of television executive Neeraj Grover

He was convicted along with Kannada actress Maria Susairaj on Friday by a local court though they were let off on murder charges.

Click HERE to read Maria's confession
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12:03   Anna-Sonia meet on Saturday
And it seems Congress President Sonia Gandhi has finally found time to meet Anna Hazare. The duo will meet at 4pm on Saturday.
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11:25   Anna meets BJP leaders with his Lokpal draft
Anna Hazare's meeting with senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party is on in New Delhi.

Anna called on the BJP leaders to convince them about his team's version of the Lokpal Bill, intended to check corruption among politicians, and rejected by the government as impractical

Importantly, the BJP has also yet to publicly state its stand on the headline of the Lokpal controversy -- whether the new law against corruption should cover the Prime Minister's office.
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11:04   Facebook to launch 'something awesome'
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has a surprise up his sleeve for the over 500 million users of his social networking site with the billionaire CEO saying that his company is planning to "launch something awesome" next week.

Zuckerberg, speaking at his company's office in Seattle, did not divulge any further details.

However, it is being speculated that the new feature to be launched could be in the mobile or tablet space.
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10:21   Rave party organiser Aparajit Mittal arrested
Aparajit Mittal, the organiser of the rave party which was raided by the police on June 26, has been arrested.

Over 300 youths were detained during the raid at Mount View resort -- owned by Aparjit Mittal -- at Khalapur near Karjat, 100 km away from Mumbai.

The party had been arranged by a firm Beyond Logic, which had sent invitations for the party through social networking sites such as Facebook under the pretext of Shanti Jatra 2011 -- a promo party for a Nepali festival dedicated to Mother Earth. 

Besides live music by DJs DJ Jane Bourbounese, DJ Starling and DJ Raveholic and others Beyond Logic had promised "wide variety of exciting cocktails and food.
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10:15   9 reasons why you must try Google+
Here are 9 reasons why you can give up Facebook for Google's newest social media product Google+
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10:07   Abramovich splashes 20m Pound on club
Roman Abramovich has poured 20 million Pound in to his latest obsession, a basement club which he intends to turn into Britain's most exclusive live music venue.

Under The Bridge is the latest addition to the Russian oligarch's collection which already includes superyachts, a vault of priceless art and Chelsea FC, which houses the new venue beneath the Stamford Bridge stadium complex. 

The Independent quoted associates say the 600-capacity Under The Bridge club is more than just a plaything for Mr Abramovich, whose wealth is estimated at 11 billion Pound.
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10:06   World's longest sea bridge open for traffic
A bridge so long that it could host an entire marathon race has been opened between the Chinese port of Qingdao with the industrial suburb of Huangdao. It crosses Jiaozhou Bay and is the world's longest sea bridge.

The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge stretches 26.4 miles, making it two-tenths of a mile longer than the English Channel.

Construction teams totalling 10,000 workers took four years to build the bridge, which carries a six-lane highway, 110 feet across, that has halved the journey time across the bay for motorists to half an hour
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10:05   18 infant deaths in 36 hrs at Kolkata hospital
Back home, 18 infant have died in the last 36 hours at Kolkata's BC Roy Hospital.

Angry families claim negligence on the part of the hospital authorities. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the state's Health Minister, has set up an enquiry committee into the cause of deaths and sought its report in 24 hours.

"I have come to know that the babies were brought to the hospital at the last stage and that the cause of death was not enteric disease. I have ordered a probe and asked the authorities to submit a report to me," Mamata said, adding, "If there is any negligence on anyone's part, whoever it is, I will not spare them. Also, I will not consider any body's political affiliation."
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09:55   Strauss-Kahn case collapsing?
The case of sexual assault against former IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears to be collapsing on questions over the credibility of the accusing housemaid, whose version prosecutors are finding hard to believe.

Though forensic tests did 'unambiguous evidence' of a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn and the woman, prosecutors do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself, the New York Times said in a report

Quoting law enforcement officials, the paper said holes have developed in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that the French politician had attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite before rushing out in a hurry

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09:51  
Good morning and welcome to another day's Live News As It Happens.

The most awaited news of the day perhaps would be the sentencing in the Neeraj Grover murder case. 

Former navy officer Emile Jerome and Kannada actress Maria Susairaj were on Friday convicted by a local court in Mumbai though they were let off on murder charges.

Jerome was found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (with intention to cause death) under sections 304 (Part I) Indian Penal Code and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence).

Maria was convicted only on charges of causing disappearance of evidence as the court did not found her and Jerome guilty for the murder of Grover. 

Read Rediff Correspondent Toral Varia take on Thursday's court proceedings here

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