Fire broke out in timber factory; none injured

Kanpur, Jul 31 (PTI) A fire broke out today in a timber godown destroying plywood worth lakhs of rupees in Jhakarkati area, police said today. The fire broke out in Omkarnath and Sons Timber Factory and Godown in the wee hours this morning, a police spokesman said.

It took more than four hours by a dozen fire brigades to douse the flames, he said. No one was, however, injured in the incident.

The reason behind the fire is not known yet, he said.
Shillong, July 31 (PTI) Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary today expressed concern over the rising crime against women in the tribal matrilineal Khasi community of Meghalaya, where women are held in high esteem. Mooshahary said statistics revealed a rising trend of rape cases and molestations against women in the state and the problem had become a matter of concern to the authorities.

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Curfew clamped in all major towns of Kashmir,protests continue

Srinagar, July 31 (PTI) Curfew was today clamped in all major towns of Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, as protestors torched a railway station and clashed with security forces, who opened fire leaving one person dead and over 25 others injured, including several policemen. Angry protestors clashed with police at various places in the Valley and burnt the Special operations Camp in Pattan in North Kashmir besides attempting to ransack the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police''s Batallion headquarter at Naidkhai in Sumbhal.

Police officials said a big group of stone pelters attacked the Batallion headquarters leaving SP Bandipore Sheikh Junaid injured besides several other policemen. While containing the unruly mob, one protestor died, a police spokesman said, adding one of the injured was stated to be in a critical condition.

Though police had earlier said that a teenager was killed in the firing by security forces in Pattan, they later clarified that she was in a serious condition and was being operated upon in SKIMS hospital at Soura. Police opened fire at various places to quell protestors which left at least 16 people injured.

In the wake of the protests that started yesterday leaving four persons dead, authorities imposed indefinite curfew in major towns of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla, Bandipora, Sopore, Ganderbal and Budgam. Police and para-military forces also staged a march in the entire Srinagar city and requested people to remain indoors and not to defy the curfew.

Five persons were injured when security forces fired at protestors, who went on a rampage and attacked a CRPF patrol which was enforcing curfew in Kreeri in Pattan, police said. The security forces made several attempts to disperse the crowd but it turned more violent and tried to snatch the rifles of the CRPF jawans, they said, adding security forces then opened fire to quell the mob.

In Amargarh in Sopore, five persons were injured when protestors set afire a railway station. The protestors included the kin of those who were killed in clashes with security forces in the area yesterday.

Violence also broke out in Pampore, 16 kms from here, where locals attacked policemen. There was no report of any casualty in the incident A police spokesman said this morning that two of the 70 people, who were injured during protests yesterday succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Mohammed Rafiq and 30-year-old Mohammed Siddiqui of Baramulla district. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in all sensitive areas and the residents have been asked not to step out.

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Gold recovers on global cues

New Delhi, July 31 (PTI) Gold recovered by Rs 95 to Rs 18,145 per ten grams in the bullion market today on emergence of buying by stockists and retail customers and a sharp rally in prices overseas. Silver also spurted by Rs 450 to Rs 28,900 per kg on increased off take by industrial units and coins makers.

Gold in global markets, which normally set the price trend on domestic markets, recorded a sharp rise of 14.90 dollar to 1,181.40 dollar an ounce in New York last evening. Gold of 99.99 purity and 99.5 purity recovered by Rs 95 each to Rs 18,145 and Rs 18,045 per ten grams respectively.

They had lost Rs 35 each in the previous session. Sovereign remained steady at Rs 14,500 per piece of eight gram in restricted buying.

In line with a general rising trend, silver ready spurted by Rs 450 to Rs 28,900 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 435 to Rs 28,660 per kg. Meanwhile, silver coins continued to be asked around the previous level of Rs 34,100 for buying and Rs 34,200 for selling of 100 pieces.

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Nun identifies one person during identification parade

Cuttack, Jul 31 (PTI) The Catholic nun, who was allegedly raped during the communal riots in Orissa''s Kandhamal district in 2008, today identified one person during an identification parade at the Choudwar jail here, officials said today. The nun was able to identify one person who was among the mob which attacked the Baliguda church in the district on August 25, 2008, they said, adding Thomas Chellan, a priest, who was present when the nun was raped, identified three persons.

This is the third time the nun took part in the parade. She had identified two persons at the first parade and seven in the second held in January and June 2009 respectively.

The test identification parade was supervised by Cuttack Sadar Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM). The riots occurred in Kandhamal district in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati at the Jalespata Ashram on August 23, 2008.

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Three crore pending cases? Patil wants review

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) President Pratibha Patil Saturday called for a review of figures that put the number of pending cases before Indian courts at a staggering 3 crore. She also stressed on innovative ways to clear the backlog.

Patil's call came in response to Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia's contention that more than 50 percent of the cases counted as 'arrears' were in fact filed only a year back. He said such cases could be described as 'pending' but not as 'arrears'.

Delivering her inaugural address at the two-day all-India seminar on judicial reforms, Patil asked the legal fraternity to look for innovative ways to clear the backlog. She said a litigant had only one life but litigation transcended generations.

The seminar was organised by the Confederation of Indian Bar.

Patil said archival laws that hamper the administration of justice should be either scrapped or suitably amended.

She said 'judicial accountability and judicial independence' co-exist.

Chief Justice Kapadia called for legislative, judicial and bar reforms. He said judicial reforms alone would not work. He said: 'You can't have a chariot running on one wheel.'

He lamented that ever since the government took away powers under Section 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code that mandated consultation with the chief justices of the high courts before the appointment of public prosecutors, the quality of government pleaders had gone down.

'Why the power was taken away I don't want to comment,' he said.

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Rape accused gets acquitted; case registered against victim

Muzaffarnagar, Jul 31 (PTI) A local court acquitted four persons in an attempt to rape case and issued notices to the girl and her father to appear before it on August 26 for giving false evidence. Additional District Judge P C Shrivastava acquitted four persons Gopal, his father Roop Ram, brother Yashpal and mother Anguri due to lack of evidence.

The court has also issued notices to Urmila and her father Bhanwar Singh for giving false evidence in the rape case. According to the prosecution, the girl had charged her tutor Gopal and his family members with an attempt to rape and forcible confinement at Bahari village in the district on April 10, 2008.

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National highway closed till August 8 for Kawad Yatra

Muzaffarnagar/Ghaziabad, Jul 31 (PTI) In a measure to ensure a smooth ''Kawad Yatra'', the Delhi-Haridwar national highway has been closed from today keeping in mind the huge rush during the event, officials said here. The highway to Haridwar via Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad and Modinagar has been closed for eight days due to the rush of devotees.

Pilgrims have been allowed to pass via Ganga Canal road, they said. "The highway has been closed to prevent any untoward incidents," Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Santish Kumar said.

The traffic from Delhi to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and Roorki has been diverted to alternative routes from today. "All the traffic going to Meerut from Delhi will be diverted from National Highway 24 via Lal Kua, Pilakhuwa Hapur, Babugarh, Garhmukteshwar and Kithore," Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent Police Raghubir Lal said.

"All the vehicles going to Haridwar from Delhi will come to Meerut via this route and will proceed via Bijnore and Najibabad. Heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply on closed road from this evening," he added.

The highway has been closed till August 8. The security has also been tightened along the route.

CCTV cameras have been installed and policemen in kawad dress have also been deployed along the route. Meanwhile, officials said that they will keep be a strict watch on temples and roads, inside and outside the city area of the districts.

All eduational institutions along the Kawad yatra route will remain closed till August 8. Kawad pilgrims or Lord Shiva devotees who call themselves ''kanwariyas'' gather at Haridwar to take a dip and carry water to offer it to Lord Shiva on August 8.

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Munda accuses UPA of using CBI as political instrument

Jamshedpur, July 31 (PTI) Accusing the Centre of using the CBI as its political instrument, BJP leader Arjun Munda today said the agency was bent on "harassing" the Narendra Modi government in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. "It is really ridiculous that the investigative agency, which was bent on harassing the Gujarat government, headed by Narendra Modi, at the behest of the UPA, has filed 30,000 pages of chargesheet in connection with the Sohrabuddin case whereas it had filed only one page chargesheet even though over 30,000 people were killed in the Bhogal gas leak," BJP National General Secretary and MP told reporters.

The former Jharkhand Chief Minister alleged that the then Union Government had also misused CBI for protecting the Union Carbide Chief, Warren Anderson. Referring to the alleged fake encounter case of 2005, Munda said several cases were pending against Sohrabuddin in states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh.

Besides, the police had recovered 10,000 live cartridges and about 25 AK-47 rifles from Madhya Pradesh following his disclosures. The Centre was deliberately targeting the Gujarat government with regard to the case but BJP would not tolerate misuse of any government agencies for political benefits, Munda warned.

BJP will take out ''Nyay Yatra'' to protest "wrong economic polices" as well as misuse of government agencies in the country from August 8 to 14, he said. On the price rise issue, the BJP leader alleged that speculation and manipulation were the sole causes behind increasing prices.

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Maoist menace will be contained in three years: PC

New Delhi, July 31 (ANI): Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the government aims to substantially contain the Maoist menace in the country within three years. Answering a question about Maoist threat in the country, Chidambaram said change of heart among the leftist rebels has to come through, as there is no place for armed rebellion in a parliamentary democracy.

Speaking about the volatile situation in parts of Kashmir, Chidambaram said the government of India has no reservation in talking to various elements in Kashmir to resolve the situation.

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CJI attacks Govt on appointment of Public Prosecutors

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Chief Justice of Indian S H Kapadia today virtually attacked the government for withdrawing the consultation process in the appointment of public prosecutors who play a key role in the criminal justice delivery system. Justice Kapadia who shared concern on the issue of administration of criminal justice system said judicial reforms can take place only if it is coupled with reforms in the legislations and Bar.

Quoting Section 24 of the CrPC, the CJI said the provision mandated the Government to consult the High Court and the Sessions Court for appointment of public prosecutors, but over the years the process has been given a go bye. "We should make use of modern technology.

We need to amend the rules and bring about these changes, because I personally believe please do not rely or attack only us for judicial reforms. We need the Bar reforms.

We equally need Legislative reforms. "Of course, I would like to ask one question why under Section 24 of CrPC that earlier Public Prosecutors were appointed in consultation with High Courts? Why all Public Prosecutors were very good? Why we do not have those type of Public Prosecutors today? Why is the power taken away?" he posed.

The Chief Justice made the observations in his presidential address at the All India Seminar on Judicial Reforms, which was inaugurated by the President Pratibha Patil. He appealed to senior advocates to come forward and contribute for reforms in the judiciary and complained that this was not taking place in India as has been the practice in European countries.

The CJI also said a special team of statistical officers would be involved in segregating cases on three fronts by classifying them as "sticky cases", "subverted cases" and "process problem." Elaborating, he said that sticky case are those which consume considerable time, while subverted cases would be identified as those in which the one of the parties try to delay and in the last category the delay occurs due processing of service like the notice and summons, which account for 50 per cent of the problem.

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Govts must exercise restraint in approaching courts: President

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Governments being the biggest litigants should exercise restraint in approaching courts in order to decongest the system and reduce overall pendency of cases, President Pratibha Patil said today. "Government agencies being one of the biggest litigants must exercise restraint from routinely instituting litigation and clogging the system," she said while inaugurating a seminar on judicial reforms here.

Calling for efforts to ensure speedy delivery of justice, Patil stressed on the need to re-look into the archaic laws to make them in tune with the present requirements, saying "making the language of law simple can prevent unnecessary litigation". She said there was a need to analayse challenges, particularly the infrastructural requirements for a quick justice delivery system and for reducing the mounting cases.

"We must take stock of the challenges and structural weaknesses which beset our legal system impeding equitable access to prompt and quality justice. Judicial reforms occupy a salient place in government''s agenda," the President said.

She also voiced concern over the "explosion of litigation" saying that current figures reveal that the arrears in High Courts exceed 40 lakh cases, while in the Subordinate Courts, it surpasses 270 lakh. "Now as the Chief Justice of India has talked about the difference between arrears and pendency in cases, I think we will have to review these figures," she said.

Earlier, CJI S H Kapadia had made distinction between the arrears and pendency of cases and said the calculation has to be reviewed as there are flaws in it. The President said the archaic laws, if needed, should altogether be scrapped.

"There cannot be better governance without better laws and there cannot be better laws if antiquated ones remain. Archaic laws and outdated administrative regulations must be scrutinized and if necessary scrapped or amended.

Making the language of law simple can prevent unnecessary litigation," Patil said. She appealed for making the court procedures simple and straight for speedy justice.

"We must re-engineer and simplify court procedures, which otherwise tend to make litigation unduly slow and protracted. Frequent demands and liberal grant of adjournments, filing of multiple suits and similar tactics make judicial productivity sluggish.

Timely pronouncement of judgements and quick execution of decrees would be beneficial," Patil said. She expressed concern over the disproportionate ratio of population and judicial officers which was coming in way of timely disposal of cases.

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MDMK will continue to have ''top'' as symbol: Vaiko

Chennai, Jul 31 (PTI) The MDMK today said it would continue to have ''top'' as its symbol for the next six years despite the Election Commission derecognising it as regional party in Tamil Nadu. The EC''s order on the allocation of symbol had clearly stated that a derecognised party would be given the same symbol it had contested for the next six years, party chief Vaiko said here in a statement.

Though the party would not get time allotted for election broadcasts and telecasts, it would have its ''top'' symbol till July 29, 2016, he said. The EC had provided this security to the derecognised parties, he said, claiming MDMK would get back its recognition as a regional party after next year''s Assembly elections.

The rules regarding recognition of parties had clearly stated that a party, which had six per cent of votes along with two MLAs could be recognised as a regional party. The EC had not accepted the party''s contention that the it had got 5.98 per cent of popular votes in last Assembly elections and that the percentage should be considered as six per cent, he said, adding even during presidential polls, the constitution clearly states that fractions above point five per cent should be considered as one per cent.

The EC had yesterday announced that the MDMK had lost the status of regional party in Tamil Nadu and the PMK in the Union territory of Puducherry as they got less votes than prescribed for qualification as regional parties.

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Passengers harassed as AI flight delays departure

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 31 (PTI) A Doha-bound Air India flight''s departure here has been inordinately delayed due to "operational reasons" causing harassment to 160 passengers. Several passengers who are migrant workers said it was for them important to reach workplaces in time.

"Majority of passengers booked for the flight were migrant workers in the Gulf. They might even lose the job if they fail to get to their workplace in time", one of the passengers said.

The flight which was to have taken off at 8.45 pm last night was delayed is expected to take off this afternoon, airline officials said, adding the stranded passengers were accommodated in hotels. Some of the passengers complained that they were caught unawares by the delay and the airline officials did not give them any convincing reason for it or specify the exact time when the flight would take off.

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22-year old student ends life in Osmania varsity campus

Hyderabad, Jul 31 (PTI) A 22-year-old engineering student allegedly committed suicide in the Osmania University campus here, in support for the formation of separate Telangana state, police said today. East Zone DCP M C Ladda told PTI that the charred body of P Eshan Reddy was found near the varsity library this morning and it looks like the youth immolated himself last night.

The cause of the death will be known only after the post-mortem. A bag was also found near Reddy''s body containing a suicide note and an empty bottle, police official said.

Reddy, who recently completed his BTech from a city college in Ibrahimpattnam, said in the suicide note purportedly written by him, that he was sacrificing his life after his wish that all the 12 legislators, who resigned demanding formation of separate Telangana get re-elected defeating Congress leaders, was fulfilled. "I prayed that if APCC President D Srinivas and other Congress leaders are defeated in the elections, I would sacrifice my life and now I am fulfilling the wish," the note said.

Eshan, who hailed from Medak district, named nine leaders of Congress and TDP in the suicide note and wanted them to be boycotted from the region. It also said that Eshan did not want an autopsy to be conducted on his body.

He wanted his body be taken in a procession from the Arts College located on the campus towards Gun park (Martyr''s Memorial) near the Assembly. As tension mounted in the varsity area, with students and pro-Telangna supporters gathering near the scene, police sealed the campus and were diverting traffic on the route.

Another police officer said the situation was normal as of now, and they would first conduct Eshan''s autopsy. Eshan is the fourth student to allegedly end his life for the cause of separate Telangana at the Osmania University campus even as pro-Telangana leaders claimed many other students committed suicide in different Telangana districts, ever since protests for formation of separate state began in November last year.

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4 killed in firing, Srinagar under curfew

Breaking more than a week-long lull, four persons were killed in firing by securitymen as protests erupted again in the Valley today after firing in the Natipora neighbourhood of Srinagar left two youths wounded. There were reports of clashes between security forces and protesters at more than 26 places.

Curfew was imposed in Srinagar but hundreds took to the streets late at night after calls for protests were made from loudspeakers in mosques.

Two persons were killed when CRPF and police opened fire at protesters in Amargarh near Sopore. At least 45 people were injured. Earlier, the CRPF opened fire in Chanpora in Srinagar, leaving five youths injured.

There was firing in Pattan too and two more were killed. Pattan Block Medical Officer Dr Javid Ahmad said a 16-year-old had died. “He had a bullet injury in the chest and died at the Pattan sub-district hospital,” he said. “We have referred 20 injured to different hospitals.” The teenager who died was identified as Rafiq Ahmad. Late this evening, 21-year-old Nazir Ahmad Mir of Sheeri Baramulla, working at a bakery in Pattan, too died of injuries.

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Corruption scandal hits 2010 Games, organisers deny charges

New Delhi: Only two months before India's big sporting moment, the Commonwealth Games (CWG) have been hit hard by a huge corruption scandal and some tough questions from Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, who wants an explanation on delays, costs and corruption.

From UK comes a letter written by Deputy High Commissioner of India in London, Rajesh N Prasad, to the Sports Ministry about allegations of corruption made by the UK government, which says that 25,000 pounds sent from the CWG in India to a company, AM films, in UK, is unaccounted for.

The UK government raised a red flag after it followed the money trail from the CWG accounts in India to AM Films. The UK tax office then wrote to the Indian High Commission on June. The UK Government has launched an investigation into the matter.

Sources have told NDTV that the Cabinet Secretary on Saturday cancelled a prescheduled visit to the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee allegedly because of Central Vigilance Commission findings on corruption within the committee. The Cabinet Secretary was supposed to review Games preparations and deadlines.

ORGANISING COMMITTEE DENIES CHARGES

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Lalit Bhanot has denied all charges. He says," No improper payments made to any UK firm and all money was paid after RBI's clearence." (Watch)

Bhanot says the matter may have arisen after the Organising Commitee asked the UK govt to return about 67,000 pounds as value added tax (VAT). He admitted that the services of some London-based company were taken to organise the Queen's Baton relay in London.

In a press release, the Organising Committe further said that the accounts were settled before the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi left London. The allegation that Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi makes payments of 25,000 pounds every month to AM Films UK Ltd is baseless and incorrect.

This even as an assessment report prepared by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) back home says large-scale procedural violations, including corruption, have been noticed in 16 CWG projects worth about Rs 2,000 crore. The CVC has asked the CBI to register a corruption case.

And sources say Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar has written to the CWG Organising Committee expressing concern at delays and plans. KM Chandrashekhar would make an on-the spot assessments of CWG sites and Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi would be asked for an explanation, the sources said.

But Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said earlier in the day that the Commonwealth Games were on track and that there was no need to panic.

"The work is going on and I will take care of it as Chief Minister. There is no need to panic. I believe these will be the best ever Games. The way we are going, we will be able to save money rather than overspend," she said. (Watch: No need to panic, says Sheila Dikshit)

She, however, refused to comment on the CVC Report saying accountability would be fixed only after the Games were conducted successfully.

CVC REPORT ON CORRUPTION

The CVC report has asked the CBI to register a corruption case against certain MCD officials in connection with irregularities in a tender issued for a Commonwealth Games project worth several crores. There are reports that the Central Vigilance Commission has asked the CBI to probe certain transactions of the Games.

Official sources said a letter of complaint has been sent to the CBI asking for a probe into alleged criminal conspiracy by unknown MCD officials while granting work for upgradation of street lighting in the national capital.

They said the contractor who had got the job after quoting the lowest amount for the project was later allegedly allowed to change the figures to earn more profit.

However, the exact amount of profits made by the contractor could not be ascertained but officials believe it may run up to Rs 20 crore.

The CVC has found serious discrepancies like award of works at higher rates to bidders, poor quality of construction and grant of work to ineligible agencies in different Games-related construction works being carried out by various departments in the capital.

As per the assessment report prepared by the CVC's Chief Technical Examination Wing, large-scale procedural violations, including corruption, have been noticed in 16 projects.

The cost of the projects has been estimated to be about Rs 2,000 crore.

Six of them are being done by Public Works Department (PWD), three by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), two each by Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and one by RITES, a Government of India Enterprise, the report said.

The CTE Wing has made the assessment of construction projects following complaint of alleged corruption in them.

The CVC has asked Chief Vigilance Officers to re-examine all the tenders and procurement process related to the projects.

According to the report, "Almost all the organisations executing works for Commonwealth Games have considered inadmissible factors to jack-up the reasonable price to justify award of work at quoted rates citing urgent or emergent circumstances. Despite higher rates, poor site management and delays and quality compromises have been observed."

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/corruption-scandal-hits-2010-games-organisers-deny-charges-40991?cp

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/corruption-scandal-hits-2010-games-organisers-deny-charges-40991?cp

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Hodgson backs Hughes appointment at Fulham

Former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson believes Mark Hughes is an excellent choice to succeed him at Craven Cottage.

The Cottagers tonight confirmed the appointment of the ex-Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City boss on a two-year deal.

Hodgson, who led Fulham to the Europa League final last season, created the vacancy when he left the London club for Liverpool last month.

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Turner takes his chance to join growing list of British winners

Another night in the Montjuic Olympic Stadium; another British gold at the European Championships.

Following in the footsteps of Mo Farah and Phillips Idowu, Andy Turner snatched the hand of opportunity when it was thrust in his di rection in the midst of the men's 110m hurdles final here last night. Actually, it was more like he ripped the thing off to claim the third gold of the championships for the Great Britain team.

There is the promise of much more of the precious stuff to come, possibly even a run of four tonight, with Jessica Ennis 110 points clear in the heptathlon; the Welshmen Dai Greene and Rhys Williams lining up as the two fastest qualifiers for the 400m hurdles final; Michael Rimmer going into the 800m final looking like the man to beat; and Farah seeking a 5,000m gold to match the one he won from the 10,000m on the opening night.

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Sunanda Pushkar sells stake in Kochi IPL?

New Delhi: The Kochi IPL saga shows no signs of ending. Sources have told CNN-IBN that Sunanda Pushkar, who held a sweat equity of about five per cent in the franchise, may have sold off her stake to a former Indian cricketer.

CNN-IBN has got access to a letter signed by one Dilip Kumar claiming to be the vice-chairman, of Rendevous sports world pvt ltd, one of the six consortiums partners in Kochi in IPL. In the letter addressed to 'Whomsover this may concern', Dilip Kumar - who is said to be an Dubai-based NRI - says he is assigned mandate to seek sponsorship for the Kochi team. Till now, the company wasn't known to have any chairman or vice-chairman, and it was primarily Pushkar's responsibility to find sponsorships for thefranchise.

Sources in the franchise have said they weren't aware of the existence of any Dilip Kumar, while Board sources also seemed unaware of the development.

And that brings up the big questions. Has Pushkar really sold off her stake, and if so, at what price? Who is the former Indian cricketer who has allegedly bought the stake? And who are Jayant Bhokhare and Shyam Haridas who have been assigned the responsibility of finding sponsors by Dilip Kumar?

While this one too looks to have more mystery inside, there could be trouble for the franchise itself. Any change in the share-holding pattern must be communicated to the BCCI and due permission taken for it - but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Also, if Pushkar has actually sold her stake, has she has informed the income tax and FERA authorities. Though suspended IPL chief Lalit Modi is far away from the goings-on, the Kochi saga shows no signs of ending, atleast for now.

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Man arrested over murder of Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll

A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll in Glasgow.

The 29-year-old was shot dead in the Asda car park in Saughs Road, in the city's Robroyston area, on 13 January.http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48544000/jpg/_48544478_1news_02kevincarroll_86832a-1.jpg

He allegedly had links to organised crime in Glasgow and had survived two previous attempts on his life.

The 28-year-old man being detained in connection with Mr Carroll's death is expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday.

Mr Carroll was shot several times while sitting in the rear of a black Audi car.

Guns used in the shooting were found by a member of the public behind Coatbridge library in North Lanarkshire, almost a fortnight later.

In March, a 30-year-old man was arrested by police investigating the murder of Mr Carroll.

Craig Gallagher was later released pending further enquiries.

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Over The Rainbow: Dani's not Dorothy!

Dani Rayner has become the latest person to get the boot from BBC1's Over The Rainbow, after finding herself in the sing off for the first time.

The 16-year-old - who was the youngest finalist in the competition - lost out to Danielle Hope, who was also in the bottom two. Graham Norton also revealed that Dani had finished last in the public vote.

The pair performed the song Maybe This Time from Cabaret in the sing off before Andrew Lloyd Webber made his decision on who to save.

"The extraordinary thing about this competition is that it hasn't gone the way anyone expected," he said, "and it's a totally different bottom pair to the week before. But I'm going to save Danielle."

And he had some words of encouragement for a tearful Dani before she left. "You're a fantastic singer and I think you have to become more at ease with your own body. But you are the youngest and I think you've got a great future."

Dani said afterwards, "It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to all the girls, but I'd just like to say thank you so much because I've learned so much. And good luck to everybody who's still in."

Saturday evening had seen Dani receive a mixed response from the judges for her rendition of One Night Only from the musical Dreamgirls.

"This isn't a Dorothy song," Sheila Hancock told her, "and it isn't for your age group." However John Partridge disagreed. "That was your strongest performance to date," he said.

Eight girls now remain in the competition for the chance to win the role of Dorothy in Lloyd Webber's new production of The Wizard Of Oz.

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Chinese officials to crackdown on age cheats

Ahead of the 2010 Youth Olympics, the Chinese athletics officials are resolute that there should be no more under-age scandal issues, which witnessed Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao stripped of the women's team bronze medal won at the 2000 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

"Six months after Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao was finally stripped of the women's team bronze medal she won at the 2000 Games due to a falsely documented age, Chinese officials are paying extremely close attention to the issue as the 70-athlete squad prepares for the first Youth Olympics, which will be held from Aug 14-26," reports China Daily.

The Vice President of State General Administration of Sport and Head of China's delegation to Singapore, Cai Zhenhua, said the ages of all the athletes have been verified through various means and the country has no tolerance of age-faking.

"We have scrutinized every athlete's age in the delegation for the Youth Olympic Games to make sure there is no one going to Singapore with a fake age. We have to make our Chinese delegation very clean and transparent. This is for the benefit of the athletes and the fair play spirit of the Olympics," he added, while saying of the event, which will showcase athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.

Cai further said the authorities have checked six credentials from each athlete to confirm their birth dates; including birth certificates, ID cards, passports, domestic athlete registration cards and domestic and international authentication for competitions.

Moreover, the athletes under 16-years of age have undergone bone-age checks through nuclear magnetic resonance.

The Games will feature about 5,000 athletes and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees, along with an estimated 1,200 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers and more than 370,000 spectators.

The Games will be held every four years and the 2014 Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province. (ANI)

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TRS wins 3 more seats; leading in three others

Hyderabad: The Telugu Rashtra Samiti (TRS) Friday won three more seats of Sirpur, Chennur and Mancherial among the 12 Assembly segments in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh where bypolls were held on July 27.

In Mancherial, TRS candidate defeated his nearest TDP rival by a margin of 77,922 votes. The TRS candidate polled 95,311 votes while the TDP nominee secured 17,259 votes.

In Chennur, TRS candidate won by 44, 284 votes while in Sirpur the party was victorious by 14,214 votes.

Earlier, TRS candidates T Harish Rao and K Eeshwar won from two Assembly constituencies -- Siddipet and Dharmapuri respectively.

Rao retained Siddipet with a record margin of 95,858 votes whereas his Congress and TDP rivals lost their deposits.

In Dharmapuri, TRS candidate K Eeshwar have defeated his nearest Congress rival A Lakshman Kumar by an impressive margin of 58,591 votes. He secured 86,720 votes while Congress nominee obtained 27,824 votes.

RS candidate emerged victorious in Vemuluwada also by defeating his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 50,361 votes. The party candidates K Taraka Rama Rao in Sircilla, Kalvakuntla Vidyasagar Rao in Korutla and Etela Rajender in Huzurabad Assembly segments were ahead of their Congress opponents.

In the key constituency of Nizamabad, Congress state unite President D Srinivas lost out to BJP leader Y Lakshmi Narayana who won by a margin of 12,000 votes.

Narayana secured 64,176 votes while Srinivas got 62,195 votes, thus giving a majority of 11,981 votes to the BJP nominee.

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GOA

State law dept to be restructured soon
The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on Wednesday said that the state law department would be thoroughly restructured in the next two months, on the lines of the Union law ministry and additional staff like two joint secretaries, besides legal officers and legal assistants looking after 2-3 departments would be appointed for vetting the proposals etc and expeditiously clearing the documents. Replying to the issues raised by members of the House during discussion on demands for law, district courts, prosecution, election office, legislature secretariat, etc held by him, the Chief Minister also said that the government would construct a hostel for the MLAs and provide all facilities for holding various legislative works and events like Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meetings. As regards to discrepancies in the electoral rolls, he said that he agreed with the complaints made by the legislators and said that the Chief Electoral Officer has already started taking action on the matter, even as he said that names of foreign nationals would be deleted from the rolls. [NT]
National Games 2011 may not kick off in Goa
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Wednesday stated on the floor of the House that the National Games 2011 allotted to the State may not be held next year. While clarifying on the issue during “Question Hour” he said, two States (Jharkhand and Kerala) which were allotted the National Games in 2007 and 2009 respectively, are yet to conduct national games and therefore, games in Goa will be held only after they are held in these two States, he said in reply to a question tabled by Mandrem MLA, Laxmikant Parsekar. The opposition legislators also questioned the government over why public private partnership (PPPs) linked to tourism could help build part of the infrastructure for the forthcoming games. Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar asked Sports Minister Babu Azgaonkar what alternate arrangements have been made if it fails to get private partners to invest in any of the eight PPP projects. The opposition also raised concern about viability of the PPP projects, when the sports minister failed to give a specific answer in the house. The opposition declined to accept the minister’s long explanation of how the project was initiated. In no mood to endure Azgaonkar’s usual talks, Parrikar objected to the latter’s replies saying the minister should give a correct answer or they will stop asking him any further questions.
Enter the Dragon
Back from jail, Mickky spits fire at CM, Ravi. Beleagueured Benaulim MLA Francisco (Mickky Pacheco) yesterday made his maiden appearance in the ongoing monsoon session of the Goa Legislative Assembly and used the ocassion to give vent to his ire against Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for what he called "misleading" the NCP leadership to force him to resign as minister because of the Nadia Torrado death case. Mickky, who is the main accused in the Nadia case, yesterday lashed out at Kamat while denying his involvement, except in trying to save Nadia's life. Released on bail on Monday after spending 17 days in jail and prior to that 29 days in hiding, Mickky said: "I was pressurised to resign as Minister. Chief Minister (Kamat) had told my party leader Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel that there was clinching evidence in this issue and that I would be dismissed if I had not resigned." Kamat, however denied he had spoken to NCP leaders Sharad Pawar or Praful Patel on the issue.
Ruckus in house over rising prices
Under continuous fire from opposition benches in the legislative assembly over rising prices of essential commodities, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Wednesday said he was willing to take suggestions from all members to modify the price control intervention scheme and pump in more money to bring relief to the common man. However, the reply didn’t find favour with the opposition leader Manohar Parrikar and Fatorda legislator Damu Naik, who proposed a debate on the subject. Both of them continuously interrupted the proceedings by referring to statistics to indicate corruption and other malpractices in the departments concerned. Noisy scenes were witnessed at regular intervals during the more than half-an-hour discussion on the subject with opposition members maintaining corruption had resulted in the common man buying essential commodities at exorbitant prices. When the CM said he was willing to pump in more money into the scheme, Parrikar asserted the government has to specify the amount in figures or else there was no substance in Kamat’s statement . He rubbished the chief minister’s claim that the price control scheme in Goa was unique in the country.
CM to discuss unique identification plan with central project chief
The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat will discuss various key issues pertaining to the Unique Identification Project of the central government with the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Mr Nandan Nilekani, including definition of a resident and a citizen, as per the project. The Chief Minister is the chairman of the State Unique Identification Implementation Committee, constituted last year. Earlier, the leader of the opposition, Mr Manohar Parrikar questioned the Chief Minister as to whether the status of the residents of Goa would be upgraded to the citizens, once they are given a unique identification number under the project. Cops robbed my passport, cash: Himachali youth
A youth from Himachal Pradesh has accused two policemen of robbing Rs 4,000-5,000 and taking away his passport when he spent the night at the KTC bus terminus in Panjim on July 25. According to BK Singh, who worked as a cook in a beach shack in Goa, the act of the policemen has shattered his dream of landing a job in London. The desperated Singh has been making several trips over the last few days to the Panjim police station to get back his passport. According to his complaint, Singh worked as a cook in a shack and was planning to go to London to seek a job. On July 25, he visited a friend in Santa Cruz as the season has ended. While returning, he consumed liquor and spent the night at the KTC bus terminus in Panjim, the complaint states. Two cops, apparently on night patrolling, came towards him at around 1 am and accosted him. He alleged in his complaint that they removed cash of around Rs 4000-5000 from his bag as well as his passport.
Oppn casts doubt on UID cards
The Opposition on Wednesday drew attention of the government to certain aspects of the Unique Identification Project (UIP) which is being implemented in the State needing greater attention. Responding to queries raised by the Opposition, the Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said he will take up the issue with Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which is responsible for implementing multipurpose national identity card project in India. He was responding to a question tabled by Mapusa MLA, Francis D’Souza during “Question Hour” when Leader of the Opposition, Manohar Parrikar enquired whether UID card will be given to the residents of the State. “If this is the criteria then it is very dangerous,” he said. ‘Even foreigners including drug dealers such as Dudu and Atala will be able to obtain UID cards without much difficulty,” he pointed out seeking explanation from the government.
Decision soon on removal of River Princess: Kamat
The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on Wednesday assured the House that the State Disaster Management Committee will soon take a decision as regards the removal of the River Princess vessel, grounded off the Candolim coast since past 10 years. Replying to a Zero Hour mention by the Calangute MLA, Mr Agnel Fernandes as regards fear and apprehension in the minds of the residents of Candolim and Sinquerim about massive beach destruction and sand erosion due to the grounding of the vessel, the Chief Minister said that there is no delay on the part of the government on this issue. The Calangute MLA also pointed out that the beach had caved in about 15 mts due to River Princess vessel. The Chief Minister further said that the bids for removal of River Princess have already been opened and scrutinised, and as one of the bidders requested for some time to come out with certain clarification, he was allowed the relaxation. "The SDMC will take decision related to the grounded vessel, at its meeting scheduled tomorrow," he added.
GBA, Cansaulim villagers to hold meet
The Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) and the villagers of Cansaulim will hold a meeting with those who are concerned about the type of "development" being carried out across the state while the Government of Goa drags its feet and the village panchayats do not address the concerns of the village residents who form their constituency. The meeting will be held at 6 pm on July 30 at the Cansaulim panchayat hall. While the gram sabha of Cansaulim had resolved in 2009 that no multi-dwelling units would be approved by the village panchayat without first referring it to the gram sabha, construction licenses for the same continue to be given even in 2010. There were also constructions licensed in low-lying paddy fields that had been intentionally lef fallow. A major issue of the villagers was the change in the demography of the wards with the advent of multi-storeyed, multi-dwelling buildings amidst the ground level single-unit residences.
Asilo once lifeline of people in North Goa, now in ruin!
Once the lifeline of the people in North Goa, the Asilo Hospital at Mapusa has now turned into a ruin that can barely support itself, let alone provide facilities to the public. Asilo Hospital claims to have all basic facilities like casualty, out-patient department, pathology laboratory, sonography, X-Ray machine, intensive coronary care unit, operation theatres and pharmacy. About 30 specialist doctors and 22 medical officers are employed in the hospital. But when it comes to discharge of medical services and hygiene at the hospital, the list of complaints are endless. When this scribe visited the ladies ward on the first floor of the hospital, a dog was seen seated in the corridor of the ward, while a cat was resting on the patient’s bed. The appearance of the bed sheets gives the impression that they are as old as the hospital. Plaster of the roofs and walls of OPD Block has peeled off at many places and water is seeping in the building through the roof. Besides, walls are soaked and mangled electricity wires are seen hanging, thereby posing threat to the lives of people. [H] 4 months time sought to bring victim in court
The case of the alleged rape of the Russian girl, in which John Fernandes is an accused, came up for hearing before the additional district and session judge, South Goa, Mr B P Deshpande, at which the Crime Branch, Panaji, investigating the case, sought time of four months, so that the victim girl could be brought before the court. The public prosecutor, Mr Bhanudas Gaunker, representing the state made the prayer before the court. The victim girl was not present for the hearing on Wednesday. It is learnt that Crime branch, through Interpol, will contact the victim and bring her back for the hearing. Meanwhile, arguments on the bail application moved by John Fernandes, the accused in the alleged rape case, will come up for arguments on Thursday. Electricity employees not to partake in strike
The Electricity Employees Union (Goa) unanimously passed a resolution not to participate in the proposed 'Tool Down - Pen Down' Strike proposed on August 2. Electricity Employees Union (Goa) president A F G Mascarenhas has appealed to all its employees at the Electricity Department not to participate in the proposed strike since the Goa Government Employess Association, which gave the call, had been declared as unregistered and illegal entitiy by the Inspector General of Societies/Registrar of Societies, North Goa. The executive committee meeting of Electricity Employees Union (Goa) was held recently to discuss and review that various issues of the goverment employees employed in the electricity department. In the meeting it was unanimously decided to pursue their pending demands and issues with the Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat in order to resolve them expeditiously.
GCWT to build school for differently-abled kids
The Goa Citizens Welfare Trust has decided to build a school for differently-abled children. Chairman of the Trust Michael Ferns said the Trust will approach the government to allot a plot of land to construct the school, adding that the Trust will build the school by raising required funds. In this respect, Ferns said the Trust will organise a programme Rafi Ki Yadein on July 31 at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao at 8 pm and the proceeds from the show will be dedicated to the cause of the underprivileged children. “The Trust will work for the betterment of the underprivileged children. We have decided to take up the cause of these children”, he said. Ferns said that the Trust Secretary and columnist Colin Savio Coelho has pledged his first book “Goa in Concert” towards the cause of the building fund for the school. The DVD “Rafi Ki Yadein” by Goa’s Voice of Rafi, Shakil Ahmed will be used exclusively towards the cause of special children and their care. [H] Farmers optimistic as good rains bring hope for improved yield
The 3,200 hectares of cultivable land covered under paddy cultivation in Canacona taluka, is in the final stages of cultivation. Of the total cultivation carried out in this Kharif season, 80 per cent paddy is sown through transplantation while the remaining 20 per cent is done by direct sowing. ZAO Canacona, Mr Rajesh Desai while speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ said that this year the rainfall is well distributed and as such a good yield is expected. Despite the heavy rains, there was no flooding which was a good sign to bring more area under cultivation, which otherwise was left fallow. Because of good rain the farmers in Canacona were happy to bring more area under paddy cultivation this season. Denied regularisation, MMC worker goes on hunger strike
The Margao Municipal Council worker who was denied regularisation by the Civic body on Wednesday went on an indefinite hunger strike at the entrance to the Municipal building. The hunger strike coincided with the celebration of the 41st birthday of the Margao Municipal Council Savio Coutinho. Accompanied by his close relatives and CWC President Sriram Raiturkar, Wenceslan Silva went on the hunger strike in protest against the Municipal decision to ignore his candidature despite working in the civic body for the last 14 years. The worker said he had put in various odd jobs in the Civic body during his long years of services, but lamented that only non-Goan candidates were considered by the Municipality for regularisation. “My name was there in the list of workers eligible for regularisation, but the Civic body considered the names of the Zamunis for regularisation”, he added.

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Rain slows search for dead in plane crash

Relatives desperate to find the bodies of their loved ones joined emergency teams battling thick mud, rain and slippery hillsides on Thursday at the scene of Pakistan's worst-ever plane crash. Authorities speculated that monsoon weather the day before may have been a factor in the crash of the Airblue flight into hills overlooking the country's capital, Islamabad. The plane was apparently off course when it slammed into the ground, killing all 152 people on board.
Army troops and civilian rescue workers searched a large stretch of the hills scorched by the crash, but tough conditions slowed the pace of operations, said Ramzan Khalid, spokesman for the Capital Development Authority, which helps deal with emergencies. Helicopters could not fly in the heavy rain, he said. An Associated Press Television News cameraman in the hills saw relatives of passengers working with soldiers and other rescuers at one crash site, where the undercarriage of the jet had come to rest. They had collected several body parts in small bags.
Dozens of relatives and friends of those killed slept outside Islamabad's largest hospital overnight, hoping to receive bodies. They were still there Thursday morning, hugging one another as their tears mixed with the heavy rain, but few corpses were released. The plane's "black box" flight data recorders have yet to be recovered. Information extracted from them will be key in determining the cause of the crash. Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and other officials have said the government does not suspect terrorism.
The plane was flying from Karachi, the country's commercial capital.
Even when the search is completed, it could take days to identify all the victims with DNA testing since most of the bodies were torn apart and burned in the crash, a grim scene described by rescue workers scouring the twisted metal wreckage.
"There is nothing left, just piles and bundles of flesh. There are just some belongings, like two or three traveling bags, some checkbooks, and I saw a picture of a young boy. Otherwise everything is burned," rescue worker Murtaza Khan said.
The crash was the latest tragedy to jolt a country that has seen thousands of deaths in recent years from al-Qaida and Taliban attacks.
The US Embassy said at least two American citizens were on the plane, an Airbus A321, which was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members.
In the US, Paulette Kirksey said that her godmother, Rosie Ahmed of Gadsden, Alabama, and her husband, Saleem Ahmed, were among those on the plane. Rosie Ahmed was in Pakistan to arrange for her husband to move to the United States, Kirksey said. She said Rosie Ahmed was in her late 50s.
The Pakistani government declared on Thursday a day of mourning for those lost in the crash.
As of Wednesday night, when rescue work was suspended till the morning, 115 bodies had been recovered, federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said.
The control tower at Islamabad airport lost contact with the plane as it was trying to land Wednesday morning, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. Several officials noted the plane seemed to be an unusual distance from the airport, which was some nine miles (15 kilometers) away.
Raheel Ahmed, a spokesman for the airline, said the plane had no known technical issues, and the pilots did not send any emergency signals. Airbus said it would provide technical assistance to the crash investigators.

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Floods wash 3,000 chemical barrels into China river

Authorities were scrambling on Thursday to recover 3,000 barrels full of hazardous chemicals that were washed into a major river in northeastern China by recent flooding. A total of 7,000 barrels were swept into the Songhua river in Jilin province on Wednesday following heavy rains, but most were empty, according to reports.
However 2,500 barrels containing 510 tonnes of combustible, colourless chemicals and 500 loaded with solvents were washed into the river from two chemical plants near the city of Jilin, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
At least 400 barrels had been recovered on Thursday, city officials told Xinhua.The city's water supplies were restored on Thursday after being cut off the day before due to the incident, leaving 4.3 million people dependent on bottled water.
Jilin is the latest province to be hit by deadly floods that have killed 333 people since July 14 and left another 300 missing, according to the latest official figures.
Local environmental protection authorities monitoring the water quality of the Songhua river have so far detected no contamination, official media reports said.
In 2005, millions of people in northeastern Heilongjiang province were left without water for four days after an explosion at a benzene factory spilled the carcinogenic chemical into the Songhua River.

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Junior NTR Is Recovers Fast From Injury

July 29, 2010 : Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as junior NTR has been injured in a minor accident while shooting for his latest Telugu flick Shakthi in Manali. However, the good news is that the actor has recovered fast from his injury.
The sources informed that four days back, the actor was shooting on a slope for a scene in the movie directed by Meher Ramesh. Taraka slipped during the shot and was injured. He was taken to the nearest hospital after the necessary first aid treatment. He was discharged by the end of the day.
The junior NTR has been very accident prone for some time. So the unit members of the movie including producer Aswini Dutt and director Meher Ramesh were concerned about his condition. However, it was a minor injury.
As per the sources, the junior NTR has started shooting normally after recovering from the injury.

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Tendulkar's double ton leads India's run feast

COLOMBO: Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar hit 203 and debutant Suresh Raina made 120 as India bettered Sri Lanka's run-spree in the high-scoring second cricket Test on Thursday.India, kept on the field for the first two days during Sri Lanka's massive 642-4 declared, responded by piling up 669-9 by stumps on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.With just 13 wickets having fallen on the placid wicket in four days, the batsman-dominated Test is heading for a draw with Sri Lanka enjoying a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Tendulkar and Raina, who came together on the third afternoon with India on 241-4 and struggling to avoid their second successive follow-on, put on 256 runs for the fifth wicket.Tendulkar compiled his fifth double-century, adding another feather to a glorious 168-Test career marked by more runs (13,742) and hundreds (48) than any other batsman in history. He is also the leading one-day batsman with 17,598 runs and 46 hundreds, including the only double-century in limited-overs internationals.The 37-year-old braved the stifling hot and humid weather in the Sri Lankan capital for more than eight hours to play a marathon innings studded with 23 boundaries and a six. Tendulkar reached the 200-mark, his first in six years, with a flick off Ajantha Mendis for two runs, earning warm applause from team-mates and spectators alike.Left-hander Raina became the ninth Indian to score a century in his first Test innings, before holing out to short mid-wicket off Mendis shortly after lunch. Raina, just 23 and already a veteran of 98 one-day internationals, was awarded his Test cap only after Yuvraj Singh reported sick on the opening day of the match.He hit two sixes and 12 boundaries, reaching his century with a fluent off-drive against seamer Dammika Prasad that raced to the fence. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (76) joined in the run feast after Raina's departure, adding 95 for the sixth wicket with Tendulkar and 51 for the eighth with Abhimanyu Mithun (41).It was left to part-time spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan to get rid of Tendulkar soon after tea as wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene held a bat-pad catch moving swiftly to the silly point area. Dilshan also dismissed Harbhajan Singh in the same over and later took a return catch off Dhoni to finish with three wickets.Sri Lanka missed the wicket-taking abilities of the retired Muttiah Muralitharan and injured fast bowler Lasith Malinga as the young crop of bowlers failed to contain the Indians. Mendis finished with 4-157 from his 54 overs, while off-spinner Suraj Randiv failed to add to his two wickets on the third day and returned with 2-212 in 64 overs.Muralitharan and Malinga had claimed 15 of the 20 Indian wickets in the first Test in Galle last week, which Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets.

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Aretha Franklin, Condoleezza Rice perform for charity concert

Putting all her political views aside, Aretha Franklin recently took to stage with Condoleezza Rice for a charity concert.

The soul star, a staunch Democrat who sang at President Barack Obama”s inauguration, appeared on stage for a three-hour concert with classically trained pianist Rice – a Republican who served as an aide to President George W. Bush, reports the Daily Express.

The Respect hitmaker belted out her hits and a number of classical arias, while the former U.S. secretary of state played piano accompaniment alongside an orchestra at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Introducing her song I Say a Little Prayer, Franklin told the crowd of 8,000: “You didn”t think she could play it, right?”

The concert was expected to raise 387,000 pounds for an arts program, which helps underprivileged children.

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Sachin's 48 Test tons

November 15, 1989 marks the day when Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi. At just 16 years old, he only made 15 runs in his debut innings being bowled out by Waqar Younis, but was noticed for how he handled numerous bodyline deliveries by the Pakistani pace attack. More than 20 years have passed by and Sachin has established himself as one of cricket's finest in this period, amassing 48 centuries along the way. Through this photogallery, CricketNDTV.com takes a look at these centuries made by our beloved 'Ton'dulkar.

1st century: Sachin's maiden Test hundred came against England on August 14, 1990 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. Sachin scored an unbeaten 119 helping India draw the match. With this maiden century, he became the second youngest to score a century in Test cricket after Mushtaq Mohammad. 11 years later in 2001/02 season, his record was bettered by Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful.

2nd century: For nearly two years after his maiden century, he went on without scoring another. Then on January 6, 1992, he managed to score an unbeaten 148 runs against hosts Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney.

3rd century: Sachin's good form continued forward and in the 5th match of the same series against Australia, he scored another ton, this time at the WACA Ground in Perth. But his innings of 114 runs went in vain as India lost the match.

4th century: Sachin scored his fourth century on November 28, 1992 against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. With India batting first, he scored 111 runs. Till now all his centuries had come playing outside India.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?Page=3&ID=927#talk&cp

5th century: With what was his first century at home, Sachin scored his highest till then, 165 runs against a visiting English side at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 12, 1993. Sachin's century contributed a lot in India winning the match.

6th century: Another unbeaten century for Sachin and another win for Team India. Sachin's score of 104 not out helped India emerge victorious against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on July 31, 1993.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?Page=4&ID=927#talk&cp

7th century: Sachin's next century again came against Sri Lanka but this time India were the hosts. The Little Master narrowly missed out on a score of 150, when he got out scoring 142 runs at the K.D. Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow. Like before, India again managed to pick up a win over the Lankans.

8th century: Playing against a very fast West Indian bowling attack, Sachin scored an enormous score of 179 runs on December 2, 1994. The match took place at the Vidharbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?Page=5&ID=927#talk&cp

9th century: In what turned out to be a loss for Team India, Sachin scored 122 runs playing against England on a swinging Edgbaston Cricket Ground pitch in Birmingham on June 8, 1996.

10th century: Sachin very soon hit another ton, his tenth till now and helped India draw the match against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on July 5, 1996. He had scored 177 runs.

Year 1997

11th century: By now Sachin was leading Team India from the front and was setting examples for everybody else. With the captaincy feather on his cap, he scored 169 runs against the Proteas at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on January 4, 1997.

12th century: Sachin added another century to his Test statistics when he hit 143 runs against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 3, 1997. This was his second century as Team India's captain.

13th century: Just a week after scoring his 12th hundred, Sachin scored his 13th. It again came against Sri Lanka and was his first back to back centuries. Hosted by the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, the match ended in a draw.

14th century: Scoring his fourth century of the year, Sachin again missed out on reaching the 150 run mark when he got out after scoring 148 runs at his homeground Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on December 4, 1997 playing against the Lankans. The match ended in a draw.

Year 1998

15th century: At a time when Sachin was considered to be in the prime of his career, he scored an unbeaten 155 against Australia on March 9, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. His contribution stole the match away from the visiting Aussies.

16th century: Sachin kept ripping the Aussie bowling attack to shreds and amassed 177 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on March 26, 1998.

17th century: His 3rd century of the year came when he managed to get 113 runs against hosts New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on December 29, 1998. Unfortunately, India again lost the match.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?Page=8&ID=927#talk&cp

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?Page=7&ID=927#talk&cp

Year 1999

18th century: Sachin would probably never forget January 31, 1999 as he finally managed to get a Test century against Pakistan on that day. He scored 136 runs in the second innings at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

19th century: Hitting tons against Lankans was a common phenomenon for Sachin. Scoring his 6th triple-figure-score against them Sachin hit an unbeaten 124 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on February 28, 1999.

20th century: Back in his second captaincy stint, Sachin managed to score another century again staying unbeaten at 126 runs. Played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, this match against New Zealand also ended in a draw.

21st century: It was a big celebration for the Master Blaster as for the first time in his career he managed to hit a double ton scoring 217 runs at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera again against New Zealand on October 30, 1999.

22nd century: With this century, Sachin completed 5 Test centuries in a single calender year. He made 116 runs against Australia on December 28, 1999 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.
Year 2000

23rd century: What was turning out to be a rather quiet year for Sachin turned completely around when he scored 122 runs against Zimbabwe at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on November 21, 2000. India went on to register a win in that match.

24th century: Just five days later, Sachin scored a double ton for the second time in his career. Staying unbeaten at 201, India drew the match playing against Zimbabwe at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur.


Year 2001

25th century: Sachin's 126 runs on March 20, 2001 were a major contribution in India's win against Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

26th century: Even though India lost the match to South Africa, fans were still cheering Sachin who scored 155 runs.

27th century: On December 13, 2001, Tendulkar at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera played a fine innings against England and scored 103 runs which helped India draw the match.

Year 2002

28th century: With a score of 176, Sachin was now just one century away from equaling Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test hundreds. This knock of his, helped India win against Zimbabwe at the Vidharbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur.

29th century: Sachin gave himself an early birthday present when on April 20, 2002, he equaled Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test tons. It was time for a double celebration as India also won that match against West Indies at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.

30th century: Sachin narrowly missed out on a double century this time when he got out at a score of 193 against England at Headingley in Leeds on August 23, 2002. But on the brightside, India won the match because of his contribution.

31st century: Another big score by Sachin. He made 176 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 3, 2002 playing against the visiting West Indians.

Year 2004

32nd century: Scoring a mammoth unbeaten 241 against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on January 4, 2004, it was the beginning of a high scoring year for him. This was his highest Test score yet.

33rd century: A controversial decision by the then captain Rahul Dravid to declare the innings, cost Sachin from reaching another double hundred score. India declared their innings with Sachin at a score of 194 with just 6 more runs to reach what would have been his 4th double ton.

34th century: Nine months later he finally got his fourth double ton when he slammed an unbeaten 248 runs against Bangladesh during the first Test in Dhaka. He celebrated his double ton with another milestone as he equalled Sunil Gavaskar's Test record of 34 centuries. It was indeed a proud moment for the two Little Masters, who are great admirers of each other.

Year 2005

35th century: It took Sachin exactly a year to surpass his idol Gavaskar. In 2005, Sachin played six Tests making 444 runs. He missed out on a hundred against Pakistan in Mohali when he was dismissed for 94 runs. And then there was a long wait..

On December 10, 2005 in New Delhi, he got his 35th Test ton against Sri Lanka. He contributed 109 to India's 290 on a tricky Kotla track where Muralitharan was at his wily best. As they say all's well that ends well, India won the match by a big margin of 188 runs.

Year 2006

Sachin played five Tests - against Pakistan, England and South Africa - but he had a long run-draught during this year. This year, he did not score any century. In five Test matches, he managed just 267 runs with the help of a fifty that came in South Africa. This was the time when his critics had all their daggers and knives out and in action!

Year 2007

He started the year on a decent note when he hit a fifty in the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town.

36th century: He next toured to Bangladesh for a two-Test match series. He hit 101 in a rain-hit first Test at Chittagong.

37th century: Sachin hit back-to-back centuries in the series. In the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, he raised his 37th ton with an unbeaten knock of 122 runs. Three other Indians made centuries in the same match - Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and Rahul Dravid. However, Sachin walked away with the 'Man of the Series'.

Year 2008

38th century: Sachin started the new year on a high Down Under. During the second Test against Australia in Sydney, Sachin made an unbeaten 154 runs as his 38th Test century. However, some umpiring blunders gave Australian an edge over the Indians in the match that was well in visitors' grasp.

39th century: After a forgettable Sydney Test, India moved to Adelaide for the third Test. Sachin carried his form to the Adelaide Oval and made 154 runs to get his 39th Test ton, which was also his 80th international hundred. The match ended in a draw.

40th century: Sachin got his 40th ton at Nagpur during the fourth Test against Australia. The four-match series was aready in India's pocket, but Sachin's innings of 109 runs helped India put up a good total. India won the match by 172 runs and clinched the series 2-0 to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. During the same series, Sachin surpassed Brian Lara's record of maximum Test runs. It came during the second Test at Mohali.

41st century: Many called this knock as Sachin's one of the best Test knocks. After condemnable terror attacks on Mumbai, India played England in Chennai. And the Mumbaikar made that match a historic one. If Virender Sehwag set the stage, Sachin along with Yuvraj Singh chased the total with an hour to spare for the close of the match. He made unbeaten 103 runs and dedicated his 41st ton to all his countrymen.

Year 2009

42nd century: It came at a place which proved to be Indian batting's graveyard in 2002-03. India went to New Zealand this year after that debacle tour. It was tipped to be one of the toughest tour as nobody knew how the conditions were.

After Indian pacers ripped the Kiwi batting apart in the first Test at Hamilton, Sachin got down to his task and slammed 160 runs for his 42nd ton. Most importantly, his knock backed by lethal bowling gave India a win in New Zealand after a gap of 33 years.

43rd Test century: Sachin celebrated his 20 years in Test cricket with an unbeaten 100 runs in the second innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad in December 2009. There were seven centuries scored in that match. Failing to score in the first innings, Sachin scored a subdued 298-ball 100 runs in the second.

Year 2010:

44th Test century: The master batsman started the new year with another century. Though against the minnows, his 44th century came under testing circumstances. India, who played their first Test of the year against Bangladesh in January, were heavily let down by their batsmen in the first innings in Chittagong. Out of 243 runs, Sachin scored 105 and saved India blushes. While wickets were tumbling from one end, Sachin at the other end dig deep and kept the battle on. He was adjudged 'man of the match' for his fighting knock.

45th Test century:In the second Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, Sachin slammed another ton. As compared to the hundred scored in the first Test, this one was a more relaxed one. During the process, he had a 200-run plus with Rahul Dravid for the third wicket.

46th Test century:Sachin slammed 46th hundred of his Test career on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur.

His fourth century against the Proteas was also his first at home against them.

In reply to South Africa's 558 runs, India were bundled out for 233 runs. South Africa enforced follow-on and picked top four wickets. Sachin rose to the occasion and hit his 46th ton. Unfortunately, his resistance ended soon after his ton as Paul Harris deceived him with his spin for 100 runs. However his ton went in vain as India slumped to an embarrassing defeat by an innings and six runs

47th Test century: Hurt by the Nagpur sting, India reached Kolkata for the second Test. After Indian bowlers wrapped up the South African innings for 296, Sachin along with Sehwag got down to the batting business. He made his 47th Test ton, his fifth against the visitors. Having played four Tests so far in 2010, Sachin has made centuries in each of them.

48th Test century: Sachin Tendulkar once again came to his country's rescue and raised hopes of salvaging the second Test. Tendulkar struck his 48th Test century and Suresh Raina notched up a fifty on the third day of the Test.

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