Pakistani judge warns of ‘destruction of dictatorships’
By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistan's suspended chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry fuelled opposition to the military rule of President Pervez Musharraf Sunday, telling a crowd of thousands that dictatorships will inevitably be "destroyed".
Three cops killed in Sri Lanka
Colombo : At least three cops of the Special Task Force (STF) were killed due to a mine explosion in eastern Sri Lanka Sunday, official sources said.
Three Congress workers wounded in Kashmir grenade attack
Srinagar : Separatist guerrillas Sunday afternoon lobbed a grenade at a youth Congress rally in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, injuring three activists including two women.
Militants set up checkpoints in Pakistan
Islamabad : Around 250 gunmen described as Taliban set up checkpoints in Pakistan's northwest Bajaur agency along the Afghan border and terrorized travellers, news reports said Sunday.
Court orders attaching of M.F. Hussain’s property
Mumbai : Celebrated and controversial painter M.F. Hussain is headed for another round of trouble over his paintings. A court has ordered police to attach his properties here after he repeatedly failed to appear before it over a case pertaining to two paintings alleged to be semi-nude and as offending religious sensibilities.
Car bomb attack in Baghdad market kills 42
Baghdad : A car bomb attack on a Baghdad market killed at least 42 people Sunday, police and witnesses said.
Home appliance purchases push Pakistan power crisis
Islamabad : A surge in sales of electrical appliances like air conditioners has forced Pakistani authorities to introduce drastic power-saving measures across the country, media reported Sunday.
‘Wage a war against hate mentality to save humanity’
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : As newspapers and magazines are loaded with reports and articles on the staged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and eliminating his wife Kauser Bi, Urdu daily Hindustan Express columnist Ahmad Javed in his celebrated column Fikr-e-Farda wrote an article Sunday entitled "Only Modi and Vanzara aren't the murderer of Sohrab" and ran a slug: If you have to save India, devise the remedy of the hate mentality which is taking shape of Modi or Vanzara.
Lost and not found: India’s stolen artefacts
By Prashant K. Nanda
IANS
New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Theft is chipping away slowly but surely at India's heritage treasures, with at least 32 idols and artefacts under the protection of the archaeological authority going missing in the last three years.
NATO chief seeks to widen ties with Pakistan
Islamabad : NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is due to arrive in Pakistan Monday on a two-day visit aimed at broadening relations with one of the military alliance's key allies in the war against terrorism.
Central Waqf Council gets Rs 290 lakh grant
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : Union Minister for Minority Affairs A.R. Antulay informed the Rajya Sabha Saturday that the government has increased yearly grant to Central Waqf Council from Rs 206 lakh in 2006-07 to Rs 290 lakh in 2007-08 in order to ensure smooth functioning of the waqf council.
In the financial year 2005-06 the grant to Central Waqf Council was Rs 145.25 lakh.
Officials take bribe to release education grant to madrasas
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Nuh :Â While Union Government, particularly its Human Resources Development Ministry, is taking measures to uplift the Muslim community by launching various schemes, officials responsible for releasing grants under the Sarv Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) scheme in the Mewat region of Haryana are allegedly throwing "pay money to get money" offers to madrasa managements.
Indo-Canadian woman jailed for carrying heroin
Toronto : An Indo-Canadian Sikh woman was sentenced to nine years in prison after she was found guilty of carrying illegally 11.4 kg of heroin while returning here from India with her young son.
Seven killed in Baghdad car bomb attack
Baghdad : A car bomb went off in a commercial area in southern Baghdad neighbourhood Sunday, killing seven people and wounding 15, an interior ministry source said.
Former Maoists declare war on Indian gang
Kathmandu : A group of former Maoists have declared war on an Indian gang preying on businessmen in the border towns of Nepal, warning that they would attack gang members lodged in a key prison if it did not stop criminal activities.
Chhattisgarh orders probe into killings of tribals
Raipur : The Chhattisgarh government Sunday ordered a probe into the March killings of seven tribals by police in a Maoist stronghold, succumbing to mounting pressure from the media and social groups.
Saudi tourist arrivals may be low but just as important, says Minister
Gujarat ‘fake encounter’ cops suspended
Ahmedabad : The Gujarat government has suspended two senior police officers charged with the staged killing of a Muslim, Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a full 12 days after they were arrested.
Three policemen killed in Afghanistan bombing
Kabul : A roadside bombing killed three policemen and injured two in central Afghanistan early Sunday, said district chief Hajji Mohammad Aslam.
US aircraft strikes Shiite bastion in Baghdad, killing one
Baghdad : US aircraft struck the Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad during a raid early Sunday, killing a civilian and wounding eight, a police source said.
Bangla parliament building turned into makeshift court
Danish envoy lauds Shiraz as hub of civilization
Enemies cannot prevent Iran’s progress, development
Khatami confers with Italian FM, Head of Inter-Parliamentary Union
Malaysia satisfied with outcome of IPU
Clampdown planned on pornographic media and publication
Higher Bangkok security after bomb wounds one
Bangladesh’s Islamist militants regrouping
Help finally arrives for disabled Orissa brothers
Bhadrak (Orissa) : Help is finally on the way for 70-year-old Hakimuddin of Orissa and his three physically challenged sons with the district administration promising assistance after the impoverished man wrote to India's president seeking permission to end their lives.
IAEA team heads to Saudi Arabia late May to discuss gulf nuclear program
Palestinian brigades continue retaliation acts against Israel
A business school, exclusively for rural women
By Nayanima Basu
IANSSatara (Maharashtra) : Thirty-four-year old Lakshmi Kikade could never have dreamt of going to a business management school to learn the nuances of how to run a successful enterprise - for she had never received formal education.
25 killed in Afghanistan clash
Kabul : Eight Afghan policemen and 17 Taliban insurgents were killed in a conflict in Afghanistan's western Farah province, the US-led coalition forces said Sunday.
Palestine wants greater Japanese role in mideast region
Palestine wants Germany to exert efforts to lift int’l sanctions against Government
GCC Chief welcomes Sudan-Chad peace deal
Bashir Ahmad is first Asian member of Scottish parliament
London : Bashir Ahmad, an India-born businessman from Glasgow, has become the first Asian to be elected Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
Killing Muslims was fair game in Gujarat, says ex-cop
By Liz Mathew
IANSNew Delhi : A former Gujarat Police officer says the Narendra Modi government had virtually institutionalized the killings of Muslims in staged shootouts and that he too was asked to kill some but he refused to.
Zawahiri prays for US bloodbath in Iraq
Washington : Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant in the Al Qaeda terrorist network, said in a new video that he hoped US forces would stay in Iraq long enough to be dealt a catastrophic blow.
Iran-US contacts in Egypt ‘not even worth mentioning’: Tehran
By DPA
Tehran : Contacts between Iran and the US on the sidelines of the Iraq conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt were "not even worth mentioning," said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Gujarat killings put Modi in a tight spot
By Ashish Mehta
IANSGandhinagar : The shocking revelations about the killing of a Muslim man in 2005 by Gujarat police in a staged shoot out, coming only months ahead of the assembly polls, may put Chief Minister Narendra Modi in an unenviable position.
32 heritage idols and artefacts go missing
By Prashant K. Nanda
IANSNew Delhi : At least 32 heritage sculptures, artefacts and idols have gone missing for the last three years, probably smuggled abroad with official connivance.
Presidential polls heat up Lebanon’s summer
By DPA
Beirut : Discussion on a presidential election posted for September to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud is getting increasingly heated in Lebanon.
Human smuggling discredits TRS, hits Telangana movement
By Mohammed Shafeeq
IANSWarangal/Hyderabad : A major human smuggling scandal uncovered with the arrest of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP in New Delhi has shaken up Andhra Pradesh, discrediting many of its politicians and blunting the campaign for a separate Telangana state.
Sania eyeing comeback in Germany
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‘Gujarat-like situation might prevail in BJP-ruled Rajasthan’
RSS infiltration in administration alleged
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: A national-level Fact Finding Team of several human rights organizations has expressed concern at the penetration of the Rajasthan administrative and justice delivery systems by active workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, (RSS). This has delayed a thorough investigation of the attack on local independent Pastor Walter Massey on April 29 in his house in a crowded city area.
Mufti hits back at critics of troops reduction
Srinagar, May 5 (NAK): Pledging to carry forward the agenda of "peoples' empowerment" envisaged by Peoples Democratic Party to its logical end, former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed today said that those criticizing the demand of troop's reduction were negating the aspiration of the masses.
Hurriyat creating hurdles in peace process: Peerzada
By News Agency of Kashmir
Srinagar: Criticizing Hurriyat for staying out from the Roundtable Conference, PCC president and Minister for Education, Hajj and Auqaf , Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed today accused it of creating hurdles in the peace process initiated by central leadership for restoring ever lasting peace in the state.
Yasin Malik arrested in south Kashmir, released later
By IANS
Srinagar : Pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik was arrested in south Kashmir's Anantnag district Saturday evening and was later released here a day before he was scheduled to start a "freedom journey" from the district.
Kashmiri Muslims want Pandits back
By News Agency of Kashmir
Jammu: Roots in Kashmir (RIK) an initiative by a group of Kashmiri Pandit youth today said that 85 percent of Kashmiri Muslims want Kashmii Pandits to return back to valley.
The RIK group, which is on three-day study tour of migrant camps, announces its Jammu chapter and claimed that they have also some Muslim and Sikh youth as members of their Organization. RIK said that it is planning to organize a Kashmir conference in coming days.
CBI files fourth Nithari killing chargesheet, absolves Pandher
By IANS
Ghaziabad : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Saturday once again spared businessman Moninder Singh Pandher of involvement in the Nithari serial killings as it charged his domestic aide Surinder Koli for the rape and murder of Nanda Devi, a one-time domestic help at Pandher's house.
Pakistanis give hero’s welcome to suspended judge
By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistan's suspended chief justice received a tumultuous welcome from supporters in several towns Saturday as he drove in a convoy of hundreds of vehicles from Islamabad to Lahore where he was due to address a rally.
Several injured in police-mob clash in Sealdah station
By IANS
Kolkata : At least eight people were injured at the Sealdah railway station here Saturday as railway police resorted to baton charge thousands of commuters who were protesting suspension of local train services after railway staff went on a wildcat strike.
Former wrestling champion arrested for murdering seven
By IANS
New Delhi : A one-time national wrestling champion was arrested for allegedly murdering seven people in Haryana, police said Saturday.
Serial killings accused security beefed up fearing reprisal attacks
By IANS
Ghaziabad : The Ghaziabad jail authorities have beefed up security for jailed businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his aide Surinder Koli, accused in the serial killings of at least 20 children and women, fearing they could be the target of murderous reprisals.
10 killed in Baghdad suicide attack
By Xinhua
Baghdad : A suicide bomber Sunday blew himself up at a police recruitment centre near a town west of Baghdad, killing at least nine police recruits and wounding 13, police said.
Hamas rejects US benchmark proposal
By DPA
Ramallah/Gaza City : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday presented to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) the latest US proposal setting deadlines for confidence-building measures between Israel and the Palestinians but was rejected by Hamas
Pakistani minister dropped from party post over a hug
By DPA
Islamabad : A liberal female minister was ousted from a key position in Pakistan's ruling party by rivals profiting from public outrage at photographs of her hugging a paragliding trainer in France, a press report said Saturday.
CBI raids officials’ residence, recover Rs.3.5 mn
By IANS
New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Saturday recovered Rs.3.5 million in raids conducted at the premises of alleged corrupt Central Public Works Department (CPWD) officials and contractors.
Judge in Mumbai hit-and-run case resigns
By IANS
Mumbai : Additional Sessions Judge Ajit Mishra, who handed a six-month imprisonment to Alister Pereira in a hit-and-run case in which seven pavement dwellers were run over, has resigned.
UAE aware of threats facing the region: Khalifa
By IANS
Abu Dhabi : United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has said the country is aware of the threats facing the region but has been able to counter it by constructive engagement and a judicious foreign policy, WAM news agency reported Saturday.
Hasina demands two mn pounds compensation from BA
By Xinhua
Dhaka : Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has demanded compensation to the tune of 2 million pounds from the British Airways (BA) for not issuing her boarding card to return home from London last month.
Zakat Foundation to sponsor civil services coaching for Muslim candidates
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : Zakat Foundation of India has decided to sponsor coaching for Muslim candidates appearing in civil services examination 2008 conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The Foundation will get Muslim candidates admitted in the various coaching centres running across the country and bear the coaching expenses for the entire period, founder president of the Foundation Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood told presspersons here Friday.
The battle lines have been drawn, says defiant Vanzara
By IANS
Ahmedabad : In a clear indication that he was not going to take the charges against him lying down, arrested Gujarat police officer D.G. Vanzara maintained Saturday that the accusations of staged killings against him were concocted.
Pope supports Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy
By IANS
Rome : Pope Benedict XVI supported Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, IRNA news agency reported.
Taliban extends deadline for hostage release
By DPA
Kabul : Taliban said Saturday it was extending the May 5 deadline to the French government to withdraw its peacekeeping forces under NATO command for release of the French hostage and his three Afghan colleagues until elections in France are over and a new dispensation is in place.
Delhi Police seeks Rasheed’s custody
By IANS
New Delhi : Delhi Police's crime branch has sought the custody of travel agent Rasheed, accused of smuggling Indians abroad in a scam that allegedly involves several MPs and Andhra Pradesh politicians.
One policeman killed in Baghdad car bomb attack
By Xinhua
Baghdad : At least one policeman was killed and more than five wounded when a suicide car bomb struck a police station in western Baghdad Saturday, an interior ministry source said.
"A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into a police station in Yarmouk district and blew it up at about 12:30 p.m.," the source told said.
The attack caused damage to the police station building.
Two Afghan policemen killed
By Xinhua
Kabul : A suicide bombing killed two policemen in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan Saturday, police sources said.
Pakistani cleric threatens attacks against officials
By DPA
Islamabad : A radical Pakistani cleric has warned the government of retaliatory attacks on officials if a number of his students being held in custody are not released, local media reported Saturday.
Don’t speak out of turn, Kashmir governor told
By IANS
Jammu : The ruling coalition partner Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Saturday asked Jammu and Kashmir Governor S.K. Sinha to "keep quiet" on sensitive political issues and not to overstep his constitutional limits.
Sentencing in Mumbai blasts likely next week
By IANS
Mumbai : A special court looking into the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts is likely to begin announcing the quantum of sentence for the accused from Wednesday, defence lawyers said.
Hurriyat strike hits Kashmir Valley
By IANS
Srinagar : Normal life was paralysed in the Kashmir Valley Saturday by a general shutdown called by the radical faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference.
Three politicians killed in Bihar
10 Tigers killed in Sri Lanka
By Xinhua
Colombo : The Sri Lankan Navy said Saturday that over 10 Tamil Tiger sea wing members were killed in a skirmish off the eastern coast.
Shahabuddin convicted for abducting trader
By IANS
Patna : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin was Saturday convicted by a special court in Bihar for the 1999 abduction of Chote Lal, a trader in Siwan district.
English Premier League sues YouTube for copyright violations
By DPA
New York : The English Premier League sued video-sharing site YouTube for copyright infringement saying it "knowingly misappropriated" its intellectual property by encouraging football footage to be viewed on its site.
US, Iran talk on Iraq
By Xinhua
Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) : Iran and the US held expert level talks on the sidelines of an international meeting on Iraqi security here despite Tehran's harsh words against Washington.
Israeli troops kill three Palestinian militants
By Xinhua
Ramallah : Israeli forces have shot dead three Palestinian militants near the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian security sources said.
70-year-old, three sons seek mercy death
By IANS
Bhadrak (Orissa) : An impoverished 70-year-old man and his three physically challenged sons have sought permission from India's president to end their lives, saying there seemed to be little hope for the family.
Jamia inaugurates department named after Arjun Singh
By IANS
New Delhi : Having named its departments and buildings after luminaries like Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Sarojini Naidu and Noam Chomsky, the Jamia Milia Islamia Friday evening inaugurated a department in the name of Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh.
Three nabbed in Orissa village over ‘suspect’ murder
By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Three people were nabbed by Polosara police in Orissa's Ganjam district in connection with "suspicious" death of a youth on Friday.
Top Hizbul militant gunned down in south Kashmir
By IANS
Srinagar : Police Friday gunned down a top self-styled commander of Hizbul Mujaheedin terror outfit in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Pakistan, Afghanistan to form tribal council against insurgency
By DPAÂ
Kabul/Islamabad : Pakistani and Afghan delegations agreed in Kabul Friday to form a Grand Jirga or tribal council, to help in resolving border disputes, curb terrorist infiltrations and improve strained bilateral relations, news reports said.
Polls boycott against Govt. attitude towards Ustad’s tribute
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Varanasi : The family of late shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan on Thursday boycotted the U.P. assembly polls due to uncaring attitude of the central and state governments towards keeping their promises for providing financial help to the maestro's family.
Controversial Christian prayer centre to approach court
By IANS
Angamaly (Kerala) : The controversial Christian prayer centre near Trissur district Friday said that it would approach the Kerala High Court to quash the complaint of irregularities filed by a court-appointed investigation team.
Orissa bank official robbed
By IANS
Bhubaneswar : Three unidentified miscreants Friday robbed a bank official and a security guard of Rs.200,000 in Orissa's Jajpur district, police said.
Thousands arrested ahead of a rally in Pakistan
By DPA
Islamabad : The Pakistani opposition claimed Friday that several thousand activists were detained by the police on the eve of a major rally in the central city of Lahore in support of suspended chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
15 killed in latest Iraq violence
By IANS
Baghdad : At least 15 people died in latest Iraq violence including eight people, one a five-month-old baby, killed by two bombs targeting a police officer and the chairman of the city council in the northern city of Kirkuk, local media reports said Friday.
Eight security men injured in Pakistan grenade attack
By Xinhua
Islamabad : A grenade attack injured at least eight security men in Pakistan's tribal region Friday, a TV channel reported.
JKLF’s ‘Safar-e-Azadi’ from Monday
By News Agency of Kashmir
Â
Srinagar: Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is bracing up to launch a statewide rally 'Safar-e-Azadi' (journey for independence)'' from Anantnag district from May 6.
Too early to withdraw foreign troops from Iraq: Russia
Father of Kerala fake encounter victim wants CBI probe
China warns UNSC against hasty decision on Iran
Katara’s judicial custody extended till May 18
Travel agent in judicial custody for human trafficking
Scotland’s first Muslim MP
By TwoCircles.net newsdeskÂ
Glasgow councilor Bashir Ahmad Friday become the first Muslim candidate to be elected to the devolved Scottish parliament.
Ahmad, who was born in India before the partition but lived in Scotland for the past 35 years, was the first of four Scottish Nationalists (SNP) to be elected on the parliament's regional list for Glasgow.
Muslim youth body urges govt to sack Modi
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
New Delhi : Akhil Bharatiya Muslim Yuva Ekta Committee staged a march at Jantar Mantar here Thursday to protest the staged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and burning of his wife Kauser Bi, and demand immediate dismissal of BJP government of Gujarat.
‘UAE stands in support of Iraq’
Five minors sodomized in Delhi
Explosions destroy 20 music shops in Pakistan
Three foreign troops killed in Afghanistan
Five policemen killed in Baghdad bomb attack
Indian killed in Uganda was at wrong place at wrong time
Jailor complains of threats by Shahabuddin
‘Fake’ encounter widows seek justice in Bihar
Ontario lt. governor’s testimony stuns Kanishka probe panel
Army challenges police action in Kashmir fake encounters
Hasina urges international community to press for polls
Top Andhra politicians linked to human smuggling: Rasheed
Pakistan warns of attack on chief justice’s rally
Hindu man in Malaysia gets custody of kids
Three blamed for Indian worker’s death
Rahul security breach: arrested men released
Eight wounded in Assam blast
Nobel laureate Yunus abandons political plans
Iraq economic plan approved, Rice meets Syrian minister
Plane hijack foiled in Cuba, one military hostage dead
Police recover landmines in Orissa
Minorities Commission to be given more teeth
By IANS New Delhi : The union cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Thursday decided to move amendments to give the National Commission for Minorities greater powers to probe complaints of denial of minority rights.
The government will move amendments to the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Bill, 2004, and the National Commission for Minorities (Repeal) Bill, 2004, in the current budget session of parliament for consideration and passage.
Rockets fired at army camp in Pakistan’s tribal region
Woman officer challenges court martial against her
Punjab sets up probe into its own staged killings
Bangladesh calls for tie-up in energy with India, Nepal
Congress, Left demand Modi resign
AMU peaceful for medical entrance test
TwoCircles.net newsdeskÂ
 Aligarh: The Entrance Test to MBBS/BDS of Aligarh Muslim Univeristy went off peacefully today, without any incident. The test was conducted at 44 different Centres in the Campus, and more than 24000 candidates from all over the country appeared. The University authorities, assisted by the District administration, had made elaborate arrangements for the peaceful holding of the entrance examination.
Majority of Afghan refugees unwilling to return: report
More arrested for staged killing; apex court defers CBI probe
By IANS
New Delhi/Ahmedabad : As more Gujarat police officials were arrested Thursday over the November 2005 staged killing of Ahmedabad resident Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife's subsequent murder, the Supreme Court held that it was a "prima facie" fit case to be probed by the Central Bureau of investigation.
The apex court also gave the Gujarat police "some more time" to complete its probe into the incident and deferred a final order on the issue to May 15.