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8 women killed in NATO airstrike

Afghan officials say a NATO airstrike killed eight women and girls who were out gathering firewood before dawn on Sunday in a remote region on the east of the country. The coalition says it believes only insurgents were hit. Villagers from Laghman province’s Alingar district brought the bodies to the Governor’s office in the provincial capital.Seven injured women and children, some of them as young as 10-years-old, were brought to area hospitals for treatment. NATO forces at first said that about 45 insurgents and no civilians were killed in the attack. Later that they took the charge of civilian deaths seriously and were investigating the allegations. He said, however, that initial reports showed only insurgents were killed in the airstrike. Airstrikes have been a particularly sensitive issue between the Afghan people who say civilians often end up killed along with or instead of insurgents and NATO forces who maintain that they are a key tactic for going after insurgent leaders.

Actor Suthi Velu Died

  Comedian Suthivelu dies, Actor Suthi velu dead: Senior actor and veteran comedian Suthi velu died of heart attack in chennai early on sunday. He was 65. Known as Suthivelu by his screen name, Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimharao was born on August 7, 1947. He acted in more than 200 films and received a Best Supporting Actor Nandi Award in 1985 for his performance in the movie 'Vandemataram'. In a 1982 film 'Naalugu Stambalata', his screen name is 'Sutthi' and with the super success of that flick people used to call him that way. Apart from films, Sutthivelu is a part of various serials aired on Doordarshan, ETV and Gemini. He is survived by wife, three daughters and a son.

Salman Khan Joins Facebook

Bollywood star Salman Khan has become the latest celebrity to join social networking site Facebook after Aamir Khan, Piyanka Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan. In a video message posted on his page, Salman said, "Many people have asked me why am I not on Facebook and that there are so many fake accounts which create confusion. Now that I am on Facebook, all the fake accounts should either join here or fake away," Salman said.   This page will be a one stop destination for the 46-year-old actor's fans to connect, interact and engage with him. It will also provide up-to-date information about Salman's upcoming movies, exclusive pictures, videos, as well as exclusive pictures from his private collection. The actor's Facebook page has already got 2.6 million likes. It also gives a sneak peak into the chain of Being Human stores opening in October.

Andhra Minister's son Caught Driving Drunk

Son of a cabinet minister in Andhra Pradesh was caught Saturday by police while driving his vehicle in an inebriated condition. Krishna Reddy, son of Animal Husbandry minister P. Viswaroop, was stopped by the police in the posh Banajara Hills. Police said a breath analyzer test was done on him, which indicated that he was drunk while driving. Banjara Hills police detained the Volvo car he was driving and registered a case. The police have summoned the minister's son for counselling Monday.

BCCI terminates Deccan Chargers’ contract

BCCI has terminated the contract of the debt ridden Deccan Chargers, bringing an end to the suspense on the fate of the beleaguered franchise. The decision to terminate Deccan’s contract was taken at an emergency governing council meeting of the IPL in Chennai. BCCI president  Srinivasan took the final call to end Charger’s contract after discussing the issue with other members. BCCI working committee will decide the future course of action whether to float a fresh tender for a new team or allow PVP Ventures, a Hyderabad based urban infrastructure and film production company, whose Rs. 900 crore bid was rejected by Deccan at the auction on Thursday, to take the team. Deccan Chronicle Holdings, the owner of Deccan Chargers, received a bid of Rs. 900 crore by PVP Venture Capitals but surprisingly chose to reject it at the auction, as it considered the price and terms unsuitable.

Actress Accuses Husband of Abusing her

Actress and former Miss World Yukta Mookhey has filed a complaint of domestic violence against her husband Prince Tulli at a police station.     "Based on her claims, a non-cognizable offence has been registered. She claimed that her husband had abused her and beaten her up often," said an official from Amboli Police Station in northwest Mumbai said. Officials, however, refused to give further details and said that they have registered only an offence and there is no FIR registered in the case yet.Mookhey was crowned Miss World in 1999 and at the age of 20 and had later acted in a few Bollywood films.Tulli is a businessman and financial consultant.

Happy Engineers Day 2012

Engineers, Engineering: Engineer's Day is observed in India on September 15 in honour of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya who was born on the day in 1860. He was the chief designer of the flood protection system designed and built for the city of Hyderabad, as well as the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore which created the largest reservoir in Asia at that time. He also designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune. These gates were employed to raise the flood supply level of storage in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained by a flood without causing any damage to the dam. Based on the success of these gates, the same system was replicated at the Tigra Dam project in Gwalior and the Krishna Raja Sagara project in Karnataka. A recipient of India's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955, he was knighted as a Commander of the British Indian Empire by King George V before Independence. He died on April 14, 1962

Former RSS Chief K Sudarshan died

RSS Chief K Sudarshan dead: Former RSS chief K S Sudarshan died of heart attack in Raipur in Chhattisgarh early on Saturday. He was 81. The ex-RSS chief, who had arrived in the city two days back, died at the RSS office here at 6:50 AM. He was in the city for a book launch function. His body shall be brought to the RSS national headquarters in Nagpur on Saturday evening and kept in its Reshim Baug premises. The last rites will be conducted in Nagpur on Sunday afternoon. Sudarshan led the RSS between 2000-2009, before seeking voluntary retirement due to health problem.

Diesel price up, LPG cylinders cut

The diesel price will go up by Rs. 5 a litre and a household will get only six domestic LPG cylinders per annum. These decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. The decision to go in for the sharp diesel price hike, which excludes value added tax, will take effect from midnight on Friday.  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also decided to reduce the excise duty on petrol by Rs. 5.50 a litre from Rs. 14.78, adjusting the recent spurt in international crude prices, which have touched $114 a barrel. The restriction in supply of LPG cylinders is likely to help in reducing the under-recovery of OMCs by about Rs. 5,300 crore for the remaining part of the financial year. The under-recovery during 2012-13, even after this measure, is estimated to be above Rs. 32,000 crore. Any number of cylinders will be available over and above the cap of 6 cylinders at market rate. The number of cylinders available to each consumer in the remaining part of this financial year will be 3 cylinders, an official statement said.

Early elections possible, Mulayam’s prediction

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that he was “not a saint” to refuse the post of prime minister if such an opportunity arises after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Yadav also did not rule out the possibility of early elections. Asked about the prospect of him becoming prime minister, he said his party would not campaign for his candidature but he was “not a saint” either. The SP would emerge as the biggest party in Uttar Pradesh in the parliamentary elections and would surprise everyone with the large number of seats it would win. It would also contest the polls in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand. On the role of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi in the national politics, he described him as a “young politician” and wished him luck for a future in good politics.  As for the likelihood of Gandhi becoming prime minister, he said that it is his party that is going to make him prime minister. It will not be to the others give him the post on a platter. Mulayam said that the third front would be formed only after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections after considering the political situation.

Centre orders removal of anti Islam video on Internet

In case of Protests in the Arab nations against uploading of a video on YouTube allegedly targeting Islam and Prophet Muhammad, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered removal of all such inflammatory content from the Internet. The move comes after the Home Ministry forwarded a J&K request to the DEIT seeking immediate ban on the alleged blasphemous content.

Mamata will have to think about continuing in UPA

unhappy, dissatisfied and surprised at the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs to hike the price of diesel by Rs. 5 and restrict the number of cylinders of cooking gas to six per household per year, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said here on Thursday that the party would have to now consider whether to continue supporting the Congress-led government at the Centre. deedi who had in a previous occasion threatened to pull out of the UPA government if there are any further hikes in the fuel prices, was quick to point out that if I withdraw support to the Centre other parties will fill in. Mamata said that she would take to the streets here on Saturday demanding an immediate rollback of the hike in prices. Her party had not been consulted on the matter even though it was in the ruling coalition.

US warships en route to Libya

Two US warships and a special unit of roughly 50 members of the Marine Corps are en route to Libya following Tuesday’s attack on the U.S. embassy compound in Benghazi. Following the death of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, and three other Americans, in that assault , reports here suggested that one destroyer, the USS Laboon, had moved to a position off the coast by Wednesday, and the USS McFaul was said to be is on its way to be stationed off the coast within days. Commenting broadly on U.S. ships in the area, said to be loaded with Tomahawk cruise missiles or Aegis-equipped. US officials are said to be investigating whether the violence was linked to an anti-Islamic video the trailer for which was posted on the Internet, the theory that the assault was a terrorist attack planned to coincide with the anniversary of 9/11 appeared to be gaining credence in official circles here.

Poonam Pandey to leave Twitter

So, here is the heart breaking news for all you Poonam Pandey fans. Miss Pandey will not upload any of her pictures, videos over Twitter anymore. Her heart thumping statement is a warning to the micro-blogging website as the Mumbai girl now wants a verified account.   The Twitter queen, who claimed to go sans cloth if Indian cricket team won World Cup, reveals that there are over 700 fake accounts that keep on posting her pictures and pretend to be Poonam Pandey. Poonam Pandey tweeted, "More than 700 FAKE Twitter profiles with my Name and Pix.. unless my account is VERIFIED wont Post any PIX, Videos(sic)."  

Aseem debate on sedition charge

Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi thanked the media for supporting him. To a question on his cartoons, he said that he was surprised when they are referred to as this type of cartoons. Even a child can understand that it resulted from a sense of patriotism. They were made to make people understand what is happening in the country. Trivedi batted for a greater role for art which, he said, mirrored society. Later, at a meet organised by the Press Club, Mumbai, the cartoonist advocated more freedom in art and literature.  The cartoonist denied insulting the national honour. He said he had decided to accept the bail after assurances from the Home Department and the High Court order on his release. Dr. Sen refused to give his opinion on Trivedi’s cartoons. The rights activist appealed to everyone to join the cause of sending a petition to Parliament with one million signatures seeking the abolition of the Act. India Against Corruption coordinator Mayank Gandhi termed Trivedi’s release his personal victory and the victory of the media and democracy. But he was apprehensive of Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil’s promise of withdrawing the sedition charge against the cartoonist.

Centre will back Metro rail projects

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government has decided to support preparation of Detailed Project Reports for Metro rail in all 19 cities with a population of over two million. Laying the foundation for the Rs 5,181 crore Kochi Metro project here, Dr. Singh said DPRs had already been prepared for 12 cities and Metro rail projects were being implemented in seven cities, covering a total network of length 476 km at a cost of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore. The Delhi Metro is carrying about 22 lakh people daily, he said. Pointing out that an efficient transport system was a service that was ‘critical’ to the orderly growth and development of cities, Dr. Singh said Metro rail was just one component of such a transport system. These include support to Metro rail projects, Bus Rapid Transit Systems and sanction of city buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Kandahar hijack suspect held in J&K

Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested a top militant who is suspected to have provided logistical support to hijackers of IC-814 in 1999 and was operating for the last 25 years in the state. Mehrajuddin alias Javed, a close associate of United Jihad Council (UJC) chief Syed Salahuddin and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested during an operation in Kishtwar forest belt. His name had figured in the IC-814 hijack case as he had provided logistic support for hijacking of the Indian aircraft to Kandahar from Nepal, the officer said. The Indian Airlines plane, with mainly Indians passengers, had taken off from Nepal on December 24, 1999 and just as it entered Indian airspace, the militants hijacked it to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The hijackers also killed one passenger. The hijacking ended when the Indian government released three terrorists including Maulana Masood Azhar and Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for the safe return of the passengers. Mehrajuddin was one of the first five militants including Salahuddin who crossed over into PoK in 1987 to get arms training. He belongs to militancy affected Sopore town of north Kashmir and was a member of UJC, an umbrella group of several militant outfits.

Protesters take to sea at Kudankulam

Stepping up their protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, anti-nuclear activists on Thursday stood in sea waters forming a human chain off nearby Indinthakarai coast. Taking a leaf from ‘Jal Satyagraha’ activists in Madhya Pradesh, the activists of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy stood in the waters close to the shores in a new turn to their year-long protests. Police, whose presence has been strengthened in and around the sea shores with additional forces, have beefed up security along the coast to prevent any untoward incident during the day-long protest. The agitators have put forward four demands — stoppage of the process of fuel loading in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, drop the plan to arrest anti-nuclear movement leaders, adequate compensation for those who suffered losses and release of those already taken into custody. The new form of protest came even as the whereabouts of PMANE leader S P Udayakumar remained unknown after he did somersault on his offer to surrender before police after the protest turned violent that led to police firing claiming the life of one fisherman in Tuticorin district on Monday.

Lokesh to take Charge

TDP Chief Chandrababu is planning to go ahead with his proposed Paada Yatra next month and the buzz is that Lokesh will be handling the steering of the party then. But the young scion has said that he is not interested in any posts or ticket for now. 'I want to continue as a normal cadre for the party and will do it irrespective of the stuff I get offered', replied Lokesh, when media asked him if he is ready to contest in 2014 polls.     'For Congress, only TDP is the right opponent and only we have the power to collide with them. All others are same and no sooner they will merge their parties with Congress like PRP. 2014 belongs to TDP, we'll come back to power and our leader's paada yaatra will do the needful', the young leader said. He ruled out to talk about any other party in the state though he is in politics from long time.