Dantewada Maoist attack case: CRPF to appeal against acquittal

NEW DELHI: The CRPF has decided to contest the acquittal of 10 arrested accused in the 2010 Tadmetla Maoist attack case in which 76 security personnel were killed in Chhattisgarh'sDantewada district. Three years after the central paramilitary lost 75 of its men, the force has written to the Chhattisgarh government with a request to appeal against the January 7 verdict of a local court. A Chhattisgarh...

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Lawyer accuses Pak of 'blocking' book on Sarabjit

MUMBAI: Pakistani lawyer-activist Awais Sheikh has accused the authorities of stalling the release of his book on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh. Sheikh wrote an email to say, "At 3pm on Friday my guests and I arrived at Lahore Press Club for the launch ceremony and were shocked to see the doors locked. The administration informed us that they were unable to allow the function owing to a security...

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630 cases of child sexual abuse reported in Mizoram during 2003 to 2009

NEW DELHI: There is an alarming increase in the number of child abuse as well as juvenile delinquency in Mizoram, with as many a 630 cases of child sexual abuse reported during 2003 and 2009. Yet, there seem to be no urgency or sincerity on the part of the state government to implement the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000. Children are not safe anywhere in the state...

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Assembly polls: Ruling formations ahead in Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland

AGARTALA: In a virtual status quo, the ruling formations were ahead and appeared to be romping back to power in the assembly elections in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya where counting of votes was taken up on Thursday.MEGHALAYA PARTY LEADS WINS CONGRESS 22 0 UDP 6 0 NCP 1 0 National People's Party 1 0 Hill state People's Democratic party 3 0 Others 8 0 NAGALAND PARTY LEADS...

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Arms dealer with huge weapons arrested in Imphal

IMPHAL: An arms dealer was arrested after a large number of weapons were allegedly found in his possession during a massive search operation in Imphal east district of Manipur.Superintendent of police (Imphal east district) Kamei Angam said following a tip-off, a police team led by officer in charge of district commandos inspector Achouba Meitei searched Shingjamei Bheigyabati Leikai area near here...

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Lakhs throng Kumbh on Maghi Poornima

ALLAHABAD: The penultimate bathing day of the 55-day Mahakumbh - Maghi Poornima - began early on Monday at the Sangam here, with lakhs taking an early holy dip in the Ganga.The day is special as the "Kalpawasi" pilgrims end their month-long penance and sabbatical from worldly life on Maghi Poornima.More than 1.5 crore devotees are likely to take a holy dip at the Sangam - the confluence of rivers...

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300% rise in terror financing cases: Report

NEW DELHI: Over 1,400 instances of terror financing in country's economic channels were red-flagged by intelligence and security agencies last year, a latest report of the finance ministry says, marking a 300% jump in such suspicious transactions.The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which functions under the ministry, has reported that it had received 1,444 reports during 2011-12 from agencies...

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59-hour countdown for Isro's PSLV-C20 begins

CHENNAI: The 59-hour countdown for the February 25 launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to put into orbit seven satellites, including Indo-French spacecraft SARAL, commenced at 6.56am today at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the spaceport of Sriharikota. The Launch Authorisation Board earlier cleared the launch schedule for February 25 at 5.56 PM from the first launch pad in Sriharikota, about...

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BJP calls for shutdown in Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a shutdown in Andhra Pradesh on Friday to condemn the twin bomb blasts, which killed 14 people and injured over 100. The Bharatiya Janata Party today demanded the suspension of question hour and said that in the wake of the Hyderabad blasts there should be a discussion the the Parliament over terror. BJP state president G Kishan Reddy appealed...

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Day 2 of nationwide strike: Cops on alert in Noida; several states affected

NEW DELHI: Normal life in several parts of the country continued to remain affected on Day 2 of the nationwide strike called by the trade unions.Cops in Noida are on high alert, after widespread violence on the first day of the strike. According to TV reports, several schools and offices in Noida have been closed.The UP government has formed a two-member panel to probe the violence in Noida on the...

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Britain's Cameron visits Jallianwala Bagh massacre site, Golden Temple

AMRITSAR: British Prime Minister David Cameron laid a wreath on Wednesday at a memorial for the notorious Jallianwala Bagh massacre where he is reportedly set to express regret for the loss of life. Cameron, dressed in a dark suit and bowing his head, laid the flowers at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar, where hundreds of unarmed protesters were gunned down by British troops in 1919. Earlier,...

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Nagaland home minister resigns after Rs 1cr cash, arms found in his car

KOHIMA, NAGALAND: Home minister Imkong L Imchen has resigned from the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) government, a party official said Tuesday.Imchen put in his papers after the Election Commission authorities seized cash amounting to more than Rs one crore and weapons from his vehicle on Monday by troopers of Assam Rifles."I felt imperative to tender my resignation from the Council of Ministers...

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Sikhs protests outside French embassy in Delhi over turban ban

VADODARA: Sikh groups led by United Sikhs organization, Akali Dal (Delhi) and Sikh Forum held a peaceful protest outside the French Embassy in Delhi and submitted a memorandum addressed to French President Francois Hollande against the ongoing turban ban in French public schools. "If there was any doubt about the legality of France's (turban ban) action, the eminent jurists of the UN Human...

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Malik aimed to boost his relevance at home, Pak?

NEW DELHI: The Indian security agencies suspect that JKLF chief Yasin Malik may have secretly met 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed during his stay in Pakistan, apart from sharing the dais with him at a protest in Islamabad. Even as his alleged one-on-one meeting with the LeT boss is kept carefully under wraps, Malik, intelligence officials say, ensured a photo opportunity alongside Saeed to "score"...

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India is an incredibly dynamic nation: US lawmaker

WASHINGTON, Describing India as an "incredibly dynamic country", a top US lawmaker has said there are a broad spectrum of opportunities, including in the economic sector, for the two countries to collaborate.House member Peter Roskam, the newly-elected Republican co-chair of the Congressional caucus on India and Indian Americans, made the comment during a meeting on Friday with the Indian Ambassador...

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1,455 death penalties awarded in India since 2001: National Crimes Records Bureau

NEW DELHI: Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) in its report "The State of Death Penalty in India 2013" stated that as per the records of the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, a total of 1,455 convicts or an average of 132.27 convicts per year were given death penalty during 2001 to 2011.During the same period, the highest number of death penalty...

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Hyderabad is the world’s second most affordable office market: Survey

BANGALORE: Hyderabad is the world's second most affordable office market after Surabaya in Indonesia, according to a survey, while Chennai and Pune are at fifth and sixth positions, reinforcing India's reputation as among the cheapest destinations for foreign firms to set up operations. "Tier II cities in China and India continue to dominate the list of top-10 most affordable markets globally,"...

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Indian tender twisted to favour Italian firm: Prosecutors

BUSTO ARSIZIO, ITALY: Three brothers with family ties to a former head of the Indian air force helped to twist rules in a helicopter tender won by Italy's AgustaWestland, prosecutors alleged in an arrest warrant for a top Italian businessman. Italian prosecutors said in the warrant reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday that two managers at AgustaWestland, a unit of defence group Finmeccanica, paid go-betweens...

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UP CM Akhilesh to meet Allahabad stampede victims today

ALLAHABAD: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will visit Allahabad on Tuesday to meet those injured in the stampede at Allahabad railway station. He is also expected to take stock of relief operations for the Kumbh pilgrims. Expressing grief over the tragedy, Yadav had earlier on Monday said that the priority of his government was to ensure safety of devotees at the Kumbh Mela. "The most...

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Curfew continues in Kashmir Valley

SRINAGAR:Kashmir Valley remained under curfew for the third day today even as mobile Internet services remained suspended and newspapers failed to hit the stands following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru. The restrictions on the movement of people in the Valley were further tightened this morning in view of apprehension of widespread protests to commemorate the 29th death...

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