Republic of Tataristan of the Russian Federation Delegation met With Dr.Geetha Reddy,

A delegation of Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation to Hyderabad led by Ms Valeeva Zilya, Deputy Prime Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan met with Dr.J. Geetha Reddy, Minister of Information & Public Relation,Government of Andhra Pradesh at his office at Secretriate, Hyderabad. (Photo by R.S.J.Thomas) ======================================================

Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapathi Bhawan

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Defence Minister, Shri A. K. Antony and the Minister of State of Defence, Shri M.M. Pallam Raju with the Awardees, at the Defence investiture ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 09, 2010.  (Photo by PIB No:CNR-31163)
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Smt. Ambika Soni presenting GPS Media Award's,

The Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni presenting the Global Punjabi Society Media Award to Shri Vikram Chandra,CEO, NDTV Convergence, at the Global Punjabi Society Media Awards function, in New Delhi on New Delhi on April 09, 2010.
(Photo by PIB No:CNR-31170)
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Curfew timings cut short in riot-hit parts of Hyderabad

Hyderabad, April 9 : With further improvement in the situation in riot-hit parts of Hyderabad, the police Friday said curfew relaxation was being extended from 12 to 17 hours.Police Commissioner A.K. Khan told reporters that curfew would remain in force from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in areas under 25 police stations. The decision, which will come into effect from Friday, was taken after Friday prayers passed off peacefully. "The prayers were offered in a peaceful atmosphere and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere," Khan said. Elaborate security arrangements were made at the Mecca Masjid in the old city and hundreds of other mosques to maintain law and order. For the last three days, the curfew timings were from 6 p.m to 6 a.m. Though the situation had almost returned to normal, police continued with the restriction in view of the Friday prayers. The police commissioner said a decision on lifting the curfew totally would be taken in a day or two. The riots, which broke out March 27, following a dispute over putting up of religious flags, left three people dead and over 150 injured. The police commissioner said 181 cases were registered in connection with the violence and 250 people have been arrested. Special teams have been formed to identify and arrest those who were spreading rumours through SMSes.
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Sania-Shoaib wedding postponed

Hyderabad, April 9 : Controversies continue to haunt Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik as their high-profile marriage scheduled for Friday evening has been postponed.With police not yet returning Shoaib's passport, the qazi expressed his inability to perform the nikah and the two families had no option but to postpone the ceremony, sources close to the families said. Earlier, the qazi told reporters that nikah would be performed at 7 p.m. Sania Mirza's family members made hectic efforts to get back Shoaib's passport, which was seized by police Monday after grilling him in connection with a criminal case filed by his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui, also of Hyderabad. Sania's father Imran Mirza met senior police officers, including the one who was handling the case against Shoaib, but they told him that since the passport was deposited with the court, Shoaib would have to retrieve it from there after some formalities.Qazis in Hyderabad do not perform marriages of foreigners without verifying the passport and no-objection certificates from their respective governments. Though Ayesha, who was divorced by Shoaib Wednesday, has informed the police that she is withdrawing her complaint, Shoaib would get back his passport only after completing some legal formalities. Sources said the nikah would now be possible any day before April 15, the day when Sania's family has planned to host a wedding reception at Taj Krishna hotel here. Sania's family has also sought security for three-day marriage ceremonies at the house, beginning April 13. Sources in 'Qazat', or a section of Wakf Board, which deals with Muslim marriages, told media that the nikahnama or the marriage document to be signed by Sania and Shoaib will clearly mention this is Shoaib's second marriage. It was only Wednesday that Shoaib divorced his first wife Ayesha, a resident of this city, following mediation by Sania's family members and community elders. Ayesha had filed a police complaint against Shoaib, accusing him of cheating. The divorce came after the former Pakistani skipper constantly maintained that he did not marry Ayesha Siddiqui but another girl whose photographs she had sent her. Ayesha claimed the marriage took place over phone in 2002 and even produced a nikahnama with Shoaib's signature on it to prove this. She had even claimed that they stayed as man and wife. Ayesha also said she became pregnant and had a miscarriage. The Qazat Wednesday issued 'talaqnama' or divorce certificate after Shoaib signed the papers and paid Rs.15,000 to Ayesha towards her maintenance for three months as per Islamic sharia. It was only to save Sania from being called his second wife that Shoaib continued denying the marriage but crumbled when Ayesha produced "solid proof" and he faced arrest in the criminal case, sources said.
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Friday prayers peaceful, day curfew relaxed till 2200 hrs

Hyderabad, Apr 9 : As Friday prayers in the old city area here went off peacefully, the authorities decided to relax the day time curfew till 2200 hrs today.This was followed by improvement in the situation in 25 police station limits, where the indefinite curfew was clamped in the wake of killing of three people since March 27.Tight security was provided for Friday prayers at all mosques.Senior police officials, including city Police Commissioner A K Khan, were constantly monitoring the situation in the curfew-clamped areas, including the old city.Mr Khan, who toured the entire old city, told media that in view of the peaceful situation and Friday prayers, the curfew would be relaxed by another four hours today and it would be resumed from tomorrow.The final decision on total lifting of the curfew would be taken after review meeting with the authorities in a day or two, he added.He said the police would take action against persons involved in violent incidents with definite proofs.The situation was ''peaceful and fully under control,'' he said, adding no untoward incident had been reported during the curfew relaxation period.
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Sania-Shoaib marriage today,

Hyderabad, April 9 : Indian tennis star Sania Mirza will tie the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik here Friday.Qazi Azmatullah Jafari, one of the qazis of the area in which Sania's house is located, told reporters that the nikah would be performed after the 'maghrib' prayers after sunset. Sania's parents, Shoaib's mother and close relatives of the duo would attend the simple nikah at Sania's house in Jubilee Hills. The ceremony has been kept a closely guarded secret in view of the row over Shoaib's first marriage and divorce with a resident of this city. Since Shoaib has given divorce to his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui, the nikahnama to be signed Friday will clearly mention that it is second marriage of the Pakistani star. Shoaib had Wednesday divorced Ayesha following mediation by Sania's family members and community elders after Ayesha filed a police complaint against him. There were also speculations that Shoaib's marriage with Sania could be postponed as he has not yet got back his passport which was seized by police after they questioned him Monday. Though Ayesha has informed the police that she is withdrawing her complaint, police told Shoaib that he would get back his passport after completing the formalities in court. Qazis in Hyderabad do not perform marriages of foreigners without passport and no objection certificates from their respective governments. Sania's family will be hosting the wedding reception at a star hotel here April 15. ======================================================

Lok Satta warns against adopting casual approach to T demand

Hyderabad, Apr 9: Warning against adopting a casual approach to the demand for Telangana, the Lok Satta party today stressed the need to have a national, tangible and universally-acceptable criterion to reorganize states.Releasing its 117-page report to Justice Srikrishna Committee on situation in Andhra Pradesh to media, party president Jayaprakash Narayan said, ''Language has been such a marker (criterion) so far, and all non-Hindi states are formed on the basis of one language - one state.'' ''Now we need to carefully examine other markers before setting out to reorganise our states. Neither history nor geography nor development is sufficient as a marker. Once language ceases to be a marker for state formation, we should decide what a rational criterion for the division of states is...Any ad hoc approach in one part of the country will lead to escalating demands and a cascading effect elsewhere. Therefore, a rational and deliberate approach based on consensus and longterm interests is critical.'' Tracing the present crisis in Andhra Pradesh to ''genuine grievances of political disempowerment and a sense of lack of regional autonomy'', the report said, ''the local governments in Andhra Pradesh lost dynamism because they did not enjoy functional freedom, suffered from paucity of funds and, and bureaucracy was strengthened at their cost. Despite the passing of the 73rd and the 74th Constitutional amendments, real empowerment of the local governments has not taken place in Andhra Pradesh. A trend of over-centralization of political power coupled with the abolishment of the empowered, constitutional forum of Andhra Pradesh Regional Committee in 1973 has deepened the sense of political disempowerment and political alienation.'' The report recommended that institutional arrangements be made immediately to address the concerns and aspirations of Telangana and other backward regions in Andhra Pradesh. ''The arrangements can be taken up complementary to any efforts towards evolving a final settlement of the regional aspirations in Andhra Pradesh.''
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Chidambaram accepts ‘full responsibility’ for Dantewada

Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday that he has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepting full responsibility for the massacre of 76 security personnel in Chhattisgarh, the worst Maoist attack since the insurgency started four decades ago.“I accept full responsibility for what happened in Dantewada,” said Chidambaram, adding that he has no hesitation to accept that the buck stops at his desk.“I have been asked directly or indirectly where the buck stops after the attack. The buck stops at my desk,” Chidambaram said at a CRPF function here.Chidambaram said he had given this in writing to the prime minister, immediately after his return from Chhattisgarh Wednesday, a day after the massacre.“Let me not elaborate,” the home minister said, three days after the attack in the forests of Dantewada district that killed 75 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force and one Chhattisgarh policeman.The families of the slain personnel would be given full compensation before the end of this month, Chidambaram said.He also offered a job for a family member of each of the slain personnel.

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PM rejects Chidambaram resignation offer

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “fully backs” Home Minister P. Chidambaram and had rejected his offer of resignation following the Maoist massacre of 76 security personnel in Chhattisgarh, government sources said.“PM has declined to accept the home minister’s offer for resignation. The PM fully backs his senior cabinet colleague,”The home minister had written to the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi accepting blame for Tuesday’s attack that led to the killing of 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a Chhattisgarh policeman in a Bastar forest, the worst Maoist assault since the insurgency began more than four decades ago, an official privy to the letter added.He said there was “no question” of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi accepting the resignation offer as Chidambaram, who took over as home minister after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has largely been hailed for his role in handling internal security management.According to sources, Chidambaram wrote the letters Wednesday soon after returning from Chhatisgarh.Chidambaram had set the ball rolling earlier in the day when he said at a CRPF function that he accepted “full responsibility” for the massacre and that the “buck stops at my desk”.“I have been asked directly or indirectly where the buck stops after the attack. The buck stops at my desk,” Chidambaram said at a function to mark Valour Day for the CRPF.“I accept full responsibility for what happened in Dantewada. I called the prime minister and gave in writing that I accept full responsibility for what happened,” he said, adding: “Let me not elaborate.”Referring to the many reports on how the men were poorly trained, Chidambaram went guns blazing defending the security personnel.“It has been written that the 62nd battalion was poorly trained or lacked adequate weapons and equipment which is not true,” Chidambaram said.“I ask everyone humbly that if you can’t go on the front, please don’t disrespect our jawans.”“We have addressed issues pertaining to salaries, allowances, pensions, compensations and rehabilitation. More needs to be done, and they will be done,” said the minister.The families of the slain personnel would be given full compensation before the end of this month, Chidambaram said. The government had announced a compensation of Rs.38 lakh for the next of kin of each slain security personnel, with the central government contributing Rs.15 lakh to the kittyHe also offered a job for a family member of each of the slain personnel.“I am proud of the CRPF and its work. I salute all those who laid down their lives. The families who lost their member in the Dantewada attack will be compensated by the end of this month,” the minister assured.
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