Political News – Newsletter for January 24, 2011

PM condoles demise of vocalist Bhimsen Joshi

NEW DELHI – The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has condoled the demise of legendary vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

Dr. Singh in his message said the nation and the music world has lost a towering musical genius and the most famous … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : PM condoles demise of vocalist Bhimsen Joshi.

Karnataka crisis: BJP leaders meet President Patil

NEW DELHI – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by senior leader LK Advani met President Pratibha Patil on Monday and sought the removal of Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj.

Beside Advani, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley led the delegation comprising …. Original article  : Karnataka crisis: BJP leaders meet President Patil.

Bihar politicians pay tributes to Karpoori Thakur

PATNA – Opposition and ruling legislators in Bihar celebrated the 87th birth anniversary of former chief minister Karpoori Thakur Monday, amid intense competition to claim the socialist leader’s legacy.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad are vying with each other for holding functions to … Read more >>>.

Orissa police threaten strike over assault on colleague

BHUBANESWAR – The police association in Orissa Monday threatened to launch a strike to protest an alleged assault on their colleague by a ruling party MP in Cuttack while he was on duty.

“If the government does not take action on the matter within the next 24 hours, we will not do any duty related … Read more : Orissa police threaten strike over assault on colleague.

Telangana activists disrupt government open forum

HYDERABAD – Pro-Telangana activists Monday disrupted the government’s “Racchabanda” (open forum) programme in the region by preventing ministers, members of parliament and other public representatives of the ruling Congress party from participating in it.

The Andhra Pradesh government launched the public interactive programme Monday aiming to take the administration to the people’s doorsteps.
Demanding the …. Source  : Telangana activists disrupt government open forum.

BJP leaders meet president, seek governor’s recall

NEW DELHI – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders met President Pratibha Patil Monday and sought Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s removal, with veteran L.K. Advani calling him biased.

“We have come to knock the doors of the president as his (Bhardwaj’s) way of dealing with things are against the constitution,” Advani said at the presidential palace, …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Mirchpur violence: Jat protest enters 10th day

JIND – Protests by Jats – over their demand for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into last year’s Mirchpur caste violence – entered the 10th day Monday, with community members blocking rail and road traffic.

Jat protestors have blocked the Delhi-Ferozepur railway line near Jind railway station and all highways and road links leading … Read more >>>.

Berlusconi’s party gaining support despite sex scandals

LONDON – It looks like the latest scandal over Italy’s prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s riotous private life has done nothing to weaken his supporters’ faith in him.

A poll was carried out last week, as controversy raged over the findings of an investigation by prosecutors in Milan, which had been delivered to parliament on 17 December. …. Original source  : Berlusconi’s party gaining support despite sex scandals.

My father has clear conscience: PM’s daughter Daman Singh

JAIPUR – Novelist Daman Singh, the daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, says the three attributes that set her father apart from the rest are his clear conscience, integrity and simplicity. Not interested in his professional life, the author wants to look at her parents just as “human beings” in her biography.

…. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Karnataka crisis: BJP leaders to meet President Patil

NEW DELHI – The land scam case in Karnataka has taken a fresh twist with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership advising Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa to tread cautiously in dealing with the matter legally.

Yeddyurappa, who was in Delhi on Sunday for consultations with the party’s national leadership, was advised not to …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Karnataka crisis: BJP leaders to meet President Patil.

Vladimir Putin’s ‘mistress’ denies she gave birth to his baby

NEW YORK – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s alleged mistress, Alina Kabayeva, has denied she gave birth to his baby son.

The former Olympics rhythmic gymnast has claimed that the child is actually her nephew.

“My sweet little nephew Arsenio has joined my ever-extending family in Moscow. Everyone, of course, thinks that he is my son (laughs),” … Read more »».

BJP march: Kashmir gateway turns into battle zone

LAKHANPUR – Police columns with armoured vehicles were Monday moving around and all incoming buses being checked at Lakhanpur, the gateway to the state, which resembles a battle zone ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) planned march to Srinagar’s Lal Chowk Jan 26 that the government has vowed to prevent.

Most policemen deployed in …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Tony Blair didn’t have a cell phone during his PM tenure

LONDON – Former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have a less well-known distinction – their attitude towards mobile phones.

While Blair never had one during his tenure in Number 10, Brown never went without one, reports the Scotsman.

Brown became the first Prime Minister to get special permission to make mobile calls without first … Original article on : Tony Blair didn’t have a cell phone during his PM tenure.

Berlusconi ‘paid ???100K to TV weather girl’

LONDON – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi paid 100,000 pounds to a glamorous TV weather girl after she attended his infamous sex parties, it has emerged.

Prosecutors have discovered bank records, which have shown that he gave Alessandra Sorcinelli money, reports the Daily Mail.

The payments started in 2010 and averaged 8,500 pounds a month.

According to the …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Berlusconi ‘paid ???100K to TV weather girl’.

China lauds Indian IT professionals

SHANGHAI – IT professionals from India are welcome to China “because they are very good”, said a Communist Party of China leader during an interaction here with Nitin Gadkari, the first BJP president to visit the country.

Ding Xuexiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, Shanghai, told Gadkari that the … Original article on : China lauds Indian IT professionals.

`Pakistan cabinet overhaul like rearranging Titanic deck chairs’

ISLAMABAD – The overhaul of Pakistan’s federal cabinet “may be akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”, said a leading Pakistani daily, adding that “the obscene excesses and privileges of power at a time many in the country are struggling to make ends meet demands some serious change”.

An editorial in the Dawn …. Read the original article  : `Pakistan cabinet overhaul like rearranging Titanic deck chairs’.

Better set a precedent than follow, Yeddyurappa learns the hard way (Letter from Bangalore)

BANGALORE – The word precedent and its various forms will resonate across India in the coming days as Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s nod to prosecute Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa over corruption charges is hotly contested or defended.

The legality or otherwise of Bhardwaj’s decision may also be decided by courts with unprecedented speed as compared … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Better set a precedent than follow, Yeddyurappa learns the hard way (Letter from Bangalore).

Witness claims recordings implicate Syrians in Hariri killing

BEIRUT – Mohammed Zuheir al-Siddiq, a Syrian who used to work for Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, said Sunday that he has recordings that implicate some Syrian officers in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

In a telephone call from an unknown location, Siddiq called Lebanese television New TV, which has close …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Witness claims recordings implicate Syrians in Hariri killing.

‘Russians want Lenin removed from Moscow mausoleum’

Moscow, Jan 24 (IANS/RIA Novosti) More than two-thirds of Russians want revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin to be removed from his mausoleum in Moscow and be buried, a poll has suggested.

In an online poll launched by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, a total of 200,000 people have taken part so far. About 70 percent …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : ‘Russians want Lenin removed from Moscow mausoleum’.

Condemn Trinamool-Maoist nexus, CPI-M urges people

KOLKATA – In the wake of the recent killings of the Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M) supporters in West Bengal’s Maoist-infested districts, the party’s state secretary Biman Bose Sunday called on the people to condemn the Trinamool Congress-Maoist nexus.

“Three CPI-M supporters were killed and one was injured after an attack perpetuated by Maoist- … Read more »».