India

Hyderabad, Jul 31: Normal life was disrupted in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions on Wednesday as a shutdown began in the two regions against the decision of the Congress and the UPA to create Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh. Educational institutions, commercial establishments remained closed and the services of state-run Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) were suspended

Colombo, Jul 31: Sixty-five Indian fishermen in nine trawlers have been detained by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly violating the international maritime border. Naval spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya has said that 34 of them in five trawlers were arrested off the coast north of Point Pedro in the north, on Tuesday. Another 31 were arrested east of Mullaithivu along with four vessels.

New Delhi, Jul 31: The ruling UPA on Tuesday decided to split Andhra Pradesh and create Telangana, acceding to a 45-year-old demand for statehood in a bid to win local support and stymie political rivals ahead of the 2014 general elections. Telangana, likely to be born as the 29th state of India sometime next year, will comprise 10 out of the 23 districts of united Andhra. For the first decade

New Delhi, Jul 30: A trial court on Tuesday awarded life term to lone suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmed who was convicted in the 2008 Batla House encounter for killing inspector M C Sharma and injuring two others. Shahzad has also been fined Rs 95,000 of which Rs 40,000 would be paid to family of slain inspector MC Sharma and Rs 20,000 to injured cop Balwant. Additional sessions

New Delhi, Jul 30: In the midst of mounting pressure from both pro and anti-Telangana leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday ahead of the crucial UPA and CWC meetings to take a final decision on the separate statehood issue. The meeting came as leaders from both groups continued with their pressure tactics even as the leadership was veering towards a

Mumbai, Jul 30: In a severe blow to BCCI and its president-in-exile N Srinivasan, the Bombay high court on Tuesday held as "illegal and unconstitutional" the two-member probe panel set up by it to look into spot-fixing and betting charges in the IPL tournament. The high court order comes just two days after the probe panel submitted its report on July 28 giving a clean chit to Srinivasan, his son

Mumbai, Jul 30: A Bhopal-bound JetLite flight from Mumbai with 114 passengers on board made an emergency landing here this morning due to engine failure, airport officials said. The flight returned to the city airport after being airborne for over half-an-hour, they said. The flight landed safely and it later departed for its destination after the problem was rectified. "JetLite flight 9W1625

New Delhi, Jul 30: Former RSS activist Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Aseemanand, whose confession in December 2010 led to the unraveling of a saffron terror conspiracy behind the 2006 Malegaon blasts apart from several other attacks, may himself be never charged in the case. National Investigation Agency (NIA), which left him out in its recently filed chargesheet in the case, believes that Aseemanand

New Delhi, Jul 29: The foreign investment regulator gave conditional approval on Monday to a $379 million deal by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways to buy a stake in Jet Airways(JET.NS), paving the way for more acquisitions in the domestic aviation sector. "We have approved with some conditions," Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters after a meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion

Hyderabad, Jul 29: Supporters of united Andhra Pradesh today intensified their protests in the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions against the Congress leadership's reported proposal to divide the state. The united Andhra protagonists held protests outside the residences or offices of Union Ministers and ruling party MPs including D Purandeswari (Visakhapatnam), K S Rao (Eluru), L Rajagopal