| 20/03/2010 | Live - EDL demo in Bolton |
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The English Defence League will be demonstrating in Bolton on Saturday and you can follow the event here. MEN reporters will be providing live updates, including video and photographs. 
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| 19/03/2010 | Two jailed for terrorism offences |
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Two men have been convicted of terrorism offences following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. 
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| 19/03/2010 | Kidnapped boy so happy to be home |
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Little Sahil Saeed was safely back in his mother's arms today after his two-week kidnap ordeal finally came to an end. The five-year-old, kidnapped two weeks ago by an armed gang during a family holiday in Pakistan, was reunited with his overjoyed mum Akila Naqqash last night. 
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| 19/03/2010 | Pair jailed for brutal student murder |
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A cold-blooded duo who arranged the killing of a Bolton student have been jailed for life.
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| 17/03/2010 | RDB perform at UK Asian Music Awards |
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RDB rocked the stage last week with a special performance at the UK Asian Music Awards. The annual award ceremony took place on March 11th at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The event was a star studded affair with appearances from Jay Sean, Malkit Singh and Sugababes. 
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| 16/03/2010 | Indian soap deals with issues of female feticide |
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It's been nearly a month and Megha Malik has only just taken a day off from shooting for the popular Colors TV show, Na Aana Is Des Laado.
Most people will recognise Megna as the over zealous lady of the house, Amma in the programme which deals with the controversial issues of female feticide and infanticide. 
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| 15/03/2010 | Academics gather at Bollywood and Beyond conference |
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Leading academics of Hindi cinema gathered to speak at the cinema studies conference Bollywood and Beyond, at University of Westminster’s recently launched India Media Centre. The nine experts from leading institutions in the UK and India presented on a range of Bollywood topics, to an audience of cinema fans and film students attending from as far afield as New York. 
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| 15/03/2010 | Akshay Kumar returns in Housefull |
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Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is all set to rock the Box Office this year with the much anticipated release of his first film of 2010, romantic comedy Housefull. Co-produced by Eros International, Housefull was filmed on location in UK, Italy, Hong Kong and India. 
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| 10/03/2010 | Shyam Benegal celebrated at film festival |
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One of India’s leading filmmakers, Shyam Benegal, is in the UK for a series of events exploring his vast career and celebrating his achievements in Indian cinema. As part of the Tongues on Fire 12th Asian Film Festival, the director is attending a range of functions across London, including a BAFTA interview, a director’s workshop at the University of Westminster, and a talk on women in films at the Nehru Centre. 
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| 08/03/2010 | From tea-boy to Bollywood star - Abhishek Bachchan on his climb to fame |
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In a 36 hour visit to the UK, Abhishek Bachchan gave London audiences an insight into his life and work at the 12th London Asian Film Festival. The actor opened the ten day series of events with a BAFTA interview and gala dinner on Friday, wrapping his jam-packed visit with an Actor’s Masterclass at a West End cinema on Saturday, before flying home. 
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| 03/03/2010 | Akshay Kumar kickstarts shoot for Tees Maar Khan |
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Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and Bollywood’s most lovable director, Farah Khan have just kick-started their already-hyped new venture Tees Maar Khan at Mumbai's Film City. Akshay is currently shooting his introductory shot in the film - a major action comedy scene on a huge jumbo jet constructed by set director, Sabu Cyril. 
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| 03/03/2010 | Hrithik Roshan on the colours of love |
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On the occasion of Holi, Hrithik Roshan speaks up on his colourful life and his upcoming movie Kites, which stars Brazilian actress Barbara Mori and the beautiful Kangana Ranaut in a never-seen-before role. 
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| 08/03/2010 | 12th London Asian Film Festival attracts Bollywood stars |
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Bollywood fans in the UK will get the chance to interact with some of the biggest names in the Hindi film industry at the Tongues on Fire 12th London Asian Film Festival (5-14 March 2010). Leading Bollywood figures are scheduled to attend including Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Jaya Bachchan, Soha Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore. 
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| 19/03/2010 | We’re innocent, say the twins accused of drug dealer murder |
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A man accused alongside his twin brother of shooting dead a young dad has told a court that they are innocent of murder. |
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| 19/03/2010 | Man on rape charge |
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A Burnage man has been charged with 16 counts of rape.
Nadeem Aslam, aged 40 of Kingsway, Burnage, is due before Manchester City Magistrates Court on Friday 9 April 2010. |
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| 18/03/2010 | Asian men's domestic abuse hell |
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Scalded with boiling water, glass bottles thrown against his head, slammed against the wall, kicked and punched and mentally tortured. Domestic violence doesn't just affect women in the UK but a growing number of Asian men are also suffering as one Bangladeshi born father-of-three found when he married his British spouse and came to the UK seven-years-ago. 
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| 18/03/2010 | Four on drugs arrest |
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Four Oldham men have been arrested in Glodwick on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs. On Wednesday 17 March officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Crime Division executed warrants at houses on Grendon Avenue, Cranbrook Street and Brompton Street. A large amount of cash was also recovered from the addresses. 
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| 18/03/2010 | EDL demo to go ahead in Bolton |
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The English Defence League rally in Bolton will go ahead on Saturday after the Home Secretary said he had no power to ban it. The council was hoping that Alan Johnson would outlaw the demonstration on safety grounds, fearing violence could erupt in the town centre. 
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| 18/03/2010 | Delight as Sahil is reunited with father |
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The five-year-old boy freed by kidnappers in Pakistan after his family paid a £110,000 ransom was “really happy” to be reunited with his father today, a spokesman for the British High Commission said. Sahil Saeed, who was released on Tuesday after being snatched at gunpoint in Pakistan two weeks ago, met Raja Naqqash Saeed at the home of the British High Commissioner in Islamabad. 
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| 18/03/2010 | British police helped with £100k ransom that got Sahil freed |
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Greater Manchester Police helped organise the payment of a ransom to the kidnappers of five-year-old Sahil Saeed, the M.E.N can reveal today. Senior sources confirmed that GMP officers – working with police in Pakistan and Spain – helped ‘facilitate’ a payment. 
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| 20/03/2010 | CM tables Chief Secretary’s clarification |
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Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday tabled a signed clarification issued by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta on the issue of serving beef during the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
The clarification by the Chief Secretary said: “The issue of supply of beef during the Commonwealth Games was raised by the Leader of the House in the MCD, Subhash Arya, that the MCD would not permit beef to be served in the Games Village. Some Press people had asked me about the views of the Delhi Government in this regard. I had very categorically told them that catering service contracts are being arranged by the Organising Committee in the Games Village and the issue is between the OC, the contractor selected for running the kitchen in the Games Village and the MCD which is supposed to give permission under the municipal laws. I had made it clear that the Delhi Government has nothing to do with it.’’
www.hindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032064760400.htm
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| 20/03/2010 | Supreme Court refuses to entertain Jayalalithaa plea |
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The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain an appeal filed by AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa seeking to set aside the Karnataka High Court’s order declining to quash the proceedings in the disproportionate assets case pending in a Bangalore court.
A Bench of Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar, after hearing counsel for Ms. Jayalalithaa and counsel for the State, said: “It is not a fit case requiring our interference under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The Special Leave Petition stands dismissed. However, the trial court shall fix the calendar and schedule for further trial of the case bearing in mind the convenience of the parties.”
The Bench said: “It is needless to observe that the trial court shall give reasonable opportunity to the parties concerned.
www.hindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032054690500.htm
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| 20/03/2010 | Modi will exercise his legal rights, says BJP |
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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi — who has been summoned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court to look into some Gujarat 2002 riots cases — will decide on how to respond on the basis of legal advice given to him, the Bharatiya Janata Party has said.
“It is a purely legal process for which an appropriate decision will be taken by Mr. Modi,” party chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Mr. Modi would respond to the summons to appear before the SIT on March 21 “in accordance with legal requirements,” Mr. Prasad added. Other senior leaders refused to say anything, adding that Mr. Modi, like everyone else in the country, had legal rights which he could exercise.
www.hindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032064370300.htm
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| 20/03/2010 | Milk adulteration racket busted in Mumbai |
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A major racket of adulterated milk was busted in Mumbai on Friday night with Food and Drug Authority (FDA) officials conducting raids at three different locations at Shivaji Nagar, Dahisar and Borivili.
The accused were caught red-handed on camera and four people were arrested. CNN-IBN was exclusively part of the raid.
The gang was using some well-known milk brands like Amul and Mother Dairy.
Several hundred packets of milk were being split-open and replaced with water, after which the packets were resealed. The process was being repeated across the different areas simultaneously.
ibnlive.in.com/news/milk-adulteration-racket-busted-in-mumbai/111768-3.html
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| 20/03/2010 | Togadia arrested for trying to walk into Kandhamal |
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Firebrand VHP leader Praveen Togadia was arrested alongwith his supporters by the Orissa Police as they tried to enter riot-hit Kandhamal district, defying a ban on their visit.
Togadia, who arrived at Charichowk in Boudh district, neighbouring Kandhamal, was held under Section 151 of the CrPc when they tried to walk into Kandhamal district despite a ban, police said.
After they were asked not to proceed to the district, they initially held a sit-in protest at Charichowk.
The VHP leader is now lodged at the forest inspection bungalow at Charichowk, Lambodar Buda, Inspector-in-charge of Boudh police station, said.
www.indianexpress.com/news/togadia-arrested-for-trying-to-walk-into-kandhamal/593394/
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| 20/03/2010 | Anna was able to tap into Kamaraj’s success: Tharoor |
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Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor attributed the victory of the DMK in Tamil Nadu to the former Chief Minister, C.N. Annadurai’s ability to tap into the revolution of rising expectations created by the success of Congress leader Kamaraj.
Releasing the biography of Annadurai, Anna: The Life and Times of C.N. Annadurai, the Minister recalled how Tamil Nadu was on the path of growth during the time of Kamaraj, because of development projects, education, rural electrification and midday meals.
“In my opinion it was a real success. But paradoxically the success of Kamaraj and the Congress created a revolution of rising expectations among the masses that wanted more and Anna was able to tap into that,” he said.
www.hindu.com/2010/03/20/stories/2010032066201500.htm
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| 19/03/2010 | Headleyâs guilty plea suits us: Govt |
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India will try to interrogate 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused David Coleman Headley after studying his plea bargain.
Union Home Secretary GK Pillai said in New Delhi on Friday that the Government is satisfied with the progress in Headley’s case in a US court in Chicago.
"The good thing is that he will get life imprisonment. I don’t think that the Government of India will be dissatisfied with that," said Pillai.
"As far as interrogation is concerned, we will have to work out the details and accordingly see. It looks like the Indian security agencies will be able to question him, we have to work out the details," he said.
However, Headley will not be extradited to India.
ibnlive.in.com/news/headleys-guilty-plea-suits-us-govt/111733-3.html
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| 19/03/2010 | JVP behind Channel 4 report |
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The government today alleged that General Sarath Fonseka’s letter leaked out to Britain’s Channel 4 was the work of the JVP as it bore all the trademarks of the Marxist group. The letter was leaked out this week from the heavily guarded Naval Headquaters in Colombo.
Government Spokesperson Dallas Allahaperuma in the weekly cabinet media briefing said that Fonseka’s interview, heavily criticizing President Mahinda Rajapakse and his government, which was also leaked to Channel 4 along with the letter was the creation of the JVP. "The letter and the interview are false. Nothing was leaked out. This covert operation was clearly the work of the JVP," Minister Allahaperuma said.
General Fonseka in his letter written to Channel 4 News from his Sri Lanka prison cell claimed that the charges he faces in the military court are bogus.
"None of the accusations are true. He (President Rajapakse) is jealous of me as I got more votes than him although he rigged he knows that I can challenge him," the General wrote, adding that he believed he was being held illegally and that his life remains at risk.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2459-govt-says-jvp-behind-channel4-report.html
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| 19/03/2010 | Tigers can seek UK asylum |
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A British Court has ruled that being a member of the Tamil Tigers, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the government, should not prevent an individual claiming asylum. Their ruling was made in the case of "R" who joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1992, at the age of 10.
The Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have been involved in a bloody struggle in Sri Lanka, that stretches back 30 years.
"R" occupied various positions until, at the age of 18, he was appointed to lead a mobile unit transporting members of the intelligence division through the jungles to Colombo.
He also acted as chief security guard to the leader of the intelligence division and second in command of the combat unit of the intelligence division.
In October 2006 he was sent under cover to Colombo to await further instructions but two months later he discovered that the Sri Lankan government was aware of his presence in the capital.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2455-tigers-can-seek-uk-asylum.html
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| 19/03/2010 | Lanka’s ties with UN in danger |
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The Sri Lankan government has warned that ties with the United Nations (UN) is in danger of going sour if the present conflict with UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon over his move to appoint a panel on Sri Lanka is not resolved.
The Foreign Ministry quoted Minister Rohitha Bogollagama as saying that if not resolved taking into consideration Sri Lanka’s unique context and rising public anger against the UN Chief’s proposed move, it has the potential to dent or sour the excellent partnership Sri Lanka has been enjoying with the UN since Independence.
The government reiterated its position that the proposed move by the UN Secretary General to appoint a Panel of Experts to advise him on accountability issues relating to Sri Lanka is an infringement on the sovereignty of an independent Member State, without prejudice to the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.
www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/news/2467-lankas-ties-with-un-in-danger.html
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| 19/03/2010 | US citizen David Headley admits role in Mumbai attacks |
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A US citizen has pleaded guilty to scouting targets for the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai.
David Headley, at his trial in Chicago, also admitted plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that published a cartoon many Muslims deemed offensive.
Headley, 49, had denied the charges but changed his plea to avoid the death penalty or extradition to India, Pakistan or Denmark.
The attacks on Mumbai in November 2008 left more than 170 people dead.
’Valuable intelligence’
In changing his plea, Headley admitted 12 counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors will therefore ask for a lesser sentence, but US District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber said Headley could still be jailed for life.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8575542.stm
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| 19/03/2010 | BSP govt responsible for riots in Bareilly: Katiyar |
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Holding the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh responsible for the riots in Bareilly, newly-appointed BJP vice-president Vijay Katiyar today alleged it proved "a complete failure" in controlling the disturbances despite curfew being imposed in the town.
"Though a case was registered and the accused arrested, he was let off," Katiyar said, referring to the arrest of Muslim cleric Tauqir Raza Khan.
Under the BSP government "innocents are being targeted while the rioters are moving about freely," he alleged.
Attacking the UPA government at the Centre, he alleged it was giving importance to vote-bank politics over internal security.
"The Union government is soft on terrorism and shying away from taking firm action against it," Katiyar told reporters here.
On the recent visit of Congress leader Digvijay Singh to Azamgarh, Katiyar alleged that it was only vote-bank appeasement policy which guided him to Sanjarpur recently.
www.indianexpress.com/news/bsp-govt-responsible-for-riots-in-bareilly-katiyar/592646/
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| 19/03/2010 | Rahul Gandhi oversees Youth Cong elections in TN |
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Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has said hardworking members of the Youth Congress have a bright future and they will be given responsibilities in the organisation.
"Members will have a bright future and be given responsibilities if they are intelligent, hardworking and entered into the team to be formed by it," Gandhi said on a brief visit here to oversee Youth Congress elections on Wednesday.
He visited two polling stations and observed the election process. He also interacted with Youth Congress members.
The exercise to elect the Youth Congress office-bearers at the local level is going on in Tamil Nadu, and on his part, Rahul Gandhi is keen to bring the Congress back to power in the state during next year’s Assembly elections.
He travelled 300 kilometres from Kerala, where he and his sister Priyanka Gandhi attended the wedding of a close aide’s son.
www.indianexpress.com/news/rahul-gandhi-oversees-youth-cong-elections-in-tn/592485/
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| 19/03/2010 | Pranab to hold talks with opponents of Women’s Bill |
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Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will hold talks with the opponents of Women’s Reservation Bill before the government’s takes the next step on it, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Thursday.
He said the government has no re-thinking on the bill which has been cleared by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
"I do not think we would have a re-thinking on it," Khurshid told reporters here when asked about the fate of the bill that provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies as it is facing stiff resistance from Samajwadi Party, RJD and JD(U).
He said Mukherjee will talk to opponents of the Bill as promised by him in Parliament and government "will proceed for the next step only after discussions with them."
In view of the opposition by SP, RJD and JD(U), whose members disrupted proceedings of Lok Sabha for days, Mukherjee had announced that the government would discuss the issue with "all concerned" before tabling it in the Lower House of Parliament.
www.indianexpress.com/news/pranab-to-hold-talks-with-opponents-of-womens-bill/592591/
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| 19/03/2010 | Mayawati garland worth Rs 5 crore, say I-T sleuths |
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Mayawati may have set her cops on a bee chase but the income tax department is sniffing up the curious case of the currency garland. While the BSP claims the garland of Rs 1,000 notes gifted to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister during the party’s 25th founding day celebrations was worth Rs 21 lakh, taxmen say the value could run to Rs 5 crore.
Here’s how. Preliminary investigations by the I-T sleuths reveal the garland weighed 65kg, all in Rs 1,000 notes. A wad of one hundred Rs 1,000 notes weighs around 120g. Taking out the weight of the thread in the garland, sleuths say the net mass of the currency "mala" would not be anything less than 60 kg. With inputs gathered from RBI, officials say it would take at least 500 bundles of Rs 1,000 denomination to make the garland.
Sources said I-T sleuths gathered information from BSP insiders on the composition of the garland while a team has been working with banks and other sources to track the money transaction and "sponsors" who, according to the party, "gifted" the notes.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mayawati-garland-worth-Rs-5-crore-say-I-T-sleuths/articleshow/5699616.cms
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