Washington: President Barack Obama outlined plans on Thursday to limit the use of US drone strikes against extremists abroad and took steps aimed at breaking a deadlock on closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison.
In a major foreign policy speech after two weeks of fending off domestic scandals, Obama limited the scope of what his predecessor, George W Bush, had called a global war on terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
"Our nation is still threatened by terrorists," Obama said at Washington's National Defense University. "We must recognize however, that the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11."
Faced with criticism about the morality of using unmanned aerial vehicles to wage war in distant lands, Obama said the United States will only use drone strikes when a threat is imminent, a nuanced change from the previous policy of launching strikes against a significant threat....
more
02:46 AM, May 24, 2013
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday demanded initiation of criminal proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly misusing public funds on an advertisement campaign to get political mileage ahead of last Assembly polls. "We demand registering a criminal case against the Delhi CM for misusing the hard-earned money of tax payers in her election campaign in 2008. We demand immediate action based on the recommendations of the Lokayukta...
12:26 AM, May 24, 2013
Ranchi: A policeman has accused Independent MLA Chamra Linda of assaulting him at the Jharkhand Assembly while he was on duty. On the basis of the complaint by the constable Umanath Saha, police filed an FIR with the Jagannathpur police station in Ranchi on Thursday. According to the FIR, Linda on Wednesday night allegedly got infuriated and "beat up" the policeman on duty near the gates when the latter asked...
11:03 PM, May 23, 2013
Kiran Rao, in collaboration with UTV, has decided to release director Anand Gandhi's critically acclaimed film 'Ship of Theseus'. The film tells a story though three characters, a photographer, a monk and a stock broker. ...
11:02 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari may be rehabilitated within the party, sources said on Thursday. The sources said that BJP veteran LK Advani had proposed to party chief Rajnath Singh that Gadkari be made incharge of the election management committee. The committee will oversee five state Assembly polls slated later this year. ...
08:27 PM, May 23, 2013
Mumbai: 'Kolaveri Di' hitmaker Dhanush who is all geared up for his debut Bollywood release 'Raanjhanaa', has revealed that he will work with filmmaker K V Anand in his untitled Tamil film. "Yes guys... Much to the delight of you all and myself, I am doing a film with K V Anand sir. The technicians are yet to be finalised. Shoot from August 4," the 29-year-old actor posted on Twitter....
06:17 PM, May 23, 2013
BJP MP Kirti Azad has targeted the party's senior leader Arun Jaitley over the IPL spot-fixing scandal. Questioning the BCCI disciplinary committee headed by Jaitley, Azad said, "Hand over the spot-fixing probe to the NIA. What is the disciplinary committee doing?" ...
03:44 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Shashi Kant Sharma on Thursday was sworn in as CAG by President Pranab Mukherjee in the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. The 61-year old 1976 Bihar cadre IAS officer replaced Vinod Rai, who superannuated on Wednesday after a five-and-a-half year eventful tenure as the head of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). "Shashi Kant Sharma will have a tenure up to September 24, 2017," an official statement said....
03:40 PM, May 23, 2013
Bangalore: A telephone call about a bomb being planted in the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) on Thursday created panic with the staff and the students being evacuated from the building but it turned out to be hoax. The call received at the IIMB reception at 12 noon sent the staff into a tizzy and in no time the building was evacuated as there was skeletal staff and very...
03:30 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The first meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to ensure greater independence for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take place on Thursday in the Finance Minister's office. The government had set up the GoM after the Supreme Court had pulled it over the lack of functional autonomy to the CBI. The Supreme Court in its order has asked the government to bring a law which...
02:20 PM, May 23, 2013
Chennai: Siddharth Suryanarayan-starrer Tamil comedy 'Theeya Vela Seiyyanum Kumaru' (TVSK) has been passed by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a 'U' certificate with no cuts . It is releasing June 14. "TVSK censored with clean 'U' with no cuts. The board said they loved this romantic entertainer," said a statement from the production house. Directed by Sundar C, TVSK also features Hansika Motwani, Vidyullekha Raman, Santhanam and...
11:50 AM, May 23, 2013
Hyderabad: The Telugu film industry wants to highlight its contribution to Indian cinema and will kickstart the centenary celebrations here soon amongst the presence of the entire fraternity. "We have never highlighted how much has Telugu industry contributed to Indian cinema. We want to showcase the achievements of some of our luminaries who have made us proud over the years. The celebrations will start soon and we have also requested...
10:55 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: In a blow for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, the state Lokayukta has indicted the Delhi government and the Chief Minister for misusing public funds worth Rs 22 crore for an advertising blitz during the 2008 election. The Lokayukta has now appealed to the President to ask Dikshit to return Rs 11 crore to the state exchequer. Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin recommended President Pranab Mukherjee to administer "caution"...
09:30 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The UPA II is attempting to dispel the perception of gloom amid scams and controversies as it completes four years in office. In his report to the people, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured that those involved in corruption will be punished and there will be 8 per cent growth if the UPA returns to power. The photo op was there, but the spirit seemed to be missing....
09:05 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will be released from jail on Thursday after the Delhi High Court granted him an interim bail for six weeks to undergo a heart surgery. Chautala, 78, is serving prison time for his involvement in the 2000 teachers' recruitment scam. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief was asked to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh along with two...
07:34 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday targeted the UPA government over appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and said there was "institutional conflict of interest" as he will be auditing defence deals which were finalised during his term as defence secretary. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley said he was not making remark about the individual but it was an "institutional conflict...
05:08 AM, May 23, 2013
Chandigarh: The country's second National Institute of Design will come up in Haryana's Kurukshetra district and Japan will provide technological assistance for the same, a minister said on Wednesday. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the NID to be set up in Urmi village of Kurukshetra district, 130 km from here. The first NID was set up in Ahmedabad in 1961. Sharma said that...
02:15 AM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: The UPA government listed ushering the process of digitisation of the cable sector as one of its leading achievements in its report card that was presented to the people on Wednesday. The government said it had implemented digitisation in the Phase I cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata along with 38 cities which come under the second phase. It said that by choosing digital cable, the country would...
01:04 AM, May 23, 2013
The Opposition launched a scathing attack on the government which completed its nine years in power on Wednesday. ...
10:29 PM, May 22, 2013
