BJP demands halting of Nitaqat law in Saudi Arabia
by IANS
New Delhi: Demanding a halt in the implementation of the Nitaqat law in Saudi Arabia, the BJP on Saturday said in Delhi that it would work against Indian interests. "The Nitaqat scheme shall primarily work against the Indian interests. A minimum of two to three years moratorium to implement it is demanded," said BJP's Convenor of Overseas Affairs Vijay Jolly.

Under Nitaqat, it is mandatory for local companies to hire one Saudi national for every 10 migrant workers. Over 300,000 firms in Saudi Arabia reportedly do not employ any locals and the Nitaqat policy seeks to deal firmly with this.

Indian missions in Saudi Arabia are scrambling to help over 55,000 Indian workers leave the kingdom in adherence to the new policy. Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is in Jeddah to discuss matters of bilateral interest, including the Nitaqat law.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah and other centres in Dammam and the Eastern Province have issued a second lot of 27,000 emergency certificates to enable Indian citizens to leave Saudi Arabia for home....more    
05:24 AM, May 26, 2013

No exodus of Indians from Saudi Arabia: officials Jeddah: Terming the 'Nitaqat' law as an "opportunity" for those who are stuck in Saudi Arabia for years, India on Saturday said that contrary to perceptions, the number of Indians coming to the Gulf Kingdom has increased "significantly" in the last few months. "There is no exodus of people. The number of Indians who have come to Saudi Arabia in the past three months have risen significantly according to Saudi...  
02:21 PM, May 25, 2013

UP: Woman, daughter jump out of a moving truck to escape sexual assault
by IANS
Lucknow: A mother and her three-year-old daughter were killed in Uttar Pradesh late on Friday after they jumped off a speeding truck while resisting a sexual assault by the driver, police said Saturday. The incident took place near the Chitaura toll plaza in Fatehpur, 120 km from Lucknow, after Raj Kumari, 30, along with son Deepak, daughter Meena and husband Rakesh hitched a ride in a truck. After travelling for...  
11:28 AM, May 25, 2013

Saudi's Nitaqat law: 75,000 Indians set to return, the number could go up On Board Special Aircraft: With thousands of Indians set to return from Saudi Arabia due to the 'Nitaqat' law, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said state governments have been "forewarned" so that the situation does not become "unmanageable". Khurshid said the government was in touch with Saudi authorities to fasten the formalities so that the deadline of July 3 given by them could be adhered to. The 'Nitaqat'...  
11:06 AM, May 25, 2013

UP: 93 colleges to get notice for alleged mass cheating Kanpur: Ninty three colleges of Chhatrapati Sahu Ji Maharaj University in Kanpur will be served notice on May 27 for their alleged involvement in mass cheating in the undergraduate and postgraduate exams of 2012-2013. "The examination committee of the university has probed the complaints of mass cheating against the colleges, mostly in Allahabad and Kaushambi, and they were found to be true," said Ashok Kumar, Vice Chancellor of the university,...  
02:43 PM, May 24, 2013

Son of SP leader sentenced to life term for raping minor Badaun: Son of a Samajwadi Party leader was sentenced to life imprisonment and a penalty of Rs one lakh was also imposed on him by a local court in Badaun for raping a teenaged girl. The 15-year-old victim was raped by Varun Bharadwaj alias Chinu, son of former SP block head Patanjali Bhardwaj, in Alapur area on December 27, 2010, prosecution counsel Gyan Swaroop Gupta said. After hearing both the...  
12:25 PM, May 24, 2013

Ghaziabad: Driver allegedly kills 7 members of a family; arrested

The Ghaziabad police has arrested a man identified as Rahul, the former driver of businessman Satish Goel, for allegedly killing him and six other members his family. The seven people were killed late on Tuesday night in Ghaziabad. ...
02:30 PM, May 23, 2013

Ghaziabad: Driver arrested for killing seven members of a family
by IBN7
Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police has arrested a man identified as Rahul, the former driver of businessman Satish Goel, for allegedly killing him and six other members his family. The seven people were killed late on Tuesday night in Ghaziabad. Sources say Rahul carried out the murders as an act of revenge because he was sacked from his job as a driver by Goel for an alleged theft in the house....  
11:28 AM, May 23, 2013

Lucknow: Two constables assault each other with lathis Lucknow: Two Provincial Armed Constabulary constables in Lucknow got into a major scuffle on Wednesday leaving each other injured. The constables assaulted each other with batons before they got into a fist-fight. A probe has been ordered against both the constables. One of the constables was severely injured in the incident. This comes as an embarrassment for the Uttar Pradesh administration as the two constables were part of the Chief...  
03:06 PM, May 22, 2013

UP: Seven members of a family found dead in Ghaziabad
by IANS
Ghaziabad: A businessman and six members of his family, including his three grandchildren, were found killed in their house in a densely populated locality here Wednesday, police said. Satish Goel (62), his wife Manju (60), son Sachin (40), daughter-in-law Rekha (38), and grandchildren Medha (13), Honey (11) and Aman were found killed, said a police official who visited the spot in this suburb of the national capital. "The entire house...  
02:46 PM, May 22, 2013

UP: Girl set on fire for opposing sexual harassment
by IBN7
Lucknow: A 17-year-old minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit is battling for her life after three young men allegedly set her on fire for resisting an attempt to molest her on Monday evening. The girl has been admitted in the hospital in a very serious condition and is undergoing treatment. The heinous crime took place on Monday night when three youths tried to sexually harass the girl. When the girl...  
11:09 AM, May 22, 2013

Terror suspect Mujahid's death: 9 policemen suspended Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday suspended nine policemen, including a Sub-Inspector, in connection with the death of a terror suspect Khalid Mujahid while being taken to Lucknow jail after a hearing on May 18. Nine policemen, including Sub-Inspector Ram Avadh, seven constables and a driver have been suspended with immediate effect, an official spokesman said here. Khalid Mujahid, an accused in serial blasts that had rocked Lucknow and...  
09:15 AM, May 22, 2013

Advocate defending UP blast accused beaten up Faizabad: One of the advocates defending four UP serial blasts accused, including Khalid Mujahid, was on Tuesday beaten up by a group of around 50 lawyers allegedly owing allegiance to right-wing groups in court premises in Faizabad. The lawyers beat up Mohammad Saleem and also ransacked the chambers of three other advocates representing the blasts accused this afternoon, SSP, Faizabad, Dharmendra Singh said. Saleem was admitted to hospital where his...  
11:53 PM, May 21, 2013

Amity students abduction: 5 sent to police custody Noida: Five men, who had abducted two BBA students of Amity for ransom, have been sent to police custody. A District and Sessions court on Monday granted the custody of the five men to the police. While one of the accused had surrendered at the court yesterday, the four others were earlier arrested by Uttar Pradesh special task force and Noida Police. The five men had kidnapped the students on...  
10:55 PM, May 21, 2013

Dalit memorial scam: Akhilesh says UP govt will follow the law
by IBN7
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has said that the state government will do everything possible under the law in the Dalit Memorial scam case in which close aides of BSP chief Mayawati have been indicted. While Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta NK Mehrotra had said that there is no evidence against Mayawati in the Dalit Memorial scam, he had recommended that the money should be recovered from former ministers Nasimuddin...  
03:40 PM, May 21, 2013

UP: 12 killed in road accident near Kannauj
by IBN7
Kannauj: In a tragic incident, 12 persons were killed and 25 others critically injured after a mini bus collided with a truck near Katra village in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj. The injured passengers were rushed to Sadar Hospital and are undergoing treatment. The bus was carrying baaratis (marriage party) and the accident took place on National Highway 19 when it collided with a truck. The police officers are on the spot...  
01:04 PM, May 21, 2013

North India continues to boil; intense heat leaves 3 dead in Odisha New Delhi: Expect another hot day on Tuesday across North India and parts of the South. Met department officials say temperatures will continue to be 3 to 4 degrees above normal for this time of the year in many parts of North India. The current prolonged heat wave, the second time in 10 years, is expected to last at least till May 24. As North India boils, the intense heat...  
11:59 AM, May 21, 2013

Fake health cards scam running into crores surfaces in UP Lucknow: In an embarrassment to the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh, a major fake smart health card scam, which comes under the National Health Insurance Scheme, has come under scrutiny. This could turn out to be one of the major scams in Uttar Pradesh after the Akhilesh government came to power. Sources say if probed properly, the scam could run into several crores. Around 50 lakh smart cards have reportedly...  
09:57 AM, May 21, 2013

Facebook booked over group exhorting cow slaughter
by IANS
Lucknow: An FIR was on Monday registered in Lucknow against social networking site Facebook on a complaint that claimed a group on the site exhorts people to slaughter cows, police said. The site was booked under penal provisions and under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, on the complaint filed by senior police officer Amitabh Thakur. In his complaint filed at Gomtinagar police station, Thakur alleged that a Facebook group...  
02:50 AM, May 21, 2013

UP govt laud Lokayukta for exposing memorial scam Lucknow: The ruling Samajwadi Party on Monday said that all those indicted by Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta, for syphoning off public money in construction of memorials during the BSP regime, would be punished according to the law. In a statement issued here, SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said that Lokayukta, vigilance and CBI were probing scams of the previous Mayawati regime and the results were appalling. "All records of misuse of the...  
01:55 AM, May 21, 2013