Saturday, July 3, 2010

Manmohan Singh inaugurates IGI''s Terminal 3

New Delhi, July 3 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the country''s biggest Airport Terminal 3 at New Delhi''s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday.National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel were also present on the occasion.It has been reported that the new airport establishes new global benchmarks for India.The swank new terminal, the most modern and 5th largest airport in the world, can cater to 34 million passengers annually. The current international terminal can handle around 10 million passengers.It also promises to redefine air travel in India and boasts of in-line baggage handling system with capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour with 6.4 kilometres of conveyor belts.The actual operations for international services commence on July 16. (ANI)

Manmohan Singh to address IIT Kanpur''s annual convocation

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), July 3 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will visit Uttar Pradesh''s Kanpur city on Saturday to address the 42nd annual convocation of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur.There are reports that Dr Singh will be honoured with the degree of Doctor of Science by the institute.The Prime Minister will also inaugurate IIT''s solar project and Ganga basin management plan at the IIT premises.It has been reported that around 1200 students would be awarded degrees and medals in the convocation ceremony.Dr Singh will also address Merchant''s Chamber of Uttar Pradesh on the occasion of 125th anniversary celebration of its founder Chairman late Kamlapati Singhania. (ANI)

‘God wants’ Argentina to be in World Cup final: Maradona

Cape Town, July 3(ANI): Ahead of Saturday’s crunch Argentina-Germany World Cup quarterfinal, Argentina coach Diego Maradona has said that “God wants” his team to win the game and reach the final. “I came across a group of kids yesterday and they said, ‘Diego, we want to be in the final. Can you give us that?’ I told them, ‘Calm down, boys. In the end, we will see what happens and, if God wants us to be at the final, you will see us there, but I know that is what God wants,” The Sun quoted Maradona, as saying.“I have spoken to my father, Don Diego. My old man is not in the best of health and has some problems. He said if we reach the final, he will come out here to see us win. He said to me, ‘Do what you did in 1986, son’. We will attack. We must not give away the ball in the way we did against Mexico,” he added.Hitting back at Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger’s comments, where he accused Argentina of being disrespectful and of trying to influence referees, Maradona said that his players would make Germany pay for the allegations. “We will not forget what Schweinsteiger has said. He has not treated us well at all. Schweinsteiger said we were a misfit team, but we play football. He will realize that when he sees what we do on the pitch against him,” Maradona said.“We will show them by playing football, by what we do with the ball. I will see to that. I’m very happy with the players I have and I know they will do a perfect job for this team,” he added. (ANI)

Deploy army in Maoist hit areas: Sushma Swaraj

Hyderabad/Raipur, July 3 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, has said the Central Government should deploy the army in the Maoist-hit areas."There is no confusion, the national leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) want army to be deployed in order to solve Maoist related issues. The government should overcome the state of dilemma," said Swaraj."The Defence Minister is not sure whether to deploy the air force or not, the government should help the people overcome the Maoist menace," she added.Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh police gunned down two top Maoist leaders in a gun battle in the forest area of Sarvepalli on Friday."There was an exchange of fire between the police and the Maoists in the forest area of Sarvepalli. Two Maoists were killed in this exchange of fire," said Hyderabad Superintendent of Police Pramod Kumar."One of the killed Maoists has been identified as C Rajakumar alias Azad," he added.Earlier on Friday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the paramilitary forces are trained enough and it not his responsibility to prepare them for anti-Maoist operations.On Tuesday, at least 90 Maoists were involved in an ambush on a 63-strong CRPF road-opening party, which was returning to the unit after completing their tasks. It took place around 3 p.m. near Dhaudhai Police Station in Narayanpur. The preliminary post-mortem reports said the Naxals pumped in three to four bullets into each of the bodies that were found. Several personnel had their throats slit, while others had their heads smashed and limbs severed. (ANI)