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More news →ED attaches Rs 749 crore of Jagan Assets
The Enforcement Directorate Today attached YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his YS Bharathi Reddy's assets to the tune of Rs 749.10 crore in connection with the Money Laundering Case. CBI filed a charge sheet accusing YS Jaganmohan Reddy of conspiring with then AP Government ruled by his Father YS Rajasekhar Reddy sanctioning mining lease to M/s Bharathi Cement Corporation. ED has done the investigation and filed a report confirming Jagan's quid-pro-quo deals. Jagan's other firms Silicon Builders, Sandur Power Company, Saraswati Power and Industries, Classic Realty and several suitcase companies were involved in the crime. ED Joint Director (Hyderabad Zone) SA Umashanker Goud informed that total properties attached include Movable Assets (Rs 404.72 crore) and Immovable Assets (Rs 344.38 crore). These immovable properties were located in Telugu States and Karnataka. CBI filed 11 charge sheets against YS Jagan and Named him as Accused No.1. His Auditor Vijay Sai Reddy was named as Accused No. 2 in all of them.
North Korea fires ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan, US confirms
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan Friday, a U.S. defense official told Fox News. Both missiles are believed to be Nodong medium-range ballistic missiles launched from a road-mobile launcher, according to the official. "Neither was assessed to be a threat to the U.S. or our regional allies," the official told Fox News. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew 500 miles before crashing off the North's east coast on Friday.
Alka Yagnik is the voice of Umrao Jaan
While Asha Bhonsle is still considered as the voice of 'Umrao Jaan' from the 80s since she crooned some timeless gems for Rekha, the current generation may soon hail Alka Yagnik at that position for years to come. J.P. Dutta and Anu Malik have roped in Alka Yagnik to be the sole voice of Aishwarya Rai and that's the reason one finds her crooning each of the tracks that feature Aishwarya Rai. This makes 'Umrao Jaan' one of the biggest albums of Alka Yagnik's decade old career ever and is certainly a feather in her shining cap. The initial reactions to the album have been promising and it seems almost certain that contemporary India would soon get hooked on to these 'raaga' based compositions by Malik.
Japan marks 70th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing
HIROSHIMA, Japan – Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui renewing calls for U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to step up efforts toward making a nuclear weapons free world. Tens of thousands of attendants stood for a minute of silence at 8:30 a.m. at the ceremony in Hiroshima's peace park near the epicenter of the 1945 attack, marking the moment of the atomic blast. Then dozens of doves were released as a symbol of peace. The U.S. bomb, "Little Boy," the first one used at war, killed 140,000 people, and a second bomb "Fat Man," dropped over Nagasaki three days later, killed another 70,000, prompting Japan's surrender in World War II. Matsui called the nuclear weapons "the ultimate inhumanity and the absolute evil" that must be abolished, and criticized nuclear powers for keeping them as threats to achieve their national interests. He said the world still bristles with more than 15,000 nuclear weapons. He renewed an invitation to Obama and other world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the scars themselves. "President Obama and other policymakers, please come to the A-bombed cities, hear the hibakusha (survivors) with your own ears, and encounter the reality of the atomic bombings," he said. "Surely, you will be impelled to start discussing a legal framework, including a nuclear weapons convention." The anniversary comes as Japan is divided over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to pass unpopular legislation to expand the country's military role internationally, a year after his Cabinet's decision to loosen Japan's war-renouncing constitution by adopting a new interpretation of it. "We must establish a broad national security framework that does not rely on use of force but is based on trust," Matsui said. He urged the Japanese government to stick with "the pacifism of the Japanese Constitution" to lead the global effort of no proliferation. Abe said that as the sole country to face a nuclear attack, Japan had a duty to push for the elimination of nuclear weapons. He pledged to promote the cause through international conferences to be held in Hiroshima later this month. With the average age of survivors exceeding 80 years for the first time this year, passing on their stories is considered an urgent task. There were 5,359 "hibakusha," or survivors, who died over the past year. The sea of people who attended the ceremony this year also included U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and representatives from more than 100 countries, including Britain, France and Russia. "Little Boy," dropped from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber, destroyed 90 percent of the city and killed an estimated 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to injuries and radiation sickness in the ensuing weeks. A "black rain" of radioactive particles followed the blinding blast and fireball, and has been linked to higher rates of cancer and other radiation-related diseases among survivors.
Japan aims to totally clean Fukushima of radiation
The Japanese city of Fukushima, whose nuclear power plant was badly damaged by a magnitude-9 earthquake, has now revealed a plan to clean every building and road of radiation, a British newspaper reported. The local government said the plan to scrub every building and road clean of radioactivity may take up to 20 years, the Daily Telegraph reported from Tokyo. “We are drawing up a plan to clean our city and the first phase of the project will be announced early next month,” said Akane Saito, a spokeswoman for the city government. The cost of the two-decade clean-up operatioon is likely to run into billions of yen. Authorities are hoping to receive funding from the national government and the Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled nuclear plant. An 18-mile exclusion zone has been declared around the plant, where emergency teams are working around the clock to keep the plant reactors cool and contain further leaks of radioactivity. However, radioactivity has gone well beyond the no-go zone. At least 10 children from Fukushima had urine samples tested for radioactivity and came back positive. “Of course I am worried about the radiation and we have no idea how it will affect us, but I’m not thinking about leaving as this is my home town and this is my job,” Saito said. “It is my responsibility to work for the people of the city.” The decontamination plan proposes using high-power hoses to wash the exteriors of buildings and then collect and dispose the radioactive debris and contaminated water. Surface soil will also be collected from schools, hospital grounds, parks and other public facilities.
Japan's Abe 'fighting against time' to seek release of hostages held by Islamic State
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that he was expending maximum efforts in a "tough fight against time" to free two hostages the Islamic State group is threatening to kill within 72 hours. Abe returned to Tokyo from a Middle East tour and told reporters he was consulting with leaders in the region. He said he instructed officials to use all possible diplomatic channels to seek the hostages' release. Abe and other government officials have not said directly whether or not Japan was considering paying the $200 million in ransom being demanded for the captives, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa. Earlier, the government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, confirmed that Japan believed the threat to be authentic and emphasized that Japan's aid to the region was not a threat to Muslims.