At least 15 killed in two blasts in Hyderabad's Dilsukh Nagar

(IBN)
Hyderabad: At least 15 people are feared to have been killed in a series of explosions on Thursday evening which took place in Dilsukh Nagar bus stand area of Hyderabad. The explosions reportedly took place near an eatery and a movie theatre at around 7 pm, following which the area was cordoned off. At least 40 people sustained injuries in the blasts.

While one of the blasts took place near Venkatadri theatre, the second one occurred near Konark theatre. According to police, while the first bomb was placed on a motorcycle, the second bomb might have been kept inside a tiffin box.
Police are yet to ascertain the number of casualties and nature of the explosions. Following the serial explosions in the state capital, high alert was sounded across Andhra Pradesh.
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The blasts took place in a crowded area, injuring at least 40 people, who were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that at least three blasts have taken place in the Andhra Pradesh capital but the site of the third explosion is yet to be ascertained. The NIA also rushed its team to the sites where the blasts occurred.
While some of those who got injured were rushed to Osmania Hospital, others were taken to some other nearby hospitals.
Reacting to the incident, TRS leader Kiran Rao said the situation in the Andhra Pradesh capital was very chaotic. "This is not a time to have political divisions...this is an attack on our country and democracy, we all are together," said Kiran Rao.
Dilsukhnagar, the area were the incident took place is a crowded area in Hyderabad, and the biggest fruit market in Andhra Pradesh.

White House Unveils Strategy To Stem Trade Secret Theft

(ABCNews)

The White House announced its strategy to protect against trade secret theft Wednesday, just one day after a report indicated a Chinese military unit may be responsible for a string of cyber attacks on American infrastructure and corporations.

“The theft of trade secrets impacts national security, undermines our global competitiveness, diminishes U.S. exports process and puts American jobs at risk,” Victoria Espinel, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, said at a White House meeting on Wednesday. “As an administration, we will be vigilant in addressing threats including corporate and state sponsored trade secret theft that jeopardize our status as the world’s leader for innovation. We will act vigorously to combat theft of U.S. trade secrets that could be used by foreign companies or by foreign governments to gain an unfair economic edge.”
Attorney General Eric Holder echoed the sentiment, saying the U.S. needs to increase cooperation and coordination “between partners at every level of government [and] improve engagement with the corporations represented in this room today.” He added that “continuing technological expansion and accelerating globalization” will only lead to a dramatic “increase in the  threat posed by trade secret theft in the years ahead.”
The administration’s plan calls for a more aggressive diplomatic push to convey concerns to countries with high incidents of trade secret thefts; it also calls for working with the private sector, increasing coordination within the law enforcement and intelligence community, ensuring laws are as effective as possible, and continuing to raise public awareness of the threats trade secret thefts pose to the country.
There was no mention Wednesday of the report that linked a Chinese military unit to cyber attacks against companies in the United States, but officials did cite cases of previous incidents with China involving trade secret theft.
“With respect to China, protection of intellectual property and trade secrets remains a serious and highly troubling issue,” said Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats, who emphasized China is not the only country involved in trade secret theft. “That’s why cyber security and protection of IPR and trade secrets are among the main items that we have discussed with the Chinese over the years in our annual strategic dialogue that we hold with the Chinese.”
Last week, the president issued an executive order that directed federal agencies to share information about electronic threats with companies working on U.S. infrastructure and required the development of a framework of cybersecurity practices to protect against risks to critical infrastructure.

Tapan Ghosh Speaks about violence in 24 Paragana-West Bengal

Tapan Ghosh Speaks about violence in 24 Paragana-West Bengal

Narendra Modi may get UK visa in May, hints Cameron

(ET)


AHMEDABAD: Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, it is reliably learnt, has informed his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh about his government's intention to grant visa to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to visit London in or around the month of May.

"Modi's visa was mentioned in the meeting on Tuesday between the two prime ministers," said a source close to the developments. The UK has been showing signs of warming up to the BJP's emerging prime ministerial candidate and it forged a partnership with the Vibrant Gujarat summit last month.

There was even some speculation that Cameron might "bump into" Modi during his recent India visit, but that was not to be. Instead, it has been decided that a team of British MPs, who will be coming to Gujarat shortly with a business delegation, would invite Modi to visit London.

The change in policy, after the visa denial in 2005 on account of Modi's alleged complicity in the 2002 riots, comes at a time when Cameron's Conservative Party would like to keep Gujarati votes. There are an estimated 850,000 Gujaratis out of around 1.5 million people of Indian origin in UK, and could influence some seats in the December 2013 elections.

The official line, as Cameron spelled out within his group, is that it makes sense to "engage with Modi without endorsing him at the moment". Modi had last visited London in August 2003 — but that was without diplomatic protocol. This time he will be visiting in his official capacity as chief minister for which Manmohan Singh will have to give him clearance.

Modi has invitations from the Conservative Friends of India, Friends of BJP and a group of MPs from the European Union to visit London. Incidentally, all programmes are scheduled for May.