One hurt in blast at Kolkata hospital

Kolkata: One person was injured Saturday in a blast at a state-run hospital here, said an official.
The blast occurred in the National Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) when sweepers were cleaning the outdoor area, said West Bengal Minister of state for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya.
'One sweeper was injured. He has been admitted to the eye ward of the hospital. But no patients were injured,' said Bhattacharya.
'It seems some miscreants kept an explosive substance outdoor, which went off. The police and bomb disposal squad personnel are at the spot. They have conducted a thorough search and given us permission to open it,' she said.

The minister said the hospital authorities have been asked to hold an inquiry and give a report by Sunday.
'If it is found that somebody attached with the hospital is involved, we will take the strongest possible action,' she said.
NMCH principal Siddhartha Chakraborty said when sweepers were cleaning the outdoor area they found one green packet lying on the floor. 'As they threw it out, it hit the wall and exploded.'
Sweeper Amit Das suffered splinter injuries in his hand, leg, eye and stomach.

One hurt in blast at Kolkata hospital

Kolkata: One person was injured Saturday in a blast at a state-run hospital here, said an official.
The blast occurred in the National Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) when sweepers were cleaning the outdoor area, said West Bengal Minister of state for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya.
'One sweeper was injured. He has been admitted to the eye ward of the hospital. But no patients were injured,' said Bhattacharya.
'It seems some miscreants kept an explosive substance outdoor, which went off. The police and bomb disposal squad personnel are at the spot. They have conducted a thorough search and given us permission to open it,' she said.

The minister said the hospital authorities have been asked to hold an inquiry and give a report by Sunday.
'If it is found that somebody attached with the hospital is involved, we will take the strongest possible action,' she said.
NMCH principal Siddhartha Chakraborty said when sweepers were cleaning the outdoor area they found one green packet lying on the floor. 'As they threw it out, it hit the wall and exploded.'
Sweeper Amit Das suffered splinter injuries in his hand, leg, eye and stomach.

Eight Karnataka ministers quit, demand chief minister's ouster

Bangalore: In fresh trouble for Karnataka's BJP government, eight ministers, loyal to scam-hit former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, quit Friday to pressure the party leadership to remove Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda. Two more are likely to follow suit.
The ministers are Jagadish Shettar (rural development), C.M. Udasi(public works), Murugesh Nirani (industries), V. Somanna (housing), Umesh Katti (agriculture), Basavaraj Bommai (water resources), Revu Naik Belamagi (libraries and animal husbandry), and M.P. Renukacharya (excise).

Gowda received the resignation letters and told the ministers that the decision on them will be taken by the party high command, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said.
Two more Yeddyurappa loyalist ministers, Shobha Karandlaje (power) and Raju Gowda (small scale industries), are also expected to meet Gowda later and submit their resignations.

In New Delhi, BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka affairs Dharmendra Pradhan said, 'The leadership is in touch with all important Karnataka leaders'.
'We are hopeful the crisis will be resolved soon,' he said.
In Bangalore, Udasi justified the move to quit the ministry. 'For several months there were differences between the chief minister and several ministers. Since there was no resolution of this issue, we have quit.'

'We waited all these days for decision of our high command. We cannot wait any longer,' he said after the eight met Gowda here and gave him the letters of resignation.
'Our demand is to make Jagadish Shettar the chief minister. We are hopeful that the party leaders will accept it,' added Udasi.
If the BJP high command does not act on the resignation letters, several lawmakers loyal to Yeddyurappa may also quit to keep the pressure up for Gowda's removal.
'Next step is resignation by legislators loyal to Yeddyurappa,' B.P. Harish, a staunch follower of the former chief minister, told reporters.

The eight ministers and several lawmakers met Yeddyurappa late Friday to decide their next steps in their campaign for leadership change in the state.
The Karnataka development is bound to severely embarrass the BJP as it comes ahead of next month's presidential poll, where the party is backing former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma against the ruling United Progressive Alliance candidate, former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The party may be left red-faced if it does not solve the crisis before the voting scheduled for July 19 as there is every possibility of the dissidents in Karnataka voting for Mukherjee.
Early this month the BJP was left embarrassed as 12 party lawmakers voted for an Independent candidate in the polls to the legislative council.

Yeddyurappa and his group are pushing for Shettar to replace Gowda. This strategy was adopted after Yeddyurappa failed to convince BJP national leaders to again make him the chief minister, in spite of around a dozen corruption and illegal cases against him in Karnataka courts.
He lost all hopes after the Central Bureau of Investigation started its probe into mining bribery charges against him on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The BJP came to power for the first time in Karnataka in May 2008 with Yeddyurappa as chief minister. He quit July last year over mining bribery charges and Gowda took over Aug 4.
The four-year BJP rule has been marred by scams and dissidence. Around 20 of the 120 BJP lawmakers, including Yeddyurappa, in the 225-member assembly, are fighting corruption and illegal land deal cases.
Assembly elections are due May next year. There is speculation that the polls may be advanced to December this year in view of the unending problems faced by the ruling BJP.

Eight Karnataka ministers quit, demand chief minister's ouster

Bangalore: In fresh trouble for Karnataka's BJP government, eight ministers, loyal to scam-hit former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, quit Friday to pressure the party leadership to remove Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda. Two more are likely to follow suit.
The ministers are Jagadish Shettar (rural development), C.M. Udasi(public works), Murugesh Nirani (industries), V. Somanna (housing), Umesh Katti (agriculture), Basavaraj Bommai (water resources), Revu Naik Belamagi (libraries and animal husbandry), and M.P. Renukacharya (excise).

Gowda received the resignation letters and told the ministers that the decision on them will be taken by the party high command, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said.
Two more Yeddyurappa loyalist ministers, Shobha Karandlaje (power) and Raju Gowda (small scale industries), are also expected to meet Gowda later and submit their resignations.

In New Delhi, BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka affairs Dharmendra Pradhan said, 'The leadership is in touch with all important Karnataka leaders'.
'We are hopeful the crisis will be resolved soon,' he said.
In Bangalore, Udasi justified the move to quit the ministry. 'For several months there were differences between the chief minister and several ministers. Since there was no resolution of this issue, we have quit.'

'We waited all these days for decision of our high command. We cannot wait any longer,' he said after the eight met Gowda here and gave him the letters of resignation.
'Our demand is to make Jagadish Shettar the chief minister. We are hopeful that the party leaders will accept it,' added Udasi.
If the BJP high command does not act on the resignation letters, several lawmakers loyal to Yeddyurappa may also quit to keep the pressure up for Gowda's removal.
'Next step is resignation by legislators loyal to Yeddyurappa,' B.P. Harish, a staunch follower of the former chief minister, told reporters.

The eight ministers and several lawmakers met Yeddyurappa late Friday to decide their next steps in their campaign for leadership change in the state.
The Karnataka development is bound to severely embarrass the BJP as it comes ahead of next month's presidential poll, where the party is backing former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma against the ruling United Progressive Alliance candidate, former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The party may be left red-faced if it does not solve the crisis before the voting scheduled for July 19 as there is every possibility of the dissidents in Karnataka voting for Mukherjee.
Early this month the BJP was left embarrassed as 12 party lawmakers voted for an Independent candidate in the polls to the legislative council.

Yeddyurappa and his group are pushing for Shettar to replace Gowda. This strategy was adopted after Yeddyurappa failed to convince BJP national leaders to again make him the chief minister, in spite of around a dozen corruption and illegal cases against him in Karnataka courts.
He lost all hopes after the Central Bureau of Investigation started its probe into mining bribery charges against him on the direction of the Supreme Court.

The BJP came to power for the first time in Karnataka in May 2008 with Yeddyurappa as chief minister. He quit July last year over mining bribery charges and Gowda took over Aug 4.
The four-year BJP rule has been marred by scams and dissidence. Around 20 of the 120 BJP lawmakers, including Yeddyurappa, in the 225-member assembly, are fighting corruption and illegal land deal cases.
Assembly elections are due May next year. There is speculation that the polls may be advanced to December this year in view of the unending problems faced by the ruling BJP.

Egypt President-elect Mohamed Mursi hails Tahrir crowds
Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Mursi has praised crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of protests that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.
Thousands had gathered to protest against decrees issued by Egypt's military rulers.
Mr Mursi swore a symbolic oath before the crowd, telling them they were 'the source of all authority'.

Mr Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected civilian president, will officially be sworn in on Saturday.
He promised to be a 'president for all Egyptians', adding: 'The revolution must continue until all its objectives are met.'

He added: 'I promise you that I will not give up on any of the powers given to the president' - a veiled reference to recent decrees by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).'Dignity'

He also pledged to work for the release of civilians detained by the military, and to seek justice for those killed and injured in last year's uprising.
He also said he would work to free militant Islamist Omar Abdel-Rahman, imprisoned in the US over the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993.

At one point Mr Mursi opened his jacket to show the crowd he was not wearing a bulletproof vest, saying: 'I am reassured, thanks be to God and to you. I fear nobody but God.'
Mr Mursi also promised to take steps to develop Egypt's struggling economy and to conduct foreign affairs with 'dignity'.

Mr Mursi is due to be sworn in on Saturday at 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT) before the country's Supreme Constitutional Court.
Spokesmen for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mr Mursi belongs, had previously said he would take his oath before parliament, which was dissolved by the Scaf last week.

The assembly, elected last November, was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and other Islamists.
The Scaf also issued a declaration giving itself sweeping legislative powers and control over defence policy, and announcing the appointment of a panel to write a new constitution.
Another controversial decision by the Scaf to give military police powers of arrest was suspended by a court earlier this week.Strained relations

Handling relations with the Scaf is likely to be a key test for Mr Mursi as he begins his term of office.
Protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on Thursday chanted slogans against the military and in support of Mr Mursi.'I'm here to tell the military council that we, the people, elected parliament so it is only us, the people, who can dissolve it,' Intissar al-Sakka, a protestor from the FJP, told the Reuters news agency.
The Scaf had previously said it would hand over power to Mr Mursi by the end of the month.
However, Scaf member Major-General Mohamed al-Assar told Egyptian media earlier this week that the head of Scaf, Field-Marshal Hussein Tantawi, would remain as defence minister under Mr Mursi.
Earlier, Mr Mursi performed Friday prayers at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque, one of the most prominent seats of learning in Sunni Islam.
He has sought to allay fears among some secular and Coptic Christian Egyptians that he will use his presidency to impose Islamic law.
Mr Mursi's campaign has said he plans to appoint a woman and a Coptic Christian as his vice-presidents.BBC

Egypt President-elect Mohamed Mursi hails Tahrir crowds
Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Mursi has praised crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of protests that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.
Thousands had gathered to protest against decrees issued by Egypt's military rulers.
Mr Mursi swore a symbolic oath before the crowd, telling them they were 'the source of all authority'.

Mr Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected civilian president, will officially be sworn in on Saturday.
He promised to be a 'president for all Egyptians', adding: 'The revolution must continue until all its objectives are met.'

He added: 'I promise you that I will not give up on any of the powers given to the president' - a veiled reference to recent decrees by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).'Dignity'

He also pledged to work for the release of civilians detained by the military, and to seek justice for those killed and injured in last year's uprising.
He also said he would work to free militant Islamist Omar Abdel-Rahman, imprisoned in the US over the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993.

At one point Mr Mursi opened his jacket to show the crowd he was not wearing a bulletproof vest, saying: 'I am reassured, thanks be to God and to you. I fear nobody but God.'
Mr Mursi also promised to take steps to develop Egypt's struggling economy and to conduct foreign affairs with 'dignity'.

Mr Mursi is due to be sworn in on Saturday at 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT) before the country's Supreme Constitutional Court.
Spokesmen for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mr Mursi belongs, had previously said he would take his oath before parliament, which was dissolved by the Scaf last week.

The assembly, elected last November, was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and other Islamists.
The Scaf also issued a declaration giving itself sweeping legislative powers and control over defence policy, and announcing the appointment of a panel to write a new constitution.
Another controversial decision by the Scaf to give military police powers of arrest was suspended by a court earlier this week.Strained relations

Handling relations with the Scaf is likely to be a key test for Mr Mursi as he begins his term of office.
Protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on Thursday chanted slogans against the military and in support of Mr Mursi.'I'm here to tell the military council that we, the people, elected parliament so it is only us, the people, who can dissolve it,' Intissar al-Sakka, a protestor from the FJP, told the Reuters news agency.
The Scaf had previously said it would hand over power to Mr Mursi by the end of the month.
However, Scaf member Major-General Mohamed al-Assar told Egyptian media earlier this week that the head of Scaf, Field-Marshal Hussein Tantawi, would remain as defence minister under Mr Mursi.
Earlier, Mr Mursi performed Friday prayers at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque, one of the most prominent seats of learning in Sunni Islam.
He has sought to allay fears among some secular and Coptic Christian Egyptians that he will use his presidency to impose Islamic law.
Mr Mursi's campaign has said he plans to appoint a woman and a Coptic Christian as his vice-presidents.BBC