New Delhi, Nov.28 (ANI): An Australian woman has become the first foreigner in India to report her husband to the police for harassing her for more dowry.

The charge is common in India where women are routinely abused and tortured by their husbands and in-laws for more money, but, according to a report in theage.com.au,  police in Hyderabad were surprised when blonde Samantha Sewell, 30, walked through their door.

Samantha accused her husband, Mario Campbell, 32, of extorting 50,000 Australian dollars (Rupees 1.75 million) from her since 2001 when she married him, just two months after they first met. She fell in love with him at a Sydney casino.

"I loved him and kept hoping that if I gave him what he asked for, he would change. I just wouldn't accept that he had married me for my money and not because he loved me," Ms Sewell told The Age.

She says another Indian man was stalking her at the time she met Campbell.

Campbell, who was running a private detective business in Sydney despite having entered the country in 1996 on a student visa, comforted Ms Sewell, promising to protect her from the stalker. Having won her trust and love, he then pressed her to marry him, arguing that they would be separated if he failed to gain a permanent residency.

"He said he had done something for me about the stalker and now I had to do something for him. He told me he loved me and said we might never see each other if he had to leave Australia."

Now, though, she is convinced that the "stalker", a friend of Campbell, was merely part of a plot to scare her and push her into Campbell's arms.

After their wedding, the couple travelled to India for a traditional Indian ceremony. Later, they left for London where they ran a web development business.

In London, Campbell used Sewell's money and, she claims, was physically abusive on several occasions.

When they returned to India in 2004 she applied to the Australian High Commission for a permanent residency for him.

His application was rejected. "They hinted at something about him, about his past record and his criminal background and I went 'Oh gosh', but I still didn't quite grasp what they meant," she said.

The couple have been living separately since 2005, but MarioCampbell continued demanding money by telephone and email, she says.

On one occasion, she sent him money to buy two plots of land for her in Hyderabad, but discovered he had registered the land in his mother's name.

Sewell went to Hyderabad three weeks ago after hearing that Campbell had remarried. At his home, Campbell and his mother badgered her for more money. When she said she would divorce him, he said that he would agree only if she paid him.

She then went to the police, charging him under the country's draconian anti-dowry laws. The laws, designed to protect Indian women, assume a man is guilty until proven innocent. Campbell is in jail. He has told an Indian news channel that he is innocent.

"You have to live with someone to harass them over dowry," he said. "I'm the one who's helped her with money, not the other way round."

The court case is likely to take years. The Indian legal system is clogged with 20 million pending cases. (ANI)
--MP

Hyderabad, Nov.28 (ANI): Going by the adage all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, two enterprising young mothers of Hyderabad have set up a Kids' Library here to integrate learning and playing.

Sisters-in-law by relation, Pragya and Heena, opened the Kids'Library at Barkatpura, an upper middle class neighbourhood in Hyderabad, in early September this year.

At the Kids Library, children can take home a book and a toy for a week in exchange of monthly fees of rupees 100 besides an annual security deposit of rupees 500.

"Though we are living in a joint family but we found it tough meeting with the demands of kids different toys every time. We thought that even other parents must be having the same problem with their kids. So, we thought of opening such a library which would be useful to them," said Pragya, co-founder, Kids' Library.

"Parents can take one book and a toy for a week and can get it changed the next week," she added. 

The library offers a huge variety of toys and also books on a wide range of topics for kids' learning.

Kids' Library was a big hit within a fortnight of being opened, as hundreds of children with their parents in tow queued up to become members.

The special library allows the kids to enjoy playing as well as learning by reciting their favourite rhymes and reading story books.

Children arriving here enjoy flipping through various books on interesting themes and playing with toys of their choice after a tiring day at the school and finishing their school homework.

"I really like this place because I already have so many toys but I need some more toys which I get here. I also take some books and toys to my house," said Chetna, a member of the Kids' Library.

"It's very interesting. Moreover, it provides us with more confidence and knowledge. It's fun coming here and we quickly complete our home tasks to come here. Mostly, we take books because they are very nice but the toys are the best," said Gauravi, another kid member.

"It's very nice, a very new and innovative concept. We cannot afford all the toys at a time and moreover, they need more space. But here I am getting lots of toys and books every week," said Daksha Sharma, a mother. (ANI)
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Hyderabad, Nov 2 (ANI): Cases will be filed against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, Sharad Pawar, and three others for alleged misappropriation of funds during the third one-day international match between India and Australia here on October 5.

Acting on a complaint filed by a former Rajya Sabha member P Radhakrishna, the Third Metropolitan Magistrate of Cyberabad issued the order to lodge an FIR against the BCCI President and BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, Hyderabad Cricket Association President G Vinod and Secretary Shivlal Yadav.

Radhakrishna has contended in the petition that the board sold 24,000 tickets for a premium and made huge money, while only 15,000 tickets were made available for general public, misappropriating Rs 12 crore in the process. (ANI)
--MP

Hyderabad, Nov 25 (ANI): The fifth edition of Hyderabad 10k & Half Marathon saw a record participation on Sunday.

Out of 34,000 people, who had registered themselves for this run, around 30,000 participated from all walks of life.

In 10K Run, people ran around the great Hussain Sagar Lake and in the 21k Half Marathon they ran all the way to Charminar and back.

"It is a great run. It was a pretty nice run early in the morning and it went off very well. A lot of importance is given to health these days and people would love to get in shape and this is a good opportunity for people to improve their health," said Mahesh, a participant.

Both Indians and foreigners working with MNC (Multinational companies) were seen enjoying the run.

"It is a beautiful morning to run, it was great and the scenery was terrific. Overall, it was a terrific morning," said Bill, a foreigner.

Children were also seen enjoying the run, which was aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle and to bring people together.

The winner of the 10 K run was Vipul Saharia. He won Rs. 70,000 while Henry Ho from Kenya won the half marathon and walked away with Rs. 1.2 lakh. (ANI)
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Hyderabad, Nov 17 (ANI/Business Wire India): Good Luck Domains, the leader in sponsored and country code top level domain names, today announced unprecedented special pricing for the .IN domain name.

"We have taken prices down to unprecedented levels, in partnership with the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), the authority for the .IN Registry," said Uma Murali, President and CEO of Good Luck Domains.

"Business and individuals have a unique opportunity to invest in one of the world's fastest growing economies and establish their presence online," Uma added.

Good Luck Domains has announced special pricing for .in domain name and Webhosting for one GB @ Rs.999/- .

The .IN domain has become one of the world's fastest growing domain names, increasing to over 250,000 domains in less than two years time.

"India's largest blue chip clients, who are Good Luck Domains' customers, are availing this opportunity to register their brands and products, in addition to their company name," said Uma.

"This is very smart and allows them to protect their products and services from cyber squatters at a low cost," Uma added.

Good Luck Domains offers a complete suite of services to ensure clients get their names in the highly competitive domain name marketplace.

"As one of India's leading domain registrars, clients prefer us for our full service registrar, including cheap web hosting, search engine optimization (SEO) and low-cost web design," added Uma. (ANI)

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Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 15 (ANI):  Bollywood's star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai visited Ameen Peer Dargah, a revered Muslim shrine, here on Thursday.

The Bollywood's first couple, as referred by some, was accompanied with Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

It may be recalled that Abhishek and Aishwarya, who were married in April this year, have been visiting holy shrines after their marriage.

The couple also offered a 'chadar' and conducted special prayers at the dargah.

Bachchan fans thronged the dargah to have a glimpse of the couple.

After spending around three hours at the Dargah, Amar Singh and the Bachchans left for Bangalore.

Prominent Bollywood personalities and politicians are regular visitors of this shrine. (ANI)
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Hyderabad, Nov 14 (ANI/Business Wire India): Openbravo, the developer of the leading professional web-based open source ERP solution designed specifically for small and medium businesses, is ramping up its presence in emerging markets, starting with a series of training sessions in India.

Manel Sarasa, CEO of Openbravo said, "We have huge demand from emerging markets, where ERP usage has historically been low. The market is growing rapidly, but proprietary ERP vendors have been slow to meet the needs of mid-market companies. India has a very strong sense of innovation and we see many businesses, government organizations and institutions that are keen to adopt new models of working and are embracing open source technologies as a core part of this innovation."

The first series of training sessions will take place in Hyderabad. It will meet the growing interest in open source which is taking place across India.

The training program is part of a larger initiative by Openbravo to support open source adoption worldwide by increasing the knowledge and capabilities of system integrators.

To achieve this, Openbravo has created an intensive five-day 'Get Ready' training program. It will provide an excellent opportunity for companies to accelerate their knowledge of Openbravo ERP through the combination of intensive instructor-led on-site training and self-training activities.

The training covers the business opportunity presented by open source, the ERP market, and the capabilities and flexibility offered by Openbravo ERP as well as all functional and technical aspects.

Detailed materials and a specialized training environment will ensure that all delegates receive ongoing training.

This initiative shows once more Openbravo's determination to support the demand for open source solutions and to strive to support its award-winning ERP solution across the globe.

Lluis Llavina, Channel Management Director of Openbravo, said, "We are highly committed to helping businesses around the world develop a successful practice around open source ERP. That is why we have decided to launch such a special initiative. in which we strive to meet each nation's individual cultural and economic expectations in the training we provide, in order to facilitate access to our community. We have chosen India as the country to deliver our first ever "Get Ready" intensive training because of the high interest received so far and Openbravo's business commitment to this territory in future."

The training will take place in Hyderabad from December 3 to December 7. (ANI)

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AY: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), which was formed to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the greenfield airport at Shamshabad, started trial operation programmes in early September this year. While the opening of the airport is five months away, work is going on at a frantic pace to ensure that all activities come on line smoothly for the transfer of business from the existing airport to the one at Shamshabad. The cost of the first phase of the project that is to be commissioned in March is estimated at Rs 2,478 crore. As per the current airline scheduling, Lufthansa will be the first airline to land and take off from the new greenfield airport. At the moment, according to existing airline schedules, Air India is expected to be the second airline to use the new airport.

Labels: Tourism

AY: Cotton output has started arriving in Andhra Pradesh's market with the state expected to see an increase in production. According to traders, around 12,000 bales of new Bt Cotton crop have arrived in various markets of Andhra. According to state agricultural officials cotton was cultivated in Andhra Pradesh in 26.5 lakh acres this year against 23 lakh acres last year. The total production in the state was over 41 lakh bales last year. Farmers in the state are demanding Rs 500 more for their crop. Their argument is that they spent Rs 15,000-20,000 an acre and achieved an average 10-12 quintal production an acre. The CCI is offering Rs 2,050 a quintal, Rs 40 more than it paid last year for 30 mm staple length with 3.4 to 4.7 micronaire and moisture up to 8 per cent.

Labels: Business

AY: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is in talks with the Hinduja group for forging a strategic partnership in its proposed $6 billion refinery at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director, R.S. Sharma said the project was expected to cost Rs. 24,000-25,000 crore and would take three to four years to build.

The company has sought fiscal incentives like exemption from local levies and free of cost land.

Mr. Sharma said the project was proposed to be built by a special purpose vehicle, Kakinada Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., in which ONGC will have a 46 per cent stake. Another three per cent will be held by ONGC's subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited. The remaining stake would be held by a strategic partner and financial institutions.

Labels: Business, Kakinada