Asian News International

Asian News International. Multi-media news agency, content for information platforms: TV, Internet, broadband, newspapers, mobiles.

Top 10 blue-chips add Rs 97,648 cr to m-cap

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As the BSE Sensex gained over 1,000 points last week, the top 10 companies saw a combined addition of over Rs 97,648 crore to market capitalisation during the past week.

Each of these firms saw its m-cap rise but the biggest gainer was TCS which added Rs 27,255.70 crore to its market worth. Its m-cap swelled to Rs 5,10,160.5 crore.

TCS remained at number one, followed by ONGC, Reliance, ITC, Coal India, Infosys, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma.

Government committed to upliftment of specially-abled children, assures PM Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured the nation that his government is taking measures for the welfare of specially-abled children.

Addressing the nation over All India Radio for the second time in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, Prime Minister Modi praised the officers of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development for coming up with two innovative schemes for specially-abled children.

New research shows childhood leukemia and air pollution are linked

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Researchers have suggested a theory in which a previously reported risk of leukemia among children born close to overhead power lines could be caused by an alteration to surrounding air pollution.

The new study found little evidence to support the ‘corona-ion hypothesis’ which claims that the excess of childhood leukemia cases are due to close high-voltage overhead power lines in the UK.

Smartphone app to analyse speech, mental health

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A new smartphone app can analyse your speech and use it to gain information about your mental health, scientists say.

Researchers from the University of Maryland in US showed that certain vocal features change as patients’ feelings of depression worsen.

Rather than relying solely on patients’ self-reports, the app could monitor both physical and psychological symptoms of mental illness on a regular basis and provide both patients and their mental health providers with feedback about their status.

India will be future centre of power: Nizar Juma

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India will be the future centre of power even as the nation is yet to recognise its potential which other countries have realised, Kenya-based industrialist and Adidas Team Sport’s CMD Nizar Juma said today.

“India has dazzled the world over in the past two decades with a stunning display of domestic economic growth, entrepreneurial ability at home and abroad, and emergence as a world power in information technology,” said Juma, who is the founder and coordinator of The Future of Power initiative.

Over 300 died in 9 years in communal incidents in UP: RTI

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Over 300 people lost their lives and 3,000 were injured in incidents of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh in last nine years, according to a RTI reply.

According to information received through the RTI for the period of 2005-2014, 1,271 communal incidents have taken place in Uttar Pradesh in the last nine years, out of which 56 were recorded in 2014 in which 10 persons died and 144 were injured.

In the 1,271 incidents, 336 people lost their lives and 3,107 were injured.

Campaign by Indian-Americans led to Indo-US civil N-deal: Book

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It was a grassroot campaign by Indian-Americans, who literally flooded their lawmakers with emails, letters and faxes, that saw the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement pass through the Congress, says a new book on the unprecedented coming together of the community for the deal.

Leading Indian-American entrepreneur and activist Swadesh Chatterjee in his book ‘Building Bridges: How Indian-Americans Brought the United States and India Closer Together’, provides a first-hand account of the involvement of the influential community in getting the deal through the US Congress.

Mouse hunt delays New York bound flight by 5 hours

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In an unusual incident, a mouse in the cockpit of a Norwegian airline delayed a flight to New York by five hours.

The incident happened on Tuesday aboard a Norwegian Air Shuttle airplane when a mouse was spotted while the plane was preparing to take off.

Staff frantically began to search the cabin for the rodent, but the flight ended up being delayed by five hours until the mouse was finally captured, ‘The Local’ reported.

“A mouse was discovered aboard the plane, which delayed the departure,” Norwegian Air Shuttle’s spokesperson, Charlotte Holmberg Jacobsson, said.

1984 anti-Sikh riots: Accused in 7 cases out of 255 convicted

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Accused in seven cases out of the 255 lodged in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots have been convicted by September this year, an RTI query has found.

27 accused in the seven cases were convicted while 591 accused in as many as 121 cases were acquitted, according to the RTI query.

Delhi-based RTI activist Gopal Prasad had filed a query with the anti-riots cell of Delhi Police, which was constituted in 1990, asking for details about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Appeal on granite probe was to prevent delay: TN CM

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Amid demands from DMK that orders be issued to enable U Sagayam to go ahead with the probe into illegal granite quarrying, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said the government’s appeal in the Madras High Court against appointing the IAS officer as legal commissioner was to prevent delay in the issue.

The Tamil Nadu government went on appeal against the Madras High Court order, appointing Sagayam as legal commissioner as the probe to bring out the scam was over and due legal processes were initiated against those involved, he said in a statement here.

Thailand boosts security in restive south

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Security was beefed up in Thailand’s Muslim-dominated southern border province of Pattani following separate bomb attacks at four places recently.

The Friday attacks in Muang district killed one and injured two others. Authorities yesterday said the attacks were carried out by the same group.

The unrest in restive region has left 5,634 people dead and 10,554 injured between January 1, 2004 till Friday, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) said.

Last month there were 39 attacks in Yala Pattani and Narathiwat. Nine people were killed and 23 others were injured.

Maharashtra: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis allots cabinet portfolios, keeps Home, Housing, Health with himself

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today allocated portfolios to his ten-member council of ministers while keeping the Home, Urban Development, Housing and Health departments with himself.

As per the information provided by the CMO, the portfolios not specifically allocated to any minister will be with the Chief Minister.

Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse has been given revenue, minorities development and wakf, agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, and state excise.

‘Gold may decline to Rs 24,500 by Dec if rupee stays constant’

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Gold prices are likely to decline further to around Rs 24,500 per 10 grams by December if the rupee continues to rule at the current level, according to analysts.

“We expect the gold prices to remain bearish and if the rupee continue to rule at current level the yellow metal may touch Rs 24,500 level by December. We expect gold to consolidate in a week or two, then continue to decline further from mid or end of December,” Motilal Oswal Associate Vice President – Commodities – Kishore Narne told PTI here.

Bar bribe: Vigilance to probe charge against Kerala finance minister

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Hit by the “bar bribe controversy”, the Congress-led UDF Government in Kerala today announced a vigilance probe into the allegation by bar owners that state Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) supremo K M Mani had demanded a hefty sum for favourable decisions.

State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau had been asked to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” into the allegation.

Sanitation work of five more wards privatised in BMC

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The Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) has privatised sanitation work in five more wards. With this, sanitation work has so far been been privatised in 22 of 40 wards in this south Odisha city.

Sanitary workers of the newly-privatised wards would be diverted to non-privatised wards for better sanitation works, said Commissioner of the Corporation Anjana Panda. Around 550 sanitary workers of the Corporation would look after the 18 wards.

Bangladeshi media doyen Mir Quasem Ali gets death for 1971 war crimes

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A top leader of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party and Bangladeshi media doyen Mir Quasem Ali was sentenced to death today by a special tribunal for war crimes he committed during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971, days after the party’s chief was given capital punishment on identical charges.

“He (Ali) shall be hanged by neck until he is dead,” pronounced chairman of the three-member tribunal as the 62-year-old Jamaat leader looked bewildered on the dock.

BJP government failed to curb crime in Rajasthan: Congress leader Virendra Beniwal

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Former state Home Minister Virendra Beniwal today alleged that the BJP government has “failed to curb crime” in the last eleven months of its rule and were “unable to provide fearless atmosphere” to the people in Rajasthan.

Crime was rising as the BJP government failed to curb the activities of anti-social elements indulged in loot, rape, murder and robberies besides rampant corruption in government machinery, Beniwal told villagers yesterday at Lunkaransar, his old constituency.

Wear your sweatshirt right

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A sweatshirt is a must-have item in your autumn-winter wardrobe. Mix it up with jeggings or team it up with hot pants to jazz up the look.

Sweatshirts are not only comfortable and cosy, but they can be high on style and apt for different occasions, if worn the right way.

Pop star Rihanna, for example, wore one with a pair of denim cut-offs. Her red lips, blown-out tresses and nude heels ensured a feminine edge to her look, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Want ‘Fury’ haircut? Hakim Aalim’s giving it for free

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Celebrity hairstylist Hakim Aalim, who boasts of Bollywood clients like Arjun Rampal, Sunil Shetty and Shahid Kapoor, is now set to give a free haircut to all those who want the commando look from Brad Pitt-starrer “Fury”.

Aalim has tied up with PVR pictures for their next film “Fury” where he is giving free haircuts to all the “Fury” fans who wish to copy the look, said a statement.

The new style is called the Undercut and it has reportedly became a huge rage internationally, especially now because of Pitt.

No remake of ‘Kaththi’ in Telugu

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Vijay-starrer Tamil actioner “Kaththi”, which has turned out to be a blockbuster, won’t have a Telugu remake as the makers have decided to have a dubbed release instead.

The dubbed version is slated for a Nov 21 release.

“There were plans to remake the film, but these have been scrapped now. The Telugu producer has decided to go ahead and release the dubbed version,” a source from the production team told IANS.

Actor Pawan Kalyan was to star in the film’s Telugu remake. A special screening of the film was organised for him recently.

Air strikes in Pakistan kill 13 militants

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At least 13 suspected militants were killed in air strikes on their hideouts in the Khyber Agency while two soldiers lost their lives in apparent retaliatory attacks, media reported Sunday.

Officials said that helicopter gunships and military planes targeted the banned Lashkar-i-Islam group’s bases in Nala-Malikdin Khel, Akkakhel and Sipah areas Saturday, Dawn online reported.

Besides 13 militants killed, eight others were injured and five hideouts destroyed in the air strike.

Sources said that five soldiers also suffered injuries in gun battles in different parts of Bara.

Dysfunctional protein causes Alzheimer’s

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Debunking a prevalent theory of Alzheimer’s development, researchers have now found that it is not the amyloid-beta (A-beta) protein fragments but the tau tangle proteins which are the real culprits behind the disease.

Plaque made of beta-amyloid protein fragments and tangles formed from tau proteins are familiar hallmarks of disease in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Tau protein spurs neuron death in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, showed the findings that could explain why some people with plaque build-up in their brains do not have dementia.

Jamaat leader sentenced to death for war crimes

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Mir Quasem Ali, a top leader of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to death Sunday for crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2, chaired by Justice Obaidul Hassan, passed the sentence, nearly six months after a case against him was wrapped up, bdnews24.com reported.

–IANS

BSF recovers 22 kg heroin in Punjab, three arrested

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Border Security Force (BSF) troopers Sunday arrested three smugglers and recovered 22 kg of heroin along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, officials said.

Earlier reports quoted BSF sources as saying that one smuggler was shot dead and two others were arrested, and 22 kg of heroin was seized from the Dera Baba Nanak sector.

A BSF spokesman later said all the three arrested smugglers are Indian nationals. One pistol, ammunition, and Pakistani SIM cards were recovered from them.