Press Trust of India The Congress Monday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concentrating power in the PMO in an unprecedented manner.
“There are certain traditions, practices and mannerisms in the country which call for collective responsibility and utilisation of collective wisdom… But we are seeing in the last 24 hours that all powers are being vested to the PMO,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told media persons here.
(IANS)
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has written to all state chief ministers to implement the self-certification scheme for inspection and certification of boilers under the provisions of the Boilers Act, 1923, the commerce ministry said in a statement here Monday.
“Towards this end (of radically improving the ease of doing business in the country) it is our view that self-certification and third-party certification needs to be introduced in boiler,” Sitaraman wrote.
Singer Justin Bieber has apologised for using the N-word during the filming of a 2011 documentary “Never Say Never”.
Bieber used the term when he was 17, but the documentary emerged recently, and Bieber had to issue a long apology for the racist remark, reports contactmusic.com.
The 20-year-old delivered an offensive punch line: “Run n*****, n*****, n*****, n*****, n*****”.
The Palestinian national unity government was sworn in Monday by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
As many as 13 ministers, led by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, took the oath at Abbas’s office in Ramallah, while four Gaza-based ministers could not attend the official swearing-in ceremony having been denied access into the West Bank by Israel, Xinhua reported.
This is the 17th cabinet since the creation of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1994.
Rahul Gandhi should have joined the Manmohan Singh cabinet to gain administrative experience, Congress party veteran Karan Singh has said, and noted that the next five years in opposition will be a big learning curve for the party vice-president.
He said that in his view former union minister Kamal Nath should be the party’s choice for Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha if Rahul Gandhi does not accept the role.
A court here Monday sent Indian Mujahideen operative Faizan Ahmed Sultan, an accused in the 2008 Delhi blasts, to judicial custody till June 13.
Sultan was deported from Sharjah to Delhi May 2 and arrested here by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The NIA claimed Sultan provided hiding places to top leaders of the Indian Mujahideen since 2008. His name was disclosed by an arrested Indian Mujahideen operative and later by outfit co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.
Car maker Ford India Monday said it sold 12,288 units last month, up from 5,993 sold in May 2013.
In a statement, the company said domestic sales stood at 6,053 units last month, up from 4,002 units sold in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The company exported 6,235 vehicles, against 1,991 units in the corresponding period last year.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has altered her official Bengal tour schedule to felicitate Kolkata Knight Riders on their second Indian Premier League triumph, at the Eden Gardens here Tuesday. Team owner and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan will also be present.
In a series of Facebook posts and tweets, Banerjee congratulated the Knights for their victory in Sunday’s nail-biting final and announced a felicitation programme on public demand.
“We will felicitate KKR tomorrow in Kolkata for IPL victory. There is a public demand,” she tweeted.
The Press Council of India (PCI) should be renamed and its scope should be expanded to include television as well as web and social media, its chairman Markandey Katju said Monday.
The former Supreme Court judge also said the council should be given powers to punish media publications, instead of handing down mere admonishment.
“For better regulation, both TV and electronic media, which includes web and social media, should be brought under the Press Council of India. It should also be renamed as Media Council,” said Katju at a press conference here.
Land in Noida in the neighbourhood of the national capital would be dearer as authorities Monday hiked prices of residential plots by 10 percent and industrial plots by 7 percent, officials said.
At a board meeting of the Noida authority, a decision was also taken to implement the UP Apartment Act, 2010 in Noida, officials said.
The act was passed in the UP legislative assembly during the Mayawati government. The Noida authority had December 2013 announced appointment of a competent authority for implementing the act but there was little headway in this direction.
Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, who turned 27 Monday, has given herself a gift for life – a tattoo of a star.
The “Dabangg” actress took to Twitter to share a photograph of herself and her newly acquired inking, and posted: “Surpriiiiise! My birthday gift to myself is this tattoo…My guiding star, now always with me.”
The tattoo is placed above her collarbone.
The Israeli government Sunday approved changes to guidelines on an existing surrogacy law which would allow same-sex couples and single people in the country to have children through surrogates, Xinhua reported.
The bill proposal, which would allow expanding the surrogacy eligibility in Israel beyond heterosexual couples, was initiated by Health Minister Yael German.
According to the new bill, any couple including homosexuals would be eligible to perform the procedure with up to two children. It would also allow single person to use surrogates under various terms.
Billed as one of the most exciting sporting events, the Indian Premier League (IPL) final turned into a carnival at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday as Kolkata Knight Riders took on Kings XI Punjab much to the delight of the frenzied fans.
With clouds and rain gods keeping away, about 40,000 die-hard fans packed the stadium for a cracker of a contest.
In line with its tradition, the glittering trophy was displayed at the pavilion end flanked by both the teams along with local boys and girls as the National Anthem was rendered.
An online petition to the British House of Commons has urged the politicians to create a bank holiday for Hindu Diwali and Muslim Eid festival in the country, a media report said.
The petition has 119,000 signatures and could be debated in the British parliament as the e-petition with over 100,000 signatures qualifies to be considered in the parliament under the rules of e-petition scheme in 2011, Daily Mail reported Sunday.
The two holidays would be the first non-Christian religious holidays in Britain and could lead to calls from other faiths for their events to also be recognised.
Kolkatans burst firecrackers and broke into celebrations as Kolkata Knight Riders emerged champions in the Indian Premier league Sunday, the team’s second success in the last three years.
As Piyush Chawla sent Parvinder Awana into the fence past point to score the winning runs, the Knights’ fans here “glued to the television sets since the early evening to catch the final live” jumped in joy, pumped their feasts and shouted in rejoicement.
Within minutes, the crackers started going off. A large number of people hit the streets and made merry with KKR flags.
The following is the list of the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions till now:
2008: Rajasthan Royals
2009: Deccan Chargers
2010: Chennai Super Kings
2011: Chennai Super Kings
2012: Kolkata Knight Riders
2013: Mumbai Indians
2014: Kolkata Knight Riders
(IANS)
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Piyush Chawla was the man of the moment as he hit a six off pacer Mitchell Johnson to bring his team on the threshold of victory and finished it off with a four off Parvinder Awana in the last over to script a three-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday.
The Kolkata Knight Riders clinched their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title by defeating Kings XI Punjab by three wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here Sunday.
Put in to bat, Kings XI were powered to a massive total of 199/4 by wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha who hammered an unbeaten 115 from just 55 deliveries which included 10 boundaries and eight sixes. He was given good support in the middle by Manan Vohra (67).
In reply, the Knight Riders managed the victory with only three balls left to spare after a Manish Pandey 94 took the 2012 edition champions to victory.
A day after he was removed as head of the party’s youth arm, a Trinamool Congress MP. regarded as the face of the peasant agitation at Nandigram during the Left Front regime, created a stir by claiming that he knew how many of those who have won by huge margins in the Lok Sabha polls emerged victorious and “conducted” their own elections.
“In this election, there are some others who have won by huge margins. I thank them. I know how they won, how they managed the polls,” said Subhendu Adhikari, who retained his Tamluk Lok Sabha seat this time by a two lakh plus margin.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his council of ministers Monday to discuss steps needed for efficient governance and implementation of programmes.
Modi is expected to highlight his thrust areas and seek suggestions from his ministerial colleagues at the meeting, said informed sources.
The discussions held and decisions taken are likely to be reflected in President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the joint sitting of parliament next week.
Vishnu Prasad completed a successful weekend by achieving a hat-trick of wins in the FB 02 class, in the first round of JK Tyre Racing Championship here Sunday.
The 20-year-old from Chennai demolished all opposition to make a telling statement of his talent in a repeat performance of Saturday, when he won the first of the three races.
The Volkswagen Polo R Cup, which had a starting grid in reverse order, saw rally driver Bonnie Thomas of Kerala make the most of his pole position to hold off an aggressive Angad Singh Matharoo and claim victory, denying the Punjab driver a double.
Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer failed to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time since 2004 losing in a five-set clash here Sunday to Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis.
The fourth seed was broken in his first serve game of the fifth set which eventually led to his 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 2-6, 6-4, 3-6 loss. Gulbis, seeded 18th, will face sixth seed Czech Tomas Berdych, who beat John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals, reports Xinhua.
Spain international David Villa Sunday that he will be joining New York City FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS) next season.
The move means that Villa will leave Atletico Madrid after a single season in which he helped the club win the La Liga title and reach the final of the Champions League for only the second time in their history, reports Xinhua.
Villa confirmed his departure with a video posted on the Atletico Madrid website.
Flamengo have reportedly made a bid to sign unsettled Brazil international goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
The 34-year-old is currently on loan at Toronto FC after falling out of favour at London club Queens Park Rangers last season, reports Xinhua.
According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo Saturday, the former Inter Milan stopper has been offered a salary worth more than $200,000 a month by Flamengo.
The Rio de Janeiro club is understood to be seeking suitors for their current starting goalkeeper Felipe.
The San Antonio Spurs edged the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-107 after overtime, winning the series 4-2 to book an NBA finals rematch with the Miami Heat.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs Saturday. Boris Diaw scored 26 points off the bench while Kawhi Leonard added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Manu Ginobili got 15 points, reports Xinhua.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant had 34 and 31 points respectively for the Thunder. Reggie Jackson added 21 points.
The Spurs would host the Finals Game One Thursday.
(IANS)