Press Trust of India Indian lyricist, Gobinda Halder, whose songs inspired millions in Bangladesh during its 1971 liberation war, died at a city hospital Saturday following old age and kidney complications, his family said. He was 84.
Halder is survived by wife Parul and daughter Gopa.
Eminent writers, film makers, musicians and political activists Saturday came together under the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 umbrella to express their solidarity for Tamil writer Perumal Murugan through a mass reading of a portion of his withdrawn book “Madhorubhagan”.
Gathered at the Aspinwall Pavilion, they lauded the biennale foundation for creating “a space for artists to voice protest”.
Eight members of the Censor Board, including Ira Bhaskar, Saturday resigned saying the events that led to chairperson Leela Samson quitting were “merely the proverbial last straw” and also protested the “cavalier and dismissive manner” in which the board is treated by the government.
India welcomed the rise of 15 percent in Japanese companies coming to the country during 2014 and stressed that Japan is a key partner in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ Initiative, during talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida here Saturday.
Both leaders held extensive discussions spread over four hours, beginning for the first time with a restricted session which lasted for 45 minutes. The two ministers were then joined by a multi-ministry delegation, said official sources.
The Odisha government has sought five months’ time from the Centre for obtaining forest clearance for five mines of the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a state government PSU.
While one mine has already shut down, four mines operated by OMC face closure if they does not obtain clearance for the entire forest land within the lease area by Jan 31.
In a daring daylight robbery in the heart of the city, a bank cash van was looted of Rs.1.35 crore by unidentified robbers Saturday when the vehicle was going to load cash in an ATM, police said.
The robbery took place at the Bank of Baroda ATM near Deep hotel when employees of a private security company were loading cash into the ATM.
Police officials told IANS that prima facie they suspected the role of the driver and guard of the cash van and said that the duo had been detained for questioning by the crime branch and the local police.
Developing countries like India must foster cooperation among regulatory bodies and investors to attract investments, cited panellists at the ongoing “The Partnership Summit 2015” organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
“Developing countries must prioritise the creation of an enabling macro-environment and foster cooperation among regulatory bodies, financial sector agencies and investors,” said Phil O’Reilly, chairman, business and industry advisory committee to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Saturday handed over the first indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha here.
Marking the formal handing over of the multi-role fighter built by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) under the limited series production of 20 aircraft (Mark-1 version), the minister presented technical documents to Raha in the presence of HAL chairman R.K. Tyagi.
Hosts Australia failed to secure top spot in Group A of the Asian Cup football competition, succumbing to a 0-1 loss against South Korea in Brisbane Saturday.
South Korea went ahead courtesy of Lee Jeong-Hyeop’s first-half opener. But the Socceroos, despite their best efforts, just couldn’t find the equaliser in the last round match of the group, reports Xinhua.
The result meant Australia would play China in a quarter-final clash Thursday, while group toppers South Korea face the winner of Sunday’s match between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.
The government of Assam has fixed Rs.169 as the minimum daily wage for unskilled tea plantation workers in the state.
According to a statement from the state government, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked the commissioner and secretary of labour and employment to ensure the compliance.
The minimum wage will also be applicable for unskilled workers in other industries.
Award-winning British playwright and author Hanif Kureishi Saturday praised Indians for their continued interest in literature and said the nation is the “most literate” country in the world.
Kureishi, who is of Pakistani descent, is the author of numerous novels, short story collections, screenplays, plays and his work has been translated into 36 languages. His screenplay of “My Beautiful Laundrette” won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
The Punjab government on Saturday banned the screening of controversial film “MSG – The Messenger Of God” in the state. The movie features the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, as the main lead.
Official sources said that the ban on screening the film has been imposed following intelligence inputs that its screening could lead to tension in the state.
A court in Punjab’s Patiala town Saturday sent extradited Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara – convicted in the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh – to five-day police custody.
Tara was produced before the court of the duty magistrate by Punjab Police in connection with the murder of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat chief Rulda Singh.
The leader was shot at in his house in Patiala district July 28, 2009.
Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Tara was extradited by authorities in Thailand Friday and a Punjab Police team was given custody of the terrorist in Bangkok.
A perpetrator of the Sep 26 abduction of 43 students in Mexico was arrested by the federal security forces, media reported.
The arrest was revealed by the Mexican attorney general’s office Friday.
The suspect, Felipe Rodriguez, has been described as a “material author of the homicide in the Ayotzinapa case”.
He was apprehended Thursday night in Jiutepec, a town in the central Mexican state of Morelos, sources with the federal police told Efe.
Breaking societal stereotypes, nine transgenders from across India have come together to take a musical step towards establishing their identity by lending their voices to an album that was launched here Saturday.
Titled “Songs of the Caravan”, the album has 13 songs representing nine states – Manipur, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu – to give it a pan-India flavour.
The album was conceptualised by Jeevan Trust, a NGO that works for underprivileged and disadvantaged communities.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court Saturday sentenced two Pakistani Taliban men to death for the deadly attack on an Ahmadi place of worship in 2010, media reported.
The ATC sentenced Abdullah to death on nine counts, whereas Moavia was given the death penalty on seven counts. Both were also slapped with a fine of 3.3 lakh US dollars, Dawn reported.
The ATC hearing took place at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, where the convicts are incarcerated.
Less than a month away from the cricket World Cup, all those touted as prospective favourites are fiercely involved in a tri or bilateral series. India are among the front-runners as reigning champions. Also, the limited overs format is considered their best suit.
The Odisha government has rejected over 1.45 lakh individual and community claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, till Dec 2014.
The state government has informed the union ministry of tribal affairs that 1,45,225 individual claims, 228 community claims and 13 community forest right claims have been rejected under the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act), 2006.
The claims were rejected since the implementation of the Act in the state till Dec 31, 2014.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday hit out against Censor Board chairperson Leela Samson who quit citing corruption and the nine board members who followed suit, saying they are all “UPA appointees” and if there’s any corruption they “have themselves to blame”.
In a Facebook post titled “Rebels Without a Cause”, Jaitley has slammed the allegations of “alleged interference by the government and corruption in the (censor) board” cited by Samson and the nine members.
The mysterious disappearance of children’s corpses from a graveyard in Pakistan has created panic among the people.
Residents of Manghopir area of Karachi were shocked to learn that five corpses have gone missing from the Afridi Goth graveyard, with two cases having taken place in the last 15 days, Dawn reported.
While five corpses have gone missing in the last few months, some graves were dug up and left open. Police suspect that an animal is stealing the corpses of the children.
“The graves were unpaved,” said station house officer Manghopir, Ghulam Hussain Korai.
Residents of ten more villages Saturday protested at Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway demanding toll-free tags for their vehicles.
The facility has already been announced for vehicles belonging to the residents of 31 villages near the toll plaza, police said.
The villagers from Sahrawan, Nainwal, Mokalwas, Baghanki, Kherki and Pachgaon (representing five villages) situated along the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway-8 gathered at the toll plaza and protested in support of their demands.
The AAP Saturday accused the BJP of backtracking on its promise of granting statehood to Delhi.
“The BJP has been demanding statehood for Delhi since 1993 and it was part of its poll manifesto too. But it seems that BJP seems to be backtracking on the promise,” AAP leader Yogender Yadav told reporters here. The leader said his party had time and again reminded the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the issue.
“There is no need to wait for the Delhi assembly for this. You (Modi) are already running this country through ordinances, might as well issue another one,” Yadav said here.
All political parties in Maharashtra have agreed to shift their offices and establishments falling on the Mumbai Metro corridor route near Nariman Point in Mumbai, officials said here Saturday.
Eight political parties, as well as 26 government departments, which responded to a notice from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, have consented to shift their offices to alternative locations by April 30.
The Indian challenge came to an end as shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Ajay Jayaram lost their respective semi-final matches at the season opening $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold here Saturday.
Second seed Sindhu, a winner here two years ago, faced a marathon battle against Japanese fourth seed Nozomi Okuhara which lasted an hour and 24 minutes at the Stadium Perpaduan Kuching.
After winning the second game and levelling the match, Sindhu ran out of steam to lose 21-19, 13-21, 8-21.
England batsman Gary Ballance has suffered a fractured finger while practicing but is expected to be fit for the World Cup, a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Saturday.
The 25-year-old was recently recalled to the One-Day International (ODI) squad. He was struck on the little finger of his right hand during fielding drills in Canberra, where they played two warm-up matches prior to the three-wicket defeat in the opening match of the tri-series Friday.
The left-hander didn’t feature in any of these matches.