shameen More and more of the capital’s best known monuments may now be illuminated through solar energy.
Building on the experience gained over the last three years and keen on promoting the use of environment-friendly solar energy, the Delhi government plans to light up more of the capital’s historical sites through cheap and plentiful energy from the sun.
Insisting that it had not imposed a ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Sunday said that by sidelining the duo, it was sending out a message that indiscipline will not be tolerated at any cost.
The AITA decided at its executive committee meeting that the two players, who refused to play with Leander Paes at the London Olympics, will not be considered till June 2014.
The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in South Korea in September 2014 and before that, neither of the two players could represent India.
A singles win from Roger Federer gave Switzerland the decisive point to stay in the top tier of the Davis Cup after taking an unassailable 3-1 lead over the Netherlands Sunday in the best-of-five playoff fixture.
World No.1 Federer dominated Dutch No.1 Robin Haase in Sunday`s first singles rubber here to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier, Italy kept its spot in the top-level World Group after going 3-1 up against Chile in Naples. Andreas Seppi sealed the victory with a straight-sets singles win over Paul Capdevile, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
The Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) on coal blocks will meet tomorrow to decide the fate of six more mines allocated to private firms that were issued notices for delaying production.
As of now, the IMG has recommended cancellation of seven coal blocks to the Coal Ministry. The IMG is currently reviewing coal block allocations.
“The IMG may decide the fate of around six coal blocks in its next meeting scheduled for tomorrow,” an official in the Coal Ministry said.
After a series of big-ticket reforms announced by the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to surprise the markets on Monday with some easing in policy rates, even though inflation remains stubbornly high.
While some analysts say the central bank was not in a position to cut rates given the recent spike in inflation, majority of them feel the government might force the RBI to act for the sake of growth.
“We are not expecting any big rate cuts. But there might be some surprise,” Anis Chakravarty, senior director, Deloitte in India, said.
The persistent problem of rogue Afghan soldiers and police turning their guns on US and allied troops is a “very serious threat” to the war effort, which is predicated on placing security responsibility in Afghan hands, the US military’s top officer said on Sunday.
In unusually blunt remarks to the Pentagon’s own news service, the American Forces Press Service, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said the Afghan government needs to take the problem as seriously as do US commanders and officials.
Protesters denouncing an anti-Islam film clashed with security forces near the US Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Sunday even as Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed demanded that the government sever its ties with Western countries.
Hundreds of members of the Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen got past several barriers near the US Consulate in Karachi and tried to march towards the building.
Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister said at his marriage ceremony that he had to date several women to find the one he truly loves.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai dismissed as propaganda the reports by the state media that say his private life is irresponsible and makes him unfit to lead the country.
The US has all options “on the table” including a military one to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, country’s top Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said on Sunday.
“United States President Barack Obama has been absolutely crystal clear that the US will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and we will do what it takes to prevent that from happening. All options remain on the table. The president has been very clear about that and that includes the military option,” Rice told the Fox News in an interview.
Emphasising the urgent need of having an international “red line” for Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed that Tehran is moving very rapidly towards producing an atomic bomb.
“I think the issue is how to prevent Iran from completing its nuclear weapons programme. They are moving very rapidly, completing the enrichment of the uranium they need to produce a nuclear bomb. In six months or so they’ll be 90 percent of the way there,” Netanyahu told CNN in an interview.
The attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed American ambassador Chris Stevens was pre-planned and included foreigners, Libyan President said on Sunday.
President of Libya’s National Congress, Mohamed Magariaf, in an interview to the CBS news aired today said his government has arrested about 50 people, some of which are foreigners and connected to al Qaeda.
“They entered Libya from different directions, and some of them definitely from Mali and Algeria,” he said.
Myanmar’s opposition leader and parliamentarian Aung San Suu Kyi Sunday left Yangon for Washington on her first visit to the US in 24 years.
Suu Kyi, on a 20-day trip, was invited by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Xinhua reported. She earlier visited Thailand in May and Europe in June.
During her visit, Suu Kyi will receive the US Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour, as well as the Global Citizen Award presented by the Atlantic Council based in New York, according to her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
An Iranian religious foundation has raised its reward for the killing of British writer Salman Rushdie to $3.3 million, a media report said.
The reward of the 15 Khordad Foundation was increased by $500,000, the ISNA news agency reported Sunday.
The announcement comes amidst a wave of riots that swept acrosss the globe after the release of the US-made short film titled “Innocence of Muslims”, although the novelist has nothing to do with this movie.
Dry fruit chikki, jaggery replaces sugar in this dry fruit chikki loaded with vitamin e, iron and zinc. Here’s my serving suggestion – cut the chikki into interesting shapes…your kids will love it.
Add your private note
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Makes 10 to 12 pieces
Ingredients
1/4 cup sesame seeds (til)
1/4 cup thinly sliced almonds (badam)
1/4 cup thinly pistachio slivers
1/3 cup grated jaggery (gur)
1 1/2 tsp ghee for cooking and greasing
Method
With a view to streamline procedures for coordinating organ transplant, the Maharashtra government has made it mandatory to declare `brain death` and certify it accordingly.
In the current situation, availability of organs for transplantation is falling woefully short of the demand, while organ transplantation is considered as the only treatment for end stage disease.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers have found a way of harnessing ultrasound waves for non-invasive drug delivery or needle-free vaccinations.
Ultrasound – sound waves with frequencies greater than the upper limit of human hearing – can increase skin permeability by lightly wearing away the top layer of the skin, an effect that is transient and pain-free.
With swine flu claiming one more life, eight people have so far succumbed to it in Madhya Pradesh, including four in the state capital, health officials said today.
A woman, Gayatri Bai from Bina district, had tested positive for swine flu at the Regional Medical Research Centre in Jabalpur on September 13, state Chief Medical and Health officer Pankaj Shukla said today.
Smokers are more likely to doze off for less than six hours a day and have a `disturbed` sleep compared to non-smokers, a new study has claimed.
Researchers from Charite Berlin medical school in Germany found that of nearly 1,100 smokers surveyed, 17 per cent got fewer than six hours of sleep each night and 28 per cent reported `disturbed` sleep quality.
That compared with rates of 7 per cent and 19 per cent respectively among more than 1,200 non-smokers who were also surveyed, the Daily Mail reported.
In a finding that could soon render dentists out of business, scientists have discovered a new vaccine that can rid us of tooth decay for ever.
Researchers at the Forsyth Institute in the US are developing a vaccine that targets the bacterium `mutans streptococci`, which causes tooth decay.
When the bacteria break down food, they produce lactic acid, which wears away tooth enamel, producing cavities.
The new cavity-fighting vaccine teaches the immune system to make antibodies that kill the enzymes which enable bacteria to stick to teeth, the `Daily Mail` reported.
Senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa on Sunday said he did not need the support of party central leadership but only required public backing to become chief minister once again.
“I don’t need the support of party central leadership but require only public backing to become chief minister once again,” he said at a public rally at Hirekerur, 30 km from here.
Yeddyurappa said if he became CM again, he would make Karnataka a model state in the country, adding, “some leaders within the party conspired against me to bring me down from the chief minister’s post”.
It seems Tamil actress Trisha Krishnan doesn`t mind shooting on a Sunday. She says that she enjoyed shooting for her upcoming Tamil film ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’ on the weekend.
“It`s a working Sunday for me and I`m actually loving it. First day combination with Jiiva, Santhanam and Vinay (Rai) on the `Endrendrum Punnagai` sets,” Trisha tweeted Sunday. She has teamed up with Jiiva for the first time.
A romantic-comedy directed by “Vaamanan” fame Mueenuddin Ahmed, ‘Endrendum Punnaghai’ was launched in June this year, but the film`s shooting started Sunday here.
The Chinese economy will expand by about 7.8 percent in 2012, surpassing the 7.5 percent growth target set earlier this year, a top think tank said.
“Policymakers have taken into account the changes in the domestic and external environments when setting the growth target earlier this year,” said Fan Jianping, director of the economic projection department with the State Information Centre.
After appreciating over 110 paise on Friday due to stimulus measure announced by US government coupled with diesel price hike, the rupee is likely to trade between 54.30-54.80 to the dollar this week, say experts.
The domestic currency jumped 113 paise to close at a two-and-half month high of 54.30 on back of capital inflows worth Rs 2,800 crore and heavy dollar selling by exporters and some banks, after the third round quantitative easing measures (QE3) announced by the US central bank on Thursday.
At least 14 people were killed Sunday when a passenger van was hit by a roadside bomb in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region, media reports said.
The blast took place around 7.30 am when the van, carrying an estimated 15 people, was passing through Bunarh area of Lower Dir district, along the border with Afghanistan, Xinhua reported citing local media.
Police said the van was destroyed in the blast.
Geo News said the bomb was detonated by remote control.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
IANS
The possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out in the garment factory fire in Pakistan’s port city Karachi that left at least 259 people dead, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Sunday.
Statements from fire-fighters and injured people that said all exit gates were closed when the fire broke out has caused suspicion about the possible motives behind the incident, Xinhua reported.
Pakistan’s Parliament, opposition parties, rights and labour groups have called for a judicial inquiry into one of the worst fire incidents in the country’s history.