shameen

TIME dubs PM Manmohan Singh as ‘underachiever’

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has long been lauded for his pivotal role in liberalising the Indian economy, has been dubbed as an “underachiever” by a top US magazine which says he appears “unwilling to stick his neck out” on reforms that will put the country back on growth path.

79-year-old Singh is featured on the cover of TIME magazine’s Asia edition, which will be out next week. With his portrait in the background, the title on the cover reads ‘The Underachiever – India needs a reboot’.

I’ll play with anyone for my country: Sania Mirza

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Sania Mirza had caused a serious stir in the country with her media release on June 28, 2012, claiming she had been used as bait by the All India Tennis Association in dealing with the feud involving players Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna.

In her first interview since issuing the press release, Sania talks at Wimbledon about the forthcoming three weeks of preparation, the significance of the Olympics and the way forward for Indian tennis.

Now that the controversy is all settled, are you gearing up for the Olympics, which is just about 15 days away?

Courts must hear petitions for election purity: SC

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With the elections often getting vitiated by electoral malpractices and irregularities, courts are duty-bound to examine the petitions of defeated candidates and preserve the purity of the election process, the Supreme Court has ruled.

“An election which is vitiated by reason of corrupt practices, illegalities and irregularities enumerated in Sections 100 and 123 of the Act (RP) cannot obviously be recognised and respected as the decision of the majority of the electorate.

Krishna to meet Hina Rabbani Khar in Tokyo today

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Two days after the foreign secretaries level talks, Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will meet his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in Tokyo on Sunday, official sources said.

Krishna is in Tokyo to attend a conference on Afghanistan.

According to the sources, Krishna is expected to review the outcome of the foreign secretary level talks, held here June 4 and 5, with Khar, and also discuss issues which were deliberated upon during their talks in Islamabad September last year.

Prez post vital during complicated political situations: Pranab

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UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukhejee on Saturday said although the President holds a constitutional post, he plays a very vital role during complicated political situations.

“I am going to begin a new innings after ending five decade old political career and as a senior most parliamentarian. Though the post is virtually the constitutional head of the country, it plays a very vital role during complicated political situations,” he told reporters here.

Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, Mukherjee said, “In politics I have gained much more than what I gave.”

Over 3000 crocodiles rescued from smugglers in China

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Police in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have seized more than 3,600 smuggled crocodiles, saving them from being served as exotic dishes, official sources said.

Veterinarians are providing medical treatment to the endangered reptiles, with some having died from heatstroke during transportation, an official from the public security bureau of Chongzuo city said.

The Siamese crocodiles were seized in the city on Tuesday as their trucks crossed the China-Vietnam border. Smugglers intended to supply them to restaurants in neighbouring Guangdong province, the official said.

Britain`s whooping cough outbreak: Five babies die

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In what is being termed as Britain`s biggest whooping cough outbreak in 20 years, at least five babies have died and nearly 2,000 cases have been reported this year.

A total of 1,781 cases have been confirmed in England and Wales, compared to just 137 in 2010.

People over 15 have been the worst affected, and there has been a sharp rise in whooping cough in babies aged under three months.

This year, there has been 138 cases confirmed in babies under three months, compared to just 22 cases in 2010.

Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda to resign today, Shettar to take over

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will formally announce the replacement of Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda with Rural Development Minister Jagadish Shettar, reports said on Sunday.

The Vokaliga community leader, Sadananda Gowda will meet BJP president Nitin Gadkari today evening and tender his resignation, sources said.

Gowda met party stalwart LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley yesterday evening in the national capital and held marathon discussions with the party leaders. It is being learnt that 59-year-old Gowda expressed readiness to quit.

Top Saudi cleric slams TV series on Umar set for Ramadan telecast

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Saudi Arabia’s top Islamic cleric has joined thousands of other scholars and viewers in slamming an historic TV series to be telecast during the fasting month of Ramadan, covering the life of some of ancient Muslim leaders who were companions to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al Shaikh, the Mufti of the Gulf Kingdom, said those behind “Umar Al Farooq” series have committed a “grave mistake and a crime” by spending their money on the production of such TV work.

Bhansali to replace unaware Kareena with Priyanka Chopra?

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If what a star recently revealed is true, Priyanka Chopra is set to replace Kareena Kapoor in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ” Ram Leela”.

Two days ago, the star revealed, “Sanjay has reportedly laid down a condition to Kareena, telling her that she should defer her October 2012 wedding by a year, if she wanted to be in his film with Ranveer Singh.”

Monarchy may come back in Nepal: Gyanendra

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Criticising Parliament for failing to promulgate a Constitution, Nepal’s deposed king Gyanendra Shah on Saturday warned that monarchy could return if the people wanted.

“Monarchy may comeback if Nepalese people wish,” Shah said here while addressing thousands of supporters and loyalists on his 66th birthday at his residence Nimal Nivas, Maharajganj in the outskirts of Kathmandu.

“Country was suffering due to failure of the Constituent Assembly to deliver a Constitution,” Shah added.

‘Pakistan has stalled on punishing 26/11 suspects’

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Pakistan has “continued to stall on trying to punish” the Mumbai terror attack suspects, increasing Indian frustration, said a leading Pakistani daily following foreign secretaries’ talks in New Delhi.

An editorial in the Dawn on Saturday said that the only outcome of the talks in New Delhi is that “there is no outcome”.

Rains, floods kill 50 in Russia

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At least 53 people have died after heavy downpour triggered floods in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, the emergencies ministry said on Saturday.

In the worst hit Gelendzhik city, five people suffered an electric shock and died after a transformer collapsed.

Two bodies were found in the debris of a home destroyed by flood waters. Three bodies were found in villages near Gelendzhik.

Torrential rains began Friday. In all, 320 homes and about 1,000 families have been affected in the floods.

IANS

Facebook inching towards job recruiting

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Soon the popular social networking site Facebook will become a recruiter, as per knowledgeable sources, by launching its own job board after teaming with existing job-posting companies, the sources said.

Citing anonymous sources, media reports said that BranchOut, Jobvite and Work4Labs will be at least three of the companies that will pair with the platform.

With the rise of LinkedIn — and its aggressive moves into social-networking functionality — having Facebook enter the fray is an obvious play for them.

Whether or not the job posts will display in the news feed is unclear.

Markets log fifth straight weekly gain; Bharti Airtel leads

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The BSE benchmark Sensex ended in green for the fifth consecutive week on persistent buying mainly in realty, banking and metal counters, on the back of good capital inflows.

Expectations of measures from the government for reviving a slowing economy also boosted the market sentiment.

Continued buying in small-and mid-cap shares by retail investors played a major role in extending the rally. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose by 2.60 percent, while BSE Small Cap index gained 4.26 percent, outperforming the Sensex.

Wimbledon 2012: Serena Williams favourite against Radwanska in final

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More than once during the past fortnight, Serena Williams has won an important point at Wimbledon and then returned to the baseline, her clenched fist leading the way.

The ferocity of the gesture is understandable, given the obstacles she has beaten back in the past couple of years.

A succession of health issues led to a long layoff that forced Williams to mount a career comeback, and she`ll try to cap it Saturday when she plays Agnieszka Radwanska, the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam final since 1939.

BCCI to nominate Rahul Dravid for Khel Ratna, Yuvraj Singh for Arjuna

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The Cricket Board has decided to recommend recently retired stalwart Rahul Dravid for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Yuvraj Singh, the player of the World Cup, for the Arjuna Award.

“We will be forwarding the names of Rahul Dravid for Khel Ratna Award and Yuvraj Singh for the Arjuna Award next week (to the government),” BCCI`s CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty told PTI today.

The Government had recently extended the deadline for the nominations till July 20.

Experts to study dead liver donor`s medical report

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The medical report of a 40-year-old man, who died at a hospital here after donating a portion of his liver to a relative, has been sent to experts in Chandigarh, police said Thursday.

Rohit Chaddha, 40, died at Medanta Medicity hospital here May 30.

Gurgaon Deputy Commissionerof Police (East) Maheshwar Dayal said the medical reports of the liver-transplantation had been sent to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

Recipe: Aloo Pakora

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Try out this classic monsoon recipe snack.

Ingredients:

• 6 Large potatoes
• 2 Cups besan
• 1 Cup water
• 4 Cups oil
• 2 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Mango powder
• Salt to taste

Method

• Wash potatoes and cut it into thin slices.
• Add water to besan and make a batter of thick consistency.
• Add red chilli powder, mango powder.
• Blend it well.
• Heat the oil.
• Dip each piece of potato in batter.
• Fry these potato pieces one by one till they turn golden brown.
• Serve hot Aloo Pakora with tomato sauce.

`Research must to bring Zoonoses out of no man`s land`

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A territorial tussle between physicians and veterinarians is leading to neglect in research of zoonotic diseases and in turn hampering awareness campaigns for such animal-to-human diseases such as Rabies, Swine Flu, and TB, according to experts.

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) believes that research should be precursor to any awareness campaign about zoonotic diseases as the area has been neglected so far.

`Angry teens prone to impulse control disease`

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Does your child often behave violently? Beware, the teenager might be suffering from an impulse control disease called the intermittent explosive disorder (IED), psychologists have claimed.

IED, recognised as an impulse control disorder, usually begins in late childhood and persists through the middle years of life. The condition is characterised by persistent and uncontrollable anger attacks.

Temple set ablaze in Assam

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Unidentified persons have set ablaze a temple at Maijgram in Karimganj district where Congress MLA Rumi Nath and her second husband were beaten up by people who were angry over her remarriage, police said on Friday.

The temple was set on fire late last night and the blaze was doused this morning after villagers detected it, police said.

Superintendent of police Pradip Pujari reached the spot for enquiry.

Nath, who represents the Borkhola assembly constituency in Barak Valley, had created a furore by announcing her marriage with Jacky Jakir without divorcing her first husband.

Poor monsoon could slow India growth to 5.6%-6%: Citi

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Indian economy could see a slower growth at 5.6-6 percent in the current fiscal if the monsoon remains poor, global financial services major Citi has said.

The estimate is much lower than Citi’s earlier growth projection of 6.4 percent for India, which saw its economic expansion touch a nine-year low of 6.5 percent last fiscal.

“A poor monsoon could result in GDP coming in at 5.6-6 percent,” Citi said in a report yesterday. The cumulative rainfall in June was about 30 percent lower than normal.

StanChart says more sovereign downgrades unlikely

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Global banking major Standard Chartered on Friday said the possibility of a sovereign rating downgrade to the junk status is unlikely given the recent revival in sentiment.

“We do not see a high probability of an immediate downgrade but rating agencies will closely monitor the appetite for corrective action,” a report by the bank’s economists said.

Policymakers will have to show concrete steps to help restore growth and consolidate the fiscal balance in the next few months, it warned, saying no action on the twin fronts can result in adverse action.