Mizoram celebrates 23 years of peace and progress
Aizawl, June 30: Mizoram, which stands out as a land of peace amid an ocean of insurgency will maintain the priceless peace at all costs, state Home Minister R Lalzirliana said here today.
Month: June 2009
Send notice to Mayawati on statues: BJP tells poll panel
Lucknow, June 30: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday urged the Election Commission to serve a notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for using public money to install statues, including of herself, in Lucknow.
“We request the Election Commission to serve a notice to Mayawati on the issue. Mayawati’s statue with the elephant, which is the symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), defies the Election Commission’s model code of conduct (whenever elections take place),” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
Irrigation scheme christened after Andhra CM renamed
Hyderabad, June 30: Andhra Pradesh government has renamed the ‘YSR Lift Irrigation Scheme’ on river Krishna, named after Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, as the Mahankaligudem Lift Irrigation Scheme, official sources said today.
The state government had on June 24 named the proposed lift irrigation scheme at Mahankaligudem village in Nalgonda district after the Chief Minister.
Naming a government scheme after an incumbent Chief Minister was unprecedented in the state and the move invited widespread criticism from various quarters.
Shah Rukh Khan Enter The Small Screen With Rishta.com
Mumbai, June 30 : Known for their trademark romantic films, Yash Raj Films is all set to enter the small screen with a comedy show titled Rishta.com. Although YRF is trying its best to keep the project a secret, Mumbai Mirror ferreted out that Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh, Tabu, Rani Mukerji, Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj and others will have cameo roles in the show. It will also feature several new faces.
Malegaon blast accuseds aide held for attacking churches, killing worker
Malegaon, June 30: An alleged aide of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been arrested for his “involvement” in various attacks on churches in Delhi and a churchworker’s murder in Noida in the past one year. The Delhi Police arrested Shailendra Chauhan (25) alias Uday Pratap Singh from Harsh Vihar area in northeast Delhi on Thursday night. “So far, we’ve found his involvement in three cases of assault and attack on Christian priests and churches in Noida and Delhi,” said S.S. Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (northeast).
Rs 2 lakh robbery in Lucknow
Lucknow, June 30: In a daylight robbery, a man and his cashier were looted of Rs 2 lakh in Indra Nagar area of the Uttar Pradesh capital today.
Masked marauders snatched the money bag from Lokesh Awsathi, an employee at Dayal Industries, and his cashier Om Prakash when they left the State Bank of India’s branch, police said.
The motorcycle-borne robbers fled the scene.
Investigation was on, police added.
—Agencies
Sikh student attacked in Australia, attempt to cut his hair
Melbourne, June 30: In a fresh attack, a 22-year-old Sikh youth was assaulted by a group of teenagers who tried to remove his turban and cut his hair. Two of the attackers have been arrested.
Resham Singh ‘was assaulted by a group of six teenagers. They tried to remove the turban of this youth and cut his hair’, dailynews365.com reported Tuesday.
Singh said the group first abused him and left and again came back with more people and a pair of scissors. They tried to remove his turban and to cut his hair.
Drink milk to reduce your calorie intake
Sydney, June 30: Skim milk helps people feel full, thanks to its high protein content, lactose sugar and its thickness.
Researchers found that drinking fat free milk in the morning helped increase satiety and led to decreased calorie intake at the next meal, compared to a fruit drink. Those who drank milk ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly nine percent less food) at lunch.
MJ’s father suspects foul play
New York, June 30: There was a new twist to the Michael Jackson death case after the pop star’s father suspected foul play in his son’s sudden demise.
Joe Jackson said he had a “lot of concerns” over events leading up to the tragedy. He refused to believe that stress was the reason that led to Jackson’s death.
The senior Jackson was commenting as details of autopsy on MJ’s body began to emerge.
According to the post-mortem findings, the singer had four injection marks near his heart, apparently from attempts to pump adrenaline into the organ in a bid to restart it.
Aerobics can keep brain healthy even among the old
Washington, June 30: Elderly people who are active show better cerebral health than those who are inactive, says the latest study.
Researchers led by Elizabeth Bullitt, neurosurgeon at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, used non-invasive magnetic resonance (MR) angiography to examine brain blood vessels in the elderly, aged 60 to 80 years.
The subjects were equally divided into two groups. The high activity group reported participating in an aerobic activity for a minimum of 180 minutes per week for the past 10 consecutive years.
Four Hindi-speaking persons shot dead in Assam
Guwahati, June 30: At least four Hindi-speaking persons were shot dead and two others injured by outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants in Assam on Tuesday.
Heavily-armed NDFB ultras fired from AK-47 rifles on a group of people near Naharani tea estate at Rangapara in central Assam’s Sonitput district at 9.30 am killing the four, police said.
Besides the two women, a man and a boy of the same family were shot dead by the militants.
Lee doesn’t merit place in main Ashes team: Davidson
Melbourne, June 30: Brett Lee does not merit a place in Australia’s main Ashes squad and his role should be confined to mentoring the bowlers, said former Aussie pacer Alan Davidson.
Ashes specialist Davidson, who tormented England in the 1953 and 1961 Ashes tours, said Australia should stick to the successful pace battery that delivered the goods in South Africa this year.
“I think Brett Lee should just do an educational thing for the other bowlers and make that his responsibility,” Davidson told ‘The Australian’.
Dubai, June 30: The planned merger between Emaar Properties and three units of Dubai Holding is likely to unleash a wave of consolidations in a property sector beset by excess supply, shriveling demand and an abundance of developers, UAE property analysts say. Mergers and buyouts could help real estate companies streamline their operations and trim payrolls and thus reduce their costs during the downturn, analysts said. “Consolidation is inevitable, whether for big or small companies,” said Charles Neil, Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Advisory, a property consultancy.
Sikh student becomes 20th Indian victim in Australia
Melbourne, June 30: In yet another racial attack on Indian students in Australia, a 22-year-old Sikh youth was assaulted by a group of six teenagers, who tried to remove his turban and cut the hair.
Resham Singh, a student of hospitality course who came from Punjab six months ago, became the 20th victim within a month when he was attacked yesterday at Dandenong Station here.
Girl-next-door Amrita Rao turns hot overnight
Mumbai, June 30: It looks like Amrita Rao has decided to take short cut route to success after hitting a new low in her film career.
The girl who is known for her homely roles has suddenly resorted to hot suits in the film Short Kut, produced by Anil Kapoor. Instead of regretting over her makeover, Amrita revealed that she always knew that she could look hot.
‘Mild’ Recovery Seen in 2010: Morgan Stanley
Dubai, June 30: economy may have bottomed out, but any recovery will probably be slow in coming. That’s the sobering message from investment bank Morgan Stanley, which announced its latest economic forecast for the UAE on Monday. In a research report, the bank revised downward its growth estimate for the fifth largest oil-exporting country.
Liberhan Commission submits report to PM
New Delhi, June 30: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya today submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram.
The contents of the report were not immediately known.
Tharoor`s twitter account crosses 10,000 followers
New Delhi, June 30 : “Minister Twitter” – that is how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi greeted Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on a Dubai stopover last week.
“In Dubai my old friend Sheikha Lubna, UAE foreign trade minister, hosted a friendly lunch at which she greeted me as ‘Minister Twitter’!” he tweeted June 24.
The title was apt as Tharoor collected over 10,000 followers on his account (@shashitharoor) – the micro blog social networking tool, which is the current internet flavour.
Oil cos raise ATF prices by 6 pc
New Delhi, June 30: For the fourth time in two months, state-run oil firms today hiked jet fuel or ATF price by more than 6 per cent on firming international oil prices.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum raised aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by Rs 2,306 to Rs 38,558 per kilolitre in Delhi effective midnight tonight, an IOC official said.
The hike comes on back of over 12 per cent hike on June 15. ATF price on that day were raised by Rs 3,949 to Rs 36,252 per kilolitre in Delhi.
Cong MP slaps bank manager in AP
Hyderabad, June 30: Congress MP from Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh M Jagannath has allegedly slapped a bank manager in Mahabubnagar district for not releasing loans to SC/ST beneficiaries.
At a meeting of Uppununtala mandal officials and public representatives yesterday, Jagannath was told that Ravinder Reddy, manager of a local branch of Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank, was not releasing the loan amount to SC/ST beneficiaries, official sources said.
Soren flays WB govt over Lalgarh issue
New Delhi, June 30: Criticising the CPI-M led government in West Bengal for its handling of the Maoist problem in Lalgarh, JMM leader Shibu Soren today termed the operations as a “plan to kill innocent tribals.”
The tribal leader, whose party is an ally of the ruling UPA at Centre, also felt that the Central government’s decision to ban CPI-Maoist and declare it a terrorist outfit would not serve any purpose.
Arab tourists flock to shopping centers
Istanbul, June 30 : Not many Turkish citizens can afford to go on a shopping spree nowadays, as they have to watch each penny they spend. But money is still not an issue for visitors from the oil-rich Gulf nations, as increased spending by Arab tourists shows.
Many tourists from oil-rich countries are on a spending spree in Turkey and morale has lifted around the country’s shopping malls, as Middle Eastern and Central Asian visitors flock en masse to the compounds.
Salim-Sulaiman impress with their music in ‘Luck’
Mumbai, June 30: Composer siblings Salim and Sulaiman Merchant have once again churned out a potential hit album with “Luck”. The soundtrack of the film, which stars Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan, is powerful, hip, edgy and very impressive.
The movie is scheduled to hit screens on July 24 and the album has five originals and four remixes.
“Aazma (Luck is the key)” is brilliantly sung by southern superstar Kamal Haasan’s daughter Shruti, who is also making her debut in Bollywood with the film. Clinton Cerejo joins her behind the mike. It is a racy number and packs in a lot of punch.
4 fake currency smugglers remanded to judicial custody
Basti, June 30: Four members of a fake currency racket were today remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a local court. Kingpin of the smuggling syndicate Gayasuddin, Amar Bahadur Singh, Raju Gaur and Raja Singh alias Guddu were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajendra Ram.
The court has sent them to jail under 14 days of judicial custody.
The Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police had nabbed them and seized Rs 3.20 lakh of counterfeit currency from their possession at Haveli Khaas village in Kotwali area here yesterday.
Four Soft gets CMMI level 3 certification
Hyderabad, June 30: Four Soft Limited (4S), a global leader offering software solutions for transportation and logistics, today announced that the company has been appraised as fully compliant at Maturity Level 3 with Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model(R) Integration for Development (CMMI(R)) Version 1.2.