Month: July 2009

Two-hour strike by Air India staff, management unfazed

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New Delhi, July 03: Employees of national carrier Air India went on a two-hour strike at airports across the country today to protest the delay in salary payments, but it failed to move the airline management. “No flights were affected while our employees were on strike,” said Air india executive director for corporate communications Jitender Bhargava.

Maintaining that there was no need for any discussion with employees on the issue, Bhargava told media: “We will look into their demand.”

SWR special trains to Korba, Shirdi from Yeswantpur

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Hyderabad, July 03: To clear extra rush of passengers, the South Western Railway will run two special trains, one from Yesvantpur (Bangalore) to Korba, and another from Yesvantpur to Sai Nagar Shirdi.

The Yesvantpur-Korba Special Train (No 681) will depart from Yesvantpur at 11.40 pm on Fridays (July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Aug 7, 14, 21, 28; and Sept 4, 11, 18, 25) and will arrive at Korba at 4.30 am on Sundays.

Target set by Lalu Prasad unrealistically high: Banerjee

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New Delhi, July 04: Taking a dig at her predecessor Lalu Prasad, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said the target set by him for the railways in the interim budget was ‘unrealistically high’.

‘Based on the reviews, it is very clear that the unrealistically high targets set in the interim budget are not sustainable and warrant a mid course correction,’ Banerjee said while presenting her ministry’s budget for the current fiscal in the Lok Sabha.

‘Ekta Choudhary perfect mix of Indian beauty and international style’

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New Delhi, July 03: Miss India Universe Ekta Choudhary is nearly set to take part in the Miss Universe pageant. Fashion diva Ritu Kumar, who is designing Choudhary’s outfits, says she is a perfect combination of Indian beauty and international style.

‘Every contestant is different and so is Ekta. She is tall, beautiful and confident enough to bring the (Miss Universe) crown back and make us proud,’ Kumar told IANS.

Standing at 5 feet 9 inches, Choudhary sports short hair and has got five tattoos but Kumar says that it goes very well with her look.

Obama pays tribute to Jackson

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Washington, July 03: US President Barrack Obama has finally paid tribute to King of Pop Michael Jackson more than a week after his death.

Obama was expected to issue a statement following Jackson`s sudden death last week, but he instead chose to send the superstar`s family a private letter of condolence.

A week after, Obama acknowledged the magnitude of the loss to the generation that grew up as followers of the icon, Contactmusic reports.

He paid tribute saying: “He will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers”.

Former ICC chief warns against India-led cartel

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London, July 03: A Pakistani former head of cricket’s international governing body on Friday accused India of exploiting its financial clout by trying to form a cartel of top nations.

Former International Cricket Council (ICC) president Ehsan Mani warned against attempts to create a divide in international cricket by allowing a top tier with Australia, England, India and South Africa.

Chaitanya student tortured by Batchmates

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Hyderabad, July 03: If the worst case of ragging could be termed as an infliction of pain by senior students upon their juniors, the torture of M Sravan Kumar, a senior Inter student of Sri Chaitanya Junior College, Bachupally, is a clear case of sadism.

Sravan was whipped and his nail pulled out by his batchmates.

The incident puts a question mark over the seriousness of colleges in dealing with ragging, coming as it does, days after Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy told educational institutions and universities to curb the menace.

PCB to have honorary selectors

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Karachi, July 03: The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided not to appoint paid selectors in future and will have a single selection committee to pick both national senior and junior teams.

A senior PCB official told PTI that the hue and cry over the dissolution of the separate selection committees was not justified as people do not know the real facts.

“The governing council at its last meeting had expressed dissatisfaction with the working of the selection committees.

Sensex surges over 254 pts on soft Rail Budget

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Mumbai, July 03: Trading sentiment turned bullish on the Bombay Stock Exchange today as the benchmark Sensex surged over 254 points following a soft Rail Budget amid brokers covering short positions late in the day.

The Sensex, which remained range-bound in early trade, shot up by 254.56, or 1.74 per cent, to 14,913.05 as stocks of companies catering for the railways extended gains after the Railway Budget kept freight rates unchanged. The key index touched a high of 14,945.85 points.

UEFA to step up fight against match-rigging

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Munich, July 03: The European football union UEFA wants to step up its monitoring system in the fight against match-fixing, a German newspaper reports Friday quoting a UEFA expert.

From next season UEFA will be expanding its monitoring of UEFA matches to include all games in the top two divisions of all European countries, Peter Limacher, UEFA’s head of disciplinary services, was quoted as saying by Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The organization also intends to set up a databank providing information on matches and betting flows.

Jilted youngster attacks girl in college

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Hyderabad, July 03: In a grim reminder of the bone-chilling murder of an MCA student at a college in Vijayawada a few years ago, an obsessed youngster attacked an 18-year-old girl with a sickle at Teegala Ram Reddy College of Technology (Polytechnic) at LB Nagar on Thursday.

Luckily, the girl, P Lavanya, is out of danger and her assailant, Sudhakar Naik, who is in fact her relative, was arrested.

Prakash Jha, Kabir Khan ga ga over Katrina`s acting skills

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Mumbai, July 03: Britain-born model-turned-actress Katrina Kaif has improvised her acting skills and accent since her debut in the 2003 dud “Boom” to such an extent that she is bagging praise for her work from her directors like Kabir Khan and Prakash Jha.

Khan had praised Katrina`s performance in his hit `New York` and told reporters: “Katrina has done a wonderful job in the film…she has been a revelation”.

Jha had also praised the actress for her confident Hindi speech and accent in his forthcoming film `Rajneeti` saying, “Katrina Kaif is such a revelation.”

Railway Budget : No fare, freight hike, Mamata unveils slew of goodies

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New Delhi, July 03: True to her promise of presenting a ‘pro poor’ budget, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a slew of passengers friendly amenities while avoiding fare hike. She also did not hike freight rates.

Among the major highlights of the budget, is construction of 50 world class stations. She also announced better food and construction of environment friendly toilet and enhanced e-ticketing facilities. She also ended the 5 day tatkal facility, reducing it to two days, while also cutting Tatkal extra cost to Rs 100.

Pakistan Cricket Board forgives Nazir for misconduct

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Karachi, July 03: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt has forgiven opener Imran Nazir for his misconduct during a domestic Twenty20 championship final, paving the way for his return to the national team for the one-day series in Sri Lanka.

The PCB confirmed that Nazir submitted a written apology to Butt for his misconduct in the final at Gaddafi stadium when he showed strong dissent over an umpiring decision.

Nazir was later fined Rs 10,000 rupees and banned for three matches by the match referee.

Dry Fruit Kheer

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Ingredients:

Leftover plain Boiled Rice 1 cup

Cream Biscuits 8-10 (Vanilla or Cardamom flavour)

Dry fruits 1/2 cup

Milk fresh 1 cup

Milk cream fresh 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence 2, 3 drops.(if served chilled)

Recipe to prepare Dry Fruit Kheer :

. Mix leftover rice, biscuits and milk.
. Boil it for about ten minutes or till it thickens a little.
. Mash the rice and biscuits with a masher so that biscuits mix well.
. Add the cream and dry fruits.
. Mix well and boil for 2 minutes.
. Pour the kheer in a bowl and add the essence.

Mysore Pak

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Ingredients:

1 cup bengal gram flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups ghee

1 cup water

1/2 tsp cardomom powder

Recipe to prepare Mysore Pak Recipe :

. Sieve the bengal gram flour (besan).
. Roast it on a hot griddle/ tava for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.
. Set aside.
. Heat half the ghee (clarified butter) (1 1/4 cup) in a pan.
. Put the sugar in another pan and add 1 cup of water to it.
. Cook till it becomes sticky syrup.
. It should not become stringy.
. Add the roasted flour to the sugar syrup stirring constantly.

Suspected US missile strike kills 15 in Pakistan

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Islamabad, July 03: US missiles struck a training facility allegedly operated by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant hide-out on Friday, killing 15 people and wounding 27 others, intelligence officials said.

The two attacks took place in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold close to the Afghan border, two officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Spinach Rolls

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Ingredients:
25 to 30 spinach leaves
4 boiled and mashed potatoes
1½ tsp amchur powder
1 onion, chopped
3 green chillies, chopped
1 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

For serving
Tomato ketchup

For the batter
½ teacup gram flour
½ teacup rice flour or plain flour
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp salt
1 teacup water

Method:
Heat the ghee and sauté the onion for 1 minute.
Put the green chillies and sauté again for a few seconds.
Put the potatoes, amchur powder and salt. Cool and shape into rolls.

Egg Kababs

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Ingredients:
4 eggs hard-boiled
2 tsp Besan
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg (white only)
1 tbsp pudina leaves , finely chopped
1 tbsp hara dhania leaves, finely chopped.
2 Hari mirch , finely chopped
¼ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp black pepper powder
salt to taste
oil for frying

Method:
Grate the hard boiled eggs finely.
Combine with all other ingredients except oil.
Mix well and Knead into smooth dough.
Divide mixture into 10-12 equal portions.
Shape each portion into medallions and keep aside.

Opposition acts like dissidents, says Iranian cleric

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Tehran, July 03: A senior Iranian cleric said Friday that the country’s opposition led by Mir-Hossein Moussavi was acting like dissidents because of its fraud accusations after the June 12 presidential election.

“They (the opposition) neither acknowledge the laws nor those in charge of implementing the laws, so what are they after? Isn’t this approach confronting the whole governing system?” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said at Friday prayers in Tehran.

EU mulling over visa bans on Iranian officials

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Cairo, July 03: The European Union is considering imposing political sanctions on Iran by placing travel bans on certain Iranian officials after Tehran arrested local British Embassy staff in post-election events.

The Financial Times Deutschland, citing European diplomats meeting in Sweden, reported that the decision could be taken as soon as next week but depended on the situation.

According to earlier reports, the 27-nation bloc was also thinking over ‘temporary recall’ of its ambassadors as a ‘sign of protest’ to Iran’s action.

Owen could be on brink of Man Utd move: Reports

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London, July 03: Former European Footballer of the Year Michael Owen may be on the verge of joining Manchester United from relegated Newcastle United, acco rding to several British media reports on Friday.

The England international could move to the Premier League champions if he passes a stringent medical examination, said the reports.

A Manchester United spokesman said that the club would not comment on the speculation.

Hockey India to fete women’s hockey team

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New Delhi, July 03: Hockey India on Tuesday dismissed charges of indifference towards the women’s team which won the FIH Champions Challenge II in Russia and promised to fete them when the players gather together.

Rubbishing allegations that HI showed indifference to the team and did not send a single official to receive them at the airport, HI secretary general Mohammad Aslam said on the contrary, the body was planning to felicitate them at a later date.

“I have congratulated the team and have been in constant touch with the team when they were in Kazan,” Aslam said

Anupam Kher to launch acting school in Ahmedabad

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New Delhi, July 03: Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher will launch his acting school Actor Prepares in Ahmedabad after having opened branches in Chandigarh and London.

“This phase of vigorous expansion reflects the high level of interest in Indian cinema and the entertainment business among the younger generation the world over. I believe that acting, like any craft, can be taught, learnt and perfected,” Kher said in a statement released here Thursday.

From now, women commandos to be deployed on trains

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New Delhi, July 03 : Indian Railways will deploy women security personnel and increase their number in the proposed commando battalions, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the railways budget presented in parliament Friday.

The women Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will be deployed to ensure security of women passengers, particularly on routes where a large number of them travel alone regularly, Banerjee said while presenting the budget.