Month: October 2009

Sonia Gandhi makes aerial survey of flood-hit Bellary

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Bangalore, October 05: The Karnataka government and the state Congress party Monday urged Congress president and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi for massive central assistance to rehabilitate the flood-hit in the state’s northern districts.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa met Gandhi at Bellary, about 350 km from here, and submitted a memorandum for central help after she made an aerial survey of the devastation caused by torrential rain and flash floods in northern districts.

Sensex closes near day’s lows, down 1.56 percent

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Mumbai, October 05: A key index of the Indian equities markets ended Monday near the day’s lowest levels, losing 1.56 percent from its last closing figure as investors sold scrips across sectors.

The 30-scrip benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex, which opened at 17,062.01 points, shut shop at 16,866.41 points, down 268.14 points or 1.56 percent from Thursday’s closing figure of 17,134.55 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too ended marginally in the red at 5,003.2 points, down 1.58 percent.

British spies tried to ‘get rid of’ Krishna Menon

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London, October 05: British intelligence agencies were so suspicious of India’s first High Commissioner to Britain – a man with strong leftist sympathies – that they tried to get rid of him, says an authoritative book.

The attempt to oust High Commissioner V.K. Krishna Menon failed because of the support of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, says the book ‘The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5’ unveiled Monday before the world’s press.

PM to inaugurate food processing conference Tuesday

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New Delhi, October 05: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to inaugurate a conference of state food processing industry ministers here Tuesday to get inputs for a nation-wide policy and give a push to the $67-billion industry.

The focus of the policy will be to step up the level of processing food and related produce in the country, bring down the wastage of perishables from the present 50 percent and scale up research and development efforts.

I will ask Tendulkar to campaign for me: Kambli

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New Delhi, October 05: Cricketer-turned-politician Vinod Kambli, who is contesting the Maharashtra assembly elections from Vikhroli in Mumbai will ask his childhood friend and Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar to campaign for him.

Kambli said that he would request Tendulkar, who suffered food poisoning in South Africa during the Champions Trophy, to canvass for him.

“At the moment he is not well. I pray to god that he gets well soon,” Kambli told IANS. “If he gets well, I will ask him to campaign.”

Federer heads unchanged men’s tennis rankings

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Hamburg, October 05: Switzerland’s Roger Federer continues to top an unchanged top 10 in the latest Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) tennis rankings issued Monday.

Federer has 11,255 points, followed by Spain’s Rafael Nadal (8,845) and Andy Murray (8,390).

ATP top 10 as of Oct 5 (previous ranking in parenthesis):

1. (1) Roger Federer, Switzerland, 11,255 points

2. (2) Rafael Nadal, Spain, 8,845

3. (3) Andy Murray, Britain, 8,390

4. (4) Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 7,330

5. (5) Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 6,555

6. (6) Andy Roddick, United States, 4,920

Brain waves directly influence human behaviour

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London, October 05: Brain waves can have a direct influence on a person’s behaviour, say researchers after an experiment found that people can be made to move in slow motion by boosting one type of brain wave.

“At last we have some direct experimental proof that brain waves influence behaviour in humans, in this case how fast a movement is performed,” said Peter Brown of University College London (UCL).

There are many types of brain waves, distinguished by their frequency and location, Brown explained.

China Open: Djokovic made to work hard by Hanescu

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Beijing, October 05: Novak Djokovic was made to toil by Victor Hanescu before he could win his debut match at the China Open tennis 6-3, 7-5 here Monday.

The world number four Serb, seeded second behind Rafael Nadal, rained down 10 aces in his winning performance which lasted a shade under 90 minutes.

But his win didn’t come easily. “It was a little bit frustrating the way I was losing some points in the second set,” he said after also letting loose of his grip and serving his racket as well as the ball at one point in the second set.

Rise of smaller predators causing ecological disruption

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Washington, October 05: The catastrophic decline of ‘apex’ predators like lions, sharks, wolves and cougars has prompted the rise of smaller predators like baboons that are causing major economic and ecological disruptions, says a new study.

The study found that in North America, all of the largest terrestrial predators have been in decline during the past 200 years while the ranges of 60 percent of mesopredators, or smaller predators, have expanded.

The problem is global, growing and severe, scientists say, with few solutions in sight.

Unshaven Vettel gives Button food for thought with Suzuka win

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Hamburg, October 05: Jenson Button’s stuttering finish to the 2009 Formula One season continued at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and while Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello may have failed to take full advantage Sebastian Vettel certainly did.

The Red Bull driver celebrated his third win of the season to cut the gap to Button to 16 points with just two races remaining and keep his slim championship hopes alive.

Bangaloreans unite to help Karnataka’s flood victims

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Bangalore, October 05: At a time when north Karnataka has witnessed large-scale loss of human lives and property due to floods, a motley group of people from state capital Bangalore have come together to provide some succour to the victims.

In one of the collection centres of voluntary organisation Goonj in Bangalore it has been a busy Monday, as members are sorting out clothes and food items to be sent to flood affected places in Karnataka.

Leave corporate salaries to market forces: India Inc

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New Delhi, October 05: The need for austerity in these trying times is understandable, but India Inc cannot ignore the market forces to determine salaries to attract the best talent in this highly competitive world, shows a survey by a leading industry lobby.

The survey among 100 top corporate chief executives conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) also showed 60 percent of the respondents maintaining that the best talent can only be attracted if salaries were not regulated.

PM chairs first Ganga meeting, calls for quick clean-up

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New Delhi, October 05: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday chaired the first meeting of the newly-formed Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA) and called for accelerated steps to clean up the river, revered as sacred by many Indians.

The meeting, which lasted nearly three hours at the Prime Minister’s Residence, discussed a slew of proposals for effective cleaning up of the river, including the involvement of international financial institutions like the World Bank.

Rich countries out to ‘sabotage’ climate treaty: China

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Bangkok, October 05: Industrialised countries are out to “sabotage” a meaningful treaty to fight global warming before the climate summit in Copenhagen, China’s chief climate negotiator said here Monday.

Expressing his disappointment at the lack of progress in the ongoing penultimate preparatory talks here before this December’s summit, Yu Qingtai, China’s special representative on climate change talks, said industrialised countries were trying to “change the rules of the game five minutes before the final whistle”.

Now, turn waste into assets

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Sydney, October 05: Millions of tonnes of waste generated by power stations, mineral processing plants and municipalities can be re-used to create fertility, health, wealth and beauty, a new study says.

“A major thrust of our work is to transform industrial and municipal wastes into an environmentally friendly opportunity to make viable and marketable products,” said Richard Haynes, professor at the University of Queensland.

Armstrong team given special treatment by UCI during Tour

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Paris, October 05: A report charges that Lance Armstrong’s Astana cycling team was given “special treatment” by the International Cycling Union (UCI) during this year’s Tour de France, the online edition of the daily Le Monde said Monday.

The daily cites a report drawn up by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) about the way doping tests were administered during the three-week race, in which Armstrong finished third. His Astana teammate Alberto Contador won the race.

India’s black tiger shrimp to get image makeover in US

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New Delhi, October 05: The premium Indian black tiger shrimp has found a new agency to promote it in the US, among the largest markets for marine food products, including a new branding and campaign blitz.

The state-run Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Monday signed a co-branding pact with American food service marketer and distributor Sysco, using its network to promote the merchandise as “Portico” shrimps.

The campaign is estimated to cost $2.3 million, of which 50 percent will be borne by Sysco.

Court slams Uttar Pradesh for flouting construction ban

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New Delhi, October 05: The Supreme Court Monday severely lambasted the Mayawati government for allegedly flouting its order stopping further constructions at various memorial sites of Dalit leaders in Lucknow.

A bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice Aftab Alam rebuked the Uttar Pradesh government, saying that: “Don’t behave this way as you behaved with a position in the assembly. Don’t treat this court as your political adversary as (though) you have some points to score.”

Rajapaksa expected in Nepal again

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Kathmandu, October 05: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had to cut short his visit to Nepal this spring after an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, is expected to arrive in the Himalayan republic once more this month to complete his itinerary.

Rajapaksa, who had arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day visit in March, curtailed his trip by a day after gunmen fired on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

It meant abandoning his plan to visit Lumbini in southern Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha.

Shilpa Shetty invites Jermaine Jackson for dinner

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Mumbai, October 05: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty “caught up on good old times” with her former “Celebrity Big Brother” housemate Jermaine Jackson, late pop legend Michael Jackson’s brother, at her house here.

Apex court moves Delhi High Court over judges’ assets

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New Delhi, October 05: The Supreme Court Monday moved the Delhi High Court to challenge its ruling that the office of the chief justice of India came within the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The high court had also made it mandatory for apex court judges to disclose their assets.

The case is likely to be heard Tuesday.

Supreme Court officials pointed out that the apex court had two options to contest the high court’s single-judge ruling.

Misuse of aspirin may have made 1918 flu pandemic worse

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Washington, October 05: Aspirin could have been responsible for the steep death toll in the 1918 flu pandemic, says a new study.

High aspirin dosing levels used to treat patients during the 1918-1919 pandemic are now known to cause, in some cases, toxicity and a dangerous build up of fluid in the lungs, which may have contributed to the incidence and severity of symptoms, bacterial infections and mortality.

Additionally, autopsy reports from 1918 are consistent with what we know today about the dangers of aspirin toxicity, as well as the expected viral causes of death.

Emirates leader signs law to develop nuclear power

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Dubai, October 05: The president of the energy-hungry United Arab Emirates has signed a law regulating the development of a civilian nuclear program, clearing the way for construction of a nuclear power plant with help from the United States.

Washington has promoted its plan to help the Emirates’ develop peaceful nuclear power as a model of the kind of cooperation it would like to achieve with Iran, which the U.S. and its allies suspect is using a civilian program as a cover to develop an atomic weapons capability.

Advani, Badal head in different directions in Haryana

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Ambala (Haryana), October 05: It was only in May this year that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) organised a big rally in Punjab’s industrial city of Ludhiana two days before the final phase of general elections in a show of strength and solidarity of all alliance partners.

Just five months and a few hundred kilometres thence, the NDA partners have taken different directions.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani will address his first election rally for the Oct 13 assembly poll in Ambala Cantt, 45 km from Chandigarh, Monday evening.

Floods threaten Vijayawada, many Andhra villages

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Hyderabad, October 05: Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada city and hundreds of villages in Krishna and Guntur districts faced the prospect of massive floods Monday with the water level in the Prakasam barrage across the Krishna river reaching the maximum level.

The inflows in the barrage have crossed a record million cusecs, inundating parts of Vijayawada, one of the state’s biggest cities with 1.2 million people, located on the banks of the river. Thousands of people are still being evacuated from villages downstream.