Month: December 2009

South Korea set its carbon reduction target at 30 percent

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Seoul, December 01: South Korea said ahead of this month’s climate summit in Copenhagen that it faces challenges in meeting its proposed emission target.

Economy Minister Choi Kyung Hwan confirmed Seoul’s target of reducing emission of greenhouse gases by 30 percent of the

2020 business-as-usual levels.

Given the energy-intensive nature of South Korea’s export industry, the 30 percent target, might well sound like a dream, Choi

said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Boys found dead in pit in Delhi park

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New Delhi, December 01: Two young boys, who were missing for the last one week, were today found drowned in a seven-feet deep pit in an MCD Park in the national capital with police suspecting that they fell into it while playing.

The incident was reported from the park in Shakur Basti, near the victims’ home, this morning, a senior police official said. Some construction activities were being undertaken in the park.

The bodies of Arishit (4) and Arman (8) were found floating in the pit, which is filled with water upto five feet, by a group of children who were playing there.

West Bengal must decide what it wants: US chamber

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Kolkata, December 01: Potential investors from the US want the West Bengal government’s industrial policy to be more

“transparent” and the Marxist-ruled state must decide what it really wants, a report released by the American Chamber of

Commerce in India said.

“The way the state dealt with investors like the Salim group of Indonesia and also what went behind the (Tata) Nano incident

need to be explained,” Aniruddha Lahiri, head of The Chatterjee Group, which represents the chamber here, said while

disclosing the report Monday evening.

Karna police for joint probe into Kaiga incident

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Kaiga (Karna), December 01: Karnataka police today said the complaint made by Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant officials alleging possible mischief in the radiation contamination of drinking water cooler was not sufficient to initiate a probe and favoured a joint investigation into the incident.

“We have asked them (plant authorities) for a copy of the (ongoing internal) inquiry report as only when we can go through it we can ascertain whether there is criminal angle to the matter and can assist them in investigation”, Uttara Kannada District SP Raman Gupta told PTI.

Controversial school drug tests get under way in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong, December 01: The Hong Kong government Tuesday began a controversial trial project to test 22,000 secondary

school pupils for drug use.

From Tuesday, urine samples were being taken from pupils in 23 schools and results shared between teachers, police and

social workers in a move to tackle a growing tide of youth drug abuse.

The scheme, described as voluntary, has triggered criticism with academics and youth welfare groups saying it unnecessarily

infringes civil liberties.

Raj lauds Mamata on railway exams in regional languages

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Mumbai, December 01: MNS chief Raj Thackeray today praised Railway Minister Mamata Banrjee for her announcement to conduct railway recruitment examinations in regional languages.

“I congratulate Banerjee on her announcement to conduct railway recruitment exams in regional languages. I would also request her to put out the advertisement of these exams in Marathi newspapers,” Raj, who has often found himself on the wrong side of the law over his ‘sons of the soil’ plank, said at a party rally here.

Sensex closes 1.62 percent up (Second Lead)

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Mumbai, December 01: Indian equities markets shut shop on a strong note Tuesday, with a key index gaining 1.62 percent

joining other global benchmark indices in the green.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,947.46 points against

Monday’s close at 16,926.22 points, closed at 17,199.76 points (provisional), up 273.54 points or 1.62 percent.

Around the same time, at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty shut shop at 5,121.9

Sonia warns of action against MPs skipping Parliament

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New Delhi, Decemeber 01: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked for a list of absentee MPs and warned of firm action against those who skip parliamentary proceedings, a party leader said Tuesday, a day after question hour in the Lok Sabha virtually collapsed because of missing members.

“She has taken an extreme view of it (Monday’s incident). She has asked for the list of the party MPs who were not present in the house Monday. And action will be taken against those who take parliamentary proceedings in such a light manner,” said a Congress leader close to Gandhi.

Air India losses double to Rs.5,000 cr

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New Delhi, December 01: Cash-strapped national carrier Air India’s losses for last fiscal are expected to more than double to Rs.5,000 crore owing to the economic meltdown and low yields, Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Tuesday.

Air India had incurred a loss of Rs.2,226.16 crore during 2007-08, Patel told the Rajya Sabha.

The flag carrier of the country is making losses since 2004-05.

Aamir, Katrina launch coffee table book on Hindi cinema

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Mumbai, December 01: Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif have launched “Cine Blitz Gold Love and Longing in the Hindi Cinema”, a coffee table book that pays tribute to the Hindi film industry. Both actors are excited about their look on the cover, as it resembles the poster of Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in “Pyaasa”.

“I was wondering whether we would get it right and how close we would come to the original. My effort went into trying to bring Guru Dutt back into life. It was a great moment for me,” he said Monday at the launch of the book.

Mayil Vahanan Natarajan appointed Vice Chancellor of MGR Medical University

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Chennai, Dec 01: Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala today appointed Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan as Vice Chancellor of the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University.

A Raj Bhavan press release here said that Mr. Barnala, also the University Chancellor, appointed Dr. Natarajan, presently Head, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Madras Medical College and Government General Hospital, for a period of three years from the date of assuming office.

–PTI

Collective efforts needed to check spread of HIV: Sonia

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New Delhi, 01: Underlining the importance of collective efforts by various government departments to check the spread of HIV, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said controlling the virus was high on the priority of the government.

“The disease needs collective efforts and understanding of all our people to contain it from spreading.

Checking HIV/AIDS is a high priority of the government,” she said at the flagging off ceremony of the ‘Red Ribbon Express’, a dedicated train travelling across the country to spread awareness about the virus, on the occasion of World AIDS Day.

Oxford maths professor backs web games to teach kids

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New Delhi, Dec 01: Internet games can boost children’s interest in mathematics, says a footballing Oxford University professor who plays wearing the prime number 17 and uses dance to prove theorems.

Marcus du Sautoy says there is “a real crisis” in maths education in English secondary schools, attended by pupils aged 11 to 16, where he says initially enthusiastic pupils “lose interest and become bored”.

His response is a glitzy maths website that uses arcade-style games to teach children curriculum topics such as geometry and quadratic equations.

Loneliness is contagious too

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Washington, Dec 01: Loneliness, like a bad cold, is contagious too, according to a latest finding.

Using data from a large-scale study, following health conditions for more than 60 years, a team found that lonely people tend to share their loneliness with others.

Gradually over time, a group of lonely, disconnected people move to the fringes of social networks, says the study conducted by Universities of Chicago (UC), California-San Diego (UC-SD) and Havard.

Toyota Kirloskar to raise prices 1.5-2 pct

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Mumbai, December 01: Toyota Kirloksar Motor, the Indian unit of Toyota Motor Corp, said on Tuesday it would raise prices of its key models by 1.5 to 2 percent, effective Jan 1, 2010.

The price increase was due to higher input costs and unfavourable exchange rate, which the company was unable to absorb any further, it said.

The price of its utility vehicle Innova, sedan Corolla Altis and pick-up Fortuner will be raised, it said.

The yen has appreciated 8.7 percent against the rupee between the end of June and November, Reuters data showed.

—Agencies

Shahid sculpts eight-pack abs for ‘Chance Pe Dance’

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Mumbai, December 01: Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh flaunted six-pack abs, but Shahid Kapoor is doing two better — he will show off eight-pack abs in his forthcoming film “Chance Pe Dance”.

Trainer Abbas Ali said they managed to achieve the new look in a very short time for “Chance Pe Dance”, directed by Ken Ghosh.

Space station crew return to Earth

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Moscow, Dec 01: A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying three astronauts from the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

The capsule — carrying Belgian Frank de Winne, Canadian Robert Thirsk and Russian Roman Romanenko — landed as planned in the vast steppe of northern Kazakhstan about 85 km (50 miles) north of the town of Arkalyk.

US offers help to Pak with insistence to end hobnobbing with militants

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Washington, December 01: President Barack Obama has offered Pakistan an expanded strategic partnership, including additional military and economic cooperation, insisting on Islamabad to abandon hobnobbing with militants and to take steps to reduce tensions with India, says a US daily.

‘The Washington Post’ said the offer was contained in a two-page letter delivered to President Asif Ali Zardari early this month by Obama’s national security adviser James L Jones.
–Agencies

Patrick gets wife to model new fragrance with him

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London, Dec 01: Actor Patrick Dempsey has teamed up with wife Jillian to advertise his new cologne Patrick Dempsey 2 and says he’d rather work with his life partner than a model as the new fragrance is about the power of relationships.

This is Dempsey’s second fragrance with Avon, reports people.com. When ad executives suggested a model to star with him in the campaign, he rejected the idea outright and said: ‘I don’t feel comfortable having a model… Why can’t I just use my wife and make it about that?’

Bhansali bends rules for Aishwarya

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Mumbai, Dec 01: Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known to be a stickler for strict schedules during filming, but he is voluntarily giving Aishwarya Rai a few days break from the shooting of ‘Guzaarish’ so that she can attend the premiere of ‘Paa’ that has her husband and father-in-law in lead roles.

‘It’s no big deal. Adjusting my schedule is the least I can do for someone who has been a dear friend for many years. But this was not done for Aishwarya. It was for ‘Paa’ and Amitji. It’s a very special moment for the family,’ Bhansali told.

Mahindra Satyam to expand Malaysia operations

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Mumbai, December 01: Software-services firm Mahindra Satyam said on Tuesday it would expand its operations in Malaysia as part of its international expansion plans.

The company will move more software development and delivery operations to its centre in Malaysia, Mahindra Satyam said in a statement.

The centre currently employs 500 full-time engineers, the company said.

Satyam Computer Services was hit by India’s largest corporate scandal when founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju quit in January, revealing profits had been overstated for years.

London will not try to match Beijing: Coe

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New Delhi, December 01: Trying to replicate the splendour of Beijing Olympics would be a futile exercise and London, instead, would strive to make a mark in its own way, 2012 Games chairman Sebastian Coe said here today.

In his interaction with a couple of journalists here in a city hotel, Coe, who is here for the London Games’ international legacy programme, said Beijing hosted the most spectacular Olympics in the Games’ history but other cities need not despair.

DMK MLA Periannan passes away

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Chennai, December 01: DMK MLA from Pennagaram P N Periannan (54) passed away at a corporate hospital here today following prolonged illness. DMK sources said the legislator was admitted to the hospital a few days back and breathed his last this morning.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. The last rites are expected to be held in his native Dharmapuri district tomorrow.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin and other senior DMK leaders paid homage to Periannan here. Karunanidhi expressed shock over the demise.

Sena woman is new Mumbai mayor

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Mumbai, December 01: Shiv Sena candidate Shraddha Jadhav was yesterday elected new Mumbai mayor.

She defeated Congress rival P Kadam by 19 votes, helping Sena retain the mayor’s post.

Corporators of the MNS led by Raj Thackeray and Samajwadi Party abstained from voting, dashing Congress’ hopes of a victory.
–PTI