Month: January 2010

Shiv Sena demonstrates outside Shah Rukh’s residence

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Mumbai, January 31: Intensifying its protest against Shah Rukh Khan for speaking in favour of Pakistani cricket players, Shiv Sena activists today held a demonstration at the actor’s residence Mannat in suburban Bandra.

“Shah Rukh should go to Pakistan if he wants to speak in favour of Pakistani players,” Shiv Sena leader and MLC Anil Parab, who led the protest, said.

Sainiks displayed a travel ticket from Mumbai to Pakistan and demanded ban on the actor’s upcoming movie ‘My Name is Khan’.

Jaya Prada backs Amar Singh in Samajwadi row

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New Delhi, January 31: Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha member Jaya Prada Sunday batted hard for former party strongman Amar Singh and lashed out at his detractors, saying they will be responsible if “anything happened to him”.

“If anything happens to him (Amar Singh), those who have targeted him in the party will be responsible,” Jaya Prada told mediapersons here, coming out publicly in support of a friend whom the Samajwadi Party has now come to view as a liability.

Anil Ambani meets Maha Governor

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Mumbai, January 31: Chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Anil Ambani met Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan at Raj Bhavan here, official sources said.

The industrialist met the Governor last evening, the sources said.

“This was a courtesy call by Ambani, during which he presented the Governor a copy of the memoir ‘Dhirubhai Ambani: The Man I Knew’ authored by his mother Kokilaben Ambani,” a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said.
–PTI

Jaya Prada too has become history for SP: Kushwaha

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Lucknow, January 31: In the wake of Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada defending dissident leader Amar Singh, party general secretary Ram Asresy Kushwaha today said that like Singh, Jaya Prada too has become history for the SP.

“On January 27, I had said that Amar Singh had become history for the SP, now Jaya Prada too has joined him,” Kushwaha said, while commenting on the MP’s statement defending Singh and asking the party leadership to prevent him from being maligned by his “opponents”.

Pakistan Taliban chief buried: Report

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Islamabad, January 31: Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud was buried after being killed in a US drone attack, state-run tv channel reported Sunday, though the army has no confirmation of his death.

Mehsud was injured in a US drone attack in Shaktoi area in the South Waziristan tribal region near Afghanistan border on Jan 14 and succumbed to his injuries three days later, according to PTV.

The tv channel also reported that he had been buried in a graveyard in Mamondzai area of Orakzai region.

Mechanism on Telangana unlikely to be formed soon, hints Congress

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New Delhi, January 31: Grappling with the ticklish Telangana issue, Congress today indicated that the much-talked about mechanism on it was unlikely to be formed soon and asked partymen to withdraw from the Joint Action Committee agitating for statehoood, warning them of stern action for indiscipline.

Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said the Centre was seized of the matter on the formation of a committee or mechanism to look into all issues and concerns of all regions in Andhra Pradesh.

NASA to launch mission to unravel sun’s secrets

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London, January 31: NASA is embarking a new ambitious mission to unravel the sun’s interior mechanisms that may help predict solar storms that cause chaos on Earth.

The US space agency hopes the mission — scheduled for February 9 from Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida — will help understand the causes of extreme solar activities such as sun spots and solar winds and flares.

According to NASA, after its launch, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will spend five years in orbit trying to discover how such solar phenomena are created.

Will not tolerate corruption in armed forces: Antony

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New Delhi, January 31: The government today said the army has already taken strong action in the Sukhna land scam case, insisting that it will not tolerate even a single instance of corruption in the armed forces.

“Already, army has taken strong action. I do not want to say anything further… We cannot tolerate even a single instance of corruption,” Defence Minister A K Antony said on the sidelines of a function to present awards to the winning tableaux of the Republic Day parade.

Gayatri Devi’s heirs fight government for gold

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New Delhi, January 31: The heirs of Maharani Gayatri Devi of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, considered the wealthiest royalty of Rajasthan, have approached the Delhi High Court for getting back nearly 800 kg of gold seized by the government in 1975.

The gold, listed as the private property of Gayatri Devi’s husband, the late Maharaja Sawai Man Singh, was seized by the Income Tax (IT) department as the family had not declared it to the authorities as stipulated by the Gold Control Act, 1968. The act has now been repealed.

Gayatri Devi died July 29 last year.

SBI plans to raise Rs.40,000-50,000 crore in 5 years

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Baharampur (West Bengal), January 31: Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) needs to raise about Rs.40,000-50,000 crore of capital for the next five years, a senior official said here Sunday.

“Capital raising depends on many factors. Firstly, the state of the market and then need for budgetary provision if the government decides to issue capital to us,” SBI chairman O.P. Bhatt said at a press conference here in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.

He, however, said the bank would decide on how to go about the fund raising within the next six months to one year’s time.

Paes-Black pair clinches Aus Open mixed double title

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Melbourne, January 31: Leander Paes equalled the record for most Grand Slam title triumphs by an Indian as the veteran and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched the Australian Open mixed doubles Championship with a straight-set win here today.

Top seeds and favourites, the 36-year-old Paes and the 30-year-old Black beat 10th seeds Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Jaroslav Levinsky of Czechoslovakia 7-5 6-3 in just about one and a half hour.

Will Rahman do a ?Jai ho? at the Grammys?

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New Delhi, January 31: Last year he shone at the Oscars and now A R Rahman leads a pack of three Indian musicians in race for a Grammy.

Rahman is nominated for two gramophones for his ?Slumdog Millionaire? score in the ?Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media? and ?Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media? categories (?Jai ho?).

Gadkari denies comparing Narendra Modi with Mahatma Gandhi

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Bangalore, January 31: Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari Sunday denied he had compared Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Mahatma Gandhi.

“I was only referring to Gujarat government’s programmes for the poor and said that Modi was following in the footsteps of Gandhiji who had initiated Antyodaya (welfare of the poor) programme,” Gadkari told reporters here.

“Modi is inspired by Gandhiji and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (one of the founders of BJP’s precursor Jan Sangh) and is doing what Gandhiji did,” the BJP chief said.

Sulabh to construct low-cost toilets in Japan

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New Delhi, January 31: Sulabh International, a leading sanitation NGO, has decided to start its operation soon in Japan by constructing low cost toilets popularly known as “Sulabh Sauchalaya”.

The decision was taken in the light of the initiatives by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, on whose invitation Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak visited Tokyo to throw light on effective methods for easy disposal of human waste.

Another boat tragedy in Andhra; one dead, ten missing

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Hyderabad, January 31: One person drowned, while ten others were missing after a boat capsized in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh today, the second such incident in the state in as many days.

About 12 to 14 people from Ammapeta village were travelling in the country-made boat which capsized in Tanda reservoir, Visakhapatnam Rural Superintendent of Police Vineet Brijlal told PTI over phone.

Quoting preliminary reports, the SP said two persons swam to safety, while one body was fished out from the reservoir.

Requiem for leprosy (Comment, Jan 31 is World Leprosy Day)

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New Delhi, January 31: For most of us, our understanding of leprosy is the sight of bandaged beggars on the street corner, often with deformities in the face or limb. A century ago, leprosy patients were viewed as objects to be hidden away. Today, leprosy is a disease which is easily treatable and leaves no scars if detected in time.

RSS asks volunteers in Maharashtra to protect north Indians

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Jabalpur, January 31: Taking the Shiv Sena and the MNS head-on, RSS today said that it has asked its volunteers to protect north Indians in Maharashtra and prevent spread of anti-Hindi feelings.

“The Sangh parivar has asked its volunteers in Maharashtra to try and prevent the spread of anti-north Indian and anti-Hindi feelings,” RSS leader Ram Madhav told reporters here.

He said the RSS was opposed to discrimination on the basis of language and demanded steps to check disturbances on the emotive issue.

Naqvi, BJP supporters court arrest over price rise

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Rampur (UP), January 31: BJP vice president Mukhar Abbas Naqvi and several of his supporters courted arrest here against price rise and demanded setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to go into the reasons for the “back-breaking inflation”.

“The current price rise is not natural but the result of a big scandal supported by the government in which hoarders and black marketeers were profiting,” Naqvi alleged.

He demanded formation of a JPC to investigate the reasons for price rise of sugar and other essential commodities.

Price situation will ease in coming days: Pawar

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New Delhi, January 31: The price situation will ease in the coming days with good prospects of rabi crop coupled with growing availability of sugar and pulses from abroad, says Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who is pained over the attacks on him over the issue.

A veteran of many a political crisis and Minister in charge of Agriculture, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs for the last over five years, he, however, has a word of caution that being an agriculture dependent economy, farmers should get “proper” prices.

Haldiram – an empire under cloud

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New Delhi, January 31: The popular “Haldiram” snack-food brand, in spotlight after a life sentence handed down to one of the co-owners, is a Rs.1,500-crore (Rs. 15 billion/US$300 million) empire of three separate companies with a common trademark, tracing its roots to Bikaner in 1937.

Sweets and savouries with Haldiram brand that can be seen in some 40 countries on the shelves of chains such as Tesco, Carrefour, Sommerfield and Sipneys, are made with the recipes conceived seven decades ago, albeit at different factories across regions.

China issues 62 media bans in 2009 as web censorship intensifies

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Hong Kong, January 31: China issued 62 media blackouts in 2009, banning media from reporting on issues ranging from public protests to photos of a topless actress in the Caribbean, according to a report Sunday.

The report by the International Federation of Journalists listed the bans newspapers and magazines in China were subjected to and said journalists in China face a “range of impediments”.

Released in Hong Kong Sunday, it also detailed what it called “intensifying efforts of authorities since early 2009 to control online content and commentary”.

No end to political killings in West Bengal

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Kolkata, January 31: Political killings taking place across West Bengal since last year’s Lok Sabha polls are making people recall some of the gory days of the 1960s and 70s when political violence had engulfed the state.

Uttar Pradesh to hire accountant to probe Amar Singh’s ‘fraud’

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Lucknow, January 31: Notwithstanding former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh’s sudden attempt to woo the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to seek the help of a chartered accountant to probe the alleged fraud case against him.

The case was registered with the state’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) by a local lawyer Shiv Kant Tripathi, who had alleged a Rs.500 crore scam by Amar Singh.

NY Governor caught with woman in his closet: Report

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New York, January 31: After his predecessor Eliot Spitzer quit when his USD 1,000-an-hour romps with call girl Ashley Dupre became public two years ago, current New York Governor David Paterson too is facing rumours of sexacapades.

The state’s first African-American Governor, who is also legally blind, said to have been found in close encounter with many pretty women, including one in the closet of his mansion, the New York Post reported.

Parental opposition leads lovers to commit suicide

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Jammu, January 31: Apprehensive that their love would never get the approval of family elders due to caste difference, a couple in love allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, police said today.

The lovers, identified as 20-year-old Romi Singh and 18-year-old Priya Verma were found dead near a drain at Billawar tehsil in the district yesterday, they said.