Month: January 2011

5 killed in Maharashtra accident

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Beed (Maharashtra), January 30:Five people were killed and 22 others were injured as a state transport bus rammed into a container in this Maharashtra district, police said.

“Initial reports say that the driver of the bus lost control and rammed into a container on the Jalna road,” a police official said.

Of the 22 injured, 14 are in a critical condition. The bus was carrying about 40 people.

Three of those killed have been identified as Narhari Joshi, 67, Prabhavati Joshi, 65, and Rustom Bhondwe 55). A man in his 30s and a woman aged around 50 are yet to be identified

–IANS

Emirates warns flyers against Egypt visit

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Dubai, January 30:Dubai-based Emirates airline Sunday advised its passengers to avoid a trip to Egypt that is caught up in a political turmoil, but said services to and from Cairo are operating as scheduled.

“All passengers due to travel to or from Cairo in the next few days are advised to reconsider non-essential travel and check the status of their flight on www.emirates.com, before departing for the airport,” an Emirates spokesperson said.

Mumbai anti-graft gathering attracts thousands

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Mumbai, January 30:Thousands gathered at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai Sunday to protest corruption while marking the 63rd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The march that took place simultaneously in 60 cities across India was led by eminent people from all walks of life.

“In Mumbai, it was more of a gathering of people who were sick of growing corruption in public offices,” said a member of the organising committee.

Mob justice for woman who loses control of vehicle

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Mumbai, January 30: A 20-year-old woman, whose Honda Accord car spun out of control and on to the pavement on Marine Drive on Saturday afternoon, damaging three cars and six parked motorcycles, was assaulted by an overzealous crowd eager to dispense justice on the spot.

In an incident that exposed the city’s growing inclination towards mob mentality, Disha Mehta the daughter of Manish Mehta, a Lokhandwala-based businessman her brother, friend, and driver, were abused, hit, pushed and tugged by a mob of more than a hundred people before she could be rescued by the police.

One minute with rahul changes orphan’s life

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Mumbai, January 30: Rohit Dubey, 13, an orphan and a school dropout making a living selling hair clips on local trains, can’t believe his luck. He is going back to school, and guess who will receive his annual progress report Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

The Gandhi scion spotted Rohit in a crowd of around 2,000 people on Sunday in Palghar, where he addressed a group of Youth Congress workers.

Apprehended pirates to be interrogated in Mumbai

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New Delhi, January 30:The 15 Somali pirates, apprehended by the Indian Navy from the Arabian Sea Friday, will be interrogated by police and central agencies in Mumbai, where they are being brought, a navy officer said here Sunday.

The navy’s fast attack craft INS Cankarso had destroyed the pirates’ mother-ship, the hijacked Thai fishing trawler Prantalay, during a gun battle in the high seas west of Lakshadweep and the 15 pirates had jumped overboard.

US police radio-tag Indian students in ‘sham varsity’

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San francisco, January 30: Pleading inability to stop the humiliating radio-tracking of some Indian students of the fraud Tri-Valley University near San Fransico, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Saturday said that India has asked the US to take a “lenient” view of the students duped by a California-based “sham” university.

“We cannot protest such action as it is part of the US policy. But we have requested the State department to take a lenient view because the fraud was done by the US university and all the students are innocent,” he told reporters.

Woman accuses senior colleague of rape attempt

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Gurgaon, January 30:A 27-year-old woman Sunday filed a police complaint, levelling an accusation of an attempt to rape against a senior executive of the private company she works for.

“We have registered a first information report (FIR) against the person (name withheld) and are searching for him as the complaint came to us almost 10 days after the incident”, Krishna Murari, assitant commissioner police at Sadar police station here, said.

Mubarak sacks cabinet as fresh protests rock Cairo

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Cairo, January 30: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to bow to mounting pressure to quit but sacked his Cabinet which later resigned, as the death toll rose to 48 in nationwide demonstrations and clashes with police which entered the fifth day on Saturday.

Protesters carry a carpet with an image of Hosni Mubarak, with a shoe placed on it
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters returned to the battered streets of Cairo, shouting for Hosni Mubarak to step down and attacking police, even as the Cabinet resigned on the orders of the Egyptian president.

US move of tagging Indian students unacceptable: Krishna

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Bangalore, January 30: India Sunday slammed the US authorities for tagging some Indian students duped by a ‘sham’ university in California.

‘The way some of the students have been treated by authorities is unacceptable,’ Krishna told reporters here.

‘In the opinion of the government of India the developments were unavoidable and adding insult to injury,’ he said.

Krishna told the US that it ‘must realize the tremendous stakes involved in higher education, in interaction between our two countries in higher education.’

BrahMos Aerospace to make cryogenic engines for Indian rockets

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Chennai, January 30: Missile makers BrahMos Aerospace will manufacture the cryogenic engine once the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) perfects the technology, said a senior official Sunday.

The company is also hoping to induct its supersonic cruise missile into the Indian Air Force and develop hypersonic missile in six years’ time, chief executive and managing director A.Sivathanu Pillai told reporters here.

ICC to inspect Eden Feb 7 for three other matches

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Kolkata, January 30: After ruling Eden Gardens unsuitable for the Feb 27 India-England World Cup game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will make an inspection Feb 7 to gauge the venue’s progress for hosting the remaining three scheduled matches in March.

Apart from the India-England encounter, the Eden Gardens is slated to host South Africa vs. Ireland (March 15), the Netherlands vs. Ireland (March 18), and Zimbabwe vs. Kenya (March 20).

ICC refuses to grant India-England match to Eden

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Kolkata/New Delhi, January 30: Kolkata’s hopes of getting back the India-England World Cup match Feb 27 were dashed with the International Cricket Council (ICC) conveying to the Indian cricket board Sunday that holding the match at the historic cricketing venue is not possible.

‘The ICC has conveyed to the BCCI that it will not be able to hold the India vs England match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Feb 27,’ Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary N.Srinivasan said in a statement Sunday night.

Eden will be ready by Feb 5, says Bengal minister

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Kolkata, January 30: The West Bengal government, which has swiftly moved in to ensure the Eden Gardens gets back the Feb 27 World Cup match, Sunday said less than ‘five percent’ of construction work remained to be completed and will be done by Feb 5.

The International Cricket Council, the game’s apex body, has taken away the India-England match from the Eden Gardens due to unpreparedness of the ground.

Pranab agrees to speak to ICC chief

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Kolkata, January 30: A day after Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya sought his intervention to bring back the Feb 27 India-England world cup match to the Eden Gardens, union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday said he would speak to International cricket Council (ICC) president Sharad Pawar on the issue.

Mukherjee’s assurance to take up the matter with Pawar, his ministerial colleague in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet, ollowed a 25-minute meeting with Dalmiya Saturday night.

Milk in Bihar dearer from February

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Patna, January 30: Denizens of Bihar will have to pay Rs.1.50 more for a kg of milk from February, an official said Sunday.

The Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation (COMPFED), which sells milk and milk products in the state and outside it under the brand name Sudha, has increased the milk prices after over an year.

‘The new prices will be effective from Tuesday. Sudha brand’s milk will be Rs.1.50 costlier now,’ a COMPFED official told IANS.

The federation had increased the milk prices in December 2009.

-IANS

Joint action plan with states against inflation: Consumer Affairs Minister

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New Delhi, January 30: The central government will soon formulate an action plan with state governments on how to rein in the prices of essential items that have taken the annual food inflation to double-digits now, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas has said.

The minister also indicated that some ministries were studying the issue of banning or allowing futures trading in some essential commodities and appropriate action would be taken at the earliest.

Specialised online stores hottest e-commerce start-ups: Survey

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New Delhi, January 30: They are a constant feature of internet surfing – online retailers offering cash on delivery facility, option of creating your own T-shirts and other services. In fact, such specialised online stores, fashion brand retailers and group buying stores are among the hottest e-commerce start-ups, a survey says.

The study was conducted jointly by leading infotech magazine Dataquest, online research company JuxtConsult and business solution provider firm SapientNitro.

Bina refinery’s two units go on-stream

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New Delhi, January 30: Naftogaz India said Sunday it has completed work on two projects of Bharat Oman Refineries Limited, a joint venture of the state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Oman Oil, at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.

‘Naftogaz India successfully commissioned a Rs.576 crore hydrogen generation unit and Rs.256 crore coke drum system package unit for Bharat Oman Refineries Limited’s Bina refinery project,’ Bava Mahdoom, director of Naftogaz India, said in a statement.

Sachin Tendulkar wants World Cup

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Mumbai, january 31:Sachin Tendulkar hopes India will draw on their achievement of becoming the No.1 Test nation as they try to capture the ICC World Cup.

Tendulkar, who has struck more than 32,000 runs and 97 centuries in one-day and Test cricket, is widely regarded as the best batsman of his generation and is set to be considered one of cricket’s all-time greats upon his eventual retirement from the sport.
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Krishna flays US move to tag Indian students

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Banglore, January 30: India Sunday slammed the US authorities for tagging some Indian students duped by a ‘sham’ university in California.

“The way some of the students have been treated by authorities is unacceptable,” Krishna told reporters here.

“In the opinion of the government of India the developments were unavoidable and adding insult to injury,” he said.

Krishna told the US that it “must realize the tremendous stakes involved in higher education, in interaction between our two countries in higher education.”

‘KCR should apologise to Andhras’

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Hyderabad, January 30: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu today demanded that TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao should tender an unconditional apology for his attack on Andhra people.

DU students, teachers demand justice for Aarushi

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New Delhi, January 30:Demanding justice for murdered teenager Aarushi Talwar, a group of Delhi University students and teachers gathered in the capital this evening to press for further forensic tests, including ‘Touch DNA’, to crack the case which has reached a dead-end.

“The case has been going on for far too long. Anyone of us could have been in Aarushi’s place. We want justice and will continue our fight for it,” said DU student Shivani, who organised the protest with other friends.

BJP for more focus on farmers’ issues

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Hyderabad, January 30: BJP senior leader and former union Agricultural minister for state Anna Saheb Patil today called all the political parties to concentrate on the farmers issues to provide food security to the country.

The BJP state committee launched a farmers’ helpline with a toll-free number 040-65246597 at the party state headquarters here today. The helpline was inaugurated by BJP state president G Kishan Reddy with Anna Saheb Patil attending as chief guest in the programme.

Minister verbally attacks Cabinet colleagues

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Hyderabad, January 30: Textiles minister P Shankar Rao, who fumed at the state police yesterday for their ‘inaction’ in taking note of the threatening calls he received, today created a sensation by attacking his Cabinet colleagues for not responding to the criticism being made against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

“All the ministers who had worked in the previous YS Rajasekhara Reddy cabinet, should be sacked immediately. I will make a complaint to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister P Chidambaram,” he said.