Tokyo, July 25: Japan’s parliament Monday enacted a USD 25 billion extra budget to pay for relief and rebuilding after the March 11 quake-tsunami, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan faced mounting pressure to resign.
The upper house approved the two-trillion-yen second extra budget for fiscal 2011 following its passage through the lower house on Wednesday, a parliament spokesman said.
Mumbai, July 25:Almost a week after terror struck India’s commercial capital and claimed the lives of at least eighteen people, the probe agencies (NIA, Maharashtra ATS and Crime Branch etc) are still groping in the dark, and are clueless about the real perpetrators. So far no terrorist outfit has taken responsibility of the multiple blasts in Mumbai, making the job of our investigators extremely difficult.
Kochi, July 25: Sea accretion and erosion are regular seasonal phenomena in Kerala. So is shoreline recession. However, of late, the high rate of accretion in the beaches at Munambam, Cherai and Kuzhupilly has put both experts and local people in a puzzle.
“Earlier, boats used to sail here,” Varghese Kurishingal says, pointing at the land where he is standing.
Over the past few decades, the Munambam coastline has been receding at a fast rate due to accumulated sand, local fishermen said.
Aluva, July 25: In a novel publicity programme, Suchithwa Bodhana Yajnam (SBY) an initiative for a clean Ernakulam district in 15 years, has released ‘SBY Padayathra – 2012 Campaign Stickers’ at a function held at Renewable Energy Centre, Mithradham, Chunangamveli, near here.
Fr George Peter Pittappillil, CMI director and convenor of SBY, handed over the stickers ‘Bhoomi Raksha Jeeva Raksha’ to the office-bearers of the Social Awareness Action Club (SAAC) of SH College, Thevara.
Kochi, July 25: The parents and students of CBSE/ICSE schools demanded the immediate intervention of the Chief Minister to solve the engineering entrance issue, at a meeting here on Sunday.
They said Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb’s statement that the problems that arose due to the current system can be rectified only next year “was not acceptable.” Even entrance exam reforms committee member Achuth Shankar has opined that the mistakes have to be rectified immediately, said the organisation members.
Paravoor, July 25: A statue of St Joseph was found damaged at the St Joseph’s Shrine at Machamthruth, Kunjithai, under the Vadakkekkara police station limits early on Sunday.
Kochi, July 25: Onam celebrations is also a time for tourism promotion. It’s just over a month away and the festival offers opportunities for the government to come out with various packages that can help expand the coffers of the state.
Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar said that the government has already commenced preparations for doing something different this time.
Informal meetings will be held at the earliest to hold discussions on promoting the state as a tourism destination, he told ‘City Express’.
Kochi, July 25: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that measures would be taken to collect and utilise the welfare fund share from the owners. The activities of the Welfare Board will be improved at the earliest, he said.
He was speaking at a function organised to felicitate INTUC leader Elsebius Master on his 80th birthday on Sunday. He said that the labourers working in this sector had always been risking their lives. Keeping this in view, the government will safeguard their life as well as property.
Kochi, July 25: It looks like Kochiites have to go without water for two days. The water supply from Aluva pump house was disrupted as a pipe burst on the Kaloor-Karthrikadavu Road, near St Francis Church on Saturday. Water Authority Superintendent engineer G Vanaja told ‘City Express’ that the water supply would resume once the repair work of the pipe was completed. The water department expects the repair work to be completed by Monday. “The water authority officials started the digging work on Saturday and the broken pipe was spotted on Sunday morning.
Kochi, July 25: Environmentalist C R Neelakandan has said that the government should abandon the high-speed airport-seaport waterway project as it will affect the potable water supply from the Periyar. Inaugurating a dharna organised by Association for Environmental Protection here on Saturday, Neelakandan expressed concerns that if the high speed boats are operated in the Periayar, the flow of salt water from the sea would increase.
Kochi, July 25: Ending doubts over implementation of the Kochi metro project, the website for the Kochi metro rail project will become a reality on Tuesday. The website — www.kochimetro.org — will be launched at the office of Minister Aryadan Mohammad, Minister-in-charge of Railways, at 4 pm.
Chennai, July 25: Two hundred children performed a 13-hour non-stop music concert to create awareness on eye donation. It was also an attempt made for Guinness World Records. The performance by children, aged 5 to 16, included dance and singing. The children also played musical instruments. The event was inaugurated by musician Kudanthai A Saravanan. The programme started with a Bharatanatyam performance and ended with eye-donation theme song. The closing ceremony was graced with the presence of several playback singers.
Chennai, July 25: Shabbily dressed children playing around debris and construction material near a construction site is a common spectacle anywhere in the city. The every growing need for space in this fast developing metropolis has led to an influx of hundreds of migrant workers from Orissa, West Bengal and their neighbouring states.
Chennai, July 25: Did former Union telecom minister A Raja’s sidekick Sadhick Batcha (39) kill himself on March 16 last? Or was he bumped off? Batcha’s wife found his body hanging at their residence in Chennai. The death came a few days before he was expected to be arrested as the former minister’s dirty money trail led to his company, Green House Promoters. Was he silenced for good?
Chennai, July 25: Hope for a better tomorrow has dawned on Kannagi Nagar. This colony, set up to rehabilitate millions of slum dwellers in the city, who were displaced due to development projects, will see its first computer lab opening up for the youth.
This ray of hope has been provided by Hope Foundation and Dell. As part of the Dell Youth Connect Scheme, this computer lab will empower children and youth of Kannagi Nagar, Asia’s largest resettlement colony.
Chennai, July 25: Jus Drums, a Chennai-based percussion school, celebrated its ninth anniversary in great style at Vani Mahal this weekend. More than 40 students who completed school recently put up a scintillating show, titled, Power of Drumming, to a packed auditorium that largely had parents and relatives of the kids. The show began a little late, owing to the delayed arrival of the chief guest singer Srinivas, but the performers made it up with their incredible performances.
Chennai July 25: A section of residents living on CV Raman Road and neighbouring areas in Alwarpet are an aggrieved lot after the City Traffic Police introduced a new traffic arrangement in Alwarpet.
The re-introduction of the two-way system on CP Ramaswamy Road and TTK Road about a month and a half ago has irked them much more than anything else. They said that the two-way traffic has contributed to acute traffic congestion in the area leading to chaos on the roads during rush hours.
Bangalore, July 25: In whose hands does the fate of the road in front of ISRO Colony and the hundreds of commuters using that stretch lie? From the looks of it, this particular stretch has been in a miserable condition for months now.
What was until a while ago a few minor potholes and a blocked drain has today turned into every motorists’ nightmare come alive.
From the moment one takes a left from 1st Main Road towards Cambridge Layout, the bumpy ride begins.
Bangalore, July 25: After a million promises, the problem of dumping garbage is still a burning issue in the city of Bangalore. As trash keeps piling up at every nook and corner, one may only dare to ask, is it ever going to end? Koramangala 8th Block seems to be the latest victim of filth and debris.
City Express takes a walk through the bustling narrow lane to find out more.
Bangalore July 25: If the Hyde Park in London is famous for being a speaker’s platform, Bangalore can boast of it’s own venue. Freedom Park in Seshadri Road is the one in spotlight. Freedom Park is gaining more popularity for staging protests and dharnas, especially among political parties.
Bangalore, July 25: The Foundation for Arts and Culture for Deaf, Bangalore, felicitated children with hearing disabilities from different schools across the city who scored 60 per cent and above in this year’s SSLC examinations held in April.
The foundation that has been promoting hearing-impaired students gave away medals and certificates to young achievers embracing their success.
Bangalore, July 25: In 1973, two rock stars gave one of the most fiery performances recorded in the history of music. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder were both visually impaired but they did not let their disability dampen their spirits in any way. Creating soulful music by fusing rhythm and blues, these musicians truly achieved greater heights.
Thirty-five-year-old K Pydiramu too believes that dreams are a vision to the future.
Caracas, July 25 — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was back in his country Sunday after undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Cuba, declaring himself free of “malignant cells” and ready to continue his work.
“I returned in better condition than I was in when I left,” Chavez declared as he stepped off the plane.
The 56-year-old leader underwent an operation in Cuba a month ago for a cancerous tumor in his pelvic area.
Chavez, who was welcomed at the airport by members of his cabinet and top military officials late Saturday, said he was confident of a quick recovery.
Indonesia, July 25 — The United States said Sunday it has invited North Korea’s vice foreign minister to New York for “exploratory talks” on the possible resumption of the six-party negotiations on denuclearisation.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the North’s former nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-Gwan, would visit the US at the “end of next week”, after envoys from North and South Korea held rare and unexpected talks in Indonesia on Friday.
Moscow, July 25 — Russia’s most wanted militant has claimed last month’s shooting in Moscow of a top colonel who was convicted of strangling to death an 18-year-old girl in war-torn Chechnya.
A man who identified himself as guerrilla leader Doku Umarov said in a video message posted on the rebel Kavkazcenter website on Saturday evening that he was responsible for colonel Yuri Budanov’s death.