Month: March 2012

Kingfisher suspends flights to many cities, asks staff to stay home

by

Kingfisher Airlines Tuesday suspended operations to several cities as per a new holding plan and asked the staff to stay home till the time it manages fresh funding.

“We are in a ‘holding’ pattern right now and are waiting for various decisions from the government and our Consortium of Bankers on FDI (foreign direct investment) policy, working capital funding, etc.

“All of these will have a major impact on the staffing decisions we will have to make,” Kingfisher said in a statement, responding to speculations that the airline was going to lay off a large number of its staff.

Two held with fake currency notes

by

Two persons, including a woman, were today arrested and fake currency of face value Rs one lakh recovered from their possession here, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Salma, a resident of Naini township situated on the outskirts of the city, and
Ghanshyam Sonkar from Khusro Bagh, a historical tourist spot situated in Khuldabad police station area.

While fake notes, in the denomination of Rs 500, adding up to Rs 90,000 were recovered from Salma, another Rs 10,000
counterfeit currency were seized from the possession of Sonkar, police said.

‘J-K violence left martyr’s children in desperate condition’

by

The two-decades of violence in Jammu and Kashmir has left the families, especially children, of police martyrs in a desperate condition, and measures to provide financial assistance to them are being taken, state police today said.

“Violence left the families of our martyrs especially the children in a desperate condition and the Organisation is
committed to provide a succor in the form of financial assistance to these families,” Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda said.

Gujrat BJP MLA Chauhan arrested for rioting, released

by

The Gujarat Assembly was today informed that BJP MLA from Rajgadh in Dahod district, Fatehsinh Chauhan, was arrested in a rioting case and released on bail two days ago.

Making an announcement in the House, Speaker Ganpat Vasava said that SP Dahod has intimated that Chauhan was
arrested on Sunday and released on bail the same day.

The MLA was arrested in connection with a 2010 case of rioting registered against him in Devgarhbaria police station, police said.

———————-PTI

SC gives Muslim convert girls 3 weeks to decide about future

by

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed two Muslim convert girls to stay at a shelter house in Karachi for three weeks to take a decision for their future in a free atmosphere.

Touching scene was witnessed in the court when Hindu parents started crying and demanded the SC that their daughters be allowed to go with them who, they said, were abducted and converted to Islam forcibly.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took up a petition by Dr Ramesh Kumar, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

Barack Obama says threat of nuclear weapons remains

by

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the threat of nuclear weapons remains a potent challenge for the globe to confront, telling foreign leaders that “the security of the world depends on the actions that we take.”

Obama, speaking at a nuclear security summit in South Korea, said the international community had made progress in removing nuclear materials and improving security at nuclear facilities around the globe. As a result, he said, more of the world’s nuclear materials won’t fall into the hands of terrorists.

T- bandh peaceful; 200 activists taken in custody

by

The bandh called in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh to press for statehood demand and recent suicides by two pro-Telangana supporters in Warangal today passed off peacefully, police said.
The shutdown, called by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), was near total in Warangal, Karimnagar and Medak districts where shops, business establishments and private educational institutions remained shut. It evoked a mixed
response in other Telangana districts and the state capital.

5 % increase in electorate in JK: Govt

by

Jammu, Mar 27 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir government today said the state has recorded 66.76 lakh electorate in the
final roll of this year as compared to 65.31 lakh in 2008. “State of Jammu and Kashmir has reached 66,76,403
electorate in final roll of 2012 against 65,31,025 in the final roll of 2008,” Minister of State for Cooperatives,
Finance and Planning, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma told the Legislative Council.
Sharma said there is a 5.83 per cent increase in the electorate in the state.

Idea of Lokpal unworkable, would create blackmailers: Katju

by

Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju today trashed the idea of setting up Lokpal saying it was “completely unworkable” and the proposed anti-graft body would not be able to cope with the lakhs of complaints it may receive.

“Lakhs of complaints will come which cannot be handled by one person, therefore 55,000 Lokpals would be required. Lokpal would be required in every district,” Katju told reporters, adding he had been silent on the issue till now as people would say that he was “supporting corruption”.

Pak deputy attorney-general pays obeisance at Golden Temple

by

The deputy Attorney General of Pakistan Muhammad Khurshid Khan today paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here, and said he “wished long life” for Sarbjit Singh, who is on death row in Pakistan.
Khan said that Sarbjit’s repatriation to India would lead to betterment in relation between the two countries.
He should be repatriated to his Indian nation,” Khan said and hoped Pakistan Government does the needful in this regard.
Reparation of Sarbjit would be significant to make everlasting peaceful relationship between the two nations.

‘Who are you to question us’ attitude insult to Constitution: Anna Hazare

by

With Team Anna and lawmakers on a collision course, Anna Hazare on Tuesday targeted politicians saying their “who are you to question us” attitude is an “insult” to the Constitution.

In his latest blog ‘Politicians raise some questions and my answer to them’, Hazare however sought to blunt criticism that he was against Parliament by contending that only the House can make laws and there was no doubt about it.

But, he reminded, the Lokpal Bill came in the Parliament for passage eight times and it could not clear the hurdles.

Al Jazeera says won’t air French gunman film

by

Al Jazeera television said on Tuesday it would not broadcast video footage of three deadly shootings in southern France filmed by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman using a camera strapped to his body.

The Qatar-based news network also said it was declining all requests from other media outlets for copies of the footage.

The French government, and the CSA broadcast regulator, had urged television channels to refrain from running video clips that gunman Mohamed Merah told police he had filmed as he shot dead three Jewish children, a rabbi and three soldiers.

Khurshid says Karnataka govt will have to take a call on Wakf scam

by

With a Karnataka government-appointed panel unearthing an alleged scam with regard to wakf land, minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said it is a state level issue and they would have to take a decision on it.

However, if the state government wanted, it could refer the matter to the Union government, he said.

Khurshid said, “This ( wakf scam) is actually a state level issue, state level entitlement, so they will have to look at it,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

10 killed in Karachi violence after leader’s death

by

At least 10 people were killed and over 50 vehicles torched as violence escalated in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi Tuesday over the killing of a local party leader, a media report said.

The violence broke out hours after Mansoor Mukhtar, a local leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home in a colony early Tuesday, Xinhua reported citing local Urdu TV channel Dunya.

MQM blamed its rival “Peoples Peace Committee” for the killing of its party worker, but the group denied involvement in the incident.

West Bengal: only a quarter use tap water

by

The West Bengal census report of 2011 revealed Tuesday that only 25.4 and 54.5 percent of households use tap water and have electricity in their homes.

According to the West Bengal census report 2011, only 35.8 percent of households have bathing facilities.

Of this, 8.7 percent of bathing facilities are without roof. Here, West Bengal ranks 31st in the country.

“(A total of) 38.6 percent have drinking water source within the premises while 26.6 percent still fetch drinking water from a source located beyond 500 meters away in rural areas or 100 meters in urban area,” it stated.

TDP and Congress have joint agenda: YSR Cong

by

YSR Congress on Tuesday said that the ruling Congress and main opposition TDP have a joint agenda of trying to defame YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in a bid to share power in turns.

“TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu has institutionalised corruption and his growth from a two-acre land owner to a multi-crore entrepreneur vouches for his nature of nefarious operations,” party official spokesperson Vasireddy Padma told reporters here.

Prez withholds assent to Gujarat anti-terror Bill

by

President Pratibha Patil has withheld her assent to the controversial Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill, 2003 (GUJCOC) following state government’s refusal to make amendments to it.

“The President has withheld her assent from the Bill on January 22, 2012 as the

state government had not made any amendments in clauses 16 and 20 in the said Bill as per the directives contained in Presidential message to the earlier bill.

Student jailed for offensive Muamba tweetst

by

A Swansea University student was Tuesday jailed for 56 days after he posted offensive comments on Twitter about the on-pitch collapse of Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba.

Liam Stacey was reported to police by Twitter users from across Britain. In his court hearing, he admitted to incitement to racial hatred.

The 21-year-old had posted his offensive comments after Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during his team’s FA Cup fixture against Tottenham Hotspurs.

Chocolates may help you stay slim

by

People regularly eating chocolate tend to be thin, suggests a new study.

The findings have been made from a study of nearly 1,000 people in the US that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI) — a measure of obesity, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Scientists believe even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favour weight loss rather than fat synthesis.

The study found that people eating chocolate a few times a week were, on average, slimmer than those who ate it occasionally.

Vitamin B12 imaged in action for first time

by

Vitamin B12 morphs into a gymnast as soon as it gets into your body, twisting and turning its molecules as part of a crucial reaction called methyl-transfer, say scientists who recorded its activities for the first time.

University of Michigan Health System and MIT scientists captured these contorting images in 3-D for the first time, by aiming intense beams of X-rays at crystallized forms of the protein complex and painstakingly determining the position of every atom inside.

Home Guards salary hike under consideration

by

The State Government is considering enhancement of salaries of Home Guards in the Home department.

In her reply to a question raised by TDP MLA A Prabhakara Reddy during Question Hour, the minister said that 27,082 Home Guards were working in the Police Department. Besides salary hike, the proposal to provide additional benefits like bus pass and medical facility was also under consideration at the department level.

–Agencies

HC cancels Acharya’s bail in Emaar case

by

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday cancelled the bail given to suspended IAS officer BP Acharya in the APIIC-Emaar township scam case.

Disposing a petition filed by CBI, the High Court objected to CBI special court granting bail to Acharya when the case was progressing actively. While cancelling the bail, the High Court directed Acharya to surrender before the court immediately.

Earlier on March 16, the CBI Special Court granted bail to Acharya taking cognizance of charge-sheet and the CBI failing to secure sanction from the Government of India to prosecute Acharya.

Hacker leaks actress’s nude photos, faces 60-year jail

by

A computer hacker faces up to 60 years in prison and a $2.2 million fine after admitting to have accessed American actress Scarlett Johansson’s email account and leaking her nude photographs online.

Christopher Chaney, 35, is jobless. He also pleaded guilty to nine other counts – including hacking into the email accounts of singer Christina Aguilera and actress Mila Kunis, the Daily Mail reported.

Chaney, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested in October as part of a year-long investigation of celebrity hacking that authorities dubbed “Operation Hackerazzi”.

TRS asks Centre to clear its stand on Telangana

by

Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA K Taraka Rama Rao on Tuesday demanded that the Centre make its stand clear on Telangana statehood issue.

Talking to media persons at Assembly media point, Rama Rao raised serious objection over Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for repeatedly stating that the Centre could not take any decision until stakeholders does not make their stand clear on the issue. He asked Chidambaram to honour his promise if he was really committed on the statehood issue.

52 militants surrender in Manipur

by

Fifty-two militants belonging to Manipur-based outfit United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA) surrendered at an official function in Imphal Tuesday.

The cadres of the outfit laid down their arms and ammunition at a function before Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The function was attended by top brass of the Manipur Police.

“It is a good sign that so many militants have decided to come overground today. Insurgency and law and order condition is one of the biggest challenges of my government and we are committed to ensure lasting peace in the state,” said Ibobi Singh.