Month: March 2012

CBI Questions Sri Lakshmi in jail in Jagan Assets case

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CBI sleuths have questioned the suspended and jailed IAS officer Srilakshmi in the Chanchalguda Jail, in connection with the illegal assets case against Kadapa MP and YSR Congress party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

It may be mentioned here that the CBI recently obtained permission of the CBI Special Judge’s Court to question Srilakshmi arrested in Obulapuram Mining irregularities case, in connection with Jagan assets case also. The CBI also obtained permission from the court to question V D Raja Gopal, another accused in the OMC case, in the jail.

Katrina on a bottle!

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Are you a die hard Katrina Kaif fan? A limited range of collectible bottles inspired by the actress has been launched and fans can get a chance to own them by winning a contest.

The bottles have been launched as part of a campaign by beverage brand Slice, endorsed by Katrina.

These bottles are not just for everybody to buy, and neither do they contain any beverage inside. These are collectible bottles, only to be won by her fanatic fans, by participating in the ‘Katrina Ka Number, Crown Ke Under’ programme.

Man ‘blackmails’ ex-boss’ wife with video

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Two Emirati brothers who work in the armed forces and an Egyptian man stood trial on Thursday in the Court of First Instance on Thursday on the charge of blackmailing an Emirati housewife.

One of the brothers, identified as 30-year-old S.A., allegedly blackmailed the woman, who is the wife of his ex-employer, saying he would circulate private video footage of her in her villa in Al Khawaneej if she did not pay $1 million.

Bibi Jagir Kaur acquitted of murder charge

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Bibi Jagir Kaur, Akali MLA and a minister in the Parkash Singh Badal cabinet, was convicted by the special CBI court here on Friday for abduction, forced abortion and illegal confinement of her daughter while she was acquitted of charges of murder.

Israel on high alert for mass Land Day demos

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Israeli police and troops were on high alert on Friday ahead of a raft of Land Day protests across Israel and the Palestinian territories, as supporters in Lebanon and Jordan readied to march to the borders.

Land Day is held every year on March 30 to mark the deaths of six Arab Israeli protesters at the hands of Israeli police and troops during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Arab land in Galilee.

I don’t want Asha Bhosle’s garden: Sadhana

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The last three years haven’t been exactly peaceful for yesteryear actress Sadhana Nayyar, who chose to stay away from public glare following her retirement. In 2010, she filed an FIR against a fellow tenant at her Khar bungalow for threatening her.

Last year, the cops investigating the case went as far as calling her a liar, and earlier this month, singer Asha Bhosle, who owns the bungalow, filed a police complaint against her for allegedly encroaching on her property.

Housewife arrested with 15,000 Tramadol tablets

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UDC,33-year-old housewife, was caught with a large quanity of the banned drug ‘Tramadol’

Dubai Police has arrested a woman living in the Warqa area on charges of possession and promotion of psychotropic substances, following receipt of information confirming the existence of a large quantity of drugs in her home.

Police raided the house of UDC, a 33-year-old housewife, whose house had been under surveillance, and found 1501 strips of the drug ‘Tramadol’ containing 15,000 pills. Seven tablets were also found in her car.

‘Pak addicted to using militants against India’: Top Pentagon official

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Pakistan has an addiction of playing around with militant groups against India and the US has virtually given up its efforts to change this mindset, a top Pentagon official has said.

“ They have an addiction to playing around with militia groups to achieve certain interests, particularly vis- a- vis India. That gets them in all kinds of trouble,” Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of defence for special operations/ low- Intensity conflict, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.

Osama bin Laden had 4 children, 5 safe houses, says a wife

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Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11 attacks, during which time he moved among five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a government hospital, his youngest wife has told Pakistani investigators.

Osama bin Laden’s three widows are under house arrest in Islamabad, and they and two children face prosecution.

Italy seizes Gaddafi assets worth $1.4 bn

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Assets worth $1.1 billion euros (about $1.4 billion) belonging to Libya’s Gaddafi family were seized by the Italian police.

The assets included stocks, real estate, a share of the Juventus soccer team and a Harley Davidson motorcycle, police said late Wednesday.

Then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had cozied up to the Italian government and business leaders and in the process Libya was permitted to invest petroleum profits in oil company Eni, arms maker Finmeccancia, and automobile manufacturer Fiat.

Election year politics holds up Obama’s envoy to India

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Election year politics has held up Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama’s nominee as envoy to India.

But South Asia veteran Nancy J. Powell, who was named as the next US ambassador in New Delhi in December, is not the only one cooling her heels in Washington. Currently, 181 of Obama’s nominees to various posts are awaiting confirmation.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner Wednesday could not spell out what was holding up Powell’s confirmation or how many ambassadorial nominees are waiting for confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

‘Indians’ hack Pakistan government website

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A section of Pakistan’s Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) website was hacked Friday, with a media report describing this as the handiwork of ‘Indians”.

The site — www.fto.gov.pk/ — is described as a critical component of the Pakistani government’s strategy to strengthen complaint filing and decision support system for aggrieved taxpayers.

The website’s hacked “About FTO” section displaying photographs of Indian freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, with “Hindustan Jindabad” and “Jai Hind” written on the page instead of “Pakistan Zindabad”.

35 militants killed in Pakistan

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Security forces Friday gunned down 35 militants in northwest Pakistan’s upper Orakzai areas while one troop was also killed, the Geo News reported.

Security forces conducted clearance operation against extremists in Balaras and Khadezai areas of upper Orakzai where 35 militants and one security personnel were killed and four others injured during clashes, said sources.

Security forces have taken control of the Balaras area in Orakzai, which is one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a tribal region of Pakistan.

—IANS

`Living` microbot to detect diseases in future

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Scientists are developing a tiny bot prototype that can act like a living organism to identify diseases within the human body.

Called Cyberplasm, it will combine advanced microelectronics with latest research in biomimicry (technology inspired by nature).

Add to it an electronic nervous system, `eye` and `nose` sensors derived from mammalian cells, as well as artificial muscles that use glucose as an energy source to propel it.

Fish-oil fortified yogurt may help you meet daily nutritional needs

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A number of people seek increasing their intake of heart-healthy n-3 fatty acids, found naturally in fish and fish products, but find it difficult to consume the recommended levels.

Scientists at Virginia Tech have demonstrated that it may be possible to achieve the suggested daily intake in a single serving of a savoury-flavoured yogurt, providing an easily incorporated dietary source for these valuable fatty acids.

Mom won’t take girl she gave birth to

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NOBODY wants a daughter, not even her mother in this boyobsessed country.

This shocking and unpalatable truth got highlighted in Jodhpur’s Ummaid Hospital when a four- day- old infant girl was rejected by her mother hours after the umbilical chord was severed.

Poonam Kanwar refused to accept her child after the midwives in their haste to pocket a handsome tip ( traditionally given for a male baby) gave her a newborn boy born to another woman around the same time.

India, China open year of friendship, push boundary solution

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday formally declared 2012 as the year of India-China friendship, and decided to enhance political trust to resolve all outstanding issues like the border dispute and trade imbalance.Taking note of the growing momentum in bilateral ties, the two leaders also decided to scale up their bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015.The talks lasted for nearly an hour and covered a range of bilateral issues as well as the need for closer coordination on global issues like climate change, the G20 and the Doha round of development nego

Pretty pink elephant

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PINK elephants were on parade in a Myanmarese zoo on Thursday and they were causing quite a splash. The mother and baby clearly loved having a good wallow and tooted with delight when their caretaker dowsed them with the hose. Usually their skin is a reddish brown colour but they turn a light pink when wet. They also have fair eyelashes and toenails.

Despite their unusual appearance, the rare jumbos, which are officially known as white elephants, are not a distinct species to grey elephants nor are they albinos.

Saudi to convert waste into electricity: First of its kind project

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Jeddah

Saudi Arabia has announced a first of its kind project in the Middle East that converts waste into electricity using plasma technology. This type of technology has already been implemented in Malaysia, Japan, the United States, France and Germany.

The project, disclosed by experts taking part in the 3rd Gulf Environment Forum (GEF) in Jeddah, is estimated to cost $500 million (SAR 1.8 billion).

The experts say the project, if implemented, could convert 3,000 tons of waste into 120 megawatts of electric power, equivalent to the energy needed by 10,000 houses per day.

Pranab Mukherjee wants to explore East for 2nd Green Revolution

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Pranab Mukherjee stated on Wednesday that he would look for the possible chances to set up a committee of the CMs of different states located in eastern part of India as he sought to make another Green Revolution in this part of the country.

He also complimented some eastern states like Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal for their significant rise in the production of rice in this fiscal.

Mukherjee said the staple grain production reached a whopping 102 lakh tones, mainly due to the rise in rice production. In 2011-12, the rice production rose to a record 7 million tones.

Azam salvo at Kejriwal on tax collection from shops

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Trouble is brewing for Team Anna’s most prominent face Arvind Kejriwal. The urban development ministry is awaiting chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s nod before initiating legal action against Kejriwal for intimidation.

Azam Khan, the urban development minister, has taken serious note of a letter allegedly written by Kejriwal to the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation ( GMC) in 2008 seeking permission to collect taxes from shopkeepers.

Saudi banks warn citizens and foreigners against conning operations

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The Saudi commercial banks have launched a massive campaign to warn citizens and foreigners against swindlers who sell them empty dreams informing them they have won large amounts of money and should proceed to a certain location to collect them.

The banks sent hundreds of thousands of text messages to mobile phones warning against the swindling operations.

Bank sources said the swindlers would use mobile phones or e-mail addresses to send messages to the recipients informing them they had won prizes in cash or kind and that they had to pay a certain fee in order to get them.

Telangana disrupts Lok Sabha again

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The demand for a separate Telangana state disrupted the Lok Sabha for the fifth consecutive day today, leading to another adjournment as some MPs alleged that the central government was insensitive towards their demand.

As soon as the lower house convened at 11 a.m., MPs from the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) shouted slogans of “Jai Telangana”, urging Speaker Meira Kumar to adjourn the house.

The MPs alleged that the central government was insensitive towards their demand which had driven people to end their lives.

Hyderabad to get Godavari water by Dec 2013

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Pipe-laying works for supply of Godavari drinking water to the city are in full swing and, if all goes as per plan, residents of surrounding circles of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) may start benefiting from the project by December, 2013 reported Times.