Month: June 2012

Al-Qaeda no. 2 killed in US drone strike in Pakistan?

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Al-Qaeda’s second-in- command Abu Yahya al-Libi, on whose head the US had put a bounty of one million dollars, may have been killed in thelatest CIA drone strike in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal region in which 15 militants had perished.

Libi, considered the most-prominent figure in al-Qaeda after Ayman al-Zawahiri, was the main target of the drone
strike yesterday at a militant compound near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan tribal region, and US officials were “optimistic” the Libyan had not survived.

Karnataka BJP legislator gets bail in bribery case

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The Karnataka High Court Tuesday granted conditional bail to ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Y. Sampangi and also suspended his conviction of three years and six months rigorous imprisonment given by a trial court in a bribery case.

Admitting Sampangi’s bail petition, Justice V. Jagannathan ordered him to pay a surety of Rs.100,000 for his release. The court asked him not to leave the country without its permission. He is lodged in the central jail.

Ajit Singh meets Sonia Gandhi

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Civil Aviation Minister and RLD chief Ajit Singh on Tuesday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss political issues, including the upcoming Presidential elections.

Singh discussed various political issues, including the Presidential elections, sources said.

The meeting also comes in the wake of bye-election to the Kannauj Parliamentary seat where UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav is in the fray as a Samajwadi Party candidate.

Congress has decided not to field a candidate against Dimple.

Collegium system for ECs,CAG: Karuna backs Advani

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Backing LK Advani’s suggestion for a collegium to appoint Election Commissioners and CAG, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the BJP leader’s views could not be ignored and expressed confidence that the Centre would accord due importance to it.

Aamir Khan to pitch in for Nutrition campaign

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Actor Aamir Khan, who has been earning accolades for highlighting social issues through his TV programme, will soon be seen spreading awareness about the problem of malnutrition as part of a major publicity campaign by the government.

“The Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry has planned a major information, education and communication or IEC campaign against malnutrition with the pro-bono services of film actor Aamir Khan. The campaign will be ready in a month or two,” a senior ministry official told PTI.

Decision on toxic waste disposal soon: Chidambaram

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Talks are on with a German firm for disposal of toxic waste left at the Union Carbide plant in the aftermath of the 1984 disaster after Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra declined to allow its destruction in their territory, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.

Chidambaram, who heads the Group of Ministers on Bhopal, told reporters that the Madhya Pradesh government was in talks with German company GIZ International which had shown interest in disposal of the waste.

GIZ International has come forward with a proposal to airlift the toxic waste and dispose it of in Germany.

Gadkari galvanising BJP workers for LS polls

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Virtually assured of a second term at the recent national executive in Mumbai, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has started work on galvanising the party rank and file for the forthcoming Assembly elections and the Lok Sabha polls.

Sources close to Gadkari said he has taken serious note of the concerns voiced by senior leader LK Advani at the conclave and later on his blog that BJP does not appear to be in a position where it would be considered a viable alternative to those who want to vote out the UPA.

2 Indians among those killed in Nigeria crash

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Rains hampered rescue effort at the devastated site of an air tragedy in Nigeria today as emergency workers looked for more bodies through the rubble, even as it emerged that two Indians were among the 153 people on the ill-fated flight that crashed following engine failure.

Rescuers have recovered 137 bodies from the site of the crash, in which the toll is expected to mount to up to 200. Just before going down near the airport, the pilot of the flight had reported to the control tower that both of its engines had failed, according to Nigeria’s civil aviation chief.

US-Pak relations are fluid at present: CRS

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The relationship between Pakistan and US is currently running a negative course which is marked by mutual distrust, a Congressional report has said even as the two countries have been holding a series of negotiations to improve their ties and address their differences.

AP minister Lakshmaiah summoned by CBI

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Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah has been summoned by the CBI to appear before it here in connection with the alleged disproportionate assets case involving YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, on June 7.

The central agency is likely to examine Ponnala over the Government Orders (GOs) issued during 2004-09 when he was the Minister for Major Irrigation in the cabinet of late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, on supply of water from river Krishna to some cement companies, which in turn allegedly made investments in businesses of the Kadapa MP.

14 girls rescued from redlight area

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Fourteen girls, including three from Nepal, were rescued from a redlight area in central Delhi, police said on Monday.

A raid was conducted in the redlight area late last evening and 14 girls aged about 16-18 years were rescued.

Out of the 14, four are from Rajasthan, three from Nepal, two from Maharastra, two from Andhra Pradesh and one each West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

All the girls belong to poor families and they were lured on the pretext of providing them good employment in Delhi.

–PTI

Need to play against tougher teams: Michael Nobbs

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Indian hockey team, which won the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia on Sunday, returned home last night to a warm reception at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport.

Coach Michael Nobbs, who faces a Litmus test with the team at the July-August London Olympic Games, was cautious in his reaction about the team`s mixed performance in Malaysia where they failed to defend their crown.

“We need to play more matches against tougher teams,” said Nobbs on his arrival at the airport.

Dry weather, soaring mercury cause forest fires

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Dry weather and soaring mercury have caused several forest fires in Himalayan region of Garhwal and hills near Kotdwara.

“This exceptionally dry weather has accelerated the incidence of fire,” Range officer J P Kukreti said here today.

He said the problem has been compounded by villagers starting some fires with the belief that they will get a richer fodder crop yield.

Touch, the new technology trigger for children’s games

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In today’s ‘touch’ technology simple games aided by a sophisticated mechanics has altered significantly the manner in which children play, turning video games into one of the most popular segment among kids.

“The future (of gaming) is touch games or even games that do not need any physical interaction such as the Microsoft Kinetic which uses motion capture cameras to bring affordable advanced technology to the masses,” says Anshu Mor of Microsoft India. Mor was participating in a panel discussion during the recently concluded World Children Expo here.

Cancer-causing salt used to preserve eggs in China

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Over 100,000 salted duck eggs and two tonnes of an industrial salt used to preserve them have been seized in China after it was found the salt could cause cancer.

Police and quality supervision officials raided an underground salted egg production site in Jiangmen city of Guangdong province, the Shanghai Daily reported.

The industrial salt was found to contain nitrite, the long-term intake of which can lead to cancer, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Depression is linked to feelings of guilt: Study

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People prone to depression often respond more strongly than others to feeling guilty, according to a new neuroimaging research, which may help explain how the emotions are processed by the brain.

Dr Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, was the first to claim that crushing guilt is a common symptom of depression. Now, the new research found a communication breakdown between two guilt-associated brain regions in people who have had depression.

Going abroad? First serve the country, doctors told

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The Indian government plans to bring a regulation to ensure doctors have a compulsory stint in the country especially in the rural sector, Minister of State for Health Sudip Bandopadhyay Monday said.

“The government is spending crores of rupees for making doctors and specialists, but after passing out most of them go abroad. We are planning to bring in a regulation/declaration which will make sure that the doctors serve in their state/country for a specific period,” said Bandopadhyay.

Monsoon hits Kerala, may progress further

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South-west monsoon, the key to the agriculture driven trillion-dollar Indian economy, today brought showers to Kerala bringing much-needed relief to farmers.

“Monsoon has reached Kerala,” a top India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

Kerala usually receives monsoon showers by June 1, but scientists said there was no need to paint a gloomy picture as the progress of the seasonal rainfall phenomenon was well with the forecast limits which have a model error of four days.

Anna Hazare wishes good luck to Sachin for new inning as MP

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Wishing good luck to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar for his new inning as a Member of Parliament, social activist Anna Hazare today said the country needs young politicians like Sachin.

“I welcome Sachin. I wish good luck to him,” Mr Hazare told reporters.

Sachin will take oath as a Rajya Sabha Member today.

The ‘God of cricket’ is the first active sportsperson to become an MP.

—-UNI

7-pt strategy to boost export; interest subsidy scheme extended

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Amid global economic problems, the government today unveiled 7-point strategy to boost exports which include extension of interest subsidy scheme by one year till March 31, 2013.

“We have now decided to extend the scheme (interest subvention) for another year till March 31, 2013 and expand its coverage to include other labour-intensive sectors namely toys, sports goods, processed agricultural products and ready made garments”, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said while releasing annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy here.

Privacy important for Kim Kardashian

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Her day-to-day life is there for all to see through her show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”, but privacy is of utmost importance to reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

The 31-year-old says she doesn’t reveal everything about her life, despite being in the public eye with television shows and appearances constantly.

‘English Vinglish’ written with Sridevi in mind: R.Balki

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Actress Sridevi’s comeback film “English Vinglish” was written with only her in mind, says producer R. Balki, whose wife Gauri Shinde has directed the movie.

“‘English Vinglish’ is a very special film for me because it marks the comeback of Sridevi, possibly one of the greatest performers. It was written and discussed keeping Sridevi in mind,” Balki told IANS.

Sridevi scorched the silver screen with films like “Sadma”, “Chandni” “Chaalbaaz”, “Mr.India” and “Lamhe”. Her last movie was “Judaai”, released in 1997.

Vidya Balan bares soul on her love affair with Kolkata

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Kahaani sensation Vidya Balan said she is happy that her love affair with Kolkata continues since she first starred in “Bhalo Theko”, her first Bengali film.

Half the reason she agreed to act in Kahaani was because the backdrop of the film was Kolkata, her “favourite city”, Vidya said.

“I was teling Sujoy (director Sujoy Ghosh) the other day that half the reason I did this movie was it had the backdrop of my favourite city and the characters looked so familiar,” Vidya said.

Kannauj poll: Cong not to field candidate against Dimple

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Reflecting the growing bonhomie between the two parties, Congress has decided not to field any candidate against UP Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, the Samajwadi Party candidate in the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election.

“We had not contested the seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election and we are not contesting it now,” party General Secretary Digvijay Singh said, adding that besides Kannauj, the party had not put up candidate then from Mainpuri from where Mulayam Singh had contested.

Man rapes daughter for 2 years

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A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his elder daughter for the past three years in Mumbai’s suburban Dahisar area on Saturday. The victim, who had to undergo abortion, alleged that her father threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone.

Police said, around three days ago the victim told about the incident to a child welfare activist, who then bought her to the police station and lodged a complaint.