Month: July 2012

CM expresses shock over blast at Agrochem factory

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today expressed shock and anguish over the blast at Nagarjuna Agrochem factory at Chilakapalem village in Ethcheral Mandal of Srikakulam district in which 25 people were reportedly injured. In a release here, the Chief Minister directed the District Collector and Superintendent of Police to rush to the spot to supervise the rescue and relief operations and see that all the workers inside the factory were safely rescued. Mr Reddy asked the district administration to provide best medical assistance to the injured workers.

Morsi sworn in as Egypt’s president

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(IANS/RIA Novosti) Mohamed Morsi was sworn in as the first freely-elected president of Egypt Saturday before the country’s highest court here following his victory in the presidential election caused by Hosni Mubarak’s ouster following a civilian uprising.

The former leader of the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood pledged before Egypt’s Supreme Court to defend the country’s republican system, sovereignty, independence and integrity, safeguard the interests of the Egyptian people and observe the Constitution and national laws.

British ‘smart bomb’ to target cancer

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A cancer “smart bomb” has been invented by British scientists to boost the potency of drugs against the killer disease.

The tiny device, being developed at the University of Edinburgh, carries minute amounts of the metal palladium encased in a capsule directly to the site of deadly tumours to activate chemical treatments, express.co.uk reported Saturday.

PM as FM: revisiting 1991?

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Till now, the end run of the Manmohan Singh government’s present tenure hasn’t quite followed the scenario envisaged at its start in 2009. Instead of pushing ahead with reforms in the Left’s absence, it stalled. Now, there are faint hopes that it may pick up the threads again.

Poor HIV/AIDS infected to get financial aid in Delhi

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The capital Saturday became the first state in the country to provide a life-long financial assistance ranging from Rs.1,000-2,500 a month to poor people infected with HIV/AIDS.

People with HIV/AIDS on anti-retroviral treatment will get Rs.1,000 every month while orphans, destitute or abandoned children infected with HIV/AIDS will be given Rs.2,050.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit distributed cheques to 27 people at the inaugural ceremony of the scheme at the Maulana Azad Medical College. A total of 17 people were children and 10 were women.

Karnataka BJP crisis persists, scene shifts to Delhi

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The crisis in the Karnataka’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party unit, triggered by Friday’s resignation of nine ministers seeking removal of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, continued Saturday, though a party emissary was hopeful of early solution.

“We are inching towards early solution to the crisis,” BJP general secretary and state in charge Dharmendra Pradhan, who was sent by party central leadership to Bangalore Saturday, told reporters here after day-long talks with various factions in the state unit.

108 Ambulance saved 1,404 lives in Himachal

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Ambulance Service launched under Atal Swasthya Seva has saved 1,404 precious lives of people since the time it had been started in HP. This was revealed by Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, while addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of Atal Swasthya Seva Yojna Control Room at Dharampur, district Solan, estimated to cost Rs 2.75 crore, today. The Chief Minister said toll free number for the ambulance service 108 had served over 50 lakh people during its operational time who had called for the service.

Caste council in Rajasthan ostracises 40 Dalit families

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A caste council in a village in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district ordered residents to ostracize 40 Dalit families when one of them disobeyed its dictat to stop constructing a new house, police said.

According to police, the incident took place Cheepala village in Udaipur district, some 400 km from Jaipur.

“A Dalit family was constructing a house in the village. The neighbour who belonged to Rajput community objected to the construction of a sun shed and demanded that the entire portion of the house on his side be razed down,” said a police officer.

Six dead, millions left without power after US storm

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At least six people have died and up to two million were left without electricity after powerful storms hit the US Atlantic coast.

The storms swept across West Virginia, Virginia, Washington and Maryland, with wind speeds of up to 120 km per hour, RIA Novosti reported.

At least six people were killed in the storms, while over four million homes and businesses, 1.3 million in Washington area alone, were left powerless. Virginia and West Virginia have declared states of emergency, Xinhua reported.

Timbuktu world heritage site attacked

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The mausoleum of Sidi Mahmoud, a Unesco World Heritage site, in Timbuktu, Mali, has been damaged .

It is one of 16 shrines in Timbuktu.

The attack was reportedly carried out by the Ansar Dine movement, which believes the shrines are idolatrous. They have vowed to destroy all 16 of the shrines in Timbuktu.

On Thursday, Unesco placed Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia on its list of World Heritage in Danger.

Teenaged girl raped, friend molested in West Bengal

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A teenaged girl from Jharkhand was gangraped at a railway station in West Bengal’s Birbhum district Saturday, police said. Another girl was molested.

The victim, a resident of Dumka district was sexually assaulted at the Rampurhat railway station. She had taken shelter in the waiting room with another girl.

The girl accompanying the victim had gone out of the waiting room looking for water.

The assaulters dragged the victim to a nearby field and raped her and also molested the accompanying girl when she came to the spot looking for the victim.

Reactor pressure vessel inspected at Kudankulam

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Atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) Saturday commenced the pre-service inspection of the reactor pressure vessel of the first 1,000 MW reactor at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), a senior official said.

“We started the pre-service inspection the reactor pressure vessel. The inspection would take around 10-12 days to get over. The inspection would form the baseline date for future inspections apart from providing necessary data on the status of the reactor pressure vessel,” KNPP site director R.S. Sundar told IANS over the phone.

Pilot killed in South African jet crash

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A pilot was killed after a jet plane crashed at an air show in South Africa, Xinhua reported.

The pilot lost control over the jet — a privately-owned L-39 plane — while conducting an aerial manoeuvre at the Klerksdorp air show in the North West province, police said.

L-39 is an old type of jet trainer widely used for training or air travel by some countries.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority was yet to find out the cause of the crash.

——IANS

AP Govt to pay Rs 220 more on paddy to farmers as MSP

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The Andhra Pradesh Government will pay Rs 220 more to paddy farmers in the State, over the Rs 1,280 a quintal announced by the Centre as Minimum Support Price. Announcing this at a press conference here, Minister for Civil Supplies and Food D Sridhar Babu said the farmers will get Rs 1,500 a quintal of paddy on Sona Masuri and other BPT varieties will fall in the Grade A category for the ensuing kharif marketing season.

Arshad Ayub opts out of HCA prez’s race

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In a new twist to the July 8 elections to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), incumbent President, Arshad Ayub, today withdrew his nomination after seeking for a second term. On a day of unexpected turnarounds, the team india former off spinner said he was opting out because of various reasons and more because he wanted to make way for others.

A R Rahman to introduce Punjabi beats for London Olympics

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Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, who is reuniting with Danny Boyle for London Olympics, will celebrate Indian influence in UK by incluing Punjabi track in the opening ceremony.

The 46-year-old has teamed up with Boyle, the artistic director of the games, for the gala ceremony.

“Clarifying the report on the Olympics track I am composing… It’s a track in Punjabi celebrating the Indian influence in the UK.

——PTI

CBI likely to send team to Saudi Arabia to extradite Fasih

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The CBI is likely to send a team to Saudi Arabia to discuss the extradition of Fasih Mohammed, a suspected terrorist apprehended by authorities there.

An engineer by profession, 28-year old Fasih is alleged to have been involved in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and the shooting incident near Jama Masjid (Delhi) in 2010 and is wanted by both Delhi and Karnataka Police.

On the request of Karnataka and Delhi Police, CBI had asked the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against Fasih after which Saudi Authorities have informed that he has been apprehended by them.

Pranab arriving today

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UPA’s Presidential candidate Pranab Mukerjee is arriving here on Sunday morning. Coming from Chennai in a special flight, he will land at Begumpet Airport from where he will drive directly to the Jubilee Hall where he would participate in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting.

He would also meet MIM leaders. Later, he will leave for Bengaluru in the afternoon by spending some time at Taj Krishna Hotel.

PCC Chief Botcha Satyanarayana has examined the arrangements in the Jubilee Hall on Saturday keeping Pranab’s visit in view. (NSS)

Telangana state is only solution: Congress MP Rajaiah

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Congress MP Rajaiah has said that in the present political situation, creating Telangana State was the only solution.

Rajaiah met Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy in the camp office here on Saturday.

Speaking to the media later, he expressed confidence that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi would fulfill her promise on Telangana.

Shankar appeals to all opposition parties to support Pranab

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Congress leader and former minister Dr P Shankar Rao has appealed to the TDP, TRS, CPI, CPM, Lok Satta and YSRCP to extend support to UPA’s Presidential candidate Pranab Mukerjee.

Speaking to the media at the CLP office on Saturday, Dr Rao said that Pranab has vast experience and he was elected five times to the Rajya Sabha and twice to Lok Sabha. He is known as trouble-shooter and best administrator.

Ruby channel news editor apologizes to critics

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The Ruby Channel News Editor Sabina Tabassum has apologized to the viewers if their religious sentiments were hurt because of the documentary film which was telecast on the channel on the midnight of June 25 in the city.

Budhi Sridhar is general secretary of GHMC ward committee association

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The Ward Development Committee and Area Sabha Members’ Association of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has appointed Budhi Sridhar, Safilguda Division (137) Ward member as its general secretary.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday, Sridhar said that association president Gattu Jyothi Rani Narasimha Rao appointed him. He said that he would spare no efforts for all-round developments of Greater Hyderabad. He said that he would render his services to the citizens to the best of his ability as general secretary of association.

Allahabad bank opens two more branches in state

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Allahabad Bank has announced the opening two more district headquarter branches at Nellore and Anantapur taking the number of its branches in the State to 45 total number of branches to 2,536 in the country.

The new branches were inaugurated on Saturday by Bank Chairman & Managing Director J.P Dua. Chet Ram Verma, Zonal Head and other senior executives of the Bank were present.