Month: August 2012

Man arrested in Rajasthan for selling off wife

by

A man in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district was booked Saturday for allegedly selling his teenaged wife for Rs.3.5 lakh soon after their marriage, police said.

According to police, the incident took place near Bhadsoda town in the district, some 300 km from Jaipur.

“The 17-year-old girl was married to Madan Kumar, a resident of a village near Bhadsoda, on June 12. She disappeared soon after marriage,” said a police officer.

The girl’s family members came to know about her disappearance when her brother went to her husband’s house recently.

Man arrested in Rajasthan for selling off wife

by

A man in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district was booked Saturday for allegedly selling his teenaged wife for Rs.3.5 lakh soon after their marriage, police said.

According to police, the incident took place near Bhadsoda town in the district, some 300 km from Jaipur.

“The 17-year-old girl was married to Madan Kumar, a resident of a village near Bhadsoda, on June 12. She disappeared soon after marriage,” said a police officer.

The girl’s family members came to know about her disappearance when her brother went to her husband’s house recently.

Saina changes Bejing heartbreak into Olympic bronze

by

From a heart break in Beijing to the bronze medal in London — the first for India in Olympics badminton, shuttler Saina Nehwal has come a long way in four years.

When the unseeded Saina beat fourth seed Chen Wang of Hong Kong to enter the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Beijing Games four years ago, hopes of India’s first Olympic medal in the sport soared.

However, there was big disappointment when Saina was stopped by Indonesia’s Maria Kristin Yulianti from entering the semi-finals.

Two killed, 15 injured in Pakistan building blast

by

At least two people were killed and 15 injured when three buildings collapsed following an explosion in a fireworks workshop in Pakistan’s Multan city Saturday, media reports said.

The incident happened around 9.40 a.m. when fire engulfed a fireworks workshop causing a huge blast, reported Xinhua citing a TV channel.

“I was going to the market to fuel my car when I heard a huge blast…and in a blink, the building and two surrounding houses (were) razed to ground,” Basharat Ali, an eye witness, said.

Clue to why women live longer discovered

by

A genetic clue to why women outlive men has been found in a study of fruit flies by British researchers.

The research, published in the journal Current Biology, show that a set of DNA inherited from the mother can be harmful to males and speed up male aging, Xinhua reported Friday.

Researchers from Lancaster University said the results point to numerous mutations within mitochondrial DNA that affect how long males live, and speed at which they age.

Mitochondrial DNA, which is found in many species, including human, is inherited through the mother only.

10-year-old Jewish girl allowed to embrace Christianity

by

A 10-year-old Jewish girl in Britain has been permitted by a court to convert to Christianity after her mother’s claims that she had been “brainwashed” and was too young to change faith were rejected.

The girl’s divorced parents were at conflict over her desire to be baptised at the church her father, himself a convert, now attends, the Telegraph reported Friday.

The ruling was handed down by the Romford County Court in Essex.

Haj pilgrims caught in fight over Nizam’s Makkah buildings

by

Over 350 Haj pilgrims selected for free accommodation in the ‘rubath’ (buildings) of the former Nizam of Hyderabad in Makkah are caught in a fight between the property’s caretaker and the Wakf Committee over the right to choose the beneficiaries.

Mohammed Hussain Al-Shareef, ‘nazer’ or caretaker of the two ‘rubath’ in the Saudi Arabian holy city, last week conducted an online draw of lots to select 367 pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The two buildings can accommodate 408 pilgrims but the caretaker has set aside 10 percent for the Nizam’s family members.

Protests, prayers against attack on Muslims in Myanmar

by

Thousands of Muslims took out a procession and offered special Friday prayers here to protest against alleged attacks on Muslims in Myanmar, an official said here.

They called upon the government to pressurise Myanmar authorities to stop atrocities on the Muslim minority and offered special prayers at Minara Masjid here.

US TV channel apologises for monkey ad

by

American TV channel NBC has apologised after an advertisement featuring a monkey doing gymnastics was telecast right after showing the gold medal victory of US gymnast Gabby Douglas, the first African-American to do so at the Olympics.

The TV network apologised for the ad’s poor timing, saying “No offense was intended”, the Daily Mail reported.

Britons spend a year of their lives in the pub

by

Britons, known for their love for lager, spend more than a year of their lives in the pub, a study has found.

In an average week, Britons head out at least twice, for a period of three hours and 34 minutes, The Sun reported citing the poll of 2,000 adults by pub chain Taylor Walker.

During the average drinking lifetime of 60.5 years – after the legal age of 18 – Britons spend 11,220.7 hours or 467.5 days at the bar.

A “typical” drinker spends around 125,000 pounds on their favourite drink over their lifetime. Lager was found to be the most commonly-bought drink.

Woman calls cops after cafe waitress says she smells

by

A 61-year-old British woman called police after she felt insulted when a waitress at a cafe told her she had body odour.

June Morris said it was a “verbal assault” when the waitress at a cafe in Blackwood, South Wales called her smelly, the Daily Mail reported.

“I couldn’t believe it. I don’t smell. I was always taught by my mum and dad to keep myself clean,” Morris said.

She said she was informed that the waitress made the derogatory comment as she walked past.

When the waitress returned, Morris confronted her.

Indian-American surgeon to bring low-cost heart therapy to India

by

Dr Mukesh Hariawala, an award winning Indian-American artificial heart surgeon, is set to introduce a unique low-cost “triple heart therapy” in India to help patients with diabetes who cannot afford expensive bypass operations.

Harvard trained Boston based Hariawala will receive “India’s Most Admired Surgeon 2012” award for pioneering work on angiogenesis or growth of new blood vessels to aid healing, at the Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit, organised by healthcare magazine Pharmaleaders, in Mumbai on Sep 21.

36 UAE diplomats sworn in

by

A new batch of 36 United Arab Emirates (UAE) diplomats has taken oath of office and secrecy before Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The minister welcomed the new batch of diplomats, comprising 22 men and 14 women, and affirmed the ministry’s keenness to absorb qualified and efficient citizens to represent the country locally and abroad.

Indian banks need to raise Rs.1.75 trillion capital by 2018: RBI

by

Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao Saturday said the Indian banks will have to raise an additional capital of Rs.1.6 trillion to Rs.1.75 trillion by March 2018 to conform to the Basel-III capital adequacy norms.

“Our own estimate show that after accounting for whatever banks will generate by way of internal accruals and interest earnings, the banks should raise an additional capital of 1.6 to 1.75 trillion rupees,” he said while speaking on risk management at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies here.

India’s $3 bn oil stake in South Sudan now looks safe

by

The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) can heave a sigh of relief, with signs of a truce, at least in oil, between Sudan and South Sudan raising hopes that India’s $3 billion investment in the world’s newest nation is safe.

“It’s an (oil) agreement about all of the matters. The issues that were outstanding were charges for transportation, for processing, transit,” former South African President and African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki told reporters here.

Bulgarian women gang jailed for London pickpocketing

by

A gang of three Bulgarian women, who picked pockets of disabled and blind people on public transport in London, have been jailed.

Gergina Georgjeva, 21, Dimitra Miteva, 33, and Parashkeva Ilieva, 40, stole mobile phones and purses from people on buses across London, the Daily Mail reported.

One of the their victims was a blind woman on crutches.

The trio have been jailed for four months.

The pickpockets also stole an iPhone from a man waiting at a bus stop and a woman’s purse on board a bus in Stoke Newington, north London.

48 Iranian pilgrims abducted in Syria

by

At least 48 Shia Muslim pilgrims from Iran were Saturday abducted in the Syrian capital by militants while they were on their way to the Damascus airport, Iran’s state-run IRIB TV reported.

Majid Kamjou, chief counsel of the Iranian embassy in Syria, said the group of pilgrims was scheduled to visit a Shia shrine in suburban Damascus before leaving the city for Tehran, Xinhua reported.

Iran test-fires 300 km-range missile

by

Iran Saturday announced it has successfully test-fired a missile with a range of 300 km, state-run IRIB TV reported.

The unnamed missile is the fourth generation of the Fateh 110 missiles that are capable of hitting targets in the sea and on the land, Defence Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Without referring to the time and place of testing the missile, Vahidi said it is also able to target radar systems, commandment bases and arsenal depots.

Secret to a happy marriage: Get angry

by

In a marriage, forgive and forget are probably a thing of the past, and getting angry could be the best way to solve relationship problems, a psychologist has found.

James McNulty, associate professor at the University of Tennessee, found that forgiving may actually build up resentment, the Daily Mail reported.

The “short-term discomfort of an angry but honest conversation” can actually benefit the health of a relationship in the long term, he said.

McNulty found that forgiveness in marriage can have some unintended negative effects.

BJP Parliamentary Party Meet Aug 6 : Naidu

by

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary Party Meeting would be held at New Delhi on August 6, its senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu said today. Addressing a press conference here, he said the parliamentary party meet would be held ahead of the Vice-Presidential election which is scheduled to be held on August 7. He said as the monsoon session of Parliament is begining on August 8, the BJP, by taking into confidence its allies in the NDA, would chalk out the stand to be adopted in the upper and lower houses of Parliament.

TCS V-C praises Anna for fight against corruption

by

Tata Consultancy Services vice Chairman S Ramadorai today praised anti graft crusader Anna Hazare for keeping alive the fight against corruption,but said he did not endorse his methodologies to achieve it.

“In a politically vibrant and active democracy like ours, issues of national importance sometimes do not get the attention it deserves. So if it was not for Anna Hazare, we would accept corruption as fait accompli”,he said at the 175th Annual General Meet of industry body Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

Sharad Yadav welcomes Team Anna’s entry into politics

by

Welcoming Team Anna’s entry into politics, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav today refused to comment on whether the Lokpal crusader’s outfit will be invited to join the NDA.

“It is an imaginary situation. We welcome their entry into politics. In democracy everyone has got a right to enter into active politics and launch their political parties,” JD(U) chief and NDA’s convener Sharad Yadav told reporters here.

He was asked whether the NDA will invite Team Anna’s yet-to-be-launched political outfit in its fold.

Left meets PM, demands excess food be distributed

by

A delegation of Left party leaders Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand universal distribution of excess food stock to check rising prices of essential commodities.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Prakash Karat, Communist Party of India’s S. Sudhakar Reddy, Forward Bloc’s Debabrata Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) Abani Roy met Manmohan Singh at his residence.

The meeting comes after a five-day protest held by four parties demanding food security for all.

Olympics: Phelps takes his medal tally to 21; US overtake China

by

American swimmer Michael Phelps won the men’s 100-metre butterfly to take his Olympic golds to 17 and overall medals tally to 21, and thanks to a gold rush in the pool the United States overtook China at the top of the medals table.

Phelps clocked 51.21 seconds for the 100m title, adding to his victories earlier in the 200m individual medley and 4x200m freestyle relay Friday, reports Xinhua.

Chad le Clos of South Africa and Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia touched in 51.44 to share the silver medal.