Month: August 2012

B-Town wishes Happy Rakhi, demands women’s safety

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Bollywood beauties like Mallika Sherawat and Preity Zinta wished Happy Rakshabandhan to their fans, while filmmakers like Onir and Ken Ghosh hope the values of the festival get drilled into those who mistreat girls.

The celebrities took to Twitter Thursday to share their wishes on the ocassion. Here’s what they had to say:

Raveena Tandon: Wishing all of you, on this auspicious day of Rakshabandhan. Love peace and togetherness, the blood bond that should remain thicker than money, property, insecurities and jealousies. Wishing all the brothers and sisters, love and happiness.

British tourists to Goa dip, Russian arrivals shoot up

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The number of tourists from Britain to Goa has declined 30 percent, but Russian tourists have swelled by more than 200 percent over the last two years, the state assembly was told Thursday.

According to data tabled in the house by the tourism ministry, the top arrivals at Goa’s sunny beaches in 2010 and 2011 were from European countries, namely Germany, Finland, France, Switzerland and Sweden, apart from Russia and Britain.

Israel mulls junk food tax to check expanding waistlines

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In a bid to control growing obesity rates in the country, the Israeli government is all set to authorise a plan which will levy a special tax on junk food, media report said Thursday.

The initiative for the governmental plan follows a survey conducted last year by the Gertner Institute, which deals with health policies. The poll showed one-third of the respondents supporting tax on soft drinks and snacks.

Southern power grid safe from tripping

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Unlike India’s northern, eastern and northeastern power grids which collapsed this week, the state-run Karnataka Power Corp Ltd (KPCL) Thursday said the southern power grid was safe from tripping.

“As a precaution, we have conducted a reality check on our state and southern grids to prevent a repeat of the tripping the other grids faced. We have also reviewed the procedures and systems to ensure the grids operate normally,” a KPCL official told IANS.

Antarctica was once a tropical paradise

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The chilly continent of Antarctica was once a tropical paradise where palm trees swayed on the green shores, a study has found.

Around 50 million years ago, temperatures in Antarctica soared above 20 degrees Celsius, the Daily Express reported.

To collect proof of the continent’s tropical heritage, scientists undertook an expedition and drilled a kilometre into the ocean floor to collect samples of fossilised pollen that have lain undisturbed for millions of years.

Between 48 and 55 million years ago, high levels of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere forced up temperatures.

Slow down in US arms sales to Pak

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Low ebb in bilateral relationship has slowed the pace of transfer and deliveries of America’s arms sales to Pakistan, a latest Congressional report has said, according to which Islamabad since 2001 has received USD 7.9 billion worth of military equipment from the United States.

Given that a significantly large number of these are conventional weapons, which strengthens Indian argument that US military sales to Pakistan are not to fight terrorism but this is something which would be used against India.

Majority of Israelis dissatisfied with Netanyahu

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Public support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit an all-time low, according to a poll published in Ha’aretz daily, which found that more than two-thirds of the respondents were unhappy with his overall performance.

The poll, conducted by Camil Fuchs from the Tel Aviv University, also showed dismal support for the country’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, with 67 percent expressing dissatisfaction with his policies, Xinhua reported.

Yunus fears government is taking over Grameen Bank

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Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus Thursday expressed shock at the Bangladesh government’s attempt to cut the powers of the Grameen Bank’s board and giving more authority to its chairman to choose the managing director of the microcredit organisation.

In a statement, the Grameen Bank founder said he had always expressed his apprehension about the possibility of the government taking over the bank, reported The Daily Star.

“Now my apprehension has started to become a reality. I am so disheartened that I am unable to express my feeling,” the statement quoted Yunus as saying.

Woman wrongly accused of watching porn gets compensation

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A 50-year-old British woman who was wrongly accused of watching internet pornography at her office has been awarded 20,000 pounds in compensation.

An employment tribunal found that there was no evidence for the allegations and Elaine Buckley, who worked as a finance manager at a dental laboratory, had been unfairly sacked, the Daily Express reported.

“I like walking my dog, spending time with my children and friends and generally being a mum – not looking at pornography. The whole experience has been so humiliating,” said Buckley, a resident of Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Putin to cheer for Russian judokas in Olympics

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Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in London Thursday for informal talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron and to witness some of the Olympic judo events.

The one-day trip, Putin’s first to Britain in nine years, will see the Russian leader discuss the Syrian conflict and energy cooperation with Cameron, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia’s Tagir Khaibulaev and Vera Moskalyuk are due to fight later Thursday at the ExCeL Arena.

Putin is a judo black belt and starred in the instructional video ‘Let’s Learn Judo With Vladimir Putin’ in 2008.

Policeman killed in Dagestan bombing in Russia

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A police officer was killed Thursday in a bomb blast in Russia’s volatile southwest Dagestan region, the interior ministry said.

The explosion took place in Buynaksk city around 7.30 a.m. fatally wounding 38-year-old Police Captain Rustam Magomedov, who was on his way to work.

An explosive device placed under his car went off. The policeman was rushed to hospital where he died a few hours later, a ministry spokesman said.

Police said illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition as well as manufacturing and trafficking of explosives may be linked to the case.

Mahindra Satyam quarterly net profit rises 56 percent

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Software service provider Mahindra Satyam Thursday posted a 56 percent increase in net profit at Rs.352 crore for the quarter ended June 30 against Rs.225 crore during the like period of the previous financial year.

The Mahindra group company’s revenue stood at Rs.1,880 crore during the quarter under review against Rs.1,434 crore during the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Mahindra Satyam’s total headcount stood at 35,996 as of June 30, 2012, with a net addition of 2,643 people during the quarter under review.

Pakistani who polished shoes in India sacked

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A Pakistani official who sought to create inter-faith harmony by serving devotees in Sikh temples in Pakistan and India has lost his job.

Mohammad Khursheed Khan, a deputy attorney general in Peshawar, was sacked by the federal government Wednesday, the Dawn reported Thursday. Another lawyer, Farooq Shah, was appointed in his place.

In 2010, Khursheed Khan started community service at gurdwaras in Peshawar as a mark of solidarity with the Sikh community after one of its members was killed by Islamists.

Olympic: Curtains for India’s double trap shooter Sodhi

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India’s ace double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi, a strong medal prospect, was knocked out of the competition at the 2012 London Olympics after he finished 11th in the qualification at the Royal Artillery Barracks here Thursday.

Sodhi shot 48, 44 and 42 in the first three rounds to finish with a score of 134. He had an excellent first round after which he was the joint top-scorer.

But he started dropping clays in the second and the third. His worst performance was in the third where he managed just 42.

Enhance sugar and wheat supplies during Ramadan

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5 kg sugar and 25 kg wheat must be supplied to each ration card holder of the twin city. President Ittehad Educational Social Welfare Society Mr. Shaikh Siraj and secretary general Mr. M A Ahmed strongly urged the chief minister and civil supplies minister to issue extra quota of sugar and wheat in all districts of the state besides twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Since the month of Ramadan is the month of rejoicing, sweet dishes are cooked in every house and it is difficult for poor families to buy sugar from retail shops which sell sugar at Rs. 35 to 38 per kg, they said.

Sound and light show at Taj Mahal

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A sound and light show was held at Taj Mahal by the Department of Tourism. The show aims at giving a boost to tourism in the region and to promote the country’s history and culture. The show featured the love story of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his queen Mumtaz Mahal, with a replica of the Taj in the backdrop.

The play is being performed in ten languages and the adience is provided with audio aids at every seat to enable foreign tourists to listen to the translated dialogues of the play in their respective languages.

Haleem sales boost during Ramadan

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There was a time when people used to ask ‘Ramzan mein kaun bade?’ and the answer was ‘Dahi Bade’. But today ‘dahi bade’ have taken a back seat and the mouth watering Haleem has become hot favourite these days. The holy month of Ramadan witness a sharp increase in the sale of Haleem.

‘Haqqani network enjoys financial, logistic support from Pak’

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As ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam held crucial talks with his CIA counterpart David Petraeus, a damning report by a prestigious US military academy has said that the dreaded Haqqani Network receives financial and logistic support from the Pakistani military.

The report on financing of Haqqani network by Combating Terrorism Center of the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, also said the Afghan Taliban-linked group has a massive network of “mafia”-style financing operation that relies on extortion, kidnapping, smuggling and ties to legitimate businesses.

Haqqani network enjoys financial, logistic support from Pak

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As ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam held crucial talks with his CIA counterpart David Petraeus, a damning report by a prestigious US military academy has said that the dreaded Haqqani Network receives financial and logistic support from the Pakistani military.

The report on financing of Haqqani network by Combating Terrorism Center of the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, also said the Afghan Taliban-linked group has a massive network of “mafia”-style financing operation that relies on extortion, kidnapping, smuggling and ties to legitimate businesses.

US gives Syrian opposition $25 mn in non-lethal aid

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The US has provided the Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar al-Assad with $25 million of non-lethal assistance, an official here said.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Wednesday: “There is the $15 million pot of money, but in addition to that we have another $10 million that we have obligated and are spending to assist the Syrian opposition out of wider funds that we spend in the region.”

He pointed out that the sum of $25 million goes in particular to the opposition and is not part of the $64 million, which the US allocated Syria in humanitarian aid.

Govt taken Pune blasts ‘very seriously’: Shinde

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The Government today said it has taken the near simultaneous explosions in Pune “very seriously” and investigators were looking for clues.

“We have taken it very seriously,” Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters here after a high-level meeting which reviewed the security situation in the country in the wake of last evening’s blasts in Pune.

–PTi

English Daily “Yam Times” Celebrates its 14th anniversary

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(Siasat News)Fourteenth Anniversary Day Celebrations of English Daily “Yam Times” published from Hyderabad at 5 P.M on 4th August 2012 at Mahboob Hussan Jigar Hall, Siasat Complex. Mr. Zahid Ali Khan, Editor, Siasat will preside overt the function, Mr. Vijay Veer, Editor Hindi Milap, Mr. E.Ismail, former member, A.P. State Human Rights Commission, Mr. Zia Quadri of Rashtriya Sahara, Mr. Kabeer siddiqui, President Alami Urdu Foundation, Mr A.Lakshman, Member Press Council and Ajaz Farukh will be guests of honnour.

Renaissance of Urdu expected of Urdu University

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(Siasat News)Sir Syed Ahmed Khan made an attempt for the renaissance of Muslims education during his period. Maulana Azad National Urdu University is osffering higher education through the medium if Urdu. It is expected that perhaps Urdu University would be the cause of renaissance of education through Urdu medium. Prof. Faizan Mustafa, Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law while delivering a lecture in Urdu University on “Right to Education Act-Challenges and Prospects”, expressed these thoughts

Minorities Finance Corporation offers Job-Oriented Courses

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(Siasat News)A.P.State Minorities Finance Corporation in a press note notified that S.S.C passed Minorities Candidates of Ranga Reddy District who are interested in joining Para Medical courses, I.T. courses and Fashion Designing may attend interview to be held for pre-counseling cum selection at Madina Education Center at 100 a.m on 6th August.

Executives Director of Minorities Finance Corporation told that the selected candidates of R.R.District would be provided guidance for employment and training under Rajiv Yuva Karnalu Scheme.

C.B.I. Enquiry is inevitable in Urdu University

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(Siasat News)Mr.Syed Tariq Quadri, Advocate, President of Action Committee for Maulana Azad National Urdu University in a press statement issued yesterday stated that the write-up under the caption “The reality of Campaign against Urdu University” released by Public Relations Office of the University and published on 4th July 2012 in Munsif Urdu Daily depicts that the campaign against Urdu University has been going on for the past three months.