Month: August 2012

Cong criticises TDP Prez on BCs issue

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The ruling Congress party today criticised Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu for stating that the Congress government in the state has failed to provide funds to the Backward Class Federations and Corporations by diluting the BC organizations. In a statement here, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) General Secretary S Laxminaryana, Secretaries Ch Balaraj, CJ Srinivas Rao and Allam Bhaskar said the statement of Mr Naidu was totally uncalled for and far away from the truth.

AP CM announces Rs 50 lakh cash incentive for Gagan

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today announced Rs 50 lakh cash incentive to Mr Gangan Narang who won Bronze medal in Olympics Shooting (10 m Air Rifle Shooting), first medal for India. The Chief Minister congratulated Mr B S Narang, father of Gagan Narang, who was called on him at Secretariat here and he said, ‘We are very proud. All best wishes for Gangan’. The Chief Minister also stated that the State Government is contemplating a ‘Model Sports Policy’ after convening a meeting with eminent sports personalities after the completion of on going Olympics.

TMIe2E Academy launches its first ECC in city

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TMI e2E Academy, a National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) partner company today launched its first Employability Counselling Centre (ECC) at Secunderabad. Speaking after the launch, TMI e2E Academy Managing Director T Muralidharan said ECC was the first of its kind in India, targeted at rural and semi-urban graduates and was the latest innovation from the academy which truly represents the motto of education to employment.

ACB court sends Kar MLA to 14 days judicial remand

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The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Court today remanded Karantaka Kampli legislator T H Suresh Babu to 14 days Judicial Remand till August 14 in the cash-for-bail case involving former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy. The special judge for SPE & ACB cases Jaganadham passed the orders after the ACB sleuths produced him in the court following his arrest last evening. The ACB also questioned Mr Babu, who played an active role in the conspiracy of bribing the then first additional CBI Judge Pattabhi Rama Rao for granting bail to Mr Janardhan Reddy.

TDP holds ‘rasta roko’ demanding water to Khariff crop

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Large number of farmers led by TDP leaders organised a ‘rasta roko’ at Hanuman Junction in Krishna district, on NH 5, today demanding release of water from the Nagarjunasagar dam to Krishna delta for the Kharif season. Large number of farmers led by TDP Machilipatnam MP K Narayana, MLAs Dasrai Balavardhana Rao, Devineni Umamahesara Rao, T Prabhakra Rao and many other TDP leaders organised a ‘rasta roko’ on Channai-Kolkata NH 5. They squatted on the road resulting in hundreds of vehicles getting stranded either side of the road.

Eight held with snake venom in Goa

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Eight people have been arrested in Goa for illegally possessing snake venom worth Rs.1.5 crore, police said Tuesday.

Police said the eight, who were arrested on a tip-off, were carrying nearly one litre of snake venom, which was extracted illegally, in contravention of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

“Eight people have been arrested. Nearly all of them were unemployed and used to run this snake venom trade racket regularly by trapping snakes in the forests and extracting the venom,” a police spokesperson said.

Class X students in BPL family to get free bicycle in Odisha

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The Odisha government today decided to provide bicycles to every class ten students beloning to BPL families. Official sources here said 1.60 lakh students of BPL families of the state would be benefitted by the decision. The government decided to provide free bi-cycles to class ten students of BPL families after success of its cycle scheme launched earlier. As per an earlier decision the state government has been providing bi-cycles free of cost to all class ten girl students and sc/st students of families residing in scheduled areas of the state.

Mobile thieves held

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With the arrest of three people, police claimed to have busted a gang of cellular phone thieves and seized 11 mobile handsets from them in Shamgarh town. Police said that Sohan Singh (20), Manish (21) and Dhan Singh (55) were detained from Station Road yesterday following a tip-off. Police seized five mobile handsets from Sohan, four from Manish and two from Dhan Singh. These handsets had been stolen from one Pawan Kumar’s shop on July 6. UNI

BJP demands allocation of spl fund for Rail Safety

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today demanded allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for ‘Special Railway Safety Fund’ to improve safety system in Indian Railways. In his letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Minister of State for Railways and National BJP Executive member Bandaru Dattatraya, said it was unfortunate that without preliminary enquiry, Minister for Railways Mukul Roy declared that Tamil Naidu Express train accident was a conspiracy.

Auto strike in twin cities on Aug 5

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Auto drivers unions Joint Action Committee (JAC) will observe a one day strike on August 5 to protest against Andhra Pradesh government’s inordinate delay in increasing the minimum fare to Rs 22. Addressing a press conference here, JAC leader Mohd Amanullah Khan said the strike will begin from August 5 midnight and a rally would be taken out the next day. Mr Khan alleged that the goverment wants to conceal its inefficiency in controlling the prices of petroleum products and essential commodities, and wants to pass on the burden to the poor auto drivers.

TN players top All India Fide chess

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Tamil Nadu’s top seed V A V Rajesh with an Elo rating of 2393 justified the top billing by wining the second Mother Chess Academy All India Fide Rating Tournament after aggregating eight points. He drew the last game with second seed S Ravi Teja (2304) of Vijayawada in 30 moves.

Meanwhile, Ravi Teja had to settle for the third spot as Tamil Nadu player Linda Ranga Rajan (2178) secured the second spot on better cumulative score.

The tournament, under the joint auspices of APCA and AVDCA, concluded at Prism Degree and PG College in Visakhapatnam today.

Congress in Gujarat promises to give houses to women

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Congress leader Narhari Amin today promised to provide houses to women of Gujarat if the party is voted to power in the upcoming state assembly polls. Addressing a news conference here, Mr Amin said Gujarat’s women would give houses to those women and their family members who do not have one and are living in rented accommodation. Forms for the said project would be distributed to the women by the party members in eight municipal corporations and 159 municipalities in the state from August two, he informed.

JNURM second phase draft in next 2 months: Krishna

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Secretary for Ministry of Urban Development Sudhir Krishna today said the second phase of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) draft plan would be ready within two months. Talking to mediapersons at the sidelines of the National workshop on ‘ the National Urban Infomation System (NUIS) Scheme with special emphasis on Bhuvan at the National Remote Sensing Agency here, he said the plan was under the study of Inter-Ministerial Group and the report would be finalised in the next two months.

NUIS database to cover 7935 towns & cities in the country

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Secretary for Ministry of Urban Development Sudhir Krishna today said the National Urban Infomation System (NUIS) will provide maps containing thematic database to urban local bodies to enable them to develop or redesign their master plans. Participating at a one-day national workshop on ‘NUIS Scheme with Special Emphasis on Bhuvan’ organised by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) here , Mr Krishna said that NRSC has come out with thematic databases of twelve primary layers like urban and land use, forest, twon companies and settlements location.

CRPF denies any involvement, statement on Kashmir youth’s death

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Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials here Tuesday labelled as “uncalled for and mischievous” a media report quoting one of its officers on the death of a youth in the south Kashmir town of Shopian while denying any involvement in the incident.

A local water tanker operator, Aquib Ahmad Bhat, died in Shopian town late Monday evening and his relatives and residents alleged the paramilitary force was involved, despite police saying the youth died in an accident.

Chinese Defence Minister likely to visit India in Sept

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Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie is likely to visit India in September, which is being seen as a significant indication of the PLA to improve defence ties with India ahead of leadership transition in China slated for October-November. According to sources, Gen Liang has expressed his keenness to visit India, for which dates are being finalised.

Army Chief stresses for timely modernisation programme

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Expressing satisfaction over the troops’ general preparedness to deal with any challenge, Chief of the Army Staff General Bikram Singh today stressed the need of its due and timely modernisation. Addressing officers at the Sapta Shakti Command headquarters here today, General Singh said ‘We are prepared and capable of facing any challenge. He said that in the given constitutional and statutory space/limits the army was required to discharge its duty with all dedication.

Tiger mauls zookeeper in Chile

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A zookeeper was mauled and seriously injured over the weekend at Chile’s Santiago zoo by a white tiger who was later killed, officials said.

The attack occurred around 9 a.m. Sunday at the zoo, which is in the north-central part of the capital and had not yet opened to the public.

“The tiger attacked an official, Jose Silva, who has been doing this work for 25 years and is an expert in this field,” Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Rodrigo Perez Mackenna, whose ministry operates the zoo, told reporters.

Gear up for romance, comedy, thriller this Friday

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There will be a treat for cinegoers this weekend. From romantic film “Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai” to erotic thriller in “Jism 2”, from comedy “From Sydney With Love” to 3D animated film “Krishna Aur Kans” — all are set to come out Friday.

A dramatic love story, “Yeh Jo…”, is about two young people and how the enmity between their respective Rajput families creats obstacle in their lives.

Featuring newcomers Aditya Samanta and Nazia Hussain, the music of the film, composed by Anu Malik, too boasts of freshness.

Russia may raise duties on beer

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Excise duties on beer could be increased in Russia in view of the rising “beer alcoholism” in the country, said President Vladimir Putin Tuesday, but however added that a cautious approach was needed.

“As for beer, we may proceed toward increasing excise duties on it. On the whole, beer alcoholism is a real problem but … increasing duties should be done carefully,” Putin told participants of Russia’s Seliger youth educational camp forum.

“This year the government has raised duties quite a lot, so if we go further down this route, we need to do so carefully,” he said.

17 killed in clashes at Yemen’s interior ministry

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At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in clashes between the security forces and gunmen belonging to a group of army defectors at the Yemeni interior ministry Tuesday, said officials and medics.

“A total of 11 soldiers’ bodies have been brought to the police hospital and dozens of others were receiving treatment,” Xinhua quoted doctors at the hospital as saying.

457 illegal residents held in UAE

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A total of 457 illegal residents have been nabbed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in last few days during a country-wide hunt.

Among them, the maximum (268) were arrested in Abu Dhabi, 95 in Al Ain, 54 in Ajman and 40 in Ras Al Khaimah.

Assistant Undersecretary for Naturalisation, Residency and Ports Affairs, Major General Nasser bin Al Awadi Al Menhali hailed the public cooperation which facilitated tracking down of these people by the authorities.

Microsoft unveils new email service

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Microsoft Tuesday introduced the preview version of Outlook.com, a new free web-based personal email service with cleaner user interface and integration with social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

“We think the time is right to reimagine email. So today, we’re introducing a preview of Outlook.com,” Chris Jones, a Microsoft corporate vice president, wrote in a blog post, Xinhua reported.

Microsoft said that with Outlook.com, there are 30 percent more messages visible in the inbox than similar web-based email services most users now are used to.