Month: September 2012

Spain’s troubled banks need roughly 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion) to shore up their finances, according to the results of an independent audit released Friday.

But in presenting the results of US management consulting firm Oliver Wyman’s report, Spain’s secretary of state for the economy, Fernando Jimenez Latorre, said the government may only ask its euro-zone partners for around 40 billion euros in assistance, less than half the amount approved this summer.

As part of its anti-pornography drive, Chinese authorities have shut down about 97,000 blog and microblog accounts for spreading pornography and lewd content.

According to State Internet Information Office, authorities closed the accounts over the past seven months, Xinhua reported.

To curb lewd content from spreading via the Internet and cellphones, authorities banned 164 pornographic publications, the office said.

A total of 287 Internet companies were probed and punished during the campaign, it said.

The office also said public security authorities have cracked 2,446 cases

As the traditional party of banias or traders, the BJP’s opposition to FDI in retail is not surprising. There is also an element of cogency is this stance of both the Left and the BJP.

While the comrades are motivated by their ideological aversion to anything linked to America, the BJP is guided by considerations of safeguarding one of its major support bases – the lower middle class trading community of orthodox Hindus.

Minority leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi have appealed minorities to participate in Telangana march in large numbers for the success of the march. Party general secretary Sultan Quadri, politburo member Syed Ibrahim, general secretary Inayat Ali Baqari, Mohammed Shabbir Ahmed, Zahooruddin and Masihuddin issuing a joint appeal urged the minorities to participate in Telangana march from all the 10 districts of Telangana and prove that minorities are inseparable part of Telangana movement.

Eyeing the growing number of Indian tourists, the Maldives flag-carrier will launch direct services from Mumbai, Chennai and Dhaka to Male, a top official here said.

Tourists can hop onto three flights a week from each of these cities to Male, Abdul Harris, managing director of Maldivian said late Friday.

To be operated by Airbus A-320, the first jet aircraft joining the Maldivian fleet, the Mumbai services shall be available Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while the Chennai-Dhaka sectors will be available Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, he added.

Describing the US as an important partner in its development efforts, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has said for India, it will remain “a relationship of great priority and importance” in the 21st century.

“As we look at the priorities for India’s foreign policy in the decades ahead, we see not only convergence of interests with the United States, but also a belief in the importance of a strong partnership between our two great democracies in achieving our shared goals,” he said on Friday.

The CAG has come under fresh attack from Congress with Law Minister Salman Khurshid and party spokesperson Manish Tewari questioning its functioning.

Khurshid, writing in the latest issue of the party mouthpiece Congress Sandesh, accused the CAG of computing losses in a “callous manner” and noted that the Rs 1.86 lakh crore figure of undue benefits to private players in coal block allocation arrived by the audit body will stick in public mind.

The death of an Indian American student whose body was found in Wilmette harbour near the Northwestern University’s suburban Chicago campus has been ruled as a result of an accidental drowning.

However, the Cook County medical examiner’s office had no additional information about the circumstances surrounding student Harsha Maddula’s death, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Maddula’s family made a statement Friday morning that they do not believe their son killed himself or that his disappearance was related to a rare form of diabetes that he had, CBS News reported

The police arrested 11 members, allegedly belonging to the Telangana United Front (TUF), on charges of destroying four toll kiosks of the Outer Ring Road at Narsingi in the wee hours of Friday.

According to the police, about 25 persons came to Narsingi around 5 am on Friday and shouting pro-Telangana slogans, destroyed four of the nine toll kiosks. One of the kiosks was completely burnt and another partially.

Actress Vidya Balan, the newly appointed brand ambassador for the Clean India campaign, says she would love to star in a film which would help spread the message of sanitation and hygiene.

“Why not? It will be good. It will further spread the message and if am able to motivate even two people I think it will be worth counting,” said Balan, who was in the Capital alongwith Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today to announce a 2000 km-long Nirmal Bharat Yatra.

A man, who was allegedly trying to kill a minor boy at a religious place, was nabbed by villagers and handed over to police in Ranka village under Chowka police station area of neighbouring Saraikela-Kharsawan district, police said today. Shatrughan Laik, a resident of nearby Dirlong village, was seen trying to kill the two-and-a-half-year old boy as part of a human sacrifice ritual near Jaherthan, the worshipping place of local tribal community, on Wednesday night. He was nabbed and handed over to the police.

After strongly opposing the diesel price hike and the FDI in retail, the DMK, the second largest ally of the ruling Congress-led UPA at the Centre, today wanted the government to scrap the All India Entrance Test for PG Medical Courses. Replying to set of questions, DMK President M karunanidhi said the Centre should respect the sentiments of the State governments and take steps to abolish the common entrance exams for medical courses.

Police in Hyderabad have been put on high alert ahead of the Ganesha immersion procession Saturday and the pro-Telangana groups’ proposed march Sunday for the separate state of Telangana.

Over 15,000 policemen and personnel from paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure peaceful and smooth conduct of the procession, which would begin Saturday morning.

Authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the immersion of Ganesha idols in Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator Pocharam Srinivas Reddy today expressed confidence that a positive statement on the Telangana State formation would emerge from the Centre before the deadline of September 30 set by TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao. Talking to media persons here, Mr Reddy warned of serious consequences if the government failed to make a favourable announcement on the bifurcation of State. He said no one could deter the Telangana March by forcible arrests or causing other obstructions.

A four member gang, including a woman, was arrested by the city police for cheating the unemployed youth by promising them with a job in Indian Railways and collected money from them. Addressing a press conference, City Police Commissioner J Poornachandra Rao said that based on a private school teacher who was cheated by the gang the accused were arrested yesterday. Two members of the gang were Armed Reserve Constables working in visakhapatnam rural District. The Commissioner said the four accused conspired together.

The US government Friday removed an exiled Iranian group in Iraq from its list of foreign terrorist organisations, Xinhua reported.

According to the US State Department, the decision made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enabled the group — the Mujahideen Khalq (MEK), also known as the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, to have its assets under US jurisdiction unfrozen and do business with American entities.

Moscow believes that solution regarding the Iranian nuclear programme is possible without military strikes, Xinhua reported.

Speaking during a press conference Friday after meeting a group of diplomats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow hopes solutions could be found with no military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The minister also blamed Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme for hindering talks between Teheran and world mediators.

Exhorting people to respect women, Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.H. Kapadia Friday said only those countries that have respected women have developed.

Speaking at a farewell function on the eve of his retirement, Justice Kapadia said: “A country that respects ladies will always come up. Only those countries that do not respect their ladies will suffer.”

Justice Kapadia said this while crediting his wife, Shahnaz Kapadia, for the success in his career.

“It is my wife who made me what I’m,” he said pointing towards his wife in the gathering.

Regional Passport Officer Dr K. Srikar Reddy on Friday stated that the Centre has decided to revise Passport and related services’ fees from October 1.

Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar today excoriated Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for speaking at will. Kiran Kumar Reddy is not fit for the Chief Minister post, he added.

TRS senior leader and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao has described the Deputy Chief Minister as “sixth finger” in the Seemandhra government as he doesn’t enjoy any power.

Telangana Congress leaders today lashed out at in-charge Director General of Police V. Dinesh Reddy for announcing that there was no permission for the Telangana Political JAC-sponsored Telangana March on September 30.

Magma Fincorp Limited, one of India’s leading asset finance companies, today announced its ambitious growth plans for Andhra Pradesh for FY 2013. The company, which disbursed Rs 848 crore in Andhra Pradesh last year, plans to romp up disbursements by another 40% in retail loans in FY 13. Magma, headquartered in Kolkata, has 23 branches in the State making it among the best networked retail finance company in the State with deepest presence.

Telangana NGOs’ Association leader Srinivas Goud on Friday lashed out at the State government for rounding up Telangana protagonists and harassing the Telangana employees.