Month: October 2012

A Pakistani security personnel and seven militants were killed in separate incidents of violence in the restive Orakzai tribal region in the country’s northwest on Monday.

A security personnel was killed and two others were injured in a landmine explosion in Mamozai area of Orakzai Agency this morning, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Following this attack by the rebels, security forces retaliated and killed seven militants.

The troops also destroyed two militant hideouts, the report said.

No further details were immediately available.

A Pakistani institute that works for promotion of peace with India has welcomed the decision to rename a city centre in Lahore after Bhagat Singh, and said it plans to install a statue of the martyr there.

“This is a victory for people of all religions, and activists who had been rallying for this cause since long,” the Institute for Peace and Secular Studies (IPSS) was quoted as saying by the Daily Times.

The IPSS plans to place a statue of Bhagat Singh with a plaque displaying his poetry and biography at the newly named Bhagat Singh Chowk, it said.

The blasphemy case registered against young Christian girl Rimsha Masih took another turn on Monday when two men, who had accused a cleric of tampering with evidence to implicate her, withdrew their statements and claimed they were tortured by police to testify against the imam.

The two witnesses, who had earlier recorded statements against cleric Khalid Chishti, submitted a fresh statement in the court of a district and sessions judge in Islamabad that said police had forced them to blame Chishti for the incident.

China has a staggering 274 million microbloggers, said a report on the country’s new media development.

The report, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press annually, quoted the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), which said that about 274 million Chinese people had microblog accounts as of June this year.

The number of microbloggers increased sharply from about 63 million in 2010, said the report issued by a team of social sciences experts headed by Yin Yungong, director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

ISRO today carried out the second and penultimate orbit raising exercise as part of the measures to place India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-10 in its final geostationary orbit.

The orbit raising operation was carried out by firing the onboard Liquid Apogee Motor for nearly 38 minutes, an Indian Space Research Organisation statement said here.

The final orbit-raising manoeuvre would be undertaken on October 3, followed by deployment of the two solar panels and the two dual gridded reflectors of the satellite, it said.

Warming oceans and climate may have an unexpected side effect – shrinking fish. Their body weight could decline by 14-20 percent in 50 years, says a Canadian study based on computer modelling of 600 ocean fish species.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) study provides the first-ever global projection of the potential reduction in the maximum size of fish in a warmer and less-oxygenated ocean.

The Congress Monday reacted strongly to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s query as to who footed the Rs.1,880 crore bill for UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s treatment abroad, terming his remark as irresponsible.

“The remark is irresponsible. It shows his frustration,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy quoted Modi in his tweet message and hinted that a PIL may be filed in the matter.

Relatives of popular southern actress Soundarya, who died in a plane crash in 2004, are fighting a legal battle over her property, which is estimated to be worth Rs.50 crore.

Soundarya was campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections when her plane crashed April 17 and she died along with her brother Amarnath.

Her mother K.S. Manjula and her ex-husband G.S. Raghu are on one side, while her sister-in-law Nirmala, widow of Amarnath, and her son Sathvik on the other.

Actress Dia Mirza believes that the quality that makes a man stand out is his character.

“I think character in a man makes him what he is. Of course, we look for various things in a man but the one thing that makes a man stand distinctively apart from the rest is his character,” she told reporters Sunday at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.

Dia, 30, is dating filmmaker Sahil Sangha.

Talking about the women in Bollywood, Dia believes it is filled with some wonderful women.

Sridevi`s last release was 1997 hit ‘Judaai’ and she is ready to recreate the same magic with her comeback film ‘English Vinglish’, about a housewife`s struggle with the English language in the US. It releases Friday.

Thanks to ad filmmaker Gauri Shinde, who convinced Sridevi to step under the arclights to play housewife Shashi in her directorial debut ‘English Vinglish’.

Hilarious, touching and sensitive, the film marks the comeback of the “Hawa Hawaii” girl after a 15 year sabbatical.

After starring as the lead actress in an intense film like `Heroine`, Kareena Kapoor now wants to do some light-hearted films and will start working on Punit Malhotra`s film for Karan Johar`s Dharma Productions.

The 32-year-old actress has taken a mini-break after `Heroine` released on September 21 and is looking forward to re-unite with her `Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu` co-star Imran Khan for the new film which will have a fun, conventional feel.

Actor-producer Arbaaz Khan, who is making his directorial debut with ‘Dabangg 2’, says he has recreated Salman Khan`s larger than life persona for the 2010 action film`s sequel in order to relate with the audience.

Arbaaz said the heroism of Salman has stayed on with the audience and is remembered the most.

India has 224.6 million undernourished people as nearly a fifth of the country`s population does not receive the minimum number of calories required by an average individual, says the newly launched Global Food Security Index (GFSI).

Sixty-eight point seven percent of the population in India lives below the global poverty line, the index said.

Every ninth person in the world is aged 60 and above and their numbers will increase to one in five by 2050, numbering two billion elderly, a UN agency has concluded.

Those over 100 years of age too will witness an exponential 10-time growth from 316,600 in 2011 to 3.2 million by 2050, the `Ageing in the Twenty-First Century : A Celebration and A Challenge` report said.

Only two of 100 people are aware of aphasia – a condition characterised either by partial or total loss of speech or the capacity to write. It affects a third of stroke victims, a Canadian study says.

Aphasia occurs when there is stroke damage to language and communication centres in the brain. It does not affect intelligence but can leave people unable to express themselves, find their words and respond when spoken to.

In a significant move that will go a long way in raising anti-tobacco awareness across the country, the government today finalised new, stricter pictorial warnings for the industry and set April 1 next year as the deadline for its implementation.

A set of three pictorial warnings each for both smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco have been approved by the Health Ministry today and sent for notification.

Yoga postures are very different from ordinary exercise. It is a mistake even to call the postures exercises, in the usual sense of the word. Their purpose is not to strengthen the muscles. They emphasise relaxation quite as much as they do tension. Unlike most physical exercises, they do not excite; rather, they eliminate excitement from the system.

When children suffer from allergies and asthma induced by dust mites, finding relief seems an uphill task. Researchers now claim that three years of allergy shots would offer long-term control of allergic asthma.

Allergic children react to proteins within the bodies and faeces of the mites. These particles are found mostly in pillows, mattresses, carpeting, stuffed animals and upholstered furniture. Researchers say there may be as many as 19,000 dust mites in one gram of dust!

Trinamool Congress(TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, who organised a rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday days after pulling out of the government and withdrawing support to UPA, may join opposition NDA, NCP general secretary and MP Tariq Anwar said here.

“If NDA convenor Sharad Yadav’s presence at the protest rally organized by TMC at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi was any indication, then Mamata Banerjee may join the BJP-led opposition alliance,” Anwar told reporters.

Government is in majority and has full authority to take decisions, Congress on Monday said downplaying DMK’s announcement that it would back any opposition-sponsored resolution in Parliament against allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.

“Government is not in minority. If some of our partners have concerns, we will continue to provide them the empirical evidence to allay their apprehensions. Same cycle was witnessed during the Indo-US nuclear deal”, party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters in reply to a volley of questions on the issue.

Interview Of Punjabi Software Engineer…
Interviewer: Explain four versions of Java ?
Engineer:
Mar Java
Mit Java
Lut Java
Mein Sad Ke Java

Master Ji: Kal Meine Tujhe Gadhe Par Nibandh Likhne Ko Bola Tha,
Chal Dikha Kya Likha ?
Student: Master Ji, Jaise He Nibandh Likhne Ke Liye Pencil Lagai, Gadha He Bhag Gaya..

Ek Aadmi Ki Biwi Se Sawal Kiya Gaya Ki Aapko Kaunsi Book Sabse Zyada Pasand Hai?
Biwi Ne Jawab Diya Mere Husband Ki Cheque Book

Following is the scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Super Eight tie between New Zealand and West Indies at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here Monday.

West Indies
Johnson Charles c & b Bracewell 8
Chris Gayle c B McCullum b Southee 30
Andre Russell c Franklin b Bracewell 6
Marlon Samuels c Southee b N McCullum 24
Dwyane Bravo b N McCullum 16
Kieron Pollard c Taylor b Bracewell 28
Denesh Ramdin c Taylor b Hira 1
Darren Sammy c Franklin b Southee 11
Sunil Narine b Southee 3
Samuel Badree b Oram 1
Ravi Rampaul not out 1
Extras (lb 2, w 6, nb 2) 10

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today targeted Congress President Sonia Gandhi by claiming that Rs 1880 cr has been spent from the public exchequer on her foreign trips.

“To those Congress friends, who are accusing our government of uncontrolled expenditure, I want to ask: is it not true that on the foreign travels of the President of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, in the past three years, Rs 1,880 crore has been spent from the public exchequer,” he said addressing a rally as part of his month-long pre-election tour of the state.