Month: November 2012

Against the backdrop of controversy over Robert Vadra’s land deals, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said the Change of Land Use (CLU) was allowed even in small towns like Narwana for development works and everything was done as per the rules.

Rather, the previous Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government had only focused on Gurgaon, he said answering
reporters’ queries on the statement made by opposition leader Om Prakash Chautala that the CLU was issued for land measuring about 21,000 acres during the Hooda regime.

Police today arrested the kingpin of a cattle thieves gang who allegedly mowed down a Delhi police constable when he tried to stop the vehicle in which stolen cattle were being taken.

27-year-old Shakir, the leader of Mewati gang, was arrested by Special Unit of Delhi Police crime branch from
Matka Peer Dargah near Pragati Maidan at about 5.40 AM when he came to meet his accomplice, a senior police official said.
Shakir was carrying a cash reward of Rs one lakh on his head.

Unfazed by Subramanian Swamy’s charges over acquisition of a company that published National Herald newspaper, Congress today dared the Janata party chief to sue Sonia and Rahul Gandhi contending that the onus to prove allegations lay with those who make these.

If Swamy has guts, he should sue Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. It is for those to prove charges, who make
allegations. If there is a violation let them take it to court,” party spokesperson P C Chacko told reporters
responding to a host of questions at the AICC briefing.

One person was today arrested from Ahiraura area in Mirzapur district and explosive materials were recovered from him, police said here.

Amit Kumar Patel was arrested while coming to Mirzapur from Bihar, IG (Law and Order) B P Singh said adding 350 kg
ammonium nitrate, used to make explosives and 200 gelatin sticks were recovered from him.

Police is probing the matter.

—————————–PTI

A Delhi court today refused a plea to provide a separate van to businessman Abhishek Verma’s Romanian wife Anca Maria Neascu, who is allegedly getting extortion threats from undertrial prisoners, to ferry her from Tihar Jail in connection with various cases.

Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Jain did not accept Anca’s plea saying it was practically “not feasible” to provide a separate jail van to every undertrial prisoner.

A 25-year old woman suffering from respiratory problem and fever, tested positive for swine flu at a government hospital here, doctors said today.

The woman, who was hospitalised for respiratory problem and fever, was tested positive yesterday. She is being treated at the swine flu ICU,” spokesperson of the SMS government hospital said.

The woman is a resident of Dataramagarh town near here, he said.

—————————-PTI

A Hindi Language Chair, the third of its kind in China, will come up at a leading university in Shanghai, as India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the varsity to set up such a facility.

The MoU was signed by Indian envoy to China S Jaishankar and Shanghai International Studies University Executive Vice President Feng Qinghua on October 29 at Shanghai, a release from the Indian Consulate in eastern Chinese metropolis said today.

Peking University and Guangdong Foreign University have similar Chairs to teach Hindi.

India will grant around 5,000 single city visas to Pakistani spectators to witness the upcoming limited over Indo-Pak cricket series and requests for permission to enjoy remaining matches of the tournament will be decided on a case-to-case basis.

India will also allow the pre-match visit of Pakistani security experts to the five venues where the cricket matches will be played.

Home Ministry officials said around 5,000 visas will be granted to Pakistani spectators to watch the series beginning December 25 and they will be given single city visa.

In a very close presidential election where every single vote counts, both the Obama and Romney campaigns have been making special effort to reach out to the Indian-American community.

The community, which numbers more than three million according to the latest census, is being reached through full page ads in local Indian-American ethnic newspapers.

The Obama campaign has also developed flyers in Hindi which is being distributed either through email or being printed in large numbers by his supporters.

A four-year-old Indian-American boy was mowed down by a speeding car driven by a woman at a traffic intersection here, police said.

The victim, Dhyanesh, son of Balaji Jeyakannan, was struck by the car and killed on the spot at the junction of Jefferson Avenue and Central Avenue yesterday.

The mishap occurred when the child, holding his mother Nagarani Nagarajan’s hand, was crossing the road after the stop sign for motorists.

IT czar Azim Premji today had a dig at the media and India Against Corruption leader Arvind Kejriwal saying they “flip” from one issue to another without following through.

“I think the media also, like Kejriwal, flips from topic to topic,” the Wipro chairman told reporters here in response to questions.

“What I would strongly request is for the media to have consistency in following through whatever they dig up,” he said.

China has invited India’s “missile man” and former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam to teach at the prestigious Peking University here, offering him a lab of his choice to work with the students.

On his first-ever visit to China at the invitation of the reputed Beijing Forum, a Chinese government backed intellectual body, Kalam appeared happy to receive the offer to teach but said it all depends on his schedule.

In yet another incident of face- off between Army officers and men, ten soldiers refused to carry out alleged ‘menial jobs’ ordered by their superiors in Patiala in Punjab and returned to their regimental centre in protest.

The incident occurred last week when soldiers belonging to the 56 Armoured Regiment returned to Armoured Regimental Centre in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra protesting against alleged ‘menial jobs’ assigned to them by the officers of the unit.

IT czar Azim Premji today exhorted Bangaloreans to spearhead a citizens movement and stage agitations in protest against non-clearance of tens of thousands of tonnes of garbage rotting on the streets.

“I think it’s a very serious problem”, the Chairman of Wipro told reporters in response to questions.

Premji expressed concern over the “amount of viral fever which is going around in Bangalore” and the pollution being released into the lakes.

He said though there are pollution-reforming and pollution-control machineries, three-fourth of them don’t work.

Tears welled the eyes of the TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu who is generally unfazed in any calamity, when he saw the lifeless body of his fond colleague Kinjarapu Yerrannaidu.

Naidu has reached Nimmada, the native place of Yerran around 3-30 pm on Friday along with his wife Bhuvaneswari and son Lokesh. On seeing Naidu the family started weeping uncontrollably. Naidu himself was moved so much that tears rolled down from his eyes.

The onset of puberty has fallen by more than five years in girls – with experts blaming kids’ unhealthy lifestyles for it.

Some girls are only six or seven years old when they have to cope with their first period, the Sun reported.

A US study has found that boys are also hitting physical maturity two years earlier than they did in the past.

Scientists found that the average age for the onset of puberty in girls was 16.6 years in 1860.

But by 1920 it was 14.6, in 1950, 13.1, in 1980, 12.5 and in 2010 it had decreased to 10.5.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan got a grand birthday gift this year! The actress holds her daughter Aaradhya as her husband actor Abhishek Bachan walks with her after she was conferred with the French civilian award, Officer Dan Ordre Arts et des Lettres in Mumbai on November 1.

BJP on Friday asked Congress to clarify whether it paid Rs 90 crore to Associated Journals, which ran the now-defunct National Herald daily, saying if it was true it was violation of tax and electoral laws.

Raising questions on the basis of details provided by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters that if it was true that such a transfer had taken place, then it could lead to various consequences for the Congress party, including withdrawal of tax exemption.

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting of party MPs and legislators this afternoon amid reports of deteriorating health of saffron outfit’s patriarch Bal Thackeray.

Normally a meeting of party MPs is held just ahead of Parliament session but in this case, the winter session is almost three weeks away, so there was speculation over the reason for calling the meeting.

The meeting, which has got underway, assumes significance owing to reports about 86-year-old Thackeray’s condition.

Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy on Friday confirmed the death of four persons in the State due to cyclonic storm Nilam.

Talking to reporters after holding a review meeting with the officials at his chambers in the State Secretariat over the impact of cyclone Nilam, the minister said that one death each has been reported from Anantapur, Prakasam, East Godavari and Nellore districts. He said one labourer from Orissa is also reported missing.

Giving a major relief to the construction industry, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday said that the builders could start the construction of structures immediately after payment of required fee, without waiting for the formal approvals.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed utter shock, anguish and grief over the unfortunate death of former Union Minister and Telugu Desam Party senior leader Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu in a road accident at early hours on Friday at Ranasthalam of Srikakulam District.

After hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani refused Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s offer to take a helicopter ride to prove his claim of a road being constructed along the forest trek to the Amarnath shrine, the state government is now trying its best to disprove his charges and ensure he is not able to light protest fires to a “non-issue”.

Union home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday said that discussions were continuing on Telangana and asserted that there was a need to be very careful before arriving at any decision on the separate statehood issue.

Speaking to reporters after participating in the passing out parade of IPS trainees at National Police Academy (NPA) here, Shinde said, “MPs (from Andhra Pradesh) are meeting me. I have also been talking to them. So far discussion are going on.”

Esha Deol’s 30th birthday Friday coincides with her first Karva Chauth and the actress says she will have to wait to gorge on goodies until the moon appears.

“My birthday and my first Karva Chauth!!! Will wait for the moon and then eat my birthday cake,” tweeted Esha.

The actress, daughter of veteran stars Hema Malini and Dharmendra, married businessman Bharat Takhtani in June this year.

On the big screen, Esha was last seen in 2011 film “Tell Me O Kkhuda”, which was an attempt by her mother to relaunch her in showbiz.

—IANS