Month: November 2012

In wake of former CAG official RP Singh claiming his comments on PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi on the 2G issue were misquoted, BJP Monday asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to retract her statement in which she had attacked the main Opposition party.

“In light of what R P Singh has stated, the BJP would like to know from Sonia Gandhiji would she retract her comment almost condemning the BJP in the most abusive terms,” BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters outside Parliament here.

A teenager was killed while 25 others were injured, three of them seriously, when their tractor trolley overturned near Barodiya village in the district, police said Monday.

The mishap took place when about 50 people of Barodiya village were going to attend a family function in Thikerda village yesterday.

14-year-old Manisha died on the spot while 25 others were injured in the accident, police said.

Station House Officer, Hindoli Police Station, said the tractor trolley driver fled from the spot but a case has been lodged against him and his vehicle seized.

–PTI

His insistence on a spinning track boomeranging, a sheepish Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said he was disappointed with his tweakers who did not adjust their pace to exploit the pitch in the lost second Test against England.

India were handed a humiliating 10-wicket loss by the English, who were expected to struggle on the spinning track that Dhoni had asked for before the game.

Eight children sustained minor injuries when the school van carrying them overturned in Hisar district’s Uklana Mandi Monday morning, police said.

“No major injuries were caused to the children. All of them are safe,” Hisar’s Superintendent of Police, B Satish Balan said.

About 30 children were said to be travelling in the van.

–PTI

A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region today, seismologists said.

The quake struck Ruoqiang County in the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin at 1:33 pm (local time), the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) reported.

The epicentre, with a depth of 8 km, was at 40.4 degrees north latitude and 90.5 degrees east longitude, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted CENC as saying.

Any casualties and damage, if any, have not been reported.

–PTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday expressed his condolences to his Bangladeshi counterpart Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over a fire at a clothes factory that claimed the lives of over 100 people.

The fire broke out in a building operated by Tazreen Fashions on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka late Saturday.

“The head of state (Putin) asked to convey the words of deep compassion for the victims’ relatives and wished the quickest recovery for those injured in the incident,” the Kremlin press office said Sunday.

Eight persons were killed and thousands of others displaced by flash floods triggered by incessant rains in Sri Lanka, officials said on Sunday.

“We have recorded eight deaths due to torrential rain over the last five days,” Lal Sarath Kumara, the assistant director of Disaster Management Centre said.

The deaths were caused by lightning and drowning, he said.

Districts in the central south and south eastern Sri Lanka have been hit by the heavy downpour, with Matara district being the worst affected, officials said.

Parliament today witnessed uproar over FDI issue with Opposition members shouting slogans during Question Hour leading to adjournment of both Houses till noon.

As Lok Sabha assembled for the day, Speaker Meira Kumar offered tributes to those who had lost their lives in the Mumbai terror attack on this day four years ago.
She emphasised the need for rooting out terrorism and lauded the role of security forces.

The members then stood in silence to pay respect to those killed in the 26/11 attacks.

Mumbai paused in its busy tracks Monday to remember the 166 people who fell to the indiscriminate bullets of 10 Pakistani terrorists during a 60-hour siege, India’s most wounding terrorist attack, that began this day four years ago.

Brief commemoration events were held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, Oberoi Trident, Leopold Cafe and Nariman House, some of Mumbai’s most loved landmarks that were targeted by the 10 terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai on the night of Nov 26, 2008 through the Arabian Sea route and landed at Colaba.

Candid Rani Mukerji has confessed she has a soft corner for all three Khans of Bollywood-Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir- with whom she worked at an impressionable age.

“I have a soft corner for Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir because at an impressionable age, I worked with them. I was 17-18. At that age, you look up to some people and that always remains irrespective of whatever happens,” the actress told IANS in a group interview.

It was a sunny and nippy Monday morning in the capital with the minimum temperature settling two notches below average at 10.5 degrees Celsius. The weather office has forecast a clear day ahead.

“The day will remain clear. The maximum temperature will be around 25 degrees Celsius,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

Maximum humidity at 8.30 am was 70 percent.

On Sunday, both maximum and minimum temperatures settled a notch below average at 25.8 and 10.9 degrees Celsius.

–IANS

Parliament on Monday witnessed uproar over FDI issue with Opposition members shouting slogans during Question Hour leading to adjournment of both Houses till noon.

As Lok Sabha assembled for the day, Speaker Meira Kumar offered tributes to those who had lost their lives in the Mumbai terror attack on this day four years ago.

She emphasised the need for rooting out terrorism and lauded the role of security forces.

The members then stood in silence to pay respect to those killed in the 26/11 attacks.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the $20 bill. He asked, “Who still wants it?” Still hands were up in the air.
“Well, what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty and asked, “Who still wants it?” Still hands went up into the air.

During the time of Noble Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) there lived a trader who, in all affairs, always placed his trust in Allah (SWT). Trader used to travel from Syria to Madinah for trade and during one of his trips, he was confronted by a bandit who drew his sword and intended to kill him.

“If it is my wealth that you desire, come and take it and leave me alone,” pleaded the trader. “Killing you is a must, for if I let you go free, you will identify me to the authorities,” said the bandit. “In that case give me respite till I have offered a two Rak’at prayer,” requested the trader.

Some of the most important scientific breakthroughs ever made by scientists including Einstein and Newton came about as the geniuses allowed their minds to wander, researchers say.

According to a new study by the University of California, Santa Barbara, doing simple tasks that allow us to daydream is key to solving trickier questions playing on our minds, scientists find.

They found that some of the most important discoveries made by scientists like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton came about as the geniuses behind them allowed their minds to wander, the Telegraph reported.

Making people feel even slightly guilty can amplify their pleasure, scientists say.
Ravi Dhar, an Indian-origin professor at Yale along with Kelly Goldsmith, an assistant professor at the Kellogg School of Management and Eunice Kim Cho from the University of Toronto, set up a series of experiments and found that it was guilt that enhanced pleasure and not some other associated emotion.

India’s ploy to prepare a spinning track backfired heavily as a spirited England inflicted a humiliating ten-wicket victory on the clueless hosts in the second cricket Test to level the four-match series 1-1 here today.

Resuming at a precarious 117 for seven after conceding a vital 86-run first innings lead, the Indians were skittled out for a paltry 141 within an hour’s play on the fourth morning, leaving the visitors an easy target of 57 for victory which they achieved without much fuss with more than five sessions to spare.

India were all out for 142 in their second innings, setting England a target of 57 on the fourth day of the second cricket Test here today.

India were all out for 142 in their second innings, setting England a target of 57 on the fourth day of the second cricket Test here today.

Brief Scores:

England: 413 all out

India: 327 and 142 all out in 44.1 overs (Gautam Gambhir 65, Monty Panesar 6/81, Graeme Swann 4/43).

–PTI

Two suicide bombers targeted a church inside a military barrack in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 11 people and injuring several others as worshipers were returning after a Sunday mass.

The attack occurred at St. Andrews Military Protestant Church located inside Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji in the northern Kaduna state.The blasts occurred in quick succession as the church was finishing the service. The second blast occurred at the same spot minutes after the first one had rocked the area.

Press Council Chairman Justice (Retd) Markandey Katju on Sunday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for being “intolerant” to criticism. “People have right to criticise and if one is intolerant to criticism then he or she has no right to be in politics,” Katju said at Press Club in Kolkata while speaking at a programme organised by Kalidas-Galib Foundation to remember writer Sunil Gangopadhyay.

Security has been beefed up across Mumbai on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks, which comes close on the heels of the hanging of lone caught terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab.

“There is no specific threat but we have been alert for (the) past one week,” Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said.

“Even though there were ‘threats’ to the financial capital but Mumbai Police are well-prepared to tackle any eventuality,” he told reporters at a press conference.

The probe into Savita Halappanavar’s death will be completed before Christmas, Ireland’s Health Minister has said, even as her distraught husband was considering lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman to assert ownership of his wife’s medical notes.

“I’ve made it very clear this investigation must be completed as expeditiously as possible and I now understand that will happen before Christmas and I may have an interim report in a matter of weeks,” James Reilly, the Health Minister, was quoted by the Irish Times as saying.

Two men set themselves afire in Odisha in a bid to prevent policemen from entering their house as they investigated a crime, a family member said Monday.

Sheikh Sadique, 25 and his elder brother Sabir, 35 were upset that a police team was in their house in the district headquarters town of Balasore, about 200 km from here, to arrest them Sunday in connection with an attack on a local resident.

As soon as the police team entered the house, the duo allegedly poured kerosene and set fire to themselves.

UN’s special envoy to the Middle East has urged Hamas to abide by the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel for the interest of people in the Gaza Strip, Xinhua reported.

“Our message today to the Hamas leadership is also to abide by its commitment to stop all hostilities, including rocket attacks and attacks along the border,” said Robert Serry Sunday. “This would be an important step for Hamas towards becoming a partner of peace.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Vatican have held talks over their existing relations and ways to boost cooperation between them.

The meet was held between UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sunday and his Vatican counterpart Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

–IANS–