Month: December 2012

The growing rift between Congress and Majis-e-Ittehadul Muslimneen has come to the fore in the State Assembly with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi moving into a confrontation mode during the discussion on SC,ST Sub-Plan Bill 2012 with each challenging the other on the Minorities issue.

Intervening in the discussion Chief Minister said, “the secular credentials of the Congress cannot be questioned and MIM has benefitted from the Congress by winning seven assembly seats.”

Israel is halting tax payments it collects for the Palestinians in response to their successful bid to raise their UN status, local media reported Sunday, citing Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.

“I have no intention of transferring the tax payments to the Palestinian Authority this month. I plan to use them to offset Palestinian debt to the Israel Electric Corporation,” Steinitz said at the beginning of a weekly cabinet meeting.

“We have said from the beginning that the raising of the status of Palestine at the UN would produce a reaction from Israel.”

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s triumph over cancer and subsequent return to the field may have inspired a nation — but for the man himself the hero is cricket’s demigod Sachin Tendulkar.

“As a kid I always looked up to Sachin and still continue to do so. He is my hero… he is the nation’s hero,” said Yuvraj at the launch of a book on Tendulkar Sunday.

Titled “The Peak”, the book — a unique snapshot story on Tendulkar by photo-journalist Suman Chattopadhyay — was launched by Yuvraj who handed the first copy of it to Tendulkar.

While visiting a hospital in Pakistan, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar encountered a child whose name made the master tremble with fear. The kid’s name was Osama – the same as that of Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

One would come across many such anecdotes about Tendulkar’s life in “The Peak” – a book by sports photo-journalist Suman Chattopadhyay which was launched by cricketer Yuvraj Singh at a glittering ceremony here Sunday.

The book captures some rare and memorable moments of Tendulkar’s life through Chattopadhyay’s lens and the stories behind them in the master’s own words.

The BJP Sunday backed senior party leader Sushma Swaraj’s statement that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was “fit” for the job of prime minister, terming him a “very popular and successful” chief minister.

Party leader Arun Jaitley said the Gujarat chief minister is “very successful and popular and we will obviously praise him”.

Jaitley also hit out at the Congress, saying it has a “phobia” about Modi and attacks the BJP chief minister.

A 10-year-old student, who immolated in his house allegedly over fear that his class teacher would punish him for not completing homework, succumbed to burns in a hospital on Sunday, police said.

The fourth standard student of a private school was admitted to hospital with burns last week, police said.

It was alleged that his class teacher had threatened him with severe punishment if he did not complete homework.

–PTI

An Indian-origin Sikh is all set to be the first person guarding the Buckingham Palace in his turban after being given the privilege not to wear the mandatory bearskin on ceremonial duties.

Guardsman Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, 25, who joined the Scots Guards this year, has been given permission to wear a turban when on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace, breaking hundreds of years of tradition, Daily Mail reported Sunday.

The regiment traces its origin back to 1642 and its soldiers have worn bearskins on parade since 1832.

Government Whip in the Assembly and Sangareddy MLA Toorpu Jayaprakash Reddy alias Jagga Reddy made a sensational statement today. He said that he would address a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and high command requesting them not to concede separate Telangana State.

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh`s triumph over cancer and subsequent return to the field may have inspired a nation, but for the man himself the hero is cricket`s demigod Sachin Tendulkar.

“As a kid I always looked up to Sachin and still continue to do so. He is my hero… he is the nation`s hero,” said Yuvraj at the launch of a book on Tendulkar Sunday.

Titled “The Peak”, the book , a unique snapshot story on Tendulkar by photo-journalist Suman Chattopadhyay — was launched by Yuvraj who handed the first copy of it to Tendulkar.

APCC Chief Botcha Satyanarayana has lashed out at the MIM Floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for praising former chief minister late Dr YSR for providing four per cent reservation for Muslims and at the same time criticizing the Congress on the allocation of the Bayyaram Bauxite mines.

Speaking to the media at Gandhi Bhavan here on Sunday, Botcha questioned Akbaruddin Owaisi whether attributing good deed to late YSR and assailing the Congress on Bayyaram was wise and reasonable.

As many as 34 people, including 14 girls, were arrested at a rave party going on in a hotel in Jakhan locality here.

The arrests were made late last night after a tip off, Circle Officer (City) Mamata Vohra said.

Alcohol bottles and drugs were recovered from the spot, she said, adding that their blood samples have been sent for examination.

Most of those held are students of various educational institutions in the city, while some belong to Delhi.

A case has been registered under the Excise Act and they have currently been released on bail, Vohra said.

–PTI

The State Election Commission has announced bypoll in 24 wards of local bodies across the state on December 4.

All arrangements had been made for the smooth conduct of the polls, state election commissioner K Sasidharan said in a release here.

The bye-elections would be held in Vlathankara and Chenkal in Thiruvananthapuram gram panchayats and 22 wards in local bodies in other districts, the release said.

–PTI

Fatima Bhutto, the writer-activist niece of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, will contest Pakistan’s upcoming general election from a constituency in Punjab province, her mother has said. 30-year-old Fatima, the daughter of Benazir’s brother Murtaza Bhutto, has for long said that she has no plans to enter politics.
However, media reports quoted Fatima’s stepmother Ghinwa Bhutto as saying that she would contest the polls from Liaquatpur town in Rahim Yar Khan district.

A Pakistani plane which had on board a number of VIPs, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, caught fire Sunday just before taking off from the port city of Karachi, Geo News reported.

The Islamabad-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight had several Members of the National Assembly, federal ministers and the country’s chief justice on board when it caught fire.

The flight, PK-300 was on the taxiway when the fire was noticed in one of its engines, sources said.

Rescue teams were rushed to bring the fire under control and evacuate passengers, the report said.

The 28th anniversary of the world’s worst industrial tragedy falls on December 3, but the toxic chemical waste at the Union Carbide plant premises here has not been disposed off and is unlikely to be done soon.

“The Madhya Pradesh government’s efforts to dispose off the waste so far has been insufficient. The state government is worried only about the waste in godowns. It is not thinking about the waste lying in the open which poisons drinking water in the affected areas,” Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan’s convenor Abdul Jabbar said.

Two major terror attacks were Sunday averted near Pakistan’s Peshawar city when four militants — three suicide bombers and one handler — were killed when their explosives-laden vests exploded prematurely, a media report said.

The first incident took place in Dir colony area of Peshawar when a motorcycle-riding suicide bomber was being equipped with a vest by his handler, the Dawn reported.

Security officials said the explosives detonated while the handler was camouflaging the suicide vest with another jacket. Both the handler and the suicide bomber were killed.

Ten main political parties of the country had a whopping Rs 2,490 crore of tax-exempted income in the last five years, according to information from the Income Tax department through an RTI plea.

Of this the ruling Congress and the main Opposition party BJP have cornered more than 80 per cent.

The figures of political parties’ income in this period received under the RTI does not include the donations or income below Rs 20,000 and hence a large number of small individual donations are not incorporated into it.

In a suspected case of honour killing, a woman was shot dead allegedly by her brothers in the district after she married against her family’s wishes, the police said on Sunday. Ruby, 25, was killed by Nasir and Zakir on Saturday evening in Mahmood Khan Sarai locality.

Her husband Tahir, who was also present on the spot, managed to escape. The police have lodged an FIR in this regard and efforts are on to nab the accused.

–PTI

Snowfall and rain pushed down the temperatures by several notches in Himachal Pradesh on Friday. The weatherman said the state will not see any snow or rain in the coming days.

While Shimla saw light rainfall over the past 24 hours, nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda experienced mild spells of snowfall, according to a Met official here.

The nearby tourist resort of Manali too received snow.

The high altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla got moderate snow, the official said.

India got a step closer to the quarterfinals by beating world No.6 New Zealand 4-2 in a Pool A match of the 34th edition of the FIH Champions Trophy hockey here Sunday.

Having already beaten England (3-1) Saturday, India sit pretty atop Pool A and are the only team in the eight-team competition to have won both their matches.

India continued to be the surprise team as they are lowest ranked (11) in the nine-day tournament.

Nearly thousand people, including transgenders, sex workers and HIV positive people, ran for over three kilometres Sunday in south Delhi to create awareness and to support HIV-positive people.

The ‘All India Run’ started at 9 a.m. from Safdarjang Tomb, Lodi Estate, and ended an hour later at the Delhi Blind School, Lodhi Road. It was organised by the NGO India HIV/AIDS Alliance.

“Along with students and civil society groups, we also had representatives of marginalised communities affected by HIV, drug users, transgenders and sex workers taking part in the run,” an organiser said.

Higher intake of vitamin D seems to protect mental health among women, besides keeping Alzheimer’s at bay, say two new studies in France and the US.

The group led by Yelena Slinin, at the VA Medical Centre in Minneapolis, found that low vitamin D levels among older women are tied with higher odds of global cognitive impairment and cognitive decline.

A healthy nose ensures a happy, enduring relationship, says a study based on data involving people aged between 18 and 46 years with and without olfactory sense, according to a British media report.

The results showed men and women unable to smell were more insecure, with men particularly affected when it comes to finding love. Such men averaged just two partners compared to 10 among those with robust sense of smell.

A four-member team from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Sunday expressed satisfaction with the facilities here ahead of the side’s One-Day International against India at the Eden Gardens Jan 3 next year.

The PCB delegation, comprising its cricket operations manager Usman Walia, media manager Nadim Sarwar and two security officials Ehsan Sadik and Sohail Khan, visited the team hotel and went around the iconic venue after arriving in the city in the morning from Delhi.

“We came here to see the arrangements, logistics and infrastructure. We are satisfied and happy,” said Sarwar.

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has said that he will not take over the position of “Shiv Sena pramukh” (supremo) which will always belong to his late father Bal Thackeray.

“There will not be another Sena Pramukh,” Uddhav said in an interview to his party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

He said Bal Thackeray, who passed away on November 17, will always be Shiv Sena “pramukh” and “Hinduhriday samrat”.

“These titles suit only his personality,” he added.