Month: January 2013

Dr. A Chakrapani chairman AP Legislative Council has urged the government to give heritage status to Hyderabad since the city has innumerable historical monuments. He said that governor Tamilnadu Mr. K Rosaiah who hails from Andhra Pradesh can mount pressure on the central government in this connection. Chakrapani was addressing the 150th annual function of Mahboob College here. On the occasion Chakrapani told that if the Hyderabad city is declared as heritage city then the protection of the historical monuments can be ensured here.

President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Centenary Session of the Indian Science Congress at the Salt lake Stadium here on Thursday.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Governor M. K. Narayanan and Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jaipal Reddy will be present on the occasion.

The Centenary Session of Indian Science Congress is being organised from January 3 to 7 in University of Calcutta, Kolkata.

At least four people were killed in a U.S. drone strike launched in Pakistan”s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Thursday morning, reported local media.

According to reports of Dunya, U.S. unmanned aircraft fired three missiles at a vehicle suspected of carrying militants in the Mubarak Shahi village near Mir Ali, main town of North Waziristan, leaving three people killed, possibly including an important Taliban commander.

Over 60,000 people, including Syrian troops, civilians and rebels, have been killed in the country”s ongoing civil war to oust President Bashar al-Assad, the UN has said.

Describing the death toll as ‘truly shocking’, the UN high commissioner, Navi Pillay, that the failure of the international community, in particular the Security Council, to take concrete actions to stop the bloodletting shames us all.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has been granted an Indian visa that will allow him to attend the final one-dayer of the ongoing limited-over cricket series between the two countries in New Delhi on January 6.

Due to Miandad`s family ties with Dawood Ibrahim, India`s most wanted terrorist, there had been reports before a series in 2005 that any requests for a visa by the batting great could be turned down by the Indian government.

Miandad`s son Junaid is married to Mahrukh, the daughter of Dawood, who is wanted in India in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.

As Indian enterprises grapple to make most of the economic slowdown, their spending in the information and communication technology (ICT) would be cautious in 2013, says a study by global research and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

“As Indian enterprises will take a cautionary stance on tech spending during the new year, ICT vendors will have to invest in changing their mindset to focus on strategic investments like geo expansion, mid-market focus and cloud enablement,” IDC research director Venu Reddy said in the report India ICT 2013.

A realtor was murdered near Kuntluru village under Hayatnagar mandal of Ranga Reddy district. Police identified the deceased as Rajender Reddy of Gopinagar.

Reddy’s wife complained to the Uppal police that he has been missing, three days ago. Police suspect that his friends might have murdered him.

–Agencies

Wrecked by Pakistani seamers in their opening ODI match, India`s under-fire cricketers will have to pull themselves up against the arch rivals when they clash in a must-win second cricket one-dayer here on Thursday with the form of their top-order batsmen a concern.

Parking rates in areas under the jurisdiction of South Delhi Municipal Corporation will double with the civic body on Wednesday clearing a budget proposal for this.

The civic body adopted the proposal for increase in parking rates suggested by SDMC Commissioner Manish Gupta with some modifications.

According to the decision, Rs 20 will be charged for the first three hours and Rs 10 for every subsequent hour for four-wheelers and Rs 10 for first three hours and Rs 5 for every subsequent hour for two-wheelers.

Even as the clamour for death sentence of rapists is growing in the country, former President Pratibha Patil had on Centre’s recommendations commuted death sentences of 35 convicts which included seven rapists.

Patil has come in for criticism for having commuted the death penalty against the backdrop of outrage over the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year old paramedical student in the capital.

An earthquake of slight intensity, measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, jolted Churachandpur region of Manipur on Thursday.

The quake, which struck at 3.37 AM today, was measured 4.2 on the Richter scale, the India Meteorological Department said.

The epicentre of the quake was located at 24.3 degrees north on the latitude and 93.1 degrees east on the longitude.

No loss of life or property was reported from anywhere in the region.

President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate 100th session of the Indian Science Congress in Kolkata on Thursday during his two-day visit to West Bengal.

He will inaugurate the 100th session of the Indian Science Congress at Kolkata tomorrow, a Rashtrapati Bhavan press release said.

The focal theme for the event is ‘Science for shaping the Future of India’.

Plenary sessions and special lectures in cutting edge areas will be held from January 3 to 7, the release said.

–PTI

In an untoward incident a major fire broke out at a clothes godown at Barabazaar in Kolkata on Thursday.

The clothes godown is located at Jagannath Ghat near the Howrah Bridge.

More details are awaited.

Former state minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir called on chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and submitted a written memorandum for the conduct of World Urdu Conference while Pradesh Congress president B Satya Narayana backed the proposal. Chief Minister has given consent for the conduct of the conference.

Israel has completed the construction of a 230-km security fence along the Egyptian border, an official said.

The fence is equipped with modern security systems and is designed to prevent Islamic militants, drug dealers, African migrants and asylum seekers from entering Israel from Egypt.

The construction took two years and cost approximately $420 million.

“This is a great achievement. You did the impossible. I would like to convey to you the gratitude of all Israelis,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

The winter chill has not deterred those demanding justice for the 23-year-old gangrape victim at Jantar Mantar.

The protesters said the stir would in fact gather momentum in the next few days as they have given a ‘Bharat Bandh’ call on Thursday. “We will observe January 3 as ‘kala diwas’to protest violence against women.

The secret agencies of police have once again become active and they are keeping watch over non local people. Department of intelligence has become operational to maintain peace in the city and to foil the evil motives of opportunists.

A businessman has been allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint by suspected militants from Kangla gate in the heart of the city here, official sources said on Thursday.

Shankar Lal Sahi, proprietor of Mangalam Plywood factory at Kangpokpi in Senapati district of Manipur, was abducted while he was taking a stroll at Kangla gate area near the biggest Khwairamband market complex here yesterday morning, they said.

The abductors have allegedly demanded a huge sum of money for his release, they added.

Imphal city police have registered a case in this connection. Sahi is a native of Rajasthan.

A US court on Wednesday rescheduled the sentencing of Pakistani American LeT terrorist David Headley, accused of involvement in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, from January 17 to January 24, while that of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana has been rescheduled for a second time to January 17.

Headley, who conducted reconnaissance of the targets of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks for Lashker-e-Toiba, had entered a plea bargain with the FBI, saving him from a possible death penalty or extradition to India or Denmark.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been officially discharged from a New York hospital after being treated for a blood clot, the State Department said Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

“Secretary Clinton was discharged from the hospital this evening. Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery,” Clinton’s spokesperson Philippe Reines said in a statement.

“She’s eager to get back to the office…,” he added.

A Japanese car maker has started field trials with a wireless charging system, which allows electric cars to recharge their batteries through magnetic resonators buried in the road surface of a parking space.

Toyota’s new technology does away with the need to plug the car into electricity mains using a cable.

The wireless charging device is contained in a mat, which measures about 50cm across.

When the electric car is parked, the mat is raised automatically and the AC power is delivered via the magnetic field that is created under the electric vehicle, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Tech giant Apple has reportedly started testing a new iPhone and the next version of its iOS software, a report has claimed.

According to news website The Next Web, app developers have found in their app usage logs references to a new iPhone identifier, iPhone 6.1, running iOS 7 operating system.

Apple’s iPhone 5 bears the identifiers iPhone 5.1 and iPhone 5.2, and is powered by iOS 6 operating system.

Developer logs show that the app requests originate from an internet address on Apple’s Cupertino campus, the Stuff.co.nz reports.

With Trinamool Congress in the midst of a controversy over young girls dancing in skimpy clothes at a party foundation day function, Congress on Wednesday reminded its erstwhile ally that politicians should conduct themselves in a dignified manner.

“All politicians should conduct themselves in a responsible manner as the entire nation watches their action…They should not do anything, which gives others a chance to raise their fingers at politicians,” said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi here.

A man in Kansas state in the US who donated his sperm to help a lesbian couple have a baby is now fighting efforts by the state to force him to pay for child support, RIA Novosti reported.

The man said the move has already prompted some men not to become sperm donors.

“I don’t even have to guess at that… people have already said ‘No’,” 46-year-old William Marotta told the Topeka Capital-Journal.

“I can’t even believe it’s gone this far at this point, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it,” he said.

Marotta said he answered an ad seeking a sperm donor.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the recommendations on “Terms and Conditions of Unified License (Access Services)” on the reference made by the DoT.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through its letter no. 20-281/2010-AS-I dated 21.12.2012 referred the ‘Terms and Conditions for Unified License (Access Services)” to TRAI.