Month: March 2013

Rs. 9.91 lakh sanctioned for uninhabited masajid at communally sensitive areas

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Siasat launched a special campaign to restore uninhabited masajid in the city and outskirts and by the Grace of Allah is has borne fruits. Siasat also undertook the task of restoring uninhabited masajid in communally sensitive areas. It must be recalled that 17 masajid are uninhabited in Chatrinaka, Laldarwaza and Gaulipura which include an ancient Qutub Shahi Masjid, Masjid Omer Farooq. Waqf Board has sanctioned Rs. 4.1 lakh for renovation of repair of this architectural masterpiece.

MFC scam: investigations completed

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Investigations into the Minority Finance Corporation scam are almost complete. The committee formed under the supervision of Joint Secretary Minority Welfare is likely to submit its report to the government within one week. Joint Secretary Parveen Baig and committee convenor M A Ghafoor are said to have collected the evidences in this connection and the work of statement recording is complete. It is likely that the report will be submitted to principal secretary Minority Welfare I Rani Kumudini within a week who will in turn handover the report to chief secretary with recommendations.

Pakistani journalist is Punjab caretaker chief minister

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Well known journalist Najam Sethi has been nominated to lead the caretaker government in Pakistan’s biggest province Punjab.

Rana Sanaullah, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said his party had accepted Sethi’s nomination made by the rival Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), reports Xinhua.

Sethi appears on a prominent current affairs show on Geo television.

He is also the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a political weekly, and previously has been editor of English newspaper Daily Times and Daily Aajkal, an Urdu language newspaper.

Nokia, Google clash over plan to create ‘free-to-use’ video encoding technology

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Finland mobile maker Nokia and Internet search giant Google have clashed over software that is part of free-to-use video encoding technology.

Google wants its video coding program, called VP8, to be a core part of the WebM project that is making web-centred video production tools.

Nokia, howver, says it owns key patents that define parts of VP8 and has filed an official objection to Google”s plan.

According to the BBC, the independent WebM project was started to create video production and playback software specifically designed for use online.

US university evacuated over bomb threat

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A university in the US state of Texas has evacuated its campus following an anonymous bomb threat.

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) closed its campus Tuesday after officials received word of the threat, reports Xinhua.

The campus reopened Wednesday after campus police searched all buildings, the school said in a statement.

—IANS

Today last day for EAMCET application

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The Last date of Submission & Registration of Online application form for EAMCET (Engineering / Medicine) without late fee is March 27. Inter pass or students who appeared for inter II year exam with MPC or Bi.PC group and have not yet submitted the form, are advised to immediately submit the same online. Otherwise they will have to pay late fees. EAMCET will be held on May 10.

Windows 8 update ‘coming soon’

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Software giant Microsoft is likely to release an update to its new operating system Windows 8.

The company first unveiled the tablet-centric Windows 8 OS at a conference on Sept. 11, 2011.

At the upcoming event, scheduled for June 26-28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the company will discuss the future of the software, said one Microsoft veep, Fox News reports.

According to the report, Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft”s corporate vice president and chief evangelist, wrote in a blog post that “a Build, we’ll share updates and talk about what’s next for Windows.’

Eating protein-rich breakfast reduces unhealthy snacking in the evening

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Eating a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening, according to an expert.

This could help improve the diets of more than 25 million overweight or obese young adults in the US.

Heather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, is the first to examine the impact of breakfast consumption on daily appetite and evening snacking in young people who habitually skip breakfast.

Beer-flavoured ice cream causes fear of tempting kids

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Brazilian advertising regulators have warned Ambev, Latin America’s largest brewer over an ad for beer-flavoured ice cream, saying it could tempt children and adolescents.

The warning by the National Council for Self-Regulation focuses on an ad on the Skol brand’s website and Facebook page which shows a yellow ice cream box with a lid similar to that of a beer can and the caption: “Shall we go to the bar to have an ice cream?” News 24 reported.

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth

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A Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the company’s second cargo flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday, with a 12:36 pm EDT splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hundred miles west of Baja California, Mexico.

“The scientific research delivered and being returned by Dragon enables advances in every aspect of NASA’s diverse space station science portfolio, including human research, biology and physical sciences,” Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program scientist, said.

7.7 tonnes of marijuana seized in Colombia

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Colombian police have seized more than 7.7 tonnes of marijuana that allegedly belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), reports Xinhua.

Police found 158 packages which tested positive for cannabis in two trucks stopped at a toll booth Tuesday, authorities said.

FARC rebels reportedly planned to distribute the marijuana in Colombia’s capital.

The rebels are believed to rely partly on the drug trade to fund their movements, mostly by taxing Colombia’s cocaine producers and traffickers.

–_IANS

India’s institutions have become corrupted: Book

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Entire sections of public life have become corrupt in India, says a book by a former officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).

“As of today, the most important institutions, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, have been corrupted,” B.V. Kumar says in the paperback edition of “The Darker Side of Black Money” (Konark).

“Corruption of these institutions has finally led to its institutionalisation,” he says.

Kumar quotes then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as saying that growing corruption had bred contempt for the law.

REPENTANCE – I (I OF III)

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This article focuses on how one can repent for the sins committed, and to earn Allah’s pleasure for asking for such forgiveness.

As Allah the Most Caring assures us:

“Say: O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surah Az-Zumar: 39:53)

He also says in the Quran:

“Indeed Allah loves those who repent and purify themselves”
(Surah Al Baqarah, 2:222)

Kunal prefers direction over acting

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Actor-director Kunal Roy Kapur, who is known for his comic role in “Delhi Belly”, says he prefers direction over acting.

Kunal told IANS: “I personally enjoy directing films. That has always been my forte. But I also love acting because you are pampered on sets so much, and who doesn’t like to be pampered?”

He added: “The director’s job is far more stressful and difficult, and it becomes difficult to manage so many people at the same time.”

Kudankulam I will be operational next month: Manmohan Singh

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The controversial Kudankulam Unit I of the atomic power reactor in Tamil Nadu will become operational by next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said.

He gave this assurance to Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two met here late last night on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

“I am pleased to inform you that Kudankulam I will become operational and critical by next month. As for Units III and IV we have secured all internal approvals and we hope to operationalise our cooperation on Unit III and IV,” Singh told Putin.

100 vehicles involved in accident

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Thirty trucks and 70 cars were involved in a traffic accident in Austria. One person was killed and several people were injured in the collision.

The pile up took place along a distance of two kilometres on a busy motorway, caused by icy road conditions as well as violation of traffic rules, Xinhua reported.

Snowy weather has led to 70 road accidents in Austria since Monday.

—IANS

Prof. Haragopal laments dehumanizing conditions of slums

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The Dept. of Political Science and Public Administration, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, organized 2–days national seminar on “Democratic Decentralization in Urban India for Good Governance and Sustainable Development” from 25th to 26th March 2013. The seminar aimed at finding out the prevailing realities in the urban governance. It was also to highlight the gaps in the local bodies’ governance and deliberate upon it.

Manmohan Singh assures Putin on nuclear plant

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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Russian President Vladimir Putin that the first phase of the nuclear power project at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu will be up and running by next month.

“I am pleased to inform you Mr. President that Kudankulam Unit I will become operational, in particular, the very next month,” the prime minister told the Russian president when they met at a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 5th BRICS Summit late Wednesday.

The first unit has the capacity of 1,000 mega watt.

US report calls for India-Pakistan water cooperation

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India and Pakistan will both benefit if they work together to peacefully share and conserve the vitally important waters of the Indus River Basin, according to a new report.

The study by researchers from Stimson Centre, a US-based think tank, the Observer Research Foundation in India and Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Pakistan, was produced by water experts from groups that formed the Indus Basin Working Group.

Obama taps first female director of U.S. Secret Service

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U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday appointed U.S. Secret Service official Julia Pierson to be the agency”s first female director.

Pierson, currently serves as the Chief of Staff of the agency, will succeed Mark Sullivan who retired in February.

In a statement released by the White House, Obama applauded Pierson”s over 30 years of experience with the Secret Service.

A colourless Holi for Delhi’s sex workers

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Reshma, 20, a sex worker in Delhi’s infamous red light district, loves the colours of Holi. But she and dozens of other sex workers keep away from the festivities due to the hordes of rowdy and drunk people who throng the area.

So, it will mean a colourless Holi for a majority of sex workers in the 23 brothels situated on Garstin Bastion or G.B. Road — one of the largest red light districts in northern India that is a thriving wholesale market in the daytime. Instead, the women will be praying and distributing sweets among themselves.

CPI-M condemns arrest Left leaders

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The CPI-M has condemned the arrest of its Andhra Pradesh secretary B.V. Raghavulu as well as other Left leaders in Hyderabad.

Ten Left parties in Andhra Pradesh had jointly called for a protest against the exorbitant hike in the electricity charges in the state, the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

A hunger strike continued for five days when the Andhra Pradesh assembly was in session. As soon as the session ended, the state government cracked down on the protesting leaders.

Quake hits Taiwan

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A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has jolted Nantou county in Taiwan Wednesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre.

The epicentre, with a depth of eight kilometres, was monitored at about 24.0 degrees north latitude and 121.0 degrees east longitude, Xinhua said. Local authority in Taiwan put the quake at 6.1 magnitude.

Residents in Taipei felt a strong tremor.

According to TV reports, many people were injured in Nantou by falling ceilings. Taiwan’s railway and metro networks were temporarily suspended after the quake for safety checks.

–IANS

Holi colours draw foreign tourists to India

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A penchant for life in technicolour with a dash of herbal colours, crunchy gujias, chilled thandais and soulful ghazals: the heady cocktail is proving to be an irresistible draw for foreign tourists to celebrate Holi in India, say tourism industry experts.

Despite the relatively subdued scenario owing to incidents like the Delhi gang-rape, and rising airfares, north Indian cities like Mathura, Varanasi and Jaipur have managed to attract foreigners like a moth to a flame.