Month: April 2013

Indian men get ‘wrong signal’ from friendly female tourists

by

Sydney, Apr 2 (ANI): The owner of a restaurant in India has said the friendliness of western women can confuses local men and lead to sexual assault.

Farhang Jehani, who owns The Leopold Cafe in Mumbai, said Indian men often get the ‘wrong signal’ from female tourists who are simply being friendly.

Jehani told News.com.au that he had not noticed any decline in female travelers despite new statistics showing the number of females visiting India had dropped by 35 per cent in the wake increasing sex attacks.

Rains disrupt life in Telangana, one killed

by

Unseasonal rains played havoc in Telangana districts in which one person died while crops were damaged and traffic was disrupted.

In Nizamabad district one person died and several houses were damaged due to heavy rains and high velocity winds. Traffic was disrupted on the Karimnagar- Kamareddy highway. Many trees were uprooted and crops were damaged in Medak district with heavy rains accompanied by gales played havoc in the district.

Similar reports came in from Ranga Reddy district as well. There were heavy rains in some parts of the city and traffic was held up for some time. (INN)

Tips to ward off insomnia

by

New York, Apr 2 (ANI): Occasional sleeplessness is a common occurrence, with about 30 to 40 percent of adults report having symptoms of insomnia within a given year.

But you can take charge of your sleep by eliminating some of the bad habits that may be keeping you awake and restless.

First of all if you’re having difficulty falling asleep, don’t stay under the covers in hopes of somehow becoming drowsy, Nitun Verma, M.D., an Indian-origin sleep specialist and the medical director of the Washington Township Center for Sleep Disorders in Fremont, California said.

Musharraf wants polls to be held under army supervision

by

Islamabad, Apr. 2 (ANI): Former Pakistan president and former military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, has said that the upcoming general elections should be held under the supervision of army. Musharraf, who is the chief of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), said that there would be law and order issues, and the polls will not be fair and transparent if the elections are not held under the supervision of army, reports The Dawn.

March ”deadliest month” in Syrian conflict with over 6000 deaths

by

London, Apr. 2 (ANI): The month of March has been the deadliest in Syria, with 6,000 people killed in the country, since protests against the government began two years ago, activists have said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, said it recorded 6,005 deaths last month, reports BBC News. It said victims included at least 291 women, 298 children, 1,486 rebel fighters and army defectors, and 1,464 government troops. The other casualties were unidentified civilians and fighters, it added.

Bilawal returns to Pakistan to lead party campaign

by

Islamabad, Apr. 2 (ANI): Pakistan People”s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto has returned to the country to start the party”s election campaign on April 4. The Daily Times quoted sources in the PPP, as saying that despite severe security threat and reservations on the way party”s affairs are being run, Bilawal decided to return to Pakistan to start the party”s election campaign. However, it was still not clear whether he would lead the party campaign till the elections in prevailing circumstances or not, the sources added.

Wal-Mart’s plans to become India’s top retailer by 2015 hit roadblock

by

Washington, Apr. 2 (ANI): Wal-Mart had big plans to expand in India, with its sights set on becoming the country’s top retailer by 2015, but the licensing issues are preventing the U.S. retailer from hitting its targets.

Three years ago Wal-Mart Stores Inc. set out to be India”s top retailer by 2015, calling it Project Jai Ho, meaning ‘let there be victory’.

Congress, BJP lock horns as Modi Govt. introduces new Lokayukta Bill

by

New Delhi, Apr. 2 (ANI): With the Narendra Modi Government introducing a bill in the Gujarat assembly that attempts to overhaul the process of appointing the Lokayukta, thereby virtually giving the full control to the state, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted double standards on the issue, one for the Centre and another for the government ruled by it.

North Korea vows to re-open nuclear reactor to openly enrich uranium amid war rhetoric

by

North Korea has announced plans to restart a reactor at its main nuclear complex that it had agreed to shut down more than five years ago, escalating already heightened tensions with the US and South Korea.

The declaration demonstrates Kim Jong Un’s commitment to the country’s nuclear weapons programme that the international community has persistently, but unsuccessfully tried to get it to abandon.

Dubai rents go up further by 3 to 4%

by

Renewed confidence in the economy and the real estate sector is pushing rents up further in some areas in Dubai during the first quarter of the year.

A report released by Asteco yesterday revealed that rents for apartments and villas in Dubai increased by 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively during the period January to March this year when compared to the last quarter of 2012. Over the past 12 months, average rent increases stood at 19 per cent for apartments and 21 per cent for villas.

Violence against women is a major challenge: Hamid Ansari

by

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Tuesday said that violence against women is a major challenge.

“Data from National Crime Records Bureau indicates that the total number of crimes against women increased by 29.6 per cent between 2006 and 2010. The 2005-06 National Family Health Survey also reported that one-third of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical violence, and approximately one in 10 had been a victim of sexual violence,” he added.

Manish Tewari taunts Yashwant Sinha as he presses for calling PM before JPC

by

Taking a jibe at Yashwant Sinha over his demand to call Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G spectrum scam, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday said the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader would be disappointed as he did not find a place in the newly constituted executive of the main opposition party.

Air India to be official partner of Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians for IPL 6

by

Country’s flag carrier airline, Air India has joined hands with the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Mumbai Indians (MI) as their official airline partner for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, starting tomorrow in Kolkata.

As per the association, the players of these two teams would be flying by Air India during the franchise-based Twenty20 league to be held at different venues of country from April 3 to May 26.

Bansal launches Wi-Fi facility on Howrah Rajdhani Express train

by

Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal launched Wi-Fi- facility as a pilot project on Howrah Rajdhani Express (train no. 12302), here today.

To introduce internet access in moving train was a technological challenge considering that the train passes through all type of terrain and continuous internet access in all weather is to be provided.

Married woman abducted by priest, sold for Rs 40,000, gangraped repeatedly

by

A 33-year-old married woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a temple priest and his accomplice at a village here and then sold off for Rs 40,000 to three brothers, who also gangraped her, police said today.

The victim, a resident of Kawar village in Chhatarpur district, had been missing since January 17 and the offence came to light yesterday after her brother traced her, along with her five-year-old child, in Pipra village of Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district, they said.

Rajnath Singh demands loan exemption for farmers in drought-hit Maharashtra

by

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre and Prithviraj Chavan-led Maharashtra Government for not taking adequate steps to improve the condition of the draught-hit state, and demanded waving of the interest of the loans of the farmers.

He alleged that the ruling government was not paying heed to the problem of the farmers.

BSP leader’s killers were hired for Rs.1 crore

by

A week after the murder of BSP leader and business tycoon Deepak Bhardwaj, Delhi Police said Tuesday that the killers were paid Rs.1 crore to eliminate him.

A police officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity that they were raiding places in Haryana, Delhi and in the National Capital Reigion (NCR) for clues about the people who hired the shooters for Rs.1 crore.

“The shooters were given a contract of Rs.1 crore to eliminate Deepak Bhardwaj,” said a police officer investigating the murder.

Now, Congress MLA likens girls wearing scarfs to terrorists

by

Objecting to a calling attention motion moved by his own party colleague Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco where he expressed apprehensions over an increasing trend among girls covering faces with scarfs while riding bikes, Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho said, it was an insult to women.

This led to a war of words with another Congress legislator during the Assembly session here, bringing differences among party MLAs to the fore.

When girls wear scarfs, it becomes difficult to know their identity and anti-social elements like terrorists can go unnoticed, Lourenco said.

NIA allowed to quiz suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat in jail

by

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was today allowed by a Delhi court to interrogate suspected Hizbul militant Sayyed Liyaqat Shah, who is presently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody, in the prison itself till April 30.

Shah has been booked for waging war against the country by Delhi Police which claimed he was planning to carry out terror attacks in the national capital.

District Judge I S Mehta allowed the NIA’s plea seeking permission to interrogate Shah in the jail itself.

First cracks in BJP emerge on Narendra Modi elevation forces Rajnath on backfoot

by

Induction of Narendra Modi in BJP’s Parliamentary Board does not make him more powerful than other party Chief Ministers, Madhya Pradesh Minister Babulal Gaur said today – Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan did not get any promotion within the party in Sunday’s meet.

Although the Gujarat strongman has been appointed to the BJP’s highest decision-making body, it does not make him more powerful than other Chief Ministers from the party, Gaur said here.

Government rushing two senior ministers to Saudi Arabia

by

The Indian government proposes to send two senior ministers to Saudi Arabia to asses the impact of the new ‘nitaqat’ employment policy that is expected to affect thousands of Indians who are working in the kingdom without valid employment or visa documents.

Trinamool slams Bengal election commissioner

by

The Trinamool Congress Tuesday accused West Bengal State Election Commissioner (SEC) Meera Pandey of “dancing like a puppet” to the tune of the opposition CPI-M.

The Trinamool Congress slammed the SEC for moving the high court to seek rejection of the panchayat election dates notified by the state government.

Trinamool Congress leader Chandrima Bhattacharya took a dig at Pandey, indirectly alleging that she was working at the behest of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

KKR fans arrive in droves for IPL opening

by

Waving gold and purple flags and banners, frenzied fans of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders descended onto the Salt Lake stadium here, the inaugural venue of the sixth Indian Premier League, to witness a star-studded spectacle Tuesday.

Ambani brothers join hands for telecom business

by

Companies run by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani Tuesday announced a Rs.1,200 crore deal for cooperation in telecom business.

As per the deal, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm will utilise Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications’ optical fibre network for fourth generation (4G) telecom services.

Reliance Communications in turn will have reciprocal access to optic fibre infrastructure to be built by Reliance Jio in future.

Reliance Jio is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.