Month: May 2013

PM asks Asian economies to step-up efforts to address common challenges

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New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday urged Asian economies to step up efforts to address common challenges by investing resources to help empower all sections of societies in the region. “We have expanded the resources of the IMF enormously in response to the crisis in Europe. We now need to substantially expand the resource base of multilateral development banks so that they have the firepower to help developing countries reach their growth potential,” Singh said at the inaugural session of the ADB”s AGM.

Don’t kill our youth, Noordin Mengal tells Pakistan

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Geneva, May 4 (ANI): Angered over the “pick, kill and dump” policy of the Pakistan Army and its spy agencies in Balochistan, especially their targeting of educated Baloch youth, Noordin Mengal called it a conspiracy to wipe the young generation of Baloch to rule over resource-rich Balochistan. An activist who has been highlighting the Baloch human rights issues at international level, Noordin Mengal said: “Of the over 600 bullet-riddled bodies that have been found, more than half of them are of those who were affiliated with Baloch students’ organizations.

Pak diplomats visit injured prisoner Sanaullah at PGI Chandigarh

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Chandigarh,May 4 (ANI): Pakistan High Commission officials visited prisoner Sanaullah, who was injured in a scuffle with another inmate in a Jammu jail, at PGI, Chandigarh, on Saturday, after India granted consular access to them last night. An External Affairs spokesman said: “Pakistan High Commission officials visited the injured prisoner Sanaullah at 3:30 a.m. They also met the attending doctor.” India had granted the consular access to Pakistani High Commission officials last night. They had also given travel permission to three officials and a driver.

Nephew Bribery Case: Bansal meets PM, offers to quit

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New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Saturday met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the latter’s 7, Race Course Road (RCR) official residence, and is reported to have offered to quit office in the wake of his nephew being arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) fo accepting a bribe of Rs.90 lakhs to facilitate the transfer of a Railway Board official to a more lucrative post. According to television reports, the meeting between Bansal and Prime Minister Singh lasted for about 30-minutes.

Sikh protesters take to streets in Amritsar over Sajjan Kumar”s acquittal in 1984 riots case

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Amritsar, May 4 (ANI): Protesters of the Sikh community took to the streets in Amritsar on Saturday, after court acquitted Congress party leader Sajjan Kumar accused of murder during the 1984 anti-Sikh communal riots in Delhi. Protesters from the Sikh community were seen walking on streets, holding placards and raising slogans against the Central government. A Delhi court had acquitted Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and convicted five other accused of charges including rioting and murder.

Soon, injectable nano particles to control blood sugar in diabetics

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Washington, May 4 (ANI): Researchers have developed a network of nano particles, which can be injected into the body, and release insulin when blood-sugar levels rise, maintaining normal levels for more than a week.

The research was conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Children’s Hospital Boston.

US tightens students visa rules post-Boston bombings

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London, May 4 (ANI): The U.S. has tightened its screening of international students, its first security change after the Boston Marathon bombings last month.

The move comes after a student from Kazakhstan, who did not have a valid visa, was accused by police of hiding evidence for one of the bomb suspects.

According to the BBC, the Department of Homeland Security has ordered border agents to automatically check the visa status of every student.

Moral values are decaying: Justice B Subhashan Reddy

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Justice Bollampally Subhashan Reddy is held in great esteem in the field of judiciary. He became chief justice of Kerala and Madras. After serving as president Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission, now he is serving in the post of Lokayukta of the state. Subhashan Reddy was born on March 2, 1943 in a landlord family. After getting school education in Sultan Bazar and Chaderghat, he obtained degree in law and became advocate and then judge. He is famous for his judgments and firm approach regarding human rights.

Karthik, Mishra, Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar recalled for ICC Champions Trophy

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Mumbai, May 4 (ANI): The All-India Senior Selection Committee met at the Cricket Centre, Mumbai, on Saturday and picked a 15-member Indian team for next month”s ICC Champions Trophy that is to be played in England and Wales. In a statement issued by Sanjay Jagdale, Hony. Secretary of the BCCI, the following squad was announced: 1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain) 2. Shikhar Dhawan 3. Virat Kohli 4. Suresh Raina 5. Dinesh Karthik 6. Murali Vijay 7. Rohit Sharma 8. Ravindra Jadeja 9. Ravichandran Ashwin 10. Irfan Pathan 11. Umesh Yadav 12. Bhuvneshwar Kumar 13. Ishant Sharma 14. Amit Mishra 15.

BJP holds anti-UPA govt protest dharna in Jammu

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Claiming that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre has proved to be the “weakest dispensation”, the BJP took out a protest march here to highlight the scams and graft unearthed during the regime.

The party activists, led by their Jammu and Kashmir unit president Jugal Kishore Sharma, took out the march and sat on a dharna outside Raj Bhawan, protesting against the UPA government’s alleged involvement in several scams, including the 2G, coalgate, and CWG scams.

Prince Harry parties two nights in a row with `Britain’s Got Talent` beauties Home

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London, May 4 (ANI): Prince Harry was seen partying with Britain’s Got Talent’s dancing girls after visiting an Alpine-themed London club twice for two consecutive nights.

The 28-year-old royal surprised club-goers by turning up at Bodo’s Schloss in Kensington, West London, on Wednesday, joining Princess Eugenie.

Harry visited the club again on Thursday night, relaxing in the VIP section with a big group of friends and ‘BGT’ flame-throwing dancing troupe Girls Roc were on hand to entertain him, the Mirror reported.

Violent video games have less effect on teens

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Washington, May 4 (ANI): Teenagers who are highly exposed to violent video games—three or more hours per day—show blunted physical and psychological responses to playing a violent game, a new study has revealed.

The paper by Malena Ivarsson of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University and colleagues states that “high versus low experience of violent gaming seems to be related to different physiological, emotional and sleep related processes [after] exposure to violent video games.”

Pakistani interim PM promises smooth transition after May 11 elections Home

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Beijing, May 4 (Xinhua-ANI): Pakistan”s interim Prime Minister, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso Friday announced that he would transfer the reign of the government to the elected representative on completion of the May 11 parliamentary elections, local media reported.

“We will not accept extension in the tenure of the caretaker government at any cost and under no circumstances,” the Pakistani Prime Minister told the nation in a televised address.

Saudi security court has issued 2,145 sentences

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The Saudi Justice Ministry says a special security court has issued 2,145 jail sentences for “supporting terrorism” since it was formed four and a half years ago.

The Specialized Criminal Court often tries suspects accused of affiliation with al-Qaida’s local branch, which operates both in the kingdom and in Yemen.

But critics say it also tries human rights activists and other dissidents as well cases related to unrest among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority.

It was unclear if “supporting terrorism” referred to all cases tried by the court.

NYC’s 9/11 memorial to charge visitors for entry

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Washington, May 4 (ANI): The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero in New York City will charge a mandatory fee from visitors.

Anthony Guido, a spokesman for the Memorial and Museum, said that they were still in the process of considering how much they will charge, but were thinking of imposing a fee of between 20 and 25 dollars.

Rail-Minister nephew bribery row: It is a ””cancer”” says Trivedi

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Kolkata, May 4 (ANI): Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday termed the incident of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal””s nephew accepting bribes worth Rs.90 lakhs for changing the job profile of a senior Railway Board officialas a ””cancer that is deep-rooted and which needed to be uprooted””. “We need to clean up the whole system. The system is open and vulnerable for corruption. The person at the very top has to correct things. I never allowed anybody to get anywhere near corruption. If the top is clean then the habit will spread.

Khurshid to co-chair India-Iran JCM in Tehran Home

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Tehran, May 4 (ANI): Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will be co-chairing the 17th session of India Iran Joint Commission (JCM) meeting here today with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi. The meeting is aimed at expanding bilateral ties and mutual co-operation between the two countries. The JCM is a forum to review bilateral economic and cultural co-operation between the two countries. India and Iran have been holding discussions at regular intervals on issues related to economic co-operation under the joint commission mechanism which was set up in 1983.

Rail-Minister nephew bribery row: BJP says UPA-II ”most corrupt Government ever”

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New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday described the Congress-led UPA -II Government by terming it the ”most corrupt government ever” after it was revealed that Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal”s nephew had been allegedly caught accepting bribes. ” This is a ”shameful” and a ”corrupt” government. They have lost all credibility and face. Still they continue, proving that they do not have self-respect and shame.

US Air Force”s X-51A hypersonic aircraft sets record during final test

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Beijing, May 4 (Xinhua-ANI): The U.S. Air Force announced Friday its X-51A Waverider aircraft has achieved the longest hypersonic flight in history, flying for three and a half minutes on scramjet power at more than five times the speed of sound.

The final flight of the unmanned aircraft built by Boeing reached Mach 5.1 over the Pacific Ocean on May 1. It traveled over 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes.

Musharraf”s party announces elections boycott in Pakistan

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Beijing, May 4 (Xinhua-ANI): Days after a court in Pakistan banned former President Pervez Musharraf from contesting elections for the rest of his life for abrogating constitution during the emergency in 2007, his party Friday announced boycott of the May 11 elections.

Spokesman for Musharraf”s All Pakistan Muslim League accused the country”s election panel of adopting a ”bias” attitude towards the former President.

Several courts had earlier disqualified Musharraf from contesting elections, frustrating his plan to take part active role in politics.

Baboons can count just like humans

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Washington, May 4 (ANI): A new study with a troop of zoo baboons and lots of peanuts shows that the ability to understand numbers is shared by man and his primate cousins.

“The human capacity for complex symbolic math is clearly unique to our species,” co-author Jessica Cantlon, assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester said.

US names new Afghanistan-Pakistan envoy

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Islamabad, May 4 (ANI): US Secretary of State John Kerry has named veteran diplomat James Dobbins as the new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Appointing Dobbins, Kerry said that his appointment was ‘a pivotal moment’ for the two nations, with interconnected political, security, and economic transitions already under way in Afghanistan, and Pakistani elections just days away, marking an important and historic democratic transition.

Microsoft completes migration of all Hotmail users to Outlook.com

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Washington, May 4 (ANI): Microsoft has announced it has successfully transferred all Hotmail.com users to Outlook.com.

The move has marked the end of the once-mighty free email service.

Microsoft in a blog post said Outlook.com now has more than 400 million active users after the migration, which took about six weeks to complete.

According to the New York Daily News, Microsoft transferred more 150 million gigabytes of data during the upgrade.

3 Egyptians killed in fight over insulting president on Facebook

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Beijing, May 4 (Xinhua-ANI): Three people were killed in Egypt after a Facebook overnight spat over President Mohamed Morsi turned into a bloody fight, state-run Al-Ahram news website reported Friday.

The bloody episode, which took place at a village in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya, 65 km north of the capital Cairo, started after a 28-year-old person allegedly insulted Morsi on Facebook, provoking a spat with a 22-year-old student, a supporter of Morsi and son of a local member of the Muslim Brotherhood”s Freedom and Justice Party.

Obama does not ‘foresee’ sending U.S. ground troops in Syria

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Beijing, May 4 (Xinhua-ANI): Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama said here Friday he does “not foresee” a circumstance under which Washington would send ground troops to war-torn Syria.

“I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria — American boots on the ground. (It) would not only be good for America but also would be good for Syria,” Obama said at a news conference in the Costa Rican capital.