Month: May 2013

Boston bombing suspect could avoid death penalty in exchange for attacks information

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Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could avoid death penalty if he provided information about the attacks to investigators. Some very preliminary talks are underway ”for the past few days” to potentially allow Tsarnaev to resume providing investigators with information, government sources have said. According to CNN, one source said that communications are in the very early stages, and not a sign lawyers for either side are ready to make a deal.

Case booked against Majlis corporator

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Chandrayangutta police registered a case against MIM corporator Samad bin Abdat for assaulting a man. According to details Majlis corporator of Uppuguda allegedly assaulted Esa, resident of Barkas and ice-cream distributor by occupation, on a petty issue.

Following the incident Esa lodged a complaint at Chandrayangutta police station on which the police shifted him to the hospital for treatment. Chandrayangutta inspector Mr. A Srinivas told that a case has been booked against Majlis corporator Samad bin Abdat under section 70B, 323 and investigations are underway.

Siasat news

Woman burnt to death by spurned lover

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A 30 year-old woman was charred to death after a man allegedly set her on fire when she objected to his advances in Pilibhit district, police said today.

Anita had on Monday night complained to police on phone that a person named Pramod had made advances towards her and the police asked her to come to the police station the next day.

Pramod again made an attempt to talk to Anita yesterday and when faced with opposition he poured kerosene on Anita, a resident of Hariyapur village, and set her on fire before escaping from the spot, police said.

Sarabjit’s family wants Manmohan to quit

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Holding both the Indian and Pakistan governments responsible for his plight, the family of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh Wednesday returned home determined to pursue the case with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Congress president and others.

The distraught family said Manmohan Singh should quit for having failed to save Sarabjit, who is battling for life in a Lahore hospital.

Picture books can boost your child’s vocabulary

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A study has claimed books having photographs but no words prove ideal for building children’s language skills. And, the parents can help their kids the best if they used such books for the bedtime story.

According to experts, parents turning to wordless storybooks end up spending time discussing the pictures and answering their toddler’s questions — exposing them to complicated words, Daily Mail reported.

Psychologists from the University of Waterloo, Canada, looked at 25 mothers as they read their children a set of bedtime stories.

Woman burnt to death in UP by spurned lover

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A 30 year-old woman was charred to death after a man allegedly set her on fire when she objected to his advances in Pilibhit district, police said on Wednesday.

Anita had on Monday night complained to police on phone that a person named Pramod had made advances towards her and the police asked her to come to the police station the next day.

Pramod again made an attempt to talk to Anita yesterday and when faced with opposition he poured kerosene on Anita, a resident of Hariyapur village, and set her on fire before escaping from the spot, police said.

Anti-Sikh riots: Protests against acquittal of Sajjan Kumar

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Kumar, a former Congress MP, was acquitted by a Delhi court on Tuesday in one of the cases of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Sajjan Kumar.

Outraged at the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in one of the cases of anti-Sikh riots, a number of people on Wednesday staged protest in the capital blocking traffic.

Shouting slogans and carrying placards like ‘Hang 1984 Culprits’ and ‘Give us Justice’, the protesters marched to Tilak Nagar Police Station in west Delhi and blocked traffic in the area.

From today rail ticket to be booked only 60 days in advance

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The advance booking period for train tickets will be reduced from existing four months to two months from Wednesday as part of the Railways’ efforts to prevent touts to corner bulk tickets.

“The reduction of advance reservation period to 60 days will be a deterrent for touts who book bulk tickets in advance. We hope the reduction of booking period will help genuine travellers,” a senior Railway Ministry official said yesterday.

However, all the bookings done up to April 30 under the existing advance reservation period (ARP) of 120 days will remain intact.

Working hard to save small investors from ponzi schemes: Sebi

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Amid lakhs of investors believed to have been defrauded by Ponzi schemes in West Bengal, Sebi Chairman U K sinha on Wednesday said the regulator is working hard to ensure that small investors’ savings are not put to risk.

“Within the powers given to us, Sebi is working extremely hard to ensure that savings of small investors are not put to risk,” Sinha said.

Indian capital markets among best on global standards: Montek

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Admitting having a ‘special affection’ for capital markets, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday said it is this segment of economy where India has moved closest to the international standards.

Calling for a greater global benchmarking of Indian capital markets going forward, Ahluwalia also said that markets in India has withstood the pressures of the time very well and has come a long way over the years.

Tiger walks into Nandankanan Zoo in Odisha

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In a rare incident, the authorities of Nandankanan Zoo have been successful in capturing a wild Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT) today as the animal walked into its safari on its own.

The tiger had recently set panic in the Zoo near here as it was freely roaming in the adjacent sanctuary area for the last few months.

“The animal was trapped in the tiger safari by tracking its movement through CCTV cameras”, Sudarshan Panda, the director of Nandankanan Zoo said.

Some of Zoo staff had earlier reported the presence of a wild tiger in the forest adjacent to the zoo.

Artificial guide star allows better view of globular cluster

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Astronomers at the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR) and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) have obtained sharp stellar images using a new instrument dubbed SAM, for SOAR Adaptive Module, which creates an artificial laser guide star.

By observing the globular cluster NGC 6496 using SAM, built by CTIO/NOAO-S, they have demonstrated the significant difference that sharp stellar images can make in our understanding of the properties of stars.

The instrument is mounted on the SOAR 4.1-meter telescope.

`Aashiqui 3` and `4` not ruled out, says Mahesh Bhatt

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Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is quite happy with the success of `Aashiqui 2` and he does not rule out the possibility of coming out with the third and fourth instalment of the film, saying love stories don`t have an end.

Bhatt directed the 1990 hit romantic film `Aashiqui`. The film, starring Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal, was a commercial success, particularly because of its music and songs.

Tremors in north India, no casualties

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Tremors were felt in the Indian capital and large parts of north India, including Srinagar, Shimla and Chandigarh, following a 5.8 magnitude quake centred around the Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh border Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or loss to property.

“The quake happened at 12.27 p.m. and measured 5.8 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was somewhere around the Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh border,” said R.S. Dattatreya, director, Department of Seismology, India Meteorological Department, in New Delhi.

Indian in US given jail for selling drugs

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An Indian in the American state of Indianapolis has been sentenced to three years in jail for selling drugs and is facing deportation to India after serving his sentence.

Phulbir Singh used four aliases. He was given the prison term by Delaware Circuit Court Judge 5 Thomas Cannon jr, who also said that nobody knew who the accused was given that he used different names and had no clear identity since arriving in the US, the Muncie Free Press reproted.

Singh was blamed for selling drugs that killed people and for not having a legal status in the country.

Took inspiration from politicians for ‘Gulab Gang’ role: Juhi

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Actress Juhi Chawla imbibed the mannerism and dressing style of leading women politicians like Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj and Mamata Banerjee for her role in the upcoming film ‘Gulab Gang’.

The 45-year-old former Miss India, known for her bubbly personality, admits that it was a challenge to get into the skin of a politician’s character in the film, which also stars Madhuri Dixit.

Indian kids need to be computer literate to avail tech opportunities: Sibal

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Union Communications and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said that Indian children need to be computer literate to utilise opportunities thrown up by technology.

Speaking at a discussion on a roadmap for the implementation of the advanced Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in India, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Sibal said most problems faced by the country can be resolved through technology.

Would love to do another romantic film, says Aditya Roy Kapur

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Bollywood actor Aditya Roy Kapur, whose film, ‘Aashiqui 2’ has done well at the box office, says that he would like to be a part of another romantic film, but nothing has been finalized at the moment.

“Nothing has been planned as of now. But I would love to do another romantic film,” Kapur said.

On how he has been feeling since the release of the film, the actor said that initially he was tense but then relaxed as the film did well.

Sarabjit Singh slips into non-reversible coma: Official sources

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Indian national Sarabjit Singh, severely injured in a brutal assault last week, has slipped into a “non-reversible” coma and doctors in a hospital here are struggling to save his life, official sources said on Wednesday.

The deterioration in Sarabjit’s condition could lead to “brain death”, the sources said.

His measurements on the Glasgow Coma Scale, which indicates the levels of consciousness and damage to a person’s central nervous system, had dropped to a “critical level”, the sources said.

Quake jolts Pakistan

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A moderate earthquake of 5.8-magnitude rocked parts of Pakistan Wednesday, a media report said.

Tremors were felt in different cities, including Lahore, Islamabad, and Abbottabad.

The quake’s magnitude was recorded 5.8 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was in eastern Kashmir, some 245 km from Islamabad, reported Dawn.

Last month, a major earthquake had struck the region near the Iran-Pakistan border, killing 34 people in Balochistan province.

–IANS

Indian kids need to be computer literate to avail tech opportunities: Sibal

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Union Communications and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said that Indian children need to be computer literate to utilise opportunities thrown up by technology.

Speaking at a discussion on a roadmap for the implementation of the advanced Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in India, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Sibal said most problems faced by the country can be resolved through technology.

People with unsupportive spouses likelier to develop depression

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People are better off not having a spouse than having poor relationship with one, a new study by U-M researchers has found.

After analyzing data from nearly 5,000 American adults, the researchers found that the quality of a person`s relationships with a spouse, family and friends predicted the likelihood of major depression disorder in the future, regardless of how frequently their social interactions took place.

Secondhand smoke lowers `good` cholesterol level: Study

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When exposed to secondhand smoke at home, teenage girls tend to have lower levels of the “good” form of cholesterol that reduces heart disease risk, according to a recent study.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) pick up excess cholesterol in the blood stream and take it to the liver where it can be broken down. Unlike low-density lipoproteins that can create a waxy build-up that blocks blood vessels, HDL cholesterol can play a key role in combatting heart disease risk.

New blood test could predict Alzheimer`s risk

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Scientists in Australia are working on a blood test that could lead to routine screening for Alzheimer`s disease.

They have identified blood-based signs of plaque in the brain that could alert doctors to the disease long before symptoms appear and irreversible brain damage has occurred.

“Early detection is critical. It gives people a much better chance of receiving treatment before it`s too late,” researcher Dr Samantha Burnham from CSIRO`s Preventative Health Flagship said.

Dr Burnham hopes the breakthrough will lead to routine age-based testing in five to 10 years.