Month: July 2013

DMK MPs to move privilege motion on ‘deny-Modi-visa’ letter

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DMK members may move a privilege motion in the ensuing monsoon session of parliament against “misuse” of their signatures in a letter urging US President Barack Obama to deny visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, said the party spokesperson.

He said the party will look at the website www.65traitors.com that carries the scanned copy of a letter written to Obama and also the signatures of the 65 MPs who are alleged to have signed it. Many MPs have denied signing the letter and alleged their signatures have been forged.

7 killed in US drone strike in northwest Pakistan

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Seven suspected militants were killed and three others wounded when a US drone fired two missiles at a compound in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, triggering strong condemnation from Islamabad.

The attack took place just before sunset yesterday in a village in Shawal area, some 50 kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town of restive North Waziristan, a stronghold of Taliban militants along the Afghan border.

Seven people were killed in the drone strike, officials said.

Pakistan today strongly condemned the attack, describing it as violation of its “sovereignty”.

Equipment for debris removal still stuck en route Kedarnath

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Heavy equipment like bulldozers and rock breakers, to be used to remove tonnes of debris lying in Kedarnath, is still stuck in Guptkashi due to bad weather with intermittent rains and low visibility conditions in the area.

The machines are on way to Gauchar, where they are to be dismantled and loaded into choppers to be flown to the high altitude shrine to be utilised there to clear the debris, an official said here.

But all this can be done only after the weather clears up, he said.

Parrot abuses UK man trying to rescue it from busy road

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A sharp-tongued African grey parrot swore at and wildly pecked a good Samaritan in the UK, who was attempting to rescue the bird wandering among traffic.

George, the ungrateful parrot, abused its saviour before biting him ferociously.

The man finally was able to get the grumpy bird into his car and drove it to a local vet’s, where it even lashed out at the staff with its sharp claws.

“The parrot was really grumpy when we first went out to him and started attacking us with his sharp claws,” Veterinary nurse Hayley Thompson was quoted as saying by ‘The Mirror’.

Rajya Sabha seats available for Rs 100 crore: Congress MP

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A Congress Rajya Sabha member has made a sensational claim that berths in the Upper House are available for Rs 100 crore, triggering a controversy with the BJP on Monday slamming the ruling party at the Centre for bringing politics to “such a low level”.

Congress MP from Haryana Birender Singh said at a programme that “once someone had told me that Rs 100 crore was required to get a Rajya Sabha berth. But he said he got it for Rs 80 crore and saved Rs 20 crore. Now will people who are willing to invest Rs 100 crore, ever think of the poor country.”

Eyes are 500 million years old: study

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Our eyes are at least half a billion years old – a good deal older than the brain – a new study has found.

The eyes are one of our most remarkable and precious organs, yet their origins have been shrouded in mystery until quite recently, said Professor Trevor Lamb of the Australian National University and The Vision Centre.

The deep origins of ‘sight’ go back more than 700 million years when the Earth was inhabited only by single-celled amoeba-like animals, algae, corals and bacteria.

Woman shot dead over property dispute

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A 75-year-old woman was today shot dead and nine others of the family were seriously injured when a clash took place between the family members over a property dispute at Purbaliyan village in the district, police said.

Hasina, wife of Samruddin, was shot dead by her sons when family members clashed with each other over a piece of agricultural land, they said.

Police rushed to the spot and the deceased’s son Sherjan (40) was taken into custody. The injured were rushed to a hospital, they added.

Diane Lane to play Hillary Clinton in TV mini-series

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“Unfaithful” star Diane Lane is all set to portray former US First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a new TV mini-series.

Lane will take on the title role in the forthcoming NBC network show “Hillary”. Director Courtney Hunt will document Clinton’s life as a “wife, mother, politician and cabinet member from 1998 to the present” in the script, Contactmusic reported.

The producers are yet to find an actor to play former President Bill Clinton in the four-hour long series.

Ishrat case: PP Pandey hospitalised in Ahmedabad

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Senior Gujarat IPS officer PP Pandey, who was directed by the Supreme Court to appear before a special CBI court here today in connection with the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, was admitted in a hospital after he complained of chest pains.

Pandey was admitted in Chandramani Hospital at Shahibaug area of the city after he complained of chest pains, sources told PTI.

Injured Delhi stunt biker likely to be arrested

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Puneet Sharma, the injured stunt biker whose pillion rider was shot dead Sunday in the heart of Delhi, is likely to be arrested, police said Monday.

Hit by a bullet fired by the police in an attempt to puncture the tyre of the bike, Sharma was injured and rushed to a hospital, where he is recuperating.

“Sharma, who has been named in the first information report (FIR) can be arrested today (Monday),” the police official said.

The police also said that they are waiting for the post-mortem examination report of Karan Pandey.

Court notices to centre, Reliance on gas price

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Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the centre and Reliance Industries on a public interest litigation seeking review of the recent government decision to hike from 2014 the gas prices from $4.2 to $8.4 million British thermal unit (mmBtu).

The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam issued notice on the PIL by CPI leader and senior parliamentarian Gurudas Dasgupta contending that the government decided to hike the gas prices without taking into account its disastrous consequences on the country’s economy, particularly power and the fertiliser sector.

CWC to meet tomorrow on Telangana issue

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Veering towards conceding the demand for a separate Telangana, the Congress has convened a meeting of its working committee, the party’s highest policy making body, tomorrow after deliberations on the issue in the UPA Coordination Committee.

Highly placed Congress sources said the coordination committee will meet at 1600 hrs followed by the meeting of the CWC at 1730 hrs.

The high-level meetings are being called on the eve of the conclusion of the Panchayat polls in Andhra Pradesh.

Jilted lover sets afire 15-yr-old girl in Odisha

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A jilted lover allegedly set a 15-year-old girl on fire apparently after being rejected by her at Kharinasi village in Kendrapara district of Odisha.

The victim, a Class VIII student of a nearby government school, is battling for life while the alleged perpetrator of the offence, the teenaged boy, is absconding, police said.

The boy accompanied by an accomplice allegedly set her on fire yesterday after pouring petrol over her.

The victim, who suffered over 50 percent burns, is said to be in a critical condition, police said.

Crime In Hyderabad (29.7.2013)

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Thief electrocuted to death
(Siasat News): A thief who had gone for the lone motive of theft, electrocuted to death at village Jukal in Shamshabad.

According to the details, the unidentified thieves had gone to Jukal where they were busy in cutting the electric wires in the fields.

During this, a thief who was cutting a motor wire got electrocuted and died on the spot.

Shamshabad police has registered a case and further investigations are on.

AI flight returns to bay after minor damage to rear tyre

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A Maldives-bound Air India flight with 43 passengers on board returned to the bay here just before take off today after the pilot noticed minor damage to the rear tyre.

The flight was set to take off at 6.40 am to Thiruvananthapuram, from where it was to proceed to Maldives, airport sources said.

All passengers are safe, they said, adding arrangements have been made to take them to their onward destination by another aircraft.

Meanwhile, the arrival of a British Airways flight from London was delayed by three hours, they said.

However, the reason for the delay was not stated.

GJM calls for bandh in Darjeeling hills for Gorkhaland

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Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has called for a 72-hour bandh in the Darjeeling Hills to assert their demand for Gorkhaland from Monday.

“We have been told that the central government is going to concede the demand to carve out a Telengana state out of Andhra Pradesh. When they are ready to form Telengana, why wouldn’t they give us Gorkhaland?” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri reportedly said.

The call for the shutdown by GJM comes ahead of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coordination committee meet on July 31 to discuss the formation of Telangana state despite opposition.

Ishrat case: IPS officer Pandey admits himself to hospital

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PP Pandey, the Gujarat police officer accused of murdering college student Ishrat Jahan, has been hospitalised in Ahmedabad after he complained of chest pain.

Mr Pandey had been ordered by the Supreme Court today to show up in a city court after weeks of being underground. He showed up at work yesterday.

Pandey was Joint Commissioner of Police when on June 15, 2004 Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with the Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Heavy rain leaves one dead, two missing in Japan

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Heavy rains lashed Japan over the weekend, leaving one person dead and two missing, the government said today as it issued a severe storm warning.

A 79-year-old woman was confirmed dead yesterday after being discovered inside a house that was destroyed by mudslides in Yamaguchi prefecture, on Japan’s southwest coast.

An 84-year-old man was missing from the same region after being swept away near a river, local reports said, citing police and other official sources.

Trying to take the responsibility: Virat Kohli

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The India captain also had words of praise for the Zimbabwean fast bowlers.

Young India cricket captain Virat Kohli said he was trying to take more responsibilities as he led the team to a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the third ODI of the five-match series at the Harare Sports Club here Sunday.

With India struggling at 67/2, Kohli walked in and led from the front with an unbeaten 68 to enable the visitors take an unassailable 3-0 lead with two matches to spare.

Waiting for Test call-up now: Mishra

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It has been three years since he last played a Test match but Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra is hopeful that his fine show in the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe would once again open the doors for him in the five-day format.

Mishra, with nine wickets at 15.11 runs apiece in three matches, has set an Indian record in a bilateral series in Zimbabwe in ODIs. Only once in his career, he has taken 10 or more wickets in a series — 11 at an average of 18.09 in five matches in West Indies in 2011.

Dead body taken on JCB machine, two policemen suspended

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A dead body was fished out of a drain with the help of a JCB digging machine and carried to hospital piled up on garbage in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad town. Two policemen have been suspended, an official said.

The incident took place Sunday in the Nalbandan area of the town when people spotted the naked dead body of a youngster lying in a big drain.

Policemen came and asked for a JCB machine of the municipal corporation, used to clean drains and lift garbage from various city dumps.

Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal urges less reliance on oil

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Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal has warned global demand for the kingdom’s oil is dropping, urging revenue diversification and investment in nuclear and solar energy to cover local consumption.

In letters to officials and published today on his Twitter account, King Abdullah’s nephew warned that it was alarming that “92 per cent of the government budget relies on oil”.

“The world’s reliance on OPEC oil, especially the production of Saudi Arabia, is in a clear and continuous drop,” he wrote in letter addressed to oil minister Ali al-Naimi.

I eat simple Indian food to stay fit and healthy: Karina

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Kareena Kapoor says rather than surviving on salads and juices, she eats simple Indian food to stay fit and healthy.

“I eat only simple Indian home food – sabzi, roti, dal, chawal, ghee. There are so many benefits of having ghee. My grandmother is 84 and she is still fit and looks beautiful,” Kareena told reporters here last evening.

“One should eat everything especially healthy and not junk food. I don’t like the idea of starving. I would eat and burn it out in gym. The amount of intake is what matters,” she said.

BJP workers protest outside Delhi CM’s residence; 200 detained

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Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Vijay Goel was detained along with about 200 party workers for protesting outside Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit’s residence Sunday morning, opposing the recent hike in power tariff.

Goel, along with his supporters, was detained after his half-hour protest outside Dikshit’s official residence.

Delhi state government hiked the power tariff Friday, saying that power tariff in the national capital was the lowest in the country.

How Does One Soften Their Heart? – III

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As the last ten nights of Ramadan are upon us, many of us are still in shock at the speed with which Ramadan has passed. Our goals may not yet be realized, our habits may not yet have changed, and our hearts may not yet have felt the sweetness of this beloved month. Disheartened, many of us may have already given to despair, feeling that our Ramadans have not been as fruitful as we had wished and planned.