Month: July 2013

PM should be elected directly by people: Anna Hazare

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Social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said the Prime Minister should be elected directly by the people in the country.

“Unless and until Prime Minister is directly elected by the people, it would not do any good to the country,” Hazare told reporters here during his ongoing Jantantra Yatra.

Calling statements of getting a full meal for Rs 5 and Rs 12 by some Ministers “a cruel joke,” he said if people could get a full meal for Rs 5, then why do MPs, who get free facilities, want a monthly salary of Rs 80,000.

Abu Dhabi varsity inks MOU with Yemen

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The Abu Dhabi University recently signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the embassy of Yemen in Abu Dhabi, enabling both the parties to collaborate in making higher education accessible to high achieving students of Yemeni nationality.

The agreement provides Yemeni students who enroll in any of Abu Dhabi University’s bachelor programmes, offered during the upcoming academic year 2013 – 2014, with a 30 per cent waiver on tuition fees provided they achieve a 95 per cent cumulative average on their high school grade.

Centre spares no steps to protect Lankan Tamils: Narayanasamy

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured Tamil Nadu government that there was no change in the stand of the Centre on reconciliation and devolution of political powers to ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, Union Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy said on Sunday.

Talking to reporters here, Narayanasamy said the UPA government was firm that there should be no dilution of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.

Rahul Gandhi ensures 50% representation to women in AICC

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday vowed to ensure 50 per cent representation to women in AICC and other party wings as he held his first formal interaction with newly-appointed party office bearers, the team set up by him for the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

“Gandhi talked about how to ensure 50 per cent representation to women in AICC…It’s not about reservation. It’s about their representation.

Malkovich: Paid by classmates to do homework

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Actor John Malkovich used to charge his classmates for doing their homework.

The 59-year-old admits his macho friends were not interested in the creative side of their college theatre course as he was, so they used to give him money for doing their work, which eventually has helped him forge a successful career in the fashion industry, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Woman critically injured in attack by spurned lover

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A married woman is battling for life after her spurned lover allegedly attacked her with a knife when she refused to accept his marriage proposal, police said.

She is admitted to the civil hospital here with multiple knife wounds and her condition is stated to be critical, police said.

The incident took place in the Parvatiya Colony locality of the town.

A case in this connection has been registered and efforts are on to nab the accused Kalu, they said.

–PTI

Rape threats putting pressure on Twitter to install `report abuse` button

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Thousands of people have signed a petition that calls on Twitter to add a ‘report abuse’ button.

The petition was brought after Caroline Criado-Perez, who successfully campaigned for women to be included on UK banknotes, faced a deluge of abuse and rape threats.

Ms Criado-Perez, from Rutland told the BBC that the form that allows Twitter users to report abuse is not adequate, asserting that the micro blogging site needs to be on the side of the victims.

The petition states that abuse on Twitter is common and frequently goes ignored.

Congress trying to cover its failures, says BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu

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Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Venkaiah Naidu accused the ruling-Congress party of covering its economic and social failures by trying to divert the attention of the people to the freshly released poverty figures. According to the data released earlier in the week by the Planning Commission, the poverty ratio has declined to 21.9 percent in the year 2011-12 from 37.2 percent in 2004-05.“This is a ploy by the ruling party to divert the attention of the people from the massive failures, particularly on the economic and social front.

BCCI is like a corporate house having its own vigilance: Kirti Azad

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After reports emerged that the BCCI probe came out in favour of Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra and N Srinivasan, former Indian spinner and current BJP leader Kirti Azad on Sunday said that the BCCI functions like a corporate house having their own vigilance and they decide on such scandals internally, in accordance with their own convenience. Azad also questioned the BCCI and the key accused in the infamous IPL betting and spot-fixing case, asking if they would move the court for the defamation caused.

Five Maoists with weapons arrested in Gumla region

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Five Maoists were arrested on Sunday by the police and they also seized weapons and ammunitions from their possession in the Gumla district of Jharkhand. Acting on a tip-off, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Bansal said that the arrested Maoists belonged to the Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and one of them happened to be a zonal commander. “The PLFI sub-zonal commander Bhaiya Ram has been arrested and three rifles and 12 rounds and five cell phones have been confiscated and four other persons have been arrested along with him.

Mufti slams J&K government over Ramban killings

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Leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti criticized the state government for its misgovernance on Sunday. Mufti slammed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah”s government and condemned the latest firing incident in Ramban district, which left four persons dead and 40 others injured. According to reports, on July 18 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel fired at protesters outside the BSF station in the town of Gool (Ramban area). The protesters were unarmed and were protesting against the alleged manhandling of a local religious leader.

BSP attacks Akhilesh Yadav-led UP Government over increasing crimes

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Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) attacked the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over deteriorating law and order scenario in the state. Expressing concern over the law and order situation in the state, General Secretary of BSP Satish Chandra Mishra said that the number of cases of crime has surpassed all limits and attributed these aspects to the patronage extended by the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) to the culprits and mafia syndicates in the state.

Probe report on IPL fixing, betting submitted

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The two-member panel probing the charges of match fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) submitted its report Sunday, said Jagmohan Dalmiya, interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Dalmiya said the report has been forwarded to the IPL governing council which will meet in New Delhi Aug 2 to take a final decision in the matter.

Queen Elizabeth II on vacation

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After the birth of her great grandson, Queen Elizabeth II jetted away to Aberdeen, Scotland, where she will spend two months on holiday at the Balmoral Castle.

According to the Daily Mail, the royal monarch left Friday, reports eonline.com.

The Queen was dressed in a pink raincoat, floral headscarf and pumps as she exited her private jet before heading to the 50,000-acre private estate.

Her husband Prince Philip was not present there, as he is still recovering from an abdominal surgery.

The 92-year-old Duke of Edinburgh will reportedly join the Queen in August.

Worker killed in Bangalore metro project crane crash

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A construction worker was crushed to death Sunday at a metro rail project site when a huge crane lifting a heavy beam crashed on him, a police official said.

“The incident happened late afternoon when a crane, onboard a truck, collapsed at the Peenya metro station in the northwest suburb killing Govindaraju, 45, under the weight of a five-tonne angular beam,” Peenya Inspector M. Shamanna told IANS here.

‘UP poor to give Rs.27 to Rahul Gandhi for meal’

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Mocking at the Planning Commission’s poverty figures, people of Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region would give Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Rs.27 instead of a ‘chatni-roti’ meal if he comes here, NGO workers and villagers said here Sunday.

Gandhi visited Bundelkhand’s Banda district in September 2009 and stayed overnight at the home of Bhagwat Prajapati in Nehri village who died due to poverty. He sympathised with Prajapati’s family and ate ‘chatni-roti’ with them.

But village residents now said Gandhi would not be offered the poor man’s food any more.

Kerala targets 3,000 new IT companies by 2020: Chandy

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Kerala aims to have at least 3,000 IT companies by 2020 under the state’s new Seed Support System for early-stage investment to assist new entrepreneurs under the new IT policy of nurturing “one product startup a day”, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Sunday.

Speaking via video link at the Weekend@Startup Village celebrations, he also announced the setting up of a state-of-the-art Kerala Technology Innovation Zone at the Kinfra Hi-Tech park where India’s first telecom business incubator, Startup Village, is currently located.

UPA panel to discuss Telangana July 31

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The Congress will discuss July 31 the vexed issue of carving out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh with its allies in the United Progressive Alliance, informed sources said Sunday.

The all-powerful Congress Working Committee may also meet the same day to discuss the issue, said the sources.

The Congress, which has completed the process of consultations on the issue, will now try to take the allies on board before it takes a final call, said the sources.

But that will not be easy, as the party is divided on the issue, they said.

Disappointing from Budapest without any points: Mallya

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Sahara Force India owner Vijay Mallya was disappointed as both his drivers Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil retired from the Hungarian Grand Prix here Sunday.

Mallya admitted it was a tough weekend as Force India for the third time, after Malaysia and Germany, failed to score a point.

38 fresh dengue cases in Odisha

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Thirty-eight fresh cases of dengue fever were Sunday confirmed by Odisha authorities, taking the figure for the year so far to 268. Cuttack has been the worst-hit with 187 cases.

Of the latest 38 cases, the highest of 29 were reported from Cuttack, M.M. Pradhan, joint director of the state health department, told IANS.

Although local media reported the death of a 20-year-old man at Cuttack, 26 km from here, Saturday, Pradhan said the area health officials were yet to confirm it.

Mulayam attends Iftar in Bangalore

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Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh late Sunday attended an Iftar party in the city with a select gathering, including politicians, celebrities and religious leaders.

“Netaji’s (Mulayam) son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and three lawmakers from the northern state also participated in the evening prayers (Namaz-e-Mughrib) and joined the Iftar dinner at a star hotel,” a party spokesman told IANS.

Six killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

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At least six people were killed and several others injured in a US drone strike launched late Sunday night in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan, reported local Urdu TV channel Samaa.

According to the local media reports, the US unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at a living compound suspected of being a militant hideout in the Shawal Tehsil of Miranshah, a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

Identities of the killed and injured are not known at this point.

–IANS

Seven killed in Afghanistan blast

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At least seven people, including a senior police official, were killed and 10 injured in a blast in Afghanistan’s Zabul province, 340 km from capital city of Kabul, Sunday evening, an official said.

“An Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander named Mujahid Khan, two ALP cops and four civilians were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detonated in Qala Khil area of Shahjoy district at around 5.00 p.m. Sunday,” reported Xinhua citing deputy provincial governor Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar.

PPP to boycott presidential poll in Sindh assembly

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Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon said Sunday that all members of his party would boycott the proceedings of Sindh Assembly session Tuesday when presidential poll gets undway, the Geo News reported.

Memon, the Sindh province’s minister for information, in a statement said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif required services of people who can be operated through a remote control. “The remote control of Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidential House) will be in the hands of Nawaz Sharif.”

Ghulam Nabi Azad talk to Asad Owaisi on Telangana issue

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After the Congress Core Group meeting on Friday Ghulam Nabi Azad called up MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi to seek his views on the Rayala-Telangana.

Asaduddin Owaisi said to have cautioned Azad against division of the state saying that it would strengthen the BJP in Telangana.He said I have already given the same feedback recently to Digvijaya Singh.