Month: August 2013

Kolkata woman approaches police against husband’s abuse

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A newly-married woman Thursday filed a complaint with police alleging she was repeatedly sexually abused by her husband who also threatened to circulate her private pictures if she failed to bring dowry.

“My client was repeatedly tortured and abused by her husband and his family asking for dowry. The husband even threatened to make public some of her private pictures,” said the victim’s advocate Anirban Guhathakurta.

Both the husband and his family incidentally have fled the house after driving away the 32-year-old victim.

Mamata keeps all political options open

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee Thursday gave clear indications that she is open to all kinds of political combinations ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.

“I love the federal front. I have always advocated a stable government at the centre. I think stability is important for democracy,” Banerjee said on her first visit to Mumbai to woo captains of Indian industry and business at a meeting in World Trade Centre here.

FDI cap on defence production to stay at 26%

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The cabinet Thursday decided that FDI cap in defence production will remain at 26 percent and proposals for higher foreign direct investment will be considered by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on a case to case basis.

An official release said that foreign direct investment in defence production above 26 percent will be decided on case to case basis if it ensures access to “state-of-art” technology.

Srinivasan set to chair BCCI meeting

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Narayanswamy Srinivasan will have some answering to do on the “illegally” appointed probe panel for spot fixing when he chairs the Indian cricket board’s working committee meeting here Friday.

Sanjay Patel, secretary at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told reporters Thursday that Srinivasan will head the crucial meet.

“Srinivasan is the BCCI chief and he has already started working. There is no confusion as to who will chair tomorrow’s (Friday) working committee meeting,” said Patel.

US disappointed at Snowden’s asylum in Russia

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The White House has expressed “extreme disappointment” at Russia’s grant of temporary asylum to fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

Washington said it was evaluating a scheduled presidential summit in September, Xinhua reported.

“We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step, despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr. Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a daily press briefing.

Amanda Seyfried gets cosy with Justin Long

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Actress Amanda Seyfried and actor Justin Long were reportedly almost inseparable at the premiere of her latest film “Lovelace” here.

The duo was even spotted getting cosy in a corner at the after-party.

Seyfried, 27, and 35-year-old Long secluded themselves from the rest of the guests at the celebratory after-party, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“They were hanging out at the after-party at Refinery Rooftop till closing time. They looked cosy in a corner,” a source told the New York Post newspaper.

Beyonce twerks at backstage party

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Pop star Beyonce Knowles was seen twerking hard in a backstage bash after rappers Jay Z and Justin Timberlake’s mega-concert.

The 31-year-old was enjoying before and after the concert Sunday night in Pasadena, California, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The “Single ladies” singer wore a silky striped top and had her long, blonde curls wildly hanging down her shoulders.

Her rapper husband Jay Z was spotted in a blue short-sleeved shirt, baggy jeans and a gold chain around his neck.

—IANS

Chronology of the Edward Snowden saga

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Fugitive US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden left for an undisclosed location from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after Russia granted him refugee status. Following is a chronology of the 30-year-old American’s journey.

May 20 – Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong.

June 10 – The Guardian, the first newspaper to disclose the US government’s secret surveillance programmes following a video interview with Snowden, published his identity at his request.

Maharashtra will stay united: Prithviraj Chavan

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Terming socialite Shobhaa De’s tweet suggesting separate statehood for Mumbai as “frivolous”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said the state will remain united.

“The comments are frivolous and shouldn’t be taken seriously… Neither Mumbai nor Vidarbha will be separated from Maharashtra,” the chief minister said here.

“Unity is our strength,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena activists held protests outside De’s house in South Mumbai today.

Protests disrupt normal life across Seemandhra

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Normal life remain disrupted for the second consecutive day on Thursday in both Andhra and Rayalaseema regions following 48-hour band call given by pro-united Andhra Pradesh organisations in protest against the Centre’s decision to bifurcate the State.

Telangana issue is settled permanently

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AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday claimed that the Telangana issue has been settled once and for all.

Talking to reporters at his residence here, Digvijay Singh said that the Telangana issue has been solved and the Centre does not expect any trouble from the opposition parties. He hoped that the Telangana Bill would be passed during the monsoon session of the Parliament.

Dy CM, Jana given warm reception at Shamshabad Airport

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A warm welcome was accorded to Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and Panchayat Raj Minister K Jana Reddy on their return from the national capital on Thursday evening.

Hundreds of Congress workers assembled at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to receive the two leaders who successfully represented the case of Telangana before the Congress High Command which eventually led the Centre to agree for the formation of Telangana State. Rajanarasimha and Jana Reddy were brought to the city in a grand rally amid the slogans of “Jai Telangana”. (INN)

Italy’s Supreme Court confirms Berlusconi’s jail verdict

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The Italian Supreme Court has made definitive a tax fraud conviction for 76-year-old former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, confirming a four-year jail term and ordering a new appeal trial for a related ban on public office.

Five judges Thursday confirmed the guilty verdict imposed last year by a Milan court and upheld in a first appeal, after being locked in consultations on the case for around seven hours, Xinhua reported.

The court also ordered an appeal review of a five-year ban on public office, part of the conviction, which they said could be lowered to one to three years.

UAE PM’s wife honoured for humanitarian work

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Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, wife of the UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has been named the first Watani Gold Personality of Humanitarian Work 2013.

The Watani Al Emarat Foundation honoured Sheikha Hind at an event held on Zayed Humanitarian Day, the ninth anniversary of the death of the UAE’s founding father, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Derar Bahloul Al Falasi, the foundation’s director general, said Sheikha Hind was recognised for her generosity and humanitarian acts.

NDA will have zero tolerance to terrorism: Advani

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Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani Thursday said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by his party will have zero tolerance towards terrorism and violence if it is voted to power in 2014.

Advani was in Salem, around 340 km from here, to pay homage to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu general secretary V. Ramesh who was hacked to death last month.

Thanking Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for ordering a special investigation into Ramesh’s murder, Advani hoped the killers would be brought to book at the earliest.

Salman most searched celeb on mobile

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Bollywood’s ‘Dabangg’ star Salman Khan has emerged on top of a list of celebrities who are the most searched for on a mobile platform, reveals a new survey. He even beat his former girlfriend, actress Katrina Kaif in the race.

The finding is part of independent mobile video and media company Vuclip’s second quarter 2013 Global Video Insights survey.

Salman, one of the Hindi film industry’s most loved stars, pipped other top models, actresses, cricketers and singers with his style and charisma, read a statement.

Katrina not doing ‘Happy New Year’

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For those who have been waiting to see Shah Rukh Khan-Katrina Kaif re-unite for “Happy New Year” after “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”, there is bad news. The actress won’t be able to do the film due to prior commitments.

There were reports that the two are coming together again in Farah Khan’s directorial venture “Happy New Year”, but according to reliable sources, “it is not true”.

Kohli eye Zimbabwe whitewash after 4th consecutive win

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After hammering minnows Zimbabwe yet again, India skipper Virat Kohli now has his eyes trained on a 5-0 clean sweep of the hosts in the ODI series.

India today spanked Zimbabwe by nine wickets for a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
“Definitely (that’s the aim). We want to end on a high and go home with smile on face. We want to finish the series properly and if we execute things, proper results will follow,” Kohli said when asked if he has a 5-0 result in mind.

Kohli credited his bowlers and top-order batsmen.

US snooping programme had one server located in India: Report

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A controversial US surveillance programme that sweeps Internet usage data had 700 snooping servers installed at 150 locations around the world, including one in India, according to a report.

The XKeyscore programme, run by the National Security Agency (NSA), allowed analysts to search through vast databases containing e-mails, online chats and browsing histories of millions of individuals, the Guardian reported, citing documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Women filing false rape cases should be prosecuted: HC

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The Bombay High Court has observed that women, who file rape cases in a fit of rage to fix their partners and later withdraw complaints, should be prosecuted.

Justice Sadhna Jadhav remarked that of late several cases were coming before the High Court in which victims have filed complaints alleging rape and contending that they had entered into relationships after being promised marriage.

Three ministers, over 50 legislators from Seemandhra resign

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Three ministers and more than 50 legislators from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh Thursday submitted their resignations to protest the Congress’ decision to carve out Telangana state.

Four ministers announced their resignations late Thursday night after a meeting with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. Minister for Infrastructure G. Srinivasa Rao told reporters that he along with T.G. Venkatesh and E. Pratap Reddy submitted their resignations to the chief minister.

AMU vice chancellor to cycle to work

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In a bid to promote the concept of a green campus, AMU vice chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Zameer Uddin Shah Thursday announced that he will cycle to work from now on.

The vice chancellor has launched a drive to popularize cycling within the university campus following the ban on motorcycles in all residential boys hostels.

Bicycling had traditionally been the main mode of transport within the campus till the 1980s. The use of motorbikes and scooters increased in a big way in the campus after this period.

Indian mothers still don’t see that breastfeeding is best: NGO

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Only 41 percent of Indian mothers initiate early breastfeeding. There is a lack of awareness of the benefits of breast milk in India, an NGO said Thursday.

“There is low awareness about the benefits of early and exclusive breastfeeding in poor as well as affluent sections of society in India. Mother’s milk is effectively a child’s first vaccination, and can make the difference between life and death,” said Shireen Miller, director, advocacy and policy of the NGO Save the Children.

Girl resisting rape set afire in Bengal

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An 11-year-old girl was set on fire by a man who allegedly tried to rape her in West Bengal’s Howrah district, police said Thursday. She is now battling for life in hospital.

The incident happened in Salkia area Wednesday night.

The girl is in a city hospital with 60-70 percent burns. No arrest has been made so far.

“We are looking for the prime suspect who is a neighbour of the victim,” said Howrah Police Commissioner Ajay Ranade.

Former nurse jailed for life for mass murder

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Former nurse Roger Dean was sentenced Thursday to life in jail without parole after being convicted of mass murder for deliberately lighting a deadly fire at a Sydney nursing home, the media reported Thursday.

The 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to the murder of 11 nursing home residents in the fire at Quakers Hill in 2011, Xinhua reported.

He also admitted to causing grievous bodily harm to a further eight residents who were seriously injured in the blaze.