Month: August 2013

Hyderabad Hotshots storm into IBL final

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Hyderabad Hotshots stormed into the finals of the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) 3-0 in the first semi-finals against Pune Pistons at the GMC Balayogi indoor stadium here tonight.

Star shuttler and Hyderabad Hotshots’ Saina Nehwal beat Pune’s Juliane Schenk 21-10, 19-21, 11-8 in the women’s singles while Ajay Jayaram defeated Tien Minh Nyugen 21-17, 21-11.

Hotshots’ pair of Goh V Shem and Wah Lim Khim them emerged victorious in the doubles event against Pune’s Joachim Fischer and Sanave Thomas to take their team into the final. They won 16-21, 21-14, 11-7.

Education can eliminate violence, says Dalai Lama

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Education can eliminate “the very basis” of violence and war and this century will become a century of peace and non-violence, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday.

The Tibetan leader was speaking on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic march and speech.

According to official website of Tibetan Administration, the Lama said: “I always have a dream that within this century the world will truly become a real happy human family.

Vizag HPCL refinery fire: Death toll goes up to 14

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The death toll in the massive fire at state-run Hindustan PetroleumBSE -7.82 % (HPCL) refinery-cum-petrochemical complex here has risen to 14 with three more workers succumbing to burn injuries at a hospital here today, an official said.

Mamidi Srinivas (23), Krishna Chand (40) and A Appa Rao (48), who were undergoing treatment at separate hospitals here, died today, refinery’s director B K Namdev said.

Yesterday, two more private workers had succumbed to burn injuries at a hospital.

CBI court informed about Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s indefinite hunger strike

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A special CBI court hearing a quid pro quo deals case involving Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was today informed by the Chanchalguda jail authorities about the indefinite hunger strike launched by him since Sunday.

“He (Jagan) is continuing with his fast. He has so far not informed (written communication) to jail authorities about his fasting,” a senior jail official told PTI.

The fast, launched by Jagan for seeking “justice for Seemandhra people”, in the wake of Centre’s move to divide Andhra Pradesh entered fourth day today.

BJP asks Akhilesh Yadav to control wayward party workers

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The BJP today alleged some SP workers and leaders were bringing shame to Uttar Pradesh with their acts and instead of reining them, the state government was protecting them.

The ruling party should control such wayward activists who were posing a challenge to law and order in the state, BJP chief spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak told reporters here.

“With their acts, the SP men are bringing shame to the state. But, instead of controlling them the machinery of the state government is actually protecting them,” he said.

Trifurcation is the best solution to Andhra Pradesh’s woes: Kishore Chandra Deo

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Union Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has said trifurcation and not bifurcation, as decided by UPA government, of Andhra Pradesh is the best solution and accused the state’s Congress chief and Chief Minister of “pursuing selfish motives and encouraging violent agitations”.

Deo, Tribal Affairs Minister and MP from the state, has written to senior Congress leader A K Antony, who heads the four-member panel looking into concerns of state Congress leaders, that all three regions in the state have distinctive social and cultural features and should be made separate states.

Pak official confirms Hafiz Saeed link to US-banned madrassa

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A Pakistani security official has confirmed the Peshawar madrassa slapped with US sanctions for being an alleged terror training centre has huge funding from Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.

The unnamed security official said that the links between the madrasa and Lashkar-e-Taiba as well as its political arm Jamaat-ud-Dawa are beyond any doubt.

He added that the ideological leader of the madrasa, Sheikh Aminullah had close links with a militant group named Shah Sahib that is fighting US troops in Afghanistan.

CAT directs AP govt to decide in two weeks on DGP Reddy’s plea

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Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) here today directed the Andhra Pradesh government to take a decision within two-week on DGP V Dinesh Reddy’s representation seeking to continue him in the post till September 2014.

The Hyderabad bench of CAT disposed off the petition of Reddy in which he sought direction to the state government to continue him as the DGP for a period of two years from the date of his appointment from September 29, 2012, and gave these directions.

‘Zardari to stay in Pak after completing his term’

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President Asif Ali Zardari will not leave the country after completing his five-year term on September 8 as he intends to focus on reorganising the Pakistan People’s Party, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

The PPP has strongly dispelled a perception in political circles that Zardari, 58, will prefer to spend most of his time in Dubai and Britain after he steps down.

“The president is going nowhere. Soon after leaving the presidency, Mr Zardari will spend a week in Lahore to look into party affairs in Punjab province,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

Rocky road ahead for India: Standard & Poor’s

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Global rating agency Standard and Poor’s Wednesday cautioned that large deficit economies including India could face more economic problems in the near term.

“The road may be rocky in the near term, particularly for the largest deficit countries — India and Indonesia — but we don’t think this is the Asian crisis all over again,” said S&P report titled ‘South And South-east Asian Economies Grapple With Growth And External Financing Risks’.

Airtel appoints Faria as new CEO of Africa; Kohli to return

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In a senior level rejig, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday appointed Christian de Faria as the new CEO for African operations while Manoj Kohli, MD and CEO (International) will relocate to India.

The appointment will be effective January 1, 2014.

Kohli, who is in-charge of Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka operations, is based in Airtel’s Africa headquarters in Nairobi.

Chandrababu Naidu to PM: act like statesman, solve concerns on AP division

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Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu tonight urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to break his silence and take a “proactive role” in resolving the concerns and do justice to all over the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

In a strongly-worded six-page letter to Singh, the former Chief Minister accused him of being “totally indifferent and inefficient” in handling the sensitive issue and failing to act like a statesman.

New graphene-copper composite 500 times stronger than original metal

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Researchers have put graphene’s tensile strength to test by using it in a composite that consists of copper and nickel.

The graphene is able to make the copper 500 times as strong as it would be on its own and it makes nickel 180 times as strong, Discovery News reported.

In the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) research, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was used to grow a single layer of graphene on a metallic deposited substrate, and then another metal layer was deposited on it.

Anticipated Arab Spring would be a difficult process: Obama

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With the Middle East in turmoil, US President Barack Obama has said that he anticipated the Arab Spring would be a very difficult process.

“I think we anticipated this would be a really difficult process,” Obama told the PBS News Hour refuting the suggestion that his administration had underestimated the repercussions of an Arab Spring, seeing what is currently unfolding in the Middle East.

718 elephants killed in Odisha since 2000: Ministe

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718 elephants have died in since 2000 due to different reasons, Odisha government Tuesday told the state assembly.

This was stated by Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray while replying a question. He said the state government had identified 14 elephant corridors in the and taken up a five-year comprehensive project for their development in an effort to reduce man-animal conflict.

“We aim to complete the Rs 45.79-crore project by the end of 2016-17,” Routray said.

Panama says NKorea ship’s arms violated UN sanctions

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The undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons found on a North Korean ship are a violation of UN sanctions against arms transfers to Pyongyang, Panama has said, citing a UN report.

The public safety ministry said in a statement yesterday that according to a draft report by UN experts sent to Panama after the seizure of the ship in July, the cargo “undoubtedly violates UN sanctions, which supports the course of action Panama took.”

Iraq bombings, house raid kill at least 80 people

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Car bomb blasts and other explosions tore through mainly Shiite districts around Baghdad during morning rush hour today in a day of violence that killed at least 80, intensifying worries about Iraq’s ability to tame the spiraling mayhem gripping the country.

It was the latest set of large-scale sectarian attacks to hit Iraq, even as the government went on “high alert” in case a possible Western strike in neighboring Syria increases Iraq’s turmoil.

GSLV-D5 flight only in December: ISRO

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The flight-test of GSLV with indigenous cryogenic engine, called off ten days ago following a leak in the second stage of the rocket, is now expected to take place only in December, Indian Space Research Organisation said on Wednesday.

ISRO has started the process of de-stacking the rocket and the second stage would be shifted to Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), a facility of the space agency located at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu, for an investigation into the cause of the leakage.

Britain proposes Syria resolution; Russia objects

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The five permanent members of the UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement today on a British-proposed resolution that would authorise the use of military force against Syria.

The draft resolution if it were to be put to a vote would almost certainly be vetoed by Russia and China, which have blocked past attempts to sanction President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Something bigger waiting for me: Sanaya Irani

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‘Chhanchhan’ kicked off with fanfare in March this year, but its TRPs couldn`t take off in a big way. Now, the show is going off air and Sanaya Irani, who plays the title role in it, says it`s a logical decision to end the show and she is looking forward to doing something bigger.

“The show is going off air. It wasn`t gaining TRPs … any show that doesn`t have TRPs shouldn`t be on-air, so there is nothing left to say,” said the actress on the sets of the show Tuesday.

Pakistan army chief embarks on Tajikistan visit

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Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani tonight left for Tajikistan on two-days official visit.

During his stay there, Kayani will meet senior political and military leaders, Inter-Services Public Relations chief Maj Gen Asim Bajwa said.

Kayani will visit Tajikistan military training institute.

US spy satellite launches

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A massive rocket carrying a spy satellite for the US government launched from the California coast today.

The Delta IV Heavy rocket left the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base and sped toward low-Earth orbit, officials at United Launch Alliance said.

The rocket carried a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees the nation’s constellation of intelligence-gathering satellites. Since the mission is classified, no other details were available.

Former AP cop claims to have abducted three persons

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A former police constable today abducted a Police Transport Organisation (PTO) official along with two others, demanding reforms in the PTO from alleged corrupt practices.

Meanwhile, the PTO official was released amidst high drama. However, the identities of the remaining two, whom he claims to have abducted, were still to be ascertained.

Former police constable Giriprasad Sarma, allegedly called up local TV news channels and claimed that he has abducted one Ramana Rao and two others.

Visa-on-arrival facility a boost for Kerala tourism: Chandy

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Introduction of tourist visa-on-arrival facility at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports marks a new chapter for tourism in the state as more foreigners were now likely to visit Kerala, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here today.

The comments from Chandy came after he had reviewed arrangements at the special visa counter at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, which became operational on Aug. 15.

He was accompanied by state Tourism Minister AP Anil Kumar, Health Minister VS Sivakumar, and senior officials.

Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif to reunite for ‘Jagga Jasoos’?

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Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are reportedly teaming up for a film called `Jagga Jasoos`.

Ranbir and Katrina, whose off screen chemistry is creating buzz in B-town, will reunite on the big screen after `Raajneeti`. The film will be directed by Anurag Basu, who made last year`s hit `Barfi!` with Ranbir.

The actor and Katrina have worked together in Prakash Jha`s `Raajneeti` and Rajkumar Santoshi`s `Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani`.

“She (Katrina) was offered the film and is doing it,” sources close to the development said, without divulging further details.