Month: September 2013

Political parties stage walkout over oil prices

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Parliament members of various political parties Monday staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha over increase in petrol and diesel prices.

The issue was raised during zero hour, following which members from Left parties, the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party walked out to protest the government’s decision to increase petrol and diesel prices.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said parliament was in session and without taking parliament into confidence, oil prices were increased.

No plan to shut petrol pumps at night: Moily

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The government is not planning to shut petrol stations at night, Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily said Monday.

Moily said this in response to reports that the government would shut petrol pumps at night to curb demand of petroleum products in view of the sharp jump in crude oil prices in international markets and depreciation of the rupee.

“We have not taken any decision. It is not our idea. It is an idea which is coming from public and others,” Moily said.

Delhi gives Islamabad list of Pakistani prisoners

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India has handed over to the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi a list of 386 Pakistanis detained in Indian jails.

However, according to the record of Pakistani prisoners maintained by the Pakistan foreign ministry as well as well as by the high commission in New Delhi, NGOs, and relatives of prisoners, there are 485 Pakistanis in Indian jails, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Monday quoted an official of the foreign ministry as telling the senate standing committee on narcotics control and interior.

Two Seemandhra ministers tender resignations

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Opposing the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, two cabinet ministers from Seemandhra Monday submitted their resignations to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan.

Minister for Infrastructure and Investment G. Srinivasa Rao and Law Minister E. Pratap Reddy met the governor at Raj Bhavan and submitted their resignations with a request to accept them. However, the governor said he would send their resignations to Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and act according to his recommendation.

Lok Sabha adjourned till Tuesday over Telangana

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The Lok Sabha was Monday repeatedly disrupted and finally adjourned till Tuesday after Speaker Meira Kumar suspended nine members from the house for five days for obstructing proceedings over the decision to create a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh.

The speaker named the nine MPs — four from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and five from the Congress — under rule 374(A) of parliamentary proceedings, which automatically suspends them for the next five sittings of the house.

India agrees to handover Jinnah’s 1947 Independence speech recordings to Pakistan

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India has agreed to hand over two important recordings of Pakistan’s famous Independence Day speech given by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1947.

In an interview, All India Radio Director General Leeladhar Mandloi revealed that the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given a green signal for handing over the recordings to Pakistan, the Daily Times reports.

The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation had earlier requested India for the recordings.

Jinnah was the founder of Pakistan’s August 11, 1947 address to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly delivered in Karachi. (ANI)

It’s official: heart attacks occur more in winters

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tA new study has found that the risk of getting a heart attack increases with decrease in temperature.

By means of a multivariate analysis, researchers revealed that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was strongly dependent on temperature.

It was found that AMI increased by 7 percent for each 10 degree Celsius decrease in minimal temperature.

Time series and univariate analysis of 15,964 AMI patients revealed a significant positive correlation between AMI and air pollution and an inverse correlation between AMI and temperature.

Pak document reveals over 2,332 Indian fishermen detained in last five years

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A recent document has revealed that over 2,332 Indian fishermen have been detained by Pakistan in the last five years over the violation of maritime boundary.

According to the documents placed in Parliament, Pakistan has also released 1,959 Indian fishermen between 2008 and 2013, the Daily Times reports.

The report revealed that some 229 Indian fishermen were released in 2008, 100 in 2009, 454 in 2010, 103 in 2011, 680 in 2012 and 393 in 2013.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 p.m. after uproar over Telangana issue

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The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2.p.m today following an uproar over the Telangana issue.

As soon as the House met for the day as part of the extended monsoon session, members from Andhra Pradesh belonging to the Congress and the TDP, trooped into the well of the house to protest against the formation of Telangana.

Speaker Meira Kumar tried to persuade them to return to their seats, but in vain.

Referring to relevant rules on House proceedings, she also suspended nine agitating members. (ANI)

Majority of Britons believe immigration is hurting country

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Majority of people in Britain believe immigration is doing more harm to the country than good, according to a major poll.

The survey found that more than 60 percent of respondents felt there were more disadvantages than advantages to foreigners coming to live in the UK.

Just one in six believed that immigration was a good thing for Britain overall, the research commissioned by the former Conservative party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft found.

Ex-Syrian diplomat reveals Assad ‘planned chemical weapons attack last summer’

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A former Syrian ambassador to the UK has said President Bashar al-Assad was planning to use chemical weapons last summer.

The former high-ranking Syrian diplomat, who defected saying his conscience could not allow him to continue representing the regime, has emerged from hiding to give his first interview to Sky News.

Khaled al Ayoubi was Assad’s most senior figure in Britain and was at the heart of discussions between Britain and Syria over its use of chemical weapons.

Inzy says Whatmore ‘failed to deliver’ as Pak coach

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Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that team coach Dav Whatmore has failed to deliver the results that were expected of him being a foreign coach.

According to The Nation, Inzamam expressed that when the board hired a foreign coach, the emphasis was that he would bring about visible improvements in the team, but that had not happened since Whatmore had taken over.

Whatmore was brought in to replace former Test player Mohsin Khan as Pakistan’s head coach in March 2012 and since than has faced plenty of criticism over his performance with the team, the report said.

Syria says Obama’s decision to seek Congressional approval for strike ‘victory for country’

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‘We won’ was the reaction that came from Damascus to President Barack Obama’s decision to forgo an attack on Syria.

The Obama administration is seeking congressional authorization for the use of military force against the war-torn country.

According to ABC News, church bells rang, prayers of gratitude sounded from minarets, ordinary Syrians exhaled in relief.

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadr Jamil declared in Damascus that the Syrian army’s readiness is what warded off US aggression against Syria.

Google examines employees’ snacking habits to promote healthier alternatives

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Google known for its work culture that includes doses of free perks recently conducted an experiment to analyse the snacking habits of its employees.

Google realized that its workers were eating too much of the free candies and food which needed to be replaced with healthier alternatives at arm’s reach.

The company conducted surveys of snacking patterns through the M and M project, collected data on the proximity of M and M bins to any given employee and conducted experiments by placing sugary foods in opaque containers and healthier snacks in glass jars.

Chidambaram rejects proposal of keeping petrol pumps open from 8 am to 8 p.m.

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(ANI): Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday rejected the proposal of keeping petrol pumps open only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Reacting to the proposal, Chidambaram said, “It’s not a government suggestion, but one which had come from the public as the Oil Minister has himself clarified.”

“Should the government close itself to the public’s suggestions?,” he asked.

After facing flak for his alleged proposal, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily said the suggestion had come “from the public and others.”

Petrol pump ‘curfew’: CPI calls it economic emergency

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Reacting sharply to Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily’s alleged proposal to shut petrol pumps from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Monday likened it to being a curfew and said that the country is heading towards a economic emergency.

“Its like a curfew, we are heading towards economic emergency,” said Dasgupta, suggesting that the government must get petrol from Iran.

Another CPI leader, D Raja, said the government has come up with such a proposal out of frustration.

Saudi Arabians are world’s biggest spending travelers

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The Saudi Arabians are reportedly found to be the leaders when it comes to spending the most while traveling.

Saudi Arabians spend a whopping 6414 dollars for each of their overseas trip compared to the global average of 2,501 dollars, followed by the Australians who come close second with an average of 3962 dollars spent on each trip.

According to Visa’s latest Global Travel Intentions Study, travelers are expected to spend more on their next trip by an average of five percent this year, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Nine Andhra MPs suspended from Lok Sabha

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Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Monday suspended nine members from Andhra Pradesh from the house for five days for causing unending disruption over the decision to create a separate Telangana state.

The speaker named the nine MPs — four from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and five from the Congress — under rule 374(A) of parliamentary proceedings, which automatically suspends them for the next five sittings.

HIV cases on the rise in Philippines

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The Philippines recorded 449 new HIV-positive cases in July, the highest number in a month since the first case was reported in 1984, the health department said.

The July figure was 62 percent higher compared to the same period last year, Xinhua cited the Philippines HIV and AIDS Registry as saying Sunday.

“Most of the cases (96 percent) were male. The median age was 27 years (age range: 5-60 years). The 20-29 year (57 percent) age group had the most number of cases,” it said.

The latest HIV-positive cases brought the January-July figure to 2,772 cases.

Sensex gains 167 points in pre-noon trade

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A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading higher by 166.72 points or 0.90 percent during pre-noon trade Monday.

All the sectors were trading in green. The rally was led by fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), metal, banking index (bankex) and healthcare sectors.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,691.83 points, was trading at 18,786.44 points in the pre-noon session, up 166.72 points or 0.90 percent from last Friday’s close at 18,619.72 points.

8-year-old girl raped by youth

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An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth in the Ram Raipur locality here, police said today.

The girl was sleeping outside her house when Sonu took her to a field and raped her on Saturday night, they said.

He then fled the spot, leaving the girl writhing in pain, they added.

When the girl’s family found her missing after the midnight, they started a search and found her in the field, police said.

An FIR was lodged yesterday and Sonu, who has over a dozen criminal cases pending against him, was arrested, they said.

Bopanna out of men’s doubles in US Open

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India’s Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin were knocked out of the US Open tennis men’s doubles competition by the British pair of Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray at the Flushing Meadows here.

The sixth-seeded pair of Bopanna and Roger-Vasselin went down 4-6, 4-6 to the 12-seeded British duo in the third round here Sunday.

However, other Indian tennis players Leander Paes and Sania Mirza entered the quarterfinals of their respective categories in the US Open.

Immigration bill knot: ‘Special’ citizenship path

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As Congress wrestles with immigration legislation, a central question is whether the 11 million immigrants already in the United States illegally should get a path to citizenship.

The answer from a small but growing number of House Republicans is “yes,” just as long as it’s not the “special” path advocated by Democrats and passed by the Senate.

“There should be a pathway to citizenship not a special pathway and not no pathway,” Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz told ABC 4 Utah after speaking at a recent town hall meeting in his Utah district.

Morsi to face trial for inciting murder: state-run TV

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Deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi will face trial in a criminal court for committing and inciting violence, state-run television has reported without giving a date for the hearing.

Public prosecutor Hesham Barakat referred 62-year-old Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood members to a criminal court here on charges “of committing acts of violence, and inciting the killing” in December 2012, it said last night.

Moily suggests closing of petrol bunks at 8 pm to cut demand

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India plans to save over USD 8.5 billion in foreign exchange this fiscal by increasing crude oil imports from Iran, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has told Prime Minister.

India, which paid about USD 144.29 billion last fiscal for importing oil, is renewing imports from Iran as unlike imports from other countries it pays the Persian Gulf nation in rupees.

Detailing plans to save USD 20 billion in foreign exchange spending, Moily on August 30 wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying about 11 million tonnes of crude will be imported from Iran in the remainder of the fiscal.