Month: October 2013

Chiranjeevi offers to resign over Telangana decision

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Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi tonight offered to resign from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet’s approval of the formation of separate Telangana.

The actor-turned-politician is understood to have faxed his resignation to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Chiranjeevi, who hails from Coastal Andhra, felt anguished over the way the protests in Seemandhra regions, going on for over two months, against the division of Andhra Pradesh were handled.

Rahul Gandhi will become PM one day: Shashi Tharoor

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Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said he was optimistic about seeing the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi becoming the prime minister one day.

“I certainly hope that one day he (Rahul) will,” Tharoor told reporters here replying to a question on whether Gandhi would become Prime Minister as he appeared to be taking all major decisions for the party.

BJP hails verdict on Lalu Prasad Yadav

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BJP on Thursday welcomed the sentencing of RJD chief Lalu Prasad and others in the fodder scam and hoped that there will similar judgements punishing the guilty in cases of “monumental” corruption like 2G spectrum, Coalgate, and Commonwealth Games.

“Lalu Prasad, former Congress Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma have been sentenced for four-five years. BJP feels this is a very important milestone in the fight against corruption. The whole country was up against corruption and wanted results,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

BJP demands PM’s explanation on Pakistan infiltration

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Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should explain to the people of the country his recent talks with Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York even after Pakistani infiltration across the LoC.

“The Prime Minister should explain to the people of the country when there is tension at the LoC, Pak infiltrators are repeatedly crossing the border and killing our jawans, still he goes and talks with Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and even after that incursions are taking place,” Naidu said.

Lal Masjid operation: Case filed against Musharraf

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In fresh trouble for Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, a case was today filed against him for the murder of cleric Abdul Rasheed and his mother during the infamous Lal Masjid operation.

The case was filed on the directions of the Islamabad High Court Justice Noorul Huque Qureshi who was annoyed over non-compliance of its earlier order.

Pakistan court grants more security to Zardari

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A Pakistan court Thursday approved a petition filed by former president Asif Ali Zardari seeking more security as he feared for his life.

The Sindh High Court approved the petition in which Zardari sought private security guards and bullet-proof car with tinted glasses for security purposes, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The petition was filed by Zardari’s attorney Abu Bakar Zardari a few days back.

According to Zardari, his wife and former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed and he too feared that he would suffer the same fate at the hands of the Taliban.

6 law enforcers injured in shootout in NW Pakistan

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Two police officers and as many intelligence operatives were among six persons injured in a gun battle between law enforcers and outlaws in northwest Pakistan on Thursday.

Additional Superintendent of Police Faisal Bakhtiar, DSP Hafiz Janis, two more policemen and two officials of an intelligence agency were injured during the exchange of fire in Abbottabad district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The shootout began when the law enforcers raided the compound of the outlaws in Mangal area of Abbottabad district.

Putin, Obama may discuss Syria next week in Bali: Kremlin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama may discuss the Syria crisis on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit next week in Bali, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday.

“It would be rather logical to meet (Obama) in Bali, taking into account the work on the Syrian issue,” Putin’s top foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters.

He said US and Russian officials were discussing arrangements for a possible meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Putin is expected to leave Moscow for the Indonesian island of Bali on Sunday.

Army assault to retake Qaeda-held HQ kills 10

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At least 10 people including three soldiers were killed in an offensive to retake headquarters seized by al Qaeda-linked militants in outheast Yemen, medical and military sources on Thursday.

“We received this morning the bodies of 10 people” killed in the attack on the HQ, a medical source at Ibn Sina public hospital in Mukalla said.

A military official confirmed that at least three of the soldiers taken hostage by the militants were among the 10 dead.

“Efforts are ongoing to find other possible victims under the rubble,” said the official who requested anonymity.

Greece’s far-right party leader to be put in jail

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Greece’s extreme-right Chryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn) party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, who was arrested last Saturday, was Thursday due to be transferred to the country’s main prison complex Korydallos by sunset.

Michaloliakos is being transferred to prison even as the investigation into the circumstances of the September 18 murder of an anti-fascist activist by a party member and other criminal acts continues, Xinhua reported.

Chemical experts start securing Syria sites: Statement

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Experts overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal have begun securing their work sites, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN said in a statement.

“Joint work with the Syrian authorities has begun on securing the sites where the team will operate,” said the statement, which detailed the activities of the team’s first day of work yesterday.

“In addition, planning continues for one of the team’s immediate tasks, disabling Syria’s chemical weapons production facilities, which should begin soon.”

US shutdown: Obama warns of economic disaster

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As the US government shutdown entered third day Thursday, President Barack Obama called on Republican House Speaker John Boehner to allow a reopening of the government with a quick vote on a clean budget bill.

With no end to the stalemate in sight, Obama suggested the Republican leader is preventing a vote on a funding bill because he doesn’t want to anger “extremists” in his party, who want to derail his signature healthcare law.

CCEA okays OVL, OIL deal to buy 20% stake in Mozambique field

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The government on Thursday approved acquisition of 20 percent stake by ONGC Videsh (OVL) and Oil India (OIL) in a giant Mozambique gas field that is estimated to hold as much as 65 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The acquisition has been done in two parts — OVL and OIL will jointly acquire Videocon’s 10 percent stake for about USD 2.475 billion, while OVL, on its own, will acquire Andarko Petroleum’s 10 percent stake for USD 2.64 billion, an official statement said here.

IMF: Raising US debt limit crucial for global economy

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International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned today that a US failure to raise the debt ceiling, which could lead to default, could wreak havoc on the global economy.

“The ongoing political uncertainty over the budget and the debt ceiling does not help,” Lagarde said in a speech in Washington, on the third day of a US government shutdown due to a budget impasse in a bitterly divided Congress.

India can’t afford fiscal slippages: Fitch

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Global rating agency Fitch on Thursday cautioned that fiscal slippage could have negative bearing on India’s sovereign rating, which is at the lowest investment grade in view of weakening CAD and persistent inflationary pressure.

Consumers to get cheaper loan for auto, consumer goods purchase

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Ahead of the festival season, public sector banks will provide cheaper loans for auto and consumer goods purchases with a view to stimulating demand.

Banks would lower lending rates as the government on Thursday decided to provide additional funds to the PSU banks to enable them financing of auto and consumer goods purchases.

The decision to increase the quantum of capital infusion to the banks was taken at a meeting between Finance Minister P Chidambaram, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram here.

Cabinet nod to Jet-Etihad stake sale deal

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Paving the way for the biggest ever foreign investment in India’s aviation sector, the Union Cabinet tonight cleared Jet Airways’ proposed sale of 24 percent equity to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, days after the Rs 2,058 crore deal got regulatory clearances.

“Yes, it has been cleared,” said Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Replying to questions, he said the deal has “gone through all the regulatory processes” and would be “good for civil aviation and good for the passengers”.

Google search making people more forgetful?

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The Internet is fast eroding people’s memories of world-changing events in history, making them more forgetful as they increasingly bank upon Google to provide the information, a new UK study has found.

The study of 2,000 adults found less than half of people surveyed could name the year when Princess Diana died, even though it happened as recently as 1997.

Many respondents did not even know the year in which the terror attacks on the World Trade Center took place while many others were clueless about when the Berlin Wall fell, the ‘Metro’ reported.

3-D printers raise concerns over potential misuse for developing plastic firearms

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As the three-dimensional (3D) printers make artists’ and hobbyists’ dream a reality by allowing them to produce virtually anything from garden gnome figures to nuts and screws, analysts believe that the devices raise serious concerns about their potential misuse.

The concerns surround the 3-D printers’ use for designing and building custom plastic firearms, weapons that could conceivably go undetected.

Infosys to provide application support to Toyota Motor

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Country’s second largest software services firm Infosys Thursday said it has bagged a four-year contract from Toyota Motor Europe for providing application support to the latter’s pan-European operations.

The financial details were not divulged.

The engagement will see Infosys deploy a managed service model, the Bangalore-based company said in a statement.

60 new species of animal life found in Suriname

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Scientists have discovered 60 new species of animal life during the course of a three-week expedition in the South American nation of Suriname last year, according to results of the subsequent data analysis available now.

A group of 16 scientists led by the Rapid Assessment Programme of Conservation International, a non-profit environmental organisation, scoured a never-before assessed mountainous region in southeaster Suriname in 2012.

Not upset over ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ losing Oscar nomination race: Farhan

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Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar is not perturbed about his sports movie `Bhaag Milkha Bhaag` not going to the Oscars as India`s official entry.

`The Good Road`, a Gujarati film, has been chosen as India`s entry to the 2014 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The Gyan Correa-directed movie beat back challenge from Hindi films like `The Lunchbox` and `Bhaag Milkha Bhaag` to represent India at the prestigious award event.

‘Besharam’ mints over Rs 20 crore on opening day

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The critics panned Abhinav Singh Kashyap`s `Besharam` as illogical and a movie that “lacks merit”. However, the bad reviews notwithstanding, the film minted Rs.21.56 crore on the opening day.

Co-produced by Himanshu Mehra, Sanjeev Gupta and Reliance Entertainment, the film was made at a budget of Rs.60 crore plus the cost of promotions, marketing and advertising.

The film hit 3,600 screens in India and 700 screens overseas when it released Wednesday on Gandhi Jayanti.

Ranveer unwell, ‘Ramleela’ music launch cancelled

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The music launch of `Ramleela` has been cancelled as the film`s lead actor Ranveer Singh is down with dengue.

The decision has been taken by the film`s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

A source close to the team revealed: “It was Bhansali`s decision to cancel the music launch as he felt there is no point in releasing the music of `Ramleela` without Ram (played by Ranveer). For Sanjay, Ranveer`s health is more important than anything else.”

Ranveer, who has been diagnosed with dengue, was undergoing treatment in a hospital here. He will be discharged Thursday.