TRS says no to Hyderabad as UT

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Thursday said that Hyderabad should be the join capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh only for 10 years.

Talking to reporters here, Nagarkurnool MP Manda Jagannatham and Peddapalli MP Dr G Vivek said that there should be no change in the status of Hyderabad except the city being the capital of two States for a decade. They rejected the proposal of making Hyderabad as a Union Territory.

Depression could raise Parkinson’s disease risk

A new study has suggested that people suffering from depression may be thrice at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than others.

Study author Albert C. Yang, MD, PhD, with Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, said that their study suggests that depression may also be an independent risk factor for Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers analyzed the medical records of 4,634 people with depression and 18,544 free of depression over 10 years.

Jagan appears before CBI court

YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday appeared before a special CBI court in Hyderabad.

It may be mentioned that Jagan had visited Kadapa districts for two days from October 1 after securing permission from the CBI court. However, he appeared before the court on Thursday in connection with the case.

Former ministers P Sabitha Indra Reddy and B Dharmana Prasada Rao, both accused in Jagan’s Disproportionate Assets case, also appeared before the court. (INN)

Soon, lighting bolt to charge mobile phones Home

Researchers have copied the idea that Mary Shelley displayed in her much acclaimed novel ‘Frankenstein’ to charge a phone with a lightning bolt.

Researchers conducted the experiment in collaboration with Nokia at the University of Southampton.

The team used a transformer to recreate a lightning bolt in the lab by passing 200,000 volts across a 30cm (12in) air gap, the BBC reported.

CM announces special incentive to SCCL employees

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sanctioned an amount of Rs.72.05 crore as Special Incentive to all the employees of Singareni Collieries for the year 2012-13. This amounts to 18.3 per cent increase over last year, which is the highest special incentive announced so far.

The Chief Minister asked the trade unions and employees to strive to make up the short-fall of 2.60 million tonnes during these five months of the current financial year to meet the fuel supply agreement commitments to the power and other key sectors, while progressively building the capacity of the organisation.

Djokovic says `at least five years` before Asia produces top men”s tennis player

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has said that it would be at least five years before Asia can produce a top-ranking men”s tennis player, and it is imperative to give greater support for emerging players.

According to Sport24, women”s tennis in Asia has been boosted by the emergence of Li Na, who has pioneered the sport in China due to her huge popularity as a 2011 French Open winner.

Sir, I am innocent, pleads Lalu

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25 lakh in a 17-year-old fodder scam case, today claimed that he was falsely implicated.

“Sir, I am innocent. I have been falsely framed in the case,” a subdued Prasad pleaded during a video conference from the Birsa Munda Central Jail to Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh, who pronounced the quantum of sentence for 37 of the 45 convicts.

The video conferencing was held on security grounds, a court official said.

Experiment must for Ekta Kapoor

Producer Ekta Kapoor earned flak when she experimented with historical character Akbar in her TV show “Jodha Akbar”, but she says she can’t make anything without experimenting.

“I don’t know if people will accept it or not, but if I don’t experiment, then I won’t be able to accept that about me,” the 38-year-old told reporters here at a “Jodha Akbar” press meet.

“I failed miserably in ‘Mahabharata’, I am admitting to that because I did experiment with the human journey of all those characters,” she added.

Mend your ways or bail will be cancelled: Court to V K Singh

A local court today warned former Army Chief General V K Singh for making defamatory remarks against ex-Lt Governor of Delhi Tejinder Singh, who had filed a criminal defamation case against him and four others, saying it would lead to cancellation of his bail granted earlier.

Court grants more security to Zardari

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.

Ex-resistance leader to contest Afghan presidential poll

A former Afghan resistance leader, Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayaf, Thursday registered with the country’s election commission to contest the coming presidential elections slated for April 5, 2014.

The bearded Sayaf who had fought against the former Soviet Union and resisted Taliban militants’ onslaught until their collapse under the US-led military campaign in late 2001, visited the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan with hundreds of supporters, Xinhua reported.

Sayaf resigned as member of Wolesi Jirga, or the lower house of parliament, Wednesday.

Telangana decision taken after full consultation: Digvijay

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday tried in vain to convince the Seemandhra Congress leaders that their protest over the Congress Working Committee’s resolution on Telangana was incorrect.

Talking to reporters here, Digvijay Singh said that the CWC took the decision after all Congressmen have unanimously assured that they would abide by the decision of the High Command. He said that the Telangana decision was taken after completing a consultation process.

BJP demands Antony’s statement on Kashmir infiltration bid

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday demanded a statement from Defence Minister A.K. Antony on the gunfight between the army and infiltrators in Jammu and Kashmir’s Keran sector.

The BJP said the operation was underway though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif Sep 29 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said that talks cannot be held with Pakistan alongside terror strikes and infiltration.

T-Note ready, but not signed: Shinde

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Thursday informed that the Cabinet Note on Telangana was ready, but yet to be signed.

Shinde’s statement came amid speculations that the Cabinet Note will be discussed during the Union Cabinet’s meeting to be held this evening. Shinde said that the high-power AK Antony Committee was yet to submit its report. Therefore, it has not been decided whether or not to circulate the note during the cabinet meeting.

Post-traumatic stress disorder may raise heart disease death risk

People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new study has suggested.

Francesco Bartoli and coauthors from University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, University College London, UK, and San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis and, based on their findings, propose that the increased risk of metabolic syndrome may result from neurological and hormonal responses to chronic stress.

Bangladesh to get $500-mn loan for education reform

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Thursday said it will lend Bangladesh $500 million to help finance a major overhaul of secondary education to meet the country’s need for skilled and technology-savvy workers.

The ADB funds – to be provided in four tranches over the coming decade – would support the Bangladesh government’s $17.1-billion 10-year secondary education reform plan, Xinhua reported.

This plan projects an increase of about 3.5 million students by 2023, requiring an additional 145,000 teachers and 10,000 more schools.

Caltech named world’s top university again

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has again been named the world’s top university by the Times Higher Education Global Ranking.

It is the third year in a row that the British organisation ranked Caltech first among the top 200 universities around the world, Xinhua reported citing a Caltech announcement Wednesday.

Harvard University, Oxford University, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology round out the next four top institutes in the 2013-2014 rankings.

Sehwag, Gambhir fail again as India A reach 191/3 on Day II

Virender Sehwag’s experiment to bat in the middle-order didn’t yield any favourable result while Gautam Gambhir’s woeful run of form continued as India A reached 191 for three at stumps on the second day of their second unofficial ‘Test’ against West Indies A here today.

After West Indies A scored a decent 406 in their first innings, opener Gambhir (11) and No. 4 Sehwag (7) played atrocious shots off left-arm spinner Veeraswamy Permaul’s (2/60) bowling to get back to the cooler confines of the dressing room.

Mahatma’s peace principles in Assam varsity curriculum

Assam will soon have a university to teach the non-violence principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said Wednesday.

The chief minister was interacting with reporters on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

Gogoi said the proposed university would promote peace and harmony by finding ways to resolve growing conflicts by upholding the teachings and profound philosophy of Gandhiji among all sections of the people.

Toilets before temples, says Modi; Double standards, says Cong

The Congress Thursday accused the BJP of double standards after its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said toilets had to be a greater priority than temples in India.

Addressing college students Wednesday, the Gujarat chief minister rued that many Indians still do not have access to basic sanitation.

“My image is that of Hindutva but I’ll tell you my real thinking. I have said in my state: pehle shauchalaya, phir devalaya (toilets first, temples later),” Modi said.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said this was another example of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s double standards.