Month: November 2013

Five men detained for allegedly raping, killing woman

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The body of a woman who was allegedly raped and killed was found in a field near her home at a village in West Bengal’s Burdwan district leading to the detention of five people, police said on Sunday.

The body of the 32-year-old woman was found in a half-naked condition with her throat slit late on Saturday night by her neighbours and family members at Baharampur village. The woman had gone to collect fodder for the cows in the morning on Saturday and when she did not return in the evening, her husband – a daily labourer filed a missing person diary with the police.

4 people killed as train runs over them in Thane

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Four people were killed on Sunday after being hit by a speeding Kolhapur-bound long distance train between Thakurli and Kalyan railway station in the neighbouring Thane district, police said. Jaychand Gangaram (53), Dattaray Devaji (56), Pandurang Kashinath (53) and Hari Nana (58) were busy conducting maintenance work on the tracks between Thakurli and Kalyan railway station when the mishap occurred, railway police said. “The victims could not make out that a fast train was coming and the tragic incident occurred at about 9.45 AM,” said a railway police official.

Congress releases first list of candidates for Assembly polls

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The Congress on Saturday released the first list of its 63 candidates who will contest the December 1 polls for the 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan, a party source here said. The list features names of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who will fight from his usual constituency of Saradarpura in Jodhpur. Krishna Poonia, the discus throw player and Arjun Award winner who joined the Congress few days back, will be the party’s candidate from Sadulpur, the source said.

Cashless health card scheme for Andhra Pradesh employees

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The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday presented a Diwali gift to its employees by announcing “cashless health card” scheme, said to be the first of its kind in the country.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy approved the scheme under which free health services would be provided to 14 lakh employees, pensioners and their family members. It will benefit a total of about 70 lakh people, said a statement from the chief minister’s office.

Manohar Joshi meets Uddhav Thackeray

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Beleaguered Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, who was booed off the dais by his party’s supporters at a Dussehra rally last month, Sunday called on party chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence.

“I met Uddhavji to greet him on the occasion of Diwali,” Joshi told reporters outside ‘Matoshree’ in suburban Bandra here today.

“Since there were a number of party workers who had come to greet, I could not talk extensively with Uddhavji. A comprehensive discussion with him will take place some other day. The Shiv Sena chief will give time for the next meeting,” he said.

Haven’t found the special one yet: Priyanka

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Actress Priyanka Chopra says she has not found the “special one” yet, with whom she would like to get married.

“I am not getting married anytime soon. I haven’t yet found the special one with whom I would like to settle down,” Priyanka said.

Her younger brother Siddharth Chopra recently got engaged and is likely to tie the knot with his sweetheart of the past three years, Kanika Mathur in 2014.

Over 200 held for bursting prohibited sound crackers

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Over 200 people were arrested from various parts of the city on Kali puja night for bursting prohibited sound crackers and indulging in unruly behaviour.

They were arrested in night-long operations for bursting prohibited sound crackers last night like chocolate bombs and other fire crackers which exceed the sound limit fixed by the authorities, Kolkata Police said.

The sound limit was fixed keeping in mind the problem it posed for the old, ailing and the children.

Cycle rally for safety of women

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Jamia Milia Islamia will organise a 1,100-km-long cycle rally to spread awareness regarding safety of woman and to provide them a secure environment in the country.

The rally, to be flagged off Nov 9 by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, will cover a distance of approximately 1,100 km.

It will pass through the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh to finally reach the national capital, where it will be received by Delhi Governor Najeeb Jung at the Jamia Milia Islamia, said a press release Sunday.

Family refuses to claim body of Patna terror suspect

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Three days after Ainul Ansari alias Tarique, a suspect in the serial bomb blasts in the Bihar capital, died at a hospital here due to injuries to his brain, his family has refused to claim the body for last rites, police said Sunday.

“No one from his family has turned up so far to claim his body,” Patna Superintendent of Police (Railway) Upendra Kumar Singh said.

Six people were killed and nearly 100 injured in seven bomb blasts in Patna Oct 27.

Proposed UK visa bond scheme to be scrapped

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The controversial 3,000-pound “security bond” for some “high-risk” foreign visitors to the UK, including those from India, is to be scrapped, the Home Office has confirmed.

The scheme, announced by Home Secretary Theresa May in June, was to come into force this month.

A Home Office spokesman confirmed a Sunday Times report that the policy would be scrapped.

Hugo Swire, Britain’s Minister of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs told PTI recently that “no decision was taken on the visa bond scheme”.

Boat carrying 70 Muslim Rohingya sinks off Myanmar

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An aid worker says a boat carrying 70 Muslim Rohinyga has capsised off the western coast of Myanmar. So far, only eight survivors have been found.

Abdul Melik, who works for the humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger, says the boat was in the Bay of Bengal and headed for Bangladesh when it went down early today.

The UN High Commission for Refugees said Saturday that as many as 1,500 people have fled in the last week and that there were several reports of drownings.

PTI

Lenovo considering BlackBerry takeover

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Lenovo Group Ltd is actively considering acquisitions in the mobile consumer electronics industry, Yang Yuanqing, chairman and chief executive officer, has said. Media reports claim that Lenovo is in talks with embattled BlackBerry Ltd on a merger possibly worth 4.7 billion dollars. According to China Daily, Yuanqing said that mergers and acquisitions are always useful tools for the business to expand, and the company was open to deals that can boost their business. Lenovo has long been rumored to be an active bidder for BlackBerry, which has been losing ground to Apple Inc and Samsung.

IAEA team to probe Fukushima nuke plant’s radioactive water leaks

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The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its mission will visit the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant for finding the reasons behind leakages of radioactive water. Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, told reporters in Washington that the mission will be on decommissioning Fukushima No. 1 and “it covers the contaminated water issues,” the Japan Times reports. According to the report, the IAEA sent a similar team of experts to the No. 1 plant in April to conduct an on-site survey of preparatory work for dismantling the complex. (ANI)

Technology increases productivity in office by 500 pc

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Researchers at the Centre for Economic and Business Research have revealed that office productivity is nearly five times greater now than it was in the 1970s thanks to the improvement in technology.

According to the report, worker productivity is set to increase by another 22 percent by 2020, Sky News reported.

Colm Sheehy, author of the study, said that employers will expect even more and they will be able to get more productivity from the individual within the hours that they’re working.

Carrots tipped as new sperm superfood

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A new study has found that eating orange and yellow fruits and vegetables may make sperm swim faster.

According to researchers at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, eating red vegetables may increase the production of healthy sperm, the New York Daily News reported.

Carrots in particular were singled out for their sperm-boosting properties. These orange veggies, along with lettuce and spinach, are high in beta-carotene.

Researchers found that this antioxidant improves sperm motility, or its ability to swim toward an egg, by 6.5 percent to 8 percent.

High blood-sugar makes Alzheimer’s more deadly

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A new study has revealed that high blood-sugar levels, such as those linked with Type 2 diabetes, make beta amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease dramatically more toxic to cells lining blood vessels in the brain.

The Tulane University study supports growing evidence pointing to glucose levels and vascular damage as contributors to dementia.

New neck nerve stimulation device could cut heart failure symptoms

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A team of researchers are now testing nerve stimulation in the neck as a novel therapy for heart failure patients to potentially help relieve their debilitating symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, and heart arrhythmias.

The global, multicenter randomized clinical trial called INOVATE-HF (INcrease Of VAgal TonE in chronic Heart Failure) is investigating the safety and efficacy of an implantable vagus nerve electrical stimulation device called CardioFit to improve the heart’s function and the quality of life of heart failure patients.

Iran’s reformist newspaper editor jailed for ‘offensive’ Shia Islam article

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The editor of a reformist newspaper in Iran has been jailed for publishing an article on Shia Islam deemed offensive by authorities.

Saeed Pourazizi of the Bahar newspaper was arrested and then taken to Evin prison on Saturday. According to news.com.au, Pourazizi”s wife, Masoumeh Shahriari, said that her husband was summoned to court but was taken to jail instead.

‘Infuriated’ Pakistan takes on US over drone strike killing of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud

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Pakistan has termed the killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in North Waziristan the ‘murder of peace’ in the region. Pakistan also announced to review the ‘entire perspective’ of its cooperation with Washington in the war against terror.

According to the Daily Times, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told a press conference in a forthright criticism of the US that Pakistan does not see this strike as an attack on a person, it is an attack on the peace process. He added that Islamabad’s efforts have been ambushed.

Rohit Sharma”s record double ton leads India to ODI series win over Oz in Bangalore

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An astonishing double century by Indian batting star Rohit Sharma, which is the second-highest individual ODI score of all time, boosted India to win the final ODI against Australia by 57 runs and secure a 3-2 series win. Less than three weeks out from the opening Test of the winter Ashes series at the Gabba, a hamstring tweak to Shane Watson added injury to insult as Australia was swept away by Sharma”s impressive 209 and an huge 6-383 by Indian bowlers in the series-deciding ODI in Bangalore, despite a gallant run-chase by the tourists.

Zaheer Abbas slams poor Pak batting show in ODI series against Proteas

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Former Pakistani Test batsman Zaheer Abbas has slammed the team”s repeated poor batting performance although he hailed the bowlers for steering Pakistan to an emphatic victory in the second ODI over South Africa in Dubai on Friday. After losing the first one-dayer by solitary-run at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Pakistan hammered South Africa by 66 runs in the second match to level the 5-match ODI series one-all in absence of Proteas” top batsmen Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis.

How US-UK war game put world on brink of nuke attack in 1983

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Britain and America came close to provoking the Soviet Union into launching a nuclear attack, classified documents written at the height of the Cold War have revealed.

Cabinet memos and briefing papers released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that a major war games exercise, Operation Able Art, was conducted in November 1983 by the US and its Nato allies.

The game was so realistic it made the Russians believe that a nuclear strike on its territory was a real possibility, stuff.co.nz reports.