Former chief justice of India Altamas Kabir Saturday said he was shocked at the allegations of sexual assault against retired apex court judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly, and that he finds it hard to believe that “this is possible”.
The former CJI, however, said he preferred to wait and watch how things played out.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan wove his cinematic magic at the Penguin annual lecture here where he spoke about women’s empowerment, Hindi cinema, his father and much more to an awestruck audience in a floodlight sports stadium.
Arriving with a couple of fat books with bookmarks peeking through it, the 71-year-old actor, dressed in a deep blue suit, took to the stage with a ‘namaste’.
“Never trust anyone without a book in his hand,” said the veteran actor before plunging into his talk a “novel departure” to “bring some others script to life” and “entertain thoughts than merely amuse.”
Storming the capital with a whirlwind campaign, Narendra Modi today attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, saying they have ruined the country with their “bookish knowledge”.
Addressing a series of election rallies here ahead of the December four Delhi Assembly polls, Modi said he does not question the knowledge or qualifications of Singh and Chidambaram but with their “intelligence and bookish knowledge, the two leaders have destroyed the country”.
Kate Moss is set to be honored at the British Fashion Awards. The blonde beauty will receive the ‘ Special Recognition Award ‘ at the event, which will cement her position as one of the world’s most celebrated supermodels, the Daily Star reported.
Donatella Versace said that the 39-year-old English model has the same energy, the same seduction and the same wit in front of the camera and with everyone. (ANI)
Priyanka Chopra, who has been chosen as the face of the international clothing brand GUESS, unveiled the brand’s 2013 holiday campaign in Mumbai.
The 31-year-old actress said that she is proud to be the face of the global fashion brand, as only the most beautiful woman have been part of the campaign.
Former Sri Lankan explosive batsman Sanath Jayasurya said Saturday that Sachin Tendulkar is the best player he has seen.
“Everyone knows what Sachin has done for cricket and for India. He is one player who is dedicated, committed and played with passion. I had played along with him for three years in Mumbai Indians and found him to be a very simple man and easy to approach,” Jayasurya said.
The former Sri Lanka captain is here as the chief guest of a cricket tournament organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club.
A man has been arrested in Tripura 37 years after he stole Rs.840, police said here Saturday.
Abinash Das, 57, alias Sadhu was arrested by officials from the Airport police station near Agartala from his house at Narayanpur in western Tripura Friday night, a police spokesman said.
Police Saturday presented the accused before a court, which sent him to 14 days police custody.
Das was absconding for the past 37 years after he had stolen Rs.840 from a neighbour.
“Indeed all praise belongs to Allah, and may His peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings be upon him, the best in character and manners, to whom we are commanded to follow and emulate. And may Allah’s mercy and forgiveness be upon the Prophet’s beloved family and noble companions.To proceed …”
Honouring One’s Parents:
The US has advised its commercial airlines to follow China’s demand to notify Beijing on any flight passing through its newly identified Air Defence Identification Zone in East China Sea.
But this new directive in no way means that the US has accepted the legality of the new zone in East China Sea, the State Department said yesterday.
The US has said that such a move by Beijing is provocative and increases tension in the region.
India-born senior Microsoft executive Satya Nadella is among the top two likely candidates whose name is being considered for becoming the next CEO of the world’s biggest software company, replacing longtime chief executive Steve Ballmer.
Nadella is Executive Vice President for Cloud and Enterprise at Microsoft and was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems before joining Microsoft.
Research has shown that aspirin could be a cheap and simple way to prevent dementia and cancer.
Scientists said that preliminary tests have proven that the common pill which is already routinely taken to protect against coronary disease, heart attacks and stroke, may prevent the two chronic illnesses as well, the Daily Express reported.
Research team leader Professor Mark Nelson added that the study will start next summer and results are expected by 2018. (ANI)
The orange crop in Nagpur, Maharashtra, is experiencing a decline owing to heavy rainfall.
An average of 1000 to 1500 tonnes of oranges is sold every day in Nagpur.
A trader, Meghraj Menani, said Saturday that farmers have incurred heavy losses due incessant rains.
“I believe farmers will still get the same price as they used to get earlier. They will get compensated for their losses,” said Menani.
Kalamna market in Nagpur is known to be one of the biggest markets of Asia, spread across 140 acres.
Social activist Medha Patkar on Saturday defended former Supreme Court judge A.K. Ganguly, who has been accused of sexually harassing a law intern in a hotel room in last December, and said the public should be able to distinguish between the professional and personal lives of other people.
“His judgements till now have been remarkable, and, they still stand as the best coming from the top court. If anything happens in his personal life, as it has happened with many bureaucrats, politicians, media persons and businessmen, then the public should be able to distinguish that,” said Patkar.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan is in Islamabad’s interests.
During his one-day visit to Kabul, Sharif reiterated that Islamabad wants friendly relations with Kabul based on mutual trust ‘ respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, Dawn News reports.
Nawaz’s visit to Afghanistan is part of efforts to revive the peace process in the country before NATO troops withdraw in 2014.
Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal has appointed Justice (retiredd) D P Buch as the state’s new Lokayukta.
The post had been lying vacant for over a decade.
Justice Buch’s name was forwarded to Beniwal by the Council of Ministers that had approved it on the recommendation of the Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Leader of Opposition Shankersinh Vaghela.
Beniwal issued a warrant in this regard on Friday.
Justice Buch will be invited on Saturday to take the post and seek time to hold oath-taking ceremony,” said government spokesperson Nitin Patel.
Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed on Saturday mocked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, and said his rallies are like stand up comedy shows.
“We are also less educated as he is. When a less educated person tries to show himself as an intellect, then he talks like Modi. The speeches he delivers in his rallies are just like a standup comedy,” he said.
Congress women’s wing chief Shobha Oza on Saturday demanded stern action against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, for revealing the surname of the victim of the sexual assault case involving former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal on Twitter .
China is likely to become the world’s largest oil importer in the 2020s, tripping behind the United States.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) report revealed that India will replace China as the world’s biggest driving force for energy demand after 2020, the China Daily reports.
According to the China’s National Petroleum Corp Economics and Technology Research Institute in Beijing, its crude oil imports for 2013 are estimated at 289 million metric tons, up 7.3 percent year-after-year. (ANI)
A California judge has reportedly dismissed a consumer lawsuit against Apple, which claimed that the tech giant breached its privacy policy and put the plaintiff’s personal data exposed.
The four plaintiffs failed to show that they had relied on any alleged company misrepresentations and that they had suffered harm.
According to stuff.co.nz, the plaintiffs claimed in 2011 that Apple had violated its privacy policy, and had designed its iOS environment to easily transmit personal information to third parties that collect and analyse such data without user consent or detection.
As Microsoft’s hunt for its next chief intensifies, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is reportedly likely to be pushed down by Indian-origin cloud chief Satya Nadella and Ford CEO Alan Mulally.
The software giant is looking for a suitable candidate to replace Steve Ballmer, after he resigns in the next nine months, and had shortlisted Elop, ex- Skype president Tony Bates along with Nadella and Mulally.
A plane crash near the remote western Alaska village of Saint Marys in the US has killed four of the 10 people aboard, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said.
Spokeswoman Megan Peters said early today by email that the pilot and three passengers were killed in the Friday night crash.
There was no immediate word on the condition of the other passengers.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Clint Johnson said the single-engine, turboprop Cessna 208 was Era Alaska’s Flight 373.
Peters said the plane was flying from Bethel to Saint Marys.
Hrithik Roshan is heading to an undisclosed location abroad for his medical treatment Saturday night. Contrary to reports that he will be accompanied by his parents, a source says one of his friends will travel with the actor.
The ‘Krrish’ star has been suffering bouts of headache. In July this year, Hrithik had undergone a brain surgery for removal of a clot at the Hinduja Hospital.
Confirming Hrithik`s travel plans, his father Rakesh Roshan said: “Hrithik is leaving on Saturday. He will be going with a friend.”
The Science Program Committee of the European Space Agency (ESA) selected the “The Hot and Energetic Universe” as the science theme for its next Large (L-class) mission at its meeting in Paris.
The mission is expected to be launched in 2028, with the power to address some of the most fundamental questions in modern astrophysics.
The science theme was proposed by an international collaboration led by Kirpal Nandra, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Germany, with major inputs from the Universities of Leicester and Cambridge in the UK.
President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the 10-day-long Hornbill Festival and take part in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the statehood of Nagaland on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference here, State Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Tourism, Himato Zhimomi said, over 1000 foreign and more than 10,000 domestic tourists from rest of the country as well as over two lakh visitors from within the state are expected to attend this year’s festival.
A two-year-old boy on Saturday died after his father allegedly threw acid on him and mother-in-law following a dispute in Sitamarhi area.
The accused, Babloo, threw acid on his two-year-old son, Nanhu and mother-in-law, Gena Devi (50) in Katra village late last night, police said.
The two were admitted to a hospital in Allahabad where the boy died this morning.
The accused is at large and efforts are on to nab, they said.
—-PTI