Month: December 2013

President to attend platinum jubilee of Bengal assembly

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President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a three-day visit to West Bengal beginning Friday, and participate in the concluding ceremony of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the state legislative assembly.

Besides the assembly jubilee celebrations, Mukherjee will Friday attend a felicitation function organised by the Nayaprajanma and Suri Sabujer Abhijan at Suri, Birbhum district.

The president will also inaugurate the Youth Science Congress organised by the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation at Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.

France’s lower house passes prostitution law to impose fine on clients

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The French lower house of parliament has passed a prostitution law that imposes fines on clients.

Politicians voted 268 in favour and 138 against to give France some of the most restrictive legislation on prostitution in Europe – a radical switch away from the nation’s traditionally tolerant attitude, the Guardian reported.

Those people who seek to buy sex would now be facing a 1,240-pound-fine, while the act of soliciting itself would no longer be punished.

Farooq Abdullah to seek re-election from Srinagar

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Union minister and National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah Thursday announced he would seek re-election to the Lok Sabha from Srinagar parliamentary constituency next year.

Addressing a party rally to observe the birth anniversary of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah at his mausoleum in Hazratbal here, Farooq Abdullah said he would stand from the Srinagar constituency as the party candidate during the forthcoming general elections in 2014.

Modi trying to protect Godhra riots perpetrators: Minority minister

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Minority Affairs Minister K. Rahman Khan Thursday accused BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of trying to protect the perpetrators of the violence during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat by opposing the Communal Violence Bill.

“The people who Narendra Modi represents, they are the people who will probably be affected because they are the perpetrators of communal violence and will be punished,” the minister said in an interview to Times Now news channel here.

Winter Session of Parliament adjourned for the day

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The first day of the Winter Session of Parliament was adjourned on Thursday without transacting any business.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar and Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammad Hamdi Ansari adjourned their respective Houses till 11 a.m. on Friday after obituary notices were read out.

Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government will make an effort to evolve a political consensus on all bills tabled by it in Parliament.

PM for strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics, telecommunications

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that India needs to develop strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications

Inaugurating the ‘ India Telecom 2013 ‘, here, Dr. Singh said: “I would also like to take today’s opportunity to repeat a point that I made last year. India needs to develop a strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications. It is estimated that by 2020, India will be importing electronics products worth about 300 billion dollars, which will be more than the value of our imports of petroleum products.”

Newtown school massacre 911 phone calls recordings released

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A teacher calmly explains she has been shot in the foot. Another woman, sounding anguished, pleads for help. A custodian relays information from officers at the scene to a police operator.

There is also the booming echo of gunshots.

Officials in Newtown, Connecticut, on Wednesday released audio recordings of emergency 911 phone calls from the Connecticut school shooting that killed 20 children and six educators almost a year ago, revealing raw emotion in the voice of the callers.

Japanese police arrest woman for calling them 15,000 times

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Japanese police said today they have arrested a woman for calling them more than 15,000 times over a six-month period.

Authorities repeatedly visited the 44-year-old and asked her to cease and desist.

When she failed to stop making the calls, which started in May, police slapped handcuffs on her.

“She made as many as 927 emergency calls in one day….Disturbing our police duties,” said an official in the city of Sakai, near the western city of Osaka.

Authorities, who have so far ruled out mental illness for the woman’s behaviour, said her calls had “no real meaning”.

Australian Royal prank DJ settles case, resigns

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An Australian DJ whose royal prank call to a London hospital resulted in the suicide of a nurse has settled her workplace lawsuit with the network and resigned.

Mel Greig also won a public concession from her employer, Southern Cross Austereo, that she had not been responsible for broadcasting the call and had suggested it be edited before being aired.

“Mel Greig wishes to make it clear that, as an announcer, she was not responsible for the decision to broadcast the hoax call,” Austereo said in a statement published late Wednesday.

Pakistan records 72 polio cases in 2013: WHO

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Pakistan recorded 72 polio cases this year, compared to 58 for all of 2012, with the bulk of new infections registered in the lawless tribal areas, a WHO official said today.

Pakistan is one of only three countries where the crippling disease remains endemic. Officials said violence against vaccinators and suspicions about the polio vaccine were reasons for the increase in cases.

40 days in chains: Afghan shrine offers ‘cure’ for evil spirits

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All it took to land Din Muhammed in a cell at an Afghan shrine, chained up and living on bread for 40 days, was an argument with his father.

Muhammad was forced to undergo the traditional “cure” at the shrine of Mia Ali Baba, outside the eastern city of Jalalabad, to rid him of evil spirits.

Even after a decade of international funding and medical expertise pouring into Afghanistan, many locals still believe that the grim ordeal at the shrine will cure mental health problems — or as they see it, possession by malevolent “jinn” spirits.

Nadal to return to Buenos Aires event after nine years

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World number one Rafael Nadal will play in the Buenos Aires ATP tournament in February for the first time since 2005, the Spaniard said on Wednesday.

The tournament to be held at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club from February 10 to 16 is part of the Latin American swing of claycourt events which also includes tournaments in Chile, Brazil and Mexico.

“After a time when I was unable to go, this year I`m going to return to the Buenos Aires tournament and I`m excited to play the Copa Claro again,” Nadal said in a video shown at a news conference.

Cricket Australia apologise for Panesar Twitter gaffe

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Cricket Australia apologised on Thursday after being criticised on social media for a clumsy joke involving England spinner Monty Panesar posted on Twitter during the opening day of the second Ashes test.

A picture of four men wearing turbans posing in a corridor was posted on the governing body`s Twitter feed with the caption: “Will the real Monty Panesar please stand up?!”

The post drew a number of negative responses, including from former England captain Michael Vaughan who tweeted: “Awful from @CricketAus”.

Digvijay Singh trashes exit poll predictions

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Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has rubbished the exit polls, being aired on some news channels, predicting an edge for BJP over Congress in recently-concluded Assembly elections in five states.

“There is no meaning in such exit poll results and they deserve to be consigned to dustbin,” the Congress general secretary told reporters last night at the Raja Bhoj airport.

Digvijay’s son Jaiwardhan, accompanying his father, said exit polls are unreliable and are error-prone.

Wahtmore eyes farewell on victory note

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Pakistan head coach Dav Whatmore is hoping to end his tenure with the team on a high note as the side left for a gruelling series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.

“The way the team played in South Africa I am pretty confident I will be able to end my contract with Pakistan cricket on a high and winning note and go out a satisfied man,” the former Australian player told PTI before team departure last night.
Whatmore and the PCB announced recently a mutual parting of ways after the Australian`s two year contract ends in
February, 2014.

Second Ashes Test: Australia end Day 1 at 273/5

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Australia were 273/5 at the close of play on Day 1 of the second Ashes Test against England at the Adelaide Oval here Thursday.

Early showers interrupted the morning session but cleared as the day went on with Chris Rogers (72) and Shane Watson (51) putting on a 121-run partnership for the second wicket to help Australia to 155/1 at a point in the second session.

However, three quick wickets saw Australia slip to be four down for 174 at tea before skipper Michael Clarke and George Bailey came together to steady the innings. The pair put on a further 83 before Bailey holed out for 53.

Microsoft raises $8 billion through sale of securities

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Technology giant Microsoft has raised about USD 8 billion by selling securities and the proceeds would be utilised for funding acquisitions, among others.

The fund raising exercise comes at a time when Microsoft is in the process of acquiring the devices and services businesses of Finnish handset maker Nokia in a deal worth USD 7.2 billion.

The total amount includes bonds denominated in the US dollar as well as euros.

FIR against author Taslima Nasreen on cleric’s complaint

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An FIR has been lodged against controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen for allegedly hurting religious sentiments following a complaint by a prominet Muslim cleric in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh.

The case was lodged last night at Kotwali police station by Hasan Raza Khan Noori Miyan, son of the ‘sajjadanasheen’ of Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat Maulana Subhan Raza Khan Subhani Miyan, who objected to certain tweets by Nasreen against clerics on November 6, police sources said here today.

Tejpal case to be fast tracked: Parrikar

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Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a journalist woman colleague, will be tried in a fast track court by a female judge, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.

Responding to a question at Aaj Tak Agenda, he said, “Tejpal will be tried in a fast track court. We will follow the Supreme Court’s guidelines and have a female judge in this case.”

He said, “Justice delayed is justice denied” and speedy justice should be given in all the cases. He also noted that the state has a record of just a few backlog of cases.

NASA probe obtains best views of Saturn’s unique six-sided jet stream

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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has obtained the highest-resolution movie yet of a unique six-sided jet stream, dubbed as the hexagon, around Saturn’s North Pole.

Spanning about 20,000 miles (30,000 kilometers) across, the hexagon is a wavy jet stream of 200-mile-per-hour winds (about 300 kilometers per hour) with a massive, rotating storm at the center. There is no weather feature exactly, consistently like this anywhere else in the solar system.

Scientists unravelling mysteries of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts

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Researchers are unravelling the longstanding mysteries surrounding the Van Allen radiation belts that circle Earth.

The discovery used measurements taken by a University of New Hampshire-led instrument on board NASA’s Van Allen Probes twin spacecraft to reveal that the high-energy particles populating the radiation belts can be accelerated to nearly the speed of light.

This mode of action is analogous to that of a particle accelerator like the Large Hadron Collider.

‘Youngest’ neutron star binary found

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X-rays streaming towards Earth from the region near a neutron star that is cannibalizing its companion star are the youngest “X-ray binary” yet known, according to scientists.

The team discovered the age of this record-breaking pair, named Circinus X-1, by using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which revealed faint remnants of the supernova explosion that created the neutron star.

Srinagar records coldest night of season

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Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the season’s lowest night temperature as cold wave further tightened its grip in most parts of the Valley.

The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3.0 degrees Celsius – two degrees below normal – as against minus 2.7 the previous night, a spokesman of the MET department said.

Earlier, Srinagar recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius on November 15.

Happy time to be in films: Farooque Sheikh

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Veteran actor Farooque Sheikh praises changes in the film industry and the theatre world. He says this is a happy time to be in the movie business and adds that one can lead a respectable life by being a full time theatre artist.

“As a theatre person, I feel it`s a labour of love. Things have changed and the scenario is not the same. One can be a full time theatre person and still have a respectable life. I think the positive change is finally coming,” said the 65-year-old outstanding performer.

Shah Rukh Khan keen to take kids to Pakistan

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Having fond memories of visiting Peshawar as a teenager with his father, Shah Rukh Khan harbours a hope to take his three children to visit his family`s hometown, and hopes ties between India and Pakistan become “friendlier” and “family-like”.

The Hindi film superstar spoke fondly of Peshawar when Pakistan`s former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar asked him about visiting her country, at a Conclave here Wednesday.