Month: December 2013

Race on to save 40 stranded whales in US; 10 already dead

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Florida rescuers are racing to save more than 40 whales stranded in shallow water after 10 others from the pod died, a US official has said.

The pilot whales are located in a very remote region of Everglades National Park in the southern part of the state, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA spokeswoman Blair Mase told reporters that four of the whales had to be euthanized and six others had already died.

US talking to Syria’s rebel fighters

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The United States has reached out to Islamist militias among the Syrian opposition as it seeks to reach a political solution to the civil war, a US official confirmed.

But there have been no contacts with groups such as Al-Nusra that are blacklisted by Washington as terror organizations, deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf stressed yesterday.

“We engage with a broad cross-section of Syrian people and political and military leaders in the opposition, including a variety of Islamist groups,” she told reporters.

1.72 lakh people vote after 5 PM in Delhi

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Reflecting a strong enthusiasm among voters in Delhi assembly poll, an estimated 1.7 lakh people were in the queue after the deadline for voting ended at 5pm, following which the Election Commission decided to continue voting even if it goes till late in the evening.

The Election Commission said polling drew to a close at Okhla constituency at around 9.30 PM.

“1.72 lakh voters were in queue by 5 PM. So, we decided to allow all those who were in queue to vote even if it goes till late in the evening,” an Election Commission Official said.

Modi must unite India, not divide it: Farooq Abdullah

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Calling on Narendra Modi to stop fooling people by trying to create hype over Article 370, union Minister Farooq Abdullah Wednesday said the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate must think of uniting India, not dividing it, if he wants to lead it.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said: “Whether it is Narendra Modi or anybody else, nobody can abrogate Article 370, which is here today and would be here tomorrow.”

Article 370 will always be there: Farooq Abdullah

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New and Renewable Energy minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for demanding a public debate on Article 370 that accords a special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and asserted that Article 370 cannot be annulled by anyone. “Be it Modi or anyone who comes after him, they cannot remove Article 370. It will always be there,” he told media here today. “I feel sad for the BJP. Sometimes they say they will build a temple. They couldn’t build it till date.

Jagan Reddy meets Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi to seek support for united Andhra Pradesh

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YSR Congress Party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK leader M Karunanidhi. “I have met both leaders and explained to them in detail the need to amend Article 3. They listened to me and felt that it is an important issue to be addressed,” he told media here today. He asked the two leaders not to see this as an issue of Andhra Pradesh alone but to rethink and voice their opinion and protect democracy.

Gujarat ceramic units threaten highway blockade, shut down

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The Morbi-based cluster of ceramic tile industries has threatened a highway blockade and shut down if the Gujarat government did not address their plight, a civil society organisation said today.

A meeting between industrialists and Gujarat government did not yield any result yesterday. If the stalemate
continues, we will block the Porbandar-Delhi highway, which passes through Morbi,” Morbi Bachao Samiti president Manoj
Patel said.

The ceramic tile industry at Morbi which comprises over 500 units, claims to contribute around 75 per cent of ceramic
tile production in the country.

China issues 4G mobile licence to 3 state-run companies

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China today issued 4G licences to three state-run Chinese telecom operators, marking the beginning of a new era in the country’s high-speed mobile network employing homegrown technology.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued permits to offer fourth-generation (4G) mobile
network services employing homegrown TD-LTE technology to China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.

The ministry said the three companies have conducted large-scale tests of TD-LTE, or Time-Division Long-Term

Luxembourg 3-way coalition ends Juncker reign

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Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has presented his three-way coalition an official end to the 18-year reign of Jean-Claude Juncker as the longest-standing government leader in the European Union.

Today’s coalition presentation highlighted the swift emergence of 40-year-old Bettel, the Liberal who formed a
coalition with the socialists and the greens to keep Juncker’s Christian Democrats out of power for the first time since the 1970s.

In the snap elections in October, the Liberal, Socialist and Green parties won a total of 32 seats. The victory was

British government to sell off Eurostar stake

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Britain said today it intends to sell off its 40-per cent stake in Eurostar, the high-speed rail service connecting London with Paris and Brussels, as part of a 20-billion pounds privatisation drive.

The move is part of a new national infrastructure plan, which sets out how the British government intends to privatise
the equivalent of USD 32 billion or 24.1 billion euros of financial and corporate assets by 2020.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government expects to reap hundreds of millions of pounds from selling
its stake in the cross-channel rail operator.

Treasurer of Jharkhand Basketball association dies

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The Treasurer of Jharkhand state Basketball Association and a former Basketball player, N Chadrasekhar Rao died in Tata Main Hospital here today.

62-year-Rao (popularly known as Chandu) was suffering from cancer since June last and breathed his last in the
hospital today, said Harbhajan Singh, Secretary of the Association.

Rao is survived by his wife and two sons.

Singh, a former Olympian, said the cremation will take place at Parvati Ghat tomorrow.

Rao had represented Bihar for over a decades and his basketball career spanned from 1969 to 1983.

Somen Mitra again demands CBI probe into Saradha scam

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Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra, who has declared that he would soon leave the party, today reiterated his demand for a CBI probe into the Saradha scam.

Only a CBI investigation can expose the Saradha scam,” Mitra told reporters at Dubrajpur in Birbhum district.

Earlier, Mitra took part in a programme organised by the Loba Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, along with PDS leader Samir
Putatundu and a number of district Congress leaders.

I have heard about the agitation of the people of Loba from my friend Samir. I have come here to support this

Pak prosecutors seek action against lawyer of Mumbai accused

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Pakistani prosecutors today sought contempt proceedings against the lawyer of the seven men charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks for claiming that the evidence in the case was a “sham”.

We have prayed for contempt proceedings against the defence counsel as he violated the court’s order by holding a
press conference,” Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Mohammed Azhar told PTI.

They (defence lawyers) had themselves sought an in-camera trial in the case and they violated this,” he said.

Telangana GoM finalises report, cabinet to discuss Thursday

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The Group of Ministers (GoM) on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh Wednesday night finalized its report, which will come up before the union cabinet Thursday.

The GoM, which went into various issues related to bifurcation, finalized its recommendations at its final meeting in the national capital.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who headed the GoM, told reporters after the meeting that the GoM completed the task entrusted by the cabinet on Oct 3.

“These recommendations will come for discussion at the cabinet meeting tomorrow,” he said.

Scientists sequence King Cobra genome, uncover venom secrets

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Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the world’s longest poisonous snake – king cobra – and uncovered the secrets behind its deadly venom.

King cobras, capable of growing up to 18.5 feet in length, can be found in forests of India and throughout southeast Asia.

Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, along with a team of international biologists, also analysed the genome of the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) and used it for comparison with the king cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah).

BJP to win MP, Rajasthan; hung assemblies in Delhi, Mizoram: Exit poll

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The BJP is expected to retain Madhya Pradesh with a massive mandate and wrest Rajasthan from the Congress, while falling short of a majority in Chhattisgarh. Delhi and Mizoram would see hung assemblies, according to exit poll projections of the assembly polls in the five states by India TV-CVoter.

According to the India TV-CVoter exit polls, in Chhattisgarh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be two seats short of a simple majority in the 90-member assembly.

4,500-year-old city discovered in China

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Chinese archaeologists on Wednesday excavated a 4,500-year-old city Neolithic Chinese city in eastern Anhui Province.

Part of a trapezoidal city wall and moat from the Nanchengzi Ruins in Guzhen County have been uncovered, along with a great number of houses, according to archaeologists from Wuhan University.

The archaeology team has also unearthed items from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty, which dates back about 2,000 years.

The items include deer heads and antlers, tortoise shells and wheat and rice seeds, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Cinepolis to double number of screens in India next year

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Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis is planning to double the number of screens in India next year. It is planning to open 80 new screens.

The Mexico-based company, which operates over 3,300 screens in 11 countries, opened its first multiplex in Hyderabad. The five-screen multiplex has taken to 84 the number of Cinepolis screens in the country.

Devang Sampat, Head – Strategy, Cinepolis, told IANS that 80 more screens are in various stages of fit-out and would be ready in next six to nine months. For every screen, the company is investing Rs.2 crore.

Voters turned away for carrying mobile phones

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A number of voters in various parts of East and North East districts of the national capital were turned away from the polling booths as they carried their mobile phones with them.

The voters said they were disappointed as they had to go back to their homes to keep their mobile phones as there were no arrangement for keeping phones in majority of the polling stations.

“I had to come to the polling station for the second time as I was not allowed to enter the premises with a mobile phone. No prior information regarding this had been given to us,” said a voter at Trilokpuri.

Intermediate student commit suicide

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In a shocking incident, A 16 year old Intermediate student of Sri Medha Junior College committed suicide by hanging at his class room on Wednesday early hours of Vanasthalipuram police limits.

The deceased, Bhavani Sai,son of ramesh was a student Intermediate MEC first year r/o college campus native of Adilabad district and committed suicide on Wednesday. He allegedly left a suicide note stating that he was taking the extreme step as he was not interested in studies. Further investigations are on. (INN)

Lab Technician dies after falling from height

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A 26-year-old lab technician died of injuries which he suffered after falling down from the third floor of a building.

According to Maheshwaram police, the deceased, G Shravan Kumar, resident of Rajendranagar accidentally fell down from the third floor of an building while he was working on Dec 4 12.30 PM. He was died on the spot. (INN)

BJP, CPI back Telangana shutdown call

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The BJP and CPI have extended their support to day-long Telangana shutdown called by TRS Thursday to oppose the central government’s reported proposal to carve out a Rayala-Telangana state.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president G. Kishan Reddy said his party was opposed to the proposal to merge Anantapur and Kurnool districts of Rayalaseema with Telangana to create Rayala-Telangana.

Three killed in Train Accidents

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A 33-year-old man died after he was hit by a train while he was trying to cross the track near Shamshabad.

The accident occurred on Wednesday morning. The Kachiguda Railway police later identified the deceased as M Praveen Kumar, a private employee and resident of Khanapur.

In another case, a 40 year old Un known male was died on the spot while crossing the railway track between Falaknuma and Budvel stations on Tuesday evening. Railway Police Kachiguda said.

Sharif ‘strongly denies’ Kashmir flashpoint remarks

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Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Wednesday strongly denied news reports quoting him as having said that Kashmir was “a flashpoint and can trigger a fourth war” with India.

In a rebuttal of a report that appeared in the Dawn newspaper, the Prime Minister’s Office said Sharif never uttered those words.

The statement said: “Prime Minister of Pakistan never uttered these words and the news item is baseless, incorrect and based on malafide intentions. The said news reports are strongly rebutted.”