Month: January 2014

Pak parties give mixed reactions to Sharif”s decision for peace talks with Taliban

by

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif”s announcement to formulate a four-member committee to hold peace talks with the Pakistan Taliban has attracted mixed reactions from the major political parties in Pakistan. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said if the government wanted to end terrorism through peace talks, then the opposition would extend its full cooperation and support. He added that the opposition would never try politicising the issue of terrorism.

Pak SC discards Musharraf”s review petition in 2007 emergency case

by

Pakistan”s Supreme Court has disposed of the review petition filed by former president Pervez Musharraf against the July 31, 2009, verdict denouncing the Nov 3, 2007, emergency declared by him. The apex court”s 14-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Jilani disposed of the petition. Jilani cited that the plea was not based on merit and the arguments presented were irrelevant to the case. According to Dawn News, on December 23, 2013, Musharraf had filed a petition after a delay of over four years, seeking review of the landmark July 31, 2009, decision.

Pak minister says MFN status to India to be given on reciprocal basis

by

The status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) to any country, including India, would be given on a reciprocal basis, a Pakistani minister has said. Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan said no additional facility would be awarded to any country as far as the MFN status was concerned. According to Dawn News, Khan added that Pakistan has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 1995, and all member states of the organisation had granted the MFN status to each other by virtue of their WTO status.

Sarpanch killed over political rivalry in Nalgonda

by

Unidentified assailants today attacked and killed a village sarpanch in Andhra Pradesh’s Nalgonda district apparently over some political rivalry, police said.

J Pulender Reddy, a local CPI(M) leader and sarpanch of Narasimhulugudem village under Mungala mandal in Nalgonda, was attacked with axes and other sharp weapons at around 9.30 AM while he was riding pillion on a two-wheeler under Kodad town police station limits, they said.

Nothing can stop Telangana state:KCR

by

Shortly after both houses of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly rejected the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 on creating a separate Telangana state by a voice vote, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said that nothing can stop the formation of separate Telangana.

Referring to provisions of the Constitution, Rao said Parliament has supreme powers and that the Assembly can only express its views.

Hong Kong billionaire’s daughter asks dad to accept lesbian partner in letter

by

Hong Kong tycoon’s daughter has written a letter to her dad asking him to treat her lesbian partner like a normal dignified human being.

Gigi Chao, who married her long-term partner Sean Eav in France in 2012, also admitted that there are plenty of good men but they are just not for her, the BBC reported. The letter, which was published in at least two Hong Kong newspapers, said that she was sorry that people had been saying insensitive things about her father.

Nigerian woman throws out pet cat for `being gay`

by

A Nigerian woman has reportedly thrown her pet cat outside on the streets for apparently being gay. The middle-aged woman claimed that her seven-year-old moggy named Bull has engaged in unnatural sexual behaviour and has been making advances to male cats, in presence of female cats, Metro.co.uk reported.

She told Nigerian newspaper Leadership that she finds the behaviour disturbing and a contradiction of the laws of nature. She also added that anybody interested in this “gay cat” can have it because she has no further use of it. (ANI)

AAP reviews preparations for Lok Sabha polls

by

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Thursday reviewed its preparation for the Lok Sabha polls and also discussed controversies involving some party members.

“We discussed issues that would likely come up in the Lok Sabha elections. Corruption would be main issue in the polls,” party member Sanjay Singh told media persons after the meeting.

Singh said the party leaders discussed the appointment of the AAP’s poll in-charge in every state.

How choice of car makes you more attractive to opposite sex

by

Planning to buy a new car to impress the opposite sex? Before you head to the car dealer, you might want to consider a new survey that has found that while women prefer men in utility vehicles, men like to see girls in sports cars.

According to Carsguide.com.au, the survey, conducted by Insure.com on 2000 drivers, found that for 32 percent women “utes” was the most attractive, followed by sports cars, SUVs and then sedans.

Indian-American kills daughter in murder-suicide bid

by

An Indian-American woman in Florida is under arrest after admitting that she shot dead her 17-year-old daughter, a high school student tipped for a bright future, in an apparent murder-suicide bid.

According to the arrest affidavit, Sujatha Guduru, 44, shot her daughter Chetana Guduru twice, fearing there would be no one to care for the girl after the mother’s suicide, www.myfoxorlando.com reported.

Mobile apps to generate $77bn revenue by 2017: Gartner

by

Mobile apps are expected to generate revenue of more than 77 billion dollars in the next three years, a new research has revealed. Research firm Gartner has predicted that mobile apps are going to become one of the most popular computing tools across the globe by 2017 as app downloads would reach to more than 268 billion times.

Icahn buys another $500mn of Apple”s falling shares

by

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has reportedly bought 500 million dollars more shares even as the tech giant”s stock sank low.

Icahn blasted Apple”s board for its ”imperial” ways last week, yet he stood by the tech giant and announced his acquisition on Twitter.

Asaram’s ’empire’ worth over Rs 10,000 crore

by

Self-styled ‘godman’ Asaram has accumulated wealth to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore and vast tracts of land across the country, the value of which is yet to be assessed, police said on Thursday.

“The scrutiny of documents recovered during the raid has established that wealth of Asaram’s ashrams in the form of bank accounts and other investments including shares, debentures and government bonds (excluding land) is valued at Rs 9,000-Rs 10,000 crore,” city commissioner of police Rakesh Asthana told reporters on Thursday.

Telangana Bill: Naidu wriggled out of a tricky situation

by

Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu did not get an opportunity to express his views on the Telangana Bill in the Assembly but his MLAs feel this was a “blessing is disguise” for their leader whose stand on the Statehood issue is often seen as wrapped in ambiguity.

Though there was talk in Assembly lobbies in afternoon that the Leader of Opposition gave his views to the Speaker in the form of an “affidavit”, Naidu’s aides denied that.

TDP MLAs also said their leader did not submit his views on the Bill in writing like many others did.

Oprah Winfrey reveals her highest achievement on 60th b’day

by

Oprah Winfrey, who celebrated her 60th birthday on Jan. 29, believes that seeing the best in even the worst people has been her greatest achievement in life.

The talk show queen wrote in an open letter in The Oprah magazine that never shutting her heart down is the best thing she has ever done, the Huffington Post reported. The ‘Butler’ actress asserted that even in her darkest moments, through sexual abuse, a pregnancy at 14 and lies and betrayals, she remained faithful, hopeful and open to seeing the best in people, regardless of whether they were showing her their worst.

Woman gets sex change in hope of escaping debt payments

by

A Russian woman has made a dramatic decision to have a complete sex change operation in an attempt to become a different person and avoid having to pay off her debts. Natalya had built up debts of around 2,200 pounds and was being pursued by bailiffs, the Daily Star reported.

‘Better urban planning, transport can help women’s safety’

by

Better urban planning, community involvement, reliable public transport systems, better street lights and active street life are some factors that can bolster women’s safety and security in cities, participants at a workshop here on the issue said.

The workshop was organised by Citizens’ Initiative, Gurgaon First in association with mobile application for women safety called Safetipin.

Speaking at the event, Joint Commissioner of Police Bharti Arora informed participants about the new laws and safety initiatives taken by the police.

Shorter people do feel inferior and weaker

by

British researchers concocted an experiment at Oxford University, as they feared that those on the smaller side might suffer a corresponding sense of self-worth simply because of their size.

Shankar defends Speaker’s role

by

Welcoming the announcement of Speaker Nadendla Manohar made before adjourning the House sine die on Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Bill-2013, Telangana Congress senior leader Dr P Shanker Rao said the Speaker announced nothing negative against the spirit of the Constitution.
Speaking at the Assembly media point, Shanker Rao said the Chief Minister’s behavior in the House was similar to ‘might is right’ manner. He asked the Telangana people not to get agitated over the developments taken place in the House today. He said everything was in favor of Telangana. (NSS)

RiRi says she wants bigger butt

by

Rihanna has revealed that she wants a bigger butt. The 25-year-old singer is known for flaunting her enviable curves in skimpy outfits but she admits that even she has body hangups, just like every woman, and she particularly wishes she had a peachier derriere.

She told E! news that she does pick on her body and it’s a thing that women do. The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker, however, admitted that she’s learnt to accept her curves because nobody is happy in their own skin. (ANI)

Poor should get free LPG cylinders, says Mulayam

by

Reacting to the Centre’s decision of raising the quota of subsidised LPG to 12 cylinders per year, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday said the limit should be raised to 24 and poor should get it free.

“That is not a big deal…The number should be 24 and not 12 and poor should get it free,” Yadav said when asked to react on Union cabinet’s decision.

TRS MLA slams Seemandhra Leaders for false Campaign

by

TRS MLA Jogu Ramanna today lambasted Seemandhra leaders of all parties for campaigning that they achieved victory in the House.
Speaking at the Assembly media point here on Thursday, Ramanna alleged that the Seemandhra leaders were misleading the people on the developments taken place in the House. He said the Seemandhra leaders were deceiving their own people even on the last day of the House. (NSS)