Month: January 2014

Study unmasks forces behind climate change denial effort

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A new study has exposed the organizational underpinnings and funding behind the “powerful” climate change countermovement.

Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert J. Brulle , PhD, found that, while the largest and most consistent funders behind the countermovement are a number of well-known conservative foundations, the majority of donations are “dark money,” or concealed funding.

The data also indicates that Koch Industries and ExxonMobil, two of the largest supporters of climate science denial, recently pulled back from publicly funding countermovement organizations.

India-born educationist named for top British honour

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Asha Khemka, an India-born educationist in Britain, has been named for the highest British civilian award for women for her services to education.

Khemka, principal and chief executive of West Nottinghamshire College at Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, has been named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire’ in the New Year’s Honours List for 2014.

Khemka was named for the Order of the British Empire in 2008 and has been running the college since 2006.

Kolkata gangrape case: Left supporters clash with Kolkata Police

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Left Front leaders and supporters clashed with Kolkata Police on Wednesday after the latter refused to hand over the body of a 16-year-old rape victim to her father for cremation.

Communist Party (Marxist) leader Mohammad Salim was leading a protest march through the city. The gang raped victim”s body was being taken to the centre of the Indian Trade Unions office. The victim”s family is demanding justice.

Salim has accused the police of conspiracy.

Pak wins Under-19 Asia Cup by beating India by two wickets

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Pakistan has pulled off a narrow two-wicket win over India in the Under-19 Asia Cup on Tuesday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pakistan chased down a challenging 251 with just three balls to spare and registered their third straight win of the tournament.

Students get encouraged by scholarships

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Students get scholarship on the basis of their meritorious performance it helps in encouraging them. By receiving scholarship students can improve their performance. Today girls outshine boys hence they must be encouraged. These views were expressed by Mr. Zahed Ali Khan editor Siasat addressing the scholarship distribution function of Azra Masood Educational Charitable Trust, at Mahboob Husain Jigar Hall. He said the more languages one learns the more knowledge he becomes. Urdu is our mother tongue; Telugu is a state language while English is an international language.

Corey Anderson breaks world record for fastest ODI ton in third match against Windies

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Young New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson has written himself into world cricket folklore by breaking the record for the fastest one-day international century, set by Shahid Afridi for Pakistan in 1996, against the West Indies in Queenstown on Wednesday.

In a reduced 21 over per side one-day-international, Anderson brought up his century in just 36 balls in the third ODI and with 95 from 35 balls, he needed to hit the 36th ball for six to put himself in the world record books, beating Afridi, who held the record with 37 balls.

Key to happiness may lie in matrimony

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Married people are much happier with their personal levels of success than others, who are just in relationships, a new poll has found.

A Happiness Poll of 2,000 adults, by GE, found that more than 52 per cent were happy or very happy with their level of success, however, for people married or in a civil partnership, the figure went up to 60 per cent, the Daily Express reported.

The study also found that the happiest people seemed to be those, who had the best work-life balance and were able to spend time with family and pals.

Philander retains top spot in ICC Test bowlers” rankings following Durban Test

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South African Test bowler Vernon Philander has retained his top position in the ICC rankings table for Test bowlers following the second and final Test against India in Durban.

Although Philander conceded three ratings points following his match figures of 3-99 at Kingsmead, he has held onto his No 1 position, which he gained after the first Test against India at Centurion last week According to Sport24, meanwhile, fellow bowler Dale Steyn, who was named Man of the Match in Durban for his match figures of 9-147, has once again broken the 900-point mark.

GOOD MANNERS AT HOME

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SPREADING KINDNESS IN THE HOME

‘A’ishah radiallahu ‘anha reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:

“When Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala wills some good towards the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.”
[Reported by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 6/71; Sahih al-Jami’, 303]

According to another report:”When Allah loves the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.”
[Reported by Ibn Abi ad-Dunya and others; Sahih al-Jami’, no. 1704]

Amla moves down in ICC Test batsman rankings after poor show in India Tests

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Veteran South African batsman Hashim Amla has reportedly slipped from the second position to the fourth in the ICC Test batsman rankings after the second and final Test against India in Durban, which the hosts won by ten wickets.

Although ODI captain AB de Villiers, who scored 74 in his only knock in Durban, remains atop the standings, Amla came down in the list following a disappointing innings” against the Indians at Kingsmead (3). According to Sport24, West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul has moved up to second, followed by New Zealand”s Ross Taylor in third.

‘Girly’ things men want to try revealed

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Reddit male users have revealed the “girly” that they would like to try without being judged on the same.

According to Huffington Post, lokiikol said that women can wear “masculine” clothing but the same can not be said for men in “feminine” clothing.

Another thing that men would like to try is ordering “girly drinks,” Reddit user Dwarf -shortage said that for just once, he’d like to order yummy pink drinks having real fruit chunks that guys secretly like but aren’t able to order as they’ll be made fun of.

According to Emmy_Bee, men would also like to carry a purse.

X-rays confirm Brett Lee thunderbolts cracked Piers Morgan’s ribs

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British TV host Piers Morgan has reportedly received confirmation that Australian fast bowling legend Brett Lee had broken his rib with his fast-paced deliveries in the nets at the MCG during the fourth Ashes Test.

Lee came in the firing line from New Zealand Test great Richard Hadlee, who said that he was ‘appalled and outraged’ at Lee’s ‘stupidity and misjudgment’ in bowling at Morgan’s body.

Woman with 36 letter surname finally gets driving licence!

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A woman from Hawaii, who was having trouble getting a driving licence because her 36-letter surname exceeded the word limit, has finally received it with her full name.

Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele got her licence after a campaign in her honour was highly supported, which forced the concerned officials to change their policy regarding the number of letters allowed on the licence, the Daily Star reported.

Where only 35 characters were allowed on the licence, now 40 characters can be permitted for surnames. (ANI)

Gen Y measures career success by how much they earn

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A new survey has discovered that for majority of youngsters in China success in career is defined mostly by compensation.

In the poll, conducted by global human resources firm Hays on 1,000 people aged 18 to 30, 64 percent said that creating personal wealth was their top priority, China Daily reported.

A Hays expert said that the results of the survey are not surprising, given that the country remains a relatively poor developing country where many people have been attracted to the cities from rural areas in the hope of making a better life for themselves.

Bomb explosions in Imphal, police investigating

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Manipur Police on Wednesday confirmed reports of two bombs exploding in the Shingjamei area near state capital Imphal.

They said that a remote-controlled device was used to set off the explosions as people were celebrating New Year Day at around 5.30 a.m.

The area where the blasts took place has been sealed and a search operation has been launched.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

Bangaloreans usher in new year with gaiety

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Hundreds of Bangaloreans, particularly youth, thronged popular hangouts like Brigade Road, M.G. Road, Commercial Street and Church Street in city to bid bye to 2013 and cheer in 2014 singing, dancing and greeting each other on the occasion.

The hangouts were brightly lit to add colour to the celebrations while in many areas a burst of crackers greeted the new year.

Police had stopped vehicular movement in these roads since 8.00 p.m. to facilitate free movement of the crowd gathering in the area.

BJP’s corruption allegations against me malicious: Virbhadra Singh

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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is expected to meet and have discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior party leaders today in connection with the corruption allegations levelled against him by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Singh was summoned to the national capital by Gandhi on Tuesday, and as soon as he arrived last evening, described the BJP allegations as a “malicious campaign”.

Singh’s wife, Pratibha Singh, who has also been accused of corruption, visited the AICC headquarters and met senior party leaders.

Sensex trades flat during early session today

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A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading flat at 26.30 points or 0.12 percent up in the early morning trade Wednesday.

Good buying was observed in healthcare, capital goods and metal sectors, while selling pressure was seen in IT sector.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,222.19 points, was trading at 21,196.98 points in the early session, up 26.30 points or 0.12 percent from previous day’s close at 21,170.68 points.

Fresh snowfall brings cheer to New Year revelers

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Fresh snowfall across Kashmir in the wee hours today brought much needed respite from the cold wave to the Valley residents and cheer for New Year revelers.

The 300-long Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country was today shut for vehicular traffic due to snowfall, a spokesman of the traffic police said.

Snowfall began in Srinagar city and other parts of the Valley in the wee hours today, bringing down the mercury by several degrees across Kashmir.

Dead body washes up at David Beckham’s hideaway in the Madives

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British football icon David Beckham’s New Year’s Eve getaway in the Maldives has turned into a nightmare when a dead body washed up at the exclusive island resort where he was staying with his family.

Beckham, his wife Victoria and kids Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper were at the “One and Only Reethi Rah” resort near the capital Male when the body was discovered floating near a jetty.

Tech-savvy Sonu plays games with kids, SRK

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He is tech savvy, owns around 30 video games and his favourite is PlayStation 4. Sonu Sood, a graduate in electronics engineering, says he spends his “free moments” playing games with his sons or with his team of “Happy New Year”, including lead actor Shah Rukh Khan.

“I’m very tech savvy. I have studied Electronics Engineering so that helped develop my interest and I am very up to date with all the gadgets that are launched in the market,” Sonu told IANS.

Rupee falls 5 paise against dollar in early trade

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The rupee today lost 5 paise to 61.85 against the US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to appreciation of the American currency against the euro and other currencies overseas.

Dealers attributed the rupee fall to dollar gains against other currencies overseas on upbeat US economic data and demand for the American currency from importers.

They said, however, a higher opening of the domestic equity market capped rupee’s losses.

The domestic unit had gained 11 paise to 61.80 against the dollar in yesterday’s trade.

I would like to return to cricket in any role: Sourav

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly today said he was looking forward to a ‘new role’ in 2014, but declined to comment on speculation about a new innings in politics.

The former India captain, who has been made an offer by the BJP to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, said that politics was a sensitive topic.

“I don’t want to talk about politics on TV. I want to explore a new role … But it depends on getting selected. It also depends on others,” Ganguly said.

Brother sexually abuses younger sister

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In an appalling incident a brother attempted to sexually abuse his younger sister. 30 year old Narsing a mechanic, resident of Indira Nehru Nagar started behaving vulgarly with his sister who also resides in the same colony. On December 29, when she was alone, Narsing attempted rape on her. A case has been registered against him under Nirbhaya act and the accused has been arrested and remanded by the police.

Siasat news

Pleasant day ahead for Delhi

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A cool but pleasant day lies ahead for Delhi Wednesday, the first day of 2014, with maximum temperature expected to be around 17 degrees Celsius, the Met Office has forecast.

A partly cloudy sky in the morning will give way to a clear sky, said India Meteorological Department (IMD).

After two days of chill, minimum temperature early Wednesday was three notches above average at 10.4 degrees Celsius.

Fog enveloped the city in the morning, with visibility dropping to 600 metres at 8.30 am.

Humidity at 8.30 am was 100 percent.