Month: January 2014

A toddler hit by a goods vehicle

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A one-and-a-half-year-old boy, have been mowed down by a goods vehicle .

Lakshmikanth, a toddler was killed in front of his house at Kalkere on Thursday morning. His parents were natives of Andhra Pradesh, work as labourers at an under-construction building at Kalkere. The family lives in a makeshift shed on the construction site.

According to KR Puram, traffic police, t he boy was playing in front of the shed when the speeding goods vehicle ran him over, killing him on the spot. The driver dumped the vehicle and fled.

Reprimanded by the principal, Student attempts suicide

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On Wednesday night, a class X student attempted suicide by consuming an overdose of medicine that his mother was prescribed for respiratory problem, at his house in Coffee Board Colony.

Zubaid Ahmed, 15, student of Citizen School on Tannery Road, was scolded by the school principal for using mobile phone inside school premises. An annoyed Zubaid consumed more than 10 tablets that his mother used to take for respiratory disorder.

Zubaid fell ill and wasimmediately shifted to a nearby private hospital, where he was treated at the ICU.

Ribery, Benzema acquitted of `sex with minor` charges

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French footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema have reportedly been acquitted of the charges of having sex with an underage prostitute after four years.

The decision by a Paris court ends legal proceedings that had threatened to end in prison terms that could have prevented one or both of them from playing in this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Kallis among 31 players valued at highest IPL base price

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Retired South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis is reportedly among the 31 players valued at the maximum base price of 3.5 million rands on the 233-man international player list for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

Kallis, who has previously represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, is the only South African cricketer that has attracted the highest base price, with South African ODI wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s entry-level price being 1.75 million rands.

Oz replaces `injured` Marsh with `standby` Hughes in 15-man squad for Proteas Test series

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Australia has reportedly replaced injured batsman Shaun Marsh with Phillip Hughes while clearing fit-again paceman Jackson Bird to join the 15-man squad in South Africa for the three-Test series starting on February 12.

Though named in the squad, both Marsh and Bird stayed put in Australia battling fitness issues, with Marsh injuring his calf during Australia’s one-day series against England and Bird injuring his back in a Big Bash League match last week.

Schumacher `responding to simple instructions` as doctors work to bring him out of coma

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The manager of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher has said that doctors working on his treatment are reducing his sedation to prepare to bring him out of a coma, and reports claimed that he is able to respond to simple instructions.

The seven-time German champion suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on December 29 and has been in a medically-induced coma since.

Rupee recovers 19 paise against dollar in early trade

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The rupee recovered by 19 paise to 62.37 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the American currency by exporters.

Forex dealers said a higher opening in the domestic equity market also supported the rupee but dollar’s strength against other currencies overseas, following better-than-forecast US growth figures, capped the rise.

Ashley Young fined 3000 pounds, banned for six months for speeding

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Manchester United winger Ashley Young has reportedly been banned from driving for six months at a court hearing after he admitted to speeding.

Young, who already had nine points on his licence after being convicted of speeding last January, admitted driving in his Range Rover Vogue at 71mph on a 50mph section of the M6 Toll last March.

Justin Bieber’s tests positive for marijuana, prescription medication in DUI arrest

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Justin Bieber’s toxicology report from his DUI arrest has allegedly shown that he has tested positive for marijuana and prescription medicine.

The 19-year-old singer’s urine was tested right after being hauled into a police station in Florida and the reports claim the presence of cannabis and Alprazolam, ingredient in anti-anxiety medication Xanax, in his system, TMZ.com reported.

The report also showed that the ‘Baby’ hitmaker tested negative for cocaine, opiates, meth and other drugs. (ANI)

Sensex up 55 points in early trade

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The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by almost 55 points in early trade today on the back of gains in the stocks of realty, metal, capital goods, banking and oil and gas sectors amid a mixed trend in other Asian markets.

The 30-share barometer, which has lost 875.41 points in the past five sessions, rose 54.65 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 20,552.90 in early trade.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 13.75 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 6,087.45.

Scar-Jo quits Oxfam after SodaStream dispute

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Scarlett Johansson has left her role at charity Oxfam because of her new position with the carbonated drinks company SodaStream.

The 29-year-old actress recently came under fire for endorsing SodaStream that manufactures some of its products on what the United Nations defines as occupied territory in the West Bank.

According to a statement, the ‘Avengers’ star respectfully decided to end her role as an ambassador due to differing opinions about the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, the Verge reported.

Sikhs protest against Rahul Gandhi

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Sikh groups protested against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, after he denied his party’s role in 1984 Sikh riots.

Protesters holding black flags and placards shouted anti-Rahul Gandhi slogans outside his residence and scuffled with police and broke down barricades.

Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella may be Microsoft’s new CEO

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Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella, in charge of Microsoft’s enterprise and cloud businesses, is emerging as the software giant’s pick as CEO Steve Ballmer’s successor, according to various media reports.

The company’s board of directors is also holding discussions to replace Chairman Bill Gates with lead independent director emerging as the prime candidate, Bloomberg News reported citing people briefed on the process.

Microsoft’s board was meeting Thursday night and an announcement was expected as soon as Friday.

Every Ugandan woman is not a prostitute: DCW Chief

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Reacting to the demand to remove her from her current post, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Barkha Shukla Singh on Thursday said that the Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti should know that there is a procedure for conducting raids and that he could not take the law in his hands, adding that every Ugandan woman is not a smuggler or a prostitute.

“Not every Ugandan woman is a prostitute or a smuggler, and if a woman comes to me with a problem, I will do my best to address it, and that is exactly what I did. I did not do anything that is wrong according to the law,” said Singh.

New Zealand set India 304 to win in 5th ODI

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Put into bat, New Zealand posted a challenging 303 for 5 against India in the fifth and final one-dayer at the Westpac Stadium here today.

Brief Score:New Zealand: 303 for 5 in 50 overs (Ross Taylor 102; Varun Aaron 2/60).

Kris Gopalakrishnan donates Rs 225 crore to IISc

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A brain research centre at a cost of Rs 225 crore will come up here in a joint effort between Indian Institute of Science and a trust formed by Infosys Executive Vice-Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan and his wife.

IISc, the country’s premier university for scientific research and higher education, and the Pratiksha Trust today announced the collaboration to establish the Centre for Brain Research.

Mumbai police commissioner resigns, may join BJP or AAP

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Mumbai police commissioner Satya Pal Singh resigned from the Indian Police Service on Thursday. According to sources, he might join politics. Singh was due for retirement in 2015.

He said he put in his papers to do something big for the nation. He, however, declined to reveal his plans.

Women’s security team will be at beck and call: Kejriwal

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said the proposed women’s security team ‘Mahila Suraksha Dal’ will be at the “beck and call” of women in the national capital, when it becomes operational.

“The security personnel will keep patrolling your neighbourhoods and if you feel that a particular spot or stretch in the area is not safe, you can ask them to stand guard there – they will be at your beck and call,” Kejriwal said as he presented his government’s report card.

“A committee has been formed for this purpose,” he said.

Hitting a woman shows cowardice, says Aamir Khan

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Actor Aamir Khan believes that men have to change first if we want to combat violence against women. Domestic violence, he said, shows “cowardice” and is not acceptable.

The actor recently sent a video message to endorse the cause of the One Billion rising campaign, a movement to end violence against women, said a statement.

“I believe that to combat violence against women, we men will first have to change. Raising our hand to strike a woman does not increase our masculinity. Instead, it shows cowardice,” Aamir said in the video.

Saudi-India defence cooperation pact next month:Chidambaram

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India and Saudi Arabia are all set to ink a defence cooperation pact during the visit of Crown Prince and Defence Minister Salman Bin Abdulaziz to New Delhi next month.

“The proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for defence cooperation will be signed during the visit of Crown Prince Salman to New Delhi sometime in February this year,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram said here in an interview to Arab News.

‘Mirror illusion’ can relieve your itch

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Scientists have discovered the perfect way to get relief from an annoying itch – all you need is a mirror!

Researchers at the University of Lubeck in Germany have shown that a mirror illusion can fool people into feeling relief from an itch, even when they scratch the wrong place.

Perception of our own bodies can be easily manipulated, using tricks such as the rubber hand illusion, which fools people into thinking a rubber hand is their own, researchers said.

Reflecting someone’s limb in a mirror has also been used to treat phantom limb pain, they said.

‘Death sentence to Italian marines will be an act of war’

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Giving death sentence to two Italian marines charged with the killing of Indian fishermen will be an act of war, a top Italian lawmaker has warned.

“(If the punishment is approved, it will be) an attack on Italy,” chairman of the lower house foreign affairs committee Fabrizio Cicchitto was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency today.

He recently met the marines – Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, currently lodged at the Italian Embassy in New Delhi.

India organises workshop on business visas in Islamabad

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With trade being the new focus area for India and Pakistan, the Indian High Commission here organised a maiden special workshop today to familiarise the country’s business community with the liberalised visa regime.

“In the recent past, there has been a significant increase of travel from Pakistan to India. This is a trend which began in 2004 and on the whole continued up to the present,” Indian High Commissioner T C A Raghavan said.

Khobragade issue ‘should never have happened’: Indian envoy

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India and the US are engaged in talks to repair ties damaged by the Khobragade issue, which “should never have happened”, Indian envoy S Jaishankar has said.

Seeking to put behind recent tensions in bilateral ties following the arrest and indictment of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, he argued the case for a strong Indo-US relationship.

BJP hurting ideology of Mahatma Gandhi: Sonia

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Congress President Sonia Gandhi today accused the BJP of spreading ‘hatred of communalism’ for the sake of power and ‘hurting’ the ideology of Mahatama Gandhi.

“They are bent on hurting the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi which taught us religious tolerance and brotherhood among all communities,” the Congress President said reminding that today was ‘Martyr’s day’ when Gandhiji was assassinated by a ‘fanatic’.