Month: February 2014

Lalu pours more scorn on Bihar Speaker

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Continuing with his tirade against Bihar Assembly Speaker for recognising rebel MLAs as separate group, Lalu Prasad today poured more scorn on him and alleged that he took a hardcore naxal as his aide to Japan on official expense.

“Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary took a hardcore naxalite Murari Yadav with him as his aide to a trip to Japan on official expense,” Prasad told reporters while making a blistering attack on him.

The RJD chief also alleged that Chaudhary was involved in murder case of his party MP from Gaya Rajesh Kumar.

Superpower talk complete nonsense, says Rahul

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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today said he would rather make women travelling in a bus safe than have India being a superpower.

“Big statements are made about India being a superpower. What superpower? I will rather make a woman safe in a bus than (India) being a superpower,” Gandhi said in an interaction with students at the Don Bosco University here. “Are you comfortable in a bus? Are you treated well on the streets when you walk?” he asked girl students.

Man stages fake kidnap of self to avoid unwanted marriage

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A man staged “fake” kidnapping of himself to avoid his marriage with a girl against his will in Pulwama district of Kashmir Valley, police said today.

Arshid Ahmad Margay, a resident of Qasbayar area of Pulwama, staged a “drama” of his abduction with the help of his brother Shameem Ahmad and four friends as he was engaged to a girl against his will, a police spokesman said here.

Shameem had lodged a report in Rajpora police station stating that during the intervening night of February 21 and 22, some unknown gunmen entered his house and abducted Arshid, the spokesman said.

Pak wary of chemical, biological weapons attacks by non-state actors

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The draft prepared by Pakistan’s National Security Policy has warned of possible chemical or biological weapons use by non-state actors.

The draft reportedly reveals how Pakistan has suffered losses worth 78 billion dollars over the past decade due to various terror acts.

The draft further stated that the Ministry of Defence has the infrastructure in place to deal with non-state armed groups and terrorists and recommended that existing laws be reviewed in light of existing security threats, the Japan Times reported.

Buddhadeb justifies 1993 police firing on Youth Cong. Workers

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Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today justified police firing on Youth Congress workers, killing 13 people on July 21, 1993 during Left Front rule and asserted that he had never felt the need for a judicial inquiry into it.

“In the name of march to Writers, it was an attempt to capture Writers Buildings (state secretariat). Given the situation, the police had to resort to firing,” Bhattacharjee told a Judicial Commission inquiring into the police firing which created a huge political controversy.

Ordinary conditioners as effective as special products in removing head lice

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Researchers have found that an ordinary hair conditioner is just as effective as special products sold in the market to remove head lice and its eggs.

The scientists from Belgium, who gathered 605 hairs from six different children with a single nit attached to each one of them, found that nits on the hairs that were left completely untreated were the most difficult to remove, while hair strands soaked in deionized water were much easier to remove.

Congress indicates merger with Chandrasekhar Rao

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Congress and TRS on Wednesday gave divergent versions on the issue of merger even after their leaders have held a series of meetings since Parliament gave its nod for creation of Telangana last week.

Congress claimed that TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has given has expressed readiness to merge but the regional party of Andhra Pradesh said no such assurance has been given.

World’s most spectacular university buildings revealed

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A list of the world’s most spectacular university buildings have been compiled by Emporis.

According to Emporis, Lomonosov Moscow State University’s main building, dating from 1953, is the world’s tallest university building at 240 meters in height. Over its 36 stories it contains everything one could expect from an educational institution, including a 1,500-seat auditorium, seminar rooms, a library, and even a museum.

Iconic ‘Got Milk?’ ad campaign changed to ‘Milk Life’ 20 years on

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The ” Got Milk?” ad campaign that first appeared in 1994 with supermodel Naomi Campbell, is now being axed for a new tagline ‘Milk Life.’

According to CNN, the new tagline aims to teach consumers about the benefits of drinking milk.

Sal Taibi , president of Lowe Campbell Ewald, the agency involved in the ‘Got Milk’ ads, said that they used celebs at the time to help improve milk’s image, the Washington Times reported.

He said that the idea was to convey the message that everybody drinks milk, even successful cool people.

Any conflict can be resolved through discussions: Rahul

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The insurgency problem in Manipur like in Assam could be resolved through discussions, devolution of power and love, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said today.

“I am inspired by Mahatma Gandhi that any conflict can be resolved through discussions, love and peace. So that is my answer,” Gandhi said when asked if the Armed Forces Special Powers Act would be withdrawn from Manipur where it was responsible for social disharmonies affecting women and students.

Cong, TRS divergent views on merger

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Congress and TRS today gave divergent versions on the issue of merger even after their leaders have held a series of meetings since Parliament gave its nod for creation of Telangana last week.

Congress claimed that TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao has given has expressed readiness to merge but the regional party of Andhra Pradesh said no such assurance has been given.

Domino’s apologises to man who burnt penis while having ‘sex’ with pizza!

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A UK man took to Twitter to ask Domino’s for a refund because their pizza burnt his penis while he was making love to it.

The man, who goes by the name LAD_VIGO on the social networking site, held the famous pizza chain responsible for not making their customers aware about “the dangers of making love to a pizza,” the Daily Star reported.

When the company apologised and promised to notify customers in the future, the man said he was not at all happy because he had a “multitude of pepperoni pieces stuck to his private parts and a scorched penis. (ANI)

UK man complains to council after being denied sex by hooker!

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A UK man has filed a complaint with Harrow’s council against a brothel where a prostitute refused to have sex with him.

A source from the Harrow council told Getwestlondon that the unidentified man seemed very aggrieved and was quite angry about the fact that he had been turned down by a hooker, the Independent reported.

The insider asserted that the man felt that prostitutes shouldn’t be able to behave like that with customers.

The man had travelled from a neighbouring borough so was a bit upset by his wasted trip, the source added.

Ministers from Seemandhra meet Sonia Gandhi

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A delegation of ministers from Seemandhra region today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi seeking a good package for their region in the wake of the decision to create separate Telangana state by dividing Andhra Pradesh.

AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters that special category status would be conferred on Seemandhra for five years and tax incentives would continue for a period of ten years.

People are nicer to me now, says Kate Winslet

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Kate Winslet has confessed that she feels that people are nice to her now, as the media hype about her relationship with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio has lessened.

The ‘ Titanic’ star, who had a hard time coming to terms with the rumours, said that in her opinion the tabloids were harsher before, Universal Pictures India reported.

The 38-year-old actress said that the tabloids treat stars with more respect when they get old, but the young stars are treated like “loose bait”.

FBI placed human source to keep tabs on Osama bin Laden in 1993

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation had reportedly placed a confidential human source in the al Qaeda group, who was in direct contact with Osama bin Laden in 1993, according to the court records reviewed by The Washington Times.

The source is said to have intimated the bureau of a terrorist plot against a Masonic lodge in Los Angeles, which was later thwarted.

72 bonded labourers rescued, includes 2 pregnant women

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A total of 72 bonded labourers, which includes 22 men, 26 women and 24 children from various districts of Odisha, Including Bolanghir, Sinapalli, Patnagarh, and Golamunda were rescued from a brick kiln in Ranga Reddy district.

M.V. Reddy, Joint Collector-2, ordered a rescue team to conduct the operation at Gowdavilla village after getting a complaint from the International Justice Mission (IJM) and Association for Rural Development.

It was alleged that the owner put the boot in the two pregnant women on their stomach.

US military personnel death toll touches 2,174 in Afghanistan

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Following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, at least 2,174 members of the U.S. military force have reportedly died in Afghanistan as of Feb. 25. 2014.

The death count released by Associated Press is apparently one less than the Defense Department ‘s tally.

At least 1,795 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers, Fox News reported.

MERS virus prevalent among camels in Saudi Arabia

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A new study has revealed that the coronavirus responsible for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is prevalent in camels throughout Saudi Arabia and has been around for at least 20 years.

“Our study shows the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is widespread,” senior study author W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University, New York, said.

Prem Singh Rathore gets promotion in BJP

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Former MLA Prem Singh Rathore has been appointed as the National Joint convener Of Bharatiya Janta Party Micro and Small Industry Cell.

The appointment was made as per the direction of BJP National President Rajnath Singh. BJP State President G Kishan Reddy presented the letter to Rathore. Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, National Council nember Shankar Yadav, T Praveen Kumar, Bawarilal also attended the program. (INN)

Asia Cup: India wins toss; elects to bowl

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India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl against Bangladesh in their first match of the Asia Cup at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium here today.

Team:

India: Virat Kohli (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ambati Rayadu, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt & wk), Shamsur Rahman, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Ziaur Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain.

SP face electoral stumbling block in western UP

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According to Muslim intellectuals and leaders, the Samajwadi Party is likely to face electoral stumbling block in western UP because of its government’s handling of last year’s riots in Muzaffarnagar.
A telltale sign to this came on Monday when SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav was forced to call off his address at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) following protests by students.

Pay hike to be 10% this year, lowest since 2009: Aon Hewitt

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India Inc is expected to dole out a 10 per cent salary increase in 2014, the lowest in five years, according to a survey by Aon Hewitt.

In 2013, the average salary increase was 10.2 per cent while in 2009, it was 6.6 per cent.

According to the global human resource solution provider, the average salary increase for 2014 as projected by over 500 organisations in India stood at 10 per cent, with a range of 8.8 per cent to 12 per cent across industries.

‘Dil Maange More’ was a terrible choice: Soha Ali Khan

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Soha Ali Khan still cannot figure out why she opted to make her debut with 2004 film `Dil Maange More`, which had three actresses in the lead.

The 35-year-old actress, who was new to Bollywood at that time, said it was a terrible decision.

“I don`t know why I chose to make my debut with `Dil Maange More`