Month: March 2014

SC sends Sahara chief Subrata Roy, two directors to jail

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The Supreme Court Tuesday sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy and two of his directors to police custody till they presented the court an acceptable concrete proposal to return investors’ balance of Rs.19,000 crore that they had collected through optionally fully-convertible debentures.

The raising of funds through optionally fully-convertible debentures was done by two companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corp. Ltd. and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd.

Nitish rules out possibility of JD(U), Cong alliance

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Amid speculations about chance of Congress going with JD(U) instead of RJD, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today categorically ruled out this possibility and said even a last minute decision on special category status to the state could not pave way for such tie up.

“Its baseless speculation… there is no truth in this,” Kumar told reporters ruling out any chance of alliance with Congress if it agrees to provide special category status to Bihar to pave way for the tie-up.

Relationship with India is important: US

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US Secretary of State John Kerry has sent a message to India that ties between the two nations were “important” and he wants to move past the differences which recently arose over the arrest of an Indian diplomat.

“The Secretary is sending with her (the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal) a message that this relationship is important,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters during a conference call.

India outlaws two-finger test on rape victims

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The Union Health Ministry, which has drawn new guidelines for treating rape victims, has asked all hospitals to set up a designated room for forensic and medical examination of victims besides outlawing the two-finger test performed on them, dubbing it as unscientific.

IVRCL bags orders worth over Rs 2600 crore in AP, Karnataka

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Infrastructure major IVRCL Limited has bagged orders worth Rs 2,633 crore in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The company’s irrigation division has secured orders worth Rs 2,492 crore while the water division’s orders stood at Rs 140.85 crore, IVRCL said in a filing with the BSE.

Majority of the orders were awarded by Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited and Krishna Bhagya Jala Space Nigam Limited.

IVRCL said the Andhra Pradesh government has awarded works under the Chittor District Water Supply Programme Phase-I to its water division.

New school under Indian curriculum launched in Dubai

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A new school that follows the CBSE curriculum and has a strong focus on Indian culture and values in its pedagogy, has been launched here.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley shared the stage on Saturday, on the occasion of the launch of the Bilva Indian School, the newest entrant in Dubai’s academic horizon.

The School, spanning over 2,40,000 square feet, with a capacity to cater to more than 3,000 students, opened its state-of-the-art campus, it was announced yesterday.

Actor Ravi Teja’s brother held for misbehaving with police

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Tollywood actor Ravi Teja’s brother Bharat was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with police in the wee hours today.

He was produced in a local court which granted him bail after he completed formalities such as submitting sureties and bonds, police said.

According to Madhapur police, Bharat was in an inebriated condition when his car was stopped as part of routine check during wee hours.

After a breath analyser test, police found that Bharat had consumed alcohol beyond the permissible limit.

Three AP men killed in mishap

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Three contract workers, hailing from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, were killed and one injured today after a tanker-lorry hit them when they were filling sand on a road median here, police said.

While two persons died on the spot,another succumbed to injuries at the government general hospital.

The mishap occurred near the Ambica Empire hotel junction at Vadapalani when the driver of the fuel tanker-lorry lost control of the vehicle and hit the workers, police said.

Another worker suffered minor injuries, police said, adding, the driver was ‘half-asleep’.

Iran says all 4 crew members died in plane crash

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Iran says all four crew members aboard a small plane that crashed in the Persian Gulf were killed in the incident.

The official IRNA news agency says the Falcon 20, which belonged to the State Aviation Organization, was on a test flight when it crashed late yesterday off Kish Island, a well-known tourist resort.

The agency says all four bodies were recovered and the crash is being investigated. Earlier, IRNA reported there were five on board but later corrected the number.

Iran has had a history of air accidents, often blamed on poorly maintained planes.

Mulayam gives 10-day ultimatum to SP ministers to ‘mend’ ways

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With elections fast approaching, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday gave a 10-day ultimatum to party ministers and babus in UP to “mend their ways” or face the sack and even ticked off his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav asking him to keep distance from “sycophants”.

Addressing a gathering at CM’s 5 Kalidas Marg residence here, Mulayam, while pointing at cabinet minister Mohd Azam Khan, said, “In your government, sycophants are ruling the roost” and added that the state government was “weakening” the party with its performance.

If someone benefited from October serial blasts in Bihar, it was Modi: Nitish Kumar

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that if someone benefitted from the serial blasts in Bihar in October last year, it was Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and that he was communalizing terrorist attacks.

“Terrorism is a threat to the whole nation, but there are certain people who want to take an advantage of it. Who was benefited with Patna blasts? Modi did, as the incident made him fall into the eyes of people, he got noticed. But who has suffered from it?” asked Kumar.

WhatsApp founders in Forbes’ global billionaires list

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Following Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, the two founders of the popular mobile messaging service have now earned a new distinction – a place in the Forbes’s list of global billionaires.

According to Forbes, 38-year-old Jan Koum, who ranks 202 in the list, is now worth $6.8 billion and 42-year-old Brian Acton (rank 551) is worth $3 billion.

Run by just 55 employees, WhatsApp has over 450 million active users.

Koum and Acton are among 26 newcomers who made it fresh to the annual list, alongside Twitter’s Evan Williams, who has a fortune of $3 billion.

Egypt court bans Palestinian Hamas group

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An Egyptian court today banned the activities of the Palestinian militant Hamas group that rules the neighbouring Gaza Strip and ordered its assets seized, a judicial source said.

Hamas denounced the move, which it said “serves the (Israeli) occupation.”

Egyptian officials have accused Hamas of plotting with deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement to carry out “terror attacks” in the country.

Chouhan threatens to call strike if centre fails to give relief package to MP

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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Tuesday threatened a state-wide strike if the Central Government failed to accede to his demand for a relief package for farmers, who suffered massive loss of rabi crop due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm.

“They are not at all sensitive. Even after he visits a number of times, the PM has refused to meet the chief minister. This is intolerable. It is against the spirit of the ideology of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is against democracy.

Sensex rebounds 263 points as tension in Ukraine said to ease

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The benchmark Sensex today rebounded 263 points, clocking its best daily gain in 7 weeks, led by metal, banking and capital goods shares as global investor sentiment improved on reports that tension between Russia and Ukraine appeared to be easing.

After falling 173 points in the previous session, the BSE Sensex shot up by 263.08 points, or 1.26 per cent, to end at 21,209.73, a level last seen on January 23. Today’s gain was the best rise since 375.72-point jump on January 13.

Third Front is unviable ‘tired front’, says Mamata

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Mamata Banerjee is unfazed by her exclusion in the recently-formed Third Front which she rubbishes as an unviable “tired front” and is confident that a different kind of Federal Front will rule the country after the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo is also keeping open the option of whether she is a contender for the prime ministership, saying “people will decide”.

She ruled out any truck with Congress or BJP and hoped that people would “reward” her party “abundantly” in the polls.

CPI(M) slams BJP for taking back Kalyan Singh, Yedyurappa

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Terming former chief ministers Kalyan Singh and B S Yeddyurappa as a “deadly cocktail of corruption and communalism”, CPI(M) today said the duo’s return to BJP shows its blueprint for future India.

“Kalyan Singh & Yedyurappa back in BJP — deadly cocktail of corruption and communalism. BJP’s blueprint for India’s future,” CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted in the micro-blogging website twitter.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh rejoined BJP on Sunday and was appointed as its national vice president, marking his rehabilitation in the party.

My success gave hope to Pak people for working in India: Ali

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Pakistani actor-singer Ali Zafar says after his first Hindi film got good response, people of Pakistan realised that it was possible for artists from the neighbouring nation to make it big in India.

Ali made his acting debut in Hindi films in 2010 with ‘Tere Bin Laden’, which was a hit. He was later seen in ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’, ‘London, Paris, New York’ and ‘Chashme Baddoor’.

Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor to attract Rs.1 lakh crore investment

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The proposed industrial corridor between Visakhapatnam and Chennai is likely to attract an investment of Rs.1 lakh crore in 10 to 15 years, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said Tuesday.

The corridor, on the lines of the Delhi-Mumbai corridor, is one of the several sops offered by the central government to Seemandhra to protect its interests following the formation of separate Telangana state.

Ramesh told reporters here that the corridor is one of the key components of the special package for Seemandhra included in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganistaion Act.

Won’t be able to provide security to IPL matches: Shinde

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The Government today reiterated that it will not be able to provide security to this year’s Indian Premier League as its dates clash with general elections.

“We have conveyed to the BCCI that we will not be able to provide security to IPL matches. Our forces will be deployed for security of Lok Sabha elections. So, how we can give them forces,” Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters here.

Pak man hands over 3 sons to Hafiz Saeed for ‘jihad’

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A Pakistani man has handed over his three young sons to Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed for ‘jihad’.

Abu Haider, a JuD activist, handed over his three sons to Saeed at a workers’ convention yesterday in Nankana Sahib, about 80 kilometres from Lahore.

“I hand over my three young sons to you for jihad (holy war). They will be now on your hands in your struggle,” Haider said.

Saeed appreciated Haider’s act and called him a “brave father”.

“Jihad is never waged against Muslims. It is against infidels. The infighting among Muslims is not jihad from any one group,” Saeed said.

Nitish questions Paswan’s new love for Narendra Modi

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Attacking LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan for praising Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today asked if he was not the same leader who had introduced himself to then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as one who left NDA over the 2002 Godhra riots.

“Paswan needs to tell people the truth about his quitting NDA government, whether it was on the question of change of his ministerial portfolio or the Gujarat riots?” Kumar told reporters here.

“A person who missed no chance to criticise Narendra Modi after walking out of NDA is today lavishly praising him,” he said.

No question of alliance with Congress: Nitish Kumar

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday said there is “no question” of an alliance between his party Janata Dal-United and the Congress, ending speculations in this regard.

“There is no question of an alliance between JD-U and the Congress,” Nitish Kumar told mediapersons here.

“We (JD-U) have already joined hands with the Left parties, including CPI, to contest polls in the state. How can we have an alliance with the Congress,” Nitish Kumar said.

He also denied that JD-U leaders had met Congress leaders on the issue.

App that helps you relieve while on the road!

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Here comes an App that aims to flush public urination!

To help the estimated one million people who attend Mardis Gras parades in New Orleans each year in March, entrepreneurs Max Gaudin and Travis Laurendine have created ‘Airpnp’.

Residents and businesses along parade routes can rent out their bathrooms or portable toilets for a small fee of $2 to $5 per visit.

“All of those people are filling up with beer and that needs to go somewhere ultimately,” Gaudin was quoted as saying.

200-year-long drought wiped out Indus Valley: Study

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In a ground-breaking discovery led by an Indian-origin palaeoclimatologist, researchers have found that a 200-year-long monster drought nearly 4,200 years ago doomed the Indus Valley civilisation in present Pakistan and northwest India.

Based on isotope data from the sediment of an ancient lake, the researchers suggest that the monsoon cycle, which is vital to the livelihood of all of South Asia, essentially stopped there for as long as two centuries to wipe out the Indus Valley civilisation — also knows as the Harappan civilisation.