Month: March 2014

Himachal’s afforestation 66 pc short: CAG

by

Himachal Pradesh has carried out afforestation in just 34 percent of the total area where infrastructure projects wiped out green cover in the past six years.

According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), as against the required compensatory afforestation for 8,160.46 hectares in 2006-12, only 2,789.51 hectares were covered during this period.

This has led to a shortfall of 66 percent, said the CAG in a report on the state’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

Egypt cops jailed for 10 years for killing activist

by

An Egyptian criminal court Monday sentenced two policemen to 10 years in jail for killing a political activist in 2010, which resulted in the mass protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, media reported.

Policemen Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Ismail Suleiman were accused of torturing blogger Khaled Said, then 28, to death after illegally arresting him in June 2010 at an internet cafe in the coastal city of Alexandria, Xinhua reported citing state-run Nile TV.

The two defendants were sentenced to seven years in October 2011, but the verdict was appealed against.

Railways to take adequate safety steps on coaches, Kharge

by

Railways has taken a serious note of the Supreme Court notice regarding the issue of sleeper coaches conforming to international safety standards and would take adequate safety measures, Railway Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge today said.

“We have taken note of the Supreme Court notice very seriously, adequate measures will be taken to improve the safety standards,” Kharge told reporters after commissioning the newly laid railway line between Kottur and Harihar.

Sri Lanka post 253/6 against Afghanistan

by

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka scored 253 for six in their Asia Cup match against Bangladesh here today.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka: 253/6 in 50 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 76, Angelo Mathews not out 45; Mirwais Ashraf 2/29).

UAE to help set up strategic petroleum reserve in India

by

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Monday agreed to cooperate for setting up a strategic petroleum reserve in Asia’s third largest economy, in a bid to further strengthen economic relations.

Top leaders of the two countries discussed the possible cooperation at the second meeting of India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments here.

The meeting was co-chaired by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Sons hire contract killer to eliminate 70-year-old father

by

A 70-year-old man was murdered by contract killers allegedly hired for Rs nine lakh by his two sons who suspected him of having an extra-marital affair.

The victim, Om Prakash, was beaten to death on February 18. His sons Rajesh and Neeraj were arrested last night in Indirapuram area here.

The brothers told the police that they were unhappy with Om Prakash for having an extra-marital affair and an extravagant lifestyle. They said their mother was also upset with Om Prakash’s habits.

Police have also arrested Rajesh’s brother-in-law Sunil in connection with the murder.

Father held for killing baby daughter in Odisha

by

A tribal farmer was arrested and sent to jail for allegedly killing his two-month-old daughter here, police said.

Francis (30) allegedly killed his baby girl on Saturday at his residence in the Birsa Police Station area and then tried to escape when his wife raised an alarm following which locals caught him and took to the police station where he was arrested, police said.

The farmer, his wife Ameni alleged, has been threatening to kill the baby girl, their second child, since her birth because he always wanted a boy, they said.

Shraddha Kapoor bombarded with b’day wishes on Twitter

by

Shraddha Kapoor has been flooded with birthday tweets as she turns 22 today.

Fans of the ‘Aashiqui 2’ star have been congratulating her on Twitter since morning.

The 22-year-old actress is the daughter of Shakti Kapoor, one of the leading villains in Bollywood movies for more than 30 years.

Born on March 3, 1992, Shraddha has gradually made her presence felt in Bollywood. She made her debut with the movie ‘Teen Patti’ alongside Amitabh Bachchan. (ANI)

PM’s wish to visit his birth place in Pak may not materialise

by

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wish to visit his birth place in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where he was born over 81 years ago, may not materialise before the end of his tenure.

Asked whether Singh will be able to squeeze in a trip to Pakistan before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Indian officials said: “We haven’t got anything planned”.

Singh was born in Gah village on September 26, 1932.

Thought industry will shut down without me, says Juhi Chawla

by

Actress Juhi Chawla says she turned down a lot of big film offers at the peak of her career as she thought the industry would shut down without her.

“When you were at your peak, you stop taking chances, you become indispensable and think that without you the industry will shut down as you are young and successful. You make foolish decisions. I did not do couple of films which then became blockbusters,” Juhi said.

The actress revealed that she had refused films like ‘Raja Hindustani’, ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’, ‘Judaai’ among others.

Performance in Zoya’s film will surprise my fans: Ranveer

by

Actor Ranveer Singh says he is excited to be working with Zoya Akhtar and his performance in the film will surprise everyone.

“I am super excited to work with Zoya as I believe she’s one of the most talented directors in the industry. Moreover it’s a part that really pushes me as an actor and gives me a chance to showcase an aspect of my performance that will surprise my fans,” he said.

Ranveer plays the main lead in the film, which is reportedly titled ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’.

Want to see Narendra Modi as PM: Paswan

by

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said that he wants to see Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi becoming the prime minister of the country.

“You (crowd) are here not only to welcome Narendra Modi, but to strengthen the NDA and bring a change in nation under his leadership. I want to see Narendra bhai as the future prime minister,” Paswan said while addressing a rally here.

“There’s huge turnout here at the rally. I see this huge turnout as commitment to ensure Narendra Modi and the BJP wins in national elections,” he added.

27 children missing in Muzaffarnagar

by

Thirty-three children went missing in Muzaffaranagar district since 2007 and only six of them have been found, police said today.

SSP HN Singh said police had registered complaints in 33 cases of missing children since 2007 and resolved six cases. They could not trace rest 27.

Out of these 33 children, two went missing during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Efforts are being made to trace them, he said.

Singh also directed the special cell, built specifically to look into the missing complaints, to expedite investigations in the remaining cases.

‘Sick’ Sehwag pulls out, confusion in Delhi camp

by

Out of favour Indian opener Virender Sehwag today pulled out of Delhi’s Vijay Hazare Trophy (North Zone leg) match against Himachal Pradesh here amid speculation that the decision was prompted by poor form.

While the official reason given was “sickness”, it is widely believed in Delhi’s cricket fraternity that Sehwag has finally taken a break due to poor form.

“Sehwag has cough and cold problems and that’s why he has decided to opt out of this game. He also reported of feverish feeling,” Chetan Chauhan, chairman of the selection committee told PTI.

Farooq denies reports about his ‘maha chor’ comment

by

Refuting reports about his remark over people of Kashmir, whom he allegedly dubbed as ‘maha chor’, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah today said he was misquoted by the media.

“Kashmiri (people of Kashmir) are not only thieves, but maha chor (biggest thieves),” Farooq had said at a function in Delhi yesterday over the issue of power theft in the country.

“I had never said that Kashmiris are maha chor (big thieves),” the Union Minister today told reporters here.

Women have more resilient brains: study

by

Women are able to carry higher levels of genetic defects without getting brain development disorders such as autism, a new study has found.

The study provides compelling evidence in support of the “female protective model”, which proposes that women require more extreme genetic mutations than do males to push them over the diagnostic threshold for neurodevelopmental disorders, researchers said.

No hand in Islamabad court attack: Pakistani Taliban

by

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has said that is had no hand in the attack on an Islamabad court Monday that claimed 11 lives, including that of a judge.

A TTP spokesman, speaking to media from an undisclosed location, said that the outfit had nothing to do with the two suicide attacks since it had announced a month-long ceasefire to resume peace talks with the government, The News International reported.

He said that all the groups operating under the umbrella of the TTP were obliged to follow the orders of Taliban’s chief Mullah Fazlullah.

India’s work ethic has been pretty abysmal: Gavaskar

by

A livid Sunil Gavaskar has hit out at the Indian cricket team, saying the lack of a work ethic had let it down in the ongoing Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

The former India captain came down hard on the team following its one-wicket loss to Pakistan Sunday night in a close encounter at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The second consecutive loss has hampered India’s chances of a place in the final.

Stop criticising Afridi now: Qadir

by

Legendary Pakistan spinner Abdul Qadir feels maverick allrounder Shahid Afridi has faced unwarranted criticism throughout his career but now the fault-finding should stop following his heroics against India in Asia Cup yesterday.

“I have always said that Afridi is a three-in-one player who can bat, bowl and field well. He has faced unnecessary criticism and I feel that being a senior player he deserves respect. He should be allowed to play till he enjoys his game,” Qadir told PTI Bhasha.

Diabetes, obesity more common in poor regions: Study

by

The place where you live can increase the risk of developing diabetes and obesity with the risks being more if you are living in socio-economically deprived regions, claims a new research.

And it holds true in spite of your own individual social status.

“Regional factors, such as the population’s average income, unemployment or quality of living and environment can affect the health of all inhabitants, regardless of the educational level of the individual people,” said Werner Maier from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (HMGU) institute in Germany.

Defamation case against Modi dismissed

by

A court here Monday dismissed a defamation complaint against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and others filed by former Gujarat Police chief R.B. Sreekumar.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain dismissed the complaint after observing that neither the complainant nor his counsel appeared for the hearing despite repeated calls since morning.

The court noted that Sreekumar did not appear in the court in the previous hearing too.

“Complainant is not interested, not willing to pursue his matter… as such the present complaint is dismissed,” said the judge.

Yes, I’ve been offered ‘Jurassic Park 4’: Irrfan

by

After being part of the “Spiderman” franchise, acclaimed Indian actor Irrfan has now hopped on to the “Jurassic” brand, but the actor is yet to sign on the dotted line.

“Yes I’ve been offered ‘Jurassic Park 4’. But at the moment I cannot reveal any more details,” said Irrfan.

The franchise will be directed by Colin Trevorrow.

A friend of the actor revealed that the role is one of the three principal leads in “Jurassic Park”.