Month: March 2014

Telangana bill put on Home Ministry’s website

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The Union Home Ministry has put the 71-page AP State Reorganisation Bill 2013 gazette notification in its website after the President gave assent to the bill. However, there was no mention of “appointed day” in the gazette since it has not yet decided. The President appended his signatures on the bill as well as ordinance on imposition of President rule in Andhra Pradesh placing the State Assembly under suspended animation.

Petrol Bunks strike

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Petrol Bunks remained closed yesterday as a protest against the actions taken by the Dept. of Weights and Measures to seal 24 Petrol Bunks who were giving less petrol to the consumers. It is learnt that the Petrol Bunk owners will hold a meeting with the officials of Civil Supplies and Weights and Measures Dept. There were complaints that some of the petrol bunks were tampering the machines and supplying less petrol to the consumers. Fines were imposed to these petrol bunks.

–Siasat News

Moon was seen yesterday

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A meeting of Central Committee for sighting the Moon was held yesterday at Husaini Building , Mozzamjahi Market. Since the Sky was cloudy, Moon could not be sighted in Hyderabad but the news of sighting the Moon was received from Delhi, Rajkot (Gujrath), Mahboob Nagar, Tandoor, Adhoni, Phulwari Shareef (Bihar) etc and hence on the basis of these news, the committee announces that Monday 3rd March will be first Jamadil Awal 1435. Maulana Khubool Pasha Qadri, Mufti Mohammed Azeemuddin, Mufti Khaleel Ahmed and others attended the meeting.

For Hajj volunteers applications invited

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Prof. S.A. Shukoor, Special Officer of APS Hajj Committee has invited applications from the Muslim employees working in Govt. and Private Sector establishments to offer their services as volunteers for the Hajj season of 2014.

Candidate should be 25-50 years and they should submit their applications before 31st March. Senior officers are not eligible. For every 300 Hajj pilgrims one Hajj Volunteer will be provided.

Earthquake hits off Japan at magnitude 6.7

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An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted a part of Japan Sunday evening, the US Geological Survey said. No tsunami, however, was predicted.

The temblor struck 110km NNW of Nago, a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, at 8.11 GMT Sunday, Xinhua reported.

The quake’s epicentre, having a depth of 112.34 km, was initially determined to be at 27.4194 degrees north latitude and 127.3648 degrees east longtitude, the National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

–IANS

Maulana held for molesting girls at his Arabic class

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A 35-year-old Arabic teacher, attached to a local mosque in suburban Wadala here, was arrested for allegedly molesting three minor girls.

Maulana Kadri conducted special Arabic classes and around 70 girls were his students, police said.

“Yesterday, three girls approached us and lodged a complaint stating Kadri had molested them on several occasions in the past,” said an official with Wadala TT police station.

The girls also alleged that Kadri had told them to stay at the place overnight.

Union minister warns Rahul against ‘primary system’ in UP

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Rahul Gandhi’s experiment of selecting candidates through primary system will not work in Uttar Pradesh, a senior party leader from the state today said and claimed that the party’s campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls was not on the right track in the state.

Union minister Beni Prasad Verma said Congress will win as many as 50 seats if tickets are distributed properly and “campaigning is done properly.

Lalu asks Sonia to forge alliance in Bihar

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RJD chief Lalu Prasad Sunday appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to finalise an alliance with his party to prevent a victory of “communal forces” in the Lok Sabha polls.

“I would like to appeal to Sonia Gandhi to have faith in us and finalise an alliance to battle communal forces in the election,” Lalu Prasad told the media.

Lalu Prasad said the main responsibility of forming an alliance lay with the Congress as it was a big party.

“The Congress should understand that if it failed to ally with the RJD, it will give advantage to the opposite camp.”

JNU scholar arrested for rape

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A 25-year-old PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here has been arrested for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old sister-in-law, police said Sunday.

The scholar was arrested Saturday night after his minor sister-in-law alleged she has been sexually assaulted by him for the past few years.

Police said the girl, who lived with the scholar, was taken to a hospital Saturday evening after she complained of stomach ache.

In a medical check-up, she was found to be two months pregnant.

The doctors informed police and the accused was arrested.

Pakistan suspends air strikes after Taliban ceasefire

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Pakistan Sunday announced it was suspending air strikes against the Taliban, a day after they announced a unilateral one-month ceasefire.

Air strikes on Taliban positions were launched last month in Waziristan and Khyber regions following militant attacks and a deadlock in the peace process. Military officials said the air strikes had killed dozens of militants.

“The government has decided to suspend air strikes after the Taliban’s unconditional ceasefire,” Xinhua quoted Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan as saying.

We were 20-30 runs short: Kohli

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India skipper Virat Kohli admitted that his team was 20-30 runs short after Pakistan clinched a one-wicket thriller in the Asia Cup here Sunday.

Kohli said he was proud of his boys and praised the young bowlers for their performance.

“The guys put in a good effort after a modset total. Not letting them get used to one bowler was the idea says Virat Kohli. (Amit) Mishra was getting it to turn and I kept him for the end. (Ravichandran) Ashwin was confident of bowling in the death as well,” said Kohli.

The Delhi boy feels the match could have gone either way.

Kerry condemns Russian aggression against Ukraine

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US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday denounced Russia’s “incredible act of aggression” against Ukraine, suggesting a set of sanctions in response.

The top American envoy called on Russia to consider other options to address its concerns about the treatment of ethnic Russian and minority populations in Ukraine, echoing a message broached by US President Barack Obama in his 90-minute talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone a day ago.

Pakistan condemns terrorist attack in China

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Pakistan Sunday strongly condemned the barbaric terrorist attack at a train station in China’s Yunnan province and extended all cooperation to Beijing in “combating the menace”.

“Being themselves victims of terrorism, the people of Pakistan fully understand and share the pain of the people of China,” Xinhua quoted Pakistan foreign ministry as saying.

NATO chief blames Russia of threatening European security

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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Sunday accused Russia of “threatening peace and security in Europe”.

“What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations Charter. It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and its threats,” Xinhua quoting Rasmussen as saying before the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Brussels.

China urges political solution to Ukraine situation

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Expressing deep concern, China Sunday urged all sides involved in the Ukraine situation to comply with international law and seek a political solution to their disputes through dialogue and negotiations.

“China is deeply concerned with the current Ukraine situation,” Xinhua quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang as saying while responding to a question on China’s stance after Russia’s upper house of parliament authorised President Vladimir Putin to use military force in Ukrainian territory.

EU condemns terrorist attacks in China

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EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Sunday condemned the Kunming terrorist attacks and sent condolences to the victims’ families.

“The High Representative is appalled by the reports she has received of the significant loss of life and the many casualties caused by a mass knife attack that took place at Kunming train station in China yesterday,” Xinhua quoted Ashton’s spokesman Sebastien Brabant as saying.

“There is never any justification for such heinous crimes,” said the spokesman.

Sonia to host dinner for Cong MPs tomorrow

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be hosting a dinner for party MPs tomorrow ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha poll schedule this week.

Several Union ministers and party office bearers are expected to attend the dinner.

The interaction during the gathering is significant as Congress is facing a difficult election.

In the just-concluded Winter Session of the Parliament, the last of the 15th Lok Sabha, Gandhi was unable to have an interaction with party MPs, as there was no valedictory dinner meeting of the Parliamentary Party.

Abu Dhabi’s TAQA acquires Jaypee’s hydro plants

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A consortium led by TAQA, an Abu Dhabi-based energy and water company, has agreed to acquire two hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh from Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd., a statement said here Sunday.

The consortium agreed to purchase the Baspa Stage II and Karcham Wangtoo plants, an official statement by TAQA said.

TAQA, which holds a 51 percent stake in the consortium, will have control of operations and management of both facilities.

Tata’s Jaguar Land Rover to invest $167 mn in Saudi plant

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Tata Motors-owned luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover is likely to invest 100 million pounds ($167.4 million) in a new plant in the Gulf kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The company is likely to produce 100,000 cars a year from the proposed facility in Saudi Arabia to meet the booming demand in the Middle East, The Sunday Times reported.

Addressing an India-Saudi Arabia Business Forum meeting here recently, Saudi Arabia Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfig Fawzan Alrabiah had said the plant would be located in eastern province of kingdom.

‘We don’t mind the filth, we will continue to live here’

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“We don’t mind the filth, we will continue to live here”, say residents of Kathputli Colony, a slum settlement of puppeteers, folk musicians and entertainers who live in abject squalor and filth.

“I know this place is filthy, but this is where I have grown up and I do not mind staying here,” Deepak Bhat, a 22-year-old qawwali singer, who calls the Kathputli Colony in west Delhi his home, told IANS.

New dating app for lesbians launched in San Francisco

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In an attempt to help lesbians, bisexual and/or bi-curious women find love, a new dating app, dubbed Dattch, has been launched in San Francisco. According to TechCrunch, Dattch can be compared with Pinterest in user interface as it focuses on user’s photos like snaps of where they live, what they wear or what they like.