Month: April 2014

Tragedy for the state if India becomes communal: Farooq

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Union Minister and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah today said if India becomes communal it will be a tragedy for the state.

After casting his vote here, he said his previous comments which evoked controversy were from his heart.

“Whatever I had said was from my heart. I have never said anything to get votes. I have placed truth before people. People have to see,” he told reporters.

“If India becomes communal that is a tragedy for the state. That is what we should be afraid of,” Farooq said when asked if Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister after the elections.

4 killed, 1 injured as lorry hits tractor in AP

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Four persons were killed and one was injured when the tractor they were travelling in was hit by a lorry in Andhra Pradesh’s Mahabubnagar district in the wee hours today, police said.

The mishap occurred in the Manopad police station limits around 2 AM.

The lorry, while trying to overtake the tractor, hit it from the rear side, resulting in a boiler on the tractor falling on the victims, they said.

Modi triggers row with conference after vote, EC seeks report

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Narendra Modi today set off a controversy when he openly sought votes for BJP while holding aloft his party’s ‘Lotus’ symbol immediately after casting his ballot, with Congress moving the Election Commission accusing him of model code violation.

Acting swiftly on the complaint, the poll body sought a report from the returning officer.

Anti-smoking TV ads with anger more effective

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Anger works better than sadness in anti-smoking television advertisements that appeal to viewers emotions.

Previous studies had shown that television advertisements that convey negative emotions such as anger and sadness are more effective than non-emotional approaches.

The study examined how viewers process those negative emotions.

To measure the role of emotions in the ads, the team of researchers from Dartmouth College and Cornell University in the US manipulated the expressed emotions of the actor while keeping the story same.

Iraq PM optimistic as elections begin

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Wednesday he is “certain” that his party will win the country’s landmark parliamentary polls.

“Our expectations are great, and our opportunities are greater and our victory is certain, but we are waiting to see the size of our victory,” Maliki told reporters after casting his vote at a polling center in Rasheed Hotel in the heavily fortified Green Zone in downtown Baghdad.

Al-Maliki described the polls as a great success for Iraq despite the withdrawal of US troops from the country in 2011, Xinhua reported.

India’s story is work in progress, still long way to go: PM

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In his farewell speech to the Planning Commission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India’s growth story is “work in progress” and there is still a long way to go.

“India’s development story is a work in progress…But there is a lot of distance that is still to be covered,” he said in his last interaction with members of the Planning Commission.

Singh, who is Chairman of the Commission, made a case for reorienting the body to remain relevant in the globalised world.

IPL’s charm diminishes but CSK most searched team

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It seems election fever and allegations of match-fixing have taken a toll on this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

Google Search trends reveal that this year’s IPL is struggling to match up the interest of the previous year.

The analysis related to the launch week of the cricketing extravaganza showed that there was a loss of interest among the digital audience, Google said in a statement.

Going by the search patterns, IPL-7 doesn’t seem to have taken of well compared to IPL-6, which saw search graphs ticking the peak in initial days of the start of the event.

BJP managed astrologers to propagate ‘wave’ theory: Mayawati

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BSP Supremo Mayawati today dismissed any ‘Modi wave’ in the country saying it is a media hype and that the saffron party has even managed “astrologers” who are propagating such ideas.

After casting her vote here, Mayawati said, “The country is in a mood for change. They want a good government at the centre which works in the interest of people and the country”.

EC asks Gujarat administration to file complaint/FIR against Modi

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Acting tough, the Election Commission today directed the Gujarat administration to file a complaint or FIR against Narendra Modi for violating electoral laws by displaying BJP’s election symbol and making a speech after casting his vote in Gandhinagar.

“The Commission is of the view that by holding that meeting and also by addressing the same today when the polling is going on in the entire state of Gujarat and in different parts of the country, Narendra Modi has violated the provisions of Sections 126 (1)(a) and 126 (l)(b) of R P Act 1951.

Films are not meant to make actresses look beautiful: Kangana

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She played a fashion disaster in ‘Queen’, a style victim in ‘Revolver Rani’ and Kangana Ranaut says she is not scared of stepping into non-glamorous roles if they offer a chance to perform.

The 27-year-old actress, who won the audience’s love and critical acclaim for both of her films, says there is a misconception that heroines should look beautiful on-screen.

“Films are not meant to make people fashion-oriented or glorify their beauty. Films are about good stories and it could be of anyone. It could also be of an ugly girl,” Kangana told PTI in an interview.

Dia Mirza engaged to Sahil Sangha

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Bollywood beauty Dia Mirza has got engaged to her longtime producer boyfriend Sahil Sangha.

Sahil popped the question to the 32-year-old model in New York City and Dia took to Twitter to share the good news with her fans.

“Officially engaged. #NYC,” she posted along with a picture of them.

The couple were in New York to attend one of the award shows and even posed together at the event.

Dia and Sahil also have a production house Born Free Entertainment and co-produced ‘Love Breakups Zindagi’ with actor Zayed Khan.

50 pc polling in Telangana by 1 PM

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Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh where polling is being held simultaneously for 119 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha seats witnessed an impressive turnout of about 50 per cent till 1 PM.

State Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal told reporters that Nizamabad recorded the highest percentage of 57 while Hyderabad recorded lowest turnout of 32.5 per cent, out of the 10 districts where polling is on.

A total of 1,669 candidates are in the fray for 119 Assembly seats while 265 are contesting for the 17 parliamentary seats across Telangana.

Diabetes shrinks brain size and ages it by two years

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Diabetes may cause the brain to shrink and age by up to two years every decade a person has the disease, a first-of-its kind study has warned.

The study also found that, contrary to common clinical belief, diabetes may not be directly associated with small vessel ischemic disease, where the brain does not receive enough oxygenated blood.

“We found that patients having more severe diabetes had less brain tissue, suggesting brain atrophy,” said lead author R Nick Bryan, professor of radiology at the Perleman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

People are seeing ray of hope in Modi: Amit Shah

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Key aide of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, today said people were seeing a ray of hope in the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

Addressing the media after casting his vote in Naranpura area of the city, Shah expressed confidence about BJP’s win.

“There is no doubt in saying that ‘Ab ki baar Modi sarkar’. People are fed up with Congress. They are seeing a ray of hope in Modi,” he said.

Pak cuts off parliament, prime minister’s offices electricity for non- payment of bills

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Pakistan has cut off the electricity supply to several major official buildings for non-payment of bills.

Under the move, the electricity supply has been cut off of parliament, the prime minister’s offices and the president’s official residence.

According to Gulf News, the ‘indiscriminate drive’ was taken by Minister for water and power Abid Sher Ali to recover unpaid bills and warned that all offices and customers who had defaulted would be cut off.

One in four parents allow kids to watch three or more hours of TV

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About 25 percent of parents who have children aged two to five say their children get three or more hours of entertainment screen time a day, well beyond recommended limits, according to a new poll.

In the latest University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, a little more than 50 per cent of those parents do try to set some limits by location: banning media devices from places like the bedroom or at mealtime.

Unfortunate that parties are not reacting to Baba Ramdev’s insulting Dalit remark: Mayawati

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Bahujan Samaj Party ( B SP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday described as unfortunate that parties targetted by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, were not reacting firmly or forcefully to his Dalit remark on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

She said that she could not understand why none of the parties, including the BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were not reacting to Baba Ramdev’s unacceptable remark on Dalits, when it has already been described as being violative of the SC-ST Act and the Indian Penal Code recently.

Dalit boy killed, hanged over affair with girl in Maharashtra

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In a case of dishonour killing, a Dalit boy was killed and then hanged from a tree over his affair with a girl from an upper caste at a village near here.

The 17-year-old-boy was found murdered and hanging from a tree on the night of April 28 near Kanhoba hill, close to Kharda village in the district’s Jamkhed tehsil, sub-divisional police officer Dheeraj Patil said on Wednesday.

Inteqal (30.4.2014)

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Janab Mohd. Ibrahim s/o Mohd. Hussain, retired civil engineer, PWD, died.

Namaz-e-janaza was offered on April 30 at Masjid Salahuddin, Moghalpura after namaz-e-zohar.

Further information can be had on 9849948309 & 9849332806.

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Mohtarma Habeeba Khatoon w/o late Mohiuddin Qureishi died on April 28.

Namaz-e-Janaza was offered on April 29 at Masjid Jahan Ara, Humayun Nagar after namaz-e-zohar followed by burial at qabrastan dargah Yousufain.

Pak calls Modi ‘irresponsible, shameful’ for call to attack Islamabad to bring back Dawood

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Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has called Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s statement regarding attacking Islamabad to bring back bring fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as ‘irresponsible and shameful’.

Modi had said if he wins the elections he would bring Ibrahim to India to be tried for the 1993 blasts in Mumbai.

According to Dawn News, he told a Gujarati news channel on Saturday that the previous administrations had not tried hard enough.

26% polling till 12 noon in Telangana

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12:50 pm: Over 26% polling till 12 noon

ANI reports that 26.96 per cent electorate in the Telangana region had exercised their right to cast votes by 12 noon.

11:00 am: Brisk polling in initial hours

Brisk polling was reported in parts of Telangana in the initial hours of election today.

Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal told reporters that “by 9 am, 15.3 per cent voters had cast their ballots. The polling is going on peacefully at all the polling stations.”

Sensex up 76 pts in early trade on encouraging corp earnings

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The benchmark BSE Sensex recovered 76 points in early trade today on emergence of buying by funds and retail investors on the back of encouraging corporate earnings.

Besides, a firming trend in the global markets also buoyed the trading sentiments here.

The 30-share index, which had lost over 410 points in the previous three sessions, rose by 76.45 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 22,542.64, with stocks of oil & gas, auto, consumer durables, power and FMCG sectors leading the rise.

Chiranjeevi jumps queue, voters not amused

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An embarrassed Union Minister K Chiranjeevi beat a hasty retreat today after a youth objected to his jumping the queue to cast his vote in a polling booth here.

Chiranjeevi, who came with his family, was escorted towards the polling booth sidestepping a long queue of voters.

An agitated youth confronted Chiranjeevi asking him how he has bypassed the queue, saying that people have been waiting for more than 90 minutes for their turn. “Why do you expect special treatment on a day like this,” the youth asked.

“Grave injustice”, a senior citizen complained loudly.

Farhat Khan to launch anti-Modi campaign at Varanasi

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Majlis Bachao Tahreek spokesman and candidate for Yaqutpura assembly constituency will reach Varanasi (Banaras) on May 7 to participate in the campaign against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. He will meet minority and secular voters of Varanasi and will unmask Modi’s true face and appeal to ensure Modi’s defeat.

Majeedullah Khan Farhat told that after as soon as the polling concludes for general elections on April 30, he would leave for Ajmer Dargah on May 5. He would reach Varanasi on May 7 and would return to Hyderabad on May 10.

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