Month: May 2014

43 injured in China quake

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A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted a county in China’s Yunnan province Friday, injuring 43 people and forcing the evacuation of 35,000 people.

The quake hit Yingjiang county under Dai-Jingpo autonomous prefecture of Dehong at 9:20 a.m., Xinhua quoted the China Earthquake Networks Centre as saying.

Tremors were strongly felt in the county, where residents rushed to open areas.

Of the 150,000 residents in 15 townships affected, 35,000 have been relocated to safety zones, said Wang Junqiang, the Communist Party chief of Dehong prefecture.

16th Lok Sabha’s first session to begin June 4

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The first session of the 16th Lok Sabha will commence June 4 and conclude June 11, according to an official release.

It said that President Pranab Mukherjee will address both houses of parliament assembled together in parliament’s Central Hall June 9 at 11 a.m.

“Subject to exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude June 11,” said the release issued by Lok Sabha secretariat.

–IANS

Indians advised to leave dangerous regions in Ukraine

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The Indian embassy in Kiev Friday advised Indians, especially students, to leave Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions in view of the deteriorating security situation.

“In view of the security situation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine marked by frequent violent clashes, Indian citizens, particularly students, are strongly advised to leave these regions as soon as possible,” said the statement issued by the Indian embassy.

The statement advised Indian citizens in other parts of eastern and southern Ukraine “to remain vigilant about their personal safety and security.

Four minority institutions in Delhi exempted from OBC quota

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The Delhi High Court Friday exempted four minority colleges of Delhi University from reserving 27 percent seats for students from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for the 2014-15 academic year.

Justice Manmohan passed the order while hearing a plea filed by Mata Sundari College seeking exemption from the OBC quota as it was minority-run institution.

Naidu invites PM to his swearing-in ceremony

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him to his swearing-in ceremony on June 8.

“I have invited the Prime Minister for the swearing-in ceremony, which is going to take place on June 8 at a place between Vijaywada and Guntur in Guntur district of Seemandhra,” Naidu said.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled at around 7:20 PM.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra writes to SPG director seeking removal of airport privileges

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi on Friday wrote a letter to the Director of Special Protection Group (SPG), asking for withdrawal of special airport exemptions provided to her and family.

42-year-old Priyanka and her husband, Robert Vadra, are currently on a list of VIPs which permits them skip security checks at airports within India.

However, the SPG sources said they will consult intelligence agencies over removing privileges to Priyanka and Robert Vadra at airports.

BSP will not contest bye-elections on 12 seats in UP: Mayawati

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BSP will not contest bye-elections on 12 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and instead prepare for mid-term polls as the Akhilesh Yadav government “might fall within a year”, party supremo Mayawati said on Friday.

“We will do preparations for Assembly polls. There is a possibility that this (SP) government may fall within a year and mid-term polls will be held,” told reporters in Lucknow.

Mayawati said that at present she would stay in Delhi and strengthen the party in the states where elections are due in the next two years.

Modi’s ‘Ten Commandments’ agenda no vision of BJP govt: Cong

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Congress today sarcastically dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 10-point agenda as “Ten Commandments” saying it was just an “extraordinary jumble” and has nothing to write home about the BJP government’s vision.

“We have been waiting for a vision from the BJP government, we have instead been rewarded with diversion of the Ten Commandments… This 10-point agenda. I have been taken aback by the extraordinary jumble they have inflicted upon the nation”, party spokesman Shashi Tharoor told reporters.

Obama: Clinton would be a very effective president

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President Barack Obama says Hillary Clinton would be a very effective president if she decides to run.

Obama says in a television interview that he and Clinton are “buddies” and he’s long admired her.

They fought in the long-running 2008 primary for the Democratic presidential nomination. But Obama says she couldn’t have been more effective and loyal as his secretary of state.

The president says he’s been blessed to have her work for him, along with Vice President Joe Biden and his chief of staff Denis McDonough.

‘Clamour within Congress for making Rahul leader of opposition’

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There is growing clamour within the Congress to have party vice president Rahul Gandhi assume the position of leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, a former minister said Friday.

While party president Sonia Gandhi remained the first choice for the position, “it will be reasonable for her to say that she will take care of the over-all functioning of the party in parliament by supervising the leaders of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” said the minister, who did not want to be named.

Gujarat’s ‘encounter cop’ Vanzara to retire in jail

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IPS officer DG Vanzara, who is behind the bars in connection with fake encounter cases, will retire on Saturday.

After serving for 34 years, the suspended officer who is in jail for the last seven years will retire. He is lodged in Sabarmati Central Prison.

“We are aware that he is retiring on May 31. However, there is no farewell program for him on his last day of service,” said a senior prison official.

2G case: Balwa fined Rs.1 lakh for wasting court’s time

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Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, was fined Rs.1 lakh by a court here Friday for his “nefarious conduct” and wasting the court’s time.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini, however, allowed Balwa’s plea to record his fresh statement in the case after considering his apology.

Modi to meet BJP general secretaries tomorrow

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet BJP general secretaries tomorrow at his residence to discuss organisational affairs and ensure that the party does not become incautious in the wake of good showing in the Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, the reason behind Modi’s meeting with the party general secretaries is an attempt to ensure that organisational strength is not weakened in the wake of massive mandate.

Obama discloses daughter attended 1st formal dance

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A teenage rite of passage has come through the White House, with President Barack Obama disclosing daughter Malia recently attended her first prom, the formal end-of-year dance of US high school students. Obama wouldn’t say whether his older daughter had a date or went with friends. He joked it’s “classified information” during an interview aired today on the talk show “Live! With Kelly and Michael.”

But the president says he doesn’t think he had been too intimidating for any boy who might roll up to the White House

Indian jailed for molesting passenger in UAE

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An Indian bus driver in the UAE has been sentenced to six months in prison for molesting a 38-year-old woman passenger.

The Court of First Instance found the defendant guilty of molestation charge. The incident happened May 3 last year in
Al Muraqqabat area in Dubai, the Khaleej Times reported. The Egyptian complainant said the accused told her to stand next to him as there were no vacant seats in the bus.

‘Talk of leadership changes in Maharashtra Congress speculation’

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Congress leaders in Maharashtra Friday scoffed at speculations that a plan for leadership change in both the government and the state party unit was in the offing following its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The issue arose after a meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and others with state Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and state party chief Manikrao Thakre in New Delhi Friday.

General insurers log 6 percent growth in April, IRDA silent on life insurers

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The 28 players in the Indian general insurance sector kicked off the new fiscal 2014-15 with 6.73 percent growth in April, said the insurance regulator Firday.

However, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) remained silent on the business performance of the life insurers.

According to the business figures released by the IRDA, the general insurers booked a total premium of Rs.8,421.45 crore last month — up from Rs.7,890.41 crore earned during April 2013.

Bangladesh, Myanmar forces trade fire along border

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Bangladesh and Myanmar border forces exchanged gunfire Friday evening for nearly an hour, bdnews24.com reported.

The firing began at Bandarban’s Naikhangchharhi around 4 p.m. and lasted for about 45 minutes, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed was quoted as saying.

No casualty has been reported so far.

Tension has been brewing up along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border since Wednesday night when Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) reportedly opened fire at BGB patrol teams at a Rohingya refugee camp near the border.

Modi meets several governors, ministers

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a stream of visitors Friday that included governors of four states and several cabinet ministers.

“Today Honourable Governors of several states and Ministers called on Prime Minister @narendramodi at South Block,” tweeted the prime minister’s office.

Ex-Andhra player Satya Prasad is manager for Bangladesh tour

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Former Andhra Pradesh Ranji Trophy player and member of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) Satya Prasad Yachendra was today appointed as the manager of the Indian team touring Bangladesh in mid-June.

ACA president Subba Rao, honorary general secretary Ganga Raju and memebers of the state association congratulated Satya Prasad, who is a member from Venkatagiri, and wished him all the best for his assignment.

PM’s constituency being deprived of power in UP: Gen VK Singh

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Union Minister Gen VK Singh today raised the problem of long power cuts and load shedding in Uttar Pradesh, including the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked Power Ministry to convene a meeting with the state government to solve the problem.

“I am representing Ghaziabad in UP and for the last four days, I have been receiving complaints about load shedding or interrupted power supply for long hours there.

Cut-off age for cabinet ministers unreasonable: Shatrughan Sinha

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BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to not include leaders over 75 years of age in his cabinet.

“I don’t agree with this age of 75 being a cut-off age. Experience and ability can go together. There are senior leaders in the party who are sharper than the ones who are aged 45. Due to some reasons they have not got the post which they deserved,” Sinha told CNN-IBN news channel in an exclusive interview.

AP government gives permission to prosecute MIM leader

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Andhra Pradesh government gave permission to prosecute All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi today, in a 2004 case for an alleged hate speech.

Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin had allegedly made “communally inciting speeches” in 2004 public meetings during elections.

Pak cricketers administered anti-polio drops

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Pakistani cricketers were administrated anti-polio drops today in Lahore as Pakistan struggles to deal with the World Health Organization travel restrictions imposed on the country due to its failure to control the spread of the deadly disease. The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement that the players had taken the anti-polio vaccine drops to support the UNICEF’s polio immunization programme and to create awareness about the devastating impact of the virus but a source said the drops were also administrated since the Pakistan team has to travel in late July to Sri Lanka.