Month: May 2014

TDP demands Bharat Ratna for NTR

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The TDP Wednesday urged the NDA government, of which it is a constituent, to confer the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civil award, on party founder and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) passed a resolution at its ‘Mahanadu’ or the annual conclave here to demand the highest civilian award for the actor-turned-politician.

Addressing the ‘Mahanadu’, party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu said NTR, as the late TDP founder was popularly known, deserved the award for his contribution to cinema and politics and also his services to the nation.

Prez rule in Telangana to be revoked on Jun 2;to continue in AP

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The President’s rule imposed in united Andhra Pradesh on June 2 will be revoked partially to facilitate the swearing-in of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao as Chief Minister of Telangana but it will continue in Seemandhra till TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu takes charge a week later.

Hectic activities have been going on in the Union Home Ministry and in Andhra Pradesh government for division of the
state smoothly on June 2, the appointed day, official sources said.

A notification is expected to be issued in the morning of June 2 revoking the President’s rule in Telangana to

Rohatgi appointed attorney general

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The Narendra Modi government Wednesday appointed senior Supreme Court counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the Gujarat government in several 2002 post-Godhra riot-related cases, as attorney general of India.

He succeeds G.E. Vahanvati who resigned following the rout of the Congress-led UPA in the 2014 general election.

‘Missing Bengal woman mountaineer, sherpas suffered fall’

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Nine days after West Bengal’s woman mountaineer Chhanda Gayen and two of her sherpas went missing in a deadly avalanche on Mt Kanchenjunga West, an expedition member Wednesday said the three fell while climbing in inclement weather despite being advised to desist.

Initial reports suggested Gayen and two high-altitude sherpas were caught in an avalanche May 19. They went missing at the height of 7,500 metres on the Kanchenjunga West, also known as Mt Yulan Kang, the world’s third highest mountain peak near the Nepal-India-China triangle.

New European energy security strategy proposed

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The European Commission (EC) Wednesday proposed a new European Energy Security Strategy to enhance the security of the European Union’s (EU) energy supply.

The EC has proposed diversifying external energy supplies, upgrading energy infrastructure, completing the EU internal energy market and saving energy, Xinhua reported.

The strategy also highlights the need to coordinate national energy policy decisions and the importance of speaking with one voice when negotiating with external partners.

TDP welcomes SIT on black money; says will work to curb graft

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Stressing that poverty alleviation would become a reality only by rooting out corruption, TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu today vowed to work in that direction as he welcomed the Centre’s decision to constitute a Special Investigation Team on black money. “All the black money stashed in foreign and tax-haven countries should be brought back to India.

Rajnath meets RSS leaders, Modi over new BJP chief

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday met senior RSS leaders here to discuss the choice of the new BJP president and then met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informed sources said.

Sources said some of those being considered to be the party’s new president include Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretaries J.P. Nadda, Amit Shah, and P. Muralidhar Rao, and party leader Om Mathur.

Sources said that Nadda, a state unit leader of the BJP from Himachal Pradesh who entered national politics in 2010, is the front-runner for the post.

Screen violence doesn’t lead to it in real life: Gareth Evans

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“The Raid 2” director Gareth Evans doesn’t find any correlation between screen violence and real life violence.

“The Raid 2”, a sequel to “The Raid”, releases in India Friday.

Talking about his views on showing violence in his films, Evans said in a statement: “I get asked a lot about my feelings towards screen violence. In terms of the responsibility of it, I’ve never really felt that there’s a correlation in terms of screen violence and real life violence.”

Water leakage area in Fukushima n-plant located

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The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said it has identified the exact location of water leakage at the bottom of the container of the plant’s No.1 reactor, media reported Wednesday.

The company said a remote-controlled robot survey found that water was leaking from a joint in a pipe connected to the No.1 reactor’s primary containment vessel, Xinhua reported citing Kyodo News.

Espadrilles, summer shoe trend for 2014

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Espadrille shoes, that once topped the must-have list, is trending thanks to celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian, Beyonce Knowles, Kate Bosworth and Katy Perry.

These celebrities were spotted wearing the espadrilles pair from the collection of French fashion designer Chanel and thankfully other designers have taken note of the trend too, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Raja submits list of defence witnesses

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Former telecom minister A. Raja, facing trial in the 2G spectrum allocation case, has submitted a list of four defence witnesses in a court here.

Raja submitted his list of witness before Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini Monday. The list was made available Wednesday.

He requested the court to allow his plea and examine the witnesses so that he can defend himself in the case.

Aamir Khan joins Instagram

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Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is the latest celebrity to join photo-sharing website Instagram.

The 49-year-old actor, who has accounts in other social networking sites including twitter and Facebook, so far posted two pictures on the website.

In one picture, Aamir is seen with his director wife Kiran Rao, and while in other he is seen with a group of children.

“No time for tweeting, just time for posting my pictures in small boxes which represent my daily days. Good morning!,” wrote Aamir.

Iraq attacks kill 14 as 2014 toll tops 4,000

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Attacks across Iraq killed 14 people today, the latest in a months-long surge in violence that has left more than 4,000 people dead this year.

The shootings and bombings struck in Baghdad and restive parts of the north and west, leaving dozens more wounded, security and medical officials said.

The protracted spike in bloodletting has fuelled fears that Iraq is slipping back into the all-out conflict that plagued it in 2006 and 2007, when a brutal sectarian war left tens of thousands dead.

‘Citylights’ will bring back legacy of my cinema: Mahesh Bhatt

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Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, co-owner of Vishesh Films, says the film production company has given many hits like “Raaz”, “Jism” and “Murder”, but their forthcoming film “Citylights” will change its course.

He said that he received a message from someone who appreciated the Hansal Mehta directorial and said that Vishesh Films will never be the same again.

Newcomer Patralekha eyeing Hollywood

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Patralekha is soon to make her Bollywood debut with Hansal Mehta’s “Citylights”, but she is already aiming for Hollywood.

The Shillong girl has no films to boast about in her kitty, but has her dreams intact.

“Right now there are no offers. I am open to all kinds of films even if they are regional like Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Bengali…and even Hollywood. Everybody wants to go to Hollywood. I want to work there as well,” she said.

Iran says n-meet with EU ‘fruitful’

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A senior Iranian official has said the meeting between the Iranian foreign minister and his European Union (EU) counterpart in Istanbul was “fruitful in advancing nuclear talks”, media reported Wednesday.

“The talks were very fruitful and it led to a better understanding pertaining to the advancement of nuclear talks,” Xinhua cited the official IRNA news agency as quoting Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator, while referring to the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Man jumps on metro track, survives

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A 25-year-old man Wednesday tried to commit suicide by jumping on to a metro track here, police said.

The man lost his feet in the incident that took place at platform no.2 of Kashmere Gate metro station around 3.20 p.m.

The man, identified as Pankaj Pal, is a resident of Uttam Nagar in west Delhi.

“The reason behind the suicide attempt is yet to be ascertained. His feet have been amputated during an operation in hospital,” said a police officer.
(IANS)

Glamour will fade away with time: Scarlett Johansson

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Scarlett Johansson, who exudes beauty and oomph, plays a deglamourised role in indie comedy “Chef”. She says she won’t mind piling on some pounds and be carefree about her looks as glamour will eventually fade away.

“I look forward to putting on some weight very soon so that I won’t have to worry about my looks and being glamorous all the time. It will anyways all fade away with time,” Johansson said in a statement.

In “Chef”, Johansson plays a role unlike herself – a character slightly deglamourised, not the best looking and just about a little plumper than usual.

UAE launches polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan

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On the directive of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UAE PAP) has announced the launch of a vaccination campaign against polio in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other tribal areas in Pakistan.

The campaign, under the slogan ‘Health for All – Better Future’, was launched during a press conference in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

Delhi band Faridkot launches ‘Phir Se’ with six-city tour

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Delhi-based band Faridkot will launch their second album “Phir Se” with a six-city tour.

The band attempts to challenge the existing boundaries of popular music with this Universal Music release.

The tour starts from Delhi with a performance at Blue Frog May 30, followed by one at The Little Doors and Blue Frog, Mumbai June 3 and June 4 respectively.

On June 6, the band will perform at Euriska in Pune and on June 7 at Counter Culture in Bangalore.

Then they will travel to Hyderabad for a June 12 show at Hard Rock Cafe and the tour will end June 13 at Someplace Else, Kolkata.

Mamata cautions ministers, officials against communication gap

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday cautioned her ministers and bureaucrats to guard against any “communication gap” hampering the functioning of the administration.

After reviewing the progress of development schemes at a meeting involving all the departments at the historic Town Hall, she said she would hold administrative parleys of three north Bengal districts – Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling – June 2 at the newly-constructed north Bengal secretariat “Uttar Kanya”.

Kamal Nath recommended as pro tem speaker: Naidu

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The name of Congress MP Kamal Nath has been recommended as the pro tem speaker, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said Wednesday.

“We have recommended to the president, Kamal Nath’s name as the pro tem speaker,” Naidu said after taking charge as the parliamentary affairs minister.

Kamal Nath, who was the parliamentary affairs minister in the previous UPA government, was elected to the Lok Sabha for the ninth term from Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

Priority is fertilisers for kharif crop: Ananth Kumar

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Adequate and timely supply of fertilisers to all farmers for the upcoming kharif season is his first priority, new Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar said Wednesday.

“The present government intends to place the farmer at the centre of the agriculture sector, the village and the country’s economy”, Ananth Kumar told media persons here on the occassion of taking charge of his ministry.

Emphasising that policies will be framed to make the country self-reliant in fertilisers, he said the government also plans to revive all closed urea plants.

Thai Red Shirt leaders released

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The Thai military junta Wednesday released several leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or Red shirts, who had been detained for seven days, while former premier Yingluck was confirmed not under house arrest in Bangkok.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) released UDD chairman Jatuporn Prompan, Nuttawut Saikuar, Pracha Promnog, Virakarn Musigapong Weng Tojirakarn and Thida Tavonseth, Xinhua reported.