Month: June 2014

SC moved for probe into role of Sonia, top bureaucrats in coal scam

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The Supreme Court was moved Tuesday for a CBI probe to ascertain the alleged role of four top bureaucrats and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the coal blocks allocation scam.

Petitioner M. L.Sharma in his PIL sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against T.K.A. Nair, the then principal secretary to then prime minister Manmohan Singh, former power secretaries V.S.Sampath and H.S.Brahama, former home secretary R.K.Singh and Sonia Gandhi to ascertain their role in coal blocks allocation and acquisition of tribal land.

Police arrests conman who duped 60 women into marrying him

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Luck of a 30-year-old man, who conned over 60 women into marrying him posing as a railway employee and relieving them of their cash and ornaments, was arrested after his luck ran out, police said today.

The man, identified as Mohammad Sizam, was arrested by Baligaon police of Vaishali district from near Samastipur railway station in Samastipur district yesterday, a police official said.

Police got on to his trail after a 14-year-old girl vanished from Bahauddinpur village of Vaishali district and married the man who posed as a travelling ticket examiner (TTE).

Three washed away in Kurnool district

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Three persons including two girls who were on their way to school to take the intermediate examination were washed away in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh today, police said.

Narayana (54), his daughter K Sushilamma and her friend H B Kalavathi (both aged 17) were walking down a bridge over a
stream in Kallur mandal when they were washed away in a flash-flood caused by heavy rains, police said. “The man tried to rescue the two girls but he too was washed away, police said. The bodies had been found. PTI

On day 1, DU form sale dips by over 15,000

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On day one of registration to Delhi University’s four-year undergraduate programme, the sale of online and offline forms fell by 15,440 compared to last year.

The sale of forms in 18 centres across Delhi began Monday.

“A total of 32,460 offline forms were sold,” DU’s joint dean of students’ welfare and media coordinator Malay Neerav said in a statement.

Last year, 42,860 offline forms were sold in 12 centres across Delhi.

On Monday, 3,129 forms were submitted at the centres.

Police thrash KKR fans ahead of Eden Gardens felicitation ceremony

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Chaotic scenes prevailed at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Tuesday after police baton charged fans who had gathered to take part in a felicitation ceremony for Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 7 winners Kolkata Knight Riders. ANI reporting from the venue said the ruckus was caused when fans were denied entry into the 80,000-seat stadium for the event organised by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government. A stampede outside the stadium resulted in some fans and policemen getting injured and bloodied. Kolkata Knight Riders bagged the IPL-7 Trophy for the second time in three years.

Ronald Reagan was concerned his son might be gay

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Ronald Reagan was apparently worried that his son Ron, might be gay, when he gave up Yale University to pursue a dancing in 1976.

Novelist Christopher Buckley, who discussed the former US President’s doubts with playwright John Guare for the play ‘The City of Conversation’, revealed that his father, William F. Buckley, was close to Reagan, and the President had called him to express his worry at the time, New York Post reported.

Buckley said his father had advised that though he couldn’t say much on the topic, not everyone who pursued arts was gay.

Use anti-diabetic drug to slow ageing and increase lifespan

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Metformin, which is the world’s most extensively used anti-diabetic drug, decreases ageing and increases lifespan, says new evidence found by Belgian doctoral researcher Wouter De Haes (KU Leuven).

The researchers teased out the mechanism behind metformin’s age-slowing effects: the drug causes an increase in the number of toxic oxygen molecules released in the cell and this, surprisingly, increases cell robustness and longevity in the long term.

Angelina Jolie may quit acting post playing `Cleopatra`

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Angelina Jolie admitted that though she was working on a Cleopatra biopic, the project may be her last venture as an actress.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, the 38-year-old actress said that there were numerous ideas for the film and though it was complicated to get it right, they were getting close and the preparation would certainly be huge, Us Magazine reported.

She added since the project was so big, she feels it to be one of those with which she can end her acting career it in a great way.

Saudi health minister sacks deputy as MERS toll rises

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Saudi Arabia’s health minister has sacked one of his deputies as the death toll by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)coronavirus reached 190, the ministry said on Twitter on today. No reasons were given for the dismissal of deputy minister Ziad Memish.

The then health minister Abdullah al-Rabiah was dismissed in April without official explanation and replaced by labour minister Adel Fakieh, who promised “transparency” in providing the public and media with information about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Rahul Gandhi pays respect to Gopinath Munde

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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi paid respect to late Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters here today.

Gandhi was accompanied by Congress leader Harish Rawat at 11 Ashoka Road where the mortal remains of late Gopinath Munde were brought a short while ago.

KK appointed TRS PP leader

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TRS supremo and Chief Minister of Telangana State K. Chandrasekhara Rao has appointed party secretary-general and Rajya Sabha member Dr K. Keshav Rao as TRS Parliamentary Party leader.

Similarly, Jitendar Reddy was elected as TRS floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Vinod as deputy floor leader and Kadiam Sreehari as party Whip.

Speaking to the media in Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Jitendar Reddy made it clear that his party would remain as a friendly party to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. “Our party would never be an Opposition party”.

Police arrests MQM founder Altaf Hussain in London on money laundering charges

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Founder of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who was being investigated for money laundering, has reportedly been taken under police custody in London on charges for the same.

Hussain was reportedly under investigation for money laundering worth at least 4,00,000 pounds as well as for incitement to violence and MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq”s murder. According to The Dawn, immediately after the news of Hussain”s arrest went live, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE-100 index) fell 780 points and commercial centres across Sindh”s provincial capital started shutting down.

Teens using Tinder app for sex with strangers

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Teenagers are using a popular smartphone app called Tinder to arrange sexual encounters with strangers, it has been revealed.

A 16-year-old Melbourne teenager said that app was being used by teens to find other teens who were interested in getting physical with no emotional connection, Stuff.co.nz reported. Another 18-year-old Melbourne teenager said that she joined Tinder when she was 17 and always asked for sex via the app and a lot of teenagers used the application as a way to get sex.

`Pill for males` still a bit far away

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“The pill” for men is still some distance away as hormonal male contraception via testosterone is unable to stop the production and/or the release of sperm due to specific problems with optimal dosing.

Ilpo Huhtaniemi, Ph.D, anda researcher involved in the work from the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at the Imperial College of London said that their research in mice explained why the efficiency of male hormonal contraception was not as effective as expected and it provided the clues on how to improve the method.

5 pc Fortune 500 CEOs are female

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Five per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs on this year’s list are female, it has been revealed.

Mary Barra – CEO of General Motors – was the highest place female at number seven while Meg Whitman, CEO of HP, next at 15, Fox News reported.

Others in the top 50 were Virginia Rometty of IBM, Patricia Woertz of Archer Daniels Midland and Indra Nooyi of Pepsico. (ANI)

Global alliance commits $80m to save world’s wild cats and ecosystems

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Environmental philanthropists from China, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US have agreed to provide funding of 80 million dollars to change the course of wild cat protection through Panthera, the organization dedicated to ensuring the future of wild cats through scientific leadership and conservation action.

Number 3 unlucky for Munde-Mahajan family?

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that the last rites of late Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde will be performed at his village tomorrow and that his body would be placed at the party headquarters for BJP leaders to pay last respects.

“He was a mass leader and a popular one. He always stood by the people and it is a great loss. His body will be placed at BJP HQ for leaders to pay last respects and the funeral will be held at his village tomorrow,” said Naqvi. “It is extremely shocking.

India has lost several prominent political leaders in accidents

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In the last few decades, India has lost several prominent political leaders in accidents and assassinations. Among them Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi, former President Gyani Zail Singh, AP Chief Minister Dr YS Rajashekhara Reddy, Congress stalwarts Madhav Rao Scindhia, Rajesh Pilot, Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi, former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma are some key figures, whose lives were cut short.

Yoga may not be of much help to asthma sufferers

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Researchers have said that even though yoga is often suggested to asthma sufferers to help alleviate symptoms, a new study has found little evidence that yoga will improve symptoms.

Researchers of the report examined 14 previously published studies to determine the effectiveness of yoga in the treatment of asthma.

Tart cherry juice best bet for cyclists` health

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Researchers have said that cyclists who drank Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate before a three-day simulated race experienced less inflammation and oxidative stress compared to those who drank another beverage.

A research team led by Dr. Glyn Howatson with PhD student Phillip Bell at Northumbria University gave 16 well-trained, male cyclists about 1 ounce (30 ml) of Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate mixed with water (equivalent to 90 whole Montmorency tart cherries per serving), or a calorie-matched placebo, twice a day for seven days.

Director General, CII reacts on RBI’s first bimonthly monetary policy

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Reacting to the first bimonthly monetary policy announced by RBI today, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII welcomed the Central Bank’s decision to reduce SLR by 50 basis points stating that the policy announcement has shifted the spotlight back on growth while restraining inflationary pressures in the economy.

Naidu plans to offer RS seat to BJP for cordial ties

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TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is busy with evolving a strategy to develop Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) as he is going to take oath as chief minister on June 8.

In a bid to persuade the Union government and to forge good relations with it to ensure proper release of funds for the development of the new State, the CM-designate reported to have expressed his readiness to offer Rajya Sabha seat to BJP from the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh.

The TDP chief, who has a good relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expecting two to three more berths in the Union Cabinet.