Month: July 2014

The Army has been kept on stand-by as tension mounted in Assam’s Baksa district where bodies of three more persons kidnapped by suspected NDFB (S) militants were retrieved from Beki River today.

The police fired in the air to disperse a mob holding a protest against the kidnapping in violation of indefinite
curfew which has been clamped in Salbari sub-division and Anand Bazar area.

Baksa Deputy Commissioner Vinod Seshan said, “We have recovered three more bodies this morning from Beki river. We

Newly-appointed Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay Sunday said the decision to stake a claim to forming government in Delhi will be taken only after consulting party members and senior leaders.

“The decision regarding government formation in Delhi will be taken after talking to all the legislators, MPs and party leaders,” Upadhyay told IANS.

“I will comment on the issue of government formation once the consultations are over,” he added.

A 47-year-old senior executive of a Gurgaon-based private firm was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a guest house here, police said Sunday.

The incident came to light around 7.30 p.m. Saturday when the staff of the Kaka guest house in Paharganj area of central Delhi went to ask the victim Rajeev Kumar Dudeja if he would have dinner.

“Prima facie it seems a case of natural death. However, we are waiting for the autopsy report to ascertain the exact cause of death,” a police official said.

The Election Commission Sunday issued notice to former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in a paid news case, asking why he should not be disqualified.

The poll panel said Chavan has failed to file his election expenses in the prescribed format.

“The commission has hereby decided that the respondent has failed to lodge his account of election expenses in the manner required by the act and rules,” said the notice, directing Chavan to reply within 20 days as to why he should not be disqualified.

An Indian Air Force all-women officers’ team Sunday embarked on a month-long cycling expedition from here to Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, an official statement said.

The nine-member team is led by Wing Commander Bhavna Mehra.

The team will cover a total of 1,500 km through tough Himalayan terrain running at altitudes above 12,000 ft, unpredictable weather and temperatures that fall below the freezing point.

The statement said the expedition is planned to be completed in 29 days.

Here comes an app that can help you save your precious smartphone data even if it is lost or destroyed.

The app called “PicAway”, uploads all content from a smartphone to “the Cloud” – internet based storage that is accessible by multiple devices – immediately without saving it on the actual device itself.

The new feature replaces camera interface with a working browser.

It gives an impression as if the user is surfing the net while he/she can upload pictures directly to the Cloud if stuck in tricky situations.

After Busan and Incheon, Daegu hosted the third Indian Film Festival of the year in South Korea and films like “Kahaani” and “Vicky Donor” were showcased at the fest, which ends Sunday.

Five Indian films with Korean subtitles were selected for the event, which was inaugurated by Sujoy Ghosh-directed women-centric thriller “Kahaani” that saw Vidya Balan in one of her best roles.

“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, a biopic on athelete Milkha Singh, and romantic dramas “Raanjhana” “Ram-Leela” were also part of the four-day fest.

A massive protest was held here Sunday to condemn Israel’s offensive against Palestinians.

Hundreds of activists of the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) took out a rally and formed a human chain, demanding an immediate halt to Israel’s attacks. The protestors raised slogans of “Down with Israel”. They were also carrying placards with pictures of children and other victims of Israeli bombardment.

“Let Gaza live”, “You don’t need to be a Muslim to stand up with Gaza”, “Murdering an 11-month-old is not self-defence” were some of the slogans written on the placards.

Mount Sinabung, one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, has erupted, spewing ash to the sky. No casualty was reported, official said here Sunday.

The volcano located in Karo district of North Sumatra province erupted at 23.05 p.m. Saturday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management agency, said.

“The height of the eruption could not be determined as it took place at night and there were many clouds,” he told Xinhua by phone.

“Rains of hot ash occurred in several place in Karo district, but it did not trigger further evacuation,” Sutopo added.

The Delhi government will plant five lakh seedlings to increase forest cover in the capital, an official said Sunday.

While civic bodies, hospitals and educational institutes will be roped in for the same, the seedlings will be made available to the people for free at select Mother Dairy booths and petrol pumps.

“Free seedlings will be distributed to the people to enable them to plant them in their own backyards and gardens,” said an official of the forest department.

According to the India State of Forest Report 2013, Delhi’s forest cover saw a marginal increase of 3.61 square km.

Latin pop star Katherine Alexander, who recently topped the charts with the song “Put it in a Kiss”, has filed a law suit against her manager alleging he tried to rape and sodomize her during an argument.

Alexander was a school teacher just two years ago when she met Jesus Salas, who owned a record and management company and quickly signed Alexander promising her fame.

Giant screens have been set-up in all parts of the city, late night community feasts are being organised and schools have declared Monday a holiday as football mania grips Kolkata ahead of the mouth-watering clash between Argentina and Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final Sunday night at the famous Maracana Stadium in Brazil.

From ministers to celebrities to the hoi poloi – it seems Kolkata is divided between Argentina and Germany, as also between the two Ms – (Lionel) Messi and (Thomas) Muller.

A 30-year-old scrap dealer has been arrested for assaulting a Delhi Police constable along with his associates here a month ago, police said Sunday.

Azad was arrested Saturday near Shastri Nagar Metro station in north Delhi.

“He was accused of beating constable Vijender Singh and robbing him of his mobile phone, which was recovered after his arrest,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

Yadav said Azad was joined by his friend Vickey and his family members, including a woman, when they beat up the constable.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Praveen Togadia will launch ‘India Health Helpline’ – a network of doctors – for providing free medical and health care to the needy people, at a function here on July 20.

Togadia will launch the helpline and administered ‘sankalp’ (oath) to VHP activists for spreading medical and
health care awareness among the needy people at Jaipur’s SMS Hospital auditorium on July 20, VHP media in-charge Ravindra Sharma said today.

Specialists and experts of medical science would extend their services to the needy patients free of cost and also

In yet another naval mishap, a warship suffered damage while operating in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory prompting the force to order a detailed investigation into it.

INS Kuthar– a Khukri class corvette– suffered damage while entering the harbour of a naval base in Andamans and is undergoing repairs there, sources said here.

It is the 15th reported mishap involving naval personnel and assets after the sinking of the Russian-origin submarine INS Sindhurakshak in August last year in which all the 18 personnel on board were killed.

Temperatures across Himachal Pradesh Sunday remained pleasant following rain in some places with Dharamsala town recording the maximum – 116 mm, the Met office said.

More rain is in store.

“Heavy rainfall may occur in Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Kangra and Mandi districts till July 15,” an official of the local meteorological office told IANS.

According to the Met office, no rainfall was recorded in picturesque towns Manali in Kullu district and Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Kangra town experienced 48 mm, while Shimla and Solan towns each experienced 3 mm of rain.

A roadside bomb has killed three Algerian soldiers and four auxiliaries in the west of the North African country, the defence ministry said today.

Yesterday’s blast struck in the Sidi Bel-Abbes region 440 kilometres west of the capital, the ministry said.

The auxiliaries were members of the village guards — a militia formed by the government in 1994 at the height of the country’s devastating decade-long civil war to fight Islamist militants.

The attack was the deadliest since an April ambush claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the restive

The UK government is considering adopting a German scheme that encourages jihadists to return home from Syria and Iraq and sign up for de-radicalisation classes, a media report said today.

Daniel Koehler, head of research at Hayat, a German humanitarian project told The Sunday Times that he had been in
discussions with the Home Office and counter terrorism groups under the UK government regarding the programme.

I am working to introduce the programme in the UK and right now we are hoping for a pilot project in London. From

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared as national heritage the ancestral home in Peshawar of Hindi moviedom’s thespian actor Dilip Kumar. He has directed the ministry of information, broadcasting and national heritage to acquire the house.

The prime minister’s approval was sent to the information ministry, which has forwarded it to director general, Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) for implementation of the orders, reported Pakistani daily The Nation.

Small screen’s bad boy Vatsal Seth got injured while shooting for “Ek Hasina Thi” much to the shock of the actor and the crew members. But he resumed shooting after a short break.

According to sources, Vatsal had to shoot a glass bottle with a handgun. The scene was narrated to everyone on the set, and everyone was ready. As soon as the director yelled action, the actor aimed at the bottle and shot at it. Unexpectedly, the glass flew and struck the actor near his ear, narrowly missing his left eye.

Heavy rain lashed the Indian capital and its adjoining areas Sunday, ending a scorching heat wave and high humidity levels and bringing joy to millions. The Met Office has forecast more showers Monday.

The city received 25.6 mm of rainfall till 5.30 p.m. Sunday. As a consequence of the showers, the temperature recorded at that time was a welcome 27 degrees — a marked fall as compared to previous days.

The day’s maximum temperature registered 40.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above average.

Pope Francis today appealed for peace in Gaza during his weekly Angelus prayer, calling for “concrete gestures to build peace” as the deadly six-day offensive escalated.

In an address to thousands of pilgrims on St Peter’s Square Francis spoke of the “tragic events of the last few
days”.

Francis visited the Middle East in May and held a joint prayer in the Vatican with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June.

“I urge all interested parties and all in local and international political office not to spare in prayer and

Leaders of Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal will meet President Pranab Mukherjee soon to protest against the recent bill passed by the Haryana assembly under which a new Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) would be set up to manage gurdwaras in Haryana.

Akali Dal president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Sunday said he would lead a delegation of leaders of the Sikh community to the president “to unmask the conspiracy hatched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to divide the Sikhs to create unrest in the region”.

Amid increasing international pressure for a ceasefire, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today expressed “regret” over the loss of civilian lives in the bombing of Gaza, while accusing Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as “human shields”.

We are striking Hamas with increasing strength. We are hitting commanders, militants, arsenals and command centres,” Netanyahu said, commending the role of Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Internal Security Agency (ISA),
security services, firefighters and the Israel Police.

India fought back with a gutsy partnership from Stuart Binny and Ravindra Jadeja to take the lead to 191 runs at lunch after England bowlers rocked the middle-order on the fifth and final day of the first cricket Test at the Trent Bridge here Sunday.

Binny was batting on 26 and Jadeja 18 as India recovered well from a precarious 184 for six to reach 230 at lunch.

Binny and Jadeja, who took 38 balls to open his account, added 46 runs for their unfinished seventh-wicket stand after India lost three wickets for 17 runs in the vital first session.