Month: July 2014

Protests against the 2,000 MW lower Subansiri hydroelectric power project were “unjustified” as the project will help Assam and the northeastern states tide over the power crisis, DoNER Minister Gen. (retd.) V.K. Singh said here Saturday.

“Power is a priority sector. However, there are issues with some power projects in the region. There is propaganda at work against the projects,” he told media persons.

“I have seen that most of the projects here are run-of-the-river projects and my own assessment is that it is not going to cause any danger,” he said.

A minor girl was crushed to death after her house was attacked by an elephant in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, police said Saturday.

The incident happened in Madarihat in the district Friday night when the tusker, said to be lured by the smell of liquor, attacked a house leading to the victim getting crushed by a collapsing wall.

“An elephant attacked a house resulting in a wall collapsing and crushing a 12-year-old girl who was sleeping inside. It seems the elephant was attracted by the smell of liquor kept inside,” said an officer of local Birpara police station.
(IANS)

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Saturday that getting people to quit smoking will not impoverish farmers in tobacco growing regions but will rather help them earn more and free themselves from the clutches of money lenders.

In a statement, Vardhan said the ministry is willing to share with the government and all concerned groups the findings of scientific research conducted by reputed institutions which unambiguously proves that viable alternatives to tobacco cultivation exist.

India finally ended their frustration by bowling England out for 496 but not before Joe Root and James Anderson’s record 10th-wicket partnership helped the hosts to get out of a precarious position and take a lead of 39 runs on the fourth day of the first Test at Trent Bridge here Saturday.

England’s innings lasted only 4.5 overs in the afternoon session as tailender Anderson was brilliantly caught by Shikhar Dhawan at first slip off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling, who clinched the first five-wicket haul of his Test career (5/82).

Pakistani fighter jets killed 13 militants and destroyed seven hideouts during air strikes in Mirali area of the North Waziristan tribal region Saturday, a media report said.

The air raids followed a rocket attack on a checkpoint under control of security forces in Mirali town, Dawnonline reported citing the army’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

Most of the terrorists killed in the strikes are foreigners, while a huge cache of arms and ammunition was also destroyed, the statement added.

The huge arms haul was made in the Khar Warsak and Zartangi tribal areas.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Saturday strongly condemned the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians, calling for its immediate end in the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, as the incumbent chairman of NAM, said in a statement that the Israeli blitz in Gaza over the past few days “has once again reminded the world of the sad tragedy of the Palestinian nation and flagrant breach of rules and principles of international law by the Zionists (Israelis)”, Xinhua reported.

Amid the continuing suspense over the Leader of Opposition issue, NCP president Sharad Pawar today said the institution was “essential”.

“It is essential that there be this institution,” Pawar, whose party in a key ally of Congress, told reporters here.

Pawar’s statement came in the backdrop of Congress deciding to write to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to seek an immediate decision in the matter and Congress president Sonia Gandhi insisting that being the single-largest party and pre-poll alliance it was entitled to the post.

Doing hunger strike did not help me and that is why I finally entered politics, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal told protesting teachers who are sitting on fast unto death here, urging them to end their strike.

A group of teachers from All Guest Teachers Association teaching in different government schools and paid on daily basis, have been sitting on a dharna for around three weeks.

Indian racer Narain Karthikeyan’s third round outing in the Super Formula started on a difficult note as he qualified 11th, struggling to adapt his car to the unique demands of the iconic Fuji Speedway here Saturday.

Karthikeyan will start on the sixth row for the 55-lap race Sunday having qualified in one minute and 24.380 seconds while pole position man Andrea Caldarelli lapped the circuit, situated at the foothills of Mount Fuji, in 1:22.667.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said the law would take its own course after the court summons Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his comment against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). A court in Bhiwandi has asked Rahul to be present during the hearing of the case on October 07 for claiming that the RSS assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. “Law will take its own course in this matter. His statement regarding the RSS was definitely objectionable,” said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The RSS moved court after the Rahul”s during election campaign in March.

Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva was Saturday sworn in as the new governor of Goa.

Bombay High Court Chief Justice Mohit Shah administered the oath of office to Alva, a veteran Congress leader, who is holding temporary charge as Goa governor following the resignation of B.V. Wanchoo last week.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by top bureaucrats and politicians at the Raj Bhavan on the outskirts of Panaji.

Wanchoo resigned July 4, on the same day he was quizzed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials in connection with the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

–IANS

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said they are in the process of finalising the capital of the residual Andhra Pradesh and are making an action plan in this regard.

The Chief Minister was addressing a felicitation programme of members of the Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers Association (APNGO) at the Loyola College here, organised by APNGO.

Congress Party leader Rajiv Shukla on Saturday criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here for following the Congress’ proposals on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which they had earlier opposed when Congress was in power. “FDI in defence and Insurance was opposed the most by the BJP only, especially by its leader Yashwant Sinha. Now, after coming to power, they have implemented it. They are talking about bringing FDI in defence and they have already brought 49 percent FDI in insurance with voting rights.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan formally handed over charge of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to Satish Upadhyay here on Saturday. Earlier today, BJP activists had celebrated his appointment outside the office. Upadhyay was appointed on July 9. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced his appointment. Upadhyay succeeds Harsh Vardhan, who had resigned from the post after being elected an MP from Chandni Chowk and elevated to the Union Cabinet. He is also the Chairman of South Delhi Municipal Corporation”s Standing Committee. (ANI)

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today claimed that people of Haryana never wanted a separate SGPC and described the state government’s move to carve out a separate body as Congress’ “desperate attempt” to hand over control of Gurdwaras to its “agents”.

“This ill conceived move is aimed at dividing the Sikhs on one hand and destabilising the Sikh panth on the other,” Badal said here today.

Telangana government has sanctioned 200 additional medical seats across three medical colleges in the state from the current academic year.

Deputy Chief Minister and Medical Education Minister T Rajaiah today said that Rajiv Institute of Medical Sciences in Nizamabad was allotted 100 additional seats, while Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad and Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, were given 50 additional seats each.

With this, the total number of medical seats in Telangana has gone up to 800 from 600.

The Indirapuram police Saturday registered a criminal case against the builder in whose building a fire broke out Friday.

Indirapuram Inspector Rashid Ali told IANS that the FIR was registered following a complaint by one Jamit Kumar, a resident of ATS Residential Apartments.

Jamit has named the developing company ATS Advantage, chairman Anand Shah Talwar and general manager (facilities) Anil Jai Singh in his complaint.

Kangana Ranaut will walk the ramp for veteran designer Anju Modi at the forthcoming edition of Shree Raj Mahal Jewellers India Couture Week 2014. The Bollywood actress and fashion icon has been chosen for her old world charm.

The six-day event, starting July 15, will be held at the Taj Palace Hotel here and Modi is going to showcase on day two.

Israel defiantly pressed on with its bombardment of Gaza for the fifth day today as the Jewish state vowed to keep up its military offensive to counter rocket attacks by Palestinian militants with the death toll reaching 121.

Today, 16 Palestinians died in a wave of Israeli air strikes as Operation Protective Edge entered its fifth day, taking the overall death toll to 121, medics said.

Israel says it hit more than “60 terror targets” in new raids and two rockets hit Beersheba in Israel.

Efforts are being made to control escalating air fares during the holiday season and to slash visa rates in order to compete with cheaper tourism destinations, Tourism Minister Shripad Naik said Saturday.

The union minister of state for tourism (independent charge) was referring to cheaper destinations in South East Asia, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a tourism-related event on the outskirts of Panaji.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has made it mandatory for all buildings constructed on an area measuring 20,000 square metres or more to have solar power units and waste water treatment plants, an official said Saturday.

Besides solar panels, the directive makes it compulsory for such big constructions to have ample green cover and renewable energy sources as well as water recycling facilities and adequate disaster mitigation measures in place.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday termed the move of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government to set up a separate committee for managing Sikh shrines in the state “illegal and patently wrong” as well as “politically motivated”.

“It is a desperate attempt on the part of Congress to hand over the control of gurdwaras to its agents in Haryana. This ill-conceived move is aimed at dividing Sikhs on one hand and destabilizing the Sikh panth on the other,” Badal told media on the sidelines of a function in Mohali, 10 km from here.

Turkey said Saturday it will help its citizens leave the Gaza Strip as Israel shows no signs of ceasefire.

The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on its website that its diplomatic mission will assist citizens who wanted to leave Gaza as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday his country would not bow to international pressure to halt the offensive on the enclave.

The ministry asked Turkish nationals to contact the embassy in Tel Aviv or the consulate in Jerusalem if they wanted to leave Gaza, Xinhua reported.

A man who used to run an illegal business of refilling LPG cylinders was Saturday blown to pieces in an explosion in his house here, police said.

Gore Lal, a resident of Rahul Vihar here, used to refill LPG cylinders in his one room house.

The incident took place Saturday morning in which Lal, originally a resident of Etah in Uttar Pradesh, was killed.

Police said his body parts were found scattered 10 feet from his house. Several empty LPG cylinders and refilling equipment were recovered from his house.

Ever dreamed of holding a nebula in your hands? Thanks to NASA, this may now be a reality as the first high-resolution three-dimensional model of the expanding cloud produced by a massive star’s eruption is now available to all.

For this you need to download the plans that NASA has made publicly available, feed them into your 3D-printing software, and play god by watching your very own Homunculus Nebula, a shell of gas and dust ejected during the star’s mid-19th century eruption, form before your eyes.