Month: July 2014

Telangana Government is seriously planning to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) by linking minor irrigation with the same.

Speaking to media persons after holding a review meeting with the officials at his residence here on Sunday, Panchayat Raj Minister K Tarakarama Rao said that the government was planning to assign the minor irrigation works to jobless rural masses instead of engaging private contractors. He said that government was also considering increase the mandays of NREGS from the present 100 days in a year.

The budget session of Telangana State Legislative Assembly is likely to be held in the last week of August this year.

According to sources, the 40-day session will be begin in the last week of August and will last till second week of September. Finance Minister Etela Rajender will present the first budget of Telangana State.

Following a decision to conduct probe into its activities, the Telangana Government took the Bhoodan Trust office under its direct control.

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali, who is also incharge of Revenue Department, informed INN that Principal Secretary (Revenue) BR Meena would take care of the affairs of the Bhoodan Trust. He had earlier announced the constitution of a committee to probe into the activities of Bhoodan Trust. As per estimates, about 80 per cent of Trust land in Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy has been given on lease or sold out to industries. (INN)

The family of the college student, who was killed and chopped into pieces for allegedly protesting anti-social activities in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district, Sunday demanded a CBI probe into his death, as one person was arrested but the prime suspect remained untraced.

Of the four people named in the first information report, one has been nabbed. A district court later remanded him in police custody for seven days. However, prime suspect Shyamal Karmakar continues to be missing along with two others, police said.

One of Britain’s biggest education authorities is expected to come under attack for “ignoring” warnings of an Islamist extremist takeover of schools in Birmingham and not doing enough to safeguard children from the
risk of being radicalised.

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff called on all the Brazilians to unite around the football team that will be facing Germany in World Cup semi-final slated for Tuesday.

Rousseff through her social networking site Twitter said that she was extremely proud of the Brazilian team, reports EFE.

Though star striker Neymar has been ruled out with a back injury, Rousseff was confident that Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has the resources available to compensate Neymar’s absence.

Israeli police have arrested six people in connection with the kidnap and murder of a Palestinian teenager which sparked four straight days of riots, the Haaretz newspaper reported on today.

The paper’s website gave no further details about the identities of those arrested but described it as a “dramatic
development,” using words echoed by other Israeli media outlets.

Earlier, police acknowledged for the first time there were “indications that the background to the killing was
nationalistic”.

Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul, whose stunning saves in the penalty shoot-outs gave the Netherlands a great win over Costa Rica in the World Cup quarter-final, said that he would study his team’s semi-final opponents Argentina as well.

Krul said he has been observing the penalty takers of all the teams and he would be well prepared if his team faces another penalty shoot-out in Wednesday’s semi-final against Argentina in Sao Paolo.

He has produced forthcoming horror drama “Pizza”, but Bejoy Nambiar says he can’t think of directing a film in the same genre.

“I am s**t scared of horror. I don’t think I can ever direct a horror film. But I have a director who is so confident about his craft. He was so comfortable that it gave me confidence as a producer,” said Nambiar, the director of thrillers “David” and “Shaitan”.

“The audience is ready for horror and suspense thriller movies and this is the reason we are making the film,” he added.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Sunday said traditions, cultures, customs, fairs, and languages should be preserved.

He was participating in the traditional Bishu fair and said such fairs and festivals are closely associated with lives of the people in the state.

“We need to preserve such traditions, customs, cultures and languages for the coming generations,” the chief minister said in Ghoond village in Chopal tehsil of Shimla district, 75 km from here.

He said the ancient temples should be preserved and maintained in the original architecture.

As many as 13 international films are set to make their Asian debut at 5th Jagran Film Festival (JFF).

The future of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in national politics is “zero”, expelled CPI-M leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah said Sunday.

“The CPI-M’s future in national politics is zero, zero, zero. The party is now ruled by managers, not leaders,” Mollah told reporters here.

“The CPI-M is now representing landlords and rich men. The political culture under the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal has been ruined and soon the state will be ruled by hoodlums,” he added.

Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has restricted the flying and takeoff of choppers above the base camp areas of all mountains in the Himalayan country, officials said Sunday.

“Due to security risks and growing misuse of choppers above the base camp area, the ministry is forced to come up with this stern restriction,” a ministry spokesperson told Xinhua.

Helicopters above the base camps can takeoff for rescue efforts only after approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the country’s aviation regulating body, the spokesperson said.

Her “Kahaani” rode higher on word-of-mouth publicity and now Vidya Balan hopes for the same to work for her recently released detective drama “Bobby Jasoos”, which sees the actress in the title.

“Every film is unique and each film has its own destiny. We all have worked hard and now it’s up to the audience. Women centric films have a slow start, but what is encouraging is that ‘Bobby Jasoos’ had a great start,” said the 36-year-old.

Co-produced by Dia Mirza, the film made an opening day’s collection Rs.1.78 crore at the domestic box office.

Singer Nicole Scherzinger, who led the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2010, says she couldn’t enjoy her 20s.

In an interview to the Guardian newspaper, the 36-year-old talked about her “loneliest time”, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“My 20s were fruitful but not enjoyable. Being in The Pussycat Dolls was probably my loneliest time because I was quite insatiable. Nothing was ever good enough and I didn’t know how to take a break. My 30s have definitely been more chillaxed,” she said.

Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez was recently happy to learn that her “Kick” co-star Salman Khan compared her to yesteryear’s glamorous actress Zeenat Aman. But it’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the wife of the 35th President of the US, John F. Kennedy, whom she idolises.

She took to Twitter and Instagram to share her idol’s photograph and even thanked her mom Kim for naming her after Jackie Kennedy.

“Thank you kimfernz77 for naming me after the beautiful Jackie O.. my idol!!!” tweeted Jacqueline.

The 28-year-old made her Bollywood debut with “Aladin” in 2009.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), now called Islamic State (IS) called on Muslims to obey him in a video after he was declared the Caliph of the Islamic state by the jihadi group. The video which was reportedly filmed on Friday during a sermon at the al-Nouri Mosque in the northern city of Mosul surfaced on the internet on Saturday amidst speculations that the leader was killed or wounded in an air raid. According to the BBC, Baghdadi welcomed the establishment of the Islamic State in his maiden video as the Caliph.

If actresses like Bipasha Basu and Shamita Shetty gave powerful performances as police officers respectively in “Dhoom 2” and “Zeher”, female stars like Vidya Balan and Katrina Kaif have managed to wow the audience with their on-screen role of spies.

Here’s a list of actresses who played women detectives in movies:

Actor Kunal Kapoor, who recently visited Thailand, has returned here with some injuries.

A few days back, he posted his photograph at Bangkok while watching Muay Thai – a combat sport of Thailand.

Besides cheering the participants, it seems like the “Rang De Basanti” star also tried playing the sport.

On his return, he tweeted: “This is what I came back from Thailand with. A broken tooth and a busted eye, courtesy Muay Thai!! Good fun though!!”

On the work front, he was last seen in the movie “Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana”, which released in 2012.
(IANS)

India A captain Manoj Tiwary and wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha steadied their ship after a shaky start to end Day 1 at 304/6 in the first of the four-day matches against Australia A at the Allan Border Field here Sunday.

Tiwary’s knock of 83 took the visitors closer to the 200-mark before getting out while Ojha, unbeaten at 82, anchored the innings batting lower down the order to take his team beyond 300.

Tiwary won the toss and elected to bat on a good batting track but pacer Ben Cutting (2/65) struck within the first hour, trapping Lokesh Rahul (15) leg before.

One of the largest ethnic organisations in the US, representing about 100,000 Indian doctors settled here, is working on a plan to help India improve its health services in a coordinated fashion.

The outlines of the plan were discussed with India’s new health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, at a strategic planning session during the annual convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in San Antonio, Texas last week.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu Sunday directed officials to send a team to Tamil Nadu where a wall collapse killed 11 construction workers from the state.

Naidu expressed shock and grief over the incident which took place in Tiruvallur district Saturday midnight. He asked the Nellore district collector to send officials to supervise rescue and relief work.

The wall of a warehouse collapsed on the huts abutting it. Officials said more people could be trapped under the debris.

The victims were from Srikakulam district. They include four women and a child.

The Israeli Army Sunday arrested a suspect accused of aiding the killers of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.

Husam Dofsh was arrested in Hebron city, an Israeli defence official told Xinhua.

The manhunt continues for the two prime suspects from the Hamas movement, Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Isa.

Israeli Security Service Shin Bet said it was investigating Dofsh’s involvement in the killings.

Eyal Yifrach (19), Gil-Ad Sha’ar (16) and Naftali Frankel (16) were kidnapped from Hebron in West Bank June 12.

The European Union (EU) hopes it will be able to discuss with the Narendra Modi government this year the issue of illegal immigration from India that has assumed worrying proportions. .

With India coming eighth on the list of nations from where most people try illegally to sneak into Europe, the EU feels the dialogue will help in facilitating the migrants to go back.

Singer Paul McCartney, 72, is back on the road after being hospitalised in May with a viral infection.

The former Beatles band member resumed his ‘Out There’ tour Saturday when he performed in Albany here, reports contactmusic.com.

He is evidently feeling much better after his health scare in May which landed him in a Tokyo hospital for six days. McCartney was forced to cancel a number of concerts in Japan and Korea.