Month: July 2014

Amid an all-out military operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan, Pakistan’s parliament today passed a controversial anti-terror law, giving security forces unbridled powers, including shoot-at-sight suspects involved in terrorism, arson and murder.

The “Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014” empowers an official of grade 15 (Non Gazetted Officers/Junior Officers/ JCOs) and above to issue such orders.

It also allows a suspect to be kept under detention for a period of 60 days after getting judicial remand.

BJP General Secretary Amit Shah has been accorded a ‘Z-plus’ category security by the Home Ministry following high threat perception, official sources said on Wednesday.

Shah, a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be guarded by paramilitary CRPF commandos round the clock and armed guards will be posted at his residence, they said.

Bikinis will not be banned from Goa’s beaches, but drinking alcohol in public and on the state’s popular beaches will not be tolerated, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Wednesday, while defending a cabinet minister who has demanded a ban on revealing clothes in pubs.

“You cannot ban bikinis on beaches. But we will have to crack down on drinking in open areas, especially beaches,” Parrikar told a press conference Wednesday.

St. Stephen’s College Wednesday invited applications for Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) programmes following Delhi University’s decision to scrap the Four Year Undergraduate Programme(FYUP).

The students can apply till July 8, the college said.

The three-year BA and BSc programmes were abolished after the introduction of the FYUP last year.
(IANS)

US senator John McCain Wednesday met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to boost the bilateral relationship, as well as the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The meeting came on a day India summoned a top US diplomat to convey its serious concern over reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was among the parties which the US’ National Security Agency was authorised to spy upon.

A scheduled media interaction with McCain outside the external affairs ministry did not take place.

Senior IAS officer Govind Sharma was today posted as Chief Election Officer (CEO) in Rajasthan, an official spokesman said.

Department of Personnel issued Sharma’s transfer order on the recommendation and compliance of the Election Commission’s order to the post of CEO, the spokesman said here.

Sharma was till now the chairman of Indira Gandhi Canal Board. The post of CEO was lying vacant after the transfer of A K Jain to the Urban Development and Housing department as additional chief secretary.

–PTI

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday ordered a review of the VIP security cover given to political leaders and other individuals by the erstwhile Congress government.

At a high-level meeting here, the minister said security arrangements should be reviewed and suitably strengthened, wherever required.

He also directed officials to carry out security audit of vital installations, wherever due and ensure deployment of additional security forces, if found necessary, for the safety of the VIPs.

Munna bhai: Circuit, agar bus pe tu chade, ya fir tujh pe bus chad Jaye to kya hoga?

Circuit: bole to bhai, dono baar ticket apani hi kategi !

The controversy surrounding the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was again revived Wednesday after the chief of the AIIMS forensic department reportedly said he was pressurised to show her death as “natural”. As union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan sought a report from AIIMS, the institute denied the allegation made by its senior doctor.

Tharoor also requested the authorities to conduct a “thorough investigation” to conclude the inquiry “rapidly and transparently”.

Ek Baar Pappu Plane Se USA Jaa Raha Tha,
Sath Mein Ek Angrez Baitha Hua Thha…

Angrez:- Hi Main Ek Scientist Hoon.
Pappu:- Hello, Main Engineer Hoon.

Angrez:- Wow Engineer, Kya Hum Kuch Topics Par Baat Kar Sakte Hai?
Pappu:- Bilkul

Angrez:- Achcha, Tum Mujhe Nuclear Power Ke Baare Mein Kuch Baatao?
Pappu Ab Ye Sun Ke Chup Rah Gaya.

Angrez:- Ohhh, To Tum Nahi Jante?
Pappu:- Jaanta To Hun, Par Sir Pahle Aap Mere Ek Question Ka Answer Do?

Angrez:- Hmmm, Puchho

Pappu:- Mandir Mein Bhi Pooja Hoti Hai
Aur Church Mein Bhi Pooja Hoti Hai…
To Phir

Former Telecom Minister A Raja today told a Delhi court that he had “apprised” the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about various telecom related issues, including allocation of 2G spectrum, after holding a meeting with Pranab Mukherjee, who was External Affairs Minister and then Solicitor General G E Vahanvati.

Defending himself in the ongoing trial in the 2G spectrum allocation case, Raja, one of the accused, said that in December 2007, he and Vahanvati had gone to meet Mukherjee and an “extensive discussion” took place between them on various telecom related issues.

Nearly 600 Indians have left conflict-hit Iraq after being facilitated by the External Affairs Ministry and about 900 more are to follow even as the Indian embassy in Baghdad was in touch with the 46 nurses stuck in Tikrit who are “safe and unharmed”.

“By our estimation, the facilitation phase has now gathered pace. We have provided tickets to approximately 530 nationals. Their seats have been booked on commercial flights. In addition, we are processing the documentation of another 850 persons,” the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said here today.

Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape cases, followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, in 2013 across the country which witnessed over 33,707 such incidents.

A total of 4,335 rape incidents were reported in Madhya Pradesh, 3,063 in Maharashtra, 3,285 in Rajasthan and 3,050 in Uttar Pradesh last year, a report prepared by the National Crime Records Bureau said.

There were 24,923 incidents of rape in 2012 of which 3,425 were registered in Madhya Pradesh, 1,839 in Maharashtra, 2,049 in Rajasthan and 1,963 in Uttar Pradesh.

Barack Obama is the worst US President since World War II, 33 per cent of Americans have said in a new poll released today which gave negative grades for him for his handling of key issues like the economy, foreign policy, terrorism, heatlhcare and environment.

America would be better off if Republican Mitt Romney had won the 2012 presidential election, 45 per cent of voters say, while 38 per cent say the country would be worse off, according to the Quinnipiac University National Poll.

Employee to his boss,
“Sir,Increase my salary, I got married recently.”

The boss replied,
“The Company cannot compensate for the accidents happened outside of the company.”

Ingredients :

5 tbsp finely chopped Mint leaves
2 cups plain yoghurt
1½ tsp rock Salt (kala namak)
½ tsp roasted, ground Cumin seeds
½ tsp Salt or to taste
1 cup of chilled Water
4-6 Ice cubes
Mint Lassi Method / Tarika:

Put yoghurt, mint, cumin seeds, rock salt in a blender. Blend for a few seconds.

Add chilled water and ice cubes.

Blend till frothy.

Serve sprinkled with a pinch of ground roasted cumin powder and finely chopped mint.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging a notification by the UPSC by which Arabic and Persian languages were excluded from the list of optional subjects for the civil services examinations.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw refused to entertain the public interest litigation filed by lawyer Shahid Ali, saying the court was not going to stall the entire selection process of the Union Public Service Commission.

Ingredients :

1 large potato
1 small onion
1 Tomato
½ -inch fresh root Ginger Oil for frying
1 Teaspoon Garam masala
1 Teaspoon Chilli powder
½ Teaspoon Sugar
3 oz. peas, shelled
1 tablespoon rasins blanched
2 Teaspoons chopped Coriander leaves
1 tablespoon Lemon juIce Salt to taste
FOR THE PASTRY
8 oz. plain flour
pinch of Salt
pinch of Baking powder
1 tablespoon melted Butter 2-3 tablespoons warm Milk Oil for deep frying
Spiced Vegetable Puffs (Singara) Method :

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday said his comments in the media on women and rape were misquoted and there was no insensitivity in his remarks.

Communicating via his official Twitter handle, Parrikar said: “Whatever I have spoken at the Annual Day of the Goa State Industries Association (GSIA), attended by a lot of women, is in public domain… No sensible person with knowledge of English will ever think there is any insensitivity in my address. This time, the concerned owe me an apology.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday inducted three ministers, including two new faces, in her ministry.

She recalled veteran leader Moloy Ghatak, who was dropped from the cabinet after Trinamool’s Dola Sen lost to BJP’s Babul Supriyo from Asansol constituency in the Lok Sabha polls. He was in-charge of the party affairs in Asansol.

Ghatak replaced Purnendu Bose as the new labour minister. Bose was shifted to the agriculture ministry.

A police inspector in Odisha was Wednesday arrested for sexually exploiting a woman police inspector for 13 years, an official said.

The police crime branch tracked the movements of inspector Ajit Kumar Swain for the past few days and nabbed him from state capital Bhubaneswar, a crime branch official told IANS.

Swain was on the run ever since the woman inspector filed a complaint against him May 7.

The woman inspector said Swain started exploiting her sexually since she joined the police force in 2001.

The union cabinet Wednesday approved transfer of defence land to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) in Purnea district of Bihar, an official said.

Land from the Air Force Station in Purnea and measuring 12.91 acres will be transferred to the KVS for construction of a new school building and associated infrastructure.

“This would facilitate provision of adequate educational facilities to the children of both defence personnel and civilians,” the official said.
(IANS)

Heavy rains in the capital Wednesday brought down the temperature, bringing relief to the people from the sultry heat. The maximum was recorded at 36.6 degrees Celsius, average for this time of the season. Thursday is likely to see more rain.

The Met department said it was yet to confirm whether Wednesday’s rain was a pre-monsoon shower.

The minimum temperature settled at 25.5 degrees, two notches below average.

“It was a welcome change. Let’s see whether today’s (Wednesday’s) rain marks the arrival of the monsoon,” said Shruti Khurana, a resident of Mayur Vihar in east Delhi.

A special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court rejected the bail plea of Maulana Abdul Quavi today, for allegedly taking part in anti-national activities with alleged terrorist outfits.

Additional Principal Judge Geeta Gopi of the POTA court rejected the bail plea filed by Quavi, after he sought regular bail from the special court pleading that since the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has filed the chargesheet in the case, there is no reason to keep him behind bars.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s proposal to the finance ministry on increasing taxes on tobacco products in the upcoming budget was Wednesday welcomed by various health groups, who said the increase in taxes will help in safeguarding the health of the people.

Harsh Vardhan recently wrote to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for an increase in tax on the retail price of cigarettes from 45 percent to 60 percent in the union budget to be presented in parliament July 10.