Month: August 2014

Anti-Terrorist Squad of Rajasthan Police has issued a terror alert, saying that there is a possibility of 15 militants entering India and carrying out terror attacks.

In a letter addressed to all police chief at divisional and district level, the Superintendent of Police (ATS) said: “These terrorists are skilled in making jacket bombs and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices – VBIED.”

“And also they are expert in operating AK-47 guns. These devices can be used by them for terror strikes in different places in India.”

Actress Rani Mukerji says she would like to do a show like talk show queen Oprah Winfrey.

When asked if she would like to emulate her friend and co-star Aamir Khan and venture into TV, she said: “I hope that happens too. I am open to everything. I would like to do a show like Oprah Winfrey who tackles people from different walks of life. (When) different people will come and talk, that would make a good show.”

The actress, who is flooded with compliments for her performance in “Mardaani”, says the biggest compliment was for her action scenes, which looked real.

Social activist Medha Patkar Friday accused the government of “brutally” dealing with Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila Chanu and questioned the legal provision of treating a fasting individual as one attempting to commit suicide.

“It is absolutely a wrong law to treat fasting as equivalent to committing suicide under Section 309 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code),” Patkar told media persons on the sidelines of the Energy and Environment Conclave organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

Veteran theatre actor Tom Alter performed a musical play “Parchhaiyaan”, a tribute to late poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, at a school here Friday.

“Parchhaiyaan”, which means ‘The Shadows’, is a musical and dramatic exploration of the life of Ludhianvi. It is written and directed by Urdu writer Suhail Akhtar Warsi.

Tom took to the stage at Genesis Global School, a day-cum-residential education facility, to expose and inspire students to theatre and appreciation of Urdu poetry. He is a member of the advisory board of the school.

South Africa is keen on promoting trade in agro-processing, wines and minerals with India, apart from electrical and auto-components, a South African diplomat has said.

A statement issued by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Friday, quoted Phillip Mtsweni, economic consul attached to South Africa’s Mumbai consulate, as calling for collaboration between Indian and South African entrepreneurs.

Khalsa Warriors and Lahore Lions, the only two unbeaten teams in the inaugural Wave World Kabaddi League (WWKL) will clash in the first of the four clashes scheduled for the weekend at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

Both teams have an all-win record from the three matches they have played so far in the eight-team league, which has caught the imagination of the captial’s sports lovers, more than 7,000 of whom filled the Indoor Stadium last weekend.

The day’s second match will feature Punjab Thunder (one win and two losses) and Royal Kings USA (one win and two losses).

Whenever Israel starts a war it does so with clear objectives. Actually we use the term “war” loosely, the truth is Israeli aggression against Palestinians is akin to shooting fish in a barrel. Here are the gains made by Israel in this latest war and the losses of Palestinians in occupied Gaza and the West bank.

NATO Friday accused Russia of direct involvement in the Ukraine crisis, saying Russian military was supporting rebels in east Ukraine in a “blatant violation” of that country’s sovereignty, a media report said.

After a meeting of NATO ambassadors to discuss the crisis, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia’s denials were “hollow”, BBC reported.

The 28-member military alliance Thursday released satellite images that showed Russian forces inside Ukraine.

Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra hopes that her portrayal of M C Mary Kom in a biopic would prove to be a milestone in her film career.

Priyanka, 32, says the film, which is based on the life and struggles of the renowned boxer, is her token of love to Kom on Teacher’s Day as the film is releasing on September 5.

The Asian Games-bound India U-23 national football team started their China ‘Exposure Tour’ with a convincing 3-0 win over Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Sainty at the Century Park here Friday.

Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh and substitute Alwyn George were on target either side of halftime for India who prior to this tour drew a friendly series against Pakistan 1-1.

One-time runnersup Jiangsu are currently placed seventh in the Chinese Super League table having garnered 31 points from 21 matches so far. They fielded their second string side in this match.

Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party has announced it is willing to restart talks with the government after a lapse of nearly three years to find a political solution to a dragging ethnic issue after a three-decade civil war ended in 2009, an official said here Friday.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said it was ready to resume discussions with the government to reach a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis based on power devolution within a united Sri Lanka, Xinhua reported.

Five Afghan policemen were kidnapped Friday after their checkpoint was attacked by Taliban militants in country’s western Herat province, police said.

“Militants numbering 10 to 15 raided a security checkpoint in a surrounding area of Obe district around midday. The kidnapping took place after a gunfight. The militants also took the weapons of the checkpoint,” Shir Agha Alokozai, the district police chief, told Xinhua.

P.V. Sindhu created history here Friday when she assured herself of a second bronze medal by reaching the women’s singles semi-finals of the World Badminton Championships at the Ballerup Super Arena.

Winner of a bronze medal in the last edition, Sindhu defeated Chinese second seed Shixian Wang 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 in an hour and 25 minutes to advance to the last four.

Compatriot Saina Nehwal, however, lost her last eight clash earlier in the day.
(IANS)

The Maharashtra government has extended the last date for submission of ‘Request For Proposal’ (RFP) for the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport till Oct 30, an official said Friday.

The RFP, floated in February this year, was amended by the project management committee comprising officials of the central and state governments. The RFP outlines the bidding process and contract terms.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes 100 days in office next week, the overall sentiment of India Inc. is one of optimism, as the reversal of a perception of policy inaction with several meaningful steps on economic reforms have made the climate conducive for fresh investments and growth, stakeholders said.

They are found along railway tracks, by the roadside, in parks, in unused wells, behind petrol pumps… Every single day, Delhi Police recover an average of eight or nine bodies across the capital, some rotting and some bruised and battered.

Most victims remain unidentified. A handful are those of children. But mostly, they are in the age group of 35 to 80 years, the majority of them males.

Delhi Police data reveals that 2,199 unidentified bodies were found between Jan 1 and Aug 26 this year, which works out to nine bodies a day.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will visit India next week to “strengthen the strategic partnership” between the two countries and engage with Indian Premier Narendra Modi to increase bilateral cooperation, it was announced Friday.

“I will travel to India and Malaysia” from Sep 4 to 6, said Abbott, for whom it will be his first visit to India as prime minister.

“…I will visit New Delhi and India’s financial capital, Mumbai, to strengthen the strategic partnership between our two countries,” he said here.

Popular South Korean band N-Sonic is set to give its maiden performance in the country as part of the K-POP India festival 2014 finale here Saturday.

The all boys K-POP band consisting of J. Heart, Sihoo, Byeol, Minkee, Black J and Zion, is all set to make the crowd sway when they belt out their hit numbers at the finale at Siri Fort Auditorium here.

Although K-POP comprises all genres of “popular music” within South Korea, the term is more often used to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop and more.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $810.7 million to $318.57 billion due to a decline in the currency assets for the week ended Aug 22, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.

The reserves declined by $643.3 million to $319.34 billion for the week ended Aug 8.

According to the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, declined by $783 million to $291.31 billion for the week under review.

The foreign currency assets had plunged $646.7 million to $292.04 billion for the previous week.

Red is in vogue and it is time for you to give a red makeover to your wardrobe as the colour helps boost confidence.

In recent times, Hollywood celebrities, including January Jones, Claire Danes, Rita Ora and Irina Shayk, brought the colour in vogue by hitting the red carpet in red ensembles by different designers.

According to a poll conducted by Dove Colour Confidence, embracing red clothing can boost confidence levels with 16 percent of women associating it with confidence above all other spectrum colours.

A day after a Kerala court dismissed a probe report in a graft case involving him, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Friday said he is ready to face any further investigation as his conscience is very clear.

“I am prepared to face any probe because only the guilty need to fear and my conscience is very clear,” Chandy told reporters here.

A vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram Thursday dismissed the probe report in the corruption case and asked the state vigilance department to re-investigate the accused, including Chandy, two cabinet ministers and eight other people.

It is important that a good quality third-party certification is adopted by institutes imparting skill development programmes to the youth, Sarbananda Sonowal, minister of state for skill development, said Friday.

Birds have an innate ability to maneuver in mid-air, a talent that could have helped their ancestors learn to fly rather than fall from a perch, says a study.

Even ungainly, day-old baby birds successfully use their flapping wings to right themselves when they fall from a nest, a skill that improves with age until they become coordinated and graceful flyers, the findings showed.

India Friday entered into an agreement with the World Bank for providing assistance of $107 million for the second phase of the Mizoram State Roads Project (MSRP II).

According to the Finance Ministry, the project is fully funded through World Bank’s International Development Agency (IDA).

“This project is the first project facilitating regional connectivity in transport sector undertaken in India with World Bank support,” the ministry said in a statement.

The central government Friday appointed Steel Secretary G. Mohan Kumar as defence production secretary while Ashok Lavasa was made environment and forests secretary, an official statement said Friday.

According to the appointments cleared by the appointments committee of the cabinet, Rakesh Singh, an 1978 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, will replace Kumar as steel secretary.

Kumar is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre while Lavasa is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre.