Month: August 2014

Uttar Pradesh Government today decided to constitue fast track courts in all districts to sort out pending cases of violence against women and those cases involving women accused.

The decision was taken during a state cabinet meeting here chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

“The cabinet has decided to constitute fast track courts in all the districts to sort out cases of violence against women and criminal cases pending against women,” he told reporters after the cabinet meet.

Thousands of passengers are feeling the impact of a pilots strike in Germany after negotiations between the country’s biggest airline Lufthansa and the union representing pilots collapsed over a long-running dispute regarding wages and early retirement benefits.

Germanwings, a subsidiary of Germany’s biggest airline Lufthansa, said up to 15,000 passengers were affected by today’s strike which started at 6 am (local time) and was to last until noon.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin today confirmed the safety of about a dozen Indian workers who were arrested in Kuwait following a brawl with foreign nationals.

The MEA spokesperson also added that around a dozen or two Indian nationals have been taken into custody and another 10 to 15 are injured and are in hospital but assured that all of them were safe.

Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav on Friday lashed out at senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi over his suggestion that politicians should not remain in active posts beyond an age, saying the people coming forward with such debates want to eliminate some people.

“Politics is not taught in any college or university. The people learn it after working among the people. They are not government officials. So, these types of debates are of no use,” Yadav told ANI here.

The Manipur government Friday accorded a ceremonial farewell to outgoing Governor Vinod Kumar Duggal, who submitted his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi Thursday.

A farewell function was held at the Imphal Raj Bhavan where Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, his cabinet colleagues, top officials and party leaders were present.

Former home secretary Duggal, who holds additional charge of the governor of Mizoram as well, told reporters here: “I have submitted my resignation to the president on my own will.” He returned here Friday from New Delhi.

The Punjab government Friday ordered a vigilance probe into reports that some of its employees have migrated abroad while continuing their government jobs here.

“Taking cognizance of the reports, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a detailed vigilance inquiry into the matter of state government employees who have taken permanent resident visas, green cards, immigrant status in different foreign countries in violation of existing government rules,” a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said Friday.

A new study has revealed that people who are good at computer games have a larger English vocabulary.

According to the study by University of Gothenburg and Karlstad University, young people who play a lot of interactive English computer games gain an advantage in terms of their English vocabulary compared with those who do not play or only play a little.

South Africa spinner Imran Tahir has been given a timely confidence boost following his performance against Australia in the Triangular series match on Wednesday.

The leg-spinner made an impact with the ball on a batting friendly deck at the Harare Sports Club , and has put aside his disappointing performances in the longer format of the game.

Tahir said that it feels good, and added that he is honoured to be a part of this talented team, Sport24 reported.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly stepped up to explain the meeting between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri and the Pakistani army by saying that the military would have taken the initiative to meet the sulking leaders whether or not the government had met the military on Thursday.

He however, added that the military had sought his permission before meeting the PTI and PAT leaders, reported The Express Tribune.

At least 150 militants were reportedly killed Friday in renewed Syrian airstrikes in the capital Damascus’s eastern suburb of Jobar.

The Syrian air forces intensified raids on Jobar just a day after the armed forces declared the commencement of their wide-scale offensive to dislodge the rebels out of the suburb, Xinhua reported.

The Syrian troops started a ground offensive Thursday night amid reports that they have advanced a couple of blocks inside that rebel-held area.

The Visva Bharati University in West Bengal’s Shantiniketan is looking into a sexual harassment complaint by a student from the northeast, an official said Friday.

The fine arts student of the varsity’s Kala Bhavan was allegedly sexually assaulted by her classmates earlier this week. They allegedly recorded the assault on video and blackmailed her. The traumatised student had to be admitted to a local hospital and was later released.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporter Professor Rakesh Sinha on Friday voiced his support for Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah, saying she has expressed the truth about Indian culture and civilization.

Heptullah was earlier reportedly quoted as saying that there is nothing wrong in calling ‘all Indians as Hindus’. However, she later claimed that she was misquoted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to take advantage of the brand created by the Indian diaspora across the globe and this would be his key message when he addresses them at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York, according to a BJP lawmaker.

“You have created a brand for India – ‘Brand India’ (through your hard work). The Prime Minister wants to take advantage of that brand created by Indian Americans,” BJP Lok Sabha MP Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore told a meeting of Indian-Americans in Ashburn, Virginia, a suburb of Washington.

A new research has revealed that bacterial growth on hollow-head toothbrushes is 3,000 times more than solid-head power toothbrushes.

According to researchers at the University of Texas, microbial counts were lower in the solid-head toothbrush group than in the two hollow-head toothbrush groups in 9 out of 10 comparisons.

Lead author Donna Warren Morris said that toothbrushes could transmit microorganisms that caused disease and infections and that, a solid-head design allowed less growth of bacteria and bristles should be soft and made of nylon.

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday criticized Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah over her remark that there is nothing wrong with the term Hindu being applied equally to all citizens as a national identity, and said that Article 1 of the Constitution talks of India as Bharat.

“We have great respect of Najma, but it will be appropriate if she reads the Constitution of India. Article 1 talks of India as Bharat. So therefore, the identity of Indians is either Indian or Bharatiya, not Hindus,” said Tewari.

Mehbooba Mufti, president of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir, Friday appealed the central government to start defence minister level talks with Pakistan.

Addressing a media conference here, Mufti said: “The union government should start mature, meaningful defence minister level talks with Pakistan to carry forward the agenda of peace and progress between the two neighbouring counties.”

DMK president M. Karunanidhi Friday announced that his party would boycott the Sep 19 local body elections in Tamil Nadu.

In a statement issued here, Karunanidhi said the state election commission made the poll announcement Aug 28 and also said nominations could be filed on the same day.

Citing the poll panel’s announcement that Sep 4 is the last date for filing of the nominations, Karunanidhi said the poll body should also ponder whether the opposition parties would have time to select their candidates.

“The intervening days Aug 29, 30 and 31 (are) holidays,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday urged militants in southeastern Ukraine to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian soldiers to allow them to get out of the combat areas.

“I am calling on forces to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian soldiers in order to avoid senseless casualties, enable them to get out of the combat areas, reunite with their families and to provide urgent medical aid,” the presidential address released by the Kremlin press service said.

Instead of trashing contaminated positive blood samples in hospitals, these can be used for studying the presence of skin germs, a study suggests.

According to researchers from Tel Aviv University, clinicians may be able to use the resistance profiles of skin bacteria identified by these tests to treat patients with antibiotics appropriate to their ailment.

Finnish researchers have claimed to develop a new system for diagnosing malaria infection faster.

The method is based on computer vision algorithms similar to those used in facial recognition systems combined with visualisation of only the diagnostically most relevant areas.

Tablet computers can be used to view the images.

This is how it works.

A thin layer of blood smeared on a microscope slide is first digitised.

The algorithm analyses over 50,000 red blood cells per sample and ranks them according to the probability of infection.

Congress leader Anand Sharma on Friday asked the Centre to take up the matter concerning the arrest of Indian workers in Kuwait with the government there, and said all those responsible for perpetrating atrocities should be brought to justice.

Reacting to the arrest of Indian workers in Kuwait, Sharma said that it is a very serious matter.

“The Government of India must take it very seriously with the Kuwaiti government and the authorities there must ensure that the Indians are treated in a dignified manner and they return home safely,” Sharma told ANI here.

The CBI has filed a closure report in the coal block allocation scam against industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others in a court here, sources said Friday.

The Central Board of Investigation (CBI) Thursday filed its closure report in the court of Special Judge Bharat Parashar, who will hear the matter Sep 1.

The agency had registered a first information report in October 2013 against Birla on charges of criminal conspiracy in the allocation of coal blocks.

Saina Nehwal faltered for the fifth consecutive time in the women’s singles quarter-finals of the World Badminton Championships when she was ousted in straight games by top seeded Chinese Li Xuerui at the Baller Super Arena here Friday.

The reigning Olympic champion drubbed the seventh seeded Indian 21-15, 21-15 in 45 minutes to take an 8-2 lead in career meetings.

The last Indian left in the sport’s most prestigious tournament, P.V. Sindhu will play her quarter-final later in the day.

–IANS

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is set to slash 6,000 jobs and cut routes as part of a major revamp after suffering the loss of two commercial jets this year, the Straits Times reported Friday.

State wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, which controls the flag carrier, said it would inject 6 billion Malaysian ringgits (around $1.9 billion) over three years into a new company that will house the airlines.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has reportedly released a video showing the beheading of a Kurdish man in order to warn the Iraqi forces fighting against ISIS in Iraq.

The video is titled “A message in blood” and shows several captured Iraqi soldiers dressed in orange jumpsuits and the victim kneeling on the ground near a mosque in the militant-held city of Mosul before he is beheaded, reported the BBC.

The ISIS warned that other captured soldiers will also be killed if Kurdish leaders keep supporting the U.S.