Month: August 2014

Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today denied taking any decision on government formation in Delhi, as the capital continues to be under governor’s rule since Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned from his post.

“I haven’t taken any decision yet, haven’t sent out any signal. There’s a possibility of everything,” said Jung.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court (SC) had asked the Centre to take a decision on the holding of Delhi Assembly elections, following a petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal asking for the dissolution of the assembly and fresh polls.

Chinese officials, with help from US authorities, have seized 70 kg of Cocaine in Shanghai, one of the largest haul of the contraband confiscated in China in recent years.

In August, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) tipped off Chinese officials that a container departing from Peru and moving through Mexico was highly suspected of containing drugs, the Ministry of Public Security here said today.

Four bodies were found at two places in the insurgency-ravaged Garo Hills region of Meghalaya Thursday, police said.

A police spokesperson said three bullet-riddled bodies were found in Oragitok village in West Garo Hills after the victims were kidnapped from other areas and gunned down by suspected militants Wednesday night.

Of the three bodies, one was identified as that of Grider T. Sangma from Samanda in East Garo Hills.

The move to send Suresh Raina to bat at number five paid rich dividends as his match-winning century helped India post a 133-run win over England, and it seems the Indian team management is in no mood to tamper with the middle order batsman’s position in the batting line-up.

“Yes, Raina will bat at number five. That’s how we will move ahead,” said Dhoni when asked pertinently about Raina batting slot.

The local civic body today launched an initiative to make Hyderabad free of potholes, which are source of constant annoyance for motorists.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will be deploying hi-tech pothole filling vehicles under the initiative ‘Road Doctor’.

Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain said GHMC has adopted the latest technology to fill potholes and ensure a trouble-free ride for road users.

“In a span of 90 days there will not be a single pothole in the city,” he said.

Applications are invited for JRF position to work on a research project “Feasibility study for development of an instrument for noninvasive prognosis of dengue”. This position is available for Indian citizens to work within the Electronics & Communication Engineering Department. The position is temporary and renewable each year subject to satisfactory performance for a maximum of two years. The application deadline is 30 September 2014.

Eligibility: Applicants studying B.E / B.Tech and ME/M.Tech in ECE and related branches are eligible.

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar lavished parises on Suresh Raina’s match-winning knock in the second ODI against England and rated the left-hander’s hundred as one of the best ODI innings overseas.

Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi offered his prayers at the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti here, ahead of the release of ‘Raja Natwarlal’.

The 35-year-old actor was spotted earlier this week at the shrine.

“I am happy to have visited the shrine and I hope to return soon,” said Emraan, who ensures he visits the dargah before the release of his films.

‘Raja Natwarlal’ directed by Kunal Deshmukh, also stars Humaima Malick, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon in pivotal roles. The movie is set to release tomorrow.

England captain Alastair Cook is reportedly on the brink of a one-match ban after his side was fined for a slow over-rate in the ODI against India in Cardiff. Cook had been fined 20 percent of his match fee with the other England players fined 10 percent of their match fees. The skipper would face a ban if England repeats the offence in ODI cricket during the next 12 months, The BBC reported. India beat England by 133 runs in the second one-dayer at Cardiff and lead the five-match series 1-0 after the first ODI at Bristol was abandoned without any play because of rain.

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps for the appointment of Lokpal and Lokayuktas.

In a letter to Modi in Hindi, he said: “Today (Aug 28), three years have been completed of my hunger strike but the Lokpal and Lokayukta could not be appointed so far.”

“The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill-2013 was passed in the parliament in December, 2013 and also received the assent from the president but no appointment took place despite the passage of eight months,” he said.

In a major decision that would help fast track highways projects, the government today empowered the Road Transport and Highways (RTH) Ministry to decide on the mode of delivery and amendments in regard to agreements with developers, reports PTI.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that the government’s aim was to not let any family in the country be deprived of banking facilities. At the launch of the Pradhanmantri Jan Dhan Yojana, here at Vigyan Bhawan, Jaitley said, “It is government’s aim to not let any family be deprived of banking facilities.” He claimed that the government which has set a target of 7.5 crore families will be realised by January 26 next year for which he credited Prime Minister’s initiatives in this regard.

Tata Sons, the promoter of major operating firms of the Tata Group, has roped in JWT a creative agency for its global campaign to promote the Tata brand.

“It is the Tata group’s vision that by 2025 the Tata brand will rank amongst the top 25 most admired corporate and employer brands globally, and this requires the group to invest in explaining to stakeholders around the world who we are and what we stand for,” a Tata Sons spokesperson told PTI.

The global brand campaign will seek to present three key points about the Tata brand of a being global, trustworthy and good corporate.

A committee set up to look into the problems of freedom fighters will meet at Port Blair next week to formulate ways for fast redressal of grievances, the home ministry said Thursday.

The meeting of the ministry’s Committee of Eminent Freedom Fighters would be held Sep 3 under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, said a home ministry statement.

Even as the controversy surrounding Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Tapas Paul’s ‘rape and kill’ remarks is yet to subside, a party legislator has created a row by saying “rapes will happen so long as the Earth exists”.

The comments by Dipak Kumar Halder, Trinamool legislator from West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour, has created an outrage, with people demanding his suspension from the party and the assembly.

The Asian Games-bound Indian women’s football team went down 0-3 to Century Park FC in their first practice match here Thursday.

India conceded on both sides of halftime with their best chance coming in the second period when newly-appointed captain Bembem Devi failed to convert from the penalty spot.

India took time to adjust to the conditions at the Century Park Stadium.

In a brief respite for the city-based multi-system operator (MSO) Kal Cables Pvt Ltd, the Madras High Court Thursday has allowed the company not to run a scroll that its services would be cut in 15 days’ time.

However, a question mark hangs over the households who have invested in set-top boxes (STB) to receive their satellite channel signals from Kal Cables affiliated cable operators.

Investigators engaged in unraveling the mystery surrounding Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have reportedly said that the flight may have turned south a little sooner than first thought but added that they are still focusing on the area off the West Australia coast.

Warren Truss, Federal Transport Minister, provided the update after signing a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai in Canberra, reported News.com.au.

The flight, along with 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared in March this year. (ANI)

BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Thursday avoided commenting on senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi’s remark that politicians should not remain in active posts beyond an age, saying his party has the highest respect for the senior leadership who stand as a mentor.

“I would not join issues with Mr. Dwivedi what he has to say. But the fact remains that in the BJP, we have the highest respect for our senior leadership, they are all involved in the policy making, all decision making and guidance. They stand as a mentor for the Bharatiya Janata Party,” said Rudy.

Militants of the Islamic State (IS) Sunni extremist organisation have executed dozens of Syrian soldiers captured after the rebels seized al-Tabaqa military airport from government forces earlier this week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported Thursday.

SOHR said the soldiers were executed Wednesday after they tried in vain to hide somewhere between the town of al-Tabaqa in the northern province of al-Raqqa, and the area of Athraya.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday launched the 656-km long expressway project that will provide better connectivity between Rourkela in the state and Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh.

The project is named after his late father Biju Patnaik and would be implemented at a total cost of Rs.3,200 crore in two phases, an official of the Chief Minister Office, told IANS.

India’s only multilingual book show ‘Kitaabnama: Books and Beyond’, which airs on DD Bharati, is scheduled to complete 50 episodes at the end of this month.

The television programme showcases the multilingual diversity of India.

Conceived by writer and literary activist Namita Gokhale, the programme invites speakers from different languages of the country apart from Hindi and English, including Bangla, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Khasi, Rajasthani, Gujarati and Asura among others.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday welcomed the move by the central government to allow states to directly market their own products and services to other countries.

“The move marks the fulfilment of a long standing demand raised by Punjab to decentralize the export process,” a spokesman of the chief minister’s office said here.

“Mr Badal had always advocated the direct trading system between a state and countries of its choice,” he said.

A man pronounced dead after suffering respiratory failure and multiple organ failure was found alive two hours later in a morgue body bag in Brazil’s Salvador city, a media report said Thursday.

Valdelucio Goncalves, 54, was found alive by his brother who alerted the authorities after noticing that the body inside the bag was moving, The Independent reported.

Goncalves was taken back to the Menandro de Farias General Hospital where doctors had declared him dead.

An investigation into the incident has been launched.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal fought her way back from a game down to register a 14-21 21-18 21-12 victory over Sayaka Takahashi of Japan and enter the quarterfinals of the women’s singles event of the World Badminton Championships, here today.

World No. 7 Saina, seeded seventh in the tournament, lost the first game, but rallied in a fine fashion to prevail over her 13th seeded Japanese rival in a match that lasted an hour and five minutes at the Ballerup Super Arena here.

Saina will take on World No. 1 Li Xuerui of China in the last eight stage of the tournament.