Month: September 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee released a set of eight commemorative postage stamps on Indian musicians at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The set of stamps brought out by the Department of Posts features luminaries in the field of classical Indian music namely Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, D.K. Pattammal, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday claimed that the Centre has done nothing wrong in finalising the appointment of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) P Sathasivam for the post of Kerala Governor. Responding to differences within the Congress on Sathasivam’s appointment, Swamy told ANI, “ Rangathan Mishra, who was the Chief Justice, was sent to the Parliament as a member of the Congress Party, not even as a nominated member. The CPI (M) sent a commander-in-chief in the Army to Parliament. This has been happening.

Expressing concern over substantial shortfall in meeting the target for construction of houses under JNNURM in the capital, Urban Development and Housing Minister Venkaiah Naidu today asked Delhi administration to expedite the project.

In a meeting to review the status of construction of houses under JNNURM, it was reported that as against the sanctioned 64,184 dwelling units in Delhi, construction of only 22,924 units has been completed, out of which only 585 have been occupied so far.

The successful visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan, his first bilateral trip outside the subcontinent, ended today with the Indian leader thanking the country for displaying its affection and warmth.

Elated over the success of the visit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj went to the airport here to receive Modi and congratulate him for the same.

“I thank the people of Japan for the affection, warmth & wonderful hospitality during my visit. Thank you Japan,” the Prime Minister tweeted after his return. The same message was tweeted in Japanese language as well.

A two-seater aircraft today crashed into an abandoned house in the Railway Colony here, injuring the sole woman pilot, police said.

No one else was injured in the accident in which the pilot, Gurpreet (24), lost control of the Cessna-152 aircraft and crash-landed on the roof of the house, declared unsafe by the local administration, at the Babu Purwa Railway Colony.

The pilot, employed by private firm Garg Aviation, was immediately rushed to the Air Force hospital here, police said, adding that the aircraft suffered major damage.

Amnesty International (AI) Wednesday accused the Sudanese security forces of killing, injuring and torturing protesters, urging that those responsible for these acts be brought to justice.

The charges were detailed in AI’s latest report which was prepared along with the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) and entitled “The Excessive and Deadly: The use of force, detention and torture against protesters in Sudan”.

The report documents allegations of human rights violations committed by the security forces against mostly peaceful protesters over the past two years.

BJP today demanded a CBI probe into the murder of RSS activist Manoj allegedly by CPI(M) workers and boycotted an all-party meet called to ensure peace in the politically sensitive area holding that agreements of such initiatives in the past had been breached by CPI(M).

Expressing dissatisfaction at the state government’s decision to conduct a probe by a Crime Branch team into the killing, senior BJP leader P K Krishnadas said only a CBI investigation could unearth the “high-level conspiracy” hatched by the CPI(M) leadership to carry out the murder.

At least 18 militants were killed Wednesday in a security raid on their hideouts in Egypt’s North Sinai province, a security official said.

“The security forces conducted two raids in Sheikh Zuweid city and killed 18 militants, most of whom belonged to Al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group,” the official told Xinhua, noting that the extremists had four vehicles equipped with artillery and explosives.

Australian captain Michael Clarke, who returned from Zimbabwe with an injured hamstring, remains doubtful for the next month’s tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for three ODIs and a Twenty20 international against Pakistan.

Clarke had to leave the triangular series, also involving South Africa, in Zimbabwe after he pulled his hamstring during the historic defeat against the host nation Sunday.

After returning, Clarke underwent scans in Sydney but physiotherapist Alex Kountouris was unable to give a prognosis Wednesday.

The Border Security Force seized a Chinese pistol thrown into the Indian side by a Bangladeshi miscreant in West Bengal’s Nadia district Wednesday.

The discovery were made when the BSF personnel challenged a Bangladeshi, who threw some sealed packets wrapped in clothes over the border fencing.

The man fled into Khajipur village in Bangladesh.

On opening the sealed packets, the BSF found the pistol, two magazines and four rounds of ammunition.

–IANS

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday sparred on the scheduled Teachers’ Day address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to school children across the country Friday.

Senior Congress leader and party general secretary Madhusudan Mistry charged Modi with trying to “brainwash children” through this address.

“What is the need for the young children to listen to the prime minister,” Mistry said here.

Charminar – the symbol of Hyderabad – is the most searched historical site in the city on Google, the world’s biggest search engine.

Google search trends analysis for the past six months reveals Charminar as the most searched historical site in the city, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Charminar has been searched the most in Andhra Pradesh (combined state) followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

“Interestingly, there is a rising interest on the builders of Charminar as it remained as one of the top most queries on Google.”

The Congress Wednesday was caught in a rift as two leaders voiced contradicting opinion on the appointment of former chief justice of India P. Sathasivam as the Kerala governor.

While Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma slammed the government for patronising retired judges, Manish Tewari said no motive can be attributed to Sathasivam being appointed governor of a state.

All India Women’s Congress president Shobha Oza later downplayed Tewari’s comments saying it was his personal opinion.

Former Supreme Court chief justice P. Sathasivam was Wednesday named the new governor of Kerala. He succeeds Sheila Dikshit who has resigned.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said President Pranab Mukherjee had accepted the resignation of Dikshit, a former chief minister of Delhi and a Congress leader.

The communique said Sathasivam would be the governor “with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office”.

-IANS

Hundreds of teachers in private aided colleges in Punjab will hold a protest Sep 5 – Teachers’ Day – against the failure of the Punjab government to release grants to these colleges.

As a result of this, teachers have been without salaries for months.

Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) vice president Jagwant Singh Wednesday said teachers of the affected colleges, who have not got their salaries for eight to 12 months, will protest for two hours on Teachers’ Day to highlight their plight.

Former Supreme Court chief justice P. Sathasivam was Wednesday named the new governor of Kerala. He succeeds Sheila Dikshit who has resigned.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said President Pranab Mukherjee had accepted the resignation of Dikshit, a former chief minister of Delhi and a Congress leader.

The communique said Sathasivam would be the governor “with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office”.

(IANS)

President Pranab Mukherjee will deliver the fifth Ambedkar memorial lecture on ‘Vision of India in 21st Century as envisaged by Dr. Ambedkar’ here Thursday, Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

The lecture has been organised at the Vigyan Bhavan by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, an autonomous body set up in 1992 under the aegis of the social justice and empowerment ministry.

(IANS)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday reviewed the situation in Manipur ahead of an economic blockade called by some Naga organisations.

At a meeting here with Manipur Governor V.K. Duggal, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam and senior ministry officers, Rajnath Singh appealed to “all concerned parties to help maintain a conducive atmosphere”.

“It is reiterated that the (central) government is committed to finding a solution to all related issues,” a home ministry statement quoted Rajnath Singh as saying.

The introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine in India is one of the most pro-people decisions as it has the potential to drastically reduce infant mortality, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Wednesday.

Rotavirus is the primary cause of moderate to severe diarrhoea, morbidity and mortality for children less than five years of age in India, he said at the 11th International Rotavirus Symposium here.

Reporters Without Borders Wednesday said it was “appalled” by the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff, calling it a war crime.

“This is an outrageous, disgusting and demented war crime that should be tried before an international court,” said Christophe Deloire, the group’s secretary general.

“Not content with developing a hostage industry, the Islamic State is taking its horror even further by staging the beheading of journalists in series,” he added.

A video released by the Islamic State showed the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff.

Indian films like “Finding Fanny” and “Haider” will be screened at the forthcoming Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea.

The two films, along with “Margarita, With A Straw”, “Labour Of Love”, “Goli Soda” and “Zahir” from the country, will be showcased as part of the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ category at the fest.

BIFF is scheduled to be held Oct 2-11.

Homi Adajania, the director of “Finding Fanny” is ecstatic that his English language movie starring Hindi film actors, is among the chosen projects.

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator has expressed optimism about reaching a deal with six world powers on Tehran’s nuclear energy programme before the Nov 24 deadline, state-run Press TV reported Wednesday.

“I believe we are still not in a position to judge whether or not we can achieve a deal before the deadline which is the 24th of November, but we are trying our best and we are hopeful and we are optimistic,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Wednesday said he is pained to know about a sedition incident, wherein a few people issued an anti-national statement.

“I am pained to know about the Kugri-Sugnam sedition episode wherein a few disgruntled politicians, who were hand in glove with one or two media persons, prompted a few people of the panchayats to issue a statement, which was anti-national and uncalled for,” he told reporters.

Automobile manufacturer Tata Motors’ luxury sports car brand Jaguar will unveil its XE S derivative vehicle next month, a company statement said Wednesday.

Jaguar said the full XE range will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show press conference on Oct 2.

Jaguar has described the XE as “a true driver’s car, one that redefines the concept of the mid-size sports saloon”. The XE will be Jaguar’s smallest model and with it the company will widen its presence in the market and potentially increasing its already healthy profits.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Wednesday asked FICCI not to hold a lifestyle exhibition, “Alishan Pakistan”, set for next week here.

“The sentiments of our citizens would be hurt if you allow promotion of any product of a country which is attacking Bharat,” Ram Krishna Srivastava of the VHP said in a letter to FICCI.

The letter, released to the media, has been sent to Delhi’s Lt. Governor, the police commissioner as well as the India Trade Promotion Organization, whose Pragati Maidan is to host the event Sep 11-14.

FICCI officials were not available for comment.