Month: November 2014

Assam to hand over jihadi activities cases to NIA

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Assam will hand over cases related to jihadi activities in the state to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said Saturday.

Gogoi reviewed the law and order situation in the state during a meeting and said the cases will be handed over to the NIA so that they can be probed thoroughly as they have “international ramifications”.

“We have to take all possible measures to foil the sinister designs of anti-national elements. We will not compromise on national security and national integrity,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki’s total sales dip in Oct

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India’s passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Saturday said it sold 103,973 units last month down from 105,087 units sold in Oct 2013.

In a statement issued here Maruti Suzuki said the company sold 97,069 units in the domestic market last month up from 96,062 units sold in Oct 2013.

The company’s total sales was pulled down due to lower exports last month. It shipped out 6,904 units last month as against 9,025 units exported during the comparable period last year.

Maruti Suzuki’s sales dipped in the volume segments (Alto, WagonR, Ritz, Celerio, Swift, Dzire).

LJP appeals to Shiv Sena not to be obstinate

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The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), an ally of NDA, today appealed to the Shiv Sena to understand the “reality” of the current political situation in Maharashtra and said it should not be “obstinate” on conditions for joining the state government.

“Shiv Sena should understand the reality and not be obstinate on conditions for joining the Devendra Fadnavis government,” LJP President and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters here.

14 killed in Himachal as bus rolls down gorge

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Twelve people were killed and five injured when a privately-owned mini bus rolled down a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district Saturday, officials said.

The death toll could rise as rescue operations are going on.

The bus, bound for Himgiri village, fell into a 700-metre gorge near Shool nullah in Salooni tehsil, some 90 km from Chamba town.

The driver probably lost control at a hairpin bend and the vehicle plunged into the gorge.

Locals started rescue operations before the authorities could reach the spot.

‘Industry lacks awareness of IP creation benefit’

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Indian industry lacks awareness of the benefits of intellectual property (IP) creation and enforcement for wealth creation, and this needs to be corrected, Chaitanya Prasad, controller general of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, DIPP, ministry of commerce and industry, said here Saturday.

The lack of awareness disables Indian industry from realising the potential role of IPRs despite their innovative capability, he said.

Prasad was speaking at a Training and Awareness Programme on Intellectual Property Rights organised by FICCI and Intellectual Property India.

Telangana chief minister accuses Modi government of bias

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Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Saturday charged the Narendra Modi-led central government of bias against the state.

The chief minister alleged that the Centre is not cooperating with Telangana in the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He also reiterated that the Andhra Pradesh government is denying Telangana its due share of electricity and also stalling electricity generation at Srisailam.

Revoke prohibitory orders in Bengal village: Congress

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The Congress Saturday demanded return of normalcy in the violence-hit Makhra village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district where prohibitory orders have been clamped following the death of three people in political clashes Monday.

With the village being kept out of bounds for the opposition, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the Mamata Banerjee government of “terrorizing” the villagers by clamping prohibitory orders.

1,273 people killed in Iraq violence in October: UN

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A total of 1,273 Iraqis were killed and 2,010 others were injured in terrorist attacks and violence in October in Iraq, according to a statement issued Saturday by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

The statement said that 856 civilians, including 139 policemen, and 417 Iraqi security forces personnel were killed, while 1,490 civilians, including 172 policemen, were wounded. An additional 520 security members were wounded in terrorist and violent acts during 31 days of the month, Xinhua reported citing the statement said.

Warrant against Digvijaya over Gadkari defamation

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A court here Saturday issued a bailable warrant against Congress leader Digvijaya Singh after he failed to appear before it in a criminal defamation case lodged against him by union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha also warned Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari of dismissing his plea if he also fails to appear before the court on the next date of hearing, Nov 10.

Fourth India Non-Fiction Festival in Delhi Nov 15, 16

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Dedicated to non-fiction literary works, the two-day India Non-Fiction Festival will begin in the national capital Nov 15, a statement said Saturday.

In its fourth edition, the festival will bring together noted authors and personalities from diverse fields and they would engage in discussions on issues ranging from business and sociology to travel and health.

The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Be Bold. Stay Bold’.

General Motors India sales down 45 percent in October

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General Motors India sold 4,263 vehicles in October against 7,715 units sold in the corresponding period last year — a drop of 44.74 percent, the company said Saturday.

“Even though the lower fuel prices are encouraging, the market is not showing any movement apart from new entries. Even the festival season did not bring the expected momentum in the market. The turnaround of the automobile sector is still not visible in the short-term,” P. Balendran, vice president, General Motors India, said.

One more accused arrested in Muzaffarnagar gangrape case

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One more accused of Muzaffarnagar gangrape case was today arrested and sent to 14 days judicial custody.

The accused, Pushpender, who was absconding in connection with a gangrape of a riot victim at Phugana village in the district last year, was today arrested, a police officer said here.

A local court sent him to judicial custody up to November 15.

According to prosecution, six cases in Phugana and one case in Lank village were registered during riots against 27 people of which one case of Phugana was closed by SIT.

Anger in Hong Kong as protesters compared to slaves

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A prominent businesswoman has sparked outrage in Hong Kong by comparing the city’s pro-democracy protesters to African-American slaves, suggesting they might need to “wait for a while” to win the freedoms they are seeking.

“American slaves were liberated in 1861 but did not get voting rights until 107 years later, so why can’t Hong Kong wait for a while?” Laura Cha, an HSBC board member, was quoted as saying by The Standard newspaper yesterday.

Abdullah family’s decade-old ties with Ganderbal to end

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With Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deciding against seeking re-election from Ganderbal, the decades-old relationship of the Abdullah family with the constituency, considered to be its stronghold, will come to an end.

The ruling National Conference (NC) yesterday announced a fourth list of candidates with its working president Omar to fight from two constituencies- Sonwar in Srinagar and Beerwah in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

Omar, however, said he had made this decision two years ago.

BJP responsible for Jharkhand’s poor condition: Namdhari

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Former Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari today held BJP responsible for the ‘poor’ condition of the mineral rich state which lagged behind on the developmental front.

Of the 14 years of creation of Jharkhand, the BJP was in power for 10 years and it should accept its failure, Namdhari, an Independent leader, told reporters.

He, however, admitted that there was a wave in favour of Prime Minister Naredra Modi and BJP in the coming Assembly election in Jharkhand.

Gold bounces on low-level buying; silver hits 4-year low

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Gold prices witnessed a modest rebound after six sessions of uninterrupted slide at the domestic bullion market today on emergence of fresh stockists buying as well as wedding-related jewellery demand, despite the precious metals melt-down in global markets.

In contrast, silver slumped further to hit a four-year low and closed below the key Rs 37,000 per kilo mark under the impact of massive unwinding from speculators and savvy traders.

Standard gold (99.5 purity) recouped by Rs 105 to settle at Rs 26,065 per 10 grams from overnight closing level of Rs 25,960.

Need to change present education system: Rajnath

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Terming the present education system in the country as a victim of Macaulay’s conspiracy”, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that there was a need to change it and stressed on use of mother tongue.

“We are tied in a set pattern and there is need to come out of it. This is wrong to think that all knowledge is with the western countries.They learnt from us, but after the entry of Britishers a mentality developed that all the knowledge was with the western countries,” Singh said addressing the 18th convocation of Jaipuria Institute of Management here.

Ignoring govt decision, YSRC observes AP state formation day

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YSR Congress celebrated state formation day of Andhra Pradesh at the party headquarters here today and criticised the “foolhardiness” of the TDP government in “changing the historic date” without any valid reason.

“Due respect should be given to the historic facts… Andhra Pradesh along with other states was formed on November 1 on linguistic basis. I see no reason as to why (Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu should shift the date to June 2,” YSRC president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said at a function to mark Andhra Pradesh’s state formation day.

DIFFERENT RANKS OF PEOPLE WHO FEAR ALLAH

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The Companions, RadiyAllaahu Anhuma, and the Righteous pious Predecessors, were extremely fearful of Allah The Almighty. For instance, Ibn ‘Abbaas (RadiyAllahu Anhuma) had two dark lines under his eyes due to the extent of his crying; ‘Umar (RadiyAllahu Anhu) once recited some verses which caused him to fall ill out of anxiety.

Court issues bailable warrant against Digvijay, cancels later

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A Delhi court today issued a bailable warrant against Congress leader Digvijay Singh for his failure to appear before it in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against him by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari only to cancel it after he turned up.

Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha cancelled the bailable warrant against Singh after he appeared before the court around 3 pm and requested it to withdraw the warrant.

He gave an undertaking to the court that he would personally appear before it on the next date of hearing on November 10.

30 north bound trains to be cancelled for Jan, Feb

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Apprehending foggy conditions in the winter season, railways has decided to cancel 30 trains, mostly north bound, for 47 days from December 31 this year.

“Schedules of total 36 trains would be affected from December 31, 2014 to February 15, 2015. While 30 trains will remain cancelled, four will be partially cancelled and two train would be diverted keeping the foggy weather condition in mind,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Dibrugarh Rajdhani, Ludhiana Shatabdi and Moga Shatabdi are among 30 trains which will remain cancelled during this period.

Amazon’s diversity scorecard exposes massive gender inequality among workforce

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Amazon has released its own diversity scorecard exposing massive gender inequality among its workforce.

According to CNET, the Seattle-headquarted corporation’s worldwide employee base is roughly 63 percent male and 37 percent female overall as of September 2014. Compared to some rivals down in Silicon Valley, that might not seem that bad.

However, when it comes to the leadership level, men make up 75 percent as against 25 percent females.

Iran defends human rights record at UN six days after executing attempted rape victim

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Six days after the execution of a woman who killed her attempted rapist, Iran has lashed out at critics of its appalling human rights record at a U.N. hearing on Friday, blaming the West for Saturday’s execution.

The Islamic Republic’s rebuttal of a derogatory report from the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran came during a three-hour review in Geneva of the U.N. Human Rights Council of Tehran’s record.

Digvijay wanting Rahul to take charge not in Congress’ favour, says ex-party leader Gufran-e-Azam

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Former Congress leader Gufran-e-Azam on Saturday criticized Digvijay Singh’s remark that Rahul Gandhi should take over full charge of the party, saying it will not be in the party’s favour.

“If Digvijay Singh is talking about giving charge of Congress to Rahul Gandhi, he is not speaking in favour of party. Some people just do not have the courage to speak the truth. People now say that Rahul Gandhi ruined the Congress party, but I had said even before the Lok Sabha polls that if the mother-son duo is in-charge we will lose,” said Azam.

PM Modi’s radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ to be aired tomorrow

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation through radio on Sunday and express his views on various issues.
The programme named ‘Mann ki Baat’ will be aired on All India Radio network at 11 a.m. It will also be available on the website newsonair.nic.in.

This will be Prime Minister Modi’s second address through radio. The first one was broadcast on October 3 this year.

The Prime Minister had earlier sought suggestions from the people for his ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme. A separate forum was created on the website ‘MyGov’ to enable the citizens to share their views.