Month: December 2014

Rupee up 4 paise to 61.98 against dollar in early trade

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The rupee strengthened by four paise to 61.98 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange following increased selling of the American currency by exporters ahead of RBI’s policy review.

Dealers said increased selling of the dollar by exporters supported the rupee but a lower opening in the domestic equity market and the Greenback’s rise against some overseas currencies, capped the gains.

The rupee had gained just one paisa to close at 62.02 against the dollar in yesterday’s trade on late selling of the US currency by exporters and some banks.

Medha Patkar,activists detained trying to enter water ministry

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Activist Medha Patkar and several of her supporters from the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) were today detained by the police when they tried to enter the Water Resources ministry to meet Minister Uma Bharati.

The protesters had reached the national capital as part of their Narmada Sangharsh Yatra from Badwani, Madhya Pradesh.

They had been protesting for the reduction in the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat and proper rehabilitation of people on the banks of Narmada river. They had first staged a protest at Jantar Mantar and then marched to the Water Resources ministry.

Lower oil prices will boost global economy: IMF chief Lagarde

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The recent decline in oil prices will help boost global economy, IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said, as global oil prices have tumbled to multi year low.

“It is good news for the global economy,” Lagarde said at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council annual meeting on Monday.

For the United States, low energy prices would help accelerate the economic growth to a 3.5 percent next year from the October forecast of 3. 1 percent, she said, adding that Europe is also expected to benefit from lower oil prices.

Briton on trial for Paris ‘bathtub murder’

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A British businessman accused of murdering his girlfriend in a swanky Paris hotel appeared confused and evasive as his trial opened today, struggling even to recall his own childhood.

Ian Griffin, 45, appeared in a Paris court dressed in a dark suit and on crutches because of a degenerative neurological disorder.

He faces up to 30 years behind bars if convicted of the 2009 murder of Kinga Wolf, a wealthy woman of Polish origin who was found dead in the bathtub of the room they shared in the five-star Bristol Hotel in Paris.

Three Hong Kong protest leaders announce hunger strike

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Hong Kong pro-democracy protest leader Joshua Wong and two other leaders from the student group Scholarism announced today they have gone on hunger strike.

“Living in these troubled times, there is a duty. Today we are willing to pay the price, we are willing to take the responsibility,” the students wrote in a declaration on Facebook, after announcing the hunger strike on stage at Hong Kong’s main Admiralty protest camp.

Scarlett Johansson weds Romain Dauriac in secret ceremony

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Scarlett Johansson has tied knot with her French beau Romain Dauriac in a secret ceremony following the birth of their baby girl.

According to the sources, the ‘Lucy’ star, who recently turned 30, had married the French journalist at a secret location in Philipsburg, Montana on October 1, as they both wanted privacy, the New York Post reported.

Johansson had brought Dauriac to recently held Gotham Awards in New York, where she referred to him as her “husband,” and a guest said that both sported wedding bands and looked really happy.

‘Qaeda’ bomb attack kills two Yemeni soldiers: army

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A bomb attack blamed on Al-Qaeda killed two soldiers and wounded two more in southern Yemen today, a military official said.

The blast targeted a 39th armoured brigade checkpoint in Mahfad town in Abyan province, the official said, accusing Al-Qaeda militants of being behind the remotely detonated device.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is active across several parts of Yemen, taking advantage of a collapse of central authority during a 2011 uprising that ousted veteran president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Meet the airline hostess who was fired for being `too sexy`

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A “sexy” air hostess of Turkish Airlines was recently fired from her job for being “too raunchy”.

Zuhal Sengul, who flaunted her busty figure for a series of photos and a music video, has been fired from her job after bosses discovered the raunchy pictures, Metro.co.uk reported.

The airlines bosses saw Sengul’s showing off her curves in low-cut tops and corsets for a series of Gothic-style photoshoots featured in an Italian magazine.

Traffic Police does not have any statutory power in the

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The Madras High Court which set-aside the refusal order of Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), made it clear that there is no need of any No objection Certificate from the Traffic police under the Development regulations 2008 for construction of multi stored buildings.

GSLV III to be launched in third week of Dec

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Having succeeded in its MARS mission, ISRO is planning for the launch of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) in the third week of this month, a senior official said today.

Speaking at a function “Mangal Mahotsav” to celebrate successful insertion of Mangalyan into MARS orbit, M Pitchaimani, Deputy Director, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, said through the launch of GSLV-Mk III, Indian national space agency intends to study ascent phase of the rocket as well as the recovery of a human capsule, after it lands in the sea.

Migrants flock to prosperous Germany: OECD

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An oasis of prosperity in struggling Europe, Germany is now the favoured location for immigrants on the continent, who continue to skirt crisis-hit southern states, the OECD said in a report today.

Germany has become the main destination for people freely moving between European Union nations and is also the world’s largest recipient of new asylum seekers.

HC notice to Highways Dept on unauthorised speed breakers

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The Madras High Court today issued notice to the Highways Departmenton a PIL seeking to removal of unauthorised speed breakers on Karur-Dindigul Highway and regulation of their construction and location as per guidelines of the Indian Road Congress.

The Madurai Bench of the court comprising justices V Dhanapalan and V M Velumani issued notice to the department, including its Chief Engineer.

Petitioner T Vasu submitted that there were 113 speed bumps in the 72-km Karur-Dindigul stretch, most of which had been put up in an unauthorised manner.

Climate funds for coal highlight lack of UN rules

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About USD 1 billion in loans under a UN initiative for poor countries to tackle global warming is going toward the construction of power plants fired by coal, the biggest human source of carbon pollution.

Japan gave the money to help its companies build three such plants in Indonesia and listed it with the United Nations as climate finance, The Associated Press has found.

Japan says these plants burn coal more efficiently and are therefore cleaner than old coal plants.

Human eye can sense `invisible` infrared light

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A new study has revealed that under certain conditions, it is possible for human eyes to detect the “invisible” infrared light

The international team of researchers co-led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found, by using cells from the retinas of mice and people, and powerful lasers that emit pulses of infrared light, that when laser light pulses rapidly, light-sensing cells in the retina sometimes get a double hit of infrared energy. When that happens, the eye is able to detect light that falls outside the visible spectrum.

Seven of a family killed in bus-truck collision, eight injured

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Seven persons of a family were killed and eight others were seriously injured when the bus in which they were travelling collided head on with a speeding truck near Navsal Phata, around 50 kms from here this morning, police said.

The deceased were identified as Esmai Khan (42), Aasif Khan (39), Irshad Khan (32), Nagama Tassanum (35) and three children Muksidkan (3), Marium Fatima (4) and Abdul Mutalik (5).

The ill-fated bus was carrying the passengers to Nagpur as all of them wanted to obtain passports for Haj pilgrimage.

Saradha gone, website remains

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The Saradha Group went bust over a year ago but its web site, which lured unsuspecting poor people into investing in its chit fund schemes and deprived them of their hard-earned savings, still exists.

The website www.saradhagroup.biz can be accessed on the Internet. It begins with a message: “Saradha Group of companies has brought in a new renaissance for better development of the country. We always give more importance for the development of the community, along with education and social upgradation. We give priority to moral values.”

Rafale issue will be resolved in fast-tracked manner: Parrikar

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French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian tonight raised the issue of the multi-billion dollar deal for 126 Rafale combat aircraft during talks with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar who said it would be “resolved in a fast-tracked manner”.

India had in 2012 selected Rafale aircraft in a deal estimated to be over Rs 60,000 crore but negotiations are still continuing between the Defence Ministry and the French firm Dassault Aviation.

“The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere. All issues relating to India-French defence cooperation were discussed,” an official source told PTI.

Telangana CM reviews welfare and development schemes

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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today reviewd various welfare schemes and directed the district collectors to act tough in protecting tank lands in rural areas from land grabbers.

He held a meeting with the collectors today to review various welfare schemes.

The government has embarked on an ambitious programme of reviving the traditional public water tanks.

Rao suggested that silver oak trees be planted around the tanks, an official release here said.

BJP following Cong path in suppressing facts on Netaji: AIFB

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The All India Forward Block, a party founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, today said ruling BJP is following the same path of Congress in suppressing the facts about the revolutionary leader.

“The then President of the BJP Rajnath Singh and other BJP leaders had declared during the election campaign that if their party will be voted for power, they will declassify all files related to Netaji and will find out the mystery behind the disappearance of Netaji,” Debabrata Biswas, General Secretary, AIFB said in a statement.

Sebi eases OFS norms for retail investors

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Easing the norms, Sebi today said retail investors can put in their bids at cut-off price for shares sold through the Offer for Sale (OFS) route.

OFS is one of the preferred routes for companies to offload their shares through the secondary market.

“To make it easier for retail investors to participate in OFS, it has been decided that seller may give an option to retail investors to place their bid at cut-off price in addition to placing price bids,” Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.

No meeting between RSS and Maha ministers tomorrow

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There is no meeting scheduled for tomorrow between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and newly appointed ministers of Maharashtra’s state cabinet, as speculated by a section of the media recently.

The media had reported recently that RSS General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi would interact with a group of BJP ministers from Maharashtra in RSS premises here on December 2.

When asked for a clarification, a top RSS functionary from the Vidarbha Prant (region) denied any such scheduled meeting.

Spl Court sentences retired IAS to 20 months’ RI

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A special court today convicted a retired IAS officer and sentenced him to 20 months’ imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case.

Special Court Judge Bibhu Prasad Routray convicted the retired officer in the 24-year-old case.

Ramesh Charan Behera, the 1979-batch officer, was charged with possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.48 lakh.

Behera, having retired in April 2010, was also fined Rs 34,800 for possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.48 lakh while working as an Additional Secretary in 1990.

No closure, no justice for Bhopal victims: CSE

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Thirty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, there has been no closure, justice still evades the victims while the disaster remains a continuing tragedy, environmental activist Sunita Narain said Monday.

At a public gathering to mark the tragedy, Narain said: “Thirty years later, there is no closure. Somebody has to go to jail for Bhopal.”

2 brawls in one night at Delhi hotel

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Two brawls were reported last night at a five-star hotel in south Delhi’s posh New Friends Colony, police said.

The first incident took place at around 12.45 A.M. On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday when one Himanshu Solanki, a resident of Dwarka, had gone at the club with three of his friends.