Month: December 2014

Sebi slaps Rs 9 lakh on Moneybee Securities, 2 clients

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Capital markets regulator Sebi has imposed Rs 9 lakh fine on brokerage Moneybee Securities and two of its clients for fraudulent trading in shares of New Horizon Leasing and Finance.

Securities and Exchange Board of India has found that Moneybee Securities and its clients – Dhiren Shah (HUF) and Yogesh Laxman Rege – had indulged in synchronised trades in the shares of New Horizon.

Finding them in violation of ‘Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations’, the regulator through a recent order has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on each one of them.

New electrolyte for cheaper, less toxic batteries

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Researchers have developed an electrolyte that can be used to usher in a new generation of more efficient and inexpensive magnesium-sulphur batteries.

With magnesium, higher storage densities could be achieved than with lithium. Moreover, magnesium is abundant in nature, it is non-toxic, and does not degrade in air, researchers said.

In many electrical devices, lithium-ion and metal-hydride batteries are applied for energy storage.

Effect of performance-enhancing drugs is due to placebo effect

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Performance-enhancing drugs can improve a runner’s best time even when they haven’t taken them, thanks to the placebo effect which increases the athletes’ potential motivation, according to a new study.

The study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise lends support to the idea that the power of the mind affects physical performance.

Walmart to extend reach of its online wholesale platform

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Walmart India today extended the reach of its online wholesale platform to its members in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh.

At present, the US-based retail giant operates B2B e-commerce platform in four cities — Lucknow, Hyderabad, Guntur and Vijayawada — in the country.

“Walmart India today launched the B2B e-commerce platform for all its members of Best Price Modern Wholesale store in Rajahmundry,” the company said in a statement.

With the launch in Rajahmundry, Walmart India successfully extends e-commerce to all the Best Price stores in Andhra Pradesh, it added.

Now, birds as suicide bombers!

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Terrorists the world over are known to deploy suicide bombers, or “human bombs”, to wreak death and devastation on their targets, but have you ever heard of a bird being used as a suicide bomber?

The Taliban seem to be using such a strategy and the Afghan police reportedly shot dead a bird which had been equipped by the terrorists with an explosive pouch, a GPS tracker and a detonator.

The bird had several wires protruding from its feathers, a mobile phone detonator and a specially designed ‘suicide vest’, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

Publisher says novelist Kent Haruf dies at age 71

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Author Kent Haruf, who wrote “Plainsong” and several other novels set in small-town Colorado, died at age 71, his publisher said.

Haruf’s editor at Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Gary Fisketjon, confirmed Haruf’s death yesterday. Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said Haruf had been battling cancer.

During a 1999 interview with The Associated Press, Haruf said he was a preacher’s son who grew up in a family of book lovers. He spent two years in the Peace Corps in Turkey and returned to the United States to fine-tune his fiction at the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop.

Head constable dies after being hit by share auto

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A head constable was killed on the spot after he was hit by a share autorickshaw while he was on patrol here, police said.

The 35-year-old man, attached to Keezhakarai police station, was on patrol in his two wheeler late last night when the autorickshaw hit him.

The autorickshaw driver has been arrested, they said.

Suicide attack at Afghan funeral kills nine: police

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A suicide attack at a funeral in northern Afghanistan today killed at least nine people, officials said, underlining nationwide insecurity as NATO troops end their 13-year war this month.

“A suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives among people who were attending a funeral ceremony in Burka district this morning,” Aminullah Amarkhil, police chief of Baghlan province, told AFP.

“Initial reports show nine people, including two police, were killed and around 18 wounded.

Explosions, gunfire in Nigeria’s Damaturu city: residents

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Explosions and gunfire rocked the north Nigerian city of Damaturu today, in a suspected Boko Haram attack that targeted police, residents told AFP.

The dawn raid came after a suicide bomb and gun attack on the central mosque in the northern city of Kano on Friday which bore all the hallmarks of the Islamists and left at least 120 people dead.

The militants, who have been waging a five-year rebellion to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, have conducted similar dawn raids and attacked Damaturu before.

Man beaten to death with hammers, claims St. Louis police

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Police in St. Louis say they have arrested two juveniles and are seeking two other suspects after a Bosnian man was beaten to death with hammers.

Police say 32-year-old Zemir Begic was in his car early yesterday when several young people approached and began damaging it. He suffered injuries to his head, abdomen, face and mouth in the attack and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

About 50 people briefly blocked an intersection last night to protest the killing of Begic, who moved to St. Louis this year.

Afghan president to overhaul security: Officials

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Facing an intensified Taliban insurgency, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani plans to fire senior civilian and military leaders in the country’s most volatile provinces to reinvigorate the battle against militants.

Already, Kabul police chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir has resigned following a string of attacks in the capital over three days that killed four foreigners including an employee of the British embassy and several Afghan civilians.

Officials and diplomats say Ghani next will remove governors and generals in five provinces where the Taliban have held territory for years.

Rohtak sisters who fought back against eve-teasers to be felicitated by Haryana government on Republic Day

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Haryana government on Monday announced that it will honour the two sisters, who single-handedly took on three alleged molesters in a moving bus, on Republic Day as the girls came in for praise for their bravery.

Both the girls had shown indomitable courage and bravery by opposing the misdemeanour of three youth who tried to “molest” them in a moving bus of Haryana Roadways at Rohtak, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in a statement, adding effective steps will be taken to ensure security of women passengers.

Supreme Court to consider Facebook threats case

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The Supreme Court is considering the free-speech rights of people who use violent or threatening language on Facebook and other social media.

The justices will hear arguments Monday in the case of a man who was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for posting graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a class of young children and attacking an FBI agent.

Anthony Elonis says he was just venting his anger over a broken marriage and never meant to threaten anyone.

Only interlocutors should speak: Fadnavis on BJP-Sena talks

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In a veiled attack on senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said “only the official interlocutors in the BJP-Sena talks should comment on the parleys.”

“My request is that if only those who are official interlocutors talk (to media), then the process will move ahead,” Fadnavis told reporters.

Delhi-based girl thrown out of car, police suspect rape

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A 25-year-old Delhi-based girl was found unconscious with the police suspecting that she was raped and later thrown from a moving car near the Barla village on Delhi-Dehradun national highway.

The victim, a resident of Saleempuri in Delhi, was found in an unconscious state on the road near Barla village yesterday, they said.

Prima facie it seems that the girl was raped by some men and later thrown from a moving car, police said.

The girl has been admitted to a hospital, they said, adding statement of the victim will be taken once she regains consciousness.

–PTI

Cueists peak between 25-35 years of age: Advani

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Hailing China’s 14-year-old sensation Yan Bingtao for his World Snooker title triumph, Indian ace Pankaj Advani said the youngster is extremely mature for his age but insisted that cueists peak only after crossing 25.

“As time goes on, the younger guys start on earlier and they grasp the game fast and understand it quickly. As for Bingtao, he is extremely mature for his age. But I still feel that the age when a player really peaks is between 25 and 35. At that age, he is completely seasoned and mature enough as an individual and as a player,” Advani told PTI in an interview.

PM announces Rs 28,000 cr for new rail projects in Northeast

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Focusing on improving connectivity to the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Centre would provide Rs 28,000 crore for laying new railway lines in the region and develop the “untapped” tourism potential of the area.

The Prime Minister also said that the Centre has sanctioned Rs 5000 crore to provide 2G mobile coverage in this area for comprehensive telecom development plan of the northeast region.

Even female police officers not safe in Delhi

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Three youths literally caught the wrong hand when a woman they tried to molest turned out to be a Delhi Police constable.

While recently returning home from work in west Delhi’s Mayapuri area around 10 pm, the woman was chased by three youths who, apart from passing derogatory and lewd remarks, advanced and caught hold of her hands.

After the woman resisted and shouted that she was a police officer, the three youths – in their early 20s – ran away. She then registered an FIR against the trio, who turned out to be from the same neighbourhood where she stayed.

Sisters thrash molesters as passengers look on

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An incident of two sisters courageously taking on three youths who were harassing them while other passengers in the bus remained mute spectators has come to light in Haryana’s Rohtak town, police officials said on Sunday.

The brave girls, Aarti and Pooja, thrashed the youths even as they were themselves assaulted by them. The girls hit the youths with a belt and their hands and legs in the incident that took place last week.

The matter came to light after a woman travelling in the same state transport bus recorded the incident on her mobile phone.

Crime In Hyderabad (1.12.2014)

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Youth roaming with dagger, arrested
(Siasat News): The south zone team of commissioner task force arrested a youth who was roaming with a dagger in Hafizbaba Nagar.

It is said that Amjad Khan, 27, a TV mechanic, had illegally purchased two daggers from a Sikh man in Kishan Bagh for Rs. 500 and roaming with the same in the locality creating panic.

The team arrested him from Hafizbaba Nagar near Habib Function Hall and recovered two daggers. He was handed over to Hussaini Alam police for further interrogation.

Rape victim commits suicide in Burdwan

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A 14-year-old girl student, who was allegedly raped, committed suicide by hanging herself in her house in West Bengal’s Burdwan district.

The girl was allegedly raped by a youth on September 30 last at Ahalidipur and committed suicide on Saturday. She left a note stating that she and her family members were being pressurised by the accused to withdraw the FIR which was subsequently lodged.

Police later recovered the body and sent it for postmortem.

Meeting with Pakistan Army Chief was productive: Kerry

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Secretary of State John Kerry has said he had a productive meeting with visiting Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif.

This was Kerry’s first official engagement at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on his return after a long overseas trip that was followed by Thanks Giving holidays.

“Back in DC post-Thanksgiving; productive mtg w/#Pakistan Chief of Army Raheel Sharif at @StateDept,” Kerry tweeted soon after the meeting yesterday.

No other details of the meeting were immediately available.

New vaccine against breast cancer shows promise

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A vaccine against breast cancer developed at Washington University’s School of Medicine is safe for patients afflicted with the disease, results of a clinical trial indicate.

Preliminary evidence also suggested that the vaccine primed the patients’ immune system to attack tumour cells and helped slow the cancer’s progression.

The new vaccine causes the body’s immune system to home in on a protein called mammaglobin-A – found almost exclusively in the breast tissue.

Maruti Alto 800 tops quality among entry level cars: Study

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Maruti’s entry level model Alto 800 ranks highest in the entry compact segment for initial quality, while rival Hyundai’s i10 gets the top slot in the compact segment, said a study on Thursday.

According to JD Power 2014 India Initial Quality Study rankings, Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 ranks highest in the entry compact segment with 97 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), while the company’s Swift ranks highest in the premium compact segment with 78 PP100.

Men’s sperm quality does deteriorates with age

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A new study has demonstrated that sperm quality in men reduces with age and it can lead to couple’s infertility and a range of negative health problems for the child.

The study conducted by University of Otago suggested that men waiting longer to have children could have a significant impact on the health of their offspring, Stuff.co.nz reported.