Month: December 2014

Rohtak eve-teasing case: Three accused arrested

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Three of the accused in the eve-teasing case, which took place in a public bus in Rohtak on Friday, have been arrested.

“After our investigation concluded, we arrest ed three of the accused who will be produced before the court tomorrow,” said SHO of Rohtak police station Gajendra Singh.

Two braveheart sisters fought back the eve-teasers in a public bus in Rohtak earlier on Friday, even as the co-passengers remained mute spectators.

The alleged eve-teasers had used derogatory language and made obscene gestures before the girls retaliated.

Muslims discovered Earth is round

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Işık’s statements came as he addressed a group of businessmen in Konya on Friday night. Stating that the Islamic world had shaped the world in many aspects, he gave examples of leading Muslim discoveries. “Even 700 to 800 years before Galileo, 71 Muslim scientists led by al-Khwarizmi came together at the order of Caliph al-Ma’mun and revealed that the earth is round,” the minister said.

“While Europe was deep into the darkness of the Middle Ages, Islamic scholars created inventions that shaped the future of the world,” he said.

Hundreds march in New Delhi for gay pride

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Hundreds of people danced, sang and cheered in a gay pride parade in New Delhi, the first since the Supreme Court reinstated a ban on gay sex in India.

Multi-coloured balloons, masquerade masks and wings, a huge rainbow flag and a St. Bernard dog ushered in the seventh Delhi Queer Pride parade, with many shaking their hips to drum beats.

Participants chanting “Azaadi” (freedom) and shouting slogans such as “I’m gay, that’s OK” carried banners and placards demanding their right to love.

ICC says clampdown on bouncer ‘unlikely’

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International Cricket Council Chief Executive David Richardson today said that a clampdown on bouncers was unlikely despite the tragic death of Australian Phillip Hughes, according to a report.

Hughes died on Thursday, two days after he was struck on the back of the neck, just underneath the headguard by a short ball in a domestic game in Australia. But Richardson said any clampdown on bouncers was “unlikely”.

Three arrested for Rs 1.10 crore robbery

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Three persons have been arrested by the crime branch of Chandigarh police for robbing a jeweller of Rs 1.10 crore, police said.

The incident took place on November 1 when city-based jeweller Samir Jain was about to board a bus for Delhi to buy gold from the Sector-17 bus stand here, police said, adding, he was carrying Rs 1.10 crore with him.

The accused, identified as Sikender Rehman, Jimmey Bansal and Rahul Bagiyal, looted the cash from him, they said.

NSUI asks govt to refrain from ‘food policing’

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Reacting to reports of HRD Ministry suggesting IITs to explore the possibility of having a separate eating space for vegetarian students, NSUI today asked the government to refrain from “food policing” and “communalising” education system in the country.

Shooting off a letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani, the Congress-backed National Students Union of India asked the government to refrain from “infringing” upon personal choices of individuals by imposing food habits.

Proposal on gold reserves rejected in Swiss referendum

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Swiss voters on Sunday flatly rejected in a referendum a proposal stipulating the central bank in Switzerland to increase its gold reserves.

The proposal “Save Our Swiss Gold”, launched by several members of the right-wing Swiss People`s Party, required the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to hold at least 20 percent of its currently-over-524-billion-Swiss Franc (over $540 billion) balance sheet in gold, Xinhua reported.

It would also have prohibited SNB from selling any gold and required the 30 percent currently stored in Canada and Britain to be repatriated.

Cong hits back at Jaitley

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Hitting back Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for accusing it of being obstructionist in Parliament, Congress today said it exposes BJP’s “hypocricy and double standards” as the party had frequently “derailed” legislative business while it was in Opposition.

Terming Jaitley’s charge as “misleading and unwarranted”, Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the credit for Parliament’s functioning and passage of bills during the current winter session goes to Congress as it respects the institution as a “responsible” Opposition.

BJP has forged alliance with separatists in Kashmir: JKNPP

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The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today accused the BJP of “forging an alliance with the separatists in Kashmir” to accomplish its ‘Mission 44+’ in the ongoing assembly elections.

“BJP has become a new avatar of the Hurriyat Conference and raising divisive and anti-national slogans, besides promoting the separatist and fundamentalist organisations in the state,” JKNPP president Balwant Singh Mankotia said addressing an election rally in Udhampur.

LGBT community members, supporters hold parade

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Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community held a march in the national capital today demanding an end to the discrimination which is still being faced by them.

The annual parade, in its seventh year, was held at Jantar Mantar here where around 300-400 people gathered and continued to garner support from people from different walks of life, especially students, who danced to drumbeats and whistles.

The parade was held despite the Supreme Court reinstating a ban on gay sex in December last year.

NCP seeks crop loan waiver, speeding up dalit murder probe

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An NCP delegation led by former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar today met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought waiver of crop loans and electricity bills of farmers affected by drought in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

The Sharad Pawar-led party also demanded expediting investigation into the murder of three members of a dalit family in Javkheda village of Ahmednagar district last month.

EPFO has no plan to launch housing scheme for its members:Govt

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Retirement fund body EPFO has no plans to launch a housing scheme for its over five crore subscribers on additional contribution by its members, Parliament was informed Wednesday.

“No Sir,” Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on a question whether Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has chalked out a scheme for providing housing to its subscribers on additional contribution.

BJP suspends civic body chairman and district president

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Taking a stern action, Rajasthan BJP today suspended its newly elected Ganganagar Municipal Council Chairman Ashok Kumar Chandak and District President Ashok Nagpal from the primary membership of the party, following reports of alleged “indiscipline” in civic polls.

In his order, BJP State President Ashok Parnami decided to suspend the duo from the primary membership on allegation of “gross indiscipline” during civic body polls recently, a party spokesman said.

Thousands rally for independence in southern Yemen

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Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden to call for independence from the north.

Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, say they fired tear gas at demonstrators and fired in the air today after they say protesters attempted to enter a government building. Three were injured and rushed to the hospital.

Police and army deployed heavily ahead of the protest.

Pope and patriarch pledge support for Mideast Christians

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Pope Francis today joined forces with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew I to make a rare joint pledge of support for the embattled Christians of the Middle East.

On the final day of his first visit to Turkey, Francis also urged an end to the millennium-old schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches and said this was all the more urgent due to the violence against Christians by Islamic State (IS) extremists.

Citibank a deeply-entrenched domestic bank in India: CEO

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Describing itself as a ‘deeply entrenched domestic bank’ in India, global banking giant Citi’s Indian arm says it sees a tremendous opportunity for itself from the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Many global multinational clients of Citibank have evinced interest in having a larger footprint in India and to invest more here, which gives it a significant opportunity to participate in the government’s Make in India programme, Citi India CEO Pramit Jhaveri said.

New bird flu case in Netherlands

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Dutch authorities reported a new outbreak of bird flu today at a poultry farm, but could not say if it was the worrying new strain detected elsewhere in the country.

“Avian influenza has been detected on a poultry farm at Zoeterwoude, where some 28,000 birds are affected,” the economy ministry said in a statement.

“The birds are infected with the H5 variant of the flu but it’s not yet known whether of the highly pathogenic variety or not,” it added.

Youth arrested for kidnapping 2 minor girls, rape attempt

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A youth was arrested today for allegedly kidnapping two minor girls and trying to rape one of them in Ghari village of the district.

Gurgaon Police control room got an information on November 27 that two minor girls aged around 10 and 12 have been abducted in a car from Ghari village, located on Gurgaon-Pataudi road, a police spokesperson said.

Galaxies shed many stars into dark spaces than originally thought

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A new data produced by looking at the dark spaces between visible galaxies and stars the NASA/JPL Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER) that could redefine what galaxy really constitutes.

Los Alamos scientist Joseph Smidt, part of the data analysis team that studied the data from CIBER, said that what was very surprising was the brightness of many fluctuations that appear between stars and galaxies and these fluctuations were having them rethink what went on between stars and galaxies.

Kejriwal promises VAT rationalisation; party nets 50L

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Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today promised to rationalise the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Delhi, if his party came to power.

At a fundraising lunch organised the party’s traders wing at the national capital here, AAP collected Rs 50 lakh.

Addressing traders, Kejriwal promised to rationalise VAT on products, which were higher in states, especially neighbouring ones, saying this will help consumers and traders, both of whom were unhappy with the arbitrary manner it was currently calculated without a proper rationale and proposed to initiate online payment of taxes.

2 IAS, 19 HCS officers shifted in Haryana

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In yet another reshuffle, the Haryana government today transferred two IAS and 19 Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers.

IAS officer Gauri Joshi,who was Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) administrator in Hisar, has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner Jind in place of Rajesh Jogpal.

Hisar ADC Rajnarain Kaushik has been given the charge of HUDA administrator in addition to his present duties in place of Gauri Joshi, an official spokesman said here.

Iraq PM says graft probe found 50,000 ‘ghost soldiers’

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi today announced that an investigation had uncovered the existence of 50,000 “ghost soldiers”, and promised a widening crackdown on corruption.

“The prime minister revealed the existence of 50,000 fictitious names” in the military, said a statement from Abadi’s office issued after a session of parliament.

A parliament statement said the premier scrapped the 50,000 jobs, equivalent to almost four full army divisions.

PM delighted at Sindhu’s victory at Macau Open

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed shuttler P V Sindhu’s victory at the Macau Open as an accomplishment which will make the country proud.

“I am delighted to hear about P V Sindhu’s victory at the Macau Open. Her accomplishments make our entire nation very proud,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.

Two-time World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu today successfully defended the USD 120,000 Macau Grand Prix Gold title after beating Kim Hyo Min of Korea in the women’s singles finals.

AP minister meets Governor

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Amid ongoing deliberations between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over conducting the Intermediate exams, Andhra Pradesh Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao met Governor E S L Narsimhan here today.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are presently engaged in talks over conducting the Intermediate examinations. While Andhra Pradesh favours holding the exams jointly, Telangana is reportedly not on the same page.

Narasimhan, common Governor for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, has held meetings with the education ministers of both the states earlier.

If Delhi Police officer can’t walk on streets, what will happen to common girls: HC

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Refusing a police woman’s plea to quash an FIR against her alleged molesters, the Delhi High Court has said they should be “taught a lesson” and wondered is female police officers are not safe in the city, how would common girls fare.

Justice Pratibha Rani made the observation while hearing a plea in connection with the molestation of a Delhi Police woman constable.

The woman was molested at around 10 PM near west Delhi’s Mayapuri area, while she was returning home from work recently.