Month: January 2015

20 US states begin 2015 with higher minimum wage

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Twenty US states as well as Washington, DC, have hiked their minimum wages as new laws came into force at the beginning of 2015, and now 29 of its 50 states have a minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Legislative measures have led to the remuneration to be increased, taking into account the rate of inflation, in 20 states and the District of Columbia where the country’s capital, Washington, is situated.

The increase ranges from 12 cents per hour, in the case of Florida, to $1.25 per hour in South Dakota.

Mahender Reddy inaugurates State Youth Festival

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Tourism Minister P Mahender Reddy inaugurated the State Youth Festival, which is being organized by the Department of Youth Services, at Sampradaya Vedika in Shilparamam here on Friday.

Advisor to Telangana Government KV Ramanachary, Serilingampally MLA Arikepudi Gandhi, International Table Tennis Player Naina Jaiswal, Youth Services Secretary Lav Agarwal and other officials participated in the function. Around 650 participants all over the Telangana State attended the function to compete in different events.

T-Congress demands all party meeting on Swine flu

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Accusing the State Government of hiding the real facts on prevalence of Swine flu across the Telangana State, the Telangana Congress on Friday demanded that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue immediately.

Richards backs Kohli on his on-field aggression

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Virat Kohli has got a new admirer for his on-field aggression in none other than legendary West Indian batsman Vivian Richards who described the new captain as one of those very few Indian cricketers who do not shy away from having a verbal fight with opposition players.

Kohli has frustrated Australia during the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar trophy, smashing 499 runs — including three centuries — at an average of 83.2, while also having some run-ins with a few Australian players.

Italian Ebola patient ‘completely healed’

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An Italian doctor who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in Africa has been “completely healed” after being treated with experimental drugs in a Rome hospital, Italian health authorities announced Friday.

Fabrizio Pulvirenti, 50, was working with an Italian medical aid non-governmental organisation to combat the Ebola disease in Sierra Leone, where he contracted the virus and was flown back to Rome Nov 25.

Emanuele Nicastri, a doctor at the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome, where the patient was treated, attributed the success to “extraordinary team work”, Xinhua reported.

Pak writes to India on Rangers’ killing; seeks immediate probe

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Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz today wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, protesting the killing of soldiers in BSF firing and seeking an immediate probe into the incident.

Aziz, who was instructed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take up the matter with the Indian authorities, condemned the incident and lodged strong protest over the killing of two Pakistan Rangers in BSF’s firing on December 31.

India ‘betrayed’ trust of our soldiers, says Pak Foreign Secretary

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Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Friday strongly condemned the killing of his nation’s soldiers allegedly by unfair means along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the method used by the Indian soldiers breached the trust of the Islamic Republic’s soldiers.

A statement by the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared the concerns raised by Chaudhry, when in conversation with Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan.

Maharashtra digital policy by March: Fadnavis

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Taking cues from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India programme, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said a new digital policy for the state will be announced by March.

“We will bring in a new digital policy in the state by March,” Fadnavis said here.

He was speaking at a function to mark announcement of the country’s first ‘digital village’, developed by financial services giant ICICI group, which was dedicated to the nation by Modi this evening.

Court defers hearing in Uber cabdriver rape case

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A court here Friday posted the case against the Uber taxi company driver accused of raping a 27-year-old working woman in the capital for Jan 5 after police took the palm prints of the accused.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Kumar Malik posted the next hearing to Friday for considering the charge sheet filed in the case and directed Delhi Police to supply relevant documents to accused, Shiv Kumar Yadav.

Sartaj Aziz writes to Sushma, demands investigation into border killings

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The Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on Friday lodged a protest with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, calling for an investigation into the killing of his nation’s soldiers allegedly by unfair means along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir.

In his letter to Swaraj, Aziz condemned the alleged actions of the Border Security Force, adding that the actions by the Indian side would ‘undermine’ the ‘peace and tranquillity’ along the borders shared by both nations.

CBI gave exhaustive submission opposing Shah’s discharge

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Facing criticism for arguing for only 45 minutes in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killing Kcase, CBI today said it had already given a detailed submission to the Mumbai court vehemently countering Amit Shah’s plea to discharge him in the case.

Sources said a decision on whether to file an appeal against the decision of the Mumbai court will be taken once the agency completes its analysis of the order which was received today by its headquarters.

Manohar Parrikar visits Hindan Air Base

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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday familiarised himself at Air Force Station, Hindan, with the operations being carried out by the C-17 ‘Globemaster III’ and the C-130 J ‘Super Hercules’- the two most modern transport aircraft in the inventory of the Indian Air Force.

He was accompanied by Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha , and Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Air Command, Air Marshal SS Soman.

Pak govt seeks early hearing of Lakhvi’s case

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Pakistan government today sought the early hearing of LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi’s case in the Supreme Court, a day after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind was remanded to 14-day judicial custody for the abduction of an Afghan national.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has challenged the suspension of the detention order of Lakhvi, Geo TV reported.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended on Monday the notification of detention of Lakhvi in the Mumbai case.

AirAsia crash: 30 bodies retrieved amid inclement weather

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Rescuers have retrieved 30 bodies from Indonesian waters where an AirAsia plane with 162 people on board crashed Sunday, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency F. Henry Bambang Sulistyo said here Friday.

“So far, there are 30 bodies found that I have confirmed,” Xinhua quoted him as saying at a press conference.

He said that 10 of the 30 bodies are being moved from the airport at Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan province to Surabaya, the capital of East Java province.

Police search sect campus in Haryana for weapons

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With the Punjab and Haryana High Court taking a strong stand on campuses of religious sects being used to amass weapons, the Haryana Police Saturday conducted search of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect premises near the state’s Sirsa town

The police teams, assisted by a dog squad and equipment to detect weapons and explosives, made an elaborate search of the sect premises in Sirsa, 275 km from here, police sources said.

However, the police officials refused to divulge if any weapons or explosives were found at the sect campus.

IS sway recedes in Syrian Kurdish city

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The US-led anti-terror coalition carried out several airstrikes against positions of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in their de facto capital of al-Raqqa in northern Syria Friday.

The US-led coalition conducted about 14 airstrikes on the outskirts of al-Raqqa and the Furusiyeh area between midnight Thursday and early Friday, Xinhua reported citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. But the Britain-based watchdog group said there was no news on causalities yet.

Telangana government to bring out a policy on retail trade

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Telangana government plans to bring out a retail market policy, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said here today.

He said a meeting would be held soon with retail firms, officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), labour department officials and others on the issue.

He had a meeting with retail industry representatives here, a release issued by his office said.

Observing that organised retail trade is on the rise, Rao said the government has recognised the need to frame a policy on setting up malls, retail shopping centres and their management, the release said.

Chinese skier wins women’s 50 km cross-country race

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Chinese skier Li Hongxue won the women’s 50 km elite cross-country skiing race for the sixth time at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Changchun event Friday.

Li, who had previously won the event five times – in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011, clocked two hours and 42.16 minutes for her sixth title, reports Xinhua.

“I cannot really remember how many times I took part in the event, but accumulating points is an exciting matter for me,” said Li.

United to freeze ticket prices for 2015-16 season

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Manchester United have announced that season ticket prices will be frozen for the 2015-16 campaign.

It is the fourth consecutive year that prices have remained the same, despite a summer splurge that approached 150 million pounds and United’s anticipated return to the UEFA Champions League next season, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Based on information from the start of this season, the cheapest United season ticket for an adult aged between 21-64 is priced at 532 pounds while the most expensive comes at 950 pounds.

AAP releases final list of candidates for Delhi polls

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday released its final list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi. With this list, the AAP has now declared its candidates for all 70 assembly seats.

The AAP’s official twitter handle posted the names of the candidates in a series of tweets.

IS Twitter account handler was in touch ISIS combatant in Iraq

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Alleged pro-Islamic State (IS) Twitter account handler Mehdi Masroor Biswas was in touch with ISIS combatant stationed in Iraq, a top police official said.

“During our interrogation of Biswas, we have found that the IS account holder was in touch with the ISIS combatant and he was an aide,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi told reporters here.

Biswas was produced before a city court today and sent to judicial custody till January 16.

2014 deadliest year in Iraq since 2006-07: UN

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At least 12,282 civilians were killed and 23,126 others injured in 2014, making it the deadliest year in Iraq since 2006-2007 marked by sectarian violence, according to a new UN statement.

“The Iraqi ordinary citizen continues to suffer from violence and terrorism. 2014 has seen the highest number of casualities since the violence in 2006-2007,” the statement quoted Nickolay Mladenov, UN envoy and chief of UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, as saying.

Ex-Bayern Munich chief Hoeness gets day release

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Former Bayern Munich football chief Uli Hoeness has been granted day release, seven months after he was sentenced to prison for tax evasion.

Hoeness was jailed for three-and-half years but was granted a conditional release, bbc.com reports Friday.

He is allowed to leave prison during the day but must return in the evening, Bavaria’s justice ministry said Friday.

The 62-year-old was found guilty in March of defrauding German tax authorities of millions of euros.

The former World Cup-winning Germany striker had kept the funds in a secret Swiss bank account.

(IANS)