Month: January 2015

Sheila Dikshit to be Congress’s star campaigner in Delhi Assembly elections

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Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will be a “key campaigner” of the party for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, Congress said today amid indications that it will release its first list of candidates on Thursday or the day after.

“Sheilaji one of the key campaigners for the party. She will play an active role in our campaign as a star campaigner,” Congress MP PC Chacko told reporters here amid reports that Dikshit had refused to campaign for the party.

New Year’s Eve stampede kills 35 in Shanghai

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New Year’s celebrations in Shanghai turned tragic as 35 people were killed and 42 injured in a stampede at the city’s famous tourist destination of Bund – the worst disaster to hit China in recent years.

The celebrations went astray at the Chenyi Square of Shanghai’s popular riverfront Bund area at around 11:35 pm (local time) when people reportedly rushed to collect coupons resembling US Dollars, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Mehbooba meets Governor; Hints at not being averse to BJP

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PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti today met Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and dropped hints that her party is not averse to joining hands with BJP as she said the poll mandate was an ‘opportunity’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee. AP file photo

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti today met Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and dropped hints that her party is not averse to joining hands with BJP as she said the poll mandate was an “opportunity” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Sensex down 67 points; banking stocks drop

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A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Thursday was trading 67.15 points or 0.24 percent down as banking stocks dropped.

Selling pressure was seen in banking and metal sectors, while some good buying was observed in auto sector.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,485.77 points, was trading at 27,432.27 points (at 09.34 a.m.) in the early session, down 67.15 points or 0.24 percent from the previous day’s close at 27,499.42 points.

Rupee down 21 paise in early trade

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The rupee fell by 21 paise to trade at 63.24 against the US dollar on the first trading day of the New Year due to buying of American currency by banks and importers.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened lower by 21 paise against previous close of 63.03.

Dealers said increased demand for the American unit from importers and a lower opening in the doemstic equity market weighed on the rupee. Dollar’s gain against major world currencies also influenced the rupee movement, they added.

I choose directors over roles: Tilda Swinton

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Actress Tilda Swinton says directors are her priority than roles when she opts for a film.

The ‘Snowpiercer’ star said she never ‘looks for’ roles but would rather strike up a bond with a filmmaker, reported Contactmusic.

“I don’t look for roles. I’ve always gone for the conversation with the filmmaker because that’s how I started. I started working with one filmmaker, Derek Jarman, who I worked with for nine years over seven films, and that was the first principle.

Bangaloreans herald New Year amid tight security

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Thousands of Bangaloreans heralded New Year early Thursday, cheering, dancing, hooting, whistling, bursting crackers and greeting each other amid tight security across this tech hub.

Undeterred by the presence of hundreds of police personnel, heightened vigil and CCTV cameras in downtown, about 8,000 people ushered in 2015 by milling around the upmarket MG Road, fashionable Brigade Road, posh Lavelle Road, serene Cubbon Road and the bustling Commercial Street, which were lit up for the occasion.

Next Rambo film titled ‘Last Blood’

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Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone has confirmed that the next Rambo film will be titled ‘Last Blood’.

Stallone, 68, will also be directing ‘Last Blood’, which will be the fifth film in the Rambo franchise, reported Screen Rant.

He tweeted: “Doing Scarpa based on Gangster Greg Scarpa after Last Blood Rambo..”

Stallone is currently filming his role in mob story Scarpa and Rocky spin-off ‘Creed’ is in pre-production.

In an interview back in August, he said he was already getting into shape to reprise the role.

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh celebrate New Year with pomp

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Telugu states Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Thursday celebrated the New Year with pomp and enthusiasm.

At the stroke of midnight, wild celebrations broke out in Hyderabad and other towns of Telangana as also in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and other towns of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Youngsters burst firecrackers and danced to the popular numbers to welcome the New Year. Despite police restrictions, they were seen roaming around on the bikes with many of them riding triple in violation of traffic rules.

21 killed, two lakh flee worst Malaysia floods in decades

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At least 21 people have been killed and nearly two lakh fled their homes in one of the worst floods in Malaysia’s history with weather office indicating there will be no respite from strong winds in coming days.

Fourteen people were reported dead in Kelantan, the worst affected state where around 158,000 people have been evacuated to safety. Four died in Terengganu and three in Pahang state.

HC stays order asking Sami to give flat, money to ex-wife

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In an interim relief to Pakistani singer Adnan Sami, the Bombay High Court has stayed a family court order which had asked him to pay Rs 6.24 crore compensation to his former wife Sabah Galadari and also give her duplex flat in Andheri occupied by him and his present wife Roya Farabi.

Hearing an appeal filed by the singer against the family court order of April 5, a division bench of justices V K Tahilramani and Anil Menon, however, asked Sami to deposit a portion of compensation amount till the matter is decided.

Sensex, Nifty end 2014 with best annual rise in five years

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Stocks ended 2014 on a cheerful note with the Sensex today rising nearly 96 points to 27,499.42 and the Nifty climbing over 34 points to 8,282.70, helping the Indian markets notch up their best annual gain in five years.

The new government’s reform initiatives, robust foreign fund flows and a wave of optimism over growth prospects pushed up share values in 2014, making investors richer by a whopping Rs 28 lakh crore.

Govt blocks websites carrying anti-India content from ISIS

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Government has blocked 32 websites citing national security concerns, as they were allegedly carrying anti-India material from terror groups such as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

“We have blocked some websites, as there were serious national security concerns,” a government official.

The websites that have faced the crackdown include popular video sharing platforms like DailyMotion and Vimeo, while some of them have been allowed to function after removing the objectionable content.

New Year stampede kills 35 in Shanghai

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At least 35 people were killed and 48 others injured in a stampede during a New Year’s Eve midnight- countdown gathering in Shanghai’s waterfront tourist attraction, one of the worst tragedies to hit China in recent years.

The crowd crush happened at about 11:35 PM (local time) when people rushed to see a live show at a crowded, small place in the popular riverfront Bund area, state-run CCTV quoted police as saying.

Witnesses said a large number of people rushed upstairs while those already there began moving down through narrow steps.

Miscreants vandalise Dargah Hazrat Hakeem Shah Baba at Jubilee Hills

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There is 323 acre Waqf land under Dargah Hazrat Hakeem Shah Baba at Jubilee Hills. Miscreants and land grabbers are eyeing on the valuable land worth thousands of crores of rupees. Surprisingly despite it being such a valuable land, the state Waqf Board has not fenced it in an effective way. Consequently miscreants are trying to gobble up the land in one way or other. Yesterday also they made an attempt for the same but as soon as he received the information, Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Mohammed Mahmood Ali alerted CEO Waqf Board Jalaluddin Akber and other officers of the board.

Kiwi jihadi mistakenly broadcasts his location

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A jihadi from New Zealand who has links with the Al Qaeda and has taken up arms in Syria, mistakenly broadcasted his exact location after forgetting to turn off a tracking function on his phone, media reported Wednesday.

Mohammad Daniel, alias Abu Abdul Rahman, formerly known as Mark John Taylor, has now deleted 45 posts from his Twitter account after finding that he had been revealing his location to intelligence agencies and others keeping tabs on him, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Pakistan summons Indian diplomat to protest killing of four rangers

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Pakistan on Wednesday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a protest over the ceasefire violations allegedly by India in which some Pakistan Rangers were killed.

Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was called to the Foreign Office here and given a note verbale by the Pakistani Foreign Office which lodged the protest over the incident, sources said.

In the morning, Pakistan Rangers targeted a BSF patrol party by resorting to firing along the International Border in Samba district. In the heavy firing, one BSF jawan was killed.

Open defecation-free country became national slogan in 2014

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The government, under the aegis of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, undertook a significant journey in 2014 to make the country free from open defecation under an ambitious plan of around Rs 2 lakh crore launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The year gone by also saw the government deciding to implement the rural water supply for Low Income States (RWSSP-LIS) of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh with World Bank assistance over a period of six years (from 2013-14 to 2019-20).

Coal, telecom, mining giants bite dust in SC in 2014

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Corporate legal cases kept India Inc on its toes in 2014 as high stake matters on coal, telecom and mining came up in the Supreme Court which also sent Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to jail.

Roy’s hide and seek game came to an end on March 4 when the apex court sent him along with two directors of the firm to jail for not complying with its order on refunding around Rs 20,000 crore of investors’ money.

It trashed Roy’s subsequent plea against his detention and frantic effort by the group to raise Rs 10,000 crore as a condition for his release is yet to see the light of the day.

Pakistan summons Indian Deputy High Commissioner

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Pakistan today summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a protest over the ceasefire violations allegedly by India in which some Pakistan Rangers were killed.

Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was called to the Foreign Office here and given a note verbale by the Pakistani Foreign Office which lodged the protest over the incident, sources said.

In the morning, Pakistan Rangers targeted a BSF patrol party by resorting to firing along the International Border in Samba district. In the heavy firing, one BSF jawan was killed.

Delhi Metro saw new sections, engineering feat in 2014

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Delhi Metro saw both highs and lows in 2014 as it launched new sections and came out with engineering feat but was beset by trouble in land acquisition which may result in DMRC missing its deadline of phase-III expansion of adding over 140 km to the existing network.

The metro also came out with number of engineering feat and started preparation for fourth phase expansion of the network to link outer Delhi areas of Narela, Bawana and Najafgarh.

4 Pak rangers killed in retaliatory BSF firing after one jawan dies

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Four Pakistani rangers were killed in BSF’s strong retaliaton after a jawan of the force lost his life in heavy firing from the other side on a patrol today along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district.

The retaliation which forced the rangers to wave white flags came on a day when the Government asked the Border Security Force(BSF) to provide a “suitable and appropriate reply” for any unprovoked firing from across the Indo-Pak border.

Plans for bigger museum, multi-lingual text for exhibits: DMRC

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Plans are afoot for a bigger and better Delhi Metro museum, where exhibits will have their commentary written in English as well as Hindi, a senior official of the DMRC on Wednesday said.

On the sixth anniversary of the Metro Museum today, located currently in the premises of the Patel Chowk metro station, officials said, efforts will also be made to make the facility more accessible to a larger audience.

DMRC had recently been alloted 12,000 sq m of land adjacent to the Shastri Park metro station to construct a dedicated sprawling museum complex.

Delhi HC notice to CEC over bogus voters

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The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to file reply on a petition that has alleged presence of large number of bogus voters in various assembly constituencies of the national capital.

A bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva asked the two officials to file reply on the plea by Jan 5, 2015.