Month: January 2015

Obama sent a clear message on religious tolerance to BJP-led govt.: Manish Tewari

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Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday said U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a clear message to the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre that recent incidents have put a strain on India’s espoused philosophy of religious tolerance, adding that if the country had any threat, it was from ‘within’.

“President Barack Obama sent a very clear message to the BJP-led NDA Government. The way things are going on is straining religious tolerance in India. If India has any threat, it is from within,” said Tewari.

Negative interpretation of Obama’s remark on Indian secularism is futile: BJP

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday dismissed the interpretation of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Town Hall speech by rival parties, stating that a negative analysis of the visiting leader’s words is of no consequence.

“Obama did not speak about secularism of India; he spoke about the secularism of India in a positive sense. Ironically, some people with negative thoughts are trying to interpret it in a different way. But this is of no consequence,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told ANI.

Sena demands deletion of ‘secular’ word from Constitution

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Shiv Sena demanded permanent deletion of the words secular and socialist from the Constitution. Official Logo
A day after row erupted over a Republic Day advertisement of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Shiv Sena today demanded “permanent deletion” of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Constitution.

An acrimonious war of words had broken out between political parties yesterday when an advertisement issued by the I&B Ministry carried a picture of the Preamble to the Constitution as it appeared before the 42nd Amendment, without the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’.

‘Taare Zameen Par’ gave me recognition: Tisca Chopra

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Actress Tisca Chopra credits Aamir Khan’s superhit film “Taare Zameen Par” for giving her respect and recognition in the film fraternity.

“Before ‘Taare Zameen Par’ people were not aware of me as an actor. Whatever respect, recognition I got in the fraternity is through this film. It’s been seven to eight years for this film but people still remember it,” Tisca told IANS.

Remove secular, socialist from Constitution’s preamble: Sena

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A day after row erupted over a Republic Day advertisement of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Shiv Sena today demanded “permanent deletion” of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Constitution.

An acrimonious war of words had broken out between political parties yesterday when an advertisement issued by the I&B Ministry carried a picture of the Preamble to the Constitution as it appeared before the 42nd Amendment, without the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’.

Kalyan Singh takes oath as Governor of Himachal Pradesh

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Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh was today sworn in as the Himachal Pradesh Governor here.

He was administered oath of office by Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhawan.

Singh has been given an additional charge of Himachal Pradesh after Urmila Singh, who completed the full five year term as HP Governor on January 24 was given a warm send off at the Raj Bhawan yesterday as she left for Raipur.

The Governor was also accorded Guard of Honour on the occasion.

Obama sent a clear message on religious tolerance to BJP-led govt

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Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday said U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a clear message to the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre that recent incidents have put a strain on India’s espoused philosophy of religious tolerance, adding that if the country had any threat, it was from ‘within’.

“President Barack Obama sent a very clear message to the BJP-led NDA Government. The way things are going on is straining religious tolerance in India. If India has any threat, it is from within,” said Tewari.

No place for nature’s call, Schools run after Toilets

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Even as the State government is chalking out many big plans to implement, its ambitious KG-to-PG free education programme, what remains unsettling is the lack of basic toilet facility in most of the schools across Telangana.

Government schools in Khammam district are no different from the others in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. This is evidence from that there are 10 toilets at the zilla parishad girls’ high school in Bhadrachalam but only two are usable. Moreover, that two are not for students but exclusively for teachers and school staff never let the students use it.

President Mukherjee congratulates Saudi Arabia king on his accession to throne

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President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday extended his greetings and felicitations to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on his accession to the throne.

“It gives me immense pleasure to extend warm greetings and congratulations on behalf of the Government and the people of India and on my own behalf, to Your Majesty on your accession to the throne. We wish Your Majesty a long and prosperous reign,” the President said in a message.

Barack Obama’s speech on tolerance is an indictment of Modi’s regime: Assam CM Tarun Gogoi

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Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday termed US President Barak Obama’s emphasis on religious tolerance as an indictment of “growing religious intolerance” during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule.

“Obama’s emphasis on religious tolerance is nothing but a clear indictment of growing religious intolerance during Modi’s reign,” Gogoi tweeted.

Spice Jet needs to sort out its financial problems: Civil Aviation Minister

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Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pasupati has said troubled airliner Spice Jet would have to sort out its financial problems, and added that the government could only help in the process.

“Their problem is financial. They have to get their books right. We will do up to only light hand holding. We are not going to take burden of it but we want to see airline survive and serve the Indian people,” said Raju.

Ram VIlas Paswan says NDA will fight Bihar polls under Narendra Modi

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Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), an ally of BJP, on Wednesday described the saffron party as as “elder brother” and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be the face of NDA in the coming Bihar polls.

“BJP is our elder brother. Bihar polls will be fought under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” LJP President and Union minister Ramvilas Paswan told reporters.

Paswan said seat sharing among NDA partners was not a big issue and his party was not bothered about number of seats it would get.

Dalai Lama says certain nations like India can keep nuclear weapons ‘for the safety of all’

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday said although he did not support nuclear weapons but certain nations could keep them for the safety for all.

Dalai Lama was in Ghaziabad as the chief guest in a school function.

When asked about the civil nuclear cooperation between India and the United States, which has been revived by US President Barack Obama during his recent visit to the country, the Dalai Lama said that he considered India as a huge and populous nation and hence it had a right to keep nuclear weaponry.

Pakistan wants normal ties with ‘important neighbour’ India: PM Nawaz Sharif

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Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Mr. Abdul Basit, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday and briefed him on the status of Pakistan-India relations.

According to an official press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Sharif reiterated during the meeting that Pakistan wants good neighborly relations with all countries of the region.

He described India as an important neighbour for Pakistan.

ALSO Read: Pakistan is our irreplaceable all weather friend: China

34 children rescued from illegal orphanage in Odisha

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As many as 34 children were rescued from an illegally run orphanage at Saringiripi in Kandhamal district, an official said on Wednesday.
Representational Image dna Research & Archives
As many as 34 children were rescued from an illegally run orphanage at Saringiripi in Kandhamal district, an official said on Wednesday.

“The authorities could not produce any valid document for running the home during a raid yesterday,” District Social Welfare Officer (Kandhamal) Sanghamitra Mohapatra said.

160 fall sick after having ‘prasad’ in religious fair in West Bengal

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An estimated 160 people were hospitalised after having ‘khichdi’ at a religious fair at Arambagh in Hooghly district on Tuesday night.

Arambagh Municipalty Chairman Swapan Nandy said the ailing persons were now out of danger and being discharged since today.

Nandy said the devotees had consumed ‘khichdi’ as ‘prasad’ at the ‘Pir Mela’ and started complaining of stomach ache and vommiting.

He said the pulses used in the khichuri was suspected to have been coloured and sent for test.

A district health officer said a medical team has been sent to the area.

PTI

Indian Army pays tribute to Republic Day awardee officer killed in encounter with terrorists

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Rai, 39, commanding officer of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, and head constable Sanjeev Kumar Singh Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed during the encounter in Tral in Pulawama district yesterday, in which two militants were also gunned down.
File Photo of Army Officer Colonal M N Rai who was awarded galanttery medal yesterday was killed on Tuesday during an encounter, at Mindora village of Tral 36 km`s from Srinagar.

KCR family indulged in 1000cr scam

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Congress former MP Madhu Yashki Goud today alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao family swindled Rs 1000 cr with regard to medical seats allocation.

Talking to media here he demanded disclosure of real culprits in health scam that led to suspension of Rajaiah who was health minister and deputy chief minister. He mock on the TRS Government made Mission Kakatiya as Mission Kalvakuntla. Madhu also found fault with the TRS leadership for continuing their operation akarsh program to attract the congress leaders.

Burdwan blast: NIA arrests four suspects, including alleged main recruiter

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National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four more persons in connection with the Burdwan blast, as per news reports on Wednesday.

One of the accused arrested is alleged to be the main recruiter.

The arrests comes shortly after a city court extended the remand of four accused including Rezaul Karim, an alleged operative of banned Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror outfit.

Other accused were Sahanur Alam, Safiqul Islam and Rafiqul Islam.

AirAsia India lowers advance fares, offers one-way ticket at Rs 699

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No-frills carrier AirAsia India has lowered its advance fares, offering its customers one-way ticket prices at as low as Rs 699 with a travel validity period lasting up to March next year.

The bookings under the three-day limited period offer commenced yesterday and are applicable to travel between August 3 and March 26, 2016, according to the airline’s website.

As per advance purchase promotional offer, a Bengaluru- Kochi one-way journey is priced at Rs 899, a Bengaluru-Goa ticket is priced from Rs 1,099 while Bengaluru-Pune at Rs 1,499.

Ancient Star With Five Earth-Size Planets Discovered

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After analysing over four years of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, a team of astronomers has discovered a star that is 11.2 billion years old and has at least five Earth-size planets.

“The findings show that Earth-size planets have formed throughout most of the universe’s 13.8-billion-year history, leaving open the possibility for the existence of ancient life in the galaxy,” said Tiago Campante, research fellow at the University of Birmingham who led the research project.

Sensex off record-high; falls 58 points in early trade

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Snapping its bull-run for eight consecutive sessions, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 58 points in early trade on Wednesday as participants locked-in gains at current levels amid a weak trend overseas.

Besides, profit-booking in stocks of realty, auto, metal, banking, capital goods and oil & gas sectors, negatively impacted trading sentiments.

The 30-share barometer fell by 58.56 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 29,512.48. The gauge had rallied by 2,224.22 points in the previous eight straight sessions on the back of sustained foreign fund inflows.

SAARC Literature Festival in Agra from Feb 13

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A three-day SAARC literature festival will begin in the Taj city Feb 13.Literary luminaries from the neighbouring SAARC countries will interact, debate latest literary trends and present their literary pieces for analytical comments during the event.

The evenings will be enlivened by performances by Sufis and Darveshes. The regional Braj culture and literature will also be on display.

Ajeet Cour, chairperson of Foundation of SAARC writers and literature (FOSWAL) told IANS: “Events like these help bridge the communication gaps and lead to better understanding of humanity.”

ICC launches official ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 App

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The International Cricket Ccouncil (ICC), in partnership with Reliance Communications, on Wednesday launched the official ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 app.The app is now available for free download from the App Store and Google Play.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the 11th edition of cricket’s flagship event, gets underway on February 14 and will see 14 of the best teams in the world compete for the game’s top prize.

The 2015 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup promises to be the biggest and best in the event’s history.