US President Barack Obama Tuesday said India and the US had much in common like being great democracies and innovative economies.
“It is wonderful to speak to you directly. India and United States are natural partners because we have so much in common. We are two great democracies, innovative economies and diverse societies dedicated to empowering individuals,” Obama said speaking on a special episode of the “Mann Ki Baat”.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Tuesday said it will participate in next month’s International Kolkata Book Fair for spreading awareness about capital trading.
“We are fully committed to creating awareness in Kolkata and the East to encourage people to invest in productive assets, so that they can manage their finances better and build a prosperous future,” the Stock Exchange’s business development head Ravi Varanasi said here.
US President Barack Obama Tuesday said he never imagined he would enter the White House some day.
Speaking during the radio programme “Mann Ki Baat” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Obama said: “When I first went to White House, I stood outside the same fence, I did not imagine I will be visiting it.”
Obama’s comment came after Modi’s description of the first time he saw the White House and clicked a picture outside it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said he was inspired by the life of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the US.
“When I was young, I used to see (John F.) Kennedy’s pictures…,” said Modi, addressing his radio programme “Mann Ki Baat” with US President Barack Obama.
“I read Benjamin Franklin’s life story. He was not a US president, but he is an inspiration,” Modi said.
The prime minister said Franklin, in his biography, describes how people can change their lives.
Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court challenging her offloading at the airport here, when she was on her way to London to brief British MPs on the rights of forest-dwelling communities affected by coal mining.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher will hear the plea Wednesday.
Pillai said her offloading was “illegal and arbitrary” and she had a valid business visa for six months to visit London where she was scheduled to address British parliamentarians Jan 14. Pillai was offloaded Jan 11.
Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani, who is facing allegations of corruption, Tuesday said he will be presenting his 13th budget and the number 13 was lucky for him.
Mani was interacting with the media for the first time Tuesday after whistle-blower bar owner Biju Ramesh alleged that the minister was given Rs.1 crore in October last year as the first instalment of the Rs.5-crore bribe he demanded to help reopen closed bars in the state.
Dismissed Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Dr T Rajaiah on Tuesday suffered a mild heart stroke and has been admitted in a corporate hospital on Tuesday evening.
Chief Secretary Dr. Rajiv Sharma conducted Special Task Force Meeting (STF) meeting on Tuesday and reviewed the progress of Hyderabad Metro Rail project.
HMR MD NVS Reddy made a detailed presentation on the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the decisions of Chief Secretary of STF meeting held on January 20. He informed that so far 1730 foundations (45 km), 1640 pillars (43 km) and 34 km of viaduct have been completed.
The Telangana Government on Tuesday issued orders conferring the status of Minister of State for the Parliamentary Secretaries in the State of Telangana.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had appointed six Parliamentary Secretaries. They are V. Srinivas Goud, Kova Laxmi, Vodithala Satish Kumar, Gadari Kishore Kumar, Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar and Jalagam Venkat Rao. They were also attached to different ministers.
The Indian cricket team left for Perth on Tuesday, keeping in mind the need to overcome batting and bowling worries ahead of their virtual semifinal against England in the tri-series on Friday.
Despite the wash-out against Australia here on Monday, they would have gone away happy from their trip to Sydney.
The team arrived here knackered from the long tour so far, which was evident in the listless manner they lost to England in Brisbane. That defeat also meant the need to win both their remaining matches to qualify for the tri-series final in Perth on February 1.
The Telangana Government on Tuesday decided to shift the existing Government T.B. & Chest Hospital located at Erragadda to TB Sanitorium in Ananthagiri near Vikarabad of Ranga Reddy district.
The orders to shift the hospital have been issued on Tuesday through GO RT No 61 by Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department.
The State Government has also accorded administrative sanction for an amount of Rs. 7.70 crores for carrying out repairs and renovation to TB Sanitorium for shifting of TB and Chest Hospital, Erragadda.
GHMC Commissioner and Special Officer Somesh Kumar informed that LED lighting has been launched at Raj Bhavan on the occasion of Republic Day.
The LED Lighting was inaugurated by Governor ESL Narasimhan on Monday. With the LED lights the Raj Bhavan would consume just 22 KW of electricity instead of 46.26 KW consumed earlier. Therefore, the Raj Bhavan would save about 47% of electricity. As a result, the Raj Bhavan would save about Rs. 54,427 per month with the consumption of about 7,888 .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday chose to start his radio address Man Ki Baat by explaining the meaning of US President Barack Obama’s first name which is “one who is blessed”.
“Some people wonder what is the meaning of Barack… in Swahili, Barack means he who is blessed,” Modi said in the radio programme which he recorded with President Obama.
“I believe his family has blessed him with this name,” he said.
At least 23 militants were killed in airstrikes by the Pakistani army in the country’s northwestern tribal area of North Waziristan Tuesday afternoon, media reported.
The troops backed by jet fighters pounded five militant hideouts in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Xinhua news agency reported citing ARY News.
Quoting official sources, media reported that the killed militants include local and foreign militants, but their identities have not been revealed yet.
US President Barack Obama arrived here Tuesday to pay his respects to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz who died Jan 23. He was received by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at the city’s King Khalid International Airport.
The US president cut short the final day of his India trip to make a four-hour stop-over in Riyadh. He is scheduled to hold a meeting with the new king and attend a dinner at the Erga Palace.
Obama is leading a delegation of current and former American officials to Saudi Arabia.
The Madras High Court today dismissed a PIL seeking to restrain Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha from installing statues of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in 17 places and the consecration of the first Godse memorial in Meerut on January 30.
Dismissing a PIL, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh directed the petitioner R Kannan Govindarajulu, an ex-serviceman, to move his petition in Allahabad High Court where the jurisdiction lies.
BJP and Congress today demanded cancellation of Arvind Kejriwal’s nomination and complained to the Election Commission against the AAP chief for alleged violation of model code of conduct.
While BJP slammed Kejriwal for “defaming” the party by accusing it of bribing voters before the election, Congress charged him with “cheating” the people by declaring a false address in the nomination papers.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan today said he was proud to get a mention in US President Barack Obama’s speech on gender and religious equality.
Obama charmed the crowd while addressing a town hall event in Siri Fort on the third and final day of his visit to India by quoting Shah Rukh Khan’s famous line ‘Senorita, bade bade deshon mein…’ from blockbuster ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’.
In a horrific incident, an 18- year-old Pakistani girl was burnt to death after being doused with kerosene by her jilted lover for refusing his marriage proposal, the latest case of violence against women in the country.
The girl was set on fire in Naushahro Feroze district of Sindh province yesterday by Sajid Qureshi, a cloth merchant, after his marriage proposal was refused more than once by the girl’s mother and brother.
Pleasantly surprised after Barack Obama took her name while talking about Indian achievers, boxer M.C. Mary Kom on Tuesday said it felt proud to be acknowledged by the U.S. President.
Addressing a town hall event in Delhi, Mr. Obama lauded Indian sporting heroes Mary Kom and sprinter Milkha Singh among others.
“I am thankful to him for mentioning my name. He acknowledged my performances over the years. It was surprising because he could have taken anybody’s name. I am feeling very proud,” Kom said.
The bitter truth is that encouraged by Pakistan’s strategists, huge militant establishments are holding the Pakistan state hostage by running their own training centres, hospitals, and disaster relief programmes, and are flush with both funds and weapons.
Incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif desperately wants to retain his position as there is an ambitious upstart waiting in the wings. The 2014 standoff between the two has left the military stronger.
Ingredients
1/2 kg lamb chops
1 Tbsp ghee
4-5 green cardamom
2 small cinnamon sticks
1 cup sliced onions
1 large bay leaf, broken
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1 cup almonds, blanched, peeled and sliced
Salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander seed powder
1 Tbsp cashew paste
Water
Chopped coriander
Method
Take the half kilo of lamb and clean the bone out. Using the blunt edge of the knife, beat the lamb so that it flattens out.
Taking a cue from US President Barack Obama’s speech calling for religious freedom, Congress leader Digvijay Singh today took a jibe at Narendra Modi wondering whether the Prime Minister would advise his friends in the Sangh Parivar to stop justifying ‘Ghar Wapsi’.
“Would Modi take his friend Barack’s advice and ask his friends in VHP to shut up and request (RSS Chief) Mohan Bhagwat to stop justifying ‘Ghar Vapsi’?” Singh wrote in a series of tweets targeted at the Prime Minister.
Three more deaths from swine flu have been reported in Telangana, taking the total number of casualties due to the H1N1 virus this month to 16 in the state, a senior official said here today.
With this, the total number of deaths during this season (from December last) rose to 25, Director of state-run Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) L Narendranath told reporters.
He said 1,156 samples have been tested for swine flu so far and 414 have turned out to be positive.
President Barack Obama and Michelle may not have been able to see the Taj Mahal this time but the US First Lady today said she will be back in India for a visit to the monument of love.
When asked whether she was disappointed at not being able to see the Taj, Michelle said “I am and I will be back.”
Obama and Michelle were scheduled to visit Agra today but the trip was cut short as the US President decided to go to Saudi Arabia to pay condolence to the Royal family following death of King Abdullah.