Month: February 2015

Telangana Lawyers Stage Demo, Demand Separate HC

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Tension prevailed at the Ranga Reddy district court complex here today as Telangana lawyers staged a noisy demonstration, seeking a halt on the recruitment of junior civil judges in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The lawyers demanded immediate division of the Hyderabad High Court and creation of separate High Courts for the two states which came into existence after the bifurcation.

They sat in front of the main gate, called for boycott of courts, and prevented judges and staff from entering the premises, deputy commissioner of police Tafseer Iqubal said.

Assembly Sessions of Two States in Same Premises

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First time in legislature history, Assembly sessions of the two newly created states—Telangana and Andhra Pradesh— are going to be held in one premises.
Budget sessions of two states are going to be held from March 7 in the historic assembly building here. Assembly Speakers and council Chairmen are holding a meeting on March 4 in this connection.

Harish reviews Assembly session with Speaker, Chairman

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Telangana Legislature Affairs Minister T Harish Rao today held meetings with the Assembly Speaker S Madhusudhan Chary and Council Chairman Swamy Goud at Assembly premises here. Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma, additional DGP Sudeep Laktakia were also present on the occasion.

British victims’ family slams Gujarat riots acquittal verdict

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The acquittal of six people in a case related to the killing of three British nationals of Indian origin during the 2002 Gujarat riots was today described as a “failure of justice” by the victims’ family.

Citing lack of evidence, a special trial court in India today acquitted all the six accused of killing three British nationals near Prantij town in Sabarkantha district of west Indian state of Gujarat in 2002.

“The tragedy, something that the family has to live with on daily basis, is that the mob responsible for killing their loved ones are still loose on the streets.

Private member Bill on forced conversions introduced in Lok Sabha

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A bill to ban forced conversions was among the 37 private members’ bills introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Some of the other bills introduced included the ones on compulsory military training, promotion of two-child norm and amending the Code of Civil Procedure to speed up trials.

Shiv Sena member Sadashiv Lokhande introduced the Prohibition on Religious Conversion (By inducement or force) Bill, 2015.

The bill says the law will not apply on people who voluntarily converts to another religion or reconverts to his or her original religion.

Assad has no role in Syria’s future: Britain, France

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Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad cannot “credibly” be part of any future government combating the threat from the Islamic State (IS) group in the country, Britain and France said on Friday.

Assad is “stoking injustice, disorder and extremism” in Syria, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius wrote in a joint editorial published by newspapers Le Monde and Al-Hayat.

Marine oil supplements beneficial for post-exercise muscle damage

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A new study has revealed that there may be a greater connection between mussels and muscles than previously thought.

The Indiana University study found that taking a pre-exercise supplement of the omega-3 PCSO-524, a marine oil lipid derived from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, has significant positive effects on post-exercise muscle damage.

Eating fish can make you less aggressive

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A new study has revealed that Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D may control the brain serotonin.

In a new Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) study, serotonin is explained as the possible missing link tying together why vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids might ameliorate the symptoms associated with a broad array of brain disorders.

Coffee may cut risk of developing ‘multiple sclerosis’

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Sipping on that cup of coffee may do more than waking you up in the mornings, as a new study has found that caffeine may help reduce risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).

Study author Ellen Mowry, MD, at Johns Hopkins University said that caffeine intake has been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and their study shows that coffee intake may also protect against MS, supporting the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain.

IED found on railway track in Assam

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Security forces recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the railway track in Assam’s Goalpara district on Friday.

The IED was reportedly found by the railway police patrol at Barigaon.

According to reports, the bomb disposal squad of the Indian Army has been called in to disarm the device.

All the trains on the Jogighopa-Guwahati line have been suspended since morning. (ANI)

IS has not executed abducted Christians as yet: Activists

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The Islamic State (IS) militant group, so far, has not executed any of the Christian Assyrians it had abducted in Syria, a group monitoring war in Syria said Friday.

Tribal leaders in Syrian province of al-Hasakah met Christian clergymen to mediate the release of around 220 kidnapped Assyrians, Xinhua quoted Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) as saying.

The IS kidnapped the Assyrians from 11 villages in the town of Tal Tamr, considered the capital of the Syrian Assyrians in al-Hasakah.

Gas dispute with Russia not to affect Europe: Ukraine

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Ukraine’s state-run energy company Naftogaz said here on Friday that a fresh flare-up in the gas dispute between Kiev and Moscow will not harm gas supplies to Europe.

“We see no linkage between supply of Russian gas to Ukraine and its transit to Europe,” Xinhua quoted Naftogaz’s head Andrey Kobolev as saying at a press conference.

Kiev stands ready to ensure uninterrupted transit of gas to Europe even if Russia halts gas supplies to Ukraine, he said.

Russian politician Boris Nemtsov killed in Moscow

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Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot and killed near Moscow’s city centre on Friday night, according to law enforcement agencies.

“An unknown person killed Nemtsov with four shots using a handgun on the slope near St. Basil’s Cathedral in the Red Square,” Tass quoted a law enforcement spokesperson as saying.

“An investigative team is working at the site,” the spokesperson said, adding that the manhunt of the murderer is underway.

UN slams Boko Haram for attacks on civilians

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday slammed “the continuing indiscriminate and horrific attacks” by Boko Haram against civilian populations in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, his spokesperson said.

“The abduction and use of children, including as ‘suicide bombers’, is particularly abhorrent,” said Ban in a statement read by Stephane Dujarric at a regular briefing at the UN headquarters, according to Xinhua.

Syria condemns IS attack on Christians

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Syria’s foreign ministry on Friday condemned the Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS) for carrying out attacks on the Christian Assyrian community in northeastern part of the country, Xinhua reported citing Syrian state news agency SANA.

The ministry, in letters sent to the UN, pinpointed the “terrorist acts” of the IS group against the Assyrian community, according to the report.

Mumbai will continue to belong to Marathi people: Fadnavis

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the state government has decided to confer classical language status on Marathi language and it is up to the Centre to decide on the issue and added that Mumbai will continue to belong to Marathi people.

“Maharashtra government has decided to confer classical language status on Marathi language. However, a decision to this effect has to be taken at?Union Cabinet meeting,” Fadnavis said here.

He was speaking at the presentation of Janasthan Puraskar to senior journalist and noted litterateur Arun Sadhu.

Swine flu toll in Telangana mounts to 56

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Two more people died of swine flu in Telangana, taking the toll to 56 during last two months.

The health department Friday reported two deaths and 27 positive cases during last 24 hours.

According to a bulletin by the department, 102 samples were tested Thursday and out of them 27 were found positive.

Despite the increase in day temperature, the state is witnessing large number of cases every day.

Gunfight erupts in Kashmir

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A fierce gunfight began Friday evening between two militants, holed-up in a house, and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.

A joint team of army’s counter-insurgency force, the Rashtriya Rifles, and state police’s special operations group (SOG) surrounded a house in Rathsuna village near Tral town of Pulwama, 45 km from here, on specific information about presence of two militants inside it, a senior police officer said.

Police officers from 21 countries visit Telangana police HQ

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A team of police officers from 21 countries Friday visited the office of Telangana’s police chief.

Director General of Police Anurag Sharma and other senior police officers briefed them about the functioning of state crime record bureau, fingerprint bureau and also explained them about the functioning of anti-Maoist force Grey Hounds.

The police chief also explained the IT initiatives of Telangana state police such as e-cops, Global Positioning System, crime mapping, Hawk-eye for women safety, said an official statement.

US, Liberia start human trials of Ebola drug

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The US and Liberian governments Friday launched a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an experimental Ebola drug on humans, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) said.

“Although ZMapp has been used to treat several Ebola-infected patients in recent months, we cannot determine if the drug actually benefited those patients because it was not administered within the context of a clinical trial,” Xinhua quoted Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, as saying.

Most wanted drug lord held in Mexico

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A most-wanted leader of an infamous drug cartel was arrested here Friday, a media report said.

Kingpin of the Caballeros Templarios drug cartel, Servando “La Tuta” Gomez Martinez, was arrested in Morelia, the capital of the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacan, where the gang is based.

The Mexican government had offered a 30-million-peso ($2 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of Martinez, who had become Mexico’s most-wanted drug kingpin.

The arrest came after federal forces killed or captured family members or associates of the infamous drug lord.

Skywalk to be built on Bengaluru airport road

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A day after a college girl and a youth were fatally run over by a speeding tanker, civic authorities here Friday announced they would build a skywalk across the busy airport road for pedestrians’ safety.

“We will soon build a skywalk at the Kempapura junction with escalators on both sides of the airport road to enable pedestrians cross over safely,” Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner M. Lakshminaraya told reporters at the spot where the accident took place Thursday.

Doctors go off duty protesting against attack on colleague

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Around 15,000 resident doctors at government hospitals in Delhi went off work in protest against the assault on one of their colleagues, causing inconvenience to hundreds of patients.

Around 15,000 resident doctors from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, GTB, Safdarjung, Lady Hardinge, Hindu Rao, Ambedkar, DDU, Mahrishi Balmiki, ESI and others boycotted work. They were protesting the assault on a doctor at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital by relatives of a patient late on Monday night.

Telesur of Suriname inks agreement with YuppTV

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Telesur, a telecommunications service provider in Suriname, and India’s YuppTV, Friday signed an agreement to deliver over-the-top (OTT) internet television services in the South American nation.

YuppTV, claimed to be a leading OTT content player for South Asian content, will provide a full turnkey technology solution to Telesur. It will aggregate existing local, Dutch and foreign content from various ethnicities and also bring premier Bollywood content to the people in Suriname.