Month: February 2015

World Cup 2015, South Africa v/s West Indies: AB de Villiers rips up record books with fastest 150

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South African skipper AB de Villiers ripped up the record books again as he smacked the fastest 150 in ODIs, off just 64 balls, against the West Indies during their World Cup Pool B tie in Sydney.

De Villiers surpassed the previous quickest set by Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, who reached this figure in 83 deliveries against Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2011.

He remained unbeaten on 162 as he steered his side to post a mammoth total of 408.

ANI

GHMC to remove dustbins from defaulters’ vicinity

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GHMC Commissioner and Special Officer Somesh Kumar has directed the Zonal Commissioner (North) to submit a detailed report where the dustbins have been kept in front of the defaulters for non-payment of Property Tax.

He also instructed the officials to remove the dustbin immediately as per the directions of the High Court. He further directed the Zonal Commissioner to submit a detailed report on the issue. He asked all the Zonal Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners to follow the provisions of the Act to collect the Property Tax. (INN)
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Priyanka Chopra joins American TV show ‘Quantico’

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Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has joined the cast of ABC drama pilot ‘Quantico’, which revolves around a group of young FBI recruits.

The series will mark the American TV debut of the 32-year-old ‘Mary Kom’ star.

The show is about the young recruits, who battle their way through training at the Quantico base in Virginia. One will launch a devastating terrorist attack on the US, reported Deadline.

Priyanka will play Alex Weaver, a brilliant but haunted FBI trainee whose past boils to the surface soon after her arrival at Quantico.

Court to give order on Mar 3 on Salman Khan’s driving licence

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A sessions court today reserved its order till March 3 on a plea of the prosecution in the 2002 hit-and-run case seeking a direction to actor Salman Khan to produce his driving licence to prove the charge that he was driving car at the time of mishap without valid papers.

After hearing arguments on the application, Judge D W Deshpande said he would give his order on March 3.

Female, infant foeticide rising: Minister

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The government admitted that there has been an increase in cases of female and infant foeticide across the country.

“Yes. A total of 132 cases, 210 cases and 221 cases were reported under foeticide and a total of 63, 81 and 82 cases were reported under infanticide during 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively,” Health Minister J P Nadda told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Heptulla praises PM Modi’s statement in LS

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Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla on Friday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to the October 27, 2013, Patna bomb blast during his address in the Lok Sabha, saying this reflected his character and commitment towards development.

Heptulla said the Prime Minister spoke strongly on communal issues and development.

Congress needs services of both Sonia and Rahul: Ashwani Kumar

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Congress leader Ashwani Kumar said on Friday that the grand old party needs services of both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the current scenario, which he termed as a ‘difficult juncture’.

“Rahul Gandhi occupies the second highest position in the Congress and all his views are taken into consideration. I believe that at this difficult juncture, the Congress needs the services of both Sonia Gandhi and the youthful and creative energies of Rahul Gandhi,” he told ANI.

BJP MLAs submit letter to J-K Governor pledging support to PDP

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Elected legislatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) met Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Friday and submitted a letter with regards to their party extending its support to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state assembly.

BJP MLA Kavinder Gupta said that the two parties are forming an alliance to give a stable government to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sikkimese woman allegedly raped by a doctor in Delhi

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A 25-year-old woman from Sikkim was allegedly raped by a doctor in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas area on Thursday night. Police said that as per initial investigation, the victim was brought to Delhi by some persons four-five days back on the pretext of providing her a job.

The incident came to light this morning when the victim, who presently lives in Munirka area of south Delhi, called up police and narrated her ordeal.

Obama raised ISIS: Sarah Palin

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Sarah Palin points the finger at the Obama administration for the rise of the ISIS terrorist group in the Middle East.

Former GOP VP nominee was invited to the Conservative Political Action Conference, to speak about American war veterans and the challenges they face
where she took the opportunity to critises Obama for not cracking down on the militants.

The US president failed to crack down ISIS militants, their growth and failed to keep a residual force of American troops there.

Twin blasts kill 13 in Nigeria: Police

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At least 13 people were killed and 14 severely injured in twin bomb blasts at a motor park in Jos city in central-northern Nigeria, police said Friday.

State police chief Nasiru Oki told reporters in the plateau state’s capital that the incident occurred at about 6.45 p.m. Thursday evening when explosives planted in the park were detonated, Xinhua news agency reported.

Oki said the injured were rushed to a hospital and the scene of the incident was cordoned off.

The police chief said no arrest had been made yet.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

–IANS

With economy on upswing, India Inc expects higher growth trajectory

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As the NDA government tabled the Economic Survey for 2014-15 Friday, India Inc expressed its hope that the economy is looking up and the growth prospects are bright to attain double digit growth trajectory in the coming years.

India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 percent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining, while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment.

Defeat to India factor behind my knock: De Villiers

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An elated South Africa skipper AB De Villiers, who smashed an unbeaten 162 off 66 deliveries against the West Indies here Friday, said it was pain from the humiliating defeat to India that got him to play such a devastating innings.

“A bit of everything, a bit of pain in the previous game,” de Villiers said.

In the 30th over, South Africa were 146/3 when de Villiers joined Rilee Rossouw (61) to start an onslaught that lasted till the end of the innings taking their score to 408/5.

Two-third population of Bihar lack electricity: World Bank

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Lack of access to power for a large segment of its population as well as industry coupled with an inefficient, loos-making distribution infrastructure severely constrains economic development and growth, she said.

Claiming that two-third of Bihar population is yet to get access to electricity, a World Bank study report has asked the state government to augment generation capacity and ramp up investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure to ensure affordable power to the consumers.

‘Over 500 Indonesians have joined IS’

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More than 500 Indonesians have joined the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Iraq and Syria while the authorities have not taken any precautionary measures, according to the country’s largest Muslim body, media reported Friday.

“At least 514,” Said Aqil Siraj, chairman of the Nadhlatul Ulama, told kompas.com, referring to the number of people who have joined the IS, after a meeting Thursday with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Sharif summons meeting on Senate polls

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday convened a meeting of parliamentary leaders to discuss how to make Senate elections transparent, media reported.

The government has drafted an amendment bill to bring crucial changes to the constitution in a bid to hold the upcoming elections for 52 Senate seats in a manner that would end the “undemocratic practice of horse-trading”, Dawn reported.

Pakistan International Airlines suspends services to Dhaka

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Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Friday decided to cancel all flights to Bangladesh till March 10 in response to the raid on the house of its country manager in Dhaka.

Bangladeshi authorities had raided the house of Ali Abbas three days ago, Geo News reported.

According to sources in PIA, a raid was also conducted on a PIA flight which reached Dhaka from Karachi Wednesday, and the plane was searched for two-and-a-half hours.

In response to the action of the Bangladeshi authorities, PIA cancelled its flight PK-266, originally scheduled to fly from Karachi to Dhaka Thursday.

Rajya Sabha members condemn acid attacks

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Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members Friday condemned the many incidents of acid attacks and demanded stringent punishment for their perpetrators, saying they inflict inexpressible pain on the body and minds of victims.

The issue was raised in the upper house by Janata Dal-United leader K.C. Tyagi who said the government should set up a commission and fund it to rehabilitate acid attack victims.

233 foreign boats apprehended since 2011: Parrikar

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Around 233 foreign boats and 1,686 foreign crew were apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard between 2011-15, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Friday.

“Instances of illegal fishing in Indian waters by foreign fishermen come to the notice of government from time to time. A total of 233 foreign boats and 1686 foreign crew were apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard during the period 2011-15,” Parrikar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

China’s maritime advances worry US, Beijing rejects charges

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The US has expressed concern at China’s progress in maritime zones it shares with its neighbours but Beijing has said its activities in its own territory were legitimate and justified.

Media reports quoted the US intelligence chief James Clapper as saying Thursday that China was expanding its outposts in the South China Sea to include stations for ships and potential airfields as part of its “aggressive” effort to exert sovereignty.

Bangladesh blogger murdered by professional killers: Doctor

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Those who killed US-based blogger Avijit Roy in Dhaka were professionals and dealt three blows with sharp weapons “very expertly and brutally” on the right side of the head of the victim who died from profuse bleeding, said the doctor who did the postmortem on the body Friday.

Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor in Dhaka Medical College’s forensic department, said there were three deep gashes on the right side of Avijit’s head caused by a sharp weapon like a machete, bdnews24.com reported.

Iraqi minorities face eradication by IS: Report

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Minority communities in Iraq have been targeted by Islamic State (IS) terrorists with the aim of wiping them off large parts of the country, a report by a group of human rights organisations said Friday.

The research for the report shows very clearly that IS “has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide against religious and ethnic minorities in northern Iraq”, said Alison Smith, legal counsel of No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) organisation, Press TV reported.

“These atrocities cannot go un-remarked and un-addressed,” Smith added.

No foreigner in war crimes probe: Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka Friday said it won’t invite foreign experts in its probe into allegations of war crimes and maintained that the inquiry will take place within the country’s legal system.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera told Xinhua that preliminary discussions into the conduct of the domestic inquiry had already begun and the government would finalize a structure soon.