Month: February 2015

Fresh HC notice to UP govt in Azam Khan office-of-profit case

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Allahabad High Court today sought reply from Uttar Pradesh government and Azam Khan over a petition claiming that the Cabinet minister was holding office-of-profit as chancellor of a university.

The Lucknow bench of the court issued notice to the state government and Khan and sought their response within four weeks.

Khan is the Urban Development Minister in the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet and is also serving as the Chancellor of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.

High risk heart surgery on pregnant woman successful

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A high risk open heart surgery was successfully operated upon on a seven-month pregnant woman at a government hospital here, officials said today.

Nirmala, with seven-month pregnancy, was facing respiratory problem and initially admitted to cardiac vascular surgery unit in January at SMS government hospital in Jaipur.

IS executioner ‘Jihadi John’ is a Londoner with IT degree

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The burly masked Islamic State (IS) terrorist known as ‘Jihadi John’ seen in gruesome videos of beheadings of Western hostages was today named as a Kuwait- born Londoner.

Mohammed Emwazi, the 26-year-old ruthless killer, has featured in a series of chilling videos of executions of hostages, some of whom he kills himself.

Emwazi, who holds a degree in computer programming, is shown speaking with a British accent and dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.

Sonia, Rahul running party in ‘cohesive’ manner: Cong

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Congress today dismissed any projection of a rift between Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and described as “personal opinion” recent remarks by senior leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh about confusion and generation gap, saying both the Gandhis were running the party in a “cohesive” manner.

Gujarat High Court grants bail to 2002 Naroda Patiya riot convict

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The Gujarat High Court today granted bail to one of the 31 convicts of Naroda Patiya riot case of 2002.

As many as 97 people were killed at Naroda Patiya here during a post-Godhra riots.

The division bench of Justices R R Tripathi and R D Kothari granted bail to Kirpalsingh Chhabda who was the personal assistant to former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani (convicted in the same case) on the ground of ‘parity’.

Chhabda’s petition said he should be released as Kodnani had already been granted bail last July.

PM raised H1-B visa issue for Indian with US President: Govt

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue of H1-B visa with President Barack Obama, while underlining the importance of ensuring access for Indian professionals in the United States, the government today said.

“During discussion on a range of bilateral issues with the US President during his visit to India in January 25, 2015, Prime Minister raised with the US President, the importance of ensuring easier access for Indian professionals into the United States, including the issue of H1-B visa.

John Abraham returns with ‘Force’ sequel

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Actor John Abraham will reunite with filmmaker Vipul Amrutlal Shah on the sequel to their 2011 hit action film ‘Force’.

While the first film was a remake of a Tamil movie ‘Kaakha Kaakha’, ‘Force 2’ will have an original script and will be directed by ‘Delhi Belly’ helmer Abhinay Deo, said a statement.

The film will go on floor around September 2015 and will release in early 2016.

Abraham’s co-star in the sequel has not been revealed. Actress Genelia D’Souza starred opposite him in the original film, while actor Vidyut Jamwal played the main antagonist.

Man held for abetting wife’s rape by cousin

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A 38-year-old man was arrested today for allegedly abetting rape of his wife by his cousin at Sinduri village here, police said.

On the intervening night of February 24 and 25, the accused allegedly gagged his wife and held her while his cousin Phool Chand Patel (35) raped her in their house, ASP Durgesh Kumar Rathore told PTI.

Police have registered a case against the duo under sections 376 (2) (g) (gang rape), 294 (obscene act) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC in accordance with the complaint of the victim.

Dogs can sense whether a person is lying or not

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humans best friend is socially smarter than previously thought, scientists say citing new research which found that a dog knows if someone is not trustworthy.

When a dog owner points to the location of anything – be it a toy, food, or ball — the dog will run towards the area the person is pointing to.

Recent dog research been found that dogs can also easily figure out if these gestures are misleading. Once a dog has decided a person is unreliable, it stops following the cues they give, Japanese scientists say.

Sayeed leaves to meet Modi on Kashmir government formation

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed Thursday flew to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give formal shape to government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Top sources in the PDP confirmed to IANS here that the last-minute hiccups that had occurred in the drafting of the common minimum programme (CMP) between the PDP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were resolved Thursday afternoon after hectic parleys between the leaders of the two parties.

Pak court declares Qadri as proclaimed offender

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Canada-based anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, his sons and two others of Pakistan Awami Tehrik party were today declared “proclaimed offenders” by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for not appearing in a case of arson and vandalism here despite court summons against them.

The anti-terrorism court of Lahore declared Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) chief Qadri, his two sons and two members of his party, proclaimed offenders for not appearing in the Model Town Lahore case despite the court summons.

Pakistan welcomes Afghan peace talks

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Pakistan Thursday welcomed the “prospects” of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban saying political solution is the only solution to the problem.

The comments came days after Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah told the cabinet ministers that talks will begin with the Taliban “in the coming days”.

“Our position on Afghanistan reconciliation process is very clear, a negotiated political, reconciliation is the only way forward, we welcome the prospects of peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban,” the foreign ministry said.

Consult states on buying cheaper power, Jayalalithaa urges Prabhu

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Alarmed at Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s proposal to buy power through bidding, AIADMK chief J.Jayalalithaa Thursday said proposal to buy cheap power should be in consultation with state governments and power utilities.

“The proposal to purchase cheaper traction power by Railways should not be at the cost of the health of the state power utilities which are already bearing a heavy burden of providing an essential service to a big range of consumers.

Bedi lauds Jaitley’s defense on Land Acquisition Ordinance

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Thursday showered praise on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his defense of the government’s proposed Land Acquisition Ordinance, saying it will make one realise the falsehood been spread on the issue.

“Outstanding defense of Land Acquisition Ordinance in RSabha by @arunjaitley. Pl hear it. Will realise how much falsehood been spread. Tragic!” she tweeted.

Adani’s assets up by Rs 25,000 crore, ‘Achhe Din’ have arrived: Karat

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CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday said that with Gujarat-based industrialist Gautam Adani’s assets rising by Rs 25,000 crore within a year ‘Achhe din’ (good days) have come in the country under the BJP regime.

Addressing a large party gathering here, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) chief said “Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani’s properties have increased by Rs 25,000 crore in the past one year” and that establishes how “Achhe din” (good days) have come in India.

UN says former Yemen leader Saleh amassed assets worth 30-62 billion dollars

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Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly amassed assets worth 30-62 billion dollars during and after his time in office, a United Nations report said.

The report was prepared by a panel of experts who monitor UN sanctions on Yemen and said that Saleh is believed to have transferred most of the wealth abroad under other names, reported the BBC.

It said that the origin of the funds used to generate Saleh’s wealth is believed to be “partly from his corrupt practices as president of Yemen, particularly relating to gas and oil contracts.”

Railway Budget: All North-East states to be connected to Delhi, says Prabhu

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Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu on Thursday said that his ministry has a ‘comprehensive’ plan for the North-East, adding that all state capitals in the region will soon be connected to Delhi.

“We have a very comprehensive plan for the North-East, and we have already decided to connect all state capitals of the region with Delhi. We are making a huge investment; the Prime Minister has visited the region many times and even I have gone with him,” Prabhu said at a press conference in the national capital.

Sri Lanka’s opposition voices support for ex-president

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A group of Sri Lanka’s opposition members Thursday launched a petition in capital Colombo to name former president Mahinda Rajapakse as the prime ministerial candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in the upcoming parliamentary elections, an official said.

Opposition member and provincial councilor Udaya Gammanpila told reporters that the petition aimed at collecting one million signatures in order to get the former president back into politics, Xinhua news agency reported.

Three sentenced to death in Bahrain for killing policemen

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Bahrain’s High Criminal Court Thursday issued a verdict against a group of suspects, who were found guilty of killing three policemen in March last year.

Ahmed Al Hammadi, chief terror crimes prosecutor, said the court found the suspects guilty of the crime and sentenced three of them to death, adding that seven others were sentenced with life imprisonment, while eight had their citizenship revoked, according to Xinhua news agency.

Japanese firms facing problems in India: Envoy

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Japan’s Ambassador to India Takeshi Yagi Thursday said Japanese companies are facing series of problems in India pertaining to taxation and infrastructure.

“Japanese companies continue to face series of problems on customs, taxation and infrastructure,” Yagi said in his address at the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) 2015 organised by Confederation of Indian Industry here.

Cop rapes woman in Delhi

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A woman in her 30s was raped by a Delhi Police head constable, police said Thursday.

Devi Singh, posted with the disaster team of Delhi Police in north Delhi’s Rohini, is still on the run.

A case of rape was registered against Singh after the victim complained at west Delhi’s Alipur Police station Wednesday night.

The victim, who is a relative of Singh, told police that she was raped at a house in west Delhi’s Narela area.

–IANS

Australia bookies’ ‘favourite’ to win trans-Tasman WC clash against Kiwis

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Australia have gained the upper edge over New Zealand as the loose favourites to win their upcoming high-octane World Cup clash in Auckland on Saturday, according to TAB, a sports betting site.

Australia have been priced at 1.70 dollars while New Zealand are at 2.05 dollars.

Meanwhile, Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood said that Brendon McCullum at the top of order was key to them, adding that a lot of the senior guys had seen him do his work in the IPL, so they would have team meetings, Stuff.co.nz reported.

No new trains due to saturation of high density networks: AK Mittal

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Railway Board chairman A K Mittal on Thursday said that no new trains have been introduced in the railway budget for 2015-16 due to the saturation of high density networks in the nation.

“This is a path breaking budget. Usually a proposal is for only one year, but we have given a roadmap for the next five years. We have stated that we will spend Rs 8.56 lakh crores on various plans as proposed in the budget,” Mittal said at a press conference in the national capital.

Warned of death if seen again in Afghanistan: Priest

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Jesuit priest Father Alexis Premkumar Antonysamy Thursday said his captors in Afghanistan had warned him they would shoot him dead if he was seen in the country again.

Speaking to reporters here, hes said his captors did not harm him except keeping him bound and blindfolded when travelling.

“While releasing me, they said I would be shot if they saw me again in Afghanistan,” said Antonysamy, the Afghanistan director of educational charity Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS).

Cement manufacturing cost to go up by Rs 7-10 per bag due to freight hike in Rail Budget 2015

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Manufacturing cost for cement is likely to go up by Rs 7-10 per bag of 50 kg due to the proposed freight hike on various inputs and the commodity, but domestic firms would prefer to wait for the main Budget to take a call on raising the price.

“The cost of production will go up in the range between Rs 7-10 per bag. This is a back of the envelope calculation,” said spokesperson of a leading cement firm.