Month: February 2015

Rail Budget 2015: Common man to be given prime importance, says Manoj Sinha

by

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the common man would be given prime importance in the Rail Budget 2015 and added that expansion and modernization of the Indian railways will also be witnessed in the same.

“The Rail Budget 2015 will bring smile to everyone’s face as all the issues will be addressed and a complete road map will be presented. Expansion and modernization of Indian Rail network will be seen and passengers will be benefitted. The common man will be given prime importance and the budget will be as per their expectations,” said Sinha.

Multi-lingual Mushaira at Arts College, OU, today

by

As part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Arts College, Osmania University a grand multi-lingual mushaira will be held on Thursday, February 26, at 5 pm, at Arts College in collaboration with Siasat Daily. Prof. T Krishna Rao Principal College will preside over, while Siasat editor Mr. Zahed Ali Khan will be the guest of honour. Prof. E Suresh Kumar registrar Osmania University, Dr. P Ravi Chairman SC Corporation Telangana, Hafez Peer Shabbir Ahmed MLC and Balladeer Gadar will be the chief guests. Mr. Amer Ali Khan news editor Siasat, Prof.

Rahul could be elevated later this year

by

Rahul Gandhi’s sudden sabbatical to reflect upon the future course of the party may be a prelude to his elevation as Congress President.

There are indications that Gandhi, who is currently the Vice President, could be made the party chief later this year as the tenure of Congress President Sonia Gandhi comes to an end in September.

Shiv Sena backs Mohan Bhagwat on Mother Teresa comments, says all missionaries came to India to convert

by

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remark on Mother Teresa and said that all missionaries came to India only with the objective of converting people to Christianity.

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said, “What Bhagwat said was not wrong. He has stated the truth.”

According to a report by a prominent news channel, the mouthpiece said that,”All missionaries who came to India wanted to convert people…Bhagwat has done a nationalistic thing by speaking the truth.”

Rose Petal Rice

by

Ingredients

200 gm basamati rice

1/2 cup milk (for blending)

1/4 tsp or a tiny pinch saffron

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1 Tbsp or more rose petal powder (lots of it)

3 Tbsp sugar

3 tsp rose water

Rose petals, a few

Water

Method

Soak the basmati rice for 15 minutes.

Blend soaked rice with little milk.

Heat milk in a pan, pour prepared mixture in it, add cardamom powder, sugar, saffron, rose water, rose petal powder, add some more milk, cook on low flame.

Garnish with rose petals and serve cold.

Mutton Goli Biryani

by

Ingredients

2 cups minced mutton/lamb

1 tsp garlic-ginger paste

1 tsp salt

1 cup browned onions- crisp and brown (after frying)

1 tsp powdered black pepper oil for deep frying

2 cups rice – cleaned and soaked in water for an hour

4 green cardamoms

4 cloves

1 tsp black cumin

1/8 tsp cinnamon – powdered

1 tsp saffron-soaked in 1 cup milk

1 tsp salt or to taste

Method

Mix together the meat, garlic-ginger paste, salt and black pepper.

Form into small balls and refrigerate for an hour.

Tamil Nadu delegation attracts US $4 billion investment

by

Indian state of Tamil Nadu has locked in about US $4 billion of foreign investments of the US $16 billion target set for the Global Investor’s Meet (GIM) to be held later this year in Chennai.

“We have already tied up about US $4 billion worth of investments of the US $16 billion target from business visits to Japan, South Korea and Singapore,” C V Sankar, additional chief secretary in the industries department of Tamil Nadu, said in Singapore on Wednesday. Sankar led a delegation of the state’s investment and GIM promotion officials to Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Will oppose Land Acquisition Bill at any cost, says Shiv Sena

by

Stepping up its resistance against the land acquisition law, the Shiv Sena on Thursday said it will fiercely oppose the bill and not commit the sin of “damaging” the interest of farmers at the cost of being in power.

Calling it as a “draconian” law that will finish off the very existence of farmers, the BJP-ally in Maharashtra said the Government cannot budge an inch forward by “insulting” the struggle of farmers assembled at Jantar Mantar in Delhi under activist Anna Hazare’s leadership.

Google releases work tools designed for Android phones

by

San Francisco: Google is releasing a set of tools designed for businesses and employees who want to get work done on smartphones running on the company’s Android software.

The technology unveiled today launches
Google’s attempt to turn Android phones into the digital hub of people’s personal and professional lives. The expansion will pit Google Inc against Microsoft Corp and BlackBerry Inc, which have been focusing on the corporate market for years.

Afghan Taliban ‘displeased’ with Kabul govt’s peace talks rhetoric

by

Expressing displeasure over the way Afghan government leaders have been dealing with the highly sensitive issue of the reconciliatory process, the Afghan Taliban leadership has reportedly said that it is not in favour of the other side “playing politics” on the issue, sources said.

While the Taliban never officially corroborated holding dialogue with the government, insiders too, are unwilling to make any public comments unless “substantial progress is made,” reported the Dawn.

Gerbils, not rats, may have fueled 14th century European plague

by

A new study has challenged the widely held view that communities of rats pushed plague to Europe in 14th century by suggesting that rodent with a much cuddlier reputation, the gerbil, may have played host to the fleas carrying the disease for hundreds of years.

A team of scientists from Norway and Switzerland say that they think the plague bacteria could have sprung from populations of the great gerbil and other rodent species in Central Asia, the CNN reported.

Negative-minded employees likelier to be less productive

by

A new study has examined that negativity at workplace can directly affect the productivity of an individual.

The study conducted at Michigan State University showed that negative-minded workers are more likely to become mentally fatigued and defensive and experience a drop-off in production.

ISI chief Rizwan Akhtar to hold meetings on counterterrorism efforts in Washington

by

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar has arrived in Washington to hold meetings over issues like bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism efforts.

According to Indian Defence Forum, a high level delegation led by the ISI chief is expected to hold discussions with top officials of Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The meeting is expected to focus on strategies of war against terrorism and the two sides are also likely to share relevant intelligence. (ANI)

Kids watching TV for more than 2hrs at greater risk of blood pressure

by

A new study has demonstrated that children are likelier to have a higher risk of high blood pressure if they watch more than 2 hours of TV a day.

The study conducted by Spanish Foundation for Science And Technology showed that spending more than two hours a day in front of a screen increases the probability of high blood pressure by 30 percent.

Hitler’s Mein Kampf to hit Germany book stores again

by

Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto titled Mein Kampf is all set to be republished in Germany, it has been reported.

The reissue of the book is being done as the official rights of the book expire in December and a heavily annotated version of the book is expected to be released in early 2016, People Magazine reported.

The reissue is causing a stir in Germany and across the world, but Germany’s Institute of Contemporary History, the taxpayer-funded group publishing the new version, is touting it as an academic tool.

Bruce Jenner unlikely to be charged in fatal car accident

by

Bruce Jenner, who was recently involved in a car crash accident will not be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter, it has been reported.

According to law enforcement sources, the former Olympian athlete will not face any charges in the fatal car crash case as he was not under the influence of alcohol, neither the he was speeding nor he was not texting, TMZ.com reported.

According to a source put the car accident was more a case of HUA (Head up Ass).

Facebook introduces app to manage advertisement

by

Facebook has introduced a new app called “Ads Manager” that will give business owners statistics about their advertisements engagements, cost per engagement, total reach and frequency.

The information was previously available on the Ads Manager mobile site, which is used by more than 800,000 advertisers each month, according to Facebook.

Facebook now has two million active advertisers. Six months ago, the figure was 1.5 million active advertisers, Mashable reported.

Scientists generate leg muscle from engineered cells in a dish

by

Scientists have successfully grown leg muscle from engineered cells in a dish.

Researchers from Italy, Israel and the United Kingdom teamed up to generate mature, functional skeletal muscles in mice using a new approach for tissue engineering to produce a graft. The subsequent graft was implanted close to a normal, contracting skeletal muscle where the new muscle was nurtured and grown. In time, the method could allow for patient-specific treatments for a large number of muscle disorders.

Rail Budget 2015: Passengers seek improved facilities, safety

by

Passengers across the country are demanding improved facilities and better safety provisions ahead of the presentation of Rail Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament today.

“The female security officers should be deployed in every coach for the safety of women,” said a local resident of Delhi.

“The number of trains should definitely be increased because every time one has to book the ticket months in advance,” another passenger from the city told ANI.

Passengers of Nagpur expect some new trains to start running in the state.

Garlic can help fight lung infection

by

Spicing up your food with garlic can help protect your lungs against infections, suggests new research.

A chemical found in garlic can kill bacteria that cause life-threatening lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that mostly affects the lungs, the study noted.

The chemical – known as allicin – could be an effective treatment against a group of infectious bacteria that is highly resistant to most antibiotics.

Govt to book those playing fraud with J&K students: HRD Minister

by

The Centre is exploring various options to bring to book those who have played fraud with several hundred students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in various states under the Prime Minister’s special scholarship scheme, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Responding to the issue raised by Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) in the Zero Hour, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said the students were “misled” about the scheme by certain NGOs and individuals in certain states.

Strange comet flies past the Sun

by

NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) along with the European Space Agency (ESA) have captured an unusual comet that skimmed past the Sun Feb 18-21.

“There is a half decent chance that ground observers might be able to detect it in the coming weeks,” said Karl Battams, solar scientist at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC.

“But it is also possible that events during its trip around the Sun will cause it to die fairly fast,” he added.

Undiagnosed asthma higher among rural girls

by

Teenaged girls who live in rural areas are more likely to have undiagnosed asthma than their male counterparts and very often are also at a higher risk of depression, says a study.

“There is a lot of speculation about why females are more likely to be undiagnosed,” said Jeana Bush from Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

“Maybe it is because boys are more likely to get a sports physical for athletics and they catch it then. Or maybe it’s because girls attribute asthma symptoms to something else, like anxiety,” said Bush.

Suresh Prabhu to present Rail Budget in Parliament today

by

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will present Rail Budget for fiscal year 2015-16 in the Parliament today.

This will be the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA Government’s first full-fledged railway budget.

People have high expectations from the Railway Budget and are expecting clean energy, modernization of trains, passengers’ safety and rail connectivity in the north-eastern states among others this time.

The Railways had earlier invited suggestions from the general public for forthcoming Railway Budget.

Why pregnant women should limit vitamin A intake

by

High-doses of vitamin A may adversely affect development of blood cells, thereby causing harm to the foetus in the process, says new research.

Even if vitamin A is required for a normal pregnancy, pregnant women have, therefore, been recommended to limit their consumption of foods that are high in vitamin A.

“Our results show that vitamin A in high doses has a negative effect on blood development. This suggests that there is an additional reason for pregnant women to avoid excessive intake of vitamin A during pregnancy,” said Niels-Bjarne Woods from Lund University in Sweden.