Month: February 2015

US court summons to Bachchan served on his Hollywood agent:SFJ

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The summons issued to Amitabh Bachchan by a federal court in Los Angeles in an alleged human rights violations case has been served on the superstar’s Hollywood manager on Monday, according to a Sikh rights body.

New York-based Sikh for Justice (SFJ) had filed a lawsuit against Bachchan claiming that he had instigated violence against the Sikh community by raising “blood for blood” slogans in 1984.

The movie star has denied such allegations.Bachchan’s manager in the Hollywood, David A Unger, was served with a copy of the Federal Court summons and complaint by the SFJ on February 23.

Reform policies to determine India’s credit profile: Moody’s

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Reform measures undertaken by the government to accelerate growth and address fiscal and supply side constraints will determine India’s sovereign credit profile, rating agency Moody’s said today.

The declining inflation also calls for a policy rate cut to boost investments, it added.
“… fiscal and structural reform policies will determine the extent to which accelerating growth will buttress the sovereign credit profile,” it said in a report titled ‘GDP Revisions Underscore Economic Strength, But Are Credit Neutral’.

Dalit family thrown out of their house and threatened

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A Dalit from Laxmipur village in Kurkheda taluka named Hiralal Shende, demanded stern action against the Purada police station officer for allegedly shielding the accused who threw away his belongings as well as compelled his family to leave his house and village, police sources said here today.

After the incident, Hiralal met the Superintendent of Police here on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to him requesting for stringent action against the erring police officials and those who harassed him as well as his fanily.

Prabhu to unveil plans for raising resources in Rail Budget

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With Railway finances under terrible strain, all eyes will be focused on whether Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will hike the fares and freight rates in the Rail Budget tomorrow which may contain proposals for ‘Make in India’ initiatives besides enhancing safety and security.

Minister of State for Railway Manoj Sinha had earlier ruled out a reduction in fares in the context of lowering of diesel rates but Prabhu is expected to make a tight rope walk as he tries to bridge the huge gap in finances while presenting his maiden budget in the Lok Sabha.

I will not contest any more elections: Deve Gowda

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Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda today said in Lok Sabha that he will not contest any election in future.

“…I am not going to contest any more elections,” the 82-year old leader said during a debate on the motion of thanks to President’s address.

Virtually calling it a day in politics, the veteran Janata Dal (Secular) leader said there were always ups and downs in politics.

“Out of 15 elections that I contested, I lost only two,” he said, adding that he had spent most of his time in Karnataka and had shifted to Delhi only later.

Ahead of swearing-in Mufti to meet PM on Feb 27

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PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time on February 27 after which a swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on March 1, two months after the results for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls were announced.

79-year-old Sayeed’s meeting with Modi is expected to be a mere photo opportunity as all the issues between the two parties have been sorted out and a “comprehensive document” for governance has been framed.

Abu Salem sentenced to life in Pradeep Jain murder case

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Extradited gangster Abu Salem was today sentenced to life imprisonment by a special TADA court in the 1995 murder case of Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain.

The court also handed out life imprisonment to Salem’s driver Mehndi Hassan while another accused Virendra Jhamb’s sentence was set off against the period of detention undergone by him in prison during the various stages of investigation in the case.

86-year-old Jhamb was in jail for nearly 9 months after his arrest in 2005 in connection with the murder of Jain.

Sabka sath, sabka vikas is a lie: Mulayam

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Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav today slammed the government, saying its slogan of ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’ is a “lie” as its developmental pitch is only for the benefit of industrialists and not the common man.

Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha, Yadav justified his invitation to Modi for his grand nephew’s pre-wedding ceremony last week, saying he is the Prime Minister, not of the BJP, but of the country.

Won’t allow anti-farmer land ordinance to become law: Congress

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Taking the fight against the NDA government’s land acquisition ordinance to the street, the Congress Wednesday said it would not allow the “anti-farmer” ordinance to become a law.

Participating in a well-attended protest programme at Jantar Mantar here, various Congress leaders said the land acquisition ordinance was “anti-farmer and anti-people”.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Jairam Ramesh said it was a ‘Zamin Waapsi Aandolan’ (taking land back movement) against the ‘Ghar Waapsi’ (coming back to one’s old religious faith) government.

Executive held for raping Delhi woman

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A 24-year-old executive was arrested here for allegedly raping a 25-year-old woman living in Delhi, police said Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Shiv Kant Sharma, a resident of Ashok Vihar area here.

The complainant, a resident of Aya Nagar area of Delhi, alleged that the accused raped her on several occasions on the pretext of marrying her.

The complainant and the accused worked as executives at a private firm in Gurgaon.

Police registered a case at DLF-2 police station.

19 kg gold seized at Bangladesh airport

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Bangladesh authorities seized 161 gold bars weighing nearly 19 kg in a massive gold haul at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, media reported Wednesday.

The gold bars were found strapped on the bodies of two passengers — Salah Uddin and Abu Sayeed — who landed in Dhaka by an Emirates flight from Dubai, bdnews24.com reported citing customs intelligence chief Moinul Haque.

The estimated market value of the seized 18 kg and 700 gm of gold is around Bangladeshi taka 93.5 million (about $1.2 million), according to the director general of the customs intelligence division.

Ranji: Tamil Nadu post 192/3 against Maharashtra in semis

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Dinesh Karthik’s 48 and Vijay Shankar’s 56 took Tamil Nadu to 192/3 against Maharashtra on Day 1 of the second Ranji Trophy semifinal here Wednesday.

Karthik and Shankar shared an unbeaten 102-run partnership for the fourth wicket. They ensured that their team get out trouble as they were reduced to 90/3 when Shankar joined Karthik in the middle.

It was not an easy Eden Gardens pitch to pile on the runs, as the openers found it very difficult to score freely. The Maharashtra bowling too kept the batsmen on a tight leash, bowling an impeccable line and length upfront.

Indonesia to freeze licences of airlines with less than 10 planes

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In a move aimed at boosting service and safety, the Indonesian transport ministry Wednesday announced it will revoke operational licences of airlines which have less than 10 planes.

The official statement came in the wake of hundreds of passengers of low-cost carrier Lion Airline being stranded at airports a few days ago due to mechanical problems and an unusually large number of travellers.

The recent incidents follow the crash of an Indonesia AirAsia plane Dec. 28 in the Java Sea in which all 162 people on board were killed.

I’m ready for a comeback, says Genelia D’Souza

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Actress Genelia D’Souza, who has been away from the big screen post her marriage to actor Riteish Deshmukh in 2012, says she is now ready to make a comeback in Bollywood and will focus on her acting career.

Genelia, who has starred in movies like “Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na” and “Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya”, was present at a promotional event here Tuesday when she was asked about her comeback to the film industry.

Student’s plot for killiong brother foiled by police

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The city police on Tuesday claimed that they have foiled a plot of murder of two persons including Saleem Chowdhary a local politician from Karnataka, and police arrested four people.

The accused are identified as Mohd Khuddus (24) a final year engineering student, Nyamath (26) a computer operator from Masab Tank, Fareed (25) an auto driver from Hassannagar and Abdul Kareem alias Don, a history sheeter of Kalapather police station. Two others – Amer and Shaaker are on run.

Satyarthi receives $50,000 as aid for children

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The Taiwanese government has donated $50,000 to child rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a statement by the organisation said Wednesday.

During Sathyarthi’s visit to Taipei in January, Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Minister David Y.L. Lin extended the aid as a gesture to strengthen cooperation and provide humanitarian support to the Delhi based non-profit organisation.

“This donation is to be used for a one-year program benefiting 300 children,” the statement said.

Delhi halves power tariff, gives 20,000 litres free water

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Twelve days after taking over the reigns of power in Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government Wednesday announced a 50 percent slash in power tariff up to 400 units and 20,000 litres of free water per household.

The rates will come into effect from March 1, announced Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia here after a cabinet meeting.

“The reduction in power tariff will benefit 36,06,428 families, which is around 90 percent of the city’s population,” Sisodia said, adding that those consuming over 400 units would have to pay the full bill.

No shortage of swine flu medicine: Health minister

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Health Minister J.P.Nadda Wednesday said there is no shortage of swine flu medicine and the people need to be alert but there is no need to panic.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday, Nadda said the central government is in touch with all states and a regular review of the situation is being done. “There is no need to panic but we need to be alert.”

The minister said the states have been supplied stock of medicine and other equipments like masks and vaccines and reserve stock is with the government.

Bahrain postpones trial of opposition leader to March 25

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Bahrain’s Upper Criminal Court decided Wednesday to postpone the trial of a high profile opposition leader until next month.

The trial of Shaikh Ali Salman, secretary-general of the main opposition group, Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, will now be heard March 25, Xinhua news agency reported citing a statement by Al Wefaq.

Salman, who was arrested December 28, will remain in police custody.

He has been accused of plotting the overthrow of the government by force, inciting violence against the kingdom and supporting attacks that killed 14 policemen.

Ukrainian command reports decrease in ceasefire violations

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The Ukrainian military command Wednesday reported a significant decline in ceasefire violations in the eastern region of the country but said the truce was not being entirely honoured by the pro-Russian separatist militias.

Ukrainian forces spokesman Anatoly Stelmakh said that for the second consecutive day there was a “significant decrease” in the number of militia attacks against troop positions and in the cities.

UN torture prevention report welcomes progress in Afghanistan

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A UN report released here Wednesday on the torture and ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees in government detention facilities shows some progress in Afghanistan.

Being the third of its kind released jointly by UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the report and its findings are based on interviews with 790 conflict-related detainees between February 2013 and December 2014 and with Afghan security, police and judicial officials, as well as analysis of documentary, medical and other information.

‘Government taking measures to prevent cyber crime’

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday said the government has taken measures to contain cyber crime in the country, especially at airports.

Replying to a supplementary in the Rajya Sabha, he assured the house that the government was serious about cyber security and had constituted a committee to examine the recent security breaches at airports.

“Cyber security threat is a big challenge for the country. Effective steps have been taken to strengthen cyber security,” he said during the question hour.

South Korean man kills three in crime of passion

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Three people were killed Wednesday by a man with a rifle in a shop in South Korea in what authorities said may have been a crime of passion.

The 50-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Kang, apparently committed suicide and was found dead hours after the killings, the police told Korean news broadcaster CBS.

Kang repeatedly fired a rifle at the father, brother and the current partner of his former girlfriend in Sejong, 120 km south of Seoul, in western Korea.

Mysterious drones fly over Paris for second night

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At least three small civilian drones flew over Paris’s iconic landmarks in the early hours of Wednesday for a second night, Xinhua news agency reported citing French media.

Citing its own sources, the local broadcaster Europe1 said the drones were spotted over La Place de La Concorde.

The report added witnesses and police had filmed the drones and the film will be sent to the aviation police investigators to trace the operators.

UAE confirms intention to form contact group on countering extremism

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced at the UN Security Council that it intends to launch a new diplomatic initiative aimed at building international cooperation and facilitating dialogue through a “Contact Group on Countering Extremism”.

This strategic effort would focus on developing and disseminating concrete solutions and best practice in countering extremism.