Month: March 2015

Gadkari accuses Sonia Gandhi of misleading country over Land Bill

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Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of misleading the country on the issue of Land Acquisition Bill.

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He also alleged that previous UPA government ‘s policies had resulted in unemployment and farmers’ suicide in the country.

Earlier on Monday, Sonia Gandhi had said that she would be conducting a massive ‘Kisan Rally’ at the Ramlila Ground here on April 20 during which she is expected to target the Centre’s contentious bill.

According to reports, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi would also be present in the rally.

Taj Group enters Dubai with 296-room luxury hotel

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The Taj Group has opened a 296-room luxury hotel in Dubai’s prestigious Burj Khalifa downtown area, taking its number of properties to 128.

Taj Dubai comprises club rooms, 16 junior suites and 15 luxury suites with panoramic views of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and the gigantic Dubai Mall, the company said in a statement here on Monday.

It also has two lavish apartments – Maharaja Suite and the 680-square meter Presidential Suite covering the entire 35th floor.

Low intensity blast in Patna, two live bombs recovered

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The security agencies went into a tizzy after a low intensity blast in Patna, late Monday. No causalities were reported from the site.

The blast occurred inside a flat in a residential building in the Bahadarpur area of the Bihar capital. The police later recovered two high-intensity live bombs from the building. On investigation, the police found them to be equipped with the same timer device – of Lotus brand – that was used in the bombs that went off in 2013 at Narendra Modi’s rally at Gandhi Maidan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and at Bodh Gaya.

Master plan for Andhra Pradesh capital likely to be ready in June

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The master plan for the capital of Andhra Pradesh, coming up in Vijaywada region, is likely to be ready by June.

The Singapore government agencies, which are helping the AP government by preparing the master plan for free, on Monday made a presentation before Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a visit to Singapore.

Naidu suggested some changes in the plan.

“The capital city master plan will be refined by incorporating these suggestions and modifications in the next six to eight weeks,” a state government release said here.

New National Education Policy by December: Smriti Irani

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Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Sunday said her ministry was working on a new National Education Policy (NEP) which would be formed by December this year.

“Central government is guided by ‘education for all’ policy. We are working in this direction and NEP would be formed by December this year,” Smriti said on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at a girls college here.

She said suggestions in this regard have been invited from the education ministers of all the states.

Oz announce 17-man squad for Ashes series against England

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Australia have announced their 17-man squad for the Ashes series against England and they would be riding high on confidence having bagged their fifth World Cup trophy after winning Sunday’s final.

County side Middlesex captain Adam Voges and Pakistan-born spinner Fawad Ahmed have been included in the squad to tour England this summer. Ahmed has been selected as the second spinner ahead of Ashton Agar , who broke the record for the highest score by a Test number 11 against England in 2013.

Toll in Vizag firecracker unit blast rises to 6

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The toll in the explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit near here has risen to six with the recovery of one more body on Monday, while a senior Andhra Pradesh Minister visited the mishap spot.

Five workers, most of them women, were killed and nine others injured in the blast and subsequent blaze at Rohit Fire Works in Gokulapadu area under S Rayavaram police station limits last evening.

Body of another worker, Sambangi Ramana, was fished out from a well located adjoining the factory this morning by Fire Department officials.

Pakistanis are not enemies, Shiv Sena slams Naseeruddin Shah

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Taking a dig on Naseeruddin Shah after he expressed regret over the strained relations between India and Pakistan, the Shiv Sena on Monday said the veteran Bollywood actor can seek his answers from those who have been victims of terrorist activities carried out from the soil of the neighbouring country.

Shah, in an interview to an entertainment website, had reportedly expressed regret on the animosity between both the countries and had said that Indians were being brain-washed to believe that Pakistan is an enemy.

Passionate lovers idealise their partners’ faces

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Women who are passionately in love idealise their partners’ faces, according to a new study which tried to find out how love affects people’s perception of their partners’ appearances.

For the study, heterosexual women were presented with two computer-generated male faces. Both originated from the same base image, but with “noise” overlaid to make them slightly different, Bustle reported.

Pakistan hangs four convicts

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Four death row convicts were hanged on Tuesday in different jails in Pakistan’s Punjab province, a media report said.

Mohammad Riaz, who was convicted of killing a man in 2008 during a robbery was hanged in Sargodha Jail. This is the first execution in this jail since it was established in 1910, Dawn online reported.

Akram-ul-Haq, convicted for kidnapping a three-year-old girl, was hanged in Attock Jail.

Separate cases of kidnapping for ransom and terrorism were also registered against Haq.

Goa Congress questions BJP’s world’s largest party claim

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The Congress in Goa has questioned BJP’s world record membership drive, citing the recently concluded local Zilla Panchayat election, where the BJP netted far less votes than its four lakh registered members.

Congress secretary Durgadas Kamat in a statement issued here said there was a big gulf between the four lakh voters registered by the BJP in January this year and the total number of votes polled by the party in the March Zilla Panchayat (ZP) polls.

Zayn Malik spotted house hunting with fiance

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Former One Direction band member Zayn Malik was spotted house hunting with fiancee Perrie Edwards in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, and they are reportedly planning to wed soon.

The couple was photographed checking out a 2 million pounds mock-Tudor mansion which is said to have seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, four reception rooms, a huge open-plan kitchen, gym, games room and parking enough for dozens of cars, reports mirror.co.uk.

The duo wants to move ahead quickly with wedding plans. They are planning to wed “as early as this spring” and “have also been looking at wedding venues”.

Kareena Kapoor turns down ‘Nach Baliye 7’?

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Actress Kareena Kapoor has reportedly turned down an offer to judge a forthcoming dance reality TV show “Nach Baliye 7”, saying she has no plans to venture into the small screen.

According to sources from the makers of “Nach Baliye”, its producer Ekta Kapoor is on a lookout for the fourth judge for the show. And she had her eyes on glamourous “Heroine” Kareena.

“Kareena’s team got back saying that currently she wants to focus on films and she doesn’t want to do TV at this point of time in her career,” said a source.

6 bodies recovered from landslides in J-K; toll rises to 16

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Six bodies were recovered today in Budgam district taking the death toll to 16 in Jammu and Kashmir as several areas of the Valley and parts of Jammu were in deluge caused by heavy rain over the weekend.

The six bodies were recovered today from the debris in Laden village in Chadoora of Budgam, a senior police official said, adding that one person who was trapped in mudslides was feared dead.

Arjun’s new haircut his saviour from summer heat

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Actor Arjun Kapoor’s latest mohawk-inspired hairstyle is not for any movie role. He says he wanted a change for the summer season.

“I felt like cutting my hair because summer is here. I was growing my hair out for a bit and I got bored of it… it wasn’t any thought out or planned. I just went to get my hair trimmed and I said, ‘You know I’m kind of bored and it’s going to get hot very soon, so let’s get a hair cut’,” Arjun told IANS.

The 29-year-old debuted his new hairstyle via a Twitter post.

Exercise outweighs negative effects of air pollution

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If you avoid morning walks owing to fears related to the bad quality of air, start afresh as researchers from University of Copenhagen have found that exercise can outweigh the harmful effects of air pollution.

Despite the adverse effects of air pollution on health, air pollution should not be perceived as a barrier to exercise in urban areas, they added.

Obama invokes JFK as Iran talks hit deadline

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US President Barack Obama today enlisted his predecessor John F. Kennedy in defense of contentious nuclear talks with Iran that are now coming down to the wire.

Speaking at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate in Boston, Obama said the negotiators led by Secretary of State John Kerry were “standing up for a principle that Ted and his brother, President Kennedy, believed in so strongly.”

“‘Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate,'” he said citing a famous line from JFK’s inaugural address.

Boys, girls are equal in number at conception: study

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Boys and girls are equal in number at conception, but more female fetuses die during pregnancy, leading to a slightly higher number of males being born, researchers said today.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is based on the largest dataset ever analyzed in the search to explain what is known as the human sex ratio, which has been poorly understood until now.

‘Centre, Delhi govt responsible for MCD’s financial situation’

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Opposition Congress in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Sunday held the Centre and Delhi government responsible for the current financial crisis faced by the three BJP-led municipal corporations and claimed that civic bodies’ share of funds have been “decreased” in the last two years.

Taking on the two governments, Leader of Opposition in NDMC Mukesh Goel also alleged that “in this difficult time, instead of taking measures to resolve the issue, the Union Government and the Delhi government are busy blaming each other for the situation.”

Low intensity crane bomb blast in Patna

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A low intensity crane bomb blast took place in Patna on Monday night. However, no casualties have been reported from the blast site.

“There was a low intensity blast, two live bombs were also found which were defused later, no casualties or injuries,” said Senior Superintendent of Police, Jitendra Rana.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

NYC explosion victim is officially identified

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After two bodies were pulled from the rubble of a Manhattan apartment building collapse, authorities shifted their focus to what caused the massive explosion and fire and the possibility that someone may have improperly tapped a gas line serving one of the buildings.

About half of site had been cleared by midday today, but investigators had not yet reached the cellar level where the explosion took place on Thursday.

Flexible working hours make workers happy: Study

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Allowing workers to choose the slot of hours they want to work in is good for their well-being, says a study from Loughborough University, England.

The study found that people who become overworked are less satisfied with their lives and experience lower levels of psychological well-being.

The key factor to happiness, according to the study, was whether the hours people work reflect the hours they want to work.

The study, published in the journal Human Relations, examined the working time patterns and well-being levels of 20,000 individuals over an 18-year period.

Gadkari accuses Sonia Gandhi of misleading country over Land Bill

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Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has accused Congress President Sonia Gandhi of misleading the country on the issue of Land Acquisition Bill.

He also alleged that previous UPA government ‘s policies had resulted in unemployment and farmers’ suicide in the country.

Earlier on Monday, Sonia Gandhi had said that she would be conducting a massive ‘Kisan Rally’ at the Ramlila Ground here on April 20 during which she is expected to target the Centre’s contentious bill.

According to reports, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi would also be present in the rally.

Election tensions prompt protests, curfew in Nigeria’s Rivers

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An overnight curfew was imposed in Nigeria’s southern Rivers state as tensions ran high over local results of the country’s general election, the state government said today.

Information commissioner Ibim Semenitari said the lock-down, from 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) to 6:00 am was “to prevent the breakdown of law and order because of the tense political situation”.

Rivers state in the oil-producing Delta is considered a key battleground for the presidential election, which is seen as the closest in the country’s history.