Month: April 2015

Indians getting married at higher age, fertility down: census

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Indians are now getting married at higher age than a decade ago and a decline in fertility is also observed, the 2011 census study released here today said.

It is observed that the female mean age at marriage has increased from 18.3 to 19.3 years, whereas the increase in male is from 22.6 to 23.3 years during census 2001-11.

The proportion of divorced and separated has marginally increased in the case of both the sexes, the report said.

Iran slams Saudi for ‘anti-Persian’ leaflet drop in Yemen

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A top Iranian security official today accused Saudi Arabia of using “cold war era” scare tactics in Yemen, after an air drop of leaflets that criticise “Persian expansion”.

The reference, to Iran’s language and ancient name, was contained on white paper fliers released from Saudi aircraft in recent weeks.

As the Middle East’s foremost Sunni and Shiite powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran are increasingly seen as vying for supremacy in the region, which remains beset by conflict and political turmoil.

India evacuates 170 foreigners from Nepal

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India has evacuated 170 people of 15 countries including the US, the UK, Russia and Germany, External Affairs Ministry said today.

“Friends in need. India assisted in evacuation from Nepal of 170 nationals from 15 countries via commercial & IAF aircraft,” Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Fake degree: BJP demands immediate removal of Tomar

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Delhi BJP today accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of adopting “double standards” on the issue of corruption and demanded expulsion of his Law Minister who is facing charges of having a fake law degree.

BJP threatened to take to the streets if Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was not removed immediately after Bihar’s Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University submitted in the Delhi High Court that Tomar’s provisional certificate is “fabricated and does not exist in the institution’s record”.

AP to treat tourism projects as industrial ventures: Naidu

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said tourism projects would be treated as industrial ventures and single-desk clearances granted to them within 21 days.

He asked the Tourism Department to explore a policy where special power tariff would be levied for tourism projects, clarifying that they will not be charged commercial rates, according to an official release.

Centre to file reply on PIL seeking awards for 26/11 heroes

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The Centre today sought time from the Bombay High Court to file an additional affidavit in reply to a PIL demanding Ashok Chakra as well as gallantry awards for officers of various agencies who had fought terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in the city.

A bench of justices P V Hardas and Shalini Phansalkar- Joshi, hearing the PIL filed by activist Ketan Tirodkar, allowed the Centre to file an additional affidavit by the second week of June.

10 Pakistanis, Indian killed in Saudi collapse: diplomat

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At least 10 construction workers from Pakistan and one from India were killed in the collapse of a convention centre being built in Saudi Arabia, an Asian diplomatic source said today.

The building, at a university in Qassim northwest of the capital Riyadh, collapsed yesterday.

The bodies of six Pakistanis had been pulled from the rubble and rescuers were trying to free the bodies of two more, the diplomatic source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The diplomat said three other people wounded in the collapse had also died, including two more Pakistanis and an Indian.

‘Daughters of Mother India’ in syllabus of 200 Maharashtra schools

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The acclaimed national award-winning documentary ‘Daughters of Mother India’, based on the aftermath of 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder, has entered the Class VIII curriculum of around 200 schools in Maharashtra, filmmaker Vibha Bakshi said here on Tuesday.

The film is a journey through the aftermath of the December 16, 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in New Delhi. The incident led to mass protests lasting weeks across India.

Unani medicine research institute to come up in Jamia

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A research institute specialising in Unani medicine will soon come up at Jamia Millia Islamia University in collaboration with the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM).

The varsity today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CCRUM for establishing the Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine.

20,000 Indian nationals evacuated from Nepal: Pradhan

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Altogether 20,000 Indian nationals have been evacuated from quake-torn Nepal and arrangements were being made to take them to their homes by trains from Raxaul, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today.

As many as 20,000 Indian nationals have reached Raxaul from various destinations of quake-torn Nepal since yesterday, he told reporters here.

Pradhan said that arrangements were being made for trains to send all the evacuees belonging to different states back home.

Indo-US ties set to become stronger: US consul general

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US consul general in Mumbai Thomas L Vajda today said here that the US-Indo ties were set to become stronger in the future.

“The ties between the two nations are strong and will grow stronger in future. There are many things common between India and US like democracy, federal system, and stand against terrorism, which binds the two nations,” said Vajda, on his fist visit to Madhya Pradesh.

Arrival of new President in the White House after the next year’s elections in the US would not affect the relations between the two countries, he added.

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign under media scanner

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As Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign comes under the media scanner, charges are flying thick and fast — from donations to the Clinton Foundation to claims that it distributed to AIDS patients useless drugs made by an Indian company.

Last week, a New York Times report suggested that cash flowed to the family charity amid a deal with Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom over control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the US, when she was secretary of state.

Obama’s grandmother, Sara Omer appeals Obama to accept Islam

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Ms. Sara Omer (90) grandmother of President of US, Mr. Barack Obama appealed to Obama for accepting Islam. She visited recently Makkah for performing Umrah pilgrimage along with her son Sayeed Obama and grandson Musa Obama.

Talking to the press reporter of Saudi Arab’s Arabic Daily “Al Watan”, she said that she has prayed to Allah (SWT) for his grandson, Mr. Barack Obama for embracing Islam.

Modi deputes four ministers to Bihar to coordinate quake relief

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deputed four union ministers to Bihar to coordinate relief efforts in the state where 57 people died due to Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Nepal.

“Ministers @AnanthKumar_BJP, Radha Mohan Singh ji and @JPNadda_bjp will go to Bihar to take stock of the situation and coordinate relief effort,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet.

Army Medical Corps sets up field hospital in Kathmandu

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The Indian Army Medical Corps has set up a field hospital in Kathmandu to treat those who were wounded in the massive earthquake that devastated much of Nepal.

“We were allotted this area yesterday and we worked all night to ensure that this hospital is ready. We have 14 doctors, four GCOs and we also have specialists and help from the infantry and our brigade.

Our capability is of 20 beds and with regards to OPD, we can handle close to 200 patients at a time,” Lieutenant Colonel RK Yadav told ANI.

Over 50,000 pregnant women affected in quake: UN

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Some 50,000 pregnant women were likely affected by the devastating earthquake in Nepal, a UN agency said on Tuesday.

Initial estimates by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) indicate that some 50,000 pregnant women and girls could be among the survivors in quake-affected Nepal where at least 4,347 lives were lost in the temblor.

The toll continues to mount days after a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal on Saturday.

Earthquake toll may cross 10,000 mark, warns Nepal PM

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Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday warned that the death toll from the massive earthquake that devastated the Himalayan nation could cross 10,000, and appealed for greater international relief and rehabilitation assistance.

According to reports, Prime Minister Koirala has ordered intensified rescue efforts, stating that his government is doing all it can for rescue and relief work.

Pakistani visitors stranded at Attari as Punjab farmers protest

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With farmers in Punjab blocking rail tracks to protest tardy lifting of wheat by government agencies in the state, as many as 177 Pakistani nationals travelling to India have been stranded at the Attari railway station near here, officials said on Tuesday.

The Pakistani visitors are headed for various places across the country and arrived by the Samjhauta Express, the peace train between India and Pakistan, on Monday evening from Lahore.

Attari station is about 30 km from Amritsar.

Rahul takes train to Punjab to listen to farmers’ woes

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday travelled in a general compartment of the Sachkhand Express from Delhi to Ambala en route to Sirhind and Khanna towns of Punjab to listen to the woes of farmers.

Farmers are facing hardship due to their wheat stocks not being lifted from the grain markets by government agencies.

Gandhi was mobbed by party leaders and supporters as he got off the second class general compartment at the Ambala Cantt station.

Punjab Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa and Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar were among those who received him.

People of West Bengal want ‘Didi’ to carry on development work: TMC

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Expressing happiness over its sweeping victory in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday said people want their leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to carry on development work in the state.

“In Kolkata, the TMC won 80 percent of the seats. The message from the people is simple ‘Didi…development…carry on’. We are very happy, we have done very well across Bengal,” TMC spokesperson Derek O’ Brien told ANI.

He further called for boycotting the strike called by Left Front and the BJP on April 30.

Rahul ate beef, visited temple and caused earthquake: Sakshi Maharaj

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Well-known for his controversial remarks, BJP leader Sakshi Maharaj has made heads turn again by stating that Rahul Gandhi’s impure visit to Kedarnath has led to the disastrous earthquake in Nepal.

Slamming the Congress vice-president, Sakshi Maharaj stated that he ate beef and visited Kedarnath without purifying himself and hence, the earthquake took place, according to a report published in The Times Of India.

Reacting to Sakshi Maharaj’s insensitive remark, Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev has asked the Modi government to take immediate action against their party member.

We must do whatever possible for Nepal victims: Big B

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Frightened by the devastation caused in Nepal due to a powerful earthquake, megastar Amitabh Bachchan says one must give his/her 100 per cent to the relief work for the victims.

Measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, the earthquake that occurred on Saturday, flattened houses and buildings in Nepal, killing over 4,350 people so far.

The earthquake with epicentre at Lamjung, around 80 kms northwest of Kathmandu, had its impact in several cities in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh as tremors were felt across vast stretches of east and northeast India.

Nepal PM puts toll at 10,000, says rescue ops not effective

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Rescuers and international aid workers today struggled to reach relief in remote areas of Nepal which is still battling the aftermath of Saturday’s killer earthquake whose death toll has been put at around 10,000 by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.

Three days after the 7.9-magnitude temblor flattened their homes and dwellings, desperate people across Nepal looked for succour from helicopters that criss-cross the Himalayan nation as massive international aid, including from India, poured in.

Rahul takes a train to Punjab, to see condition of farmers

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Rahul Gandhi today took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the NDA-ruled state and see the condition of farmers “with my own eyes”.

Dressed in a brown tee and jeans and sporting a stubble, the Congress Vice President reached this town in Haryana bordering Punjab this evening sitting in a general compartment of the Sachkhand express for the visit dubbed as “political” by his critics.

“I have been told that the situation is very bad. So I want to see it with my own eyes.

Yuvi ties up with DD for cancer awareness

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Delhi Daredevils’ biggest star Yuvraj Singh today announced a tie-up with his IPL franchise to promote awareness about fighting Cancer and the May 1 match against Kings XI Punjab will be dedicated to those who are fighting the dreaded disease.

Yuvraj’s cancer foundation ‘YouWeCan’ in alliance with Delhi Daredevils and Max Hospitals announced free cancer detection clinics on May 1.

Similarly the Delhi Daredevils players will be wearing lavender colour jerseys on that particular day.