Month: April 2015

Teen saved in miracle rescue as Nepal struggles with aftermath

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In a rare moment of joy in quake- hit Nepal, rescuers today miraculously pulled out a 15-year- old boy alive five days after the powerful temblor struck, causing widespread devastation even as bad weather and fresh tremors hampered relief efforts in remote areas.

A large crowd cheered as rescue workers brought the boy out of the rubble of a seven-storey building in the capital, renewing fading hopes of finding more survivors in mounds of debris from Saturday’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake, the worst in over 80 years.

Amit Shah hails BJP’s internal democracy

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Thursday said his party is one of the very few that can boast of internal democracy and a properly devised system of organisational polls that take place in a timely manner.

“There are around 1,600 parties in our democracy, out of which very few parties have internal democracy within them. I am glad to inform that BJP is a party which has internal democracy and our organizational polls take place in a time-bound manner,” said Shah.

He expressed his delight over the BJP becoming the world’s largest political party.

Control room established for Nepal victims in Kanpur

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To extend a helping hand to the victims of Nepal Earthquake, the authorities have set up a control room at the Kanpur divisional commissioner’s office to collect relief items.

“People who want to help the Nepal earthquake victims can approach the divisional commissioner’s office directly,” an official release stated.

A control room has been established in the commissioner’s office for relief work, it said, adding that an administrative officer has been appointed as Nodal officer of the control room.

Modi Govt stands for crony capitalists: Rahul

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Stepping up the attack on the Narendra Modi Government, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today accused it of “abandoning” farmers at a time when the country is faced with an agrarian crisis, and backing “crony capitalists”.

Setting off on his day-long ‘padyatra'(foot march) through the affected villages of the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, he told reporters, “The situation is very disturbing.There is a feeling of abandonment. The role of the Government is to give a helping hand to the people when they suffer.

Land bill will be passed, let Harsimrat answer Rahul: BJP

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BJP President Amit Shah today rejected opposition charge that the land bill was anti-farmer and asked parties not to oppose it for political reasons.

He expressed confidence the land bill and the Goods and Services Tax bill would pass muster in the current budget session of Parliament.

“Let the session be over. I don’t think they will not be passed,” Shah said when asked about the fate of key reforms measures like land bill and GST bill.

CBI unlikely to give clearance to AgustaWestland for taking part in ‘Make in India’ programme

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CBI is unlikely to give clearance to AgustaWestland, facing alleged bribery charges, for taking part in ‘Make in India’ programme after the company made a request citing an Italian court order acquitting it on charges of international corruption in sale of VVIP choppers to India.

The Defence Ministry had been approached by the company, which was blacklisted by the previous UPA regime, with an authentic copy of an Italian court order acquitting it. The company had also made a request for participating in the ‘Make in India’ programme.

Saudi-led warplanes pound rebels in south Yemen

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A Saudi-led coalition pressed on with air strikes today against Shiite rebels in south Yemen where fierce clashes raged between the insurgents and southern pro-government fighters, sources said.

Warplanes hit Huthi rebel positions in the main southern city of Aden, in the districts of Khor Maksar and Dar Saad, helping pro-government forces to retake positions, sources among the southern fighters said.

Eight people were killed in overnight clashes in Aden, including five pro-government fighters and three civilians, according to the city’s health chief Al-Khader Laswar.

Eight killed, 12 injured in separate road accidents in Bihar

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Eight persons were killed and 12 others injured in separate road accidents in Nawada, Lakhisarai and Sitamarhi districts of Bihar, police said on Thursday.

A car collided with a LPG cylinder-laden truck near Mahadev crossing in Nawada district on Wednesday night in which four persons were killed and ten others injured, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sanjay Kumar Pandey said.

Dinosaur with Bat-like Wings Found in China

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Close on the heels of the discovery of T Rex’s “bizarre” cousin, scientists have now found a dinosaur with bat-like wings.

The fossils, discovered by a farmer in his field in the Qinglang county of Hebei province in China, will help to shed new light on the evolution of flight, scientists said.

Paleontologists in China said the impeccably preserved fossil belongs to a small dinosaur thought to have lived 160 million years ago.

Pak bid to fuel separatism in Kashmir keeps border hot: BSF

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Pakistan’s “implicit bid” to fuel separatism in Kashmir is keeping the India’s border with the neighbouring country “alive and dangerous”, the top commander of Border Security Force (BSF) said here today.

“Pakistan’s strategy of waging proxy wars, neighbouring areas flourishing as markets for arms and drugs, systematic use of fake Indian currency notes for funding terrorism and an implicit bid to fuel separatism in Kashmir has kept this (Indo -Pakistan) border alive and dangerous,” BSF Director General DK Pathak said.

Babus need protection from ‘honest errors’, but graft cannot be tolerated: Bureaucrats on anti-corruption law

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There should be no shield against probing corrupt government officials, but civil servants need to be protected from penalisation in case of honest errors, some former bureaucrats on Thursday said while hailing the proposed amendments in the anti-corruption law approved by the Centre.

“It is a very positive step. But there is a need to take many more steps to check corruption in India. Political corruption also needs to be checked,” former Cabinet Secretary, TSR Subramanian, told PTI. He said there has to be some protection for civil servants for making bona fide mistakes.

Rahul welcome to give inputs on farm issues: Maharashtra CM

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As Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi meets farmers in Vidarbha today, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his Government was ready to accept suggestions from him to improve the condition of peasants but he should avoid playing politics over farm issues.

“If Rahul Gandhi has come to Vidarbha to understand the problems of farmers, it is a good thing and we will accept his suggestions to improve their lives. But, if he wants to indulge in politics, we would ignore,” he told reporters here.

Shiv Sena dares Centre to start land acquisition from Jammu and Kashmir

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Taking a jibe at central government over the contentious Land Bill, NDA constituent Shiv Sena on Thursday dared it start land acquisition from Jammu and Kashmir.

The party said the central government had made the bill a prestige issue and while it can take away land from farmers elsewhere in the country ignoring their pleas, it cannot show the “same courage” in Jammu and Kashmir due to Article 370.

“The central government has made it clear in Parliament that its pet Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill will be applicable all over the country except Jammu and Kashmir.

Jaitley takes pause in setting up public debt management

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The provisions on the creation of an independent Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) for raising public debt have been left out of the Finance Bill 2015-16 taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

This was stated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while commending the bill for the consideration of the lower house and its passage.

“We have decided to delete the PDMA provisions from the finance bill for this financial year,” Jaitley told the Lok Sabha.

Iglesias gives Hispanic student music scholarship

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Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias has presented to a young Mexican musician a four-year scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The Enrique Iglesias Scholarship aims to help young musically-inclined people with limited financial resources to attend the college, which is considered the foremost music school in the world, reports Efe.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be part of this initiative,” Iglesias told reporters in the Miami hotel where he presented the $200,000 scholarship to Silviana Itzel Salinas on Wednesday.

Why Vidya Balan’s comment on ‘Margarita with a Straw’ was special for Kalki Koechlin

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Kalki Koechlin’s brilliant portrayal of a vivacious girl with cerebral palsy in “Margarita With A Straw” garnered acclaim from everyone but the actress was particularly touched by Vidya Balan’s emotional response to her role. Recalling Vidya’s response, Kalki said, “We did the screening of the film with Siddharth (Roy Kapur) and Vidya (Balan) in attendance. After watching the film, they both came out teary-eyed. They hugged me and left. They didn’t utter a single word to me.”

Four-day break for parliament

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Parliament will go for a four-day break beginning on Friday.

Friday is a holiday on account of Labour Day. May 2-3 are Saturday and Sunday while May 4 is also a holiday on account of Buddha Purnima.

While the Lok Sabha is scheduled to pass the finance bill on Thursday, many important legislations like the land acquisition ordinance, goods and services tax bill and the real estate bill are scheduled for next week.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha both discuss private members bills on Fridays, which would not be taken up this week.

‘Modi foreign policy innovative, needs to succeed on ground’

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The Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy is more “vigorous” and “innovative” than the previous regime, the prime minister having visited 16 countries in 11 months, but there is a dire need for greater integration between foreign policy and defence, experts said.

Speakers at a ‘Review of PM’s Three-Nation Foreign Visit’ felt the Modi government’s foreign policy is a continuation of that of the previous Manmohan Singh government, but with some “tweaking” and “innovation” to highlight strengths.

90 percent attendance in Coal India despite Bengal strike

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Coal India authorities on Thursday claimed that there was 90 percent attendance in its offices with mining operations being normal despite the strike called by opposition parties in West Bengal.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front has called a 12-hour general strike, while the BJP gave a call for a 10-hour shutdown across the state in protest against the ruling Trinamool Congress indulging in “violence” and “electoral malpractices” in the recent civic polls.

“We had approximately 90 percent attendance today,” a company official told IANS.

Unlock the secrets to healthier eating

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People eat more of healthier foods like fruits and vegetables when these items are visible and easy to reach, enticingly displayed and appear like an obvious choice.

So if you are trying to unlock the secrets to healthier eating, the keys could be found in making them convenient, attractive and normal, the findings suggest.

“A healthy diet can be as easy as making the healthiest choice the most convenient, attractive, and normal,” said study author Brian Wansink from the Cornell University.

Hayek receives Spirit of Humanity award

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Actress Salma Hayek has received the 2015 Khalil Gibran Spirit of Humanity award from the Arab American Institute.

Hayek was recognised in the Individual Achievement category for her role as producer of the animated film “The Prophet”, inspired by Khalil Gibran’s book.

“I’m a citizen of the world, and my country is humanity, kids are poets from the moment they’re born; they get Gibran’s message without thinking about the meaning of individual words,” Hayek said during the award ceremony here on Wednesday, reports Efe.

Nepal earthquake: India rushes over 8 thousand tents to disaster-struck Nepal

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With incessant rains and the hot sun adding to the miseries of quake victims in Nepal, India today rushed 8,450 tents to its disaster-struck eastern neighbour.

According to a statement issued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the tents have been obtained from various paramilitary forces and out of the total, 750 are being airlifted while the rest are being dispatched through the road route to be distributed to those who have lost their abode that hit the Himalayan country on April 25.