Month: April 2015

NIA Court Convicts 13 Persons inchopping off professor’s hand

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A special NIA court here today convicted 13 people, owing allegiance to a radical Islamic outfit, in the the sensational hand chopping case of a college professor in Kerala in 2010 while acquitting 18 other accused.

Ten of the 13 have been have been found guilty under various sections of the central law dealing with terror—the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The court, which posted the matter to May 5, is likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment on the same day after hearing.

Nepal relief collection on despite Bengal shutdown

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A truck carrying around 18 tonnes of relief material collected from donors in Kolkata for Nepal quake-victims will be dispatched from here on Thursday, the Nepal consulate said.

The relief material will be dispatched amid a state-wide dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by the opposition parties and a nation-wide transport strike by trade unions.

Sensex closes 215 points down

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A benchmark index for Indian equities, the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange, closed 214.62 points, or 0.79 percent, down on Thursday.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the red — down 58.25 points or 0.71 percent — at 8,181.50 points.

The 30-scrip Sensex, which opened at 27,242.05 points, closed at 27,011.31 points (provisionally at 3.59 p.m.) — down 214.62 points, or 0.79 percent, over the previous day’s close at 27,225.93 points.

13 convicted in Kerala hand chopping case

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An NIA court here, on Thursday convicted 13 accused of chopping off the hand of a college professor. Eighteen people were acquitted in the case.

The sentence for the guilty will be delivered on May 5.

The right hand of T.J. Joseph was chopped off by activists of the Popular Front of India( PFI) on July 4, 2010, when he was returning along with his family members from the Sunday mass near his home in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district.

India to launch six more satellites in 2015-16

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India will launch six more satellites during 2015-16 of which two would be communication satellites, three navigation satellites and one space science satellite ASTROSAT, parliament was told on Thursday.

In a written reply, Jitendra Singh, minister of state in the prime minister’s office, told the Rajya Sabha: “Six more satellites are planned to be launched during 2015-16. These are two communication satellites GSAT-6 and GSAT-15; three navigation satellites IRNSS-1E, IRNSS-1F & IRNSS-1G; and one space science satellite ASTROSAT.”

Odisha announces Rs.5 crore assistance for Nepal

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced Rs.5 crore assistance to Nepal for the victims affected by the earthquake.

“The chief minister has announced Rs.5 crore assistance to Nepal government for the relief and rehabilitation of earthquake victims in Nepal,” said a release from the chief minister’s office.

The release said the government has deputed three senior officials of the Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) to Nepal to assist in the ongoing relief and restoration operation.

Rani denies being on social media platforms

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Actress Rani Mukerji has confirmed that she is not on any social media platform and has asked her fans to be cautious of “several imposters”.

Rani has released a statement through her management reiterating that she is not on any social media network.

The statement reads: “This is to reiterate that Rani Mukerji is not on any social media platform and has never been in the past. There are several imposters who are operating various handles in her name so, we request you to disregard the same.”

Tharoor raises objection on marital rape, says govt’s move disappointing

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Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that the government’s move not to consider marital rape as a crime is disappointing as violence within a marriage is equally condemnable as outside it.

“I think this is a very disappointing reply by the government, what they are overlooking is that rape is not a matter of sex, it is a matter of violence. It is a matter of forced violence upon a woman which is equally condemnable if it happens within a marriage,” said Tharoor.

No Andhra demand for CBI probe into woodcutters’ killing: Rajnath

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the central government cannot ask the CBI to probe the killing of woodcutters in Andhra Pradesh as the state has not asked for it.

“CBI inquiry can be set up only after the state government asks for it. We are helpless because the state government has not asked the centre to set up an inquiry,” Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha.

The home minister said some public interest litigations (PILs) have been admitted in court.

“There is a PIL, if the court gives an order, state will be bound to constitute a probe,” he said.

Gold smuggling on rise at RGIA

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The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has seen a surge in gold smuggling and in a majority of cases, the smuggler is only a carrier sent by a syndicate, customs officials said here today.

During the last financial year 2014-15, attempts were made to smuggle 127.67 kg of gold valued at Rs 31.98 crore through the Hyderabad International Airport at Shamshabad here wherein 125 cases of gold smuggling were registered and 40 persons arrested for smuggling of gold, a release issued here by the office of the Assistance Commissioner of Customs (RGIA Hyderabad) said.

Mamata Banerjee declares Nadia first Open Defecation Free district in India

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday declared Nadia as the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in the country.

“I feel proud to declare Nadia to be the first ODF district in the country. I congratulate Nadia district for achieving this feat and convey my thanks to World Bank and the UNICEF,” Banerjee said while speaking at the programme here. “We had started this on November 19, 2013 and within two years… yes we can… we have reached our goal. We are totally successful,” she said.

7 Pakistani boys released by juvenile court

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A juvenile court here has ordered the release of seven Pakistani boys, who were caught in 2013 while illegally trespassing into the Indian waters, and ordered their deportation. Chief Judicial Magistrate in Jamnagar A M Vaishnav on Tuesday ordered the release of seven boys, in the age group of 13 to 17 years, from Saurashtra zone observation home in Rajkot district.

Nationwide transport strike impacts normal life in country

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A man walks past parked auto rickshaws during a strike against a proposed new Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015 in Bangalore on April 30, 2015 AFP
Normal life was impacted on Thursday in several parts of the country, including the national capital, as employees of state transport corporations and some private operators went on a 24-hour strike against the proposed Motor Bill, ignoring the Centre’s appeal to call it off.

Opposition targets Ramdev over ayurveda product ‘promising male child’

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Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday sought a ban on a purported ayurveda product by yoga guru Ramdev’s Divya Pharmacy that promises a male child.

Calling the product illegal and unconstitutional, the opposition members sought stringent action against the manufacturers.

When the House met for the day, KC Tyagi of JD(U) showed a packet called ‘Putrajeevak Beej’, which he claimed to have bought from Divya Pharmacy that promised the delivery of a male child.

Transport strike begins; impact seen in various states

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The 24-hour transport strike began today, affecting normal life in several parts of the country including in Kerala and Karnataka, even as the Centre asked private operators and employees of state transport authorities to call off their strike.

In Kerala, public transport buses, taxis and auto- rickshaws were off the roads, although private vehicles were plying.

Jessica Alba: I’ve made people cry, but I’m learning to tone myself down

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Jessica Alba, who is responsible for building a billion-dollar business empire, has admitted that she can be a scary boss.

The 34-year-old actress said that sometimes she is a little more iron fist than velvet glove and is straight to the point, adding that she has made people cry, E! Online reported.

The ‘Sin City’ star added that this isn’t personal and this is what needs to get done and continued that she is learning to tone herself down.

Did James Cameron accidentally pen 5th ‘Avatar’ movie?

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James Cameron may have accidentally already written the 5th installment of ‘Avatar.’

The 60-year-old film maker, who’s aiming to create an Avatar cinematic universe, has been working with his writers on what has become 3 sequels, and while 1st new installment has since been pushed to a 2017 release date, it seems in the midst of all of that he somehow wrote 5th film, the Verge reported.

Nepal quake: Canada working tirelessly in evacuation process, says Nicholson

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Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob Nicholson has said that officials from his nation have been working tirelessly to help in the evacuation process of their citizens from Nepal following the devastating earthquake.

“Canadian officials have been working tirelessly to assist Canadians in Nepal following Saturday’s earthquake. The Government of Canada took action immediately following Saturday’s earthquake and resources continue to arrive in Nepal to assist in responding to this crisis,” Nicholson said.

New enzyme may turn all donated blood to universal type

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Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have created an enzyme that could transform all donated blood into a universal type that can be given to any patient.

Sometimes when a patient needs a blood transfusion their blood type is not in the blood bank. It is a problem that scientists have been trying to solve for years but have not been able to find an economic solution – until now.

University of British Columbia chemists and scientists in the Centre for Blood Research have created an enzyme that could potentially solve this problem.

Pak court sentences four to 25 years for attack on Malala

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Ten Pakistani Taliban militants were today sentenced to 25 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court for their 2012 gun attack on Malala Yousafzai, the teenage child rights activist who last year won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The ATC in Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province announced the judgment after trial of the accused, finding ten guilty and handing down 25 years imprisonment to each of them, a district official from Swat said.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants had claimed responsibility of the attack on Malala in October 2012.

Graeme Swann believes making ‘cheeky chappy’ Root England captain would be ‘disaster’

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Former England spinner Graeme Swann believes that although Joe Root is destined to captain his country, it would be a disaster to give him the role of captaincy at any point in the next five years.

Root was seen as the potential candidate for replacing under-fire captain Alastair Cook, who regained his form in the Grenada Test, prior to the second Test against the West Indies.

Swann said that he had little doubt Root would lead England at some point, but insisted that to make him England captain any time in the next five years would be a disaster, the Mirror reported.

Pak drops case against ex-CIA station chief over drone attack

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Police in Islamabad today dropped a case against a former CIA station chief over his alleged role in the death of two people in a 2009 US drone attack in Pakistan’s restive northwest.

The case was registered only recently in the Secretariat Police Station in Islamabad on the orders of the high court.

A police officer told PTI that the case was dropped over the issue of jurisdiction.

“The drone attack was carried out in tribal areas that do not fall in the jurisdiction of the capital police,” he said.

India will provide help as per Nepal’s requirements: Parrikar

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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday assured that New Delhi would continue to support Nepal in the wake of the devastating earthquake and said that all assistance would be given as per Kathmandu’s requirements.

When asked whether India would scale down the air operations in the quake ravaged country as the roads were now open, Parrikar said that relief is being provided by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as per Nepal’s request and requirement.