Month: May 2015

NCS to link job seekers, employers in a big way: Dattatreya

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The Centre plans to connect job seekers with their prospective employers in a big way through the National Career Service, a national job portal, linked to the employment exchanges, Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya said today.

Under the NCS scheme, those registered with employment exchanges will get SMS alerts on jobs available in the market without them having to make rounds of exchanges, he said addressing a May Day event.

British PM in ‘career-defining’ election slip

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Politicians are often accused of pursuing their own interests and British Prime Minister David Cameron did little to dispel this impression today when he remarked that next week’s election was “career-defining”.

“This is a real career-defining…Country-defining election that we face now in less than a week’s time,” the Conservative leader said as he urged people to vote on May 7.

Opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband immediately seized on the apparent slip, accusing Cameron of being more focused on his legacy than the state of the country.

Omar hits out at BJP over waving of Pakistani flag

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today hit out at BJP for maintaining silence over waving of Pakistani flags during a rally by separatists in Kashmir.

“Imagine what @BJP4India would have said if as CM I’d been sitting in Bombay (Mumbai) surrounded by movie stars while Pak flags are waved in Kashmir,” Omar wrote on twitter.

CPI(M) demands Ramdev’s prosecution under two laws

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CPI(M) today demanded prosecution of yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly branding of a medicine manufactured by his pharmacy as one which helps conceiving a male child under laws on sx determination and consumer protection.

Party’s Politburo member Brinda Karat, who had taken on Ramdev earlier too, said there was an online discussion on the ‘Putrajeevak Beej’ medicine suggesting that it helps produce a son, and this was “branding on part of Ramdev”.

Missed the pressure of batsman attacking me: Zak on comeback

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Making an impact straightaway after a near year-long sabbatical due to injury, veteran speedster Zaheer Khan said that he will get better and better as he bowls more in competitive match situation.

The left-arm paceman took two early wickets to give Delhi Daredevils side a good start but he said he was still not at his best.

“It was good to be back. I am glad things have worked out well. Definitely it’s not the best as I call it but I am happy to be able to bowl properly,” Zaheer said after his team’s crushing nine-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.

Sakshi Maharaj kicks up another row, calls Rahul “mad”

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Controversy prone BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj today kicked up another row when he called Rahul Gandhi “mad” while trying to ridicule the Congress Vice President’s attempts to reach out to distressed farners in the recent days.

Maharaj also compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lord Krishna, saying like Krishna saved Draupadi, he rescued Nepal.

Taking a dig at Gandhi, the BJP MP from Unnao said he does not know the difference between wheat and maize.

Indian-American Muslims welcome USCIRF recommendations

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An Indian-American Muslim advocacy group today welcomed recommendations of US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on India and asked the State Department to take cognizance of the report when issuing its own report on religious freedom globally.

In a statement, the Indian-American Muslim Council urged the US to act on USCIRF’s multiple recommendations including religious freedom concerns in bilateral talks with India.

No country can lecture India on communal harmony: Rajnath Singh

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday came down heavily on the United States Congress report on religious freedom in India, stating that no country can lecture India on communal harmony.

“We are completely committed to maintain communal harmony in our nation. We don’t need ‘dictation’ from any other nations on this. We believe people from all religions have been born out of ‘Mother India’, and the strengthening of this brotherhood is the ‘Dharma’ of the government,” Rajnath told ANI.

Baba Ramdev’s infertility medicine ad not misleading: Paswan

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Even as the controversy over Baba Ramdev’s infertility medicine rages on, union Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Protection Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday that its advertisement cannot be classified as “misleading” and assured that the matter was being probed.

“When people don’t get the promised results as claimed by a product, then only it can be termed as misleading… This product cannot be classified under misleading advertisement,” he told media persons here.

Sarfaraz sees strong show in IPL as road to U-19 World Cup

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Indian Premier League’s youngest player Sarfaraz Khan, who hit a blistering 21-ball unbeaten 45 against Rajasthan Royals in his side Royal Challenger Bangalore’s last match, has set his sight on representing the country in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh next year.

17-year-old Sarfaraz said he would like to impress the national selectors through his performances in the cash-rich T20 league just as other youngsters were doing.

Brilliant comeback by Zaheer as DD thrash KXIP by 9 wickets

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Zaheer Khan made an impressive comeback from a year-long hiatus complementing Nathan Coulter-Nile brilliantly as Delhi Daredevils spanked Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament match, here today.

Chasing a paltry target of 119, Daredevils romped home with 6.1 overs to spare as openers Mayank Agarwal (52 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (54) put on a comfortable 106-run partnership for the first wicket to seal the issue in style.

1,000 Europeans still missing in Nepal quake

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At least 1,000 Europeans who came as tourists to Nepal prior to the April 25 devastating quake are still missing, European Union’s ambassador to the Himalayan nation Rensje Teerink said here on Friday.

Those unaccounted for were mostly trekkers in the Langtang and Lukla areas of the country, Teerink said.

Twelve Europeans have died in the devastating quake and subsequent avalanches in various parts of the country.

Capuchin monkeys know best how to crack a nut

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Wild bearded capuchin monkeys are more skilled than anyone in cracking nuts, shows a new study by Indian-American psychologist Madhur Mangalam.

The monkeys are known to use stone “hammers” to crack nuts.

The monkeys are quite careful about the amount of force delivered to those nuts.

They adjust the force applied with each strike based on the condition of the nutshell, making it less likely that they will end up smashing the tasty kernel inside.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter logs 9 percent sales growth in April

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Two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India opened the new fiscal with a nine percent sales growth, the company said on Friday.

It closed last month selling 340,791 units — up from 313,894 units sold in April 2014, the company said in a statement.

The company said it logged growth last month at a time when the overall two-wheeler industry is expected to log a four percent decline in growth.

According to Honda Motorcycle & Scooter, the industry is expected to close last month with a total sales of 1,448,646 units — down from 1,506,343 units sold in April 2014.

Priyanka shoots ‘Bajirao Mastani’ song, feels blissful

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Actress Priyanka Chopra has loved shooting for a song for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao Mastani” in which she shares the screen space with Deepika Padukone.

“Finally done…The bliss of finishing a momentous task is so relieving. #BajiraoMastani. Back to #AyeshaMehra for #DDD tomorrow. Kashi bids gn,” Priyanka tweeted.

Sonia to host dinner for party MPs May 6

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi is hosting a dinner for party MPs and office-bearers on May 6, informed sources said.

They said that Gandhi usually hosts a dinner for MPs both during the budget session of parliament and the winter session.

The sources said that the occasion is likely to see informal interaction among party leaders on a host of issues including the land bill which is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

Congress leaders appear enthused over the way party president Rahul Gandhi has led the attack on the Narendra Modi government since the start of second half of budget session.

Moga molestation: Sukhbir Badal finally admits to owning bus company

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Silent for nearly two days after a teenaged girl was killed after being thrown out of a bus owned by him, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday finally admitted that the bus service was run by his company.

According to reports, the victim’s family was refusing to cremate her body till action was taken in the matter.

India assures quake-hit Nepal of all possible assistance

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India on Friday assured Nepal that it stands steadfastly with the quake-hit country and provide all possible assistance, as top Indian officials met the Nepalese Prime Minister and reviewed the situation.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Friday arrived here and called on Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to discuss the rescue and relief operations in the areas affected by the earthquake.

Asteroid that killed dinosaurs may have triggered largest lava flows on Earth

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A team of geophysicists has suggested that the asteroid that crashed into the Earth 66 million years ago may not have been the sole cause of the end of the dinosaurs; it may in fact have triggered massive volcanic eruptions around the globe that finished the job.

UC Berkeley researchers said that the asteroid that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico would have “rung” the Earth like a bell and could have triggered eruptions including massive lava flows in India that covered an area the size of California with lava up to a mile deep.

Top Hizbul Mujahideen operative gets seven year jail term

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Banned terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen’s top operative Mohd Abudulla, a Pakistani national who had opened fire at a police team here in 2010, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court.

The court convicted Abudulla, who was Hizbul Mujahideen’s district commander of Rajouri in Kashmir, for offences under various sections of the IPC, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Foreigners Act and Arms Act after he pleaded guilty.

‘Modi committed to take Indian science to extraordinary heights’

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to take Indian science to “extraordinary heights”, union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said here on Friday.

“This country is doing well but I feel most of the people of this country are doing routine work. We have to come out of the routine way of thinking. They are doing their work honestly but nobody wants to get out of that routine mentality,” Vardhan said here during his visit to the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS).

Women banned from taking part in polls in Pakistan region

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In a bizarre diktat out of sync with modern-day ethos, the Jirga (religious assembly) in Gilgit Baltistan — an eight-hour drive from the Pakistan capital — has banned women from taking part in the coming assembly elections slated for June 8.

The Jirga — a traditional assembly of leaders that takes decisions by consensus and according to the teachings of Islam — in Darel valley on late Thursday barred the women of the area from contesting and voting in the forthcoming elections, Dawn reported on Friday.

Delhi lawyers’ strike to continue till May 6

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The Delhi lawyers’ strike, which began last week to protest the delay in passing the amended bill on enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of district courts, was on Friday extended till May 6.

“A delegation of lawyers met Home minister Rajnath Singh, who has assured that the bill would be cleared in the ongoing parliament session,” said R.K. Wadhwa, chairman of the co-ordination committee of the bar associations of district courts in Delhi.

After his assurance, the lawyers postponed the rally, which was scheduled for May 1, outside parliament.

Rahul Gandhi expresses solidarity with quake victims at Nepal Embassy

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the Embassy of Nepal here to express his support and solidarity for the the people of that quake-hit country.

“I wanted to come express my support for the people of Nepal. Have already been co-coordinating some help, but reassured the ambassador that if they need any help, they should let us know,” Rahul Gandhi said after his visit.

The Congress vice president also left a message in the visitor’s diary at the embassy.