Month: July 2015

PAHAL has reduced subsidised domestic sales of LPG by 25 percent: Arvind Subramanian

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Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on Thursday said that the introduction of the PAHAL scheme has reduced subsidised domestic sales of LPG across the country by close to 25 percent.

“On average, the direct benefit transfer for LPG has reduced subsidised domestic sales by about 25 percent. LPG has gone through three phases – originally it was called DBT, then it was suspended and now it has been reintroduced by the present government under PAHAL,” Subramanian said, while speaking at the UNDP Conference Hall in the national capital.

Letting Greece delay payment was no solution: IMF

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has defended its refusal to let Greece delay a payment, contending that agreeing to Athens’s request would not have alleviated the debt-burdened nation’s distress, Efe news agency reported.

Greece had sought postponement of a payment of 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) that was due on Tuesday.

The IMF declared Greece in arrears after its government failed to make the payment.

Maharashtra resident doctors strike, medical services hit

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Around 4,000 resident doctors from government and municipal medical colleges-cum-hospitals here and around the state went on an indefinite strike on Thursday, seriously hitting medical services.

Led by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the strike is to press for 10 major demands including bond period, leave and stipend, said vice-president Amit Lompe.

Trending! `Things that unite Indians` catching up on Twitter

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Look what’s trending! Interestingly Indians have come up with something unique despite of their mid-week office tensions and are trending hashtag #ThingsThatUniteIndians on social networking site Twitter.

With this hashtag, Indians are pointing out things that bring the nation together such as free samples at shopping mall, 50 per cent off sale and India vs Pakistan cricket match.

While many took this in a fun way, a user gave the topic a serious thought and tweeted, “Religious bigotry, misogyny, treating cricket as war and casteism are the #ThingsThatUniteIndians.”

Australian rare yellow diamond mine ceases operation

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A girl’s best friend is likely to become more expensive as a Western Australia mine producing almost 50 percent of the world’s rare yellow diamonds has suspended operations.

The Ellendale Diamond mine owners Kimberley Diamonds notified the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) late on Wednesday its subsidiary company – Kimberly Diamond Company that held the mine’s operating licence – has been placed into voluntary external administration.

Shares last traded at 12 cents before being put into a trading halt, according to Xinhua news agency.

Your diabetes med could help you shed kilos

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Diabetic and want to lose weight? Now you can do both with help of a single medicine, as a new study has shown that Liraglutide, an injectable diabetes drug, helps people shed kilos.

US regulators had approved the drug last year for weight loss, and a randomised, controlled trial at 191 sites in 27 countries in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia, found that it helped obese people lose an average of eight kilograms.

The drug is marketed as Saxenda by Novo Nordisk, GMA Network reported.

Scientists take inspiration from `insect legs` to perk up aircraft designs

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To improve the safety of long tubular structures which are used in aircrafts and hospital equipments to reduce weight, researchers are taking ideas from insect legs.

Trinity College Dublin scientists looked at how different leg shapes of locusts, cockroaches, stick insects and bees bend and buckle when stress is applied to them.

Professor David Taylor said that thin-walled tubes were prone to failure by buckling and it was also difficult to predict the loading conditions which caused buckling, especially for tubes of non-standard cross section.

Wimbledon: Sania-Hingis advance to second round

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Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss team-mate Martina Hingis advanced to the second round of the Wimbledon Championships after defeating the duo of Saisai Zheng and Zarina Diyas in the opening round yesterday.

The top seeded India-Swiss pair defeated the Chinese-Kazakh team in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

In the men’s doubles, Leander Paes and Canada’s Daniel Nestor progressed to the second round, while Purav Raja and his French team-mate Fabrice Martin crashed out, the BBC reported.

Ratan Tata to join Jungle Ventures as Special Advisor

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The Singapore-based Jungle Ventures has announced that Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, will come on board as a Special Advisor.

Founded by Anurag Srivastava and Amit Anand, Jungle Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund focussed on helping build innovative technology-led companies in Asia-Pacific.

The venture fund said it has already made investments in 30 leading Asian start-ups, including Zipdial (recently acquired by Twitter), LiveSpace, Tradegecko, CrayonData, Fastacash and travelmob (acquired by Nasdaq listed HomeAway).

Eurozone says no bailout talks until after Greek referendum

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Eurozone finance ministers have reportedly ruled out any bailout talks with Greece until the country holds a referendum on the proposals offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) on Sunday.

While Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a ‘No’ vote, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis accused the creditors of blackmail. However, he also promised that a deal would be reached after the vote and current restrictions on bank withdrawals would ease, reported the BBC.

Hajj house to come up with Marriage counseling centre

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Concerned over the increasing number of divorce cases in the community over trivial issues, the Minorities Welfare Department has come up with a marriage counseling centre for Muslims at hajj house.

Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali will inaugurate the counseling centre on Thursday. The counseling centre will function under the directions of a committee with a former Judge E. Esmail as chairman and five other members.

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Telangana State Govt. Retd. Employees Association to hold meeting

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According to Mr. Shaikh Husain Organising Secretary Telangana State Government Retired Employees Association, a meeting of the association will be held on July 5, from 11 am, at Azam Function Hall, Azampura. President association Mr. Mohammed Jamaluddin will preside over.

Siasat news

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CBI Officials Quiz Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday questioned former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran in connection with a case of alleged installation of over 300 high data capacity BSNL lines at his Chennai home to facilitate speedy transmission of programmes by a TV firm owned by his brother, an action termed by Home Ministry as threat to national security.

48-year-old Maran was questioned for nearly eight hours at the CBI headquarters by the agency’s Special Task Force which is handling the investigation, CBI sources said.

Sadhvi Prachi warns Hajj pilgrims over Amarnath Yatra

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VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi who is known for stroking fresh controversies kicked up another with her latest remarks and this time her target is Hajj pilgrims.

Prachi said that Hajj Yatris will face the consequences if devotees going to Vaishno Devi or Amarnath will be harmed.

‘Hate Amarnath devotees and we’ll hurt Hajj,’ spewed Sadhvi Prachi.

Sadhvi Prachi had earlier said that those who opposed to yoga should go to Pakistan and that they have “no right” to stay in the country.

UN Security Council threatens sanctions over Libya deal

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The UN Security Council today urged Libya’s parties to sign an agreement to form a national unity government and threatened sanctions against those who stand in the way of a deal.

UN envoy Bernardino Leon has submitted a draft proposal that he said could be ready for endorsement when peace talks resume in Morocco tomorrow.

Security Council members said in a unanimous statement that “there can be no military solution to the crisis in Libya” and urged all sides to “sign the proposal presented by the UN support mission in Libya in the coming days.”

‘Hannibal’ could return for shorter season

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Bryan Fuller has offered another update on the fate of Hannibal – hinting the show could return in a different form.

The show-runner said that moving from NBC to a “new venue would be an opportunity to adjust how many episodes we do”, reported Digital Spy.

Fuller voiced a desire to cut back from 13 episodes a season to “9 or 10”, adding: “It feels so digestible. Tightening up the story and shoring up the narrative by three episodes is exciting. It can make things tighter and move quicker.”

Siasat organises DSC/AEE model test

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DSC mock test for B.Ed, D.Ed language pundit candidates and AEE mock test for BE, B.Tech candidates will be held at Mahboob Husain Jigar Hall, Abids, on Sunday, July 5. Subject papers along with Telangana General Knowledge papers will also be provided.

Siasat news

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Saudi Prince to donate his entire $32 billion fortune to charity

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Inspired by the Gates Foundation, set up by Bill and Melinda Gates in 1997, Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will donate his entire USD 32 billion fortune to charity.

The 60-year-old prince, who is one of the world’s richest persons, said that the money would be used to foster ‘cultural understanding’ and ‘provide vital disaster relief,’ among other things, reported the BBC. Gates reacted to the statement, saying it was an inspiration to philanthropists around the globe.

Forbes has placed Prince Alwaleed on the 34th spot on the list of the world’s richest people.

ECB will not increase liquidity lifeline to Greek banks

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The European Central Bank’s governing council today decided not to increase the liquidity lifeline to cash-strapped Greek banks, a Greek banking source said.

The bank is “ready to intervene as and when necessary,” the source said, adding that “no other decision was taken” at the ECB meeting.

It was the ECB’s decision on Sunday to refuse to increase emergency funding for Greek banks that pushed Athens to close lenders and impose the capital controls.

Cubans hail diplomatic ties with US

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As word spread that the United States will soon turn its interests section into a full-fledged embassy in Havana, Cubans standing outside the mission voiced hope for a better future.

Hundreds of Cubans wait at a square nicknamed the “Park of Sighs” for hours every day for their turn to enter the nearby interests section in the hope of getting a visa.

“They should have done this many years ago,” said Freddy Torres, 40, among the crowd at the park.

US probing possible airline collusion to keep fares high

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The US government is investigating possible collusion between major airlines to limit available seats, which keeps airfares high, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The civil antitrust investigation by the Justice Department appears to focus on whether airlines illegally signaled to each other how quickly they would add new flights, routes and extra seats.

Civic Agencies to Collect Congestion Fee on Goods Vehicles

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The Delhi government has decided to appoint civic agencies as a nodal agency to collect congestion fee imposed by it on goods vehicles entering the national capital.

In his budget speech, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that government would impose congestion fee on goods vehicles entering in Delhi, identifying them as major contributor to air pollution in the national capital.