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Sun, 14 July 2013
Cong hiding behind 'burqa' of secularism: Modi
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20:31 Cong hiding behind 'burqa' of secularism: Modi
Amid uproar over his remarks on 2002 riots, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today charged Congress with wearing the "burqa (veil) of secularism" and "hiding in a bunker" each time it is confronted with a crisis.
Addressing a public meeting in Pune, Modi also attacked Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on the issue of his party's "failure" to eradicate poverty and alleged that it was raising the bogey of "threat to secularism" to throttle people's aspirations.
"Look minutely, whenever Congress is faced with a challenge- whether is corruption, price rise, directives from the Supreme Court, or a minister being jailed, or the rape of girls or an atmosphere of insecurity- they do not answer the people. The moment there is a crisis, they wear the 'burqa' (veil) of secularism and hide in a bunker," Modi said.
BJP has often charged the Congress with engaging in minority appeasement for votebank politics.
Modi said Congress follows this act by insisting that one should not talk about poverty or corruption or price rise at this juncture as "secularism is in danger". He charged that Congress has done this for decades.
18:35 Mandela could soon be discharged, says Mbeki
A former president of South Africa says he expects Nelson Mandela to soon be discharged from the hospital to recuperate at home.
South Africa's radio broadcaster Eyewitness News reported today that Thabo Mbeki was speaking at a memorial service Saturday when he predicted that Mandela would be going home.
Mandela has been hospitalised for more than five weeks for a recurring lung infection, sparking an outpouring of support in South Africa and internationally.
Friends who have visited him say he is on life support in the form of mechanical ventilation. The most recent official update on his health said Mandela was in critical but stable condition.
17:40 Petrol price hiked by Rs 1.55 per litre
Petrol price was today hiked by a steep Rs 1.55 a litre, the fourth increase in rates in six weeks, as falling rupee made oil imports costlier.
Oil companies raised petrol rates by Rs 1.55 a litre, excluding local sales tax or VAT, with effect from midnight.
Actual increase will be higher and will vary from city to city depending on local taxes.
Petrol price in Delhi has been hiked by Rs 1.86 per litre to Rs 70.44, effective tomorrow, as against Rs 68.58 currently.
This is the fourth increase in rates since June. Oil firms had on June 1 raised prices by 75 paisa, excluding VAT, and followed it with a Rs 2 per litre increase on June 16 and a Rs 1.82 on June 29.
The revision in prices, as per the practice of changing rates in line with cost every fortnight, was due on Tuesday July 16 but will be raised a day earlier.
17:09 Yet another building collapse in Thane; 1 dead
One person was killed and another injured when a portion of a two-storey building collapsed at Nallasopara in the district today, police said.
At around 1.30 PM, the front portion and balcony of the already dilapidated building crashed at Achole village in Nallasopara, they said.
While the building was empty as it had earlier been declared unsafe, a portion of it collapsed on two pedestrians who were walking by, killing one of them.
The deceased was identified as Rajesh Prajapati (38), police said, adding that the injured person was admitted to a local hospital.
16:38 Slain Dalit youth Ilavarasan's body buried
The body of Ilavarasan, the Dalit youth from Dharampuri district of Tamil Nadu who was found dead under mysterious conditions 11 days ago, was buried at his native village Natham that has been tense following his death.
The young man's parents have alleged that he was murdered and have pointed fingers at the upper caste and dominant Vanniyar community to which his wife belongs.
His ex-wife, Divya did not attend the funeral.
The district administration had denied permission to Dalit leaders to visit the area ahead of the funeral.
The police had tried to arrest former IAS officer and Samooka Samathuvapadi Katchi founder P Sivakami as she tried to attend the funeral. However, angry villagers prevented the police from doing so.
16:25 I am not surviving on silly controversies: Honey Singh
Honey Singh and troubles go hand-in-hand but the rapper claims he is not surviving in the industry for the "silly controversies" he is associated with.
The 29-year-old singer, who was booked by Punjab and Haryana High Court for singing vulgar songs, said he is doing good in the music business because of his talent.
"At the first place I did not write that song (Balatkari), I am not stupid to create silly controversy when I can do good work. There are people who survive on these tactics, I am not one of them," Singh told PTI.
Cases have been registered against him were registered singing the song 'Main Hoon Balatkari' (I am rapist).
Having started his career as a recording artiste, he later became a Bhangra producer. He got his first break in Bollywood with his song in film 'Shakal Pe Mat Ja'.
"My music worked and on people's suggestion I started rapping and achieved success through my hardwork. My management and I did not realise when we went from Punjab to pan-India and had shows all across the country," he said.
16:21 Ludhiana industrialist kidnapped from NH-1
A 26-year-old industrialist was allegedly kidnapped along with his driver by four men dressed in police uniform on National Highway No 1 near Kadon village, police said in Ludhiana today.
City-based industrialist Munish Brara (26) was returning home in his BMW car on Saturday evening when the vehicle was intercepted by four unidentified persons in a white car who signalled the driver to stop, police said.
As soon as the driver stopped the car, the armed miscreants pounced upon Munish and pulled him out, said police, adding that the kidnappers were wearing police uniforms.
Munish and his driver were taken away by the kidnappers in a white colour Maruti Swift car, they said and added that the kidnappers also took away Munish's BMW car with.
A case of kidnapping has been registered against unidentified kidnappers and a manhunt has been launched all over the state to trace the victim, Khanna police chief S Bhupti said.
16:17 Is Sonia quietly transferring power to Rahul?
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: Buzz is that Congress Political Secretary Ahmed Patel is being eased out steadily, thanks to Rahul Gandhi taking full control of the Congress organisation.
Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi is very cleverly applying his brahminical mind to stay close to Sonia Gandhi. Dwivedi has been playing different cards to keep his name out of the Governors' list. One section of the AICC wants him out of 24, Akbar Road
vicinity.
Speculation is that V George is also being eased out of 10, Janpath. If insider buzz is to be believed, George will get a Trustee position in the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation with support from Priyanka Gandhi.
If analysed closely, it seems that Sonia is slowly and steadily transferring power to Rahul.
16:17 Rahul upset with PM's advisor?
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is said to be upset with an advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Recently, Rahul hinted to Dr Singh about the frequent interferances by the PMO advisor in the internal affairs of the Congress
16:16 BJP set to bring over BSP MP to its fold
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: Bahujan Samaj Party MP Vijay Bahadur Singh greeting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi seems like a planned strategy. BJP President Rajnath Singh has had three rounds of discussions with Singh, a sure-winning candidate, to get him to the BJP.
Singh, the brother-in-law of former Union Minister Bhanu Pratap Singh, may resign as Member of Parliament to join BJP. The buzz is that may happen before the Monsoon session of Parliament.
16:16 Ambika Soni, the real queen at 24, Akbar Road
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: Former Union Minister Ambika Soni is now the "real queen" at 24, Akbar Road. She has taken complete charge of Sonia Gandhi's secretariat. Soni, these days, has been busy meeting pradesh Congress leaders and coordinating with the central leadership.
16:14 Maken complains to Rahul about Digvijaya's blabbering
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: Congress general secretary Ajay Maken has complained to Rahul about Digvijaya Singh's frequent blabbering on various policy matters.
The triggering point was when Digvijaya announced on Friday that Rahul would not be the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. His statement set several tongues wagging. Reportedly, all Congress spokespersons and spin doctors were instructed to focus primarily on how Rahul wishes to lead the party ably instead of hankering after power and the top job.
16:14 Congress minister rapped for showing off video with Modi
Snippet from Delhi's power corridors: The Congress media cell is furious that a junior minister at Krishi Bhawan was seen excitedly showing a video clip to his visitors. The clip was a recording of the ministers interaction with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Dehradun. The minister later received a phone call from the AICC, directing him to remove it.
15:14 6 fishermen injured in SL Navy attack
Six fishermen were injured, two of them seriously, when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel near Katchathivu islet early on Sunday morning.
Officials said Lankan naval personnel beat them with pipes, beer bottles and thick ropes and also cut the nets in several boats. The injured fishermen have been hospitalised.
Union Minister for road transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes had stated at Vailankanni yesterday that he would take up with the external affairs minister, incidents of continuing attacks on fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
About 30 fishermen of this district had lodged a complaint with fisheries department officials on July 13 stating they had been attacked by Lankan naval personnel while fishing off Nagapattinam coast on Friday and that they had taken away Rs 40 lakh worth fishing nets.
14:26 US lawmakers propose national park on Moon
US lawmakers are pushing a plan to establish a new national park that would quite literally be out of this world -- on the Moon.
A new bill introduced into the US Congress would create the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on the Moon.
Called the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the bill (House Resolution 2617) was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources, SPACE.com reported.
Emphasising that the Apollo lunar programme was one of the greatest achievements in the US history, the bill notes that, as commercial enterprises and foreign nations acquire the ability to land on the Moon, "it is necessary to protect the Apollo lunar landing sites for posterity."
The bill, in part, calls for no later than one year after the date of enactment of the act, "there shall be established as a unit of the National Park System the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park."
14:24 India hands over 88 A/C buses to Bangladesh
Bangladesh has launched 88 India-made air-conditioned buses it procured under a $800 million Indian line of credit, officials said today.
"The prime minister (Sheikh Hasina) inaugurated the buses at a ceremony at her Ganobhaban official residence" yesterday, a spokesman of the premier's office said.
A senior communication ministry official said the delivery of the buses ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival came as a timely asset to tens of thousands of Muslims as these vehicles could be used to ferry them to their homes across Bangladesh during the festival.
Officials said the buses were supplied by Ashok Leyland under a project to procure three types of buses by the state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation.
An Indian high commission statement said the project for procurement of 290 Double Decker Buses, 50 Articulated Buses and the 88 A/C buses at the cost of USD 36.85 million was included in the Indian credit line in August 2010.
"Delivery of all the 290 buses was completed on 30th October 2012 and the 50 articulated buses in April 2013. Procurement of 88 A/C buses is the last component of this project," it said.
14:22 Bad weather hampers debris removal at Kedarnath
Bad weather today stalled debris clearance operations by a 61-member team at Kedarnath and construction of a pedestrian route from Rambada to the Himalayan shrine even as attempts were on to transport relief to calamity-hit areas in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi.
However, the team despatched to Kedarnath has been able to build a temporary bridge over a canal between the helipad and the shrine.
"Debris removal at Kedarnath is stalled due to bad weather.Work on construction of a pedestrian route from Rambada to Kedarnath has also been stopped," Rudraprayag Superintendent of police V J Singh said.
"Whenever the weather clears up amid intermittent rains in Kedar valley, relief material is despatched to the affected villages," he said.
An official statement here said 983 quintals of foodgrains besides 288 LPG cylinders have been made available to affected people in the villages of Rudraprayag district.
12:59 ToI sets the record straight about 'Rambo' Modi
The Times of India has issued a clarification following the hue and cry over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's 'Rambo Act' in Uttarakhand.
Claiming that it was mortified by the controversy triggered by its report, the ToI clarifies that it only sought to emphasise on the fact that the Gujarat government's efforts had helped 15000 people in various ways.
12:51 Insurer cashes in on Telegram's demise
As the nation bids farewell to the 163 year old telegram, Birla Sun Life Insurance sought to cash in on the occasion.
The insurance firm sent out 4,150 telegrams to its customers, stating: "The telegram retires today. With no plan for future. Do you have a plan for your future? Retirement Solutions, Birla Sun Life Insurance"
12:34 Snowden chose not to release most damaging data: journo
Edward Snowden possesses data that could prove far more "damaging" to the US government but the fugitive leaker has chosen not to release them, said a journalist who first broke the story.
Glenn Greenwald told Argentina's La Nacion paper that Snowden, who is currently stranded in Moscow, had only sought to alert people that information they thought was private was being exploited by US intelligence agencies.
"Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the US government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States," he told the paper in an interview published on Saturday.
"But that's not his goal," said Greenwald, who published a series of stories in Britain's Guardian newspaper based on
top-secret documents about sweeping US surveillance programmes that were leaked by Snowden.
His comments came as Russia waited today for a promised request for asylum from Snowden.
The United States wants the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor returned to them to face trial over the leaks. Moscow has so far rejected that demand.
12:33 DU 6th cut off list out! Major colleges still have seats
It could be sixth time lucky for some students as seats in a few top colleges are still open even after five rounds of admissions in Delhi University.
In the sixth cut off list, seats for Commerce in general category are still available in 17 colleges including Hansraj, Gargi and Kamala Nehru.
Admissions based on the latest cut off list will begin from Monday.
Ramjas, which had closed admission in Commerce, issued a fresh cut off at 95.75-97.75 per cent.
Seats for English, Political Science, Physics and Chemistry also remain to be filled much to the relief of students aspiring to get admission into the college.
Hansraj college did not make any change in the cut off for Commerce from its last list at 96.5-98.
Economics is still available in 13 colleges including Miranda House which has put the cut off at 95.75- 96.25 per cent.
11:21 Over 200% rise in women murders in Mumbai
The latest Mumbai police crime report has thrown up a shocking fact -- the number of city women murdered more than tripled from 9 in 2011 to 30 in 2012. It translates into a 233% rise.
The numbers till May 2013 are still more shocking with 17 cases already registered throwing up the scary prospect of a further rise this year. Between 2008 and May 2013, the city recorded murders of 81 women, 66 children and 992 men.
The statewide figures are worse. The latest National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) report says on an average 83 women or girls are killed every month in Maharashtra. The state has the dubious distinction of topping the list of states with most number of women murdered for five consecutive years between 2008 and 2012 with as many as 5,158 cases of female murders.
Crime experts, psychiatrists and investigators said most adult women's murders are over suspected infidelity, extra-marital relationships and failed relationships.
11:13 Economic growth may rebound from next fiscal: CII
Economic growth may rebound from the next fiscal if government expedites its reform process, a survey by industry body CII has said.
Pulled down by poor performance of farm, manufacturing and mining sectors, economic growth slowed to 4.8 per cent in the January-March quarter and fell to a decade's low of 5 per cent for the entire 2012-13 fiscal.
"...the turnaround in growth may take place only from next fiscal, unless the reforms process are expedited and more aggressive set of measures are put in place to trigger the growth process," it said.
It said that in the prevailing circumstances, the GDP growth for the current fiscal may cross 5.5 per cent mark.
RBI intervention by way of cut in repo (short-term lending) and CRR (the portion of funds banks need to keep with the central bank) rates are among the top most policy actions the participants of the survey are expecting from the government.
"Liberalising FDI regulations and stronger intervention by RBI are the most critical policy measures," it said, adding, there is an urgent need to clear all the pending projects to boost domestic investments.
11:05 Kolkata most expensive city for travellers: survey
Kolkata, better known as the City of Joy, has been ranked as the most expensive destination for travellers, followed by Mumbai and New Delhi, according to a survey.
The country's financial hub Mumbai, which is at the second position among eight metro cities, was ranked the most expensive last year in a survey conducted by travel portal TripAdvisor.
The rankings under TripIndex are based on expenses that two people would have to incur for staying one night in metro cities. Various factors including cost of accommodation, drinks and dinner were taken into account.
New Delhi is at the third spot, followed by Hyderabad (4th), Bangalore (5th), Chennai (6th) and Pune (7th).
The "most budget friendly city", as per the survey, is Ahmedabad.
Going by TripAdvisor, while it costs Rs 10,115 for a night's stay for two travellers in Kolkata, the same was just Rs 6,406 in Ahmedabad.
11:05 Sesa Goa set to resume mining in Karnataka
A top advisory body of the environment ministry has recommended grant of forest clearance to Sesa Goa's iron ore mine in Karnataka, paving the way for the Vedanta group firm to resume operations in the southern state after about 2 years.
Moreover, a final decision from the Environment Ministry in this regard is also expected by this month, official sources said.
"After discussion, the Committee recommended the proposal with standard conditions and additional conditions of compliance to all conditions stipulated by the Supreme Court in writ petition (Civil) no 562/2009 and in other similar cases," Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Environment Ministry (MoEF) said in its recommendation for grant of forest clearance to Sesa Goa.
The FAC is the top advisory body of the MoEF for issues related to forests, including grant of forest clearances and diversion of forest land. It had considered Sesa Goa's application in its last meeting held on June 10 and 11.
11:04 FIIs pull out Rs 8,500 cr from debt market in 2 weeks
Overseas investors pulled out nearly Rs 8,500 crore (about $1.4 billion) from the debt market in the last fortnight amid concerns over depreciating rupee, which dropped to a record low of 61.21 against the dollar during the period.
During July 2-12, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of debt securities worth Rs 4,989 crore, while they sold bonds amounting to Rs 13,463 crore translating into a net outflow of Rs 8,474 crore ($1.41 billion), according to the Sebi data.
The latest outflow comes after a net pull-out of Rs 33,135 crore ($5.7 billion) from the debt securities in June. FIIs had turned net sellers of debt securities here for the first time in 13 months.
Moreover, foreign investors withdrew a net amount of Rs 290 crore from the equity market in June so far.
Market experts attributed the weekly sell-off to weakness in Indian currency, which is instrumental in FIIs exiting the debt markets as rising cost of hedging a volatile rupee hurts the yield differential the FIIs work with.
11:02 15 lighthouses to become tourist destinations
These two are among 15 heritage lighthouses chosen by tourism ministry along with the shipping ministry to be developed as tourist sites in the country.
Tourists can soon have a view of the Bay of Bengal from Gopalpur lighthouse in Odisha or the Arabian Sea from Kanhoji Angre lighthouse in Mumbai, which would be developed as tourist destinations.
The Gopalpur lighthouse in Ganjam district was a major landmark for sea travellers as it used to be a famous trade port, while the Kanhoji Angre lighthouse situated on Kennery Island had strategic importance for the Portuguese, the English and the Marathas as it stood at the entrance of the Mumbai harbour from the south.
These two are among 15 heritage lighthouses chosen by tourism ministry along with the shipping ministry to be developed as tourist sites in the country.
Other lighthouses identified for development as tourist destinations include Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Mahabalipuram, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Chandrabhaga, Paradip, Aguado, Dwarka and Minicoy.
11:01 Next James Bond film titled 'Devil May Care'?
The title of the 24th film in the 'James Bond' series will reportedly be 'Devil May Care', after the novel of the same name written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 007's creator Ian Fleming's birth.
The sequel to last year's 'Skyfall' will see Daniel Craig return as the fictional British spy, while director Sam Mendes has confirmed his return to the series, reported Sun online.
The new film will take its name from Sebastian Faulks' 2008 novel which was written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bond creator Ian Fleming's birth.
The story for the book features 007 battling evil chemist Dr Julius Gorner, who is taking aim at the UK.
After 'Skyfall' made 700 million pounds worldwide -- including being the highest-grossing film ever in the UK -- many fans were hoping to see Mendes and Craig's partnership continued on future films, and the director is glad to be back.
"I am very much looking forward to taking up the reins again and to working with Daniel Craig and producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time," Mendes said.
10:57 First US drone hit during Ramzan kills 2 in Pak
At least two persons were killed when a US drone targeted a suspected militant's compound in tribal region close to Afghan border in northwest Pakistan, the first strike in the month of Ramadan.
The CIA-operated drone fired two missiles at a time, targeting a motorcycle and a compound in village Dawar Musaki tehsil Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency, sources said.
The strike killed two people, they said, adding that it took place after at 11 pm.
In the month of Ramadan, this was the first attack in North Waziristan.
The identity of those targeted in the strike could not be ascertained.
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