Aug | SilverScorpio.Com

SC committee: Halt Noida park construction

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 4 (ANI): The Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended on Friday to halt the construction of Ambedkar Park in Noida with immediate effect.

The Mayawati Government is constructing the Bhimrao Ambedkar Park in Noida with an estimated cost of Rs.550 crore on the banks of the River Yamuna.

The committee has sighted the violation of environmental laws as the reason for such recommendation.

According to sources, the committee headed by former Union Environment Secretary, P.V. Jayakrishna has conveyed the apex court that the project does not have the required environmental clearance.

The court is expected to give its opinion on the recommendations next week.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday accused the Central Government of obstructing the dream projects of Mayawati.

The project came into the spotlight after a residents’ association of Noida moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the apex court raising environment issues against the construction

The apex court constituted the CEC to look into the issue following which the committee visited the site Aug 12. (ANI)

‘Renee Zellweger meets Bradley Cooper’s parents’

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 4 (ANI): Renee Zellweger’s relationship with Bradley Cooper seems to be heating up, for the actress has met his parents.

The couple was first snapped out in public together last month (Aug09), when Zellweger and Cooper escaped for a low-key break in Barcelona, Spain.

However, after coming back, the ‘Hangover’ star whisked Zellweger off to his native Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to introduce her to his mum and dad.

“Brad and Renee drove from New York to Philly so he could show her off to his parents and old friends. They fell in love with her,” Contactmusic quoted a source as telling National Enquirer.

“Renee poured on her Texas charm, even arriving with flowers and a box of cupcakes she picked up at a local bakery for his parents.

“Hours after the visit, Bradley’s family was on the phone with him, gushing about Renee,” the source added.

Cooper is planning to move from Los Angeles to the Big Apple to be closer to his new girlfriend.

The insider adds, “Bradley is already talking about putting down roots in New York, where Renee lives. They just seem happy to have found each other.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: Actress, ANI, apple, Aug, bakery, barcelona, barcelona spain, Big, box, brad, bradley, bradley cooper, break, charm, contactmusic, couple, cupcakes, dad, enquirer, family, flowers, girlfriend, hangover, heating, insider, Los Angeles, love, met, month, mum and dad, national, national enquirer, Native Philadelphia, new girlfriend, New York, old friends, parents, Pennsylvania, philadelphia, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Philly, Phone, relationship, Renee, renee zellweger, roots, Sept, source, Spain, star, Texas, the, visit, Washington

Singaporean teen, 19, sells herself on net to pay for mum’s treatment

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Sept 2 (ANI): A 19-year-old girl has been forced to put herself online for sale in a bid to collect money for her terminally ill mother.

According to Chew Daily and China Press, the polytechnic student, known only as Christine, has been advertising her sexual services and uploaded three scantily-clad pictures of herself on her blog.

In the pictures, Christine is seen half-naked, wearing only a lacy black G-string, reports the Star Online.

The blog also has a separate link to more “racy pictures” where one had to pay to view the site.

Christine wrote that she hoped to find a man in his 30s and was willing to provide him sexual services if he paid for her mother’s medical fees.

She also said that her mother was terminally ill and in need of “a lot of money”.

She also promised that she wouldn’t disappoint anyone interested in her offer.

Since Aug 29, the blog has attracted 170 hits. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, anyone, Aug, bid, blog, chew, China, China Press, Christine, daily, g string, Girl, Ill Mother, Kuala Lumpur, lacy, link, lot, man, Medical Fees, MONEY, mother, need, offer, old girl, Online, Polytechnic, press, sale, Sept, sexual services, singaporean, site, star, string, student, teen, treatment, uploaded

Family, friends may affect breast cancer surgery decision

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 1 (ANI): A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that about 75 percent of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer are accompanied by a friend or family member during their first visit to a surgeon and that person plays a major role in the patient’s decision of what type of surgery to have.

In the study, the researchers looked at factors affecting a woman’s choice between a mastectomy to remove the entire breast or breast-conserving surgery, which involves removing only the tumor and is followed by radiation treatments.

They found that when the patient, rather than the doctor, drives the surgery decision, the patient is more likely to choose a mastectomy. This proved to be the case among all racial and ethnic groups.

The study also showed that women who had a friend or family member accompany them to the surgical consultation were more likely to receive a mastectomy, compared to women who attended the appointment alone.

Latinas who speak little English were most influenced by family in their decision-making: 75 percent, compared to 34 percent of white women.

“Family and friends have a potentially important role in treatment discussions. More than 70 percent of women brought someone with them to the appointment, providing a chance for surgeons to convey information to both the patient and her support person. Clearly, others help with and contribute to decision making, and may do so differently for different racial or ethnic groups,” says lead study author Sarah Hawley, Ph.D., M.P.H., research associate professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.

Researchers analyzed survey responses from 1,651 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in the Detroit and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

Patients were asked about their surgical treatment decision, including how involved they were in the decision making, whether a family member or friend accompanied them to the appointment and their attitudes toward surgery. Higher numbers of African Americans and Latinas were included.

The study appears online Aug. 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: african, ANI, appointment, Aug, author, breast, breast cancer, breast cancer surgery, cancer, case, center, chance, choice, comprehensive, comprehensive cancer center, consultation, decision, decision-making, detroit, doctor, english, family, family friends, friend, information, institute, internal medicine, journal, Latinas, Los Angeles, m medical school, making, mastectomy, medical, Medical School Researchers, medicine, member, michigan, michigan comprehensive cancer, mph, national, Online, patient, percent, person, professor, radiation, radiation treatments, Research, research associate professor, role, Sarah Hawley, school, Sept, someone, stage, Stage Breast Cancer, study, study author, support, Support Person, surgeon, surgery, Surgical Consultation, survey, Survey Responses, treatment, Treatment Decision, tumor, type, University, University Of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, visit, Washington, White women, woman, Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast

Maruti sells nearly 85,000 vehicles in Aug.2009

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.1 (ANI): Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India’s car market leader, sold a total of 84,808 vehicles in August 2009, growing 41.6 percent in the month. This includes exports of 14,847 units, the highest ever monthly export in the company’s history.

A company release said it had sold a total of 59,908 vehicles in August 2008.

Maruti Suzuki’s volume in the domestic A2 segment grew by 39.3 per cent. In the A3 segment the sales volume grew by 44.1 cent during the month as compared to sales in August 2008.

During the month the company crossed the milestone of 50,000 cumulative exports in this fiscal. A star is Maruti Suzuki’s flagship export model. A star, which was introduced internationally in January 2009, has been leading the export numbers since introduction. The major markets for this model in Europe include Germany, UK, France and Netherlands.

In the last week of August 2009, the company introduced the Estilo with a bolder new look and the latest, 1-litre, BS-IV compliant, K-series engine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: 1 Litre, a2, a3, ANI, Aug, August, BS-IV, car, Car Market, cent, company, compliant, engine, Estilo, Europe, export, Export Model, fiscal, flagship, France, Germany, history, India, india limited, introduction, January, K Series, leader, limited, litre, look, market, Market Leader, maruti, Maruti Suzuki India, milestone, model, month, Netherlands, New Delhi, percent, release, Sales Volume, segment, Sep, series, star, suzuki, total, U.K, uk france, volume, week

Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears show off hot bods on Miami holiday

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 1 (ANI): Britney and her sister Jamie Lynn Spears showed off their hot bikini bodies on Monday, while on Holiday in Miami.

The siblings, along with their kids and parents, had spent about an hour at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel pool Monday afternoon.

“They both looked to be in pretty good shape,” Us magazine quoted a witness as saying.

This is the first time that 18-year-old Jamie Lynn, who welcomed daughter Maddie in June 2008, has shown off her post-baby body.

“She had on a white, spangly top. A very little bikini!” said the witness.

The family, including Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, “sat around the pool for about 20 minutes. Then Britney worked on her tan while Jamie Lynn took her daughter and her mom to a cabana on the beach.”

“They seemed pretty relaxed. Everyone was smiling,” said the witness. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: afternoon, ANI, Aug, beach, bikini, body, Britney, Britney Spears, cabana, daughter, everyone, family, Good Shape, holiday, Hot Bikini, Hot Bodies, Hot Bods, hotel, hotel pool, hour, james, jamie, jamie lynn, jamie lynn spears, jayden, jayden james, June, Kids And Parents, Little Bikini, Lynn Spears, maddie, magazine, mandarin, mandarin oriental hotel, Miami, mom, Monday, monday afternoon, pool, Sean Preston, shape, show, siblings, sister, sister jamie, tan, time, Washington, white, witness

CCEA reviews prices of essential commodities

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 31(ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Monday reviewed the prices of essential commodities and observed that the major areas of concern were prices of pulses and sugar.

The CCEA has said that several steps have been taken to increase the availability of pulses and sugar, which would help in controlling the price increase.

The need to enforce stock limits, carry out de-hoarding operations and use the powers available under the Essential Commodities Act and the Prevention of Black-marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act have also been emphasised. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, ANI, Aug, availability, Black-marketing, cabinet, cabinet committee, ccea, committee, commodities, Commodities Act, concern, economic, economic affairs, essential, increase, maintenance, Maintenance Supplies, marketing, Monday, New Delhi, prevention, price, pulses, several steps, stock, sugar, supplies

Caterpillars damage paddy crop in Jharkhand

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Palamu (Jharkhand), Aug 31(ANI): First it was drought and now it is swarming caterpillars, which are adding to the woes of the paddy farmers in Jharkhand’s Palamu district.

The farmers in the region are worried as the caterpillars are devouring the paddy plants and have spread across acres of paddy fields, and it is feared that almost 60 to 70 percent of the crop have been damaged.

“There has been drought, we were already thinking about fending for our living. And, now the caterpillars have destroyed the crop. We fear dying of hunger. We are facing a very tough situation,” said Manraj Singh, a farmer.

Out of the total 48,400 hectares of land under paddy in the region only 14.5 percent was sown due to the lack of water and now the caterpillar is eating up whatever was sown.

“Only 14.5 percent of the area has been sown this year. In Palamu district, the total area under paddy cultivation is almost 48,400 hectares, out of which only 14.5 has been sown. Firstly there was a water problem ad now the plants have been infested by a pest called swarming caterpillar,” said D.N Singh, an agriculture scientist.

The farmers also complain of Government lack of concern over the matter and feel they have no help from anywhere in such gloomy situation. By Girija Shankar Ojha (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Agriculture, ANI, area, Aug, caterpillar, caterpillars, concern, crop, cultivation, D.N Singh, damage, district, drought, farmer, farmers, fear, firstly, girija, Government, Government Lack, hectares, help, hunger, Jharkhand, lack, lack of water, land, Manraj, matter, paddy, paddy fields, Palamu, percent, pest, plants, problem, region, scientist, shankar, Shankar Ojha, Singh, situation, sown, water, water problem, woes, year

‘Ex-Nepal prince involved in fake currency racke’

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 31 (ANI): Nepali nationals caught by the Madhya Pradesh ATS in connection with fake currency racket have revealed Nepal’s former prince Paras’s link to India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.

Paras is the son of the former Nepal king Gyanendra, who has now taken refuge in Singapore.

The revelations came during the interrogation of two Nepali nationals, who were caught while trying to smuggle in the fake currency notes into India.

They further revealed that a prominent minister’s son Yunus Ansari was working as as the conduit between King Gyanendra’s son Paras and underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, who between them have been pushing crores of fake currency into India.

According to sources, Dawood manages the printing and manufacture of the fake currency, while Paras is responsible for the transit of the money from other countries into Nepal and then its flow into India.

Paras reportedly used his influence to ensure the money reached the transit points on the India-Nepal border without any hitch. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, ansari, ATS, Aug, border, conduit, connection, countries, crores, currency, Dawood, Dawood Ibrahim, ex, fake currency notes, Fake Currency Racket, flow, gyanendra, hitch, ibrahim, India, influence, interrogation, king, king gyanendra, kingpin, link, Madhya, manufacture, minister, MONEY, nationals, Nepal., nepali, New Delhi, Paras, pradesh, prince, Prince Paras, printing, racke, racket, refuge, revelations, Singapore, son, transit, Transit Points, underworld, Yunus, Yunus Ansari

No leadership role likely for ‘lateral entrants’ in BJP

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.31 (ANI): ‘Lateral entrants’, a term coined for non-RSS workers, are in for tough days ahead in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the wake of recent wrangling in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by the exit of senior leader Jaswant Singh and L.K. Advani’s aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, the party has decided to clip the feathers of ‘lateral’ entrants. It literally implies that the members, who are non-swayamsewaks, will no more be able to enjoy the power and clout they used to till recent past.

A senior leader, seeking anonymity, said, ” BJP has decided that the next BJP President will be a swayamsewak and will not be a ‘ lateral entry’. This will further strengthen the chances of hardcore RSS workers-Arun Jaitley, Bal Apte and Narendra Modi-being appointed as the new bosses of the organisation and put to rest speculations about Sushma Swaraj becoming the new President of the party after Rajnath Singh’s three-year term comes to its end by the end of this year.

According to a top BJP source, the cadres of the party are deeply pained by the recent statements made by Jaswant Singh and Advani’s aide Sudheendra Kulkarni who left the party citing that he has fundamental differences with BJP’s ideology.

Party believes that cadres across the country are deeply anguished by the conduct of ‘lateral’ entrants who enjoyed enormous power and were aspirants of holding top jobs if party had won. But they defected after the party lost in the elections.

According to sources, although party will downsize the clout of non-swayamsewaks in party affairs, it will not bar their entry into the party.

Source told ANI that BJP would welcome lateral entrants into the party in future on the basis of their professional ability and capacity.

It is learnt that RSS chief in his recent meetings with the BJP leadership had suggested that they should trim the role of lateral entrants in the BJP and promote swayamsewaks in the party.

Taking a dig at the so called intellectuals, who form the major chunk of ‘lateral entrants’ in the party, top source also said: “We have competent cadres who can speak good English and also write a book.”

Admitting that the generational change in the party is imminent, party sources also indicated that Advani will continue to guide the party with his experience and moral authority even after he steps down as the leader of Opposition. By Naveen Kapoor(ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ability, admitting, Advani, aide, ANI, anonymity, apte, Arun Jaitley, Aug, authority, Bal Apte, basis, bharatiya, bharatiya janata party, bjp, Bjp Leadership, bjp president, book, cadres, capacity, change, chunk, clout, conduct, country, dig, end, english, Enormous Power, entry, exit, experience, Fundamental Differences, future, generational, hardcore, ideology, Janata, Jaswant, K. Advani, kapoor, Kulkarni, l k advani, lateral, Lateral Entry, leader, leadership, Leadership Role, learnt, Modi-being, narendra, Naveen, New Delhi, non, opposition, organisation, party, Party Affairs, Party Source, past, power, president, Professional Ability, rajnath, rajnath singh, role, RSS, Rss Workers, Singh, source, speculations, Sudheendra, Sushma, Swaraj, Swayamsewak, term, tough days, wake, workers, wrangling, year

“Blight” may play spoilsport for farmers’ hope of good crop in Punjab

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Aug.31 (ANI): Punjab farmers were full of optimism of harvesting a bumper crop of paddy despite a delayed monsoon, but now they fear crop damage due to attack of “Blight”, a bacterial disease.

Worried farmers allege that the agriculture department is not guiding them how to protect their crop from Blight. owever, at several places, the farmers, who had transplanted paddy, which was in good shape earlier, seem to be fighting a fast losing battle because of the widespread attack of “Blight”.

In various affected villages in the border districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur, the farmers today estimate nearly 50 percent of damage to paddy due to “Blight”, if it’s not controlled in time.

“The disease appeared as yellowish green stripes running from tip downwards and the affected leaf started drying from the margins. Since most of the farmers are unaware about the remedies so agriculture department should come forward to educate the farmers to tackle this problem,” said Jagdev Singh, one of the farmers.

Mangdev Singh, Sarpanch (village head) of Chiina Pati Village said, “Blight has dashed our hopes. We were expecting very good returns from paddy. In all the 500 acres of village paddy was transplanted. “Blight” attack has started in patches. If we fail to control, this could cause damage of al the crop here.

Singh said that they have contacted the department. Though the Agricultural Department accepts the damage to crops, it is not prepared to quantify it as yet.

In Amritsar district alone, of the nearly 183,000 hectares of land, Basmati was transplanted in about 90,000 hectares of land and in the rest of the farming land other variety of paddy was transplanted.

According to Gurdeep Singh, an Agriculture Development Officer, the disease has been noticed in all varieties of paddy grown in the areas of border belt.

“Since the disease develops more in high humid conditions, farmers should not allow stagnation of water in the fields.

Farmers should not spray pesticides to control the disease, as these are not effective against it,” said Gurdeep Singh. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agricultural, Agricultural Department, Agriculture, Agriculture Department, agriculture development, Amritsar, ANI, attack, Aug, bacterial disease, basmati, battle, belt, blight, border, Border Districts, bumper, bumper crop, Chiina, crop, Crop Damage, damage, department, Development, disease, district, estimate, farmers, farming, farming land, Good Shape, Gurdaspur, Gurdeep, gurdeep singh, harvesting, head, hectares, hope, Humid Conditions, Jagdev, land, leaf, Losing Battle, Mangdev, Monsoon, officer, optimism, owever, paddy, Pati Village, percent, problem, Punjab, Ravinder, rest, Sarpanch, shape, Singh, Singh Robin, spoilsport, spray, Stagnation, time, tip, today, variety, village, water, yellowish

Migratory birds in arrive Orissa

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Baijal Sagar (Orissa), Aug 31(ANI): The migratory birds coming into the country have found a safe haven in Orissa’s Baijal Sagar village, which surrounded by lush green forests provide an ideal habitat for these birds.

The villagers act as ideal hosts to the visiting birds, who arrive during the monsoon season, as they protect and provide a safe shelter to these winged beauties.

“No-no, nobody hurts these birds. No one kills them. They come here, as they feel safe here. Why should we kill them? They have never harmed us in any form as such no one dares to hurt them,” said Sambar Majhi, a villager.

The birds come here in at the advent of sowing season and stay here for 6-7 months. During this period they lay eggs, hatch the off-springs and once their young ones are ready to fly, return to their native countries.

In a state where cases of poaching are quite common and the migratory birds are often killed for their flesh, the instance of villagers turning protectors has been much appreciated by the forest officials.

“People are very cooperative. They are very much interested in protection of wildlife. With their help, birds are not being hunted. There are no instances of hunting,” said R K Sahu, Divisional Forest Officer of Bolangir Range.

Every year, nearly a million birds from upper regions of Asia, Europe and the Far East visit Orissa just prior to the winter and nestle as well as breed here till the season is over. By Sarda Lahangir(ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 7 Months, advent, ANI, asia, asia europe, Aug, Baijal, Bolangir, breed, country, divisional, Europe, flesh, forest, forest officer, forest officials, form, green forests, habitat, hatch, haven, help, hunting, instance, instances, Lahangir, Majhi, migratory, migratory birds, Monsoon, monsoon season, Native Countries, Nestle, no-no, nobody, officer, One, Orissa, period, protection, R K Sahu, range, Regions Of Asia, return, safe haven, sagar, sambar, Sarda, season, shelter, sowing, state, the Far East, Upper Regions, village, villager, visit, wildlife, Winged Beauties, winter, year, young ones

Supreme Court issues notices to CBI, Kerala Govt on Vijayan case

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Kerala Government over the state Governor’s permission to CBI to prosecute Pinarayi Vijayan.

The apex court was hearing the petition filed by Vijayan, challenging the governor’s sanction for his prosecution by the CBI.

Vijayan is the politburo member of Communist party of India (Marxist) (CPM)

A bench of the apex court comprising Justice R.V. Ravindran and Justice B.S. Sudarsan Reddy admitted Vijayan’s lawsuit directly for hearing.

The bench stated that the petition involved several important questions of law.

Vijayan is facing the charges of by passing the regulations while awarding a contract to a Canadian based company, SNC Lavalin for renovating three power plants when he was Kerala’s power minister in 1997.

The charges against Vijayan were filed in a special court after Kerala Governor R.S. Gavai gave the green signal to the CBI to prosecute the stalwart of communist movement in June.

Earlier, the central agency had asked Vijayan to appear before the CBI court at Kochi on September 24.

The Rs.374-crore SNC Lavalin scam, has created a tussle between Vijayan and State Chief Minister V.S.Achhuthanandan. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agency, ANI, apex, apex court, Aug, bench, bureau, case, CBI, cbi court, central, central bureau of investigation, Chief Minister, Chief Minister V.S.Achhuthanandan, communist, Communist Movement, communist party of india, communist party of india marxist, company, contract, Court, CPM, crore, Government, governor, govt, hearing, India, investigation, June, Justice B.S. Sudarsan, Justice R.V. Ravindran, kerala, kerala govt, kochi, Lavalin, law, lawsuit, member, minister, Monday, movement, New Delhi, party, permission, petition, Pinarayi, politburo, politburo member, power, Power Minister, power plants, prosecution, R.S. Gavai, ravindran, reddy, sanction, scam, September, signal, snc, stalwart, state, state chief, state governor, Sudarsan, supreme, supreme court issues, tussle, Vijayan

First round of Indo-Swiss talks on black money to be held in December

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 31 (ANI): The first round of consultations between New Delhi and the Swiss Government on tracing the black money deposited in tax havens in that country will be held in December.

However, there is no guarantee of prosecution of offenders on the basis of information secured from them.

According to Finance Ministry sources, Indian officials will have their first round of discussions with officials of Swiss government to evolve a legal system that will enable India to trace black money.

They said that such a system could be evolved through a Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) with Switzerland on the model of the agreements reached with countries of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Although, the DTAT could lead to information being secured from Switzerland in specific cases (in which individuals would have violated laws in India), but it cannot guarantee that such persons could also be prosecuted for that offence, they pointed out.

In April, Germany gave information in a case where an individual had violated tax laws and on the information given by the German government tax due from him was also collected.

But Germany gave the information on the specific condition that no prosecution would be launched against the individual and the government had to comply with that condition

Getting information from the Swiss banks was not an easy task, and Indian government will have to become eligible to ask for such information under a proper bilateral treaty.

Recently, the US government successfully tracked some cases of American citizens stashing away their money there. The US could even prosecute them. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: american citizens, ANI, April, Aug, avoidance, basis, Black Money, cannot, case, condition, consultations, cooperation, country, December, Development, Development Oecd, double taxation avoidance, DTAT, economic, economic cooperation, finance, german government, Germany, Government, government tax, guarantee, India, India Black, Indian Government, indian officials, individual, indo-, information, ministry, Ministry Sources, model, MONEY, New Delhi, OECD, offence, organisation, prosecution, round, Swiss, swiss banks, Swiss Government, Switzerland, system, task, tax, Tax Havens, taxation, Trace Money, treaty, US

Students gift house to teacher as mark of respect

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Namakkal (Tamil Nadu), Aug 31 (ANI): In a unique and loving gesture, students presented a house to their former teacher at Gurusamypalayam village in Tamil Nadu.

Eighty-three-year-old Soballapuram V Venkataraman, who has been living in a rented run-down house at the village in Namakkal district even after 25 years of retirement with his aged wife and a widowed daughter, will now have a new place to live.

Venkataraman will soon shift into the new house, which is spacious and much larger than his present accommodation.

The house, built in an area of 1,200 square feet, is nearly ready and will be formally gifted to the guru on the ‘Teachers’ Day’ on September 5.

Venkataraman says even though his students have been successful in life he never ever expected anything like this from them. He recalls he never complained about his financial problem to them. However, he said he was overwhelmed by this gesture.

“I have been teaching from 1954 to 1985 for 32 years. And during the course of my teaching profession, I have taught about nearly 1,500 students. Many of them are now working as industrialists, doctors, engineers, senior administrative officers,” said Venkataraman.

Venkataraman taught Tamil language at the Sengunthar Mahajana Higher Secondary School at Gurusamypalayam village and inspired many of his students with his knowledge of poetry and oratory.

Two years ago when his former students came to meet him, they were sad to know about his living conditions, and the financial debt he incurred for the marriage of his two daughters.

Even though he receives a monthly pension of Rs.9,000, it’s inadequate to meet the daily expenses of his family, let alone living a better life.

The students who had achieved success and made it in their professional life decided to alleviate their loving teacher’s suffering in their own unique way.

“We took up a list of our old students, we collected their addresses, and we printed a small notice and sent it to them. The old students responded and we were able to collect nearly 10 lakh. We constructed this house. We are very much pleased to hand over this house as ‘Guru Niwas’ to our teacher as a ‘gurudakshina’,” said Dr Mohan Raj, a physician and former student of Venkataraman.

Money was sent by students who are now settled in various parts of the country. It took two years to build a two-storey house at the cost of Rs 10 lakh. By Jai Kumar (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accommodation, administrative officers, ANI, anything, area, Aug, cost, country, course, daughter, day, debt, district, doctors, Dr Mohan Raj, Eighty-three-year-old, family, Financial Debt, Former Students, gesture, gift, guru, gurudakshina, Gurusamypalayam, higher secondary school, house, industrialists, Jai Kumar, knowledge, lakh, language, life, list, Living A Better Life, Loving Teacher, Mahajana, mark, marriage, MONEY, nadu, Namakkal, Niwas, notice, oratory, pension, physician, place, poetry, problem, profession, professional life, respect, retirement, school, Sengunthar, September, Soballapuram, square feet, student, success, tamil, Tamil Nadu, teacher, Teachers Day, teaching, Teaching Profession, the, two daughters, V Venkataraman, venkataraman, village, way, wife

Karnataka Housing Minister resigns following defeat in by poll

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Aug 31 (ANI): Karnataka Housing Minister V. Somanna resigned from the state cabinet on Monday following his defeat in the recent by polls to the state assembly.

Somanna handed over his resignation to the Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa.

“I will take a decision on accepting his resignation after consulting the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief D.V.Sadananda Gowda and national general secretary Ananth Kumar and the party high command,” Yeddyurappa told reporters after receiving the resignation letter.

Somanna, who was earlier, elected from the Govidrajnagar constituency in Bangalore resigned from his seat as well as from the Congress Party to join BJP in February.

Subsequently Somanna was rewarded with a cabinet birth in the Yeddyurappa Government.

Somanna who is known for his innovative election strategies, tasted maiden defeat in his political career against debutant Priyakrishna of Congress in the by polls on August 18.

The two-day southern region meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held in Davangere in central Karnataka on Sunday asked Yeddyurappa to seek the resignation of Somanna.

The BJP is reward Somanna with another post as the elections to the Brihat Bangalore Municipal Corporation (BBMC) are on the cards. Somanna played a crucial role in party’s victory in all the three Lok Sabha seats in Bangalore in the 2009 general elections.

Somanna is the third minister to resign from the Yeddyurappa government during the last one-year. Earlier S.K. Bellubbi, and Krishnayya Setty resigned from cabinet to make way to accommodate new faces in the cabinet. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ananth, Ananth Kumar, ANI, assembly, Aug, August, Bangalore, BBMC, bharatiya, birth, bjp, Brihat, cabinet, career, central Karnataka, Chief Minister, Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, command, Congress, congress party, constituency, corporation, D.V.Sadananda, Davangere, debutant, decision, defeat, Election, Election Strategies, February, general elections, general secretary, Government, Govidrajnagar, Gowda, housing, housing minister, Janata, Karnataka, Krishnayya, kumar, letter, lok, lok sabha seats, meeting, minister, Minister V. Somanna, Monday, municipal, new faces, party, political career, poll, post, Priyakrishna, rashtriya, rashtriya swayamsevak sangh, region, resignation, resignation letter, reward, role, RSS, S.K. Bellubbi, sabha, Sangh, seat, secretary, Setty, state, state assembly, state cabinet, subsequently, sunday, Swayamsevak, victory, way

Three policemen suspended, probe ordered into custodial death in J-K

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Aug 31(ANI): Three policemen were suspended and a magisterial probe was ordered on Monday, following the death of a 17-year-old boy in police custody in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.

According to reports, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Adhkunwari police post Suram Chand, Munshi Deepak Ram and Selection Grade Constable Bishan Dass were suspended.

Sub Divisional Magistrate Katra Rashpal Singh has been directed to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the death and submit the report to the government.

Earlier, protests were held in the region after death of Billoo, a native of Ludhiana in Punjab, who police claimed had committed suicide by hanging himself in the lock-up.

Billoo was picked in connection with a theft and pick-pocketing case and was taken to Adhkuwari police station for questioning. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Adhkunwari, Adhkuwari, ANI, ASI, assistant, Aug, Billoo, boy, case, Chand, connection, constable, Constable Bishan, Custodial Death, custody, death, Deepak Ram, district, divisional, Government, grade, inquiry, inspector, jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir, katra, ludhiana, magisterial, magisterial inquiry, magistrate, Monday, Munshi, native, police, police custody, police post, police station, policemen, post, probe, protests, Punjab, Rashpal, Reasi, region, report, selection, Selection Grade, Singh, srinagar, station, Sub, suicide, Suram, theft

Reserve Bank engaged in keeping inflation low

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 31 (ANI): Reserve Bank of India’s Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty on Monday said the bank is faced with the challenging task of keeping inflation in check, when food price inflation has already reached around 10 percent.

“The food price inflation is already around 10 percent. Our key challenge is how to keep the inflationary pressure low,” he said while speaking at an event of the Institute of Banking.

He dwelt on a range of issues from drought to interest rates to government borrowings, and said the country would continue to grow at 6 percent-plus.

However, he pointed out that if the “drought affects the agriculture growth, it will partly affect the growth number”.

Commenting on interest rates, he ruled out any further cuts and said the central bank could even reverse its expansionary stance if the drought-induced inflationary prices go out of control.

“I don’t think today anybody is expecting interest rates to come down further,” he said.

Admitting the huge government borrowing to have exerted some pressure on interest rates, which have “already gone up a little-bit,” he said he expects interest rates to be stable as of now. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: admitting, Agriculture, ANI, anybody, Aug, bank, bank of india, banking, borrowing, borrowings, chakrabarty, challenge, check, control, country, Deputy Governor, Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty, drought, dwelt, event, food, food price, Government, growth, India, inflation, inflationary pressure, institute, interest, interest rates, little bit, Monday, New Delhi, number, percent, pressure, price, Price Inflation, range, reserve, Reserve Bank of India, stance, task, today

BJP- Shiv Sena finalises seat sharing for Maharashtra assembly polls

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Aug 31 (ANI): Though the party’s top leadership is struggling to set the house in order, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Maharashtra unit has finalised the seat sharing agreement with the Shiv Sena on Monday for the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

According to BJP sources the talks with Shiv Sena are almost over and an official announcement would be made in a day or two.

Both the parties agreed for the existing 171:117 formula for the 288 Assembly seats, sources added.

In the 2004 Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had allotted seven seats to Shetkari Sanghatana led by vetern farmer’s leader Sharad Joshi. As Joshi’s party is no more a partner of Sena-BJP combine, both the parties are expected to share these seats.

BJP is claiming the Chindwada seat, as the sitting legislator of that constituency joined the party.

The poll managers of the saffron alliance are confident of achieving seat matrix despite trouble faced by the BJP central leadership.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress – Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine is still not sure on maintaining the alliance. Also the strategy of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is not yet clear.

The MNS is holding its cards close to the chest as to go alone or ally with one of the two major political groups, or opt for the Third Front. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agreement, alliance, ally, ANI, announcement, assembly, assembly elections, Assembly polls, assembly seats, Aug, bharatiya, bharatiya janata party, bjp, cards, central leadership, chest, Chindwada, Congress, constituency, day, farmer, formula, front, house, Janata, Joshi, leader, leadership, legislator, Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, matrix, MNS, Monday, Mumbai, nationalist congress party, Navnirman, NCP, order, partner, party, political groups, poll, poll managers, raj, Raj Thackeray, saffron, Saffron Alliance, Sanghatana, seat, Sena, Sharad, Sharad Joshi, Shetkari, shiv, shiv sena, state, strategy, Thackeray, third, trouble, unit, vetern

Karzai slammed his karakuli cap on table during explosive meeting with Holbrooke

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug. 31 (ANI): During the recent ‘explosive’ meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karzai is reported to have whipped off his distinctive karakuli cap and slammed it onto the dinner table.

“For an Afghan man to do that, it’s a big gesture,” a local businessman was quoted. “It’s like throwing down the gauntlet,” the Daily Times quoted an Afghan businessman, as saying.

According to reports, Holbrooke suggested holding a second round run-off following reports of massive fraud during the recent presidential elections.

Sources said, Karzai reacted very angrily at Holbrooke’s suggestion and the meeting ended shortly afterwards.

“They were discussing different scenarios and one of them was the possibility of a run-off,” the paper quoted a Karzai insider as saying. “That’s when there was a misunderstanding. There were strong words from both men.”

The Obama administration has not hidden its “disdain” for Karzai for running a corrupt government, the Sunday Times had reported.

US officials had downplayed the row and said they believed “Karzai’s agents leaked a selective version of the meeting to make it look as if he was resisting US pressure to force him to hold a second round when he was already the winner”, the report added.

However, the spokeswoman for the US embassy in Kabul has denied of any such altercation.

She denied reports about Holbrooke storming out of the meeting, and also refused to divulge details of the meeting. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration., afghan, afghan president hamid karzai, altercation, ANI, Aug, businessman, cap, Corrupt Government, daily, dinner, dinner table, disdain, embassy, envoy, following, fraud, gauntlet, gesture, Government, hamid karzai, insider, kabul, karakuli, Lahore, man, Massive Fraud, meeting, misunderstanding, Obama, paper, possibility, President Hamid Karzai, presidential elections, pressure, report, Richard Holbrooke, round, row, scenarios, spokeswoman, suggestion, sunday, Sunday Times, table, Throwing Down The Gauntlet, times, US, Us Embassy In Kabul, version, winner

SC committee: Halt Noida park construction

‘Renee Zellweger meets Bradley Cooper’s parents’

Singaporean teen, 19, sells herself on net to pay for mum’s treatment

Family, friends may affect breast cancer surgery decision

Maruti sells nearly 85,000 vehicles in Aug.2009

Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears show off hot bods on Miami holiday

CCEA reviews prices of essential commodities

Caterpillars damage paddy crop in Jharkhand

‘Ex-Nepal prince involved in fake currency racke’

No leadership role likely for ‘lateral entrants’ in BJP

“Blight” may play spoilsport for farmers’ hope of good crop in Punjab

Migratory birds in arrive Orissa

Supreme Court issues notices to CBI, Kerala Govt on Vijayan case

First round of Indo-Swiss talks on black money to be held in December

Karnataka Housing Minister resigns following defeat in by poll

Three policemen suspended, probe ordered into custodial death in J-K

Reserve Bank engaged in keeping inflation low

BJP- Shiv Sena finalises seat sharing for Maharashtra assembly polls

Karzai slammed his karakuli cap on table during explosive meeting with Holbrooke

Search More News

Technology News

Ads