Karnataka HC stays 2yrs ban on Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna

Sep 22
The Karnataka High Court has stayed the ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna imposed by the All India Tennnis Association. Justice Mohan Shanthanagoudar pronounced the interim stay on the ban after hearing the petition filed by both the players. The court has also sent a notice to AITA about the stay order, and said that they can reply to the same.

The Tennis Association had not selected them to represent the country in any capacity over the next two years for their refusal to partner Leander Paes in this year’s London Olympics.

World Veteran Wrestling C’ship : Kartar Singh wins in 97 kg category

Sep 22
Indian Wrestler Kartar Singh has created history by winning the title in 97 kilogram category for the 16th time in the World Veteran Wrestling Championship, presently on at Budhapest, Hungary.

Office Secretary of Punjab Wrestling Association, Pawan Kumar has informed that Kartar Singh won the title by defeating wrestler J. Detmar of Austria in just 2.20 minutes. Padamshri Kartar Singh, who is presently serving as Inspector General in Punjab Police has represented India four consecutive times in Olympics. He has won two Golds and One Silver in Asian Games also.

Sept 14- HINDI DIVAS

Amritsar: Various institutions including schools and banks here celebrated Hindi Diwas with great fervor on Friday. The staff and students of Spring Dale Senior School, celebrated Hindi Diwas by showcasing cultural programmes, poetry recitation and plays marked the celebration organized in the school premises.
"Hindi is our mother tongue. It is a scientific language. In our thirst for exploring new horizons of knowledge and learning new languages, we should not forget our mother tongue," was the message given by students of the school. Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Principal of school informed students that on September 14, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India unanimously resolved that Hindi would be the national language of India.

"At the recommendation of the Committee on National Language, September 14 is observed as Hindi Diwas annually in the entire country," he added. Branch Manager , Union Bank of India, Majith Mandi said they also held a special function in bank and encouraged their staff and clients to use Hindi language.
Meanwhile National Cadets Corps Naval Unit at Khalsa College celebrated the Environment Week in which hundreds of saplings were planted and talks were held on the need of saving environment through such kinds of 'green initiative'. Principal of the College, Dr.Daljit Singh emphasized on planting more and more trees and appreciated the drive undertaken by the NCC.

New species 'blind-snake' found near Amazon river-bed

In an exciting new discovery, biologists have identified six unattractive blind snakes each a meter long at the bottom of a river-bed in Brazil. Engineers working on hydroelectric dam in Rondonia on the Madeira river connected to the Amazon, found this unique creature christened 'atretochoana eiselti', the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The creature neither has eyes nor colorful scales like other snakes, and scientists believe it is closely related to salamanders and frogs family. "Of the six we collected, one died, three were released back into the wild and another two were kept for studies," Biologist Julian Tupan was quoted as saying by the paper Found near the mouth of Amazon river, this snake-like reptile survives in warm and fast-flowing water, and scientists confirmed that this rare creature has only been spotted sporadically since it was first spotted in 1968.

"Despite looking like snakes, they aren't reptiles and are more closely related to salamanders and frogs," he confirmed.

It was first discovered in South America in 1968, but was only discovered on the island of Mosquiro last year. "We think the animal breathes through its skin, and probably feeds on small fish and worms, but there is still nothing proven," Tupan said.

Film 'Barfi' nominated for Oscars

Sep 23
Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra starrer Hindi film - Barfi has been nominated as Indian's entry to the Oscars next year in the foreign film category. A love story of a deaf and mute boy set in the fairy-tale world of 1970s Darjeeling has been directed by Anurag Basu. The story revolves around Barfi, a poor but lovable deaf and mute boy, who lives a happy life despite his disability. Secretory General of Film Federation of India, Supran Sen said, Barfi beat 19 other films to represent India at the Oscars. Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur Part I and II, Gattu, Jalpari and Dirty Picture were among those short listed for the nomination.

Experessing happiness over the development, lead actor of Barfi, Ranbir Kapoor said it was due to team effort. He said, the movie has still to cover much distance before getting into the final round. Only three films --Mehboob Khan's Mother India, Mira Nair's Salam Bombay' and Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan-- from India have managed to get to the final round of Oscar nominations so far. The 85th Academy Awards will take place on February 24, 2013.

BSNL launches India's first High quality Video Call Office in Ahmedabad

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched India's first High quality Video Call Office (VCO) in Ahmedabad. With this launch, the BSNL has become the first Telecom Service Provider in the country to take such an initiative to offer high quality Video calling service to the common man.

Google emerges as world's most attractive employer

Google continues to be a hot favourite for career seekers as the company has emerged as the world's most attractive employer, for the fourth consecutive year, says a survey.
According to global employer branding firm Universum's global talent attraction index 'The World's Most Attractive Employers 2012', Google has retained the top position in both categories -- business and engineering -- for the fourth year in a row.

Hindu Marriage Act in Bangladesh

Aiming to provide legal and social protection to Hindu women from marriage-related cheating, the Bangladesh Parliament has passed the Hindu marriage registration law.

Passed on September 18, the law, first of its kind, has kept the provision of marriage registration optional. The mover of the bill, Qamrul Islam, State Minister for Law, Justice and parliamentary Affairs, said the government framed the act in the absence of any such regulation.

The ‘Hindu Marriage Registration Bill-2012’ authorises government authorities to appoint a Hindu Marriage Registrar at every ward and upzilla across the country. The registrar will not register marriage of a woman below 18 years of age and a man under 21 years.

Goa to shut down mines polluting Selaulim dam

Panaji, Sept. 20: 

The Goa Government has finally resolved to shut down the mines pouring manganese and iron ore in the Selaulim reservoir, the source of potable water for 55 per cent of the State’s population.

The State will have to shut down the mines operating within the river zone of Selaulim dam, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told presspersons yesterday.

“We have to stop all mines pouring in material (iron ore and manganese) in Selaulim reservoir,” Parrikar said.

Situated about 100 km south of Panaji in Sanguem taluka, Selaulim dam has 19 mining leases operating within a few kilometers of its periphery.

These mines were permitted based on the wrong facts provided to get environment clearances (from the Union Environment and Forest Ministry), he said adding that they have dumped the ore along the Selaulim dam, which is washed in the reservoir.

“Our report indicates at least 15 feet of the usage section of the storage is already filled with mud, that is more serious,” the Chief Minister conceded.

Recently, the manganese content in Selaulim water had reached alarming levels. The state PWD had admitted that it was six times higher than permissible levels.

Parrikar said although manganese content in the reservoir has increased, there is nothing to worry about.

“All manganese compounds are not soluble in water and though the content is there, it is free floating,” he said.

“The chemical manganese which can be absorbed in the stomach is within control,” Parrikar added.

Environmentalists in the State claim they had warned it about the serious effect of the mining operation on Selaulim dam some years back.

Environmentalist Ramesh Gawas said the situation at the reservoir has turned from bad to worse, with illegal mines mushrooming around it.

Incidentally, the area around the dam is a part of the Netravali wildlife sanctuary, where mining has to be completely banned.

The Justice M. B. Shah commission, a judicial panel which has done an extensive study of Goa’s iron ore industry, said they have identified three mines around the Selaulim dam area covering 83 hectares, operating since 2003 and working without valid mining leases.

IRDA issues draft IPO norms for general insurance companies

General insurance companies will be allowed to tap the capital market only if they have completed 10 years in business. Also, they need to get prior approval from the insurance regulatory.

“No general insurance company shall approach SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) for public issue of shares and for any subsequent issue, by whatsoever name called, under the ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) regulations without the specific previous written approval of the authority concerned,’’ said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in its draft guidelines for IPO (initial public offer) by general insurance companies. Titled the “IRDA (Issuance of Capital by General Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2012’’, these will come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette.

The guidelines will cover divestment by promoters either through the issue of capital under ICDR Regulations or via divestment of equity by one or more of the promoters through a public offer for sale under the ICDR Regulations.

According to the draft guidelines, the approval granted by IRDA for an IPO will have a validity of one year. The applicant company has to file the draft red herring prospectus with the SEBI within that one year.

The IRDA will also “reserve the right not to accord its approval if, in its opinion, the applicant company is not compliant with the regulatory framework; or where it may be detrimental to the interest of the policy-holders; or it may not be in the interest of the insurance business in the country.”

While granting approval for the IPO, the IRDA will consider the financial health, the regulatory records, IPO proposal per se, the capital structure post-issue and the purpose of capital-raising programme of the applicant company.

The IRDA will also prescribe the lock-in period for the promoters from the date of allotment of shares. Also, the insurance regulator will also specify the extent of promoters’ dilution, and the share allotment to foreign investors. The draft guidelines also prescribe additional disclosures by the applicant company in the prospectus and offer documents. These are risk factors specific to the insurance business.

The insurance regulator has asked the general insurance companies to come out with their views on the draft guidelines by the end of this month.

DEITY unveils internet search engine based on Indian languages

 Sandhan can find response to queries on website in Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.
The search engine user has the facility to submit a query either with the help of in-script keyboard or phonetic keyboard and in case of in-script keyboard, user can type using the keyboard or onscreen keyboard can be used to submit a query to the system, the statement said.
It has been developed by 120 researchers of 12 institutions over a period of 6 years led by Pushpak Bhattacharya under the supervision of Technology Development for Indian Languages at DEITY, the statement said.
"It has the capability to process the query based on its language and retrieves results only from that language," it added.
The search engine Sandhan is a mission mode project of a consortium of academic and research institutions, and industry partners lead by IIT Bombay.
The members of the consortium include CDAC Noida, IIT Kharagpur, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Anna University, CDAC Pune, Indian Institute of Information Technology among others, the statement said.
The search engine can display ten results at a time to the user to increase the readability, it added.

India, UK aim to encourage urban regeneration

Union Minister of Urban Development Kamal Nath and Dr. Vince Cable, the British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, signed the MoU on Urban Regeneration and Development in London.

Speaking on the occasion, Nath expressed appreciation of the urban regeneration works carried out in London and felt that India could benefit from the British experience.

The Minister also highlighted the immense challenges and opportunities in the urban sector in India.

He informed that India would soon launch the next phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and that the Government of India is keen to encourage Public Private Partnership (PPP) in urban sector especially in larger cities.

He invited the international firms including British firms to participate in the process.

Nath stated that both India and Britain would benefit from the MoU, as it would provide an enabling platform for the officials, professionals and business leaders to meet and share knowledge and best practices in the urban sector.

He expressed the hope that this joint declaration would lead to enhanced cooperation and deepen the engagement between the two countries.

The MoU envisages promotion of cooperation in the areas of sustainable master planning; transport planning; land economics; heritage management; regeneration governance; Regeneration capacity building and public private partnership financing arrangements.

Nath also participated in a business roundtable organized by the UK India Business Council.

The roundtable was attended by leading infrastructure companies such as Aecom, Arup, Balfour Beatty Plc, HOK, JCB, Mott MacDonald etc.

Pak govt. to revoke AG’s letter seeking closure of Zardari graft cases

In a move perceived as providing the judiciary and executive some breathing space in the case that has put them on collision course, the federal government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it would withdraw the 2007 vintage letter to the Swiss authorities asking for closure of graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

This undertaking was given by Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf when he appeared before the apex court for the second time since he assumed office on June 22. He told the court that the government would withdraw the letter written by then Attorney General Malik Qayum following the promulgation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) – an amnesty law introduced by the Musharraf regime in 2007.

The Court has now given the government time till September 25 to present a draft of the letter that will be written to the Swiss authorities seeking revocation of Mr. Qayum’s letter. Also, the court has exempted the premier from the next hearing in the NRO implementation case as the task of writing the letter has now been entrusted to the federal law minister.

Though there was no clarity on how the government’s decision would affect Mr. Zardari, early indications are that he will not be troubled much as there have been reports in the past of Swiss law mandating a certain time frame for reopening of cases which expires sometime this month.

Since the court annulled the NRO in 2009, the issue of writing the letter to the Swiss authorities has been hanging fire with the federal government refusing to write it on the premise that Mr. Zardari enjoyed presidential immunity. The matter also resulted in the ouster of former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani who was held in contempt of court and disqualified from membership of the National Assembly for five years for refusing to write the letter.

Mr. Ashraf succeeded him anticipating a similar fate but the last couple of months have seen both sides pull back just a wee bit to give the other some scope for recalibrating their positions. Mr. Ashraf last appeared in court as premier on August 27 in response to the decision to initiate contempt proceedings against him. However, the Court accepted his plea for more time to formulate his response.

Lawyers maintained that Mr. Ashraf's non-combative demeanour as opposed to the position taken by Mr. Gilani made it easier for the Court to take a slightly lenient attitude towards him. Even if contempt proceedings are initiated against him if the Government further delays writing the letter, the dominant view is that Mr. Ashraf may not go his predecessor's way as he has never spoken out against the Court in public and the judiciary itself may not be inclined to upset the apple cart once again; that, too, in the last six months of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led regime.

European weather satellite Metop-B launched into orbit

        (The Metop-B launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan)

A new European weather satellite was blasted into orbit from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on a Soyuz rocket on Monday.
Metop-B is set to play a vital part in scientists' plans to monitor weather patterns and climate change. It will sweep over the poles, orbiting the Earth once every 100 minutes at a height of 500 miles.
Its instruments will make detailed measurements of sea-surface temperatures, wind patterns, trace gases in the atmosphere, humidity and other variables.
Alain Ratier, director general of the Eumetsat agency, which built the satellite, said: "Our ability to make accurate weather forecasts is vital to Europe. More than a third of our industry is weather dependent. That is why Metop-B is important, for it is estimated that almost €5bn a year is saved to European industry thanks to the information that is provided by weather satellites."
After a nervous wait of more than two hours, controllers announced that the craft's solar panels – which will provide the power for Metop-B's five-year mission – had successfully deployed. "This is the first part of a real success for European meteorology," said Ernst Koenemann, director of programmes for Eumetsat.

Colombia drug baron Barrera captured in Venezuela

Daniel Barrera, known as "Crazy Barrera", was captured in San Cristobal across the border from Colombia with the help of Venezuelan, British and US intelligence agencies.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos described him as "perhaps the most wanted kingpin in recent times".
Colombia is one of the world's main producers of cocaine.
Cocaine 'legend' Mr Barrera's criminal empire delivered cocaine not only to the US but around the world, especially to Europe.
The reward offered for his capture in the US was $5m (£3m) - the same as Osama Bin Laden. Colombia added $2.7m to that.
The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says the trafficker was a legend in the cocaine business, not only for his longevity but also for his ability to work with all sides in Colombia's 48-year civil conflict.
"He has dedicated 20 years to doing bad things to Colombia and the world, all types of crime, perverse alliances with paramilitaries, with the Farc [rebel group]," President Santos said in a televised speech.
Daniel Barrera's arrest was the third detention of an alleged Colombian drug baron over the past year.
In June, Venezuelan authorities captured the alleged head of the Los Rajostros drug cartel, Diego Perez Henao, better known as Diego Rastrojo.
His gang has become a major exporter of cocaine to the US via Mexico in recent years, according to police.
Perez Henao is said to have controlled half the members of the paramilitary criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking in Colombia.
The cartel's previous leader, Javier Antonio Calle Serna, handed himself to US authorities on the island of Aruba in May.
He is accused of the murder in 2008 of Wilber Varela, a Colombian drugs baron whose drug-smuggling routes he supposedly took over.

Ccenter for politics and public policy by 'The Hindu'

On the occasion of the 134th anniversary of the founding of this newspaper, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., publishers of The Hindu group of newspapers, have pleasure in announcing the launch of The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy – to encourage research and discussion on critical political and public policy issues.

The Hindu played a historic role as an influential voice in the freedom movement and in the formation of independent India. The founding spirit of The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy is the firm belief that as independent India enters its 65th year, the publishers of The Hindu can help revitalise the faith of the Indian public in democratic politics. We do believe that The Hindu group, with its strong public presence over more than a century and its important contribution to nation-building, is especially well placed to start an institution of this kind.

A major goal for The Hindu Centre is to look at the governing vision over the last several decades since Independence and to revisit the fundamental formulations of the Indian Constitution, be it on pluralism, federalism, linguistic states, or regional autonomy and to see whether parts of this governing vision need to be updated to address the intense challenges facing the country today. The idea is that over a time frame of five to ten years at the least, on a number of issues that are part of the public discourse in India today, whether on secularism, linguistic states, federalism, regional movements, caste consolidation, insurgencies like the Maoist movement, the failure to subdue secessionist impulses such as in Kashmir, the Centre can contribute valuably to an understanding of the complex problems.

The Hindu Centre will be guided by an Advisory Board comprising eminent scholars and public intellectuals: Zoya Hasan, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and CEO, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi; Gurcharan Das, management expert, author, and commentator on public affairs; and Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago.

The Board of Management will comprise N. Ram, N. Ravi, and Malini Parthasarathy. Malini Parthasarathy will be the Director of the Centre.

Among the activities of The Hindu Centre will be:

* Sponsoring and guiding research on significant issues of politics and public policy by awarding year-long Fellowships to scholars to conduct research and provide reports on long-term political and constitutional issues requiring further exploration.

* Engaging public policy scholars to study specific current policy issues over a shorter time frame and come up with reports that will be fed into the public domain periodically.

* Providing a platform for dialogue and discussion through hosting seminars and workshops involving leading political scientists, leaders, and activists working towards a resolution of intractable issues. Where appropriate, The Hindu Centre will host ‘Track-Two’ type dialogues and seminars on internal conflicts that will seek to increase public understanding of the disputes that remain thorny points in our political discourse — such as understanding the alienation of the Kashmir Valley, the intensifying ethnic-cultural conflicts in the Northeast, and the continuing Maoist insurgency.

* From time to time, hosting lectures by leading public figures and political philosophers to raise the awareness of the general public as to their rights as citizens and stakeholders in the democratic process.

The outcome of the Centre’s research and programmes will be made available at its website, which will be updated frequently and provide in itself a lively platform for exchanges with the wider public.

The Centre will start its activities at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600002, the home of The Hindu since 1939, on a date to be announced in due course.

The U.S. Marines conducted their first test flights of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Japan after months of protests over safety concerns

 

TOKYO - The U.S. Marines conducted their first test flights of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Japan on Friday after months of protests over safety concerns.
The hybrid aircraft can take off like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. Flight operations were conducted at a base in southern Japan where they are temporarily deployed before being transferred to Okinawa.
Protesters held up signs opposing the deployment while the test flights were under way.
Following two recent crashes, tens of thousands of Okinawans have protested the deployment, saying that they are not safe to fly in Okinawa's crowded environment.
But Japan's central government gave the green light for operations to begin this week after a visit by U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who said Washington is confident in the safety of the aircraft. The planes are to head to Okinawa this month.
Japanese media reported that a man who defaced a monument at the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park claimed he did so because he was upset over the Osprey deployment. The reports said the man had been drunk and was arrested on suspicion of vandalism.
Calls to Hiroshima police were not answered late Friday. The red paint that was sprayed onto the cenotaph for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing has been removed.

Andhra Pradesh Government decided to set up 15 Marine Police Stations

The Andhra Pradesh state government on 19 September 2012 decided to set up 15 marine police stations along its coastline in addition to the existing six ones. The decision was taken in a bid to beef up security along the 974 km long coastline of the state.
The government also decided to appoint special police officers(SPOs) in coastal villages. Police sources said marine police will conduct patrolling in the deep sea within their jurisdiction in coordination with the Coast Guard, but SPOs will play a major role and keep a constant watch on the coastline activities in their villages.

Nepal Army and U.S. Military to conduct joint humanitarian assistance operations

The Nepal Army and the United States military, led by the United States Pacific Air Forces, will conduct joint humanitarian assistance operations starting on 10 September in Pokhara.

Operation Pacific Angel Nepal is a six-day project that will include medical, optometry, and construction programs as well as various subject-matter expert Exchanges, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy, Nepal.

The release further added that approximately 150 Nepali and U.S. military personnel and Project HOPE doctors, along with local non-governmental organizations and military doctors from Australia and Mongolia, will support this operation to help improve the health and quality of life for Nepali communities and enhance regional cooperation, stability and security.

Since 2007, the U.S. military, together with host nation military personnel throughout the Asia-Pacific region, have improved the lives of tens of thousands of people through Operation Pacific Angel.

This is the first time Operation Pacific Angel has been held in Nepal.

This year, Pacific Angel has also been conducted in Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines, the U.S. Embassy said.

Govt working with World Bank to set up CSR institute

Hyderabad, Sept.18: 

The Centre is negotiating with the World Bank to set up a CSR Institute in the country. A decision on this is likely soon, according to D.R.S. Choudhary, Secretary, Steel.

By setting up such an institute, the Government will seek to engage various private sector entities in corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The country has many examples of CSR initiatives including those of the Tatas and NMDC. Some of these initiatives were ahead of their time, he said.