Politics

RSS Chief calls India a 'Hindu Rashtra', Politicos condemn

New Delhi, Dec 21 (ANI): Politicos on Sunday condemned RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat after he described India as a 'Hindu rashtra' and made a strong pitch for Hindu awakening. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that he agreed with Bhagwat's statement. However, Congress leader Rashid Alvi slamming Bhagwat said that RSS leaders are harming the nation's peace. JD (U) leader Ali Anwar and CPI leader D Raja also expressed similar sentiments.

Dec 21, 2014

UN Chief Ban Ki- Moon pledges to stand with Ebola-hit countries

Guinea/ Mali, Dec 21 (ANI): United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon visited Guinea and cautioned that much remained to be done to wipe out Ebola in the West African country. During his visit to the Guinean capital, Ban said that joint national, regional and global efforts have significantly slowed the spread of the deadly virus and pledged to support Guinea in its fight against the disease. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan reminded representatives from donor nations that back in May the Guinean government had reported no Ebola cases, and emphasized the importance of community engagement. During a press conference alongside Guinean President Alpha Conde, Ban offered the help of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). Ban and Conde, accompanied by Chan, as well as his Special Envoy for Ebola, David Nabarro, and the head of UNMEER, Anthony Banbury, later visited an Ebola facility run by the French military. Flying on to Mali later, Ban met with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in Bamako.

Dec 21, 2014

Four workers die in petrochemical factory premises of Assam

Dibrugarh, Dec 21 (ANI): Four workers of a petrochemical factory, Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), in Assam died due to suffocation after they went inside a tank filled with nitrogen gas. The incident took place when the workers shouted due to shortage of oxygen while working in the tank. The workers were taken to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead. The incident angered thousands of co-workers who vandalised the company’s premises and tried to set it on fire. Police tried to control the situation and resorted to baton charge. Meanwhile, Central Industry Security Force personnel also pushed mediapersons, who were present during the incident, out of the factory’s premises.

Dec 21, 2014

Monkey saves electrocuted friend at Kanpur railway station

Kanpur, Dec 21 (ANI): In a heroic act, a monkey saved life of another monkey who fell unconscious after being electrocuted in Kanpur. The monkey was electrocuted while walking on high tension wires in city’s railway station. It fell down on the tracks and appeared dead. The monkey tried to resuscitate the unconscious one for several minutes by biting and dipping him in the water on the tracks. After almost 15-20 minutes the electrocuted monkey showed signs of life and started moving a bit. Lots of people were seen standing on the platform and taking videos and pictures in their mobile phones.

Dec 21, 2014

School Children from India writes letter to Pak PM Nawaz Sharif over rising militancy

Vadodara, Dec 21 (ANI): Around 700 school children wrote a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urging him to take action against militants in the wake of Taliban school attack in Peshawar city earlier this week, in which 132 children were killed. Hundreds of schoolchildren from the Vadodara city of Gujarat were seen writing letters to Sharif. The Taliban, waging war against Pakistan in order to topple the government and set up an Islamic state, immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly school attack. After the attack, the Taliban declared that all of those children deserved to die because they were part of the military establishment. A student, Sheikh Noor Begum said that in her letter she requested to the Pakistan PM to stop militancy and expected that with the help of these letters he will be further forced to act.

Dec 21, 2014

Politicos react after another BJP leader caught on video tape using threatening words

Jaipur, Dec 21 (ANI): Politicos reacted on Sunday after another BJP leader was caught on a video tape using threatening words. The video showed BJP MLA from Ladpura in Kota, Bhawani Singh Rajawat, wooing and threatening voters during the recent local bodies’ elections. State BJP President Ashok Parnami, reacting over the incident, said that he has no knowledge of any such video and incase any such surfaces then investigation will be carried out in the matter and appropriate action will be taken. Congress leader Archana Sharma, however, accused BJP of accepting unprecedented mandate with arrogance. Earlier on Friday, BJP MLA Prahlad Gunjal was suspended from the party after being caught allegedly threatening the Kota district CMHO over phone.

Dec 21, 2014

Three killed, four injured in IED blast in Imphal

Imphal, Dec 21 (ANI): Three persons were killed and four were injured near bus depot in Khuyathong area of Imphal on Sunday morning after an IED blast. Four people are injured and one person's condition is critical. Immediately after the blast, police officials and forensic experts rushed at the spot to investigate the incident. Police said the IED planted by the roadside near Imphal market exploded killing three labourers and injuring four others. The injured have been rushed to the nearby RIMS hospital. All the dead and injured are all non-local migrant labors, including one from Nagaland. Further details are awaited.

Dec 21, 2014

Amitabh Bachchan meets PM Modi in Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 21 (ANI): Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Bachchan has been the brand ambassador of Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Both were dressed in white Indian ethnic clothes ‘Kurta-Pyjamas’ and wrapped themselves in stole to beat the winter chill that engulfed the capital. “Shri Amitabh Bachchan met the Prime Minister,” read a post on the Twitter handle @PMOIndia, along with a photograph of the two of them. Soon after the meeting, Modi put up a photo of the meeting on his Facebook page. On October 29, Bachchan swept streets in Mumbai as part of the ‘Clean India’ (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) drive launched by Modi.

Dec 21, 2014

Bengaluru boys live heart travels for 45 minutes to save Russian childs life in Chennai

Bengaluru/ Chennai, Dec 21 (ANI): Heart of a two-year-old brain dead boy was airlifted from Karnataka and transplanted in another boy in Tamil Nadu. The boy, who was declared brain dead in Bengaluru’s Manipal hospital could not see the light of the world for many days, donated his heart to a Russian boy at a tender age of two. In spite of being distraught after losing his only child, father of the donor, Amit Upadhyay said he wanted to donate organ of his kid. Meanwhile, the Russian kid needed a healthy heart in Chennai city. The authorities of Manipal Hospital then came into action and informed the zonal coordination committee of Karnataka. The committee then came in contact with Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai and the heart was airlifted through a chartered flight. The surgery lasted for nearly eight hours and was successful.

Dec 21, 2014

India exports first warship to Mauritius

Kolkata, Dec 21 (ANI): India for the first time exported an indigenous warship, ‘Barracuda’, to Mauritius. The 1,300-tonnes ship was made by Garden Reach Shipyard & Engineers Limited. The offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is the first order ever received by India from another country. Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh handed over Barracuda to Mauritius at Kolkata dock and congratulated the shipyard for delivering the ship on time. He further said that they have received two orders from Sri Lanka for OPV, which are being developed in Goa shipyard. The vessel is capable of delivering a top speed of 22.5 knots (42 kilometres an hour).

Dec 21, 2014

Pakistan to challenge bail to Lakhvi: Abdul Basit

New Delhi, Dec 21 (ANI): Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit said that mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks was put under house arrest immediately after a court granted him bail. Pakistani prosecutors are to appeal against a court decision to grant bail to a man accused of plotting a militant assault that killed 166 people and seriously strained ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours. The decision on Thursday to grant bail to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi came two days after Pakistan's worst ever militant attack in a school in Peshawar city. Basit said that the Pakistani government will challenge court’s order. The Pakistani government appeared to have been taken by surprise by the court decision and state prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar said it would be challenged.

Dec 21, 2014

Hosiery industry cheers winters as sales pick up

Ludhiana, Dec 20 (ANI): The onset of winters has brought cheers to India's largest hosiery industry in Ludhiana city, which was battling a huge stockpile of its unsold inventory. As temperatures have dipped to sub-zero levels in several north Indian states, this hosiery manufacturing hub in Punjab is witnessing a jump in sales. Owners say they hope to clear unsold stocks now. Ludhiana accounts for nearly 90 percent of the country's woolen hosiery industry and employs 400,000 people. The hosiery goods of Ludhiana are not just popular in domestic market but are also in great demand in Europe, Dubai, America and Russia as well. The hosiery industry is likely to surpass China in a race for global expansion as French buyers prefer Indian products over Chinese products.

Dec 21, 2014