Wednesday 6 June 2012

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News


Haryana Probes Molestation Charges in Women’s Shelter

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:03 PM PDT

Haryana has announced a high-level committee to probe allegations about  its own officials, who were involved in the exploitation of inmates of a government funded protection home for women and children in Rohtak district.

Roktak is the home town of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The protection home ‘Apna Ghar’ is run by NGO Bharat Vikas Sangh. The shelter for women and children was getting grants amounting to millions of rupees from the state and central governments.

Haryana’s Director General of Police (DGP) Ranjiv S. Dalal told mediapersons that the committee, to be headed by Additional DGP (Law and Order) M.S. Maan, has been constituted to probe allegations that certain Haryana Police officials were involved in the exploitation of the inmates of ‘Apna Ghar’.

The protection home has two units, one for women and teenaged girls and the other for children, both boys and girls.

Some female inmates of the protection home had recently alleged that the in-charge of the place, Jaswanti Devi, had forced some of the girls from the home into immoral activities. Devi was honoured earlier this year with a national award by the central government.

They alleged that they used to be brutally assaulted by the in-charge to force them to go with outsiders, including influential people and even police officials. Some girls alleged that they were sexually exploited several times within and outside the protection home.

The home in-charge was a well-networked person and used to invite VIPs to visit the place.

She was arrested last month along with her son-in-law Jai Bhagwan by the Haryana Police after the activities of the protection home came to the notice of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) which raided the home May 9. Over 100 inmates of the home were rescued.

Dalal said a criminal case against ‘Apna Ghar’ NGO was registered May 10 at Rohtak for molestation, rape, illegal confinement, criminal intimidation and under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Immoral Trafficking Act, Bonded Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act.

The DGP said that if any Haryana Police official was found guilty in the probe in this matter, he would be given “exemplary punishment”.

He said many agencies, including a committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, NCPCR, police and Women and Child Welfare department were investigating the issue ever since the activities came out in the open.

Expressing concern over the alleged exploitation of the children, Dalal said cases of such nature, being very sensitive, should be investigated and tried in a time-bound manner. He said he was shocked to learn that the inmates were even allegedly exploited by police officials.

“The rights of children are sacred to us and we value their rights and they should be protected. The police have very clear rules. Therefore, the guilty would be punished under the law,” he added.

Following the NCPCR raid, the authorities found that some inmates were missing from the home. The NGO in-charge had reportedly given these children away to childless couples from other states.

Asia Pacific crosses the Red Signal of Greenhouse Emission

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 05:57 PM PDT

A UN Report says that Asia Pacific is the largest Emitter of Green House Gases and by 2015 it wound amount to 40 percent of Global Green House Gases.
The fifth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5), launched ahead of the Rio+20 UN Summit on sustainable development, has assessed 90 of the most important environmental goals and found that significant progress had been made only in the case of four objectives.

The assessment was coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

According to the report, rapid economic growth over the past 20 years, particularly in the larger economies in the Asia-Pacific region, has been accompanied by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and degradation of natural capital.

“A business as usual scenario suggests that the region will contribute around 40 percent of global CO2 emissions by 2015,” the report says.

It also states that the world continued to speed down an unsustainable path despite over 500 internationally agreed goals and objectives for sustainable management of the environment and improving human well being.

The goals include eliminating production and use of substances that deplete the ozone layer, removal of lead from fuel, increasing access to improved water supplies and boosting research to reduce pollution of the marine environment.

Some progress was shown in 40 goals, including in the expansion of protected areas such as National Parks, and in efforts to reduce deforestation. However, little or no progress was detected for 24 goals, including those of climate change, drought and desertification.

The report cautions that if humanity does not urgently change its ways, several critical thresholds may be exceeded, beyond which abrupt and generally irreversible changes to the life-support functions of the planet could occur.

“If current trends continue, if current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail and cannot be reversed, then governments will preside over unprecedented levels of damage and degradation,” said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner.

Air India decides to hire new Pilots to continue its Operation

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:51 AM PDT

Air IndiaAir India has decided to  recruit new Pilots and use the existing Trainee pilots to continue its operation after the month old strike of Air India pilots failed to be normalized.

But the Agitating aviators said today that they will not call off their agitation and the airlines’ move will put passengers at risk.

Reacting to the airline’s plans, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) general secretary E.A. Kapadia said that safety is the cornerstone of the aviation industry and Air India’s plan to using trainee pilots will endanger passengers as 430 experienced aviators remain on strike.

“There can be no short cut to the safety of our travelers and it is imperative that no consideration of an alternative that compromises safety is made by the (Air India) management,” Kapadia said.

The IPG secretary general’s reaction came after a silent procession it held simultaneously in Mumbai and New Delhi to create awareness and highlight the pilots’ concerns over the current impasse which went into the second month Wednesday.

Others in the IPG have maintained that they will not end their stir until a minimum of their demands are met.

“We are in it for a long haul. This is our airline too. We have now placed only two demands… recognition of our unions and reinstatement of 101 sacked pilots… After that we are ready to join back and hold discussions with the government,” Rohit Kapahi, committee member of Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), told IANS.

According to other IPG members, the threat not to reinstate the sacked pilots would only further harm the airline as it has spent nearly Rs.400-450 crore on training these 400 pilots, who can in any case join private sector airlines.

“The national carrier has spent nearly Rs.1 crore on training of each of us. This money will not be recovered until and unless the issue is resolved. The private sector will not require to spend this amount on our training and will anyways hire us,” an agitating pilot who did not want to be named told IANS.

“But we are not here for money or anything, we just want our rights to be given to us and a fair and free working environment in Air India,” he added.

The agitating aviators have also taken out protest marches in the national capital and Mumbai.

The development comes as Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh Wednesday said that Air India will go ahead and hire new pilots to tackle the prolonged strike by a section of the pilots.

“Air India has decided to recruit pilots from domestic and international markets. We expect to advertise for the posts soon,” Singh told reporters here.

The airline officials told IANS that they will put out advertisements for a walk-in-interview for pilots with specific skill set.

The hiring process of the new pilots would effectively mean that the 101 pilots who were sacked out of the 400 agitating aviators, would now have to either resign or apply afresh for resuming their post.

“We earlier asked them (pilots) to come back and said that no one will be victimised. We had even given a chance to sacked pilots that they can also come back and we will take them back on a case-by-case basis,” a senior Air India official told IANS.

“But after the process for hiring starts, either they have to come back or apply afresh. We will like to hire more co-pilots, as we already have a pool of well qualified executive pilots.”

According to the official, currently the airline has 90 trainee pilots, of whom 60 are already training and will be available for regular flying in four to five months. The remaining 30 pilots will undergo training immediately.

Airline industry experts feel that it will take nearly five to six months for Air India to fully resume operations to its 27 international destinations as wage negotiations and clearances from the regulator will take nearly three months.

The airline plans to hire nearly 90-100 pilots on contractual basis that ranges from one to three years,depending upon wage agreements.

Sonu Nigam and his Son enthrall audience at Port-of-Spain

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:07 AM PDT

Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam, along with his five-year-old son Nevaan, enthralled the audience at an overflowing Centre of Excellence at Port-of-Spain.

Several thousand people packed the centre Saturday night to see and hear him as he belted out several of his famous tunes from his well-established repertoire which included “Main hoon na”, “Main agar kahoon”, “Salaam-e-ishq” and “Saathiya”.

Nigam held up his five-year-old son, Nevaan, who joined in the chorus.

“This is the first time I ever presented my son to any audience. This is my gift to you, Trinidad. You are the best audience ever,” he told the enthusiastic crowd.

“I feel so much at home. The people here are passionate. This is why my songs are so popular here,” he added.

All seats were sold out and scores of patrons had to stand but they did not mind as they waited to hear Nigam. He utilised every ounce of his stage skills and capability so as not to betray the confidence the Trinidad audience had in him.

Nigam and his band of 24 musicians are currently on a world tour entitled ‘Klose to the Heart’.

Indian entertainers and musicians ensure that Trinidad is always on their travel agenda because of the high proportion of members of the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean island — amounting to over 44 percent of a population of 1.3 million people. Their forefathers were originally sourced from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 1917.

Ironically, this country celebrated the 167th anniversary of the arrival of the first set of East Indians May 30, 2012.

Two of this country’s top entertainers Indar Kanhai and Ravi B were also on the card, and they too caused a stir as they mixed on stage with one of India’s music greats.

According to Kiran Maharaj, managing director of 90.5 Radio which focuses exclusively on Indian programming, the show was part of her organisation’s contribution to Trinidad and Tobago’s 50th anniversary of Independence Aug 31, 2012.

“Nigam is well-loved, respected and admired here,” she added.

Two Girls Top UP Board Class 12 Examination

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 06:34 AM PDT

Two girls from the same college jointly topped the Class 12 exams of the Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Board, results of which were announced Tuesday. Girls outperformed the boys by a margin of over 10 percent.

Overall 95.52 percent girls passed the exams while the pass percentage of boys was 84.73 percent.

According to board officials, two girls – Abhilasha Yagya Saini and Apoorva Verma – students of Maharani Laxmi Bai Memorial College in Barabanki, 30 km from here, scored 96.20 percent and stood the joint first.

The overall pass percentage this year was 89.40, officials told IANS. Ashutosh Singh of Lucknow scored 89.40 percent and stood third in the merit list.

A total of 27,82,790 students appeared for the intermediate exams this year – 64,000 more than last year.

Gangs of Wasseypur not fit for Kids says Director Anurag Kashyap

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 06:16 AM PDT

Gangs of WasseypurBollywood director Anurag Kashyap is not worried about getting an ‘A’ (adult) certificate for his film “Gangs of Wasseypur”, and says the film is not at all for children.

“The film has not gone to the censor board as yet. It is ‘A’ (adult) film and it will be an ‘A’ film only. But, of course, we want it to go without any cuts,” he said at the music launch for the film here Tuesday.

Directed and produced by Kashyap, the film stars Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Chadda and Huma Qureshi in pivotal roles. The movie was recently screened at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Kashyap had accompanied his team to the festival and said that the best compliment he got was that his film would be liked by all.

“We got a lot of compliments but the best one was that everyone in the world will understand the film and everyone will like to watch it,” he said.

Even though the content of the film is for adults, Kashyap is not insecure about losing audience. “All films are not for kids. This film is not at all for children. Adult audiences will come to watch it for sure,” he added.

The music of the film has been composed by Sneha Khanwalker.

“We only had one thing in mind that the music should be like the film. People like the songs, so we have done the right thing. After a longtime ‘desi’ songs have come and that’s why people are liking it,” he said.

Mumbai calls for ban on Shanghai song Bharat Mata ji Jai

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 05:07 AM PDT

The Mumbai unit of the Congress party Tuesday called for a ban on the song ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ featured in a forthcoming Bollywood movie “Shanghai”, saying it hurts patriotic sentiments and degrades India.

In a letter addressed to union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni, Mumbai Congress vice-president Charan Singh Sapra has contended that the content of the entire song is an insult to all countrymen who respect India as their motherland.

Hence it is very likely to inflame the feelings of all Indians, resulting in disharmony, rioting, breach of peace and tranquility within the country, Sapra said.

The song contains controversial words like Sarkari Hathiyaar, Dhandha, Chanda, Dengue, Malaria, Gobar (cowdung), which Sapra alleged are deliberately used to defame the country.

Such defaming language has been used despite the full knowledge that the same shall definitely wound the patriotic feelings and sentiments of the people, besides ridiculing and degrading India in the eyes of the world, he urged.

Sapra has sought an immediate and total ban on the song from being broadcast/telecast in any manner, deleting it from the movie and to fix accountability and initiate action against the concerned censor board officials who cleared the offensive number.

Based on the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos, “Shanghai” is a political thriller directed by D. Banerjee and stars Emraan Hashmi and Abhay Deol and is slated for release this Friday (June 8).

Bollywood set to rock 13th IIFA Awards at Singapore

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 04:00 AM PDT

IIFA Awards 2012Singapore: Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Bipasha Basu as well as young guns like Sonakshi Sinha and Abhay Doel  are set to rock at the 13th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend and awards starting this Thursday.

There’s lots more – the evergreen Rekha, effervescent couple Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, maverick filmmaker Ramesh Sippy and a whole gamut of filmmakers, writers, actors and singers will enthrall film fans at the three-day cine event.

As Bollywood head towards serving the youth last year, this edition of IIFA is focussed at providing a platform to new and fresh talent, says Sabbas Joseph, director of organisers Wizcraft International Entertainment.

“The freshness in this year’s edition, is across multiple perspectives. It is a much younger approach, something that represents the youth of the country on global platform,” Joseph told IANS.

True to its approach, the gala will see young and budding talent taking centrestage. Shahid and Farhan Akhtar are set to entertain the audience with their wit and humour as the hosts of the glitzy awards ceremony.

The pre-finale celebrations will include a race on Singapore’s F1 track co-inciding with the promotions of “Ferrari Ki Sawaari”.

Writers like Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi, composer Shantanu Moitra and filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will host music workshops, where they will discuss what goes behind creating music for a Bollywood film.

The other highlights include a world premiere of Dibakar Banerjee’s “Shanghai”. Also, excerpts of Neha Dhupia-Sonu Sood starrer “Maximum” and Kamal Hassan’s “Vishwaroopam” will also be showcased during the weekend.

IIFA Rocks, a fashion and musical night, featuring designers like Masaba Gupta, Suneet Varma and Varun Bahl, will be held a day before the main award function.

VJ-turned-actor Ayushmann Khurrana and actress Chitrangada Singh have been roped in to host IIFA Rocks, where new kids on the block — Nargis Fakhri, Zoa Morani, Aditi Rao Hydari and Shazahn Padamsee will take to the ramp as showstoppers.

The awards night Saturday will witness star-studded performances by Shahid, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha and Ranbir Kapoor. What’s more? The dances are choreographed by Indian Michael Jackson Prabhu Deva.

Other Bollywood stars expected to attend the event include Vidya Balan, Preity Zinta, Malaika Arora Khan, Rani Mukerji, Parineeti Chopra, Dia Mirza, Emraan Hashmi and Anil Kapoor.

Indo-Japan joint Naval Exercise from June 9

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:57 AM PDT

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) announced Tuesday that it will take part in joint naval exercises with the Indian Navy June 9.

The exercises will take place in Sagami Bay, Kanagawa prefecture, Xinhua reported.

The report said Japan and India have taken part in multilateral exercises previously, but this would be the first bilateral drill.

Local media said the Indian Navy has sent four vessels to Japan — a destroyer, a supply ship, a frigate ship and a corvette. All vessels arrived at the JMSDF’s Yokosuka base Tuesday.

The Japanese side includes two destroyers, a rescue aircraft and a patrol helicopter.

Google Acquires Mobile Office Suite Quickoffice

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:23 AM PDT

Google has  announced that it has acquired mobile office software company Quickoffice. ”Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we’ll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite,” said Google in its official blog.

Details of the acquisition were not disclosed, Xinhua reported.

We’re happy to announce that we have acquired Quickoffice, a leader in office productivity solutions.

Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we’ll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite.

Quickoffice has a strong base of users, and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience.

“We’re excited to welcome the Quickoffice team and their users to Google” said, Alan Warren, Engineering Director, Google

Launched in 1997, Quickoffice provides mobile office document software for devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems, allowing users to open, view and edit Microsoft Office files with complete document data integrity.

The company said its product has been downloaded on 300 million devices so far in 180 countries.

Analysts said Google may release its own mobile office software suite as Microsoft appears to hold back Office from other mobile platforms, rather than its Windows 8.

Quickoffice is Google’s second major acquisition this week. On Monday, the search giant announced that it had purchased the instant messaging firm Meebo.

According to an earlier report by technology news site AllThingsD, the price Google paid for Meebo is about $100 million.

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