2014, ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 31, ഞായറാഴ്‌ച

Two Keralites killed in Tamil Nadu

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CHENNAI: Two Keralites were killed in an accident in Tamil Nadu.

They have been identified as Thomson and Jibson, natives of Kannur. The accident happened when the car in which they were travelling in collided with a lorry at Dharmapuri.

The accident happened Sunday morning at 6 am.

Ten pilgrims killed in mishap

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JODHPUR: Ten pilgrims were killed and 34 others injured, 16 of them seriously, when a bus carrying them collided head-on with a truck in Pali district on Sunday.
The bus carrying pilgrims from different villages of Udaipur was returning from the shrine of Baba Ramdeo near Pokhran when the mishap took place, district magistrate (Pali) Rohit Gupta said.
"When the bus was passing through Manida village on the Pali-Udaipur bypass at about 6am, it collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction", said Gupta.
The accident took place apparently as the driver of one of the vehicles dozed off at the wheel, an official said.
While six passengers died on the spot, four others died on way to the hospital.
"We have rushed 16 passengers, who were seriously injured, to Jodhpur and others have been admitted to the Bangar Hospital in Pali itself," Gupta said.
The Pali administration has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 50,000 each for the next of the kin of the deceased from the chief minister's Relief Fund.
The bus was carrying about 45 passengers. While the driver of the truck was missing after the accident, the bus driver was killed in the accident.

Court grants man divorce over wife's demand for excessive sex

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MUMBAI: A man, who sought separation from his wife alleging that she was aggressive and autocratic with an insatiable appetite for sex, was granted divorce by a family court here.

"Due to respondent's (wife's) non-appearance before the court, the petitioner's (husband's) evidence remains unchallenged on record. Hence this court has no option but to accept his evidence as it is and he is entitled to a decree of divorce as prayed," Principal Judge of family court, Laxmi Rao ruled in a recent order.

The husband had approached the family court in January, saying that his wife was "adamant, aggressive, stubborn and autocratic" and would pick up quarrels for no reason.

The man, in his petition told the court that she was showing an "excessive and insatiable desire for sex" and harassed him since their marriage in April 2012.

He also alleged that she administered him medicines and also forced him to consume liquor.

The husband alleged that she used to force him into having unnatural sex and whenever he tried to resist it, she would abuse him following which he had to succumb to her pressure and persistent demands.

He told the court that he worked in three shifts leaving him very tired, and even then he was compelled to satisfy her 'lust'.

The woman even went to the extent of threatening him that if her demands are not fulfilled, she will go to another man, without caring for his emotions and feelings, the court was told.

In December 2012, the man had to be hospitalised for a stomach ache during which she chose to go to her sister's place, only to return after two weeks, the petition said.

Though doctors advised him to stay away from any physical relationship for a while, the wife kept up with her sexual demands, even as his health deteriorated for lack of rest, the petition submitted.

Further he said that in October 2013 he was operated for appendicitis and after discharge his wife insisted that they stay with her sister and even there, she forced him into having intercourse.

According to him, his wife even refused to visit a psychiatrist and threatened him against revealing anything to anybody.
In the petition, he said that it was intolerable for him to bear any more atrocities and that he also apprehended danger to his life and limb.

He said his wife has made his life horrible with her "cruel behaviour" and her "excessive prank for sex" has made it difficult for him to live together with her under one roof.

Judge Rao allowed the petition and dissolved the man's marriage.

Government to increase dearness allowance to 107 Per Cent

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NEW DELHI: The government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 107 per cent from the existing 100 per cent, benefiting the Centre's around 30 lakh employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.
"The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25 per cent. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7 per cent," an official said.
He further said the Finance Ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7 per cent dearness allowance hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by Labour Ministry on Saturday.
With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 107 per cent of basic pay.
The previous UPA government had increased DA to 100 per cent from 90 per cent with effect from January 1, 2014, on February 28 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the allowance.
However, the central government employees' union is not very enthused by the 7 per cent hike in the dearness allowance as their long pending demand of merger of DA with basic pay has not been given heed by 7th Pay Commission and the government.
"The erosion of value of wages is unbearable at 50 per cent dearness allowance. Now it will be 107 per cent. It is high time to merge DA with basic pay to provide relief to employees," Confederation of Central Government Employees' President K K N Kutty told reporters.
"We had summited our memorandum in this regard to 7th Pay Commission. They forwarded it to Central Government. We have apprised about the issue to the newly elected NDA government. But no decision has been taken so far," he said.
With merger of DA with basic pay, the salary and allowances paid in proportion of basic pay are increased. As per earlier practice, DA was merged with basic pay once it breached 50 per cent mark. But 6th Pay Commission has disallowed that.

Anti-govt protests in Pakistan continue, 300 injured as police clash with demonstrators

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ISLAMABAD: At least 300 people were wounded in clashes between police and protesters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, hospital officials said on Sunday, as a fortnightlong political impasse took a violent turn.

The violence, which began late on Saturday and continued early on Sunday, erupted after around 25,000 people marched from parliament to the prime minister's house, where some attempted to remove barricades around it with cranes, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Police responded with teargas and rubber bullets. Islamabad police chief Khalid Khattak told AFP police exercised restraint but the protesters were armed with axes, wire cutters and hammers.

'They had a crane and drove it until the entrance of the presidency. We are using only tear gas and firing rubber bullets where needed,' Khattak said.

Railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said protesters tried to uproot the entry gate of the prime minister's house.

The protesters, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and populist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, have been camped outside parliament house since August 15 demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quit amid allegations of vote rigging.

The crisis took on a new dimension earlier in the week after the government asked the powerful army to mediate, raising fears the military would use the situation to enact a 'soft coup' and increase its dominance over civilian authorities.

'There are 1,600 to 2,000 trained terrorists. They have 200 women who are trained in the use of firearms and they have come with the intention of occupying state buildings,' defence minister Khawaja Asif told AFP as the fighting broke out late on Saturday.

'These are buildings that are symbols of the state,' he said. 'Their attempts are being resisted. And we will resist these with full force.'

AFP's correspondent at the scene said protesters were carrying batons, iron rods and slingshots.

The injured were rushed to Islamabad's two main hospitals, and the number of casualties is expected to rise as clashes continue.

Railway minister's son seeks anticipatory bail in rape case

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 Bangalore: Karthik Gowda, son of Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Saturday moved a court for anticipatory bail in a rape and cheating case filed against him by Kannada actress Maithreyi.

The actress had filed the case after 30-year-old Karthik got engaged to another woman at Kushalnagar in Kodagu district.

The city sessions court, however, adjourned the case for further hearing to Sep 4 after issuing notice to the R.T. Nagar police station where the complaint was filed Wednesday.

The court also asked the police station if it would file objections to Karthik's anticipatory bail plea.

Though police summoned Karthik Friday for questioning in the case registered under sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, he did not appear till Saturday evening.

The summons to Karthik was issued after the probe team began recording Maithreyi's statement Thursday.

Police also asked Maithreyi to submit some documents and audio proof of conversations between her and Karthik that she said were recorded in her smartphone in the last two-three months.

Maithreyi claimed that Karthik tied the wedding knot (mangalasutra) with her June 5 at his other house in Mangalore, about 350 km from Bangalore, and that they consummated the informal marriage after he forced himself upon her.

The minister and his son, however, refuted Maithreyi's charge and said her claims were part of a conspiracy to malign the family's reputation.

'I am pained and disturbed by Maitheryi's allegations. I will not interfere with the investigation. Truth will come out soon. Law will take its own course,' Gowda reiterated Saturday on the sidelines of an event here.

Meanwhile, Siddaraju, convenor of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP's youth wing, filed a police complaint against Maithreyi, seeking a probe into her allegations and accused her of blackmailing Gowda and his family.

Five killed as gas cylinder explodes in bus

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Ramanathapuram (TN): Five persons were charred to death and six injured when an overloaded bus from West Bengal, carrying 80 pilgrims, caught fire after a gas cylinder exploded on board at Tiruppullani near here, police said.

The bus was gutted in the mishap that occurred late last night when the pilgrims were en route to Kanyakumari after
visiting Tirupati and Rameswaram.

Police said the driver of the bus had noticed a spark at the back of the bus through the rear view mirror and had
immediately stopped the bus, and asked the passengers to get down. Suddenly one of the two LPG cylinders on board exploded and the fire spread fast helped by strong winds blowing through the coastal area.

The driver of the bus and a tourist guide Srinivasan from Tirukallukundram helped several passengers to get down but 11
persons were trapped by smoke and fire at the rear.

Police said five of them--Viswanath Dass (68) Viswanath Mandal (78), Gopal (70), Durga Sinide (50) and Malathi Nayaki
(60) were killed, while six others who were injured had been admitted to the government hospital where the condition of two
persons is stated to be serious.

Officials said the bus was overloaded and the 80 passengers, hailing from districts like Hooghly and Midnapore
districts, had left West Bengal on August 22. PTI

23 killed in Afghan accident

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Kabul: At least 23 people were killed Sunday in Afghanistan when their bus collided with a truck, an official said.

The accident took place along the Islam Qala highway in Herat province, the official told Xinhua. The victims included women and children.

2014, ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 20, ബുധനാഴ്‌ച

111-yr-old Japanese recognised as oldest man

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A 111-year-old retired educator from Japan who enjoys poetry has been recognised as the world's oldest living man.

Sakari Momoi received a certificate from Guinness World Records on Wednesday. He succeeds Alexander Imich of New York, who died in April at the age of 111 years, 164 days.

The world's oldest living person is also Japanese: Misao Okawa, a 116-year-old woman from Osaka.

Momoi was born February 5, 1903, in Fukushima prefecture, where he became a teacher. He later moved to the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, and served as a high school principal there until retirement.

Momoi says he enjoys reading books, especially Chinese poetry. He has five children and now lives at a nursing home in Tokyo.

Mohanlal undergoing physiotherapy

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Kochi: Ace superstar Mohanlal is undergoing physiotherapy at a private hospital here for the past one week as he is suffering from pain in his left leg, a source at the facility said.

The physiotherapy sessions are progressing well, a source at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences told IANS.

The 54-year-old has been suffering the pain for a while and only after weighing different options did he decid to undergo physiotherapy, a close aide of the actor told IANS.

'The pain is on his left knee and is spreading downwards. At one point of time, even bringing in a knee expert from the US was discussed, but after weighing other medical opinions, physiotherapy was decided upon. Things are getting better for him now,' said the aide, who did not wish to be identified.

Once the physiotherapy session is over, Mohanlal is expected to take rest and would be ready to don the grease paint only in October when he teams up with Manju Warrier in a film, to be directed by master storyteller Sathyan Anthicadu.

'Aaram Thamburan' and 'Kanmadam' have been two films that turned out to be a huge success when the duo acted together.

ആബുലൻസ മറിഞ്ഞ് രോഗി തീ പിടിച്ചു മരിച്ചു.

[ The ambulance overturned and caught fire and the patient was burnt Pay caculans fell into the Kalad hospital and caught fire. Nadapur...