Jaswant Singh admitted to ICU, critical
The former BJP leader sustained severe head injuries after slipping in his residence.
Month: August 2014
Only four percent of Indian company directors are women – report
By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Only four percent of the directors of publicly listed Indian companies are women, but a landmark law passed last year means companies must act quickly to put more women on their boards, a report said. The report “Women on Boards”, by Biz Divas, a national network of professional women, and law firm Khaitan and Co, said that men hold 8,640 boardroom positions and women 350 in the country’s 1,470 listed firms. “Archaic cultural stereotypes on the roles of men and women in society are largely to blame, while widespread illiteracy and socio-economic problems further worsen the problem.” The Companies Act, 2013 , passed by parliament in August last year, makes it mandatory for public and private firms with an annual turnover of at least three billion rupees ($50 million) to have at least one female director by Oct. 1, 2014. BIG BUSINESS, FEW WOMEN India has two companies in the Fortune 500, Reliance Industries and Indian Oil, but only one of their total of 30 directors is a woman, the report noted.
U.S. to press South China Sea freeze despite China rejection
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, at a meeting with Southeast Asian nations this weekend, will press for a voluntary freeze on actions aggravating territorial disputes in the South China Sea, in spite of Beijing’s rejection of the idea. Daniel Russel, the State Department’s senior diplomat for the East Asia region, said ahead of Kerry’s trip to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) that the call was not new and was “not rocket science,” but “common sense.” A priority for Kerry would be to lower tensions in the South China Sea, where about $5 trillion of maritime trade passes annually, and China and four members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have rival claims.
Obama signs veterans’ health care bill into law
Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) US President Barack Obama Thursday signed into law a landmark bill to help veterans avoid long waits for health care. The $16.3 billion reform bill that was passed overwhelmingly by the Congress with bipartisan majorities provides the country’s veterans affairs department with additional resources to improve access and quality of care for veterans, Xinhua reported. The act came months after revelations of “inexcusable misconduct at some veterans’ affairs health care facilities,” the US president said. Since April, the veterans’ healthcare scandal triggered by a hospital run by the department where 40 veterans allegedly died while waiting for treatment, has revealed broad and deep-seated problems in the sprawling health care system, which provides medical care to millions of veterans annually.
McConnell courts coal country votes
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) — Campaigning in coal country, Sen. Mitch McConnell pinned the loss of thousands of Kentucky mining jobs on President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and said his Democratic election rival would be a vote to continue them in Congress.
Satish Upadhyay assures solution to E-Rickshaw issue
New Delhi, August 7 (ANI): Delhi BJP Chief Satish Upadhyay said to ANI that the Centre has given assurance that the e-rickshaw issue will be solved and court’s decision will be followed. “We know that these rickshaw pullers have taken loans and that the rickshaws are eco friendly. We apologize to e- rickshaw pullers for the difficulty they had to face,” he said. Assuring that the BJP is committed to solving the issue, Upadhyay further stated that Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has tried to solve the matter at hand, and the correct solution will be given soon.
Natwar Singh launches his book ‘One Life is Not Enough’
New Delhi, Aug. 7 (ANI): Former union external affairs minister K Natwar Singh launched his book ‘One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography’ here on Thursday. “Didn’t expect my book to do as well as it has, now it’s not an individual centric book,” Singh said while launching his book. The Congress party has been staging various protest against Natwar Singh and have condemned it for making allegedly false statements. The book is based on Singh’s tenure as a Congress leader in which he has claimed that Congress president Sonia Gandhi refused to become Prime Minister of India in 2004 because her son Rahul Gandhi, opposed it, as he was afraid that like his father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi, she also would be killed.
Flood situation improving in Odisha: Naveen Patnaik
Sambalpur, (Odisha), Aug. 7 (ANI): Taking an aerial survey of flood affected areas in Odisha, Bharatiya Janata Dal Party chief Naveen Patnaik today said that although some areas have been affected badly, the situation is improving. 7.8 lakh cusec of flood water is being released through the 47 swish gate.By tomorrow the there is a possibility to close five gate depending upon the situation,” said the chief engineer Biswajit Mohanty. After taking an aerial survey of flood affected areas, BJP MP Jay Panda said, “Odisha disaster management committee and disaster rapid action force have already taken action.
Deep emissions cuts needed by 2050 to limit warming – U.N. draft
By Alister Doyle OSLO, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions of 40 to 70 percent by mid-century will be needed to avert the worst of global warming that is already harming all continents, a draft U.N. report showed. The 26-page draft, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, sums up three U.N. scientific reports published over the past year as a guide for almost 200 governments which are due to agree a deal to combat climate change at a summit in Paris in late 2015. It says existing national pledges to restrict greenhouse gas emissions are insufficient to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, a U.N. ceiling set in 2010 to limit heatwaves, floods, storms and rising seas. “Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to limit warming to 2 degrees C … remain possible, yet will entail substantial technological, economic, institutional, and behavioural challenges,” according to the draft due for publication in Copenhagen on Nov. 2 after rounds of editing.
I don't mind playing Shraddha Kapoor's worst father ever onscreen – Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor is a happy man these days. His daughter Shraddha is giving him plenty of reasons to smile. Commenting on her rise as an actress post the success of Ek Villain, Shakti says, “An artiste should never be satisfied in life. The only thing I have told Shraddha is the never be satisfied in life. And looking at her, I can very well say that she is not the kind of person who will be easily satisfied. I have seen that hunger in her. “