Daily News (In Short)-27-May-2015

#* Govt efforts lag, heat death toll crosses 800 in Andhra, Telangana
NEW DELHI: Despite Andhra Pradesh and Telangana's best efforts to tackle heatwave deaths with awareness campaigns and makeshift medical camps, at least 39 more people in the area's poorest regions fell to the fierce sun on Tuesday. Though officials in the two states were silent on the exact toll, unofficial figures put the number of deaths in the past week at over 800.The governments have launched campaigns in villages asking people to wear light clothes and not to step out of their houses between 9am and 4pm unless absolutely necessary. Thousands of 'water camps' have been set up to provide drinking water to people. Oral rehydration salts and intravenous fluids have been made available at bus and railway stations across Andhra and Telangana, the two states where many passengers have suffered from dehydration.Experts blame the unseasonal rainfall from March till the second week of May for the high number of deaths. They said the rain meant there was no gradual rise in temperature — like in most years — and many people could not take the sudden jump in temperature seen in the past 10-odd days.

#* Won't interfere with AAP govt: Centre withdraws as Delhi Assembly slams MHA notice
Kolkata/ New Delhi: Striking a conciliatory note, the Centre on Tuesday said it will not interfere with the functioning of the AAP government, a day after it was hauled by the Delhi High Court over the "suspect" notification that gave the Lt Governor massive powers in some matters.While affirming that there would be no interference by the Centre, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, however, said everybody should work within the constitutional framework.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodia during the Assembly proceedings. PTIDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodia during the Assembly proceedings. PTI "Everybody should work within the constitutional provisions. And I would like to add that Delhi government has been elected by the people and the central government will not create any hurdles in the functioning of Delhi government. We will also give them full cooperation," Singh told a press conference in Kolkata.His comments came on a day the AAP government moved a resolution in the Assembly against the Centre's notification giving "absolute" powers to the Lt Governor on transfer and posting of senior bureaucrats and restraining the Anti-Corruption Bureau from probing central government employees.

#* Tata Motors shares fall 6.7% after disappointing Q4 results
Mumbai: Tata Motors Ltd stock on Wednesday fell as much as 6.7%, its sharpest fall since 24 January 2014, after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the March quarter.In intra-day trading, the stock touched a low of Rs.463.90, a level last seen on 17 October 2014.Tata Motors Ltd’s fourth quarter profit fell 56.2% to Rs.1,716.50 crore, missing analyst estimates, because of higher depreciation and as India’s largest automobile maker revalued its foreign currency-denominated debt because of unfavourable currency swings. Net sales for the quarter rose 4% to Rs.67,297.99 crore.
The company had been expected to post a net profit of Rs.4,092.6 crore on net sales of Rs.66,551.4 crore, according to a Bloomberg poll of 24 analysts.Elara Securities India Pvt. Ltd downgraded Tata Motors to “sell” and cut its target price by 7% to Rs.463 a share.

#* England look to 'insider' Bayliss for inspiration ahead of Ashes series
There was general consensus in Australia on Wednesday that retaining the Ashes this year got a little bit harder after the appointment of wily compatriot Trevor Bayliss as England's new head coach.While former cricketers lined up to hail the success of "a ripper of a bloke" in landing such a big job, Australia coach Darren Lehmann gave a reminder that immediate success for Bayliss could mean failure for his country."Trevor has been a great servant of the game in Australia and has had great success with New South Wales in both the long and short format," he said from Antigua, where the test side are preparing for a series against West Indies. "A trademark of Trevor's teams are that they are well prepared and this just serves as another reminder to us that this Ashes will be a tough contest," Lehmann added.

#* Rupee Falls to 64.16 on Dollar Demand
Mumbai: Continuing its weakness for the third straight day, the rupee dropped below the 64 mark, falling 18 paise to 64.16 against the dollar in early trade on Wednesday, at the Interbank Foreign Exchange.Besides, increased demand for the dollar from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity market weighed on the local currency, forex dealers said.The rupee had lost 41 paise to close at 63.98 in Tuesday's trade on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers.Meanwhile, the Sensex recovered from the intraday lows in the morning deals on Wednesday as buying resumed in banking, oil & gas and capital goods stocks.The rupee was trading at 64.11 against the US dollar, as of 10.17 am on Wednesday.

#* Kiren Rijiju's reply to Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: 'I eat beef, can somebody stop me?'
New Delhi: In yet another blow to Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who has been facing criticism from several quarters over his 'those who eat beef can go to Pakistan' remark, his colleague in the BJP-led NDA government has now slammed him for  his “unpalatable” comment.Reports on Wednesday said that Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of State for Home, has slammed Naqvi for his 'beef' remark and said that it was not 'good'."I eat beef, I’m from Arunachal Pradesh, can somebody stop me? So let us not be touchy about somebody’s practices,” Rijiju was quoted as telling reporters in Aizawl.Rijiju's reactions came nearly a week after Naqvi, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, had defended the ban on cow slaughter and beef in two BJP-ruled states - Maharashtra and Haryana - in words that many found controversial.

#* ‘Namo’ a acronym for ‘no action, maximum oratory': Rahul Gandhi
Looking to take the fizz out of the Modi government's anniversary celebrations, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the PM was a fashion icon whose media hype and marketing won't help for long. The government had set records in introducing anti-people policies in its first year and the only group happy was a few corporate houses, he said.“No prime minister in the country had ever donned a suit worth Rs 10 lakh. He’s fast becoming a fashion icon ignoring the common man,” Gandhi said, adding the BJP’s slogan ‘Namo’ was a synonym for ‘no action, maximum oratory”. He went on to explain why the Modi government was a ‘suit, boot ki sarkar’.The youth and the farmers must expose Modi as someone who only believed in slogans, oratory and fine dressing, Gandhi told Youth Congress workers at a large rally in this north Kerala city, adding the Congress would not let the contentious land bill get passed in the Rajya Sabha.

#* EU referendum details expected in queen's speech in UK parliament
The speech will set out the plans of the Conservative government for the coming parliamentary term. Among the measures to be announced in the speech will be the proposed In/Out referendum on European membership.The Queen's speech marks the formal opening of the British parliament - the speech itself will have been written by the Conservative party setting out the political agenda it intends to follow in the coming term as government.It will be the first time in almost 20 years that that speech will have set out the plans of a majority Conservative government. That majority - although slim - allows it to enact some of the policies promised in the party's election manifesto.Primary among those will be the promised in/out referendum on Europe. Prime Minister David Cameron has already begun a charm offensive across Europe as he battles for reform of the EU that would allow him to support the UK staying within the union.

#* China Strategy Outline Confirms Trends on the Ground, U.S. Says
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY JET—The Chinese “white paper” on defense strategy—which said Beijing plans to shift its armed forces’ focus toward maritime warfare—confirmed trends the U.S. has been monitoring for some time, a senior U.S. defense official said.“I don’t think there were any surprises for us in the latest white paper,” the official told reporters traveling to Hawaii with Defense Secretary Ash Carter. “The trends described in that paper are trends that we’ve been following for some years.”In its first public summary of military strategy, the State Council—China’s cabinet—said the navy will expand its operations from offshore areas to the open seas, while the air force will broaden its focus to include offensive operations as well as defense of China’s territory.

Labels