London: The British Safety Council on Monday announced the suspension of its 2012 International Safety Award recently conferred on mining major Vedanta Aluminium Limited's Lanjigarh refinery in Odisha. A press release from the BSC said information had been brought to its attention concerning a fatality at the site in April 2012. It said investigation was necessary to determine whether the stringent eligibility conditions for making such awards had been complied...
10:46 PM, May 14, 2012
Beijing: US cafe giant Starbucks' Chinese subsidiary has admitted that it used a bug-based red dye in a few food products in their cafes in China, days after announcing plans to stop using the insect extract following an online campaign. The world's largest coffee-shop chain had said earlier this week that it plans to stop using an extract made of dried insects to colour some Frappuccinos and pastries and the...
10:20 PM, Apr 23, 2012
New Delhi: In the midst of the run-up to the French presidential elections, France has been in dialogue with India to clarify issues relating to the nuclear liability law, and is waiting for New Delhi to establish the legal framework before signing commercial contracts for setting up atomic reactors. Last month, French nuclear experts had come to India and held talks with Indian experts to clarify issues relating to the...
02:58 AM, Apr 06, 2012
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMR) has selected a Spanish consultancy firm, Eptisa Servicios de Ingenieria, through international competitive bidding as consultant on safety matters. Based on the combined technical and financial score, Eptisa Ingenieria with its quote of Rs 1.30 crore has been preferred to Bureau Veritas, a French consultancy firm, which quoted Rs 1.48 crore. The selection was made by the HMR Tender Committee for Major Works...
08:41 AM, Apr 02, 2012
NEW DELHI: Going by the number of cases of crimes against women, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the most unsafe place among the four South Indian states, according to data collated by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Andhra Pradesh fared the worst on incidents of rape and sexual offences on all aspects including number of cases reported and number of persons arrested, charge-sheeted and convicted. In fact, the state...
12:35 PM, Mar 29, 2012
CHENNAI: A massive steel structure that was being welded to a portion of the new airport terminal, collapsed suddenly after the support cables snapped and crashed to the ground on Tuesday. No passengers were close enough to be harmed, when the incident occurred, a little after 1 pm. The massive clang that was heard, apparently alarmed passers by and passengers, as it was just opposite the domestic airport terminal. This...
08:11 AM, Mar 28, 2012
CHENNAI: Being a pedestrian is perhaps the biggest curse in Chennai, if one were to go by the figures released by the Chennai City Traffic Police pertaining to road accident deaths. Pedestrians in the city account for 38 per cent of the total number of road accident deaths recorded in the city in 2011. In other words, the total number of pedestrians who died in 2011 in the city stands...
08:48 AM, Mar 27, 2012
Seoul: Investment from South Korea is a "priority" for India, visiting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday, adding that the government was taking "proactive" steps improve the business climate and move forward with the Posco mega steel plant project in Orissa. "Investment from Korea is a priority for India. We will take proactive steps to address investor grievances and improve the business climate in the country. Many states of...
09:54 AM, Mar 26, 2012
TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), of late, is in news for all wrong reasons, thanks to the laxity of it security and vigilance staff.What started with indiscipline among security guards worsened soon into more serious incidents.Apart from thefts from hundi, there were attacks on devotees at the queue complex, rape of a teenager by a Vigilance staffer and murder of an employee at the TTD headquarters, to list a...
08:26 AM, Mar 26, 2012
Seoul: Seeking to enhance space cooperation, India on Sunday offered to launch South Korean satellites. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the offer during the wide ranging bilateral talks he had with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak in Seoul. "India has also offered to launch Korean satellites on Indian space launch vehicles," Singh told reporters after the talks at Lee's Presidential residence - The Blue House. A joint statement issued after...
03:19 PM, Mar 25, 2012
Mumbai: Wearing a helmet is just not enough for two-wheeler riders these days as danger lurks in arcane ways on the city's highways. In a bizarre incident on Western Express Highway on Thursday, a 27-year-old biker was killed after an overhead metal wire snapped, slitting his throat. The deceased, Israr Ahmed Khan, who worked at an electric works shop owned by his brother, was returning home around 5 pm from...
02:21 PM, Mar 23, 2012
Chennai: Voicing her opposition to certain sub-clauses of the draft Dam Safety Bill 2010, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sought the Prime Minister's intervention as a standing committee had not addressed her government's apprehensions. Locked in a dispute with Kerala on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, Tamil Nadu is against the neighbouring state's stand on building a new reservoir to replace the existing 116-year-old structure. Kerala wants to dismantle it...
09:01 AM, Mar 18, 2012
New Delhi: For the first time in a decade a Railway Minister has taken the bold decision of increasing passenger fares. While presenting his maiden Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi announced that passenger fares were being increased "marginally" across all classes. Trivedi pointed out that passenger fares were subsidising freight rates so they need to be rationalised. The Railway Minister increased the passenger fares by...
02:42 PM, Mar 14, 2012
New Delhi: Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi "marginally" increased passenger fares while presenting his maiden Railway Budget in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Trivedi announced that passenger fares were subsidising freight rates so they need to be rationalised. It is the first time that passenger fares have been increased in the last 10 years. Trivedi increased the passenger fares by 2 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class; 3...
12:14 PM, Mar 14, 2012
New Delhi: It has been almost a decade since Railway passenger fares were increased and its finances are in the red. The Indian Railways is the country's 24*7 lifeline, registering 23 million passengers and up to 2.65 million tonnes of freight traffic per day. With the Railway finances going from bad to worse, a question often asked is what is the prime reason behind it. Why are the Railways sinking?...
11:51 AM, Mar 14, 2012
New Delhi: The Government on Monday said there will be no compromise on nuclear safety or livelihood of any section of society in India's pursuit of atomic power, a statement that comes against the backdrop of anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam and Jaitapur. Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament, President Pratibha Patil asserted that the country would more than double its nuclear power generating capacity in the 12th Five Year Plan...
12:30 PM, Mar 12, 2012
Kolkata: With less than 48 hours to go for the Railway Budget, CNN-IBN gets you voices of people from the two states which have had the maximum number of Railway Ministers - Bihar and West Bengal. Have things changed for the rail passengers? The Indian Railways today is staring at some uncertain times ahead. What about more than 20 million passengers that depend on it every day? CNN-IBN finds out...
07:12 AM, Mar 12, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday said it is not putting the "core issue" of Kashmir on the backburner as it works to normalise ties with India, and any final settlement between the two sides would be linked to realising the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people". "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is about the people of Kashmir and their inalienable right to self-determination. Therefore, there is no question of freezing this issue...
05:44 PM, Mar 09, 2012
Rome: While the alleged killing of two Indian fishermen by Italian Marines has ignited a diplomatic debate between India and Italy, people in this country are sorry for the deaths but are more concerned about the safety of their two soldiers, who they think were merely "doing their duty". Italian navy chief, Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli, was quoted as saying in the Italian media that has been reporting the incident...
12:36 PM, Mar 05, 2012
New Delhi: Ahead of Minister Dinesh Trivedi's first Railway Budget on March 14, a high-level panel has advised focus on safety issues, rather than the populist practice of introducing new trains, saying the system was "bereft" of spare capacity. "No new trains should be introduced without adding adequate capacity for operation and maintenance," said the high-level panel on safety headed by former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar in...
10:48 AM, Feb 27, 2012
