Asian News International

Maharashtra will witness many politicians battling it out against their relatives who are contesting as candidates of rival parties to enter the Assembly.

Ashish Deshmukh, nephew of NCP leader and Food and Civil Supplies minister Anil Deshmukh, is pitted against his uncle in Katol, which Anil has been representing since 1995.

Ashish, who is a BJP candidate, is the son of former State Congress Chief Ranjit Deshmukh while his elder brother Amol is the NCP candidate from Ramtek for the October 15 polls.

The United Nations has estimated that Islamic State militants now control as much as 40 percent of Iraq’s annual production of wheat which is one of the staple foods in the country along with barley and rice.

The militant group is depriving the Yazidi and Christian minorities of food supplies in order to tighten their grip in the captured areas, reported News.com.au.

In northern Iraq and neighbouring Syria, IS militants have recruited silo operators to help run their production.

A new study has revealed that Olive oil could help reverse a patient’s heart failure.

According to researchers at the University of Illinois, Oleate – the fat found in the golden liquid – could help a diseased heart pump blood more effectively and use body fat as fuel, however, the study also found that animal fats, found in butter made make heart disease worse.

Pakistan Film Censor Board may not give the NOC (No Objection Certificate) to the Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming Bollywood movie ‘Haider’, it has been reported.

The film which stars Shahid Kapoor, Tabbu, Kay Kay Menon and shraddha kapoor in the lead has been shot in Kashmir, which led to the reservations about its release in Pakistan, the Dawn reported.

‘Twilight’ saga will return with five short films exclusively on Facebook, it has been reported.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, as part of the initiative by Lionsgate , author Stephenie Meyer and Women in Film, called “The Storytellers, New Creative Voices of The Twilight Saga,” a “multiphase contest” would be held, to select at least five female filmmakers to helm the new short films.

Dan Rose, Facebook vice president of partnerships, stated that this was a great opportunity to engage Twilight’s massive global audience on Facebook through an innovative premium video program.

The man who shot a video showing passengers preventing Pakistan’s former Interior Minister Rehman Malik from boarding an international flight for being late has been sacked from his job, a report said.

Arjumand Hussain said that he was not given any reason for his dismissal and does not regret taking a stand against the “VIP culture,” reported the BBC.

His employers have however, denied that his dismissal was based on the video that went viral on the internet.

SBI cuts short-term deposit rates to 6% State Bank of India has reduced the short-term deposit rates by 1 percentage point for amount below Rs 1 crore, second such move this month. In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the banking giant said it has reduced the pricing of short-term deposits of below Rs 1 crore to 6 percent from 7 percent now for a maturity of 7 to 45 days.

India and the US, after sending their own respective spacecraft into Mars’ orbit, have now agreed to cooperate on future explorations of the Red Planet, which America said will yield “tangible benefits” to both the countries and the world at large.

The agreement in this regard was signed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and K Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Toronto yesterday on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress.

Vigilance Commissioner Rajiv has been authorized by President Pranab Mukherjee to act as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

The appointment has been made in the vacancy caused due to completion of the tenure of Pradeep Kumar the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

The authorisation is effective until the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

–ANI

Asserting that India is on the move to becoming a country with a business-friendly environment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exhorted top US corporates to establish and expand their base in India before it is too late.

“Take the benefit of the fast paced development and changes in the Indian economy,” Modi said in his address yesterday to American businesses urging them to take advantage of India’s growing economy to foster mutual prosperity.

“Together we will reach new heights of development and growth,” Modi said at the event organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC).

India may seek US’ help for extradition of Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind of 1993 Mumbai blasts, as they vowed to make “joint and concerted efforts” to dismantle safe havens for terror and criminal networks like LeT, JeM, D-company, al-Qaida and Haqqani network.

A joint US-India joint statement expressing this resolve after the summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday came on a day the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions against individuals and networks linked to two militant groups based in Pakistan.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s bail plea hearing by a vacation bench has been adjourned till October 7 next week.

The Karnataka High Court had earlier agreed to hear the bail plea on Wednesday after Jayalalitha’s lawyers filed a memo seeking a speedy hearing.

Jayalalithaa, her aide Sasikala and two others were convicted in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case by a special court in Bangalore on September 27.

Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said here on Wednesday that the loco pilot and driver of the Krishak express have been suspended after 12 people died and 40 were left injured as the former hit the Lucknow-Barauni Express near Gorakhpur late on Tuesday night.

“The accident was due to the loco-pilot overshotting the signal near Gorakhpur. The loco pilot and driver have been suspended immediately. We will take further action according to provisions in the Railways Act,” Gowda told ANI here.

After Sheryl Sandberg, its now the turn of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to visit India, the second biggest market for the social networking giant, later this month.

Zuckerberg, who will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be in India to address the first Internet.org summit taking place on October 9-10 in the city.

The young billionaire is expected to meet members of other key ministries as well.

Zuckerberg is the third high profile CEO of a US-based corporation, after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, to visit India in last few days.

George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin sold off their wedding snaps to the highest bidder, all for a good cause.

The pictures of the nuptials have been sold to People and the British tabloid Hello!, and according to the insiders, the money earned would be donated to several human rights charities, TMZ.com reported.

However, a giant part of the amount would go to Clooney’s 2010 launched charity, Satellite Sentinel Project, which keeps a check on the actions of militant gangs in the Sudan. (ANI)

An Iowa-based couple left their waiter a 100 dollar tip for a 66.65 dollar meal even after receiving a bad service at Kazoku sushi restaurant in Cedar Rapids on their sixth wedding anniversary.

The wife Makenzie Schultz took it to her Facebook account to explain that their service “sucked,” as the waiter took 20 minutes to get water, 40 minutes for an appetizer and over an hour for their entree, because the issue was being short staffed, not the server, Us Magazine reported.

Gold and silver futures moved down as speculators trimmed positions amid a weak global trend.

Gold futures fell 0.60 per cent to Rs. 26,965 per 10 gram today while silver futures moved down by 1.11 per cent to Rs. 38,859 per kg.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold prices for delivery in October were trading lower by Rs. 164, or 0.60 per cent, at Rs. 26,965 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 273 lots. On similar lines, metal prices for delivery in December eased by Rs. 154, or 0.57 per cent, to Rs. 26,818 per 10 gram in 273 lots.

It seems Singer Miley Cyrus is obsessed with posting naked selfies on the photo-sharing website Instagram. This time she has shared an intimate photograph of herself in the bath.

The 21-year-old singer, who is in Brazil for her tour, shared the picture with her followers Tuesday, reports mirror.co.uk.

In the photograph, the “Wrecking Ball” hitmaker is seen with a white facemask, covering her modesty with a thin layer of bubbles and sticking her tongue out.

Cyrus shared the image under the caption: “Getting romantic with myself.”

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday was trading flat at 22.07 points or 0.08 percent down as banking stocks dropped.

Good buying was observed in IT and technology, media and entertainment (TECK) sectors, while selling pressure was seen in banking and oil and gas sectors.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 26,681.47 points, was trading at 26,608.44 points (at 09.48 a.m.) in the early session, down 22.07 points or 0.08 percent from the previous day’s close at 26,630.51 points.

There are some basic rules all women should be aware of when applying make-up, yet only a fifth of them follow these, says a research.

Applying foundation to certain parts of the face and using eyebrow pencil for definition not reshaping are some of the ‘must haves’ in make-up that everyone should follow.

Ingredients

250 gm asian noodles

1/2 malabar cucumber

100 gm tofu

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp corn starch

1/2 sliced carrot

1 stalk spring onions

1 spring onion bulb

1 handful cashew nuts washed and cut

1/3 cabbage sliced

1 clove garlic

1 Tbsp red chilli paste/ sambal oelek

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp minced ginger

2 tsp light soya sauce

2 sliced green chilies

1 Tbsp tamarind pulp

4-5 leaves bok choy

1 handful coriander leaves

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Ingredients

250 gm cauliflower florets

250 gm broccoli florets

2 sliced spring onions

125 gm snow peas

2 peeled carrots

150 gm asparagus

2 Tbsp oil

2 slices of bread

Salt and pepper

Topping

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp chopped garlic

3 Tbsp chopped parsley

Method

Remove crusts from bread and slice into strips. Bake at 160 degrees C till crisp.

Top and tail snow peas, pare and slice asparagus stems. Pare carrots into thin ribbons.

The city government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that it has issued an order for compulsory registration of private placement agencies providing domestic workers while making it clear that all such unregistered firms will have to shut down after October 25.

The Delhi government told a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw that an executive order of September 22 has been officially notified on September 25 in compliance with its direction given on December 24, 2010 and subsequently on December 18, 2013.

Delhi Traffic Police will carry out a special drive today during which unauthorisedly parked vehicles from roads and ‘No Parking’ areas will be towed away as part of “Swachchh Bharat Mission”.

“All traffic circles shall carry out the drive in their respective areas. A total of 82 teams of traffic police officers along with cranes shall patrol their areas to tow away and prosecute unauthorisedly parked vehicles on roads,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla.

Looking for data on past tsunamis for a better understanding of the natural phenomenon, a team of researchers has come upon evidence which suggests that the Indian coast was hit by a sea surge some 1,000 years back, before the tsunami of 2004 which caused massive destruction in the country.

The team from the Centre for Earth Sciences (CEaS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) made its finding while pursuing studies in tsunami geology.