New Delhi, July 28: With 29 students having been confirmed with the H1N1 virus till date and even more asked to stay home, several city schools are taking different steps to make up for the lost working days.
Springdales School, Pusa Road, has prepared programme lessons for students quarantined at home, principal Amita Wattal said. “We don’t want students to suffer,” she said, “so we have created programme lessons for them.”
New Delhi/ Mumbai, July 28: Getting a good deal on a house, somewhere in the suburbs? Check if it costs you less than Rs20 lakh. Because, in that case, you stand to save 1% of the interest burden on your home loan.
Budget 2009Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday, replying to the debate on the Union budget, proposed to “provide support to borrowers by way of interest subvention of 1% on all housing loans up to Rs10 lakh to individuals, provided the cost of the house does not exceed Rs20 lakh”. The loan rebate will be available for one year.
New Delhi, July 28: Eighteen piers in three different under-construction Metro corridors have been detected with cracks. While the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) maintained that the cracks were “minor”, it is unwilling to take any chances and has directed an expert team from Shirish Patel and Associates to re-check the design of all 18 points.
New Delhi, July 28: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday sought to downplay reports of cracks that have been noticed on piers on three corridors of the Delhi Metro, saying such things do happen sometimes.
“It happens sometimes. The DMRC is studying the nature of the cracks. It has to be examined,” Ms. Dikshit said when asked about the cracks on various corridors of the Metro including the cracks on two piers of newly-constructed Yamuna Bank-Noida line.
Ms. Dikshit said a crack here and there does not mean the entire construction is faulty.
Islamabad, July 28: Pakistan is prepared to work with sincerity to open a “new chapter in improving relations” with India and the two sides should share credible information to counter possible future terrorist threats, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.
Briefing the cabinet on his recent meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, Mr. Gilani said Pakistan is “ready to work with India with full commitment and sincerity towards opening of a new chapter in improving relations between the two countries”.
New Delhi, July 28: The Congress on Monday expressed confidence that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will clear all doubts on the controversial Indo-Pak joint statement made in Egypt while it appeared to be giving mixed signals on its strategy on the issue.
“The Congress is confident that when the Prime Minister speaks in Parliament on July 29, he will set at rest all the questions, all apprehensions and speculation relating to the Indo-Pak joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt,” AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a brief statement.
New Delhi, July 28: Heavy rains lashed the Capital in which one person died of apparent electrocution and crippled the city inundating several low-lying areas, causing massive traffic jams with thousands of people stranded for hours till late on Monday night and disrupting flights.
A 36-year-old identified as Naveen, a resident of Gupta Colony, died apparently getting electrocuted after coming in contact with an electric pole which had a short circuit following the rains. The incident took place at Ramaiyya Chowk in Central Delhi’s Mori Gate at around 9.20 pm.
Dubai, July 28: Despite the impact of the global economic crisis, the UAE continues to be a favoured destination for Indian workers among the Gulf nations which has about 1.5 million population from the country.
India’s Consul General to the UAE Venu Rajamony said that an estimated 1.5 million Indians are in the UAE with 1.2 million of them in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
They are mostly from the South Indian States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as estimated by the Embassy, he said.
Islamabad, July 28: Two-hundred boys, who were being trained at a secret location to carry out suicide attacks, were rescued by the security forces in northwest Pakistan, a media report said Monday.
The boys, aged from six to 13 years, were rescued in Mardan in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Geo TV said.
Meanwhile, the children were shifted to a rehabilitation centre where they will receive psychiatric treatment.
Karachi, July 28: Barring a miracle, enigmatic speedster Shoaib Akhtar’s international career is virtually over, reckons former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram.
Reacting to Akhtar’s omission from Pakistan’s list of probables for this year’s Champions Trophy, Akram said unless something dramatic happened, Shoaib stood no chance of a comeback to the national team.
“I don’t think he has got a chance, unless and until some miracles happen,” Akram told reporters today after the left-arm pacer was named coach of the Gatorade Centre for Pace Excellence.
Mumbai, July 28: The driver of a taxi which exploded at the Gateway of India during the 2003 twin blasts here turned out to be a crucial witness and helped investigators in cracking the case in a great way, a top official said on Monday.
“The investigations were greatly aided by the survival of Shiv Narayan Pandey, the driver of the taxi which exploded at the Gateway of India, as he told us where he had picked up the suspects from, their appearance and age,” Suresh Walishetty, Chief Investigating Officer of the case, said.
Seoul, July 28: North Korea suggested a new dialogue to resolve tensions over its atomic weapons programs — an apparent invitation to the U.S. to engage in one-on-one talks after Pyongyang bolstered its negotiating power with nuclear and missile tests.
Hours earlier, however, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Pyongyang to stick to six-nation talks that the North has rejected. Clinton said the multilateral framework is “the appropriate way to engage with North Korea.”
Hyderabad, July 28: It did not take long for the business in the State Assembly to be hit by personal attacks.
Just on the second day of the session, chaos prevailed during the course of the discussion on budget as Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu traded charges and challenged each other to face a referendum.
The chief minister went to the extent of saying that he would soon announce dates when the referendum could be held and whoever lost should quit politics. Amidst the din, Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy adjourned the House.
London, July 28: Britain announced the end of a bloody offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan, as a poll showed Tuesday that most Britons think military operations there are “unwinnable.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the “heroic” efforts of British forces in the southern Helmand province, where the troop death toll has surged since the assault was launched late last month.
Washington, July 28: More than half the patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report drinking heavily. A study on failing memory has found that HIV infection and chronic alcoholism damage brain function.
“It has been consistently documented that chronic heavy drinking results in cognitive and motor deficits,” said Edith V Sullivan, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine (SUSM) and study co-author.
New Delhi, July 28: Stepping up its attack on UPA government on the controversial joint statement with Pakistan and some other issues, NDA MPs would march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday to submit a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil seeking her attention on these matters.
“All NDA MPs will march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan from Raisina Hill to hand over a memorandum to the President,” BJP Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, told reporters.
Tokyo, July 28: Prolonged consumption of tea, especially the oolong and black variety, could weaken human bones due to the presence of toxic fluorine in tea beverages, Japanese researchers say.
The researchers, including Tetsuo Shimmura, who is senior research scientist of Toyama Institute of Health in Toyama Prefecture, reported the existence of the chemical in beverages such as oolong tea and black tea at a meeting of Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements in Tokyo recently, Kyodo news agency reported.
Geneva, July 28: At least 134,503 people have been infected by swine flu virus across the globe, with 816 confirmed deaths, the World Health Organisation reported Monday.
An official said at least 160 countries were hit by the new virus, technically known as influenza A(H1N1), but the tally was not broken down into countries.
The WHO had previously said it would not issue any further statistics on infections.
Mumbai, July 28: Even as Lahore in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s adaptation of the play Jis Lahore Nahin Dikhya WohJamaya Nahin moves Lahore to Hyderabad, Mahesh Bhatt is all set to shoot an entire Bollywood film in the city of Lahore.
A Hindu-Muslim love story, it will cast the Pakistani singing sensation Noumad opposite an Indian girl who’s still to be finalized.
The untitled film will be directed by the Bhatts’ blue-eyed director Mohit Suri who earlier directed Awaarapan in which a small portion was shot in Lahore.
Mumbai, July 28: Her recent release `Kambakkht Ishq` has seen the best opening of 2009 so far. But Kareena Kapoor wants boyfriend Saif Ali Khan`s `Love Aaj Kal` to even surpass her film`s record and enjoy phenomenal success at the Box Office.
“I really want `Love Aaj Kal` to break all box-office records. Yes, `Kambakkht Ishq` is my film but then so is `Love Aaj Kal`. For both Saif and me `Love Aaj Kal` is a not just a prestigious project but also something which is very close to our hearts”, Kareena told reporters.
Tehran, July 28: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was grappling with a new political crisis that has weakened his standing even among hawkish supporters as the opposition warned it would press on with its protest campaign.
The embattled Ahmadinejad, already forced into a climbdown over his choice of a top aide, was again under fire on Monday over the sacking of the intelligence minister and the resignation of his culture minister.
Riyadh, July 28: Saudi Arabia confirmed that a man had died of swine flu.
The health ministry said this was the first such death and that it had taken place in a private hospital in Dammam in the eastern part of the country.
Health ministry officials said that the dead man was 30 and that he was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with a fever and pneumonia.
He expired on Saturday despite being treated with antibiotics and the anti-flu drug Tamiflu, the ministry said.
New Delhi, July 28: With fresh disclosure of the contents of a dossier detailing action against the Mumbai attackers given by Islamabad to New Delhi, the Congress Monday came out in strong support of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Pakistan initiative that delinks action on terror from the composite dialogue process.
Hisar, July 28: After converting to Islam last year to marry a second time, former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed took a u-turn Monday and expressed his desire to return to the Hindu religion.
‘I have approached the leadership of my community and expressed my desire to come back. Fiza did not bother to visit me when I was recovering in a hospital. Now I don’t want to live with her,’ he told reporters in Haryana’s Hisar town, some 275 km from here.
Los Angeles, July 28: Michael Jackson’s personal doctor administered a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep, and authorities believe the drug killed the pop singer, a law enforcement official has revealed.