Promising travel show

Hyderabad, March 02: ‘Tata Grande Naa To Prayanam’ to be telecast soon
The format is different. It’s a travelogue that is presented in an entertaining and competitive format of a reality show. And that is ‘Tata Grande Naa To Prayanam’ that is in production to soon hit the small screen.

Thrilling moments

State cannot distance itself from firing: Botcha

Hyderabad, March 02: Transport Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has admitted lapses on the part of the government in handling the agitation launched against East Coast Energy’s power plant at Kakarapalli in Srikakulam district.

Mr. Satyanarayana said though the firing which claimed two lives was attributed to the police, the government could not distance itself from the incident as the police was an integral part of the administration.

Villagers tried to take law into their hands: Home Minister

Hyderabad, March 02: In sharp contrast to the statement of the Chief Minister that the police should have observed more restraint, Home Minister P. Sabitha Reddy blamed villagers for Monday’s police firing at Kakarapalli which left two dead. She asserted that the villagers tried to take law into their hands while protesting against the establishment of the 2,640-MW power project at the place by East Coast Energy Limited.

RTC to operate Sivaratri specials

Vizianagaram, March 02: The State Road Transport Corporation will operate 400 special services to Punyagiri, Ramatheerthalu, Parammakonda, Srimukhalingam, Sanyasayyapalem, Gumpa and other Siva temples from all its nine depots in the North-East Coast Region comprising Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri celebrations on Wednesday and Thursday, according to RTC sources.

The sources said that 20 per cent additional fare would be collected from passengers travelling by the special services.

Kotappakonda decked up for Sivaratri festivities

Guntur, March 02: The majestic Sri Trikoteswara temple atop Kotappakonda is all decked up for Mahasivaratri festivities starting in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The festival is famous for processions in which people from neighbouring villages carry long and illuminated poles called ‘prabhas’, and spend the night on the temple premises chanting devotional hymns. This year the temple is bracing up for an unprecedented rush of pilgrims.

The legend

Maths lab launched

Vizianagaram, March 02: Nischal Narayanam, who won a place twice in the Guinness Book for his amazing memory, has designed and developed ‘Nichal Math Lab’, a unique international quality product useful for every child in the age group of four years and above. The laboratory consists of more than 500 manipulatives, 15 booklets, 13 animated DVDs and six books have world class educational concepts, products and resource material suitable to all curriculums in school mathematics.

‘US keen on improving trade ties’

Kakinada, March 02: Evincing interest in strengthening trade and industrial relations between the US and the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, Consul General of the United States of America Katherine S. Dhanani on Tuesday said that the industrial development in and around Kakinada was beyond her imagination.

Minister faces villagers’ ire

Srikukam, March 02: K. Parthasarathi, Minister for Secondary and Intermediate Education who is in-charge for Srikakulam, district faced the ire of the villagers on Tuesday when he visited HN Peta, Akashalakkavaram and Vadditandra villages where police opened fire and hurled smoke bombs at agitating mobs, opposing the establishment of power project.

Pandemonium in Assembly over non-cooperation agitation, Kakarapalli firing

Hyderabad, March 02: The Assembly plunged into pandemonium again on Tuesday, this time with the TDP and MIM members rushing to the podium demanding a full-scale debate over the Kakarapalli firing and a statement by the government on the non-cooperation agitation by Telangana employees, respectively. Deputy Speaker N. Manohar, as a result, was forced to adjourn the House for the day after a sitting for 25 minutes cumulatively.

Kiran urges Telangana activists to suspend stir

Hyderabad, March 02: Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday appealed to the Telangana activists to suspend the ongoing agitation and await the Centre’s decision on the statehood issue.

Expressing serious concern over the future of 20 lakh students gearing to write various annual examinations later this month and the adverse impact of the employees’ non-cooperation agitation, he said sufferers in the turmoil were the people and students of the region.

Students’ problem

Official seeks to dispel fears over radiation therapy

Hyderabad, March 02: Atomic Energy Commission Chairperson Sri Kumar Banerjee on Tuesday sought to allay public fears over application of radiation therapy in cancer treatment. He was addressing a gathering after visiting the Mahatma Gandhi International Cancer Institute here. “There is a public perception that radiation causes cancer and the very radiation is used for cancer treatment. But such a perception does not hold water and public fears over radiation vis-a-vis cancer is completely unfounded,”

Live-in partner body-bagged tattoo woman: Cops

New Delhi, March 02: Police say they have identified the killer of the woman with a peacock tattoo on her stomach, whose body was dumped at the New Delhi railway station on February 11. It was her boyfriend with whom the 28-year-old had been living in since June last year while making her family believe she was in Singapore, claim cops.

Campaign against Hezbollah’s weapons stepped up

Beirut, March 02: March 14 parties pressed ahead with a campaign against Hezbollah’s weapons Tuesday as negotiations to eliminate obstacles hindering the Cabinet formation failed to achieve any progress with no indications of a breakthrough this week.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is pursuing his negotiations away from the media to reach an agreement over the Cabinet make-up and bridge the gap between President Michel Sleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a source close to Mikati said.

Arab slogan becomes weapon in war of words over arms

Beirut, March 02: The wave of popular uprisings currently sweeping the Arab world demanding a regime change has hit Lebanon, but in a different way. It’s a slogan war between the two rival factions over the two most divisive and explosive issues: Hezbollah’s weapons and the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

‘Raja used wife’s a/c to stash bribe money

New Delhi, March 02: The CBI is believed to have gathered evidence of former telecom minister A Raja using his wife’s bank accounts in Mauritius and Seychelles to deposit part of the Rs 3,000 crore bribe he allegedly took for favouring telecom companies with 2G spectrum.

CBI sources said that in response to letters rogatory (LRs), authorities in both the island countries have provided the agency with details which confirm a quid pro quo between Raja and the telcom companies that were helped by him to jump the queue for spectrum, in contravention of the first-come first-served policy.

Challenges and new possibilities for March 14 in opposition

Beirut, March 02: March 14’s decision not to participate in a government borne out of what it termed a Hezbollah-led “coup” has saddled the alliance with a number of imposing challenges, but the boycott may also have thrown the bloc several opportunities it didn’t enjoy while in power, analysts told The Daily Star Tuesday.

Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace in Beirut, said that while its new role as opposition would be taxing, March 14 was now free to both scrutinize the future Cabinet and consolidate its own political priorities.

Ban says Lebanon has yet to fulfill international obligations

Beirut, March 02: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on political leaders in Beirut to prevent supporters from carrying weapons, as he lamented that political deadlock in Lebanon had barred the country from fulfilling international obligations.

In an advance copy of Ban’s latest report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, seen by The Daily Star, the secretary general called for a resumption of the aborted National Dialogue sessions in order to eradicate non-state arms from Lebanon.

Day time sleep is good for health

London, March 02: Sleeping for up to an hour during the day is good for the heart and brain A daytime sleep could have cardiovascular benefits according to new research.

A study that looked into the effect of a daytime nap on cardiovascular recovery following a stress test, found that those participants who slept for at least 45 minutes during the day had lower average blood pressure after psychological stress than those who did not sleep.

Kelly Brook’s fashion faux pas – sheer leggings!

London, March 02: Model Kelly Brook, who dresses prim and proper all the time, was caught in a fashion faux pas when she stepped out wearing transparent leggings that left little for imagination.

Brook was in Los Angeles, when she teamed a pair of navy leggings with a tight pink striped top and a pair of Reebok trainers for a shopping trip. Though she has a figure to die for, the leggings didn’t complement her, and highlighted her curvy body and shapely rear in full form.

Lohan wants life back on track

London, March 02: Actress Lindsay Lohan, who recently came out of a rehab centre, says she is determined to get her life back on track and work her way towards success once again.

“I feel great. I feel happy. There’s always bumps we have in the road and as long as I’m focusing on the one thing I know I need to put first in my life, which is my recovery and stuff, then I’m doing good and that’s important to me,” Lohan has been quoted as saying by dailymail.co.uk.

Gaga gives birth to aliens in new video

London, March 02: Singer Lady Gaga, who is known for her bizarre dressing sense, is shown producing alien life forms in scenes from her new video for her comeback single “Born this way”.

The seven-minute promo to the song features Gaga simulating labour on the planet G.O.A.T., after which slimy creatures emerge from between her legs, reports thesun.co.uk.

In other patches of the promo, Gaga does a jig with both male and female dancers, sprays bullets wildly and appears with an extra eye on her chin.

Russia, NATO may discuss Libyan crisis

Brussels, March 02: The ongoing unrest in Libya could be discussed during a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels Wednesday, a top Russian envoy said.

“I am not ruling out the possibility that the situation in Libya may be discussed during the meeting, although the issue is not on the official agenda,” Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti after a working meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Tuesday.

US stocks plummet as oil price jumps

New York, March 02: Wall Street stocks fell sharply Tuesday as the price of oil surged again in the face of ongoing unrest in Libya and more anti-government protests in other parts of the Middle East.

Crude oil in New York trading jumped 2.7 percent to $99.63 per barrel, a more than two-year high, as Libyan opposition forces clashed with government troops loyal to defiant leader Muammer Gaddafi.