In another case of street justice, a jeep driver was burnt alive by angry mob in Bihar’s Gopalganj district Thursday after an accident in which a student was killed and two others were injured, police said.
Angry over the death of the student, who was a minor, in the accident, the mob burnt alive the jeep driver in Mirganj in Gopalganj district, about 150 km from here, a police officer said.
There is some good news for the farmers this year. Compared to last year the monsoon is predicted to be normal this year, according to the government.
As per the Met department the rains are predicted to be between 99 to 104 %. Nonetheless there is also a probability of 24 % that the monsoon may be less than normal.
For the past two years rains have been normal in India. Normal monsoon will lead to an increase in the sale of tractors and fertilisers.
–Agencies
After playing vigilante ready to change the system in “A Wednesday”, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah would be seen fighting corruption in his new film “John Day”.
Produced by Anjum Rizvi and K. Asif and directed by Solomon Ahishor, the film is a revenge drama.
“The film is an edge-of-a-seat revenge drama where Naseer saab plays a common man who fights against the corrupt system, thematically though it has no resemblance to ‘A Wednesday’ at all,” Solomon said in a statement.
“John Day” also features Randeep Hooda, Vipin Sharma, Shernaz Patel and Salim Ghouse.
Both the US and Russia are concerned with what is going on in the other country, but there is no need to “demonize” Washington and accuse it of trying to dominate Russian politics, outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
“That they (the US leadership) are trying to influence some political processes – this is a fair assumption, just as that we are trying to influence some processes,” Medvedev said.
But “it’s pointless to speak about the US ruling some large-scale political processes in our country,” he said.
Actor Arjun Rampal, who will portray Sher Khan in “Zanjeer” remake, a character Pran played in the 1973 blockbuster, says he wants to do something special for the legendary actor.
“It is a cameo kind of a part, OK. I have like 10 or 12 days of work in the film. In that it is Pran saab’s part and I thought it was a wonderful part. I’ll try to do it to the best of my ability,” the 39-year-old told reporters at a press conference held for the music festival Lost.
The only Asian driver in the Formula One circuit Narain Karthikeyan Thursday said an F1 race track in Kerala is certainly going to be a boost for tourism.
“Yes, Kerala is known as a tourist destination and hence a race track in the state will certainly boost tourism earnings,” Karthikeyan told reporters here.
He was in the city to meet Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar to seek the help of the state government so that he can make a demo drive on his HRT team vehicle in the state capital.
As the US Supreme Court began a hearing on Arizona State’s tough immigration law, a South Asian umbrella organisation asked the apex court to reject the law that it said permits racial profiling.”
Passed in April 2010, the “show me your papers” law, as it is called by critics, “permits racial profiling of immigrant communities and communities of colour regardless of immigration status”, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said in a statement Wednesday.
For generations, the Bakharwal dog, also known as the Kashmir sheepdog, has been guarding the lives of its human masters and their animals. But the Jammu and Kashmir government has no clue about the numbers of this breed whose population has dwindled alarmingly over the years.
According to a tribal leader from Udhampur in the Jammu region, if measures are not taken to conserve the species, the Bakharwal dog “would be gone within four years’ time”.
Over the centuries the Bakharwal mastiff has become a legendary animal in the state, known for its loyalty and fierce guardian spirit.
In this week’s magazine, from an interview between Jemima Khan and George Galloway, the New Statesman exclusively reveals the background to Galloway’s conversion to Islam:
George Galloway, MP for Bradford West, is a Muslim. He converted more than ten years ago in a ceremony at a hotel in Kilburn, north-west London, attended by members of the Muslim Association of Great Britain. Those close to him know this. The rest of the world, including his Muslim constituents, does not.
Indian companies operating in 40 US states have invested over $820 million in manufacturing facilities in America, creating thousands of jobs, revealed a survey.
The 2012 India Business Forum (IBF) survey “Indian Roots, American Soil: Adding Value to US Economy and Society”, released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a reception on Capitol Hill Wednesday, highlights the significant economic and social impact made by Indian companies on American communities.
A strike is in force across Muslim areas of eastern Sri Lanka, following threats against a mosque in the central town of Dambulla.
Many public services have shut down, although Muslim-led demonstrations have been halted by the military.
The prime minister ordered the mosque’s relocation on Sunday, following an attack on the mosque on Friday by hardline Buddhists, including monks.
Many Buddhists regard Dambulla as a sacred Buddhist area.
Sectarian tensions have been growing over this incident.
China’s Shanghai city is facing a shortfall of migrant labour. The city’s human resource watchdog says it is happening mainly due to the rising cost of living and the labour’s attraction to booming labour markets elsewhere.
But a survey has found that the soaring cost of living and lack of opportunities to merge into the local culture are some of the prominent reasons that have turned millions of migrant workers in China’s Shanghai city a frustrated lot.
India, Bangladesh and other countries in the region should strengthen existing rail, road and water linkages for their prosperity since “if Bangladesh grows, northeast India would also develop”, said Bangladesh’s envoy and other experts here.
Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq Ahmad Karim stressed on development that would “make them truly land-linked with even more prosperous regions beyond”.
Bans on full-face veils in France and Belgium and a failure by other European countries to stop employers from enforcing informal dress codes means Muslim women are being denied jobs and education, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
In a wide-ranging report highlighting examples of discrimination against Muslims across Europe, Amnesty said governments were pandering to prejudices by stopping Muslim women from wearing full-face veils and urged France and Belgium to repeal their own bans on such veils.
Indian equities markets benchmark indices witnessed choppy trading Thursday, a day after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook to “negative” from “stable” on India’s long-term sovereign ratings and also on major firms.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened in the positive at 17,191.02 points, closed at 17,130.67 points, down 0.12 percent or 20.62 points from its previous close at 17,151.29 points.
The Sensex was largely range bound following the expiry futures and options for April series.
Beetroot seems to boost the speed and stamina of runners because of the presence of high levels of performance-enhancing chemicals called nitrates, says a study at the St. Louis University in the US.
Researchers recruited 11 fit and healthy men and women and got them to twice run 5 km on a treadmill — first, after asking them to consume a portion of baked beetroot just over an hour before the exercise.
Intense white light may be the latest way to prevent heart attacks besides other ways like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), aspirin and clot-busters, according to a study.
“The study suggests that strong light, or even just daylight, might ease the risk of having a heart attack or suffering damage from one,” says Tobias Eckle, associate professor of anesthesiology, cardiology, and cell and developmental biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
At least three policemen were killed and 11 reported missing after a check post in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province was attacked by militants, said an official Thursday.
“An unknown number of militants attacked a police check post in Basand area of Wardoj district Wednesday night, triggering a gunfight that left three policemen dead,” reported Xinhua citing the anonymous official.
The 11 missing police personnel may have been kidnapped by militants, he said.
Over 44,000 posts meant for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes are lying vacant in central government departments, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
She was born a year before Indian cinema. Film, theatre and TV personality Zohra Sehgal, who turns 100 Friday, has grown to be as colourful and entertaining as the industry itself.
Her zest for life, wit and charm, which have continued to inspire generations, remain unmatched, say entertainment industry veterans.
“She is the most incredible woman I have ever met and one of the finest actresses I have ever seen,” filmmaker R. Balki, who roped her in to play Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘bindaas’ mom in his 2007 film “Cheeni Kum”, told IANS.
Anti-corruption activist and Janata Party president Dr Subramaniam Swamy on Thursday alleged that union home minister P Chidambaram’s son, Kartik Chidambaram was a direct beneficiary of the 2G scam.
Kartik Chidambaram’s company Advantage Strategic Consulting had five per cent stake in Aircel Televentures, claimed Swamy.
He alleged that Chidambaram ensured that the FIPB clearance for Aircel-Maxis deal would be given only if his son Kartik’s company got shares in Aircel Ventures.
A Ranchi court Thursday convicted a man for beheading a woman inside a college campus here last April. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced April 30.
Welcoming the conviction, the victim’s father Maheshwarnath said: “He should be awarded death sentence so that no such incident is repeated in the future.”
Bijendra, an engineering student from Jamshedpur, had allegedly attacked Khushboo with a sharp-edged weapon when she was coming out of a classroom after an exam at St. Xavier’s College here. He was caught by the students present.
Pooja Bhatt has once again collaborated with Pakistani singer Ali Azmat for her directorial “Jism 2” – this time the singer has sung two songs for the movie.
“Grateful to my friend Ali Azmat for absolutely ROCKING 2 tracks from Jism2. Visa or no Visa, you prove yet again that music has no boundaries,” tweeted Pooja.
Azmat, the lead vocalist of popular band Junoon, gave his song “Garaj baras” to Pooja for her directorial debut “Paap”.
“Jism 2” will launch Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone in Bollywood.
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Kailash Kher heads for US tour
Upside down pictures of India’s national flag, chapters to teach the Hindi alphabet that say ‘b’ for ‘bomb’ and ‘ch’ for ‘chaku’ (knife)…These glaring anomalies have surfaced in two textbooks used in some Uttar Pradesh schools.
The books are being used under the state-run Uttar Pradesh board and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), leaving parents fretting and education authorities scurrying for cover.
Emotions ran high as Odisha legislator Jhina Hikaka walked into a crowd of people here Thursday, released by Maoists after being held captive for over a month in Koraput district.
The 37-year-old Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislator, wearing a green kurta, hugged his wife Kaushalya and, seconds later, both broke down. He said he was in good condition and the rebels had treated him well.
Reporters and photographers surrounded Hikaka, who appeared relieved and healthy, as he came with a group of villagers to a mango garden at Balipeta, over 500 km from Bhubaneswar, at about 10.30 a.m.