Certain blood pressure lowering medications may have dangerous side effects as researchers have found a link between taking vasodilators and developing early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that could lead to vision loss and blindness.
AMD – the deterioration of the eye’s macula, which is responsible for the ability to see fine details clearly – affects millions worldwide.
The sale of tobacco should be regulated to achieve the goal of controlling non-communicable diseases in India, said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan here Thursday.
“It makes perfect economic sense to regulate the use of tobacco in order to achieve the goal of controlling non-communicable disease in India. Tobacco use is a preventable risk factor for major diseases and the resultant economic consequences,” Harsh Vardhan said, releasing a report on the economic burden of tobacco in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked union ministers to focus on good governance and implementation, come up with a plan of action for the first 100 days and give quick response to representations from states and public representatives.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the cabinet, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the prime minister heard the ministers and gave suggestions on some issues.
He said Modi also asked cabinet ministers to take their ministers of states into confidence and give them adequate work.
Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu Thursday urged former ministers of the UPA government to vacate government houses allotted to them early so that the new incumbents could settle in.
The outgoing ministers should set a good example for the people, Naidu told reporters here.
“Please vacate at the earliest as the incumbents have to settle in,” Naidu said.
“Set a good example for the people so that there is no problem for me,” he said. Naidu is also the parliamentary affairs minister.
–IANS
A woman passenger died after falling from a speeding train near Jalgaon in Maharashtra early Thursday following a tiff with a ticket examiner, police said.
The incident reportedly happened after a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) allegedly attempted to molest the deceased, Ujjwala Pandya, on the pretext of checking her ticket as she had boarded a wrong coach.
She resisted and in the process lost her balance, fell on the railway tracks and was killed instantly, a police official said.
Actor Vivek Oberoi has been named the brand ambassador of Zeel Rainwear, an Indian brand that has unveiled its latest range of rainwear for men, women and children for the monsoon.
The company, part of N.Z. Seasonal Wear, showcased its latest advertising campaign featuring the actor, 37, on the occasion.
Ranging from Rs.300 to Rs.1500, the rainwear clothing will be available across Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and other key states.
A woman passenger was killed today after she was pushed off a moving train by an allegedly drunk ticket examiner for trying to board an AC coach while carrying a general class ticket in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, police said.
The TTE identified as Sampat Salunkhe, has been arrested, they said.
According to a complaint filed with Jalgaon GRP by the nephew of the deceased, Ujjwala Pandey (38), tried to board an AC coach of LTT-Rajendranagar Patna Express when she was stopped by Salunkhe.
Describing China as a “priority” in India’s foreign policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told Premier Li Keqiang that he was keen on working closely with the Chinese leadership to deal with any outstanding issues in bilateral ties.
Premier Li today telephoned Prime Minister Modi and conveyed his government’s desire to establish robust partnership with the new government of India for the further development of ties.
Government schools in the national capital have performed better than most of the other CBSE-affiliated institutions in the country and improved their performance over last year’s in the Class 12 examinations, the results of which were declared Thursday.
A total of 88.78 percent of the students cleared the exams as compared to the 2013 figure of 88.62 percent, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said.
Delhi was followed by Ajmer where government schools had a pass percentage of 86.63 percent — a whopping increase from its 2013 figure of 50.64 percent.
Krishan Pal has taken charge as the Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping here this morning.
He later held discussions with the officials of the Ministry along with the Cabinet Minister Nitiin Gadkari.
Krishan Pal has been elected as a M.P. from the Faridabad Constituency in Haryana in the recent Lok Sabha Elections.
The 57 year old BJP leader had earlier been elected to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha in 1996 for the first time and became the Transport Minister in the Haryana Government. (ANI)
The search for the missing Malaysian jet suffered yet another blow today after Australia ruled out a large area in the Indian Ocean where four acoustic signals were detected as the final resting place of the plane.
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Bluefin-21, completed its last mission searching the remaining areas in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in early April by the Towed Pinger Locator deployed from the Australian ship Ocean Shield.
Former Indian pacer Sreesanth says he is not following the current season of Indian Premiere League (IPL) matches as he is busy with his stint in a dance reality show.
The 31-year-old cricketer will be seen in ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, where he will be competing against 12 other celebrities with his choreographer Sneha.
“I am not watching IPL 7. All my time is consumed by ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’. I am devoting eight hours everyday practising and learning new dance forms. Otherwise, I watch previous seasons of Jhalak on YouTube,” Sreesanth said in a group interview here.
The Congress on Thursday came out in support of Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi after a senior leader of party’s Kerala unit, T.H. Mustafa, criticised his leadership and apparently called him a ‘Joker’.
Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal sidestepped Mustafa’s comment and asked party leaders to raise issues internally.
“I haven’t seen his statement. But whoever has issued this statement should raise their grievances in the party forum,” said Afzal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today quit his Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, choosing to retain Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP recorded a landslide victory bagging 71 of the 80 seats in the recent elections.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was also elected two seats in Uttar Pradesh, has quit from his pocket-borough Mainpuri and has retained Azamgarh.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him on his victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources, Premier Li conveyed the Chinese government’s desire to establish robust partnership with the new government of India for further development of relations between the two nations.
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said that tobacco consumption is a menace and a strong social movement is needed to address and tackle its growing use in India.
Addressing the commemorative function to mark the ‘ World No Tobacco Day’, here, the Health Minister said: “We need to convince tobacco users of the grave ill effects of its consumption.”
The United Nations (UN) have said that it is concerned at Malaysia banishing three men, who were accused of trying to revive the Tamil Tiger rebel group to Sri Lanka.
UN has reportedly warned that the men, out of which two were refuges and another was seeking asylum, were now at risk of ‘serious harm’.
According to the BBC, the three men have been accused of raising funds and spreading propaganda for the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated by Sri Lanka’s army in the north of the country in 2009.
A woman from US has set a record for eating two 72-ounce steaks in under 15 minutes.
Molly Schuyler , who is a mother of four, beat renowned hot-dog eater Joey Chestnut in 2008, who had taken eight minutes and 52 seconds to clean his plate at the restaurant, Huffington Post reported.
Schuyler continued gorging by eating a second 72-oz hunk of beef in 9:58 for a total of nine pounds of steak in just under 15 minutes and her feast also included a baked potato, shrimp, salad and a bread roll. (ANI)
Rajnath Singh on Thursday took charge as the Home Minister in the Narendra Modi government.
Before assuming charge, Singh paid floral tributes to the country’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at his statue near Parliament.
Kiren Rijiju also took over as Minister of State for Home.
Other new ministers who took charge are Retired General V K Singh as Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Krishan Pal as Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping and Prakash Javadekar as Minister of State for Environment and Forests. (ANI)
Partner at Venture Capital ( VC) firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers ( KPCB) Mary Meeker is going to present her annual outlook on the internet industry at the Code Conference put on by Re/code.
Meeker, who is one of the legendary observers of the Internet industry, is going to present some facts about the internet at the Code Conference where data gives deep insights into the state of the technology industry that is useful for investors, founders, journalists, and others who care about technology.
According to a survey conducted by Assocham, one in five kids in urban cities are overweight by the time he completes primary school and suffer from various lifestyle-related problems in later years.
Nearly 56 per cent of working mothers have unhealthy children followed by those who work part-time (28 per cent) and home makers (16 per cent), the survey revealed.
The reason – full-time working mothers are less likely to eat vegetables and fruits.
On Wednesday, The Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) began excavation within the heritage zone of Naya Qila, a subject of heated debate between locals and the association, reportedly using heavy machinery, including earthmovers.
According to P Anuradha Reddy, Heritage activist and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) Hyderabad Chapter convener, who went to visit the site, said there were at least four excavators and tractors which were pressed into service for digging or dumping within the Qila.
MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday condemned the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre for issuing an ordinance related to Polavaram Project.
Speaking to media persons after meeting Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan here, Asaduddin Owaisi said that it was unethical on the part of the Centre to issue ordinance to merge seven mandals of Khammam districts in Seemandhra region for Polavaram project. He said that issuing an ordinance a week before the commencement of Parliament session was wrong and indicates that the NDA was suffering from some kind of inferiority complex.
Former minister K Jana Reddy on Thursday accused the BJP-led NDA Government of trying to aggravating the problems related to Polavaram Project issue.
Counter to the expectations, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-in-waiting N. Chandrababu Naidu will not function for at least two months from the Secretariat premises after being sworn in as Chief Minister on June 8 at a place between Vijayawada and Guntur.
Instead, he will be operating from the Lake View Guest House situated on the Raj Bhavan Road.
Mr Naidu will administer his Chief Minister’s Office from this guest house for at least two months. Afterward, he will move into the ‘L’ Block located on the Secretariat premises.