India’s wholesale-price based index eased to four-month low of 5.43 percent in June against 6.01 percent in May, due to slow increases in fuel and food prices, government data showed here Monday.
The country’s key inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was recorded at 5.16 percent in June 2013.
A bill to remove legal hurdles in the appointment of former TRAI chief Nripendra Misra as principal secretary to the Prime Minister was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday, with Congress, RJD, AAP and RSP opposing it and Trinamool Congress making a volte-face on the issue.
Replying to a discussion during which the government came under attack, minister for law and telecom Ravi Shankar Prasad said the focus of the measure was to remove “a palpable anomaly” as the existing law provided that a former TRAI chairman could take up private job two years after retirement but not a government job.
Dozens of students Monday staged a peaceful protest in Srinagar against Israel’s bombing in Gaza.
Shouting pro-Islam and pro-Palestine slogans, students gathered in Press Enclave area of the Residency Road to express their solidarity with the people of Palestine.
“Down with Israel, down with atrocities, Palestinian brothers we are with you,” said the protestors who remained peaceful during the gathering.
Police were deployed in the area but they did not intervene since the protestors did not resort to any violence.
Rockets fired from Lebanon Monday hit northern Israel for the fourth time since July 11, the Israeli army said.
“Several rockets were fired from Lebanon at the north western Galilee corner, one hitting an open area,” Xinhua quoted a statement by the Israeli army as saying.
The Israeli army launched artillery fire in response, the statement said.
No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack or the previous two attacks July 11 and 12.
Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene has announced his retirement from Test cricket following the home series against South Africa and Pakistan this year.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said Jayawardene, 37, has written a letter to the chief executive officer Ashley De Silva announcing his wish to retire from the longest version of the game.
“It was not an easy decision to make given that it has been a great privilege and honour representing my country during the past 18 years, but I believe this is the right time”, Jayawardene was quoted as saying.
Baboons groom dominant members of their group in the morning hoping for better treatment throughout the day, research has shown.
Grooming among baboons helps relieve stress and improves hygiene.
Smaller baboons groom the larger ones, for access to infants, mating opportunities and better food.
The more dominant a baboon in the group, the earlier it gets its treat.
The prolonged heat and dry spell in the plains has led to an exponential increase in footfall of tourists in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, say members of the hospitality industry.
The tourist season this summer has been extremely good. As per the field reports, there has been an approximate increase of 20-25 percent in the tourist inflow to the state compared to the last year, Tourism Director Mohan Chauhan said Sunday.
He said all hotels in major tourism destinations registered almost 100 percent occupancy during the peak tourist season.
Congress leader and former information and broadcast minister Manish Tewari on Monday said that Baba Ramdev’s close aide Ved Pratap Vaidak’s meeting with 26/11 terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed begs a clarification from the government.
“Vaidik is a gentleman of a certain standing. When such a man meets Hafiz Saeed, who has been accused of masterminding the 26/11 attack, it begs a clarification from the government and the person. Never ever has this happened in the past that people close to the government meet our enemies,” said Tewari.
Actress Jessica Alba finds tight clothes, especially swimwear, to be a complete no-go for men’s summer style.
The “Sin City” star has recently revealed her list of dos and don’ts for men’s summer fashion, reports contactmusic.com.
When asked about what men should avoid in terms of fashion, the 33-year-old said: “Wear clothes that are too tight. Bathing suits that are too tight and small T-shirts, and I’m not a fan of studs or tattoo prints on T-shirts or trousers. I like a skinny jean, but I just think tight board shorts are weird.”
Cash-starved Andhra Pradesh government is getting ready to sell red sanders in an auction through global tenders as the forest commodity has huge demand in the international market.
“The Centre has now given permission for the sale of red sanders. Accordingly, we will issue a notification for sale of 4,000 tonnes of red sanders through global tenders in the first phase,” state Forest Minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy told reporters here this afternoon.
A cloth merchant’s burnt body was found chained Monday in his shop in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur city, police said.
The chained and burnt body of Lalit Maheshwari was found in his cloth outlet, Lalityam Sari Centre, at Roland Tower on Mall road when police and firemen were checking damages resulting from a fire in the shop Sunday night.
An official said he was shocked to find the body chained in the outlet. The cloth merchant left for his shop Sunday afternoon and did not return till late night. Later, his family panicked and informed police.
Praising his “Student Of The Year” and “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania” co-star Alia Bhatt, actor Varun Dhawan has said she’s the “Robert De Niro” of their generation in Bollywood.
“I found her brilliant in ‘Highway’. A performance like (hers in) ‘Highway’ is very difficult in any age. I think she is someone you get to learn from. She is the Robert De Niro of our generation,” Varun said here Sunday.
Alia and Varun made their debut together with “Student of the Year” in 2012. Since then, Alia has featured in films like “Highway” and “2 States”.
The members should not doubt the government’s intention in destroying files in the home ministry, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday after questions were raised about the files shredded by his ministry.
“Don’t doubt the intention of government in destroying files. We will not do anything that will disturb the flow of history,” Rajnath Singh said while giving clarification on questions raised by members on the home ministry destroying some files.
Members quoting reports sought explanation from the home minister on 1.5 lakh files destroyed by his ministry recently.
Legislators from Odisha’s ruling BJD Monday disrupted the proceedings of the state assembly here demanding cancellation of the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh.
Speaker Niranjan Pujari adjourned the house till 3 p.m. after members of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) disrupted the proceedings soon after the start of question hour.
After the house was adjourned, the legislators staged a demonstration near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the assembly complex.
Government plan for madrasas over the Budget allocation of the central government to modernise the madrasas has raised apprehensions in Darul Uloom Deoband and asked to shed light on the road- map of the plan.
According to Ashraf Usmani, PR Officer of Darul Uloom, “The intention of the government is not clear. The government must define its concept of modernisation.
Mere introduction of English education and computers doesn’t mean modernisation. We also believe that modernisation and introduction of job oriented courses are two different thinks.”
For the first time ever, as many as 912 Muslims, categorised as BC-E, got elected to different posts in the recently held elections for municipal corporations, municipalities, nagar and gram panchayats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Monday was trading 18.61 points or 0.07 percent down as consumer durables and IT stocks dipped.
Selling pressure was seen in consumer durables, IT and healthcare sectors, while marginal good buying was seen in capital goods sectors.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 25,093.16 points, was trading at 25,005.74 points (at 01.37 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 18.61 points or 0.07 percent from the previous day’s close at 25,024.35 points.
In a significant discovery, researchers have invented a cheap and hand-held device to diagnose type-1 diabetes at home.
People who are at risk of developing type-1 diabetes can also benefit from the nanotech microchip-based device because it will allow doctors to quickly track if they can have the disease later in life.
“With the new test, not only do we anticipate being able to diagnose diabetes more efficiently and more broadly, we will also understand diabetes better,” said Brian Feldman, an assistant professor at Stanford University’s school of medicine.
North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells into the sea today in a live-fire drill near the disputed maritime border with South Korea that followed a recent series of missile tests.
The drill began shortly before midday (0830 IST) using land artillery units based at the eastern tip of the
demilitarised zone that bisects the Korean peninsula, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
Dozens of shells were fired into North Korean territorial waters,” a JCS spokesman said.
Scores of people, displaced during the Muzaffarnagar riots staged a demonstration demanding security for bringing their goods from their native place and blocked the Kandhla-Budhana Road at Budhana town in the district.
Hailing from village Mohadpur Raisingh, the people demanded police security to bring their household material
from their native area yesterday, police said.
The demonstrators were displaced during the Muzaffarnagar riots that took place last year, they said, adding, they are currently living in Budhana town.
Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party today voiced grave concern over killing of “innocent” people, including children, in Gaza following attacks by Israel and staged a walkout in Lok Sabha.
As soon as the House met for the day, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti wanted to raise the issue saying the House cannot remain silent over the killing of women, children and others in Gaza.
Why are we silent? Whom are we afraid of? India is the only friend of Palestine since 1947. We have to condemn the
attack. We have to discuss,” she said, supported by party member Tariq Hameed Karra.
Opposition Congress today created uproar in Rajya Sabha over reported meeting of a journalist considered close to yoga guru Ramdev with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, leading to two adjournments during Question Hour.
Though the government clarified that it had nothing to do with it, Congress members sought a detailed statement on the purpose and motive behind the meeting with India’s most wanted terrorist.
Congress members said it was a matter of national interest and the journalist should have been arrested.
Hashim Amla will make history on Wednesday when he takes the field as South Africa’s first permanent non-white skipper, helming a team in transition after the retirements of Test greats Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.
Amla, a devout Muslim, was named captain last month after Smith retired from international cricket, signalling the end of an era which saw him lead out the Proteas a record-breaking 109 times over ten years.
Thirty-one-year-old Amla is the first non-white player to captain the Test side in a full-time capacity — Ashwell
Prince has skippered on a stand-in basis.
Eight persons were injured when two groups clashed over a minor dispute at Walipur village in the district, police said on Monday.
The clash broke out when a bike driven by Bunty hit a pedestrian identified as Aasif yesterday, SP (Crime) Rakesh Jolly said.
Soon two groups gathered at the spot and started attacking each other with sharp weapons and lathis each other.
Senior police officials rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Eight persons injured in the clash have been admitted to a hospital.
Security has been tightened in the area.
–PTI
Opposition Congress on Monday created uproar in Rajya Sabha over reported meeting of a journalist considered close to yoga guru Ramdev with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, leading to two adjournments during Question Hour.
Though the government clarified that it had nothing to do with it, Congress members sought a detailed statement on the purpose and motive behind the meeting with India’s most wanted terrorist.
Congress members said it was a matter of national interest and the journalist should have been arrested.