Month: January 2015

NCC displays unity in diversity: Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said NCC was a “mini India” and it displays the unity in diversity that is the country’s strength.

Speaking at the NCC rally here, the prime minister said it brought back memories of his childhood when he was a cadet of the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

The prime minister revealed that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, BJP’s Delhi chief minister candidate Kiran Bedi and actor-turned-parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan were all NCC cadets.

Is Mumtaz Mahal’s body mummified in Taj Mahal?

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The mystery surrounding Mumtaz Mahal’s burial at the Taj Mahal has deepened with a book claiming that her body was mummified.

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the 17th century Taj Mahal here in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz who died while giving birth to their 14th child in Burhanpur, a town in what is now Maharashtra.

Original preamble did not have ‘secular’, ‘socialist’: Minister

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The original preamble of the Constitution did not have the words “socialist” and “secular”, said Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Wednesday.

The government has been criticised over a Republic Day advertisement, which showed the preamble without the two words.

The minister said a picture of the original preamble was used for the advertisement to “honour” it.

Sunanda Pushkar murder case: Amar Singh keeps mum after SIT interrogation

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Former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Amar Singh, who was questioned on Wednesday by a special investigative team of the Delhi Police in connection with murder case of Sunanda Pushkar, chose to keep mum over the nature of the enquiries.

“I was questioned for two hours. The questions asked by the SIT and what I replied to them are not supposed to be disclosed. I respect [Congress president] Sonia Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor a lot. Whatever I knew about Sunanda, I told the police about it,” Singh told the media.

G Janardhan Reddy’s aide Mehfuz Ali Khan also gets bail

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A special CBI court here today granted conditional bail to K Mehfuz Ali Khan, an accused in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) scam involving former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.

Khan, the personal assistant of Reddy and the seventh accused in the OMC case, had earlier filed a bail application which was allowed by the court today.

He was asked to submit two sureties of Rs 10 lakh each, to surrender his passport and not to leave the country without informing the court.

Kate Moss makes grand entrance at party

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When it comes to making a glamorous entry, supermodel Kate Moss doesn’t miss a chance. She arrived at a birthday party after splashing out 6,000 pounds on a private helicopter.

The model was cheered when she touched down at the Craigellachie Hotel in the Scottish Highlands with her husband Jamie Hince, celebrating nutritionist Rose Ferguson’s birthday Sunday, while fellow guests Noel Gallagher, Nick Grimshaw and Sadie Frost headed to the venue on budget airline flights from London’s Gatwick.

Women lodging false rape cases should be punished: Court

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Time has come for courts to deal firmly with women filing false rape complaints as they are tormentors warranting punishment, a Delhi Court has said.

False rape cases makes the crime graph shoot up, play havoc with the crime statistics and tend to trivialise the offence of rape and, “no sooner that the news of a person having been accused of rape spreads in the society, he is looked down upon by all and sundry,” it observed.

Interim report on MH370 to be published March 7

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Malaysian authorities will publish a preliminary report on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 March 7, a day before the first anniversary of the incident, officials said Wednesday.

The report will be posted on the website of the department of civil aviation, said Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi.

“We have not concluded on the status of the plane, as the search is still on-going,” the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

Sushma Swaraj’s Beijing visit ‘important’: China

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China on Wednesday said it attaches “great importance” to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit here this week, during which she will interact with top Chinese leaders and attend the 13th Russia, India and China (RIC) foreign ministers meeting.

“This is her first visit since she took over office last year. Both sides attach great importance to her visit,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing here.

New change, not third party attack caused Facebook, Instagram to go offline

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It was not the result of a third party attack but a change that affected Facebook and Instagram’s configuration systems, resulting in both the social networking websites being taken offline on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson.

A Facebook spokesperson revealed that both the social networking websites were offline on Tuesday because they introduced a change that affected their configuration systems, and claimed that it was not the result of a third party attack.

Shiv Sena seeking ‘signal for communal orchestra’ to start playing: Congress

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Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday said the Shiv Sena’s demand that the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ should be removed from the Preamble of the Constitution goes on to show that the advertisement published by the government on Republic Day was not a coincidence but a signal for the communal orchestra to start playing.

Tewari alleged that if it is left to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) and its allies then they would even delete the word ‘democratic’ from the Preamble.

Mick Jagger’s daughter makes Mulberry debut

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Model Georgia May Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger, has made her first appearance for British label Mulberry in their new Spring campaign.

The 23-year-old has been unveiled as the face of the luxury label’s Spring advertisements which aim to give the impression of “an impromptu photo shoot set up in a country house”, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She stuns in the photos from the campaign which sees her posing next to a silver tea set, ornamental arm chairs and carrying the brand’s Delphie bag in a traditional-looking British sitting room.

AP ministers, officials to undergo course on ‘joyful living’

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Andhra Pradesh ministers and government officials will undergo a three-day crash course on ‘Inner Engineering for joyful living’ from Thursday.

Nearly 300 people, including ministers and government officials like IAS, IPS and IFS officers, will take part in the course, being held by Isha Foundation run by spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the CMO said in a statement.

US state executes prisoner with reported mental disability

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The US state of Georgia has executed Warren Hill, a prisoner with reported intellectual disabilities who was sentenced to death for the murder of his cellmate in 1990.

Hill, a 54-year-old African-American, was executed with a lethal injection at Jackson prison Tuesday, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Minutes before the execution, the US Supreme Court denied a stay of execution requested by the defence on grounds of Hill’s intellectual disability.

Now, fat-busting jab that can help you get rid of ‘double-chin’

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Researchers have recently developed a new fat-busting injection that can help people get rid of their “double-chin.”

The revolutionary treatment, currently in the testing phase, promises to get rid of unsightly fat around the jaw line without have to resort to surgery or dieting, the Daily Express reported.

The procedure involves injecting a specially-formulated chemical, known as ATX-101, into the skin to kill off fat cells, known as “submental fat”, or double chins.

The drug was a version of deoxycholic acid, a molecule that occurs naturally in the body to help destroy fat.

Now, post videos and host group chats on Twitter

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The long wait for posting group messages and videos is over for Twitter users, as the social networking website on Tuesday revealed that users can now use the features from the iOS and Android apps.

Twitter revealed the features on Tuesday which now allows users to post 30-second video clips to their account and direct messages have expanded to let a user post messages to groups of up to 20 people, creating a place for more private conversations on the site.

AP reports two swine flu deaths, 24 cases

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Swine flu, which has so far claimed 25 lives in Telangana, is also spreading in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, as the state Wednesday reported two deaths and 24 positive cases.

This was revealed by Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas to reporters in Ongole, around 320 km from Hyderabad.

A pregnant woman in Anantapur district has tested positive for H1N1 influenza, while four suspected cases were also reported in Anantapur, Chittoor and Visakhapatnam districts.

60 percent of type 2 diabetes preventable: Austrian experts

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Type 2 diabetes is preventable in up to 60 percent of cases if early signs are recognised and acted upon, experts have said.

“Eight percent of the Austrian population suffers from diabetes but only two-thirds know they have it,” Xinhua news agency quoted Vienna General Hospital’s Thomas Stulnig as saying in a press conference Tuesday.

He added that late diagnosis leads to enormous health costs and 20 percent of patients have long-term damage by the time of diagnosis.

Mary Kom calls on PM Modi

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Champion pugilist M.C. Mary Kom met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister’s Office described it as a courtesy call.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kom had expressed her delight over U.S. President Barack Obama mentioning her name in his Town Hall speech at the Siri Fort auditorium in the national capital, terming it a ‘moment of pride’.

Women can’t do it all, Drew Barrymore says

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Drew Barrymore has expressed her views that women can’t have everything, but still they can prove it wrong by earning it through their hard work.

The ‘Blended’ actress, who’s also a business woman, a mother, and homemaker, said that she was a hard worker and up for every task in a day, E! Online reported.

The 39-year-old star later added that since didn’t have her parents around much, she is now very much focused on providing good values, affection and care to her babies, but on the same hand manages all her other works without any standbys. (ANI)

UN will stop assisting Gaza for rebuilding homes

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The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday that it cannot afford to repair Gaza homes which are damaged in last year’s Israel and Hammas war as contributors have failed to pay.

According to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN agency has exhausted all funding to support repairs and rental subsidies.”Some funds remain available for reconstruction of totally destroyed homes only.” said UNRWA.

‘Joey and Pacey’s Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson make TV comeback on same network

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Katie Holmes is returning to Television on the network, where her so famous on screen partner Joshua Jackson is also making a comeback.

The ‘Batman Begins’ star will now be seen on Ray Donovan’s third season whereas Jackson has signed to work with Golden Globe-winning freshman drama ‘The Affair’, and both the shows will be broadcasted on the same network, E! Online reported.

The 36-year-old actress will be playing the role of the shrewd and chic businesswoman ‘Paige’, who has a major connection in the upcoming season compared to other huge guest stars.

Serena cruises in, Venus crashes out of Oz Open

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World number one Serena Williams crushed her Slovakian opponent Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets to stroll into the semifinal round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The American number one claimed a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 11th seeded Cibulkova to progress into the round of last four.

On the other hand, Madison Keys, unseeded American, reached her first grand slam semifinal with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over compatriot Venus Williams in one hour and 54 minutes.

Serena will now meet Madison to book a spot in the final of the first grand slam of the year. (ANI)

PDP-BJP dialogue to reach consensus soon: PDP

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday stated the next government in Jammu and Kashmir will be on the basis of a common minimum programme and added that the dialogue between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and PDP will reach a consensus soon.