Month: February 2015

Arrest made in death of Indian student in Canada

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Police in Canada have arrested an Indo-Canadian man on charges of manslaughter in connection with the death of a 19-year-old Indian student, Harmanjit Singh.

Dashminder Deol, 37, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter and offering an indignity to human remains, Canadian CBC reported Thursday.

Singh’s decomposed body was found floating on a flood basin in Stoney Creek, a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, in November last year.

Skip cakey look by choosing right makeup base

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Layers of wrongly chosen makeup can make you end up looking cakey. Get your hands on the right make-up base to look flawless, says an expert.

“Every skin type is different. You have different foundations for fair, light and medium skin tone; again it is categorised into dry, oily and combination skin. Getting your base right is very important,” make-up artist Annalia Zhimomi told IANS.

She says for dry flaky skin, don’t use powder.

Sushant guarantees his best in ‘…Byomkesh Bakshy!’

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Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who made a successful Bollywood debut with “Kai Po Che”, says he has delivered his career’s best performance in his forthcoming film “Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!”.

Talking about the crime thriller, directed by Dibakar Banerjee, Sushant said: “I don’t know if it’s the toughest film till date or not, but one thing I can assure you of is that in my area of acting in TV and films, I have never given so much to a film.”

Hindi TV show ‘Swaragini’ zooms in on Kolkata’s hotspots

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From the Howrah Bridge to Victoria Memorial, tram lines to the Kalighat Temple and Millenium Park — various key locations of Kolkata have been captured for a new Hindi TV show “Swaragini”, which highlights the cultural conflicts between two neighbouring families.

The team of the show, including leading faces Helly Shah and Tejaswi Prakash Wayangankar who play Swara Bose and Ragini Gadodia respectively, launched the new entertainer here.

Sayeed meets Modi ahead of swearing-in of PDP-BJP govt in JK

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PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the swearing-in of the PDP-BJP alliance government on Sunday that will see him return as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister.

The meeting comes after the BJP and PDP reached a consensus on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) that will form the basis of their unique coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sayeed, who arrived here last evening, met the Prime Minister at his residence to give finishing touches to the cabinet that would be sworn-in along with Sayeed on Sunday.

Katy Perry’s ‘heavy’ visit to Poland

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Singer Katy Perry visited the Auschwitz-Birkinau State Museum in Poland and came out with a “heavy” heart.

The 30-year-old took the time following her show in Krakow, Poland to visit the site of notorious concentration camps Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau Wednesday, where more several people were murdered during the Holocaust, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“My heart was heavy today,” Perry captioned a photograph she took on the grounds.

Animals are good for the soul: Judi Dench

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Actress Judi Dench, who has previously cared for four cats, two guinea pigs, 12 water voles, two fish, a hamster and a pair of field mice, says being surrounded by pets is “good for the soul”.

Dench told Stylist magazine that she has given her “breadstick-sized” goldfish Lazarus the “kiss of life” twice and she never ceases to be amazed by her, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Ukraine says pulling back arms as US, Russia trade barbs

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Ukraine’s military today said it had started the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline, bolstering a stuttering peace plan as the United States and Russia traded barbs over the conflict.

The announced pull-back — a key part of a peace deal negotiated earlier this month — comes after a shaky truce that was meant to come into force on February 15 but only took hold across the conflict zone in recent days.

“Ukraine is today beginning the withdrawal of 100mm cannons from the frontline,” the army said in a statement.

Woman slaps taxi-driver to protest misbehaviour

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A woman slapped a taxi-driver after alleging that he had misbehaved with her outside the busy Howrah railway station today, police said.

DCP (traffic), Howrah, Sumit Kumar, said the woman passenger got into a scuffle with the taxi-driver before slapping him.

“A complaint was lodged by the woman over alleged misbehaviour by a taxi-driver outside the Howrah station. A general diary has been recorded,” Kumar said.

There was, however, no arrest made in connection with the case.

Historical opportunity for reconciliation: BJP on new JK govt

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Set to form government in Jammu & Kashmir with PDP, BJP today said it could be a “historical opportunity” to bring about larger reconciliation in the state in the national interest.

Senior BJP leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Rajya Sabha that people in the state have voted “overwhelmingly” for BJP in Jammu and for PDP in the Valley.

“It may be a historical opportunity to bring about larger reconciliation in Jammu & Kashmir in larger national interest,” he said while intervening in the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

Seven dead, one injured as car collides with tree

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Seven members of two families, including four children, were killed and another injured in a road accident today at Nalgaria in West Tripura district, police said.

“Four persons of one family and three persons of another family, including two children and their mother, died on the spot when their speeding car collided with a tree early today at Nalgaria, SP Police Control, Uttam Bhowmik told PTI.

Bhowmick said, while seven persons died on the spot, another person was injured and admitted to Agartala Government Medical College here, whose condition was stated to be critical.

UK to mark ‘World Yoga Day’ on June 21

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Britain will mark the recently- declared ‘World Yoga Day’ by the United Nations with a mega event on June 21, in what may be seen as India’s growing “soft power” in the world.

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ranjan Mathai made the announcement at a parliamentary group meeting here yesterday.

The UN adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’ in December last year, less than three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the idea.

Drop in rape cases in Bengal and swift action: Mamata

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Stating that the NCRB data has shown a drop in incidents of crime, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the state has taken swift action in rape cases.

“You people were saying that….Rape incidents are higher I don’t agree with you people. In several incidents in Labhpur, Darjeeling and many others, the action has been very swift,” Banerjee said in the Assembly during her reply on the Governor’s address.

“According to the NCRB data on rapes, we have recorded 1685 rapes in 2013. We have (taken) swift action in cases of rapes,” Banerjee said.

Tight security ahead of mahapanchayat over Vicky Tyagi murder

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Security has been beefed up in several villages in the district on the eve of a community mahapanchayat over murder of gangster Vicky Tyagi, police said today.

The mahapanchayat has been called at Pawti village of the district tomorrow in the wake of the murder of gangster Vicky Tyagi, who was shot dead in a court room here on February 16.

Meanwhile, police today staged a flag march in Pawti, Kutesra, Chokda, Kissukhera and Charthawal villages for precautionary measures in view of the mahapanchayat, an official said.

2 men charged over USD 50M meth shipment from China to Sydney

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Two men from Malaysia and Hong Kong have been charged with smuggling more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine worth USD 50 million into Sydney in a shipping container from China, authorities said today.

The men, whose names have not been released, were to appear in a Sydney court today on various drug charges, Australian Federal Police and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service said in a joint statement. They face potential life prison sentences if convicted.

Hand-washing dishes cuts risk of allergies among children: Study

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Children living in homes where dishes are washed by hand are only half as likely to suffer from allergies than children in homes where dish-washing machines are used.

Swedish researchers studied nearly 1,000 seven and eight-year-olds living in the cities of Gothenburg in western Sweden and Kiruna in the north. They found that where families used dish-brushes children were less likely to suffer from asthma, eczema and hay fever, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday citing the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Hong Kong may yet take ‘meaningful’ step to democracy: Britain

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Britain’s foreign secretary today said Hong Kong could still take a “meaningful step” towards democracy after mass protests posed the most serious test to the city’s stability since its handover to China.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to Hong Kong’s streets to call for fully free leadership elections late last year, paralysing parts of the city for more than two months.

China has promised people in the semi-autonomous city the right to vote for their next leader, or chief executive, in 2017, fulfilling a pledge made during the handover from Britain in 1997.

5 KLO ultras surrender

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Five top Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants, two of them carrying Rs 5 lakh reward, surrendered with arms in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district today, said a police official.

The extremists laid down arms before the Superintendent of Police and deposited one HK-33 rifle with magazine, 100 rounds of ammunition and two satellite phones, IGP L R Bishnoi told PTI.

Lightning kills eight in Uttar Pradesh

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Eight people were killed in Uttar Pradesh as lightning struck them, officials said Friday.

Heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning lashed many parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh following which villagers in Balrampur and Bahraich districts were killed late Thursday.

Bitti, 24, Banni, 45, were killed in Bahubaliya village of Bahraich while a youth, Indresh, was struck by lightning and killed instantly on his agriculture field.

Delhi Police head constable booked for raping relative

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A 30-year-old woman has accused a Delhi Police head constable, who happens to be her relative, of raping her in outer Delhi’s Alipur area, police said today.

The accused, Devi Singh, currently posted in the disaster team of Rohini police station is absconding after the woman lodged a police complaint last evening, police said.

According to police, the 30-year-old woman has alleged that Singh had force himself upon her many times, threatening her of serious consequences if she revealed her ordeal to anyone.

Japan companies to jointly work on self-driving car technology

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Japan’s big three automakers will team up with electronics giants and the government in a bid to propel the country into the front ranks of self-driving car technology, officials and local media said today.

“We will set up a so-called self-navigation business conference so that we can discuss what measures we need to take,” a land and transport ministry official said, adding that they have yet to set the agenda.

Moderate intensity tremor jolts Kashmir

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A moderate-intensity earthquake Friday jolted Kashmir although no loss of life or property has been reported so far, an official said.

“A moderate-intensity earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale occurred at 3.29 a.m. today (Friday),” Sonam Lotus, director of the local Met Office, told IANS here.

He said the epicentre of the earthquake was in the Pakistan region.

Many residents in Srinagar city and some other places in the Kashmir Valley said panic gripped them as the tremor jolted them out of sleep.

I am not a terrorist: Nasheed tells Maldivian court

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Maldives’ former president Mohamed Nasheed today said he was not a terrorist and nor did he authorise any arrest as he appeared for a late night hearing in a criminal court here four days after he was arrested under anti-terrorism laws.

During the second hearing, the prosecutor general presented the evidence and information in the case to Nasheed’s lawyers after which the court gave them three days to study the case.

Nasheed, 47, has been accused of ordering the arrest of a senior judge in 2012 that triggered violence in the Indian Ocean island.

West Bengal PSC Chairman resigns: Mamata

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The West Bengal government has accepted the resignation of Chairman of the state Public Service Commission (PSC) SK Nurul Haque, who resigned from the post recently on health grounds.

The PSC Chairman has resigned. He has the independence to do so, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement in the Assembly today.

Banerjee also said that appointment of the next PSC Chairman would be made through the proper procedure.

Haque, a 1982 batch IAS, had retired as Additional Chief Secretary of the state government, before his appointment as Chairman of the PSC.

Cyclist mowed down, mod sets bus on fire

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A 26-year-old cyclist was killed this evening when he was mowed down by a speeding chartered bus in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri area here.

An angry mob then torched the bus, bearing a UP registration number. The incident took place around 7 PM.

“The cyclist, identified as Bablu (26), succumbed to his injuries on the spot following which the crowd turned angry and set the bus on fire,” said a police officer.

Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot which doused the flame. No passenger was injured in the incident.