Parrikar visits army’s Red Horn Division in Assam

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar undertook a maiden visit to the Indian Army’s Red Horns Division today. He was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh and the GOC-in-C of the army’s Eastern Command, Lt.Gen. M M S Rai.

They reviewed the overall security situation prevailing in Lower Assam and also to get a first hand feel of the ongoing operations against militant groups.

Sofia Vergara a strong woman: Reese Witherspoon

Actress Reese Witherspoon formed a friendship with her Colombian co-star Sofia Vergara on the set of the new comedy film “Hot Pursuit”, and says she has a huge amount of respect for the “Modern Family” star.

Vergara is currently embroiled in a legal battle with ex-fiancé Nick Loeb.

Asked about her close bond with Vergara, Witherspoon said: “I like to hang out with other strong women. I only really know strong women. I grew up with strong women in the south and so she’s just the same.

Never felt so loved: Akshay Kumar

Actor Akshay Kumar is elated over the response he is getting for his film “Gabbar Is Back”. He says that he has never felt so loved.

The 47-year-old took to micro-blogging website Twitter to express his feelings after seeing a crane putting a garland on the actor’s poster.

“Just when I felt u’ll have given me enough love, U’ll go ahead & hire a crane to garland my poster! Never felt so loved,” he wrote along a photograph of the poster being feted with a huge garland with the help of a crane.

A break was important to rediscover myself: R. Madhavan

Actor R. Madhavan, who is returning to the Bollywood scene with “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”, says it was a conscious decision to take a break as he wanted time to rediscover himself.

“I took a break so that I can entertain my audience properly. I think I took my audience for granted, and was not able to justify myself. I did ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ as my first film (after the break). It was important to take a break and rediscover myself as an actor,” he said here.

His last film to release was “Jodi Breakers” in 2012.

Siddhanth Kapoor injured during ‘Bombairiya’ shoot

Actor Siddhanth Kapoor, who will be seen vrooming around on a pink scooter in his next film “Bombairiya”, met with an accident while shooting for a chase sequence.

But the actor went ahead to complete the scene and says that the incident brought him closer to his reel character.

“Accidents happen on sets all the time, but I didn’t want the schedule to go to waste. The scooter is an extension of my character in the film and this accident has actually managed to forge a real relationship between me and my ride,” Siddhanth said in a statement.

TVS Motor logs 14 percent sales growth in April

Two- and three-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd on Saturday said it has logged 14 percent sales growth last month over the corresponding period of 2014.

In a statement, the company said it sold 195,937 units last month up from 171,897 units sold in April 2014.

Its total exports grew by 18 percent with sales increasing from 27,493 units in the month of April 2014 to 32,426 units in April 2015.

Two-wheeler exports grew by eight percent with sales increasing from 21,760 units in April 2014 to 23,525 units in April 2015.

IANS

Politics won’t interfere with academics in Bengal: Harsh Vardhan

Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said the central government will not let politics interfere with the progress of academics and research in West Bengal.

“I don’t know what happens here now. We will not allow it to happen… don’t worry,” Vardhan told the media here while responding to questions on politics penetrating the education and academic sector in Bengal.

“People bring in politics but science and technology should be dealt with an academic angle and that is what we do. There is no room for politics,” Vardhan added.

Nadal receives Spanish award

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy awarded the Gold Medal for Merit to tennis star Rafael Nadal, who stated that “victory is accomplished through work”.

The ceremony was held at the Moncloa Palace here on Friday, which marked Labour Day, reports Efe.

Nadal was one of the winners of this award, decided last June 13, but he could not pick it up at the ceremony in November because he was still recovering from his recent appendectomy operation.

Kim K reveals trying for second baby is `exhausting`

Kim Kardashian has revealed that trying for the second baby with her rapper husband Kanye West has become really exhausting .

The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star said while sitting at the backstage of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ that she and her 37-year-old American rapper husband were trying everything that they could to make it happen for their second child and this is now their daily routine, E! Online reported.

Afghan woman escapes beheading attempt by her mother-in-law

An Afghan official says that a newly-wed woman narrowly escaped a beheading attempt by her mother-in-law in eastern Ghazni province.

Shukria Wali, the head of the women’s affairs department in Ghazni province, said today that Gul Sema, 23, was repeatedly beaten and tortured by her husband’s family during her five months of marriage.

Sema was brought to the hospital with severe injuries after her mother-in-law attacked her throat with a knife, Wali said.

Waving Pakistani flag not new in Kashmir: NC leader

The waving of the Pakistani flag during separatist rallies in Jammu and Kashmir was not a new thing and had also happened in the past, a National Conference leader and former minister said here on Saturday.

“Here (Jammu and Kashmir), there are some supporters of Pakistan, some support Azadi (independence) and some prefer India. This goes on. However, if the law has been violated, it is the job of the government to look into it,” NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said during a protest rally here against the state government’s new recruitment policy.

Daredevils look to hold on to winning edge against Royals

Delhi Daredevils, who have found a bit of momentum after a sluggish start, will aim to hold on to their off-late form when they take on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Brabourne Stadium here on Sunday.

Daredevils will go in to the match after a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab on Friday. Comeback man Zaheer Khan took two early wickets to put the visitors on the back foot right at the start while Nathan Coulter-Nile was impressive, picking 4/20.

Nepal earthquake toll nears 7,000; people take to streets over slow relief

Fresh tremors rocked parts of Nepal on Saturday, triggering landslides as the death toll in last Saturday’s devastating earthquake neared 7,000 and protests mounted over relief not reaching several affected areas.

A 5.1-magnitude aftershock shook Barpak village in Gorkha district near the epicentre of the powerful 7.9-magnitude temblor that had caused widespread destruction. A woman was injured due to the tremor that was preceded by a 4.5-magnitude aftershock, triggering panic among the people.

Here’s why the Nepal earthquake could have been much worse

The structural engineer strides through Kathmandu’s old city, past buildings reduced to rubble, buildings whose facades are cracked in dozens of places, like the fractured shell of a hardboiled egg.

But it’s the many buildings that made it unscathed through the earthquake that amaze Kit Miyamoto.

Rahul Gandhi says pro-builder NDA regime suppressing India’s middle class

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi met a delegation of home buyers from the Delhi-NCR region at the AICC headquarters here on Saturday, and told them that the pro-builder NDA Government’s new Real Estate Bill would be countered to end existing suppression of the Indian middle class.

“I have met 100-200 people today and I have learnt that not only farmers and Adivasis, (but also) the middle class people in India too are being supressed,” Gandhi told media here.

Tyson fumed at Mayweather over police report involving sexual assault allegations: report

Legendary boxer Mike Tyson, who described Floyd Mayweather as ‘small, scared man’, reportedly had a prime reason behind his scathing remarks that was leveled against the unbeaten American boxer on Wednesday.

According to reports, Tyson’s former assistant Darryl Francis claimed that several people had informed the one-time heavy-weight champion that Mayweather instructed a woman 14 years ago to falsely report to police that Tyson had abducted and sexually assaulted her, News.com.au reported.

‘Busy’ Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello already planning their wedding

Sofia Vergara has admitted that she and her fiance Joe Manganiello are already planning for their wedding and haven’t forgotten about it in their busy schedules.

The ‘Modern Family’ star shared at the ‘Hot Pursuit’ premiere that she and her 38-year-old actor fiance have hired a great wedding planner who is handling every tits and bits of their special day and has taken the stress away from the couple, E! Online reported.

Vergara even gushed about her ‘Magic Mike’ actor fiance at the event saying that he was so hot and she was just an old drag queen. (ANI)

Fresh tremors hit Pokhara in Nepal

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake occured near Pokhara, Nepal, on Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Thousands of people are still missing in Nepal as food and help began to trickle through to those stranded in remote areas after last week’s earthquake which killed 6,250.

The death toll could rise further. Bodies are still being pulled from the debris of ruined buildings, while rescue workers have not been able to reach some remote areas.

The government put the number of injured at more than 14,350.

Hoisting of Pak flags: Mufti promises action against Geelani

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed today promised action against those responsible for waving Pakistani flags at yesterday’s rally addressed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani even as rightwing Hindu organisations held a protest demanding the separatist leader’s arrest.

The Chief Minister also rejected Geelani’s demand to curtail the duration of the Amarnath Yatra to 30 days from the planned 59 days and said it will take place as scheduled.

Sayeed praises Modi, says bringing change is ‘long race’

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced a transparency model devoid of red-tapism since coming to power at the Centre.

He also said people were waiting for ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’, Modi’s famous slogan, to translate into reality, but it was going to be a “long race”.

India the 7th most sexually satisfied country in the world

India has secured 7th position in the list of most sexually satisfied countries in the world.

Durex conducted a global survey on 26,000 people aged above 16, and found that across 26 countries only 44% of people were fully satisfied under the sheets, the Independent reported.

While Switzerland topped the list, Spain and Italy grabbed 2nd and 3rd position and Greece and Brazil completed the top five.

While France is generally thought to be most romantic nation, it didn’t make the list, as neither did UK and the US.