BJP wants PM to go, targets Congress too

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Alleging kickbacks in the allocation of coal blocks, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accept moral responsibility and resign.

“We want him to accept moral responsibility. The PM is responsible for the revenue loss. That is why we want him to go,” Sushma Swaraj, who heads the opposition in the Lok Sabha, told the media.

She said all the coal blocks allocated without auction to private and state-run firms should be cancelled and these should be auctioned afresh.

Taliban kill 17 Afghan civilians in Helmand

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Seventeen civilians, including three women, who were at a picnic were killed by Taliban militants at Musa Qala district in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand on Sunday night, an official said on Monday.

“The incident happened in Roshan Abad neighbourhood, a remote area in Musa Qala district, late Sunday evening,” administrative district chief Nematullah told Xinhua.

Some of the slain non-combatants were beaten and others were shot dead, he said.

The area is under Taliban control and the reason for killing the innocent civilians was not clear so far, he said.

Myanmar sentences 3 UN staff to jail for violence

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The United Nations says a court in Myanmar has sentenced three of its staff to prison terms for their alleged involvement in a spate of bloody communal violence in the west of the country in June.

UN spokesman Aye Win said on Monday that a court in the Rakhine state town of Maungdaw sentenced two UN refugee agency employees to jail terms of six and three years. One UN World Food Program staffer was sentenced to two years.

Aye Win says the staffers were convicted of various crimes, including alleged participation in arson attacks and promoting hatred between Buddhists and Muslims.

Heavy rains disrupt rail, road traffic in Mumbai

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After a long spell of scanty rains, the country’s commercial capital woke up on Monday to heavy rainfall which disrupted rail and road traffic. The weather office has forecast more showers.

More rain is likely in the next 48 hours, said a weather official.

Colaba in south Mumbai recorded 57.1 mm rain, while Santacruz in the north recorded 34.2 mm of rainfall till 2.30 pm Monday.

Rail and road traffic was hit and trains on the western and central lines were running late by 10-20 minutes.

Nigeria commences indirect talk with Boko Haram

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After months of confrontation with hardline Islamist militant group Boko Haram, the Nigerian government has opened “back-channel” talks with the outfit to end insurgency and spiralling violence that has killed hundreds in the oil-rich nation.

Indicating that the informal talks were on, Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said that the dialogue was through “backroom channels”, without elaborating.

NAM summit proves ‘failure’ of US sanctions: Iran

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Iran has hit out at the US, saying the holding of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran proves the “failure” of America’s “threat and sanction” policy against the oil-rich country.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said the anti-Iran policies of the US-led Western nations are doomed for failure.

Modest Kohli refuses comparison with Sachin Tendulkar

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Sachin Tendulkar sees a shadow of himself in Virat Kohli but the young Indian batsman says he literally worships the iconic cricketer and matching his feats would be nothing short of “mission impossible” for him.

Kohli is the fastest to score 1000 and then 3000 ODI runs and has been India`s most prolific scorer this year with five centuries which led to many comparing him with Tendulkar.

Tendulkar himself considers Kohli a worthy challenger to his incredible record of 100 international centuries.

However, Kohli said there is no comparison between him and his idol.

Well of Asaf Jahi era transformed into plot

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L B Nagar colony is located adjacent to L B Nagar Rangareddy court. The colony had a very beautiful 3 storied well which was once the architectural masterpiece. With arches in every story, the construction had a reflection of Islamic art and architecture. Unfortunately the land grabbers have not only transformed the historical Asaf Jahi well into a plot but has also got it registered in their names.

Bill to set up AIIMS-like institutes across India

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A bill to help the Centre set up AIIMS-like institutes across India by a notification was introduced in the Lok Sabha Monday.

The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012 will also replace a recent ordinance which allowed the six AIIMS-like institutes to become operational from September, 2012.

The bill will confer powers upon the Centre to establish AIIMS-like institutions by notification in the official gazette.

Heavy rains disrupt rail, road traffic in Mumbai

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After a long spell of scanty rains, the country’s commercial capital woke up on Monday to heavy rainfall which disrupted rail and road traffic. The weather office has forecast more showers.

More rain is likely in the next 48 hours, said a weather official.

Colaba in south Mumbai recorded 57.1 mm rain, while Santacruz in the north recorded 34.2 mm of rainfall till 2.30 pm Monday.

Rail and road traffic was hit and trains on the western and central lines were running late by 10-20 minutes.

We never claimed ‘zero loss’ in coal block allocation: Chidambaram

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Three days after claiming that there was no question of gain or loss in coal block allocation as the coal has not been mined, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said the government never used the term “zero loss”.

“None of us used the phrase zero loss. Nevertheless, a section of the press has incorrectly reported that government claimed that there was zero loss in the allocation of coal blocks,” Chidambaram said in a written statement.

Wish movement had remained as it was, says Kiran Bedi

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Kiran Bedi, a key member of the disbanded Team Anna, Monday said she wished India Against Corruption (IAC) had remained “a national movement” and asked members of the group to focus on the ruling Congress in their agitations.

Bedi, who did not participate in the Arvind Kejriwal-led protest in the national capital Sunday, setting off speculation of differences among the erstwhile Team Anna grouping, said the IAC should “focus on the political party which can give you the law”.

Over 7.57 million homes in Bihar lack toilets

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Millions of poor families in Bihar are still living without toilets as the state government has failed to provide the facility at their homes, an official said Monday.

Latest data from Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) shows that over 7.57 million households in Bihar, particularly in rural areas, don’t have toilets.

“The government has aimed at providing toilet facilities to more than 11 million families in the state this year. But till last month, only 41,13,545 households had been provided toilets,” a PHED official said.

It’s been great since Dilip saab proposed: Saira Banu

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Onetime screen diva Saira Banu relishes the time she spent with her husband, the legendary Dilip Kumar, and doesn’t regret her decision to cut down film projects after tying the knot. She says spending time with him was more important to her than anything else.

There is almost a generational 22-year age gap between Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar, but Indian filmdom’s highly regarded couple have enjoyed a blissful married life ever since tying the knot in 1966.

Militants attack official’s residence in Manipur

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Militants lobbed a grenade at the residence of a Manipur government official in Imphal West district, but it did not explode, official reports said Monday.

The militants threw the grenade at the residence of executive engineer of Lokta Lake Development Authority Ashem Kumarjit yesterday at Singjamei Naorem Leikai area under Singjamei police station.

The official and his family were not present at the time.

The grenade was later defused by bomb experts.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Syrian helicopter downed in Damascus clashes

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An activist group says a Syrian military helicopter caught fire and crashed after it was apparently hit during fighting between government forces and rebels in Damascus.

Syria’s state television said a helicopter crashed on Monday in Damascus but gave no details.

A video posted on the Internet showed the helicopter engulfed in flames shortly before it hit the ground.

Anna Hazare leaves for Bangalore for naturopathy treatment

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Social activist Anna Hazare on Monday left his village for Bangalore to undergo a week-long naturopathy treatment, after which he would embark on a country-wide tour.

“Hazare left Ralegan Siddhi this morning for Pune from where he took a flight for Bangalore at noon,” his aide Datta Awari told PTI over phone from his native village.

Hazare would undergo a week-long treatment at the Jindal Naturopathy Foundation, Awari said. After the treatment, he will undertake an all-India tour, he said.

Govt. cracks whip on Eng. Colleges collecting exorbitant fee

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State government has warned Engineering colleges of criminal action on collecting donations in addition to the fixed fee. Government has asked the parents to recollect donations if they have paid earlier. Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha has ordered the Task Force Officials to begin inspection of the colleges immediately.

Talking to media persons after convening a meeting with the Task Force officials at the State Secretariat, Damodar Rajanarasimha said that the inspection of colleges would begin from Monday.

Three killed in road mishap in Rajasthan

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Three people, including two women, were killed and two others critically injured when two motorbikes collided on Tikkar-Huwaliya road here, police said.

The accident occurred last night in Hindoli area, they said.

While two persons died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries in a hospital, police said.

The two injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital, they said.

–PTI

‘Ek Tha Tiger’ earns an enormous Rs. 210 cr

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Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s Independence Day release ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ is still running strong in movie theatres worldwide, bagging oodles of money since Day 1 of its release.

The film easily managed to enter the Rs 100 crore club within five days of hitting the 70 mm and fresh news from trade insiders has it that the movie has already crossed the Rs 200 crore mark!

Shibani Dandekar out of `Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa`

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TV host Shibani Dandekar is the latest celebrity to be voted out of dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa 5’.

A non-dancer, Shibani showed tremendous improvement over the course of her stint in the dance show.

She along with her choreographer Puneet, gave some interesting performances with tango, contemporary and Bollywood style dance forms and won the hearts of judges Remo D`Souza, Madhuri Dixit and Karan Johar.

After Shibani was eliminated, Karan tweeted: ‘Sad elimination’.

The decision of elimination was based on judges` score and audience votes.

IANS

Team of scientists to investigate outbreak of dengue

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A team of scientists from the Regional Medical Research Centre at Dibrugarh in neighbouring Assam is visiting East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh to conduct detailed investigation into the outbreak of dengue at Pasighat and its adjoining areas.

The team will reach Pasighat tomorrow, state epidemiologist L Jampa said here today.
Another team from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme and National Center for Disease Control is also visiting the state soon to investigate the outbreak of the disease, Jampa said.

Face yoga, the new craze for losing wrinkles!

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Ladies, you might want to give those expensive moisturisers and painful botox injections a miss as face yoga might be the simplest and fun way to get rid of wrinkles, experts have claimed.

Like regular yoga, the moves in face yoga are named. The Marilyn, bumblebee or lion are all designed to turn back the ageing clock and reduce wrinkles.

Women are increasingly turning to YouTube, books such as The Yoga Face and now an iPhone application for fresher-looking faces, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Now, psychotherapy to treat skin diseases

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Scientists have discovered that a range of psychological treatments like meditation can ease the physical symptoms of skin diseases.

According to experts at the University of Sheffield, relaxation sessions, meditation and cognitive behaviour therapy were among the techniques found to help sufferers of psoriasis, eczema, acne and the pigment disorder vitiligo.

A team from the university`s psychology department analysed the combined results of previous studies and found that the emerging field of `psychodermatology` provided real benefits, the `Telegraph` reported.

New virus targets children

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A viral illness seems to be targeting children in the US, according to a John Hopkins study.

“What we are seeing is a relatively common viral illness called hand-foot-and-mouth disease but with a new twist,” says Bernard Cohen, director of paediatric dermatology at Johns Hopkins Children`s Centre.

“Your child is seemingly in perfect health when he or she goes to bed but wakes up with high fever and bright red blisters all over the body.