Two held for vehicle thefts, snatchings

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New Delhi, June 02: Two men were arrested Tuesday on the charges of vehicle thefts and snatching women’s chains and bags, police said.

Deepak, 20, and Gurmeet, 23, were arrested from Aurobindo Marg in south Delhi.

“We received information about the duo. They were arrested in the early hours Tuesday when they reached Aurobindo Marg,” a senior police officer said.

During interrogation it was found that the two men had committed 30 robberies, snatchings, vehicle thefts and other such crimes.

Rs.1,000 crore National Social Security Fund on anvil

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New Delhi, June 02: The government is thinking of setting up a National Social Security Fund with an initial corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore for workers in the unorganised sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday.

“We are also considering the establishment of a National Social Security Fund with an initial corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore for unorganised sector workers,” he said in his opening remarks while releasing a report on the government’s performance in the first year of its second term.

U.S. stocks decline as Gulf oil spill continues

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Washington, June 02: U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after oil giant BP declared that its most promising effort yet to cap an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico had failed.

Shares of energy companies fell more than any other group as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. BP declared Saturday that its “top-kill” procedure, aimed at sealing a ruptured wellhead on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, was unsuccessful.

3 students suspends for ragging

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Haryana, June 02: Three MBA students were Tuesday suspended by the vice-chancellor of the Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here for ragging their juniors, officials said.

The three students – Aman Redhu, Surender Bishnoi and Anil Dalal – were accused of physically harassing and intimidating two junior students of the Institute of Management Studies and Research (IMSR) here.

Walcott dropped as England finalises World Cup squad

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London, June 02: Theo Walcott has been left shell-shocked after the England manager Fabio Capello axed him from his 23-man World Cup squad.

The Arsenal winger has always said that he could not take his place at the finals for granted, but he did not see Capello’s rejection coming. The 21-year-old, the surprise inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad for the last World Cup in Germany, has been left devastated.

11-year-old crushed by speeding truck

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New Delhi, June 02: A 11-year-old boy was crushed to death by a speeding truck in west Delhi, police said Tuesday.

The incident occurred late Monday in Nangloi area, an official said.

“We got to know about the incident around 12.15 a.m. Mahender was crossing the road with his elder brother when a truck hit him,” the police official said.

Mahender was killed on the spot and the truck driver fled with the vehicle, he added.

“We have registered a case and are trying to trace the driver,” he said.

–IANS–

Lawyer kills daughter, commits suicide

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Lucknow, June 02: Unable to repay his loans, a lawyer here committed suicide after killing his daughter and seriously injuring his teenage son, police said Tuesday.

Prabhat Sinha, 50, attacked his children and hung himself three to four days back but the incident came to light Tuesday when his neighbours approached the police after a foul smell started emanating from his flat.

Big bottom keeps diabetes away?

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London, June 02: A big bottom is good for you because it raises the levels of good cholesterol that protects against hardening of arteries and also cuts the risk of diabetes, say researchers.

Scientists also claim people with lots of moles are years younger biologically than those with mark-free skin. They may retain their youthful looks for longer and could also be at lower risk of a host of age-related diseases, such as heart disease or osteoporosis, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Forget botox, moisturisers best for wrinkles

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London, June 02: Dermatologists have found that the way to a smoother face is to use a normal moisturiser than opting for techniques like botox or facelift.

Dry skin doubles the speed at which wrinkles develop and in the study measuring the speed of wrinkle development, experts have found that women with well hydrated facial skin develop persistent wrinkles slower than those with dry skin, reports express.co.uk.

Clinton Foundation gives $1 mn for Haiti hurricane safety

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Washington, June 02: Former US president Bill Clinton’s foundation Tuesday pledged $1 million towards disaster preparedness and hurricane safety in Haiti ahead of a conference to discuss the earthquake-shattered country’s future.

Clinton announced the pledge in Leogane, Haiti, and it is the first financial commitment made to the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC) that was officially launched Tuesday.

Teenagers lack concentration because of grey matter

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London, June 02: Teenagers get distracted easily because their brains are similar to those of younger children, making them less organised and susceptible to distraction than older people, a study has found.

“It is not always easy for adolescents to pay attention in class without letting their minds wander or to ignore distractions from their younger sibling when trying to solve a maths problem,” telegraph.co.uk reported quoting Iroise Dumontheil, one of the researchers from University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Bottled water not safe for drinking

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Canada, June 02: The Montreal study showed that heterotrophic bacteria counts, in more than 70 per cent of bottled water samples, exceed the recommended limits specified by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP).

Researchers from Ccrest laboratories report their results today at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

Israel to release 620 activists from Gaza aid flotilla

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Jerusalem, June 02: Israel will immediately release 620 activists from the Gaza aid flotilla who were arrested on Monday, Ynet Prime Minister Netanyahu’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.

PM Netanyahu ordered the release following a National Security Cabinet meeting, as well after consultations with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who said the process will begin overnight and is expected to be completed within 48 hours, Israeli media reported.

Pak Navy inducts upgraded P3-C aircraft

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Karachi, June 02: The Pakistan Navy has inducted two upgraded US P3-C aircraft in its fleet, a media report said.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir Tuesday attended the induction ceremony at the Naval Aviation Base in Karachi, the Online news agency reported.

Bashir said this is the first batch of upgraded P3-C aircraft from the US. The remaining aircraft will be brought to the country after necessary upgradation.

He said the induction would further boost the navy’s capability to fight terrorism, drug smuggling and other illegal activities on the high seas.

US stocks decline as Gulf oil spill continues

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Washington, June 02: US stocks fell Tuesday after oil giant BP declared that its most promising effort yet to cap an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico had failed.

Shares of energy companies fell more than any other group as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. BP declared Saturday that its “top-kill” procedure, aimed at sealing a ruptured wellhead on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, was unsuccessful.

Military spending not dented by economic crisis

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Stockholm, June 02: The global economic crisis had little impact on world military spending in 2009 where the United States remained the world’s largest military spender, a Swedish-based peace research institute reported Wednesday.

Last year, global military expenditures totalled $1.5 trillion – or $224 per capita – up six percent in real terms on 2008 and a 49-percent increase since 2000, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

Not just aesthetics, fashion more meaningful now

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New Delhi, June 02: Design and fashion are being reinvented as potent tools of communication to intervene in social sectors. They are coming closer to the roots, unlike a few years ago when they went over the top to stand out as works of phenomenal aesthetics.

US stop short of backing Security Council seat for India

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Washington, June 02: The United States has stopped short of supporting India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council saying India would play a central part in its reforms, but US wants it done preserving its effectiveness.

“India’s evolving role in global affairs underscores the fact that India is going to have a very important part to play in any consideration of reform of the UN Security Council,” US Undersecretary of State William Burns said Tuesday ahead of the India-US strategic dialogue starting Wednesday.

3 killed as World War II bomb explodes

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Germany, June 02: Three members of a bomb disposal team were killed and six people wounded in the central German city of Goettingen when a World War II bomb exploded during attempts to disarm the weapon.

Among the wounded Tuesday night, two people had serious injuries but were expected to survive.

Uncovered at a depth of seven metres, the bomb went off during preparatory work by bomb squad members, apparently prior to the beginning of their planned attempt to disarm the device.

Goettingen is famous as a university town in the northern German state of Lower Saxony.

Auto driver found dead

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Chennai, June 02: Murugan (34), an autorickshaw driver from T.R.R Avenue in Kattupakkam, was found dead at Kattupakkam near Poonamallee on Tuesday.

Poonamallee police sources said that Murugan was an accused in various cases, including murder.

Consuming alcohol

On Monday night, he was last seen consuming alcohol with three of his friends. On Tuesday morning, his body was found with cut wounds on the throat and chest, sources said. The Poonamallee police are investigating.

—-Agencies

US committed to India’s emergence as global power

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Washington, June 01: India and the United States begin their first strategic dialogue Wednesday with an assurance that the US is committed to India’s emergence as a global power and does not see it either through the prism of Pakistan or the lens of an emerging China.

“Never has there been a moment when India and America mattered more to each other,” said US Undersecretary of State William Burns Tuesday ahead of foreign policy dialogue with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao Wednesday.

C.V. Krishnamurthy passes away

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Chennai, June 02: C.V. Krishnamurthy, 89, retired Railway official and journalist, died after a prolonged illness in Bangalore on Tuesday.

He had been suffering from dementia for over a year and died of pneumonia.

He joined the Bengal Nagpur Railways in Kolkata in 1940 and rose to become a senior official in the public relations department of the Northern Railway.

He was a frequent contributor to many publications, including Delhi Recorder, Caravan, Udayam, and Andhra Patrika.

Mamata shoots herself in the foot

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Kolkata, June 02: “Her greatest enemy is her own tongue,” a veteran Congress politician once said of Mamata Banerjee. He was right.

At a time when her political career in West Bengal is at its brightest point, an untimely derogatory remark about a dead social worker, who was a CPI(M) member, has again left the Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister at the receiving end of criticism.

Aurobindo Dhar alias Bapi was hit in “unprovoked” firing by a Tripura State Rifles constable when he was standing in queue to cast his vote during Sunday’s civic polls in Kolkata.

Cricket in India is commercialised

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Mumbai, June 02: As the UPA government at the Centre celebrated the first anniversary of its second term in office, Congress MP from Pune Suresh Kalmadi took pot-shots at NCP president Sharad Pawar, without naming him, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India for not sending a team to the Asian Games.

The sixteenth edition of the Asian Games are to be held in Guangzhou, China, later this year and will be the first to feature cricket among its various disciplines, albeit in the Twenty20 format.

Clean Ganga by 2020, says Prime Minister

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New Delhi, June 02: Asserting that the UPA government was committed to cleaning up the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said no untreated waste and industrial effluents would flow into the river by 2020.

“Under ‘Mission Clean Ganga’, it would be ensured that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into the Ganga,” Dr. Singh said, in the Report to the People on completion of one year of the UPA’s second term in office.