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TN slashes tax on diesel by 45 paise

      Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government on Sunday announced reduction of sales tax on diesel by 45 paise, while there would be no such reductions in the petrol price. However, the State Government said that the bus fares would remain unchanged in spite of the recent fuel hike. In a statement, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said that the reduction in the incremental component of sales tax on diesel, is expected to cost the exchequer Rs 180 crore. The decision not to hike the bus fares would cost the exchequer another Rs 100 crore, he added. On June 5, the Centre announced a hike or rupees two on the diesel prices. Earlier, the Congress-ruled states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh announced some respite for the common man by announcing some reductions in the recent fuel hike. While Delhi is expected to announce such reductions on Tuesday, the other Congress ruled States are likely to follow suit. Andhra Pradesh Government on Saturday slashed petrol and diesel prices by 40 paise and 22 paise respectively per litre. However, Left ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura have already gone on record that "no such cosmetic reductions would be allowed" and demanded a complete roll back on the hike. States ruled by BJP and its allies, like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Karnataka - are also unlikely to cut the sales tax. Samajwadi Party ruled Uttar Pradesh too has decided not to bring any cut in fuel prices.

Don't endorse colas: Ramadoss to celebrities

       Kolkata /New Delhi: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has urged celebrities to shun away from endorsing carbonated beverages, saying they have an adverse impact on health of the people, particularly the young. "I urge the sports personalities of the country like Sachin Tendulkar or Virendra Sehwag, or actors and actresses from Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan or Aishwarya Rai to desist from taking up these advertisements which are detrimental to the health of our children of this country," Ramadoss said. Almost all of the celebrated Indian sportsmen ranging from Olympic silver medallist Lt-Col Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore to the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar endorse the two big cola giants. Even the recent tennis sensation, Sania Mirza and the new rising cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni have jumped into this bandwagon. It is only the "Indian Golden Girl" P.T.Usha who is seen in advertisements asking people to drink coconut water. Stating that the sports personalities and cinestars have a huge fan following and their actions have great impact on the minds of the young. Health Minister said: "When they (youngsters) see all the promotions that is there and lots of sports persons, a lot of actors, actresses are endorsing these drinks, these soft drinks like Colas and Pepsi, it affects them. This is detrimental to our society, our children, to their growing, to their well-being". Health Minister's new plea comes after its recent diktat of deleting the smoking scenes from the movies.

Surface-to-surface Prithvi missile test fired

       Chandipur (Orissa): India on Sunday successfully test-fired indigenous surface-to-surface medium range missile, Prithvi, from the integrated test range (ITR) here, 15 km from Balasore. The missile was launched from a mobile tetra transporter erecter launcher at 1. 40 pm, said sources. Prithvi has a range of 150 to 250 km and it's P-I version is already operational and delivered to the Indian Army. The naval version, called Dhanush, has a range of 250 km. It can deliver a warhead of about 500 kg. The Army version can travel over 150 km, with a warhead that can weigh up to one tonne. Prithvi can be used in smashing airport and prevent aircraft from landing. Prithvi forms part of the DRDO's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Situation in Kupwara remains tense (Go To Top)

      Srinagar: A day after the firing by the Army on protesters in Kupwara, situation remained tense here as hordes of political leaders and their supporters were taken into preventive custody. Notable among them were Sajjad Gani Lone, the leader of the breakaway faction of People's Conference and Chairman of National Front Nayeem Khan. Police also had to fire teargas shell to dispel the supporters of Lone who were not allowing the police to take their leader into custody. Streets of Kupwara wore a deserted look as markets remain close today in spite of no call for a strike. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir police filed an FIR against the army over the alleged firing on the protestors. On Saturday, residents of Trehgam took out a procession in the city protesting against Friday night incident in which the army was alleged of forcibly entering a mosque in Zirhama village and desecrating copies of the holy Quran. Army opened fire on the protestors that killed one person and left several others injured when they were agitating in front of a local Army camp. However, army have been reiterating that the jawans had to fire only for their self-defence and have also completely denied the charges of desecrating the Quran.

Thousands homeless in Bihar floods (Go To Top)

       Masaudhi (Bihar): Thousands have been rendered homeless, and crops worth millions of rupees damaged in floods in Bihar following extensive rains for the past few days in the region. Several villages in the Patna district have been affected as the Dargha River was overflowing due to incessant rains and heavy discharge of water are causing huge damage to the infrastructure. Locals said that the rains hit earlier than expectations, leaving no chance to save their crops or evening livestock. "The flood, have come before time, we could not save our crops, our livestock and houses have been affected," said Baleshwar Prasad, a flood affected person. People have shifted to camps in higher grounds as floodwaters have submerged large areas of the region. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday that the administration was monitoring the situation. "There has been a lot of rain. In some areas transportation has been affected as the rains have come early and suddenly. However we have provided enough relief to the people, and it seems they have benefited form it. Water level will recede within a day or two. The administration is watching and wherever it needs to provide help it would do so," he said. The June-September monsoon rains, crucial for South Asia's farm dependent economy, also bring death and devastation every year inundating low lying plains, cutting off road and rail links, washing away bridges and breaching embankments and destroying crops over vast areas. On the other hand, flooding of several Indian areas by rivers originating in Nepal has for many years been a contentious subject. Every year the rise in the water levels of major Nepalese river systems like Koshi, Gandak, Danav and Karnali have caused much damage to land and properties in India especially in Bihar.

'Item girl' Rakhi files case against Mika (Go To Top)

      Mumbai: 'Item girl' Rakhi Sawant has filed a police complaint against Punjabi pop singer Mika for molesting her at a party here on Saturday night. Sawant filed her complaint at Oshiwara Police Station here, in which she has also claimed that Mika's bodyguard assaulted her friend as well at the function in suburban Andheri. Mika is the younger brother of well-known Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi. Rakhi has been in the news in recent times following controversy over her revealing costumes and provocative stage shows. She was even booked by the Kolhapur Police for "indecent behaviour" and "destroying public peace" through the stage performance.

Narcotics worth 42 lakh seized from Nigerian

      New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau said on Sunday that heroin and cocaine worth Rs 42 lakhs (91,663 dollars) in the international market were seized from the national capital on Saturday night. A Nigerian national was also arrested in this connection. According to the Narcotics Control Bureau, 415 grams of heroin worth Rs 41 lakhs (89,480 dollars), 15 grams of cocaine and 20 ecstasy tablets were seized from one Kayush Ibrahim from Tilak Nagar area in West Delhi. The seizure came hours after the Delhi Police recovered 600 grams of heroin, worth Rs 60 lakhs (130,947 dollars) in the international market, in two separate incidents. In the first case, sleuths of Narcotics Cell seized 500 grams of heroin from a Atar Pal in Inderlok area of West Delhi. While in the second incident, 100 grams of the contraband was seized from one Sriram in Adarsh Nagar area of North West Delhi. Both the persons were arrested after the recoveries.

Rahul Mahajan's restless days in Tihar (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: It certainly has been a harrowing time for Rahul Mahajan. First, allegations of drug abuse and subsequent jail custody for possession and consumption of drugs, and now, sleepless night due to fatigue and possible withdrawal symptoms. Authorities at Tihar Jail, where Rahul is lodged have said that the Mahajan family scion has been quiet and withdrawn, and spends sleepless nights despite being put on sedatives. He slept on the prison floor for the second consecutive day on Saturday after a city court deferred its orders on his bail plea till June 13. Authorities said they have tried their best to "make him feel comfortable", and in view of his health, kept him in Ward 4 of Jail 3, which is adjacent to the hospital ward. So far, however, Rahul has not complained of any health problem since Friday afternoon, they added. "Though he looks a little disturbed, there is no health complaint from him. A team of six doctors are regularly supervising his condition," said an official. Officials said they also took the help of a few fellow prisoners and psychiatrists to make him feel at ease. "He is remaining quiet and withdrawn. And to make him feel comfortable we took the help of a few forward prisoners and psychiatrists. Some of the prisoners even shared their experiences with him," the official added. Officials said Rahul was being treated like any other prisoners and given "chapati, dal and sabzi" as dinner and tea with two slices of bread as breakfast in the morning. He was also provided with prison uniform, as he was not carrying any change of clothes with him. Authorities further said they have made arrangement for the inmates to watch the World Cup football matches and Rahul will have see it with the other inmates at the common room.

Surat nightclub ransacked for screening Fanaa

      Surat/Jamnagar: A Surat nightclub was ransacked by alleged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists on Saturday night for screening Aamir Khan starrer movie "Fanaa". Employees of the Surat Tennis Club alleged that a group of 25 men belonging to the BJP barged into the building and broke furniture and other items. They also forced all members of the club who were watching the movie to leave. Meanwhile, Jamnagar's Amber Talkies, the only theatre in Gujarat to screen Fanaa, is facing blackout threat as the state electricity board officials have threatened to disconnect power supply if a pending bill was not cleared immediately. The theatre-owner, however, has claimed that an appeal against excess billing was actually pending in the Appellate Tribunal. Jamnagar Congress MP Vikram Madam, who is uncle of the theatre- owner, said that the dispute was pending before the Gujarat Electricity Board for over a year. The issue was taken to the board appellate for a decision after 50 per cent of the total bill was paid. The ruling BJP in the State have called for boycott of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's latest flick following his support to an anti- Sardar Sarovar Dam campaign. However, the Amber Talkies released the film lat week following Supreme Court's ruling, which said that the film exhibitors in the state were free to ask for security if they wanted to screen the movie. Khan, 40, joined a recent protest by anti-dam activists in New Delhi, calling for rehabilitation of thousands of villagers to be displaced by Sardar Sarovar Dam in the state. The issue has taken extremely sensitive overtones in the parched state where the dam is seen as a lifeline for millions and the locals see any opposition to it as adding to their years of wait for water.

Infosys chief Narayana Murthy to retire (Go To Top)

Bangalore: NR Narayana Murthy, who will turn 60 on August 20, will retire from Chairmanship of India's second largest software exporter, Infosys Technologies Limited, on his birthday. Murthy announced his decision after chairing the 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company in Bangalore on Saturday. He, however, said that he was ready to continue as non-executive Chairman of the NASDAQ-listed software firm. The board of directors is expected to decide his successor at a meeting on July 11-12. "On August 20, I will complete 60 years and as per company policy, I will retire. From August 21, I will, if the board of directors decides, continue as the Non-Executive Chairman. The board will also decide on the Chief Mentor because the Chief Mentor has to be an executive person who will come to the office every day," Murthy said. Murthy said that his responsibility as a member of the board of several other companies would keep him busy after he left his full-time job at Infosys. While replying to a question, he made it clear that he had no plans to get into politics. Murthy also pacified a concerned shareholder who pointed out high foreign institutional investor (FII) holding would expose the company to raid or acquisition by somebody else. Infosys, which Murthy had founded along with six others in 1981 with contributions of Rs. 10,000 each, has now expanded into an organisation with over 52,000 people, revenues of 2.15 billion dollars and a market capitalisation of 21 billion dollars.