Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations to end Sunday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda here Sunday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch will also be present on the occasion at Vigyan Bhawan. A national committee under the chairmanship of […]

Pakistan polio workers refuse to join vaccination campaign

Around 70 health workers in Pakistan’s Khyber Agency area refused to take part in a polio vaccination campaign Saturday citing security concerns, a media report said. “We feel threatened and everyone is frightened after the killing of our colleagues last month,” Dawn newspaper quoted Haji Sadeeq, a spokesman for the workers, as saying. The workers […]

Shimla, Manali wrapped under white blanket

The Himanchal Pradesh’s Shimla and Manali – prominent tourist places – Saturday woke up to a blanket of fresh snow. Tourist spots near Shimla, such as honeymooners’ paradise Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda also experienced overnight snowfall, an official of the meteorological department here told IANS. Likewise, the Solang ski slopes, 13 km uphill from Manali, […]

Don’t eat onions, prices will dip, SC tells petitioner

The Supreme Court Friday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the government to regulate the prices of onions, potatoes and other seasonal vegetables. “Stop eating onions for two months, prices will come down to Rs.15 per kg,” said a bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice J. Chelameswar adding: “Now […]

Four crore new LPG consumers in four years

A whopping four crore customers acquired new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) domestic gas connections in the past four years, increasing the customer base from 10.6 crore to 14.7 crore. This represents a 39 percent increase in growth with around one crore new LPG consumers added each year, an official spokesperson said Friday. It is expected […]

Need to dispel myths about donation of bodies: President

Lamenting that many people in India still believed in superstitions and evil social practices, President Pranab Mukjerjee Friday said there was a need to increase awareness and dispel myths about donation of bodies after death. “Despite the country’s space programme which has sent satellite to Mars, many people in the country still believe in lot […]

Tit for tat: India expels US diplomat

India Friday expelled an American diplomat involved in the case of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade after she was told to fly home following her indictment by a US grand jury. Official sources said the US embassy was “asked to withdraw forthwith a US diplomat of similar rank as Khobragade”. “We have reason to believe that […]

AAP eyes 10 million members, launches drive

The AAP Friday launched a free national membership drive called “Main bhi Aam Aadmi”, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the party wanted to enrol 10 million people by Jan 26. “We have a target of (achieving) one crore membership by Jan 26,” Kejriwal told the media, adding 300,000 membership applications had been received online. […]