New Delhi: After the inmates of Tihar Jail, ragpickers in New Delhi have come forward with the helping hands for the Uttarakhand relief fund.   The young ragpickers, most of them children, have contributed a sum of Rs 20,000 towards the Prime Minister's Relief Fund pooling in from their meager earning.   The children are part of a network called 'Badhte Kadam'. The sum they have donated is the money kept aside as an emergency fund. The move is truly a noble gesture that one can surely take a cue from.   The young ragpickers have contributed the sum towards the Prime Minister's Relief Fund pooling in from their meager earning.   The killer f

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to discuss gas and coal pricing on Thursday. According to the sources, the Cabinet may also take up the CBI autonomy issue. The Group of Ministers (GoM), which was constituted to suggest measure for the independence and functional autonomy of CBI, have recommended constitution of a panel of retired judges which would monitor the investigations undertaken by the agency to ensure that these probe remain free from any influence.

The Supreme Court has asked the government to submit its plans on how to ensure autonomy to the CBI till July 3. Official sources said the provisions may be not be in accordance with the provisions of the CrPC as an

Subansiri River: Arunachal Pradesh is planning on at least 150 MoUs for power generation in the fragile hills of the Eastern Himalayas in high seismic zones. Is the Northeast in the next disaster point after Uttarakhand?

Environmentalist Neeraj Vagholikar said, "Arunachal is no different. It's a part of the Himalayas and it's prone to such natural hazards and while Arunachal goes to exploit its hydel power potential, there's a need to really ensure that you have followed all the steps."

In more cases than one, environmental impact assessment and risk assessments have been ignored, though there are so far only three major projects under cons

Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- After hours of vigils and private family meetings, South Africans awoke to another day of unease Wednesday as ailing anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela remained hospitalized in critical condition.   Considered the founding father of South Africa's democracy, Mandela has been hospitalized since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. Authorities have described his condition as critical since Sunday, and President Jacob Zuma said Wednesday that Mandela's condition remained unchanged, South Africa's national news agency reported.   In a statement issued late Tuesday, the government said Mandela's doctors "continue to do their

The Congress, which governs Delhi, has slammed Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party for putting up posters in the city that say rapes will continue in the capital if the Congress is voted to power in the assembly elections due at the end of the year.
 
The posters have been put up in east Delhi and accuse Mrs Dikshit of corruption while they praise Mr Kejriwal. Some read, 'Is baar bhi diya beimaano ko vote toh mahilao ka hota rahega balatkaar (if you vote for the corrupt this time, rapes will continue to occur)'
 
The Congress has called it an attempt by Mr Kejriwal to get attention. "If you want to politicize the rape issue then do it but

NAANTALI (Finland): Russian President Vladimir Putin says that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is in the transit zone of a Moscow airport and will not be extradited to the United States.

Putin said that Snowden hasn't crossed the Russian border and is free to go anywhere.

Speaking on a visit to Finland Tuesday, he added that Russian security agencies "didn't work and aren't working" with Snowden. He gave no more details.

Commenting on a US request to extradite him, Putin said that Russia doesn't have an extradition agreement with the US and thus wouldn't meet the US request.

He voiced hop

New Delhi, June 25 : US Secretary of State John Kerry headed for Saudi Arabia Tuesday after his three-day official visit to India.   Kerry had arrived on Sunday to co-chair the fourth round of the India-US Strategic Dialogue. He held talks with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday as part of the annual dialogue and also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday evening.   On Tuesday morning, he co-chaired the India-US Higher Education dialogue with Human Resource Development Minister M. M. Pallam Raju during which he said India and the US have the capacity to lead global education.   New Delhi was the second stop on Kerry's two-week tour (June 21-

Air New Zealand has indicated that Perth will be among the first destinations for its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircrafts.   The civil aviation firm is planning to launch the first commercial service of the bigger variant of the composite plane next year. Perth will be among the destinations where the company is planning to fly the plane.   The airline said that it will offer long services to Shanghai and Tokyo and shorter services to destinations including Perth, Honolulu and Papeete in Tahiti. Company officials have said the airline is planning to use the new aircraft as a growth vehicle in the Asia-Pacific.   "This modern, flexible, fuel efficient aircraft wi

Eight people were reportedly killed as a chopper of Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a rescue and relief operation in flood-hit Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

According to IAF sources, five of its personnel and three civilians were among the dead as the Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed near Gaurikund. Should Uttarakhand floods be declared a national calamity? | Uttarakhand floods: Toll climbs to 822

A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the crash, the Indian Air Force said in a statement.

"One Mi-17 V5 helicopter of IAF on a rescue mission from Gauchar to Guptkashi and Kedarnath on return leg from Kedarnath has crashed North of G

The finance ministers of the European Union nations have not been able to arrive on a an agreement for having common rules on rescuing troubled banks.   The ministers had gathered in Luxembourg but failed to agree on terms of an agreement even after 20 hours of talks on Saturday. The ministers could not agree on an important issue of how much power to be given to the national governments on the matter of helping troubled banks survive.   The ministers have agreed to meet again on Wednesday to discuss the matter further.   Michael Noonan, the Irish finance minister who presided over the meeting, said that there have been significant progress in the discussions but s

Leading energy giant, Essar Energy has announced better than expected for the financial year 2012-2013 mainly due to increased capacity at its oil refineries in India.   The company said that its pre-tax losses fell to $163 million during the financial year till March, 2013 compared to $1.14 billion during the 15 months to March 2012. The company said that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose to $1.33b billion, which is highest than analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion for the year.   The company has switched to financial year till March form December year and thus the previous accounting period includes 15 months. The compan

New Delhi, June 24 : US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday suggested that India could help Afghanistan in the holding of transparent and free presidential elections next year.   Stating that India has made $2 billion investment in development projects in Afghanistan, Kerry said that India should do whatever it can in its relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to "encourage" him to ensure that preparations are in place for the elections.   The presidential polls will see Afghanistan getting a new president after Karzai who had been in power for more than a decade.   "The elections should be transparent, accessible, accountable, free and fai

Mumbai, June 24 : In a major setback to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, a Mumbai court Monday rejected his review plea challenging a magistrate's order for a re-trial in the 2002 hit-and-run case under the stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.   The actor has been given one month's time to appear before the court and face the trial in the case.   If convicted, he could face a 10-year jail sentence.   The actor's SUV ran over pavement dwellers in suburban Bandra in the early hours of Sep 28, 2002, killing one and injuring four others. (IANS)   Source: Top News

DEHRADUN: Fresh spell of rain and landslides at a number of places including the higher reaches of Pauri, Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts on Monday hit rescue operations in Uttarakhand.

At least 10,000 survivors in different parts of the state are still waiting to be rescued.

Not a single chopper has taken off from Sahasradhara helipad since morning to rescue stranded pilgrims at Badrinath and affected pockets adjacent to it.

The same is the situation in Guptkashi and Gauchar from where no helicopter has so far been able to take off because of a thick veil of mist enveloping the area and intermittent rains.

"About 5000 people

DEHRADUN: Evacuation of stranded people from flood-hit areas of Uttarakhand picked up pace on Saturday with security forces rescuing 17 foreign tourists from Dharasu and sighting 1000 pilgrims stuck between Kedarnath and Gaurikund even as bad weather hampered chopper operations at some places.

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, meanwhile, arrived here to review ongoing rescue efforts in consultation with chief minister Vijay Bahuguna.

An eight-member team of experts is also being sent to Kedarnath shrine on Saturday to take a count of bodies lying in the temple area, disaster management authorities here said.

Photos of the bodies strewn all o

Chancellor George Osborne has said that the government is aiming to break up the Royal Bank of Scotland into separate entities.   The government has an 82 per cent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland and indicated that the bank might be split into a good bank and a bad bank with troubled assets. The bank had recorded a profit but was facing high level of toxic assets and the government officials have been looking for ways to revive the bank.   Stephen Hester, the Chief executive officer of the bank had stepped down after he insisted on paying bonuses even during the most difficult economic times for the bank. He had earlier planned to rescue the bank through an investment b

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is holding an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the country's most widespread unrest in two decades.   Protests began more than a week ago over transport fare rises, but they are now also directed at corruption and the cost of next year's football World Cup.   More than a million people are reported to have taken part in demonstrations on Thursday in about 100 cities.   One man died when a car drove through a barricade in Sao Paulo state.   President Rousseff called off a trip to Japan to deal with the crisis.   Correspondents say there is speculation she will make a national radio address after Fri

The death toll from flooding and landslides following heavy monsoon rains in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has passed 500.   The state's Chief Minister, Vijay Bahuguna, said 556 bodies had been seen floating or buried in "slush", and that the army was working to recover them.   The charity Action Aid says 5,000 people are missing in the area.   Many of those stranded in the mountainous region are Hindu pilgrims visiting local shrines.   The worst affected area is around the holy town of Kedarnath.   The Indian Army is leading rescue efforts. The authorities say troops have yet to reach some remote mountain areas. &nbs

MUMBAI: The Indian technology sector, hobbled by concerns over the US immigration bill, margin pressure due to rising employee and visa cost, lower growth, and deprecation of the rupee, may finally have something to cheer. Photos | Upcoming Movies | Filmography | Raanjhanaa

The rupee has depreciated 9.87%, or Rs 5.35, against the dollar since April this year. According to analysts, this might translate into gains in operating profit by 100 to 250 basis points for the Indian IT companies.

Since Indian IT firms do a lot of back-office jobs for overseas entities, they get a substantial chunk of their revenue from the US. So, a rise in the dollar would translate i

GUNTUR: An MBA graduate was arrested on Thursday in connection with a series of chain-snatching incidents in the city. Police recovered gold ornaments worth nearly Rs 10 lakh from the possession of the main accused Nallabothula Naresh Kumar and his associate Sanakkayala Siva Reddy.

Guntur police superintendent A Ravikrishna said Naresh completed his MBA and worked with a chartered accountant in Hyderabad before returning to Guntur. As Naresh was habituated to drinking and led a lavish lifestyle, he turned into a professional thief to make quick money to clear his debts.

Naresh had recently appeared for Group-I examinations to get into a government job. After tak