Daily National News Updates

Goa tourism looks towards Israel with hope (Goa Newsletter)

Goa TourismGoa Tourism

Panaji , May 17 When Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar travels to Israel next month, he will be hoping to persuade its tour and travel companies to add the popular beach tourism-oriented state to their itineraries.

Sleepless nights, no baths for Sreesanth

New Delhi , May 18 For fast bowler S. Sreesanth, it was two days of sleepless nights and no bath as the disgraced cricketer was not "comfortable" with the bathroom. Alone in the small cell of the Delhi Police, he mostly looks glum, depressed and breaks down often during questioning, police sources said Saturday.

Akhilesh's officials stonewall probe against Mayawati's ministers (Uttar Pradesh Newsletter)

Lucknow , May 18 Voted to power with a promise to weed out corruption and send the guilty behind bars, the Akhilesh Yadav government has, a year-and-a-half later, not been able to take much action in cases involving high-ranking figures of the Mayawati regime despite damning evidence emerging out of the Lokayukta's investigations.

Punjab, Haryana stare at lower wheat arrivals

Chandigarh , May 18 What was supposed to be a bumper crop with a record target for wheat procurement has turned out to be a dampener with much lower quantities of wheat arriving in grain markets across Punjab and Haryana - the country's breadbasket.

15,000 transfers in just over four months! (Himachal Newsletter)

Shimla , May 18 The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has effected a staggering 15,000 transferes in the little over four months it has been in office but the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the number is more than double that. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has now stepped in and put a stop to at least five transfers and cancelled one.

Chandy all set to reshuffle cabinet (Kerala Newsletter)

Thiruvananthapuram , May 18 Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy is all set to reshuffle his cabinet, two years after assuming office this day.

BJP's post-Karnataka gloom: Neither united nor untainted (Comment)

The Bharatiya Janata Party's problems seem to be increasing with the approach of the state assembly elections later this year and the general elections in 2014.

Kerala figures in film on world's most amazing fireworks

Thrissur (Kerala) , May 18 The festivities and fireworks at the Thrissur Pooram festival have stunned two US-based filmmakers who are making a movie on pyrotechnics across the globe. They have termed it as one of the most amazing display they have ever witnessed.

India's bleeding insurgencies: Lessons from Latin America (Comment)

The tiny northeast Indian state of Tripura has turned into the second largest producer of natural rubber in the country largely because several hundred former militants of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) were rehabilitated a decade ago and allotted land.

Afghan police officer killed in Taliban attack

Kabul , May 19 A senior police official was killed in Afghanistan's Farah province when two Taliban militants opened fire on him, an official said Saturday.

No expectations from Li, says Tibetan who twice 'breached the wall'

Dharamsala , May 17 "No expectations from (new Chinese Premier) Li Keqiang on resolving the vexed issue of Tibet" was the first reaction of activist and poet Tenzin Tsundue who twice "breached the wall" by unfurling protest banners during the visits of Chinese premiers.

Lot more to India-China ties than border stand-off: Experts

New Delhi , May 17 As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in India days after the two countries resolved a 20-day border stand-off, experts said India-China ties go back a long way and one should not judge the relations on the basis of one event.

Akali Dal manifesto comes in handy for Congress (Punjab Newsletter)

Chandigarh , May 17 A top Congress leader displaying the manifesto of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab may appear odd, but that's exactly what is happening in Punjab these days.

'Dispel myths about vitiligo' (May 19 is Vitiligo Awareness Day in India)

New Delhi , May 18 Eighteen-year-old Priyanka Sharma says she feels like an outcast when fellow commuters get up as she sits beside them or her friends call her a cow. The reason: A white patch on her forehand five years ago that soon spread to other parts of her body.

Are Omar, Mehbooba hunting for 'safe' seats for 2014 polls? (Kashmir Newsletter)

Srinagar , May 18 Are Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti hunting for "safe" seats for the 2014 assembly elections? The question is particularly poignant in Abdullah's case as it would mean his moving away from a constituency that his grandfather and father have nursed since 1975 and which has gone out of the family's grasp only once.

Three vital steps to a more secure India (Comment)

No matter what cosmetic gloss (or acne ointment) is put on the recent stand-off between the Indian border police and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), India is perceived as having come off second best in test of wiils, as the Chinese intruded across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, and camped in 'Indian territory' for 20 days. As a regional power of substance, with robust armed forces and a nuclear arsenal, India has available the full spectrum of policy options, ranging from war to capitulation.

Heidi Klum spares weekends for kids

Los Angeles , May 19 German supermodel Heidi Klum always keeps her weekends free for her children.

Rewind to 1999 bus journey that never happened (Comment)

She walked into my study with a sort of aggressive authority that has become the hallmark of younger TV interviewers, custom made for shrill current affairs chat shows.

Hypertension: India's silent killer (May 18 is World Hypertension Day)

New Delhi , May 17 Fast-moving lifestyles, unearthly hours at work, stress, addiction to alcohol and unhealthy meals are making more and more Indians fall prey to high blood pressure at a very young age.

Wedding card creativity at its best

New Delhi , May 17 If you can't afford high-end designer cards, fret not! Shopkeepers in the capital's favourite wedding cards destination of Chawri Bazar in old Delhi have affordable options. Whether it is paper or colour or size, everything can be customised without shelling out big bucks.