Gunmen attack French satirical newspaper in Paris, 10 dead

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PARIS: At least 10 people were killed in a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper firebombed in the past after publishing cartoons joking about Muslim leaders, French TV channel iTELE reported. France Info radio also said police had confirmed a toll of 10 dead and five injured. Reuters had no immediate official confirmation of deaths. The news channel quoted a witness as saying he saw the incident from a building nearby in the heart of the French capital. "About a half an hour ago two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs (guns)," Benoit Bringer told the station. "A few minutes later we heard lots of shots," he said, adding that the men were then seen fleeing the building. A police official, Luc Poignant, said he was aware of one journalist dead and several injured, including three police officers. "It's carnage," Poignant told BFM TV. A firebomb attack gutted the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in November 2011 after it put an image of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover. The satirical newspaper tweeted the following cartoon on Wednesday.

Attempt to implicate me in Sunanda death: Tharoor

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NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that a Delhi Police official had attempted to implicate him and a domestic help in the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. In a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi dated November 12 and accessed by the media Wednesday, Tharoor urged the police chief to take action against the concerned officer. Tharoor said that four Delhi Police officers interrogated his domestic help Narayan Singh for 16 hours on November 7 and for 14 hours on Nov 8. On both days, Tharoor alleged that Narayan Singh was "repeatedly physically assaulted by one of your officers. "Worse, that officer used the traumatic physical assault to try and intimidate Narayan into 'confessing' that he and I murdered my wife," the former central minister said. Tharoor recalled that he expressed his concerns to Bassi over telephone Nov 8 night. "As you graciously agreed, such conduct is completely unacceptable and illegal," Tharoor said in his letter. "It also amounts to the use of physical coercion in the attempt to frame an innocent man. "I would request you to take immediate and appropriate action against such unlawful misconduct of the officer concerned. "My staff and I have always made ourselves available for any kind of inquiry and investigation but the recent behaviour of the officers towards my staff is a matter of serious concern to any law abiding citizen. "Please look into the matter personally and ensure that the unvarnished truth comes out in this case." Tharoor said he had "complete trust and faith" in Delhi Police and that he was committed to "fully cooperating with the investigations to ensure the timely completion of the inquiry". The letter became public knowledge a day after Delhi Police announced that Pushkar, found dead in a hotel a year ago, was poisoned to death. Bassi said Tuesday that this was the conclusion of the final medical report of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which had conducted Pushkar's autopsy. Pushkar, 52, died in mysterious circumstances on Jan 17 last year. Tharoor was then a minister in the government of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Tharoor 'stunned' that Pushkar was poisoned

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Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Tuesday that he was stunned to know that his wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned and that a murder case had now been filed.

In a statement here, Tharoor said: "Needless to say I am anxious to see that this case is investigated thoroughly, and (I) assure the police my full cooperation.

"Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and the unvarnished truth should come out," he said.

He added that he and all members of Pushkar's family wanted access to all the information on the basis of which Delhi Police had concluded that she was poisoned to death.

"We have not been provided copies of the post-mortem report and other reports of the inquiry like the CFSL report till date. We repeat our request for a copy of these reports to be provided to us immediately," said Tharoor.

Pushkar was found dead in mysterious circumstances in a luxury hotel in New Delhi in January last year. Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi said Tuesday that she was poisoned to death.

- See more at: http://www.madhyamam.com/en/kerala/2015/jan/6/tharoor-stunned-pushkar-was-poisoned#sthash.jo8LmwGp.dpuf

Sunanda was poisoned, murder case filed: police

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New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, found dead in mysterious circumstances here in January last year, was poisoned to death, Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi said Tuesday.

"We have got the final medical report from AIIMS, and we have been told that it was an unnatural death... It was not a natural death," Bassi told the media.

"She died due to poisoning. Whether the poison was given orally or injected into her body is being investigated," he said, adding the report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was received Dec 29.

Bassi said the quantum of poison given to Pushkar, who was 52, had not yet been ascertained. "For that we will send her viscera abroad."

A murder case had now been registered, the police chief said.

A special team has been formed to probe the case. This will be overseen by Deputy Commissioner of Police Prem Nath.

Asked why it took almost a year for the final medical report to come, Bassi said the interim report spoke of poisoning but did not say it was an unnatural death. "Even overdose (of medicines) can be poisoning."

When IANS sought to know if Tharoor, a former central minister and now a Congress MP from Kerala, would be questioned again, he said: "We will do whatever is possible."

Bassi said Delhi Police had sought the final medical report from AIIMS several times. "Now that we have got it, we are registering a FIR."

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel Jan 17, 2014, a day after she and Tharoor checked in because their house was allegedly getting painted. Both had been married twice earlier.

Tharoor was then the minister of state for human resource development in the Manmohan Singh government.

Tharoor was later named by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the ambassadors of his Clean India campaign. After Tharoor praised the drive, a peeved Congress dropped him as one of its official spokespersons.

The medical investigation into Pushkar's death took twists and turns.

The first autopsy report, submitted to a magistrate Jan 20 last year, had said that Tharoor's wife died due to drug overdose. But it also reported a dozen injury marks on her body.

The final autopsy report that came out in July put the number of injury marks at 15. All the injuries were caused by blunt forces except one which was an injection mark.

Later, Sudhir Kumar Gupta, who headed the forensic team in AIIMS, alleged that he was pressured to show that Pushkar's death was natural.

The AIIMS denied the allegation, and Gupta was removed from the post.

A day before she was found dead, Tharoor and Pushkar had issued a joint statement saying they were distressed by a row over some unauthorized tweets posted from their twitter account and that both were "happily married and intend to remain that way".

The statement claimed that distorted accounts of comments allegedly made by Pushkar, alleging an affair between her husband and a Pakistani journalist, had led to some erroneous conclusions.

UN won't get involved with Italian marines facing trial in India

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UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman refused Monday to be drawn into the controversy surrounding the two Italian marines facing trial in India over the killing of two fisherman off the Kerala coast amid reports that the Italian prime minister has asserted that a "direct channel" had been opened with New Delhi raising hopes of a settlement. Asked by a reporter if Ban had recently taken any initiative in the issue or if he still considered it a bilateral matter between India and Italy, the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said, tersely, "I have nothing to add to what he's already said on the issue." Despite several high-level requests by the Italians to intervene, Ban has maintained that "it's better for the question to be addressed bilaterally, rather than with the involvement of the UN," according to reports in the Italian media. Ban's statement made in February last year was similar to comments made on his behalf by spokesmen in 2013 and last year. Reports from Rome said Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told a year-end press conference last week that a "direct channel" had been opened with India and that it has raised the possibility of resolving the almost three-year-old issue. The Italian news agency, ANSA, reported that Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said, "India, a friend and ally of Italy, has in recent hours opened a direct channel of discussion, with statements that we've appreciated." ANSA added that according to Renzi India's statements about the case may indicate a new opening for resolution. Although he did not give further details about the statements, ANSA reported, "Diplomatic sources said that he was evidently (referring to) remarks by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said shortly before Christmas that New Delhi was 'studying' an Italian proposal for a consensual solution to the dispute." The agency added that Italian Ambassador to India, Daniele Mancini, was recently in Italy for two weeks of consultations. The two marines, Chef Master Sgt. Massimiliano Latorre and Sgt.  Salvatore Girone are accused of killing two fisherman off the Kerala coast in February 2012 while they were guarding an Italian tanker, Enrica Lexie, traveling from Singapore to Egypt. The Marines said they thought the fishermen were pirates. Italy asserts that the incident took place in international waters and, therefore, the Marines should be tried in Italy or in an international court. India, however, maintains that it can try them because it says the killings happened in coastal waters under Indian jurisdiction and the victims were Indians. Latorre and Girone have been out on bail and allowed to stay in the Italian embassy in New Delhi while awaiting progress in their case. ANSA also reported that Latore, who was permitted by Indian Supreme Court to visit Italy for medical treatment, "was successfully operated on to plug a small hole in his heart, a condition that is quite common and easily fixed with non-invasive heart surgery" last week according to doctors at a Milan hospital. At his press conference, Renzi had urged Italian media and politicians to stay calm and not prvoke a confrontation. ANSA quoted him as saying, "In order to resolve this issue it will be useful to maintain the tone appropriate to legitimate diplomatic and legal channels, without unnecessary displays or useless political initiatives - like some I have seen (undertaken) by ministers of preceding governments, which beggared belief." Renzi of the Democratic Paty, who became prime minister last February has appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help resolve the issue.

Kerala to launch own newspaper, webportal

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Thiruvananthapuram: The State Govt will be launching its own newspaper and web portal (kerelanews.in.) under the aegis of the Public Relations Department. In the first phase, the govt plans to bring out the newspaper on a weekly basis and later it would be made a daily. Preparations are on for the launch in February.

Govt has already registered the name of the newspaper as 'vikasana samanwayam'.

The Govt may consider other alternative names but since it demands too much of a time, it would be published under the same title till another well suited name is accepted.

PRD deputy director K Manojkumar has been assigned with the charge of both the newspaper and the web portal.

MInister K C Joseph said that the need for a Govt newspaper arose from the fact that the development news of the state and the plans of the government rarely get published and hence there is need to start its own newspaper.

Journalism graduates would be appointed as local reporters in all blocks and remuneration given according to the news value.

The newspaper distribution across the state would be done through various Govt establishments like kudumbasree units. Printing would be carried out in the Govt press. In the first phase, the newspaper would be published from Thiruvananthapuarm.

India needs to invest in cancer research: US scientist

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Kolkata: India needs to invest in research in emerging challenges such as diabetes, cancer and neurological disorders, Indian-origin US cancer biologist Inder Verma said here Monday.

Verma is a leading authority in gene therapy, retrovirology, and cancer, particularly glioblastomas (brain tumour).

Verma - who is originally from Punjab - is an American Cancer Society Professor of Molecular Biology in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego.

'We have had very large amount of investments in communicable diseases (in the past), which still remains a big deal.

'But now that the country is economically better, particularly for some middle class families, there is really an emerging need for (investments in) non-communicable diseases,' Verma told IANS on the sidelines of the Infosys Prize Award here.

Verma is the jury chair for the Infosys Prize 2014 for the discipline of life sciences.

He said the areas to think for the future were 'cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, particularly diseases like Alzheimer's'.

'For example, diabetes which has become a real challenge now was not such a big deal before,' he said.

Verma said India has a long way to go compared to the US, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country last year has spurred action in certain disciplines like cancer.

'We have a long way to go because our investments have been relatively small compared to the US.

'When Mr. Modi came to US not so long ago, there has been certain encouragement in working in certain areas such as cancer biology,' he said.

Collaborations between the two nations, according to Verma, will be 'helpful' in terms of technology transfer, ideas and exchange of scientists in the future.

'There has been very little research in basic sciences in cancer which Mr. Modi together with the National Cancer Institute in India has begun to make collaborative efforts. There are more efforts in vaccines,' he added.

IANS

'Aspirin could tackle dementia'

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'

Sydney: An Australian university has been commissioned by the US-based National Institutes of Health to investigate aspirin's anti-dementia powers, local media reported Monday.

Dementia, where a person's cognitive mind, function and memory dissolves, is one of the biggest medical challenges for elderly people.

Monash University in Melbourne has begun a 50 million Australian dollar ($41 million) trial called ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), Xinhua reported.

It is a joint study with the Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research in Minneapolis in the US and involves more than 19,000 Australian patients in the trial.

Aspirin's properties revolve around its ability to stop blood platelets clumping together, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

But its active ingredient is salicin, which has an anti-inflammatory effect and is derived from willow trees.

Sunanda Pushkar was murdered: Delhi Police

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New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushakar did not commit suicide but was murdered, Delhi Police Chief B.S. Bassi said Tuesday.

'We have got the final medical report from AIIMS, and we have been told that it was an unnatural death,' Bassi told the media.

'She died due to poisoning. Whether the poison was given orally or injected into her body is being investigated,' he said, adding the report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was received Dec 29.

A murder case had now been registered, Bassi said.

Pushkar was found dead in mysterious circumstances at a luxury hotel here Jan 17, 2014.

US concerned over rising India Pakistan tension

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Washington : The US Monday expressed concern over rising India-Pakistan tensions and the exchange of fire along the working boundary, which claimed four Pakistani civilian lives, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Washington encourages Islamabad and New Delhi to engage in a dialogue. Â'We certainly remain concerned and watch over tensions along the border. We encourage dialogue between the (two) countries,Â' State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

When her attention was drawn to the reports of four Pakistanis deaths in Indian fire in Sialkot sectors, the spokesperson said she did not have any confirmation but added the US would obviously sympathise with families on loss of any lives. Â'Our hearts will go out to the familiesÂ' for any lives lost.

In response to another question, the spokesperson noted that Washington has been supporting dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi. There have been some steps in the past and positive exchanges over the years but Â'obviously more work needs to be done.Â'

On US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, she said the two sides work on a range of issues including counter-terrorism and security issues.

Oil prices tumble, Sensex plunges over 588 pts

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Mumbai: Oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel on Monday, spooking global financial markets and signaling that the remarkable 50 percent price drop since June was continuing this year and even quickening.

The new drop in U.S. and global benchmarks of more than 4 percent was accompanied by reports of increased Middle Eastern oil exports, continuing increases in U.S. production and renewed worries about the declining economic fortunes of Europe.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled over 588.15 points to 27,254.17 and the NSE Nifty dipped below the 8,300-mark in opening trade today on heavy selling by funds and investors amid global sell-off on worries about Eurozone
and sinking oil prices.

The 30-share barometer plunged by 588.15 points, or 2.11 per cent, to 27,254.17 with all sectoral indices led by auto,
IT, realty and capital goods, trading in negative zone with losses up to 2.42 per cent.

The index had lost 45.58 points in the previous session.

On similar lines, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty slipped below the 8,300-mark by falling 174.40 points, or 2.08
per cent, to 8,204.

Brokers said heavy selling by participants, following a weak trend at other Asian markets and an overnight slump in US
shares on worries about the Eurozone and sinking oil prices, dragged down the key indices.

Globally, US oil prices finished at USD 50.04 per barrel, down five per cent, after sliding below USD 50 a barrel
earlier in yesterday's trade.

Prominent losers among the 30 Sensex stocks were Tata Motors, ONGC, GAIL, HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Hero Moto, Infosys,
L&T, Maruti Suzuki, RIL, SBI, Sesa Sterlite, Sun Pharma, Tata Power, Tata Steel, TCS and Wipro.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 0.87 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei fell 2.62 per
cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.86 per cent lower in yesterday's trade. PTI

People on Pak boat were suspected terrorists, not smugglers, says Parrikar

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NEW DELHI: Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said it is evident that the men on the Pakistani boat, which sank after being intercepted off the coast of Porbander, were suspected terrorists.

"I think they were suspected terrorists, as they committed suicide. A normal boat even carrying drugs can surrender. The location was not normal sea route; even the smugglers normally take the busy route so that they can mingle with boats. Pakistan is trying to divert attention after what happened in Peshawar," said Parrikar.

Parrikar's comments to reporters come amid speculation that the vessel was a fishing boat or even one that was smuggling contraband and not one carrying terrorists.

"The coast guard has done the right job at the right time based on intelligence inputs as they reacted immediately. The boat was on surveillance for 12 hours and it was intercepted as soon as possible," he added.

According to reports, intelligence agencies had picked up phone intercepts from the boat near Karachi about "expensive cargo" to be delivered near India.

On Friday, a possible 'terror' attack was averted when a suspicious fishing boat carrying explosives in the Arabian Sea was intercepted near the India- Pakistan maritime boundary, approximately 365 kilometres away from Porbander.

The four persons on board ignored warning shots from the Coast Guard and tried to flee, but when they couldn't make it, set the boat on fire.

The boat sank in the early hours of January 1, and the people on board could not be saved or recovered.

40 tourists fall ill over suspected food poisoning

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PURI (ODISHA): At least 40 tourists, hailing from West Bengal, fell ill over suspected food poisoning after having meal at an eating joint here, police said today. The tourists, from Hooghli and Midnapore district of West Bengal, complained of vomiting, headache and nausea after consuming food from an eating joint near Swargadwar area yesterday evening, police officials said. 26 victims of alleged food poisoning were admitted to various hospitals in the town including the district headquarters hospital, they said. Most of the affected persons were discharged from hospitals today morning, hospital officials said.

New compound to kill cancer cells identified

New York: A small molecule that resets the 'biological clock' of cancer cells can help shrink tumour growth and lead to potential new therapy to treat cancer, says a research.

The molecule called 6-thio-2'-deoxyguanosine (6-thiodG) can stop the growth of cancer cells, the findings showed.

'We observed broad efficacy against a range of cancer cell lines with very low concentrations of 6-thiodG,' said Jerry Shay, professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in the US.

The researchers did not observe serious side effects in the blood, liver and kidneys of the mice that were treated with 6-thiodG.

The molecule acts by targeting a unique mechanism that is thought to regulate how long cells can stay alive, a type of ageing clock.

This biological clock is defined by DNA structures known as telomeres, which cap the ends of the cell's chromosomes to protect them from damage and which become shorter every time the cell divides.

Once telomeres have shortened to a critical length, the cell can no longer divide and dies though a process known as apoptosis.

However, cancer cells are normally protected from this death by an RNA protein complex called telomerase, which ensures that telomeres do not shorten with every division.

But 6-thiodG can be used to disrupt the normal way cells maintain telomere length.

'Since telomerase is expressed in almost all human cancers, this work represents a potentially innovative approach to targeting telomerase-expressing cancer cells with minimal side effects on normal cells,' Shay pointed out.

IANS

Egypt court orders retrial in Al-Jazeera journalists' case

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CAIRO: An Egyptian appeals court ordered a retrial Thursday in the case of three Al-Jazeera English journalists held for over a year, overturning the ruling in a case that ensnared the reporters in a wider conflict between Egypt and Qatar.

The decision by Egypt's Court of Cassation came after a hearing that lasted less than half an hour. However, Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohammed, who have been held their arrest in December 2013, were not released on bail.

The three journalists did not attend the brief hearing that began around 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT, 2 a.m. EST) in Cairo. Reporters gathered to report on the hearing were not allowed in for those arguments, but later entered the court.

Defense lawyers said they believed a retrial for the three men would be held within a month and that they hoped for speedy trial given a changing political climate between Egypt and Qatar — believed to be underpinning the whole case. The Al-Jazeera satellite news network is based in Qatar, a country which recently promised to ease tensions in the greater Middle East by dropping its support for Islamist groups throughout the region, like Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Defense lawyers expressed relief over the retrial, though family members of those imprisoned said they hoped for their loved ones' immediate release. Legal experts said releasing the men was outside of power of the Court of Cassation.

Lois Greste, Peter Greste's mother, said after the hearing that the verdict was 'not as good as we hoped.'

Adel Fahmy, Mohammed Fahmy's brother, said he had hoped his brother would have been freed Thursday. He said each lawyer received three minutes to argue their stance on the case.

'I hoped for more today,' he said.

Greste's lawyer, Amr El Deeb, hailed the ruling.

'This is a very good and optimistic decision. It will give them a second round of mitigation,' El Deeb said. 'Hopefully when we go to the retrial, we can defend the defendants and present adequate support to try to set them free.'

Fahmy's lawyer, Negad al-Borai, said seven lawyers represented the three journalists and four other defendants who are Brotherhood members.

Egyptian authorities offered no immediate comment on the ruling. The prosecutor who spoke at the hearing was not the prosecutor who initially tried the case, but rather one attached to the appeals court.

Authorities accused Al-Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for the Brotherhood after the July 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The station long has denied the accusations and said the journalists were doing their job.

'Baher, Peter and Mohammed have been unjustly in jail for over a year now,' Al-Jazeera said in a statement after the court's decision. 'The Egyptian authorities have a simple choice: free these men quickly or continue to string this out, all the while continuing this injustice and harming the image of their own country in the eyes of the world.'

Fahmy's brother told reporters the journalists 'should not be caught in the middle of this remote conflict between two nations.'

'They are the only ones paying the prices,' he said. 'They are being punished on behalf of Qatar and Al-Jazeera.'

Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison at their initial trial, while Mohammed got 10 years — three more because he was found with a spent bullet casing. Rights groups dismissed the trial as a sham and foreign countries, including the U.S., expressed their concern over the journalists' detention.

At trial, prosecutors offered no evidence backing accusations the three falsified footage to foment unrest. Instead, they showed edited news reports by the journalists, including Islamist protests and interviews with politicians. Other footage submitted as evidence had nothing to do with the case, including a report on a veterinary hospital and Greste's past reports out of Africa.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also has the power to pardon or deport the foreigners under a new law, whether or not the court grants the appeal. That would allow Greste to go home and would allow Fahmy to go to Canada if he drops his Egyptian nationality. Mohammed's case would remain more uncertain as he holds only Egyptian citizenship.

IANS

Petrol, diesel prices cut Rs.2 a litre each

New Delhi: With international crude oil rates slipping below $55 a barrel, state-run oil marketers had a New Year Day gift of a cut petrol and diesel rates by Rs.2 a litre, excluding local taxes.

Allowing for local levies, petrol per litre from Thursday costs Rs.61.33 in Delhi, Rs.68.86 in Mumbai, Rs.68.65 in Kolkata and Rs.63.94 in Chennai.

The new per litre prices for diesel are Rs.50.51 in Delhi, Rs.57.91 in Mumbai, Rs.55.00 in Kolkata and Rs.53.78 in Chennai.

Petrol and diesel prices were last cut each by Rs.2 a litre on Dec 15, and prior to that on Dec 1 by 91 paise and 84 paise respectively.

Prices have also been cut for the non-subsidised LPG cylinder, that a consumer may buy at market rates after exhausting the quota of 12 cooking gas cylinders, by Rs.43.50 in Delhi.

The new year's price per 14.2 kg cylinder is Rs.708.50 in Delhi, Rs.725.50 in Mumbai, Rs.746 in Kolkata and Rs.705 in Chennai.

Earlier, to make up for fall in taxes due to the sustained decline in international crude oil prices, the government hiked excise duty by Rs.1.50 a litre on both the fuels first on Nov 12. Later, on Dec 2, the duty on petrol was hiked by Rs.2.25 per litre and on diesel by Re.1 a litre.

Though consumers have been spared the impact of the excise hike, with the current cuts the government has responded to critics that the excise hike was preventing the benefit of falling oil prices from passing to consumers.

In October, the government deregulated diesel prices by linking the fuel cost to market-based pricing.

The price of the Indian basket of crude oils on the last trading day Wednesday fell to $53.53 per barrel. A barrel is equal to 159 litres.

IANS

6 BTech students killed in early morning road accident at Chathanur

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2015

 

Kollam : In a gruesome road acident on New Year's day, six engineering college students were killed at Chathanur in Kollam district when the car in which they were travelling rammed into a tractor lorry in the wee hours of Thursday. The deceased were third year BTech students of TKM Engineering College here.

Sayeed Insam Thangal (19), hailing from Kollam, Aathil Sha (19) from Kollam, Sijo George John (19) belonging to Pathanamthitta, Kollam native Nixxon Aby Mathew (19), Arun K Babu (19) from Kothamangalam and Aju Prakash (19) from Kollam were the deceased.

The students were returning from the Varkala beach in the Alto car belonged to Nixxon after attending the New Year bash.

The speeding car crashed against the lorry and got crushed underneath the lorry at the Indira junction in Karamkode. The tractor lorry, which was proceeding to the IOC plant in Paripally, had slowed down on seeing the speeding car.

'The car was moving at high speed and it rammed into my lorry. The bodies were taken out with great difficulty. All of them died on the spot,' the driver told the media persons.

The Chathanur police have booked a case.