Singer Shreya Ghoshal ties knot with Shiladitya

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Mumbai: Singer Shreya Ghoshal got married to Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya at a private function held on Thursday night. The marriage was held as per Bengali tradition, revealed Shreya on her Facebook and Twitter. Only relatives of the couple and close friends attended the marriage.

'Married the love of my life yesterday night (5th feb) in a beautiful bengali traditional wedding in presence of our families and closest friends. Shiladitya and I both seek your good wishes in this exciting new phase of our lives,' Shreya posted on her Facebook page.

Mukhopadhyaya is anentrepreneur, as per his Twitter handle.
 

Acts of religious intolerance in India would have shocked Gandhi: Obama

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Washington: US President Barack Obama on Thursday invoked India's example to make a plea for religious freedom and how faith leads people to do good and what's right but that faith also can be twisted to be used as a weapon.

In a 25-minute address to the National Prayer Breakfast, Obama who last month visited India with First Lady Michelle called it 'an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity'.

But it was also 'a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs', he said.

These, Obama said, were 'acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation,' he said.

'So this is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith,' he told the meeting, attended by several international leaders including the Dalai Lama.

'We see faith driving us to do right. But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge - or, worse, sometimes used as a weapon,' Obama said.

'From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it,' he said.

Earlier this week, a senior aide of Obama had said that Obama's last speech in New Delhi referring to the need for religious tolerance in India had been misconstrued by some commentators as a kind of a parting shot.

'I think that's been somewhat misconstrued, if you look at the context of the entire speech, it's really about inclusivity. It's about the power of diversity,' Phil Reiner, White House's senior director for South Asian Affairs, told foreign media.

As he began speaking, Obama called the Dalai Lama a 'good friend' and 'a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion and who inspires us to speak up for the freedom and dignity of all human beings'.

Earlier as he arrived, Obama nodded and smiled at the Dalai Lama, waving after clasping his hands together in a bow-like gesture toward Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

The two did not meet directly, but senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was seated with the Dalai Lama at a table in the front row across from the president.

Despite Beijing's objections, Obama has met the Dalai Lama previously three times, most recently in February 2014.

As he arrived at the Washington Hilton Hotel for the meeting, two groups of supporters of the Dalai Lama chanted to drum beats and waved banners and Tibetan flags on the street outside the hotel.

IANS

Students locked in room for not paying fees; principal in custody

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Kozhikode: Causing psychological and mental trauma to the children of Hill Top Public School in Kozhikode, school authorities locked the children in a room for failing to pay the school fees. Police have taken the principal of the school into custody. Many children suffered uneasiness because of the heat.

The last day for paying school fees was December 10 and many students had defaulted on payment. They were asked to remain in a locked room. The school principal said that the children were only asked to remain in a separate room and it was not locked. However, children and their parents protested over this and the police took the principal into custody.

AAA Lalism: Will return the full amount to govt, says Mohanlal

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Thiruvananthapuram: Cine Actor Mohanlal, who owns musical band Lalism, on Monday said he would return the whole amount he received for the show at the inaugural of he 35th National Games.

The band had received Rs 1,63,77,600 for the event. It will be remitted in the same account, he said in an e-mail sent to governement.

Mohanlal said he took the decision in the wake of the event receiving widespread criticism. He added that the allegations hurt him deeply.

Earlier in the day, Sports Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had said that Mohanlal would come up with reply to the criticism over Lalism.

'It is obvious that those opposing Mohanlal would attempt to spread negative opinion about his programme. Mohanlal has the capability to give them a fitting reply. We considered many, including A R Rahman, for the ceremony. Given the low expense and star value, Lalism was chosen,' he had said.

The minister further said that he is not talented enough to analyse the show critically.

'However, the controversies should not overshadow the grandeur of the inaugural ceremony,' he said.

Petrol price slashed by Rs.2.42 per litre, diesel Rs.2.25

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New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) With international crude oil prices continuing to rule below $50 per barrel, the three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) Tuesday decided to reduce petrol and diesel prices.

Taking into account the effect of state levies, the petrol price in Delhi will be cut by Rs.2.42 per litre, while diesel cost will come down by Rs.2.25 per litre from midnight Tuesday.

As a result of the latest price revision, consumers would have to shell out Rs.56.49 per litre for petrol and Rs.46.01 per litre for diesel at the fuel stations in the national capital (subject to state levies).

Currently, petrol is priced at Rs.58.91 per litre and diesel cost per litre is pegged at Rs.48.26.

According to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the latest revision was done keeping in account the deceleration of prices globally and the appreciation in rupee-dollar exchange rate.

'The combined impact of both these factors warrant a decrease in retail selling prices of both petrol and diesel,' IOC said.

On Jan 16, the three state-run OMCs had cut petrol price by Rs.2.42 a litre and that of diesel by Rs.2.25 per litre.

This is the third time since the beginning of 2015, that the prices of both the transportation fuels have been reduced.

IANS

Sachin steals the show at National Game

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Thiruvananthapuram' The biggest cheers as always were reserved for cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar who was one of the chief guests at the opening ceremony of the 35th National Games that got underway here Saturday night.

Tendulkar was roped in by the Kerala government as the goodwill ambassador for the Games and even while Malayalam superstar Mohanlal came under flak from certain quarters for allegedly collecting money to stage his nearly four-hour-long musical show, those who found fault with him looked at Tendulkar who has not charged anything.

Each time the speakers mentioned the name of Tendulkar, the more than 40,000-strong crowd roared and when chief minister Oommen Chandy welcomed him, the roar went on for a few minutes prompting Chandy to profusely thank the cricketing icon.

'I and my government on behalf of the people of Kerala extend our thanks to you for gracing this occasion and also by being the goodwill ambassador. Your gesture towards us will always be remembered,' said Chandy.

Another round of cheers waited for him when various sporting legends from Kerala carrying the torch went up to the podium to hand it over to him. There was more clapping and shouting when he handed it to Anju Bobby George and P.T. Usha who lit the massive Kerala 'nilavilaku'(traditional lamp).

National Games: Preeja to lead 744-member Kerala team Thiruvananthapuram: Asian Games

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Thiruvananthapuram: Asian Games medalist Preeja Sreedharan will lead the 744-member strong Kerala team for the National Games scheduled to be held from January 31 to February 14.

The team comprises 391 males and 353 females. This is for the second time Kerala is hosting the event.

Malaysia declares MH370 an 'accident'

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia declared on Thursday the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident, clearing the way for the airline to pay compensation to victims' relatives while the search for the plane goes on.

The Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared on March 8 last year, carrying 239 passengers and crew shortly after taking off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing.

Months of searches have failed to turn up any trace.

'We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives,' Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said in a statement.

The announcement is in accordance with standards of annexes 12 and 13 in the International Civil Aviation, said Azharuddin. It will allow families of the passengers to obtain assistance through compensation, he said.

Malaysia Airlines was ready to proceed immediately with the compensation process to the next-of-kin of the passengers on the flight, he said.

China called on Malaysia to compensate families.

'We call on the Malaysian side to honour the promise made when they declared the flight to have been lost and earnestly fulfil their compensation responsibilities,' Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

Most of the passengers on the plane were from China.

International investigators are looking into why the Boeing jet veered thousands of miles off course from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.

The search in the Indian Ocean is still going on and Malaysia is also conducting a criminal investigation, Azharuddin said.

'Both investigations are limited by the lack of physical evidence at this time, particularly the flight recorders,' he said.

'Therefore, at this juncture, there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the accident.'

The DCA plans to release an interim report on the investigation into the missing jetliner on March 7, a day before the first anniversary of the disappearance, a minister said on Wednesday.

'This declaration is by no means the end,' said Azharuddin, adding that it will continue with the search for the missing plane with assistance from China and Australia.

Malaysia airline's crisis worsened on July 17 when its Flight MH17, on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

REUTERS

Sensex, Nifty touch record highs

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Mumbai: A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Friday scaled a new high of 29,844.16 points surpassing its previous high of 29,786.32 points touched Jan 28.

While good buying was observed in IT and auto sectors, selling pressure was seen in metal and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 29,801.60 points, was trading at 29,737.70 points (at 09.26 a.m.) in the early session, up 55.93 points or 0.19 percent from the previous day's close at 29,681.77 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 29,844.16 points and a low of 29,650.33 points in the trade so far.

The S&P IT index gained by 163.31 points and auto index moved up by 116.40 points. However, metal index dropped by 45.59 points and FMCG index fell by 20.99 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 2.15 points or 0.02 percent up at 8954.50 points. It touched a record high of 8,996.60 points during the morning trade.

Sumbhan' remark : M V Jayarajan gets 4 weeks jail

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New Delhi: CPM leader M V Jayarajan who made the `sumbhan' remark against High Court judges in the state, was given 4 weeks jail term by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court Friday upheld the conviction of M.V. Jayarajan for calling state high court judges 'idiots', but reduced the sentence from six months to four weeks. An apex court bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen upheld Jayarajan's conviction holding that he has no remorse for his utterances against high court judges.

The Supreme Court criticised in sharpest terms the 'sumbhan' remark and observed that it was unwanted. The Supreme Court had the other day said that Jayarajan's remarks were derogatory to the judiciary and he was not willing to withdraw it nor apologise for the remark.

Jayarajan's counsel said that it was not the judges but the judgement that his comment was aimed at and the controversy regarding the comment was a creation by media. When the court sought to know if Jayarajan was ready to offer apology his counsel said he had not received any such instruction.

The high court taking suo moto cognisance of his utterances convicted him for contempt and awarded his six months imprisonment in 2010

However, he was granted bail by the apex court after serving a week in jail.