Three children killed, one hurt in Assam blast

Guwahati, Jan 9:

Three school children were killed and another was seriously injured in an explosion in Assam’s Tinsukia district Wednesday afternoon, a government official said.

Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathy said a schoolboy was killed on the spot and two children who were injured died while being taken to hospital.

“The blast took place near a lower primary school at Kharjan near Digboi today (Wednesday). A schoolboy, who received critical injuries in the blast, is being treated at a local hospital,” Tripathy said.

A detailed report on the incident was awaited, he added.

About 550 km from Assam’s capital Guwahati, Digboi is known as the state’s oil township where crude oil was first discovered.

Tripathy said that there were inputs that the anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom might try to carry out subversive activities in the district. “We are trying to find out if a militant outfit is behind the blast,” he said.

via Three children killed, one hurt in Assam blast.

Across-the-board railway passenger fares hiked from January 21

New Delhi :  In a rare decision just a month ahead of the Budget, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today effected an across-the-board hike in fares of all classes from midnight of January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year, the first such increase in a decade.

The proposals will rake in an additional Rs 1200 crore between January 21 and March 31 this year, the minister said announcing the decision and did not rule out a hike in the freight tariff.

Fares of Ordinary Second Class (suburban) trains will go up by 2 paise per km while for non-suburban travel it will be 3 paise.

Travel by Second Class Mail and Express trains will be costlier by 4 paise per km, while it will be 6 paise in Sleeper Class.

Travellers by AC Chair Car and AC Three Tier will have to shell out 10 paise more per km, First Class by 3 paise, AC Two Tier by 6 paise and AC First Class by 10 paise.

The fares for First Class, AC Two Tier and AC First/ Executive Class were already raised by 10 paise per km, 15 and 30 paise respectively in the current year’s budget.

Breaking away from the populism of his predecessors, including Lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee, Bansal, who was made the Railway Minister in October last, told a press conference that the decision to hike the fares was “imperative” as lack of revision in the last 10 years has had a “telling effect” on the railway finances.

Dinesh Trivedi, who succeeded his party chief Banerjee, made a bold decision to hike fares in the Budget in February, 2012 to mop up an additional Rs 4000 crore but paid the price when he was made to resign by his party Trinamool Congress which was opposed to it.

Today’s decision also covered services like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto type trains. However, it exempted platform tickets from any hike.

Bansal also proposed to do away with the practice of levying development charge on passenger tickets and all the chargeable fares will in future be in multiples of five.

As a result of the proposed hike, ordinary Second Class suburban fares for a distance of 35 km will go up by Rs 2 from Rs 8 to Rs 10, while in the non-suburban trains it will go up by Rs 5 for an average distance of 135 km.

In Sleeper Class, the increase would mean a hike of Rs 50 for a distance of 770 km from Rs 270 to Rs 320. In the case of AC Chair Car, for a distance of 387 km, the increase would be Rs 40 from Rs 345 to Rs 385.

In the case of AC Three Tier, for a distance of 717 km, the fare will go up from Rs 724 to Rs 800, an increase of Rs 76.

Similarly, in the case of AC Two Tier, the increase would mean a hike of Rs 48 for a distance of 721 km, while for AC First Class it will be Rs 56 for a distance of 547 km.

Replying to questions, Bansal said the Railway Budget next month will not propose any fresh hike in passenger fares.

But when asked whether there would be hike in the freight tariff, he was non committal. “I am not saying anything either way. We are not saying anything now.”

Giving reasons for the decision which he described as reasonable, the minister said the losses in passenger segment, which was Rs 1,059 crore in 2004-05, rose to Rs 19,964 crore in 2010-11, an increase of 18 per cent a year. This is likely to go up to Rs 25,000 crore in the current fiscal.

Bansal said input costs have increased immensely over the years and the fares had remained stagnant or there was a little decrease in the lower class fares.

He said Railways was making efforts to raise revenues to meet urgent safety and user amenities requirements.

In addition, the Sixth Pay Commission meant an additional outgo of Rs 73,000 crore in the five year period and about one lakh crore till this time.

Bansal also said the freight traffic target could also not be met with the load showing a shortfall of 13 million tonne till December end.

He cross subsidy through freight business was no more viable in view of the fast evolving competition from other modes.

The across-the-board fare hike proposal of Dwivedi in the current year’s budget was finally approved only for First Class, Second AC and First AC/ Executive Classes, which together constitute only about 0.3 per cent of total passengers and about 10 per cent of total earnings from passenger segment.

He said internal resource generation has been seriously impacted resulting in scaling down of Annual Plan size. Fund balances turned negative in 2011-12, adversely affecting essential replacement and renewal of assets, operation and maintenance activities and critical safety and passenger amenity works.

Pakistan denies killing Indian soldiers

Islamabad, Jan 9: Pakistan Wednesday rejected as “baseless and unfounded” charges that its troops killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and suggested a third party probe.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told CNN-IBN television channel that Pakistan “absolutely rejects that any such incident took place” in Poonch district.

“We are saying that an incident like this did not take place, but if our enquiry is not good enough, we can ask the UN to do the enquiry,” she said.

But she maintained that Indian troops killed a Pakistani soldier Sunday.

“You know an incident of the same nature, which is a bit ironical, that which is being claimed today, took place three days back where one of our soldiers was murdered.”

She denied that the killing of the Indian soldiers was a “tit for tat”.

“I say that we need to grow up and allow me to say this that it is not Pakistan’s policy to do tit for tat. We think we are a responsible country and India is a responsible country.”

Khar said Pakistan “wants to respect the ceasefire of 2003” along the Line of Control (LoC) “and we have a long history of respecting it”.

Khar suggested that the Indian Army could probe the killings since it took place 600 metres inside Indian territory.

“I think we can do both our own investigations and assist each other in finding out what really happened.”

Khar said such incidents should not be allowed to derail the peace process between the two countries.

The foreign ministry said it “strongly rejects the Indian allegation” of the Tuesday attack as “baseless and unfounded”.

“Pakistan is prepared to hold investigations through the UN Military Observes Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) on the recent ceasefire violations on the LoC,” it said.

via india tv news

Two’s company but three’s even better- Roman Abramovich relaxes with his pregnant girlfriend Dasha Zhukova

When you’re the pregnant wife of a billionaire, you can have all the best pre-baby pampering at the click of your manicured fingers.

But for Dasha Zhukova, it seems there is nothing better than a spot of relaxation- albeit aboard her husband’s luxury yacht.

The stunning former model looked every inch the jet-set beauty as she took a spin adrift the Caribbean seas during a  winter holiday in St Barts.

Loved up-Mr and Mrs Abramovich relax on board their luxury yacht in St Barts

Not a care in the world. Dhasa Zhukova aboard the luxury Yacht in St BArts

Dasha, who is expecting her second child with the billionaire, appeared not to have a care in the world as she soaked up the suns rays in  dark sunglasses and a stylish red dress.

And as well as being joined on the Island by friends, the couple also had their three year old son Aaron Alexander Abramovich in tow as part of a month long family holiday.

The new baby which is due in the spring will be Dasha’s second child but for her twice married husband it will be his seventh.

Dasha Zhukova is a pregnant beauty aboard the luxury yacht with her husband Roman Abramovich.

The 46-year-old businessman already has two sons and three daughters with his ex-wife Irina Vyacjeslavna Malandin.

The Russian tycoon and businessman who has been married and divorced twice, met Dasha, the daughter of the Russian Oligarch Alexander Zhukovoa at a New Years party hosted by her father in 2006.

But the romance did not blossom between the two until he had split from his second wife Irina after 16 years of marriage.

Their divorce ended in a record settlement rumored to be around £1.5 billion to provide for this five other children.

Dasha Zhukova with her son Aaron Alexander Abramovich in St Barts last month.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2259510/Twos-company-threes-better-Roman-Abramovich-relaxes-aboard-dream-yacht-pregnant-girlfriend-Dasha-Zhukova.html#ixzz2HURnD4od
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Picnic in the park: Selma Blair dotes on baby son Arthur as she enjoys a bite to eat with a mystery male pal

She’s a doting mum to adorable baby son, Arthur Saint.

And Selma Blair and her 18-month-old tot enjoyed a picture perfect day out as they made the most of the winter sunshine on Tuesday afternoon.

The 40-year-old actress lavished attention on her little one as they settled down for a picnic at Cross Creek Park in Malibu, California.

Fun in the sun: Selma Blair and her adorable son Arthur, 18 months, made the most of the winter sun by enjoying a picnic at Cross Creek Park in Malibu, California, with a mystery male pal on Tuesday afternoon

Joined by a mystery male pal for their day out, the mother and son seemed to be having a whale of a time as they soaked up the sun together.

More…

• Whoops! Selma Blair suffers a wardrobe malfunction as she leaves shirt tucked into her underwear
• Selma Blair and her mother Molly have their hands full as they take energetic toddler Arthur shopping
• Blooming lovely! Selma Blair steps out looking perfectly preppy chic as she shops for flowers and baby goodies

Selma looked every inch the yummy mummy, adding a touch of glam to an all-black ensemble with a gold sequin-detail bolero jacket.

The Anger Management star completed her daytime look with a black quilted Chanel handbag and dark Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, while letting her flawless skin breathe by going make-up free.

Doting mother: The 40-year-old actress seemed to be struggling to get little Arthur’s socks back on after he roamed around on the grass barefoot

And little Arthur had certainly seemed to have inherited his mother’s fabulous sense of style, looking simply adorable in a lilac motif T-shirt, khaki trousers and black leather trainers.

But after playing barefoot on the grass with an orange ball, Selma seemed to be struggling to get his red socks back on his tiny feet, with the star having to sit on a bench as her pal looked on.

It looked as though the group were enjoying a few tasty treats during their day in the sun, with Selma’s male friend carrying a large plate of sandwiches, as well as apples, satsumas and Rice Bite snacks also surrounding the trio.

Yummy mummy: Selma added a touch of glam to an all-black ensemble with a gold sequin-detail bolero jacket

Over the weekend, the raven-haired actress made a rare trip out without her son.

Picking up a bunch of stunning long-stem lilies from a store in Los Angeles and carrying a number of shopping bags, the star looked effortlessly chic in a simple ensemble of skinny jeans, a beige jumper and a candy pink striped shirt.

Selma split from Arthur’s father Jason Bleick in September 2011 and has adapted well to life as a single mother.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2259486/Selma-Blair-dotes-baby-son-Arthur-enjoys-bite-eat-mystery-male-pal.html#ixzz2HUPgkAu1
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Scissor-brandishing woman meets her match when she comes up against female taekwondo expert in knee-high boots

When a woman went berzerk with a pair of scissors in a busy shopping street in China, she didn’t expected to come face-to-face with a martial arts expert.

Captured on film the woman is seen slashing away with shape blade until another woman wearing knee-high boots and hot pants appears and tries to calm her down.

Then, quick-as-a-flash, brave passer-by utilises her taekwondo skills to launch a spectacular kick at the aggressor’s hand and disarm her.

Scroll down for video

Kick: A woman utilises her taekwondo skills to launch a spectacular kick at the aggressor’s hand and disarm her on a busy street in China

The incident happened outside a fast food restaurant in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, at around 9pm on January 6 and was videoed by a witness.

 

More…

• Flipping the board: Watch sign-spinner show off his skills at the side of the road
• What happens when a passenger goes through an airport x-ray machine?

Other witnesses told Chinese TV that the woman with scissors had proclaimed the end of the world was taking place and had blood streaming from her hands.

The woman on the right tries to calm down the woman on the left as she points the scissors at her

 

Martial arts expert: The woman in knee-high boots aims her kick and in a blur knocks the scissors out of her hand

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2259159/Scissor-brandishing-woman-meets-match-comes-female-taekwondo-expert-knee-high-boots.html#ixzz2HUOIRNAm
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

via Scissor-brandishing woman meets her match when she comes up against female taekwondo expert in knee-high boots | Mail Online.

Haryana CM presenting a memento to Chief Justice Punjab & Haryana High Court Justice Mr. A.K.Sikri at a Silver Jubilee function organized on completion of 25th year of the Enforcement of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in Panchkula

Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda presenting a memento to Chief Justice Punjab & Haryana High Court Justice Mr. A.K.Sikri at a  Silver Jubilee function organized on completion of 25^th year of the Enforcement of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in Panchkula on January 9,2013.

PICTURES: Alexandra Burke races her friends into the sea as she enjoys final day in Miami

 

She’s been wowing fans with her athletic figure during her holiday in Miami.

So it comes as no surprise that when it came to a race into the sea, Alexandra Burke was front and centre.

The sporty singer grinned with delight as she launched herself down the sand towards the clear blue ocean, flanked by a group of male and female friends.

Ready, set, RUN! Alexandra Burke was seen racing her friends down to the sea as she enjoyed the final day of her holiday in Miami

 

Alexandra was seen gripping one of her pals by the hand as the pair shrieked with laughter while setting off on their race.

The 24-year-old wore a white and navy striped bikini teamed with a black headscarf for the beach day out, and appeared in good spirits despite it being the last day of her holiday.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, she said: ‘Last night in MIA, it’s been epic….. Ready fi (sic) go home and work.’

Making a dash for it: Alexandra held on to her friend’s hand as the pair dashed down the sands

Coming to a halt: Alexandra looked slightly more tentative as she slowed down right before entering the water

I got here first! Alexandra appeared to be having a disagreement with a friend over who won after she was seen celebrating in the water

She later added: ‘Miami … It’s been real. Amazing break. No holiday now for a LONG time !! Peace!! Xx’

Alexandra has been in Florida since New Year’s Eve after spending Christmas at home in London with her family.

Although she’s been spending plenty of time on the beach, she’s also been working on her new album.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2259597/Alexandra-Burke-races-friends-sea-enjoys-final-day-Miami.html#ixzz2HUL9NDen
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

via Alexandra Burke races her friends into the sea as she enjoys final day in Miami | Mail Online.

Famous ‘Dracula Church’ under threat from landslide which has destroyed graveyard and sent human bones raining down on to town below

A historic church and graveyard where Bram Stoker set his Gothic horror novel Dracula is faced with a horror story of its own.

Human bones uncovered after a landslide last month have been washed down the cliff St Mary’s Church stands on in Whitby after heavy rainfall.

The human remains are then being collected at the bottom of the cliff face and re-buried.

Grave danger: Human bones have crumbled off the side of the cliff where St Mary’s Church, in Whitby, stands

Ruin: It is feared the legendary St Mary’s Church in Whitby could fall if the cliff face crumbles away

St Mary’s Reverend Canon David Smith said: ‘The cemetery has been a closed for more than a century so if any graves are exposed it’s only bones.

‘If anything is exposed we collect and reinter them in the same churchyard away from the edge.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2259560/Human-bones-Dracula-Church-graveyard-washed-cliff-face-landslide-threatens-building.html#ixzz2HUJTzcLP
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Doctor’s daughter who gave birth in police custody after ‘keeping explosives in Greenwich Village home’ heads to heroin rehab after making bail

A Park Avenue-raised heroin addict who went into labour while she was being handcuffed for allegedly keeping explosives in her upscale apartment has made bail and headed to rehab.

Morgan Gliedman, 27, gave birth to a healthy, drug-free daughter named Melody Sunshine following the arrest at her Manhattan home last week – but has not seen the baby girl since.

On Tuesday the wealthy doctor’s daughter posted $150,000 bail and, wearing an ankle-monitoring bracelet, was taken to a mandatory 30-day treatment program, the New York Post reported.

She emerged from Manhattan Criminal Court looking pale and disheveled – and with a small bump on show beneath her winter coat – after a judge granted her bail.

Free on bail: Morgan Gliedman, who went into labor last week as police handcuffed her for allegedly keeping explosives in her apartment, leaves Manhattan Criminal Court with her lawyer on Tuesday

 

New mom: Gliedman displays her bump as she attends court. She has not seen her daughter since the birth

Last week, the well-to-do addict was charged with keeping high-powered explosives and illegal firearms in her Greenwich Village apartment, and was already a suspect in a robbery.

She lived at the home with the father of her child, Aaron Greene, 31, who is reportedly also an

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2259543/Morgan-Gliedman-posts-bail-heads-rehab.html#ixzz2HUIngzHN
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook