Best Deal for You

Lauding the launch of the PSLV-C58/XPOSAT mission which is scheduled for Monday, former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Sunday said that this rocket system has evolved as the most reliable and cost-effective one in the global scenario. The mission is scheduled at 09:10 IST on Monday, the first day of the new calendar year 2024, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Talking to ANI, Madhavan Nair said, "The new year 2024 will be a significant one as far as ISRO programmes are concerned. The 60th launch of PSLV will take place on this day. When we look back in history, we started this journey in 1993 and since then, most of the missions have been successfully completed. This rocket system has evolved as the most reliable and cost-effective one in the global scenario." The former ISRO Chairman also congratulated the ISRO for the achievement of the Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 missions. "On this occasion, I congratulate ISRO for the fantastic achievements it has a

Two-time Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in "The Full Monty" about a group of unemployed steel workers who launched new careers as strippers died "suddenly" on Saturday. The British actor's death was confirmed in a statement released by his agent on behalf of his family. He was 75. "It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him." Wilkinson was nominated for Academy Awards for actor in a leading role for "In The Bedroom" in 2001, and for a supporting role in "Michael Clayton" in 2007. He most recently reunited with his Full Monty co-stars, Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy, in a Disney+ series of the same name. The original 1997 smash hit about an unlikely group of men stripping won an Oscar for best original musical or comedy score and was nominated for three others, including best picture and best director. Wilkins

At least 151 Myanmarese soldiers fled to Mizoram's Lawngtlai district after their camps in the neighbouring country were overrun by an armed ethnic group, an Assam Rifles officer said on Saturday. The Myanmarese army personnel, also known as the 'Tatmadaw,' fled with their arms and approached the Assam Rifles at Tuisentlang in Lawngtlai district on Friday after their camps near the international border were overrun by the Arakan Army fighters, he said. The officer said that there had been intense gunfights between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army fighters for the past few days in areas close to the Indian border. He said that some of the Myanmarese Army personnel, who entered Mizoram on Friday, were critically injured and first aids were administered to them by the Assam Rifles. The Myanmar army soldiers are now in the safe custody of Assam Rifles at Parva in Lawngtlai district near the Myanmar border, he said. The Myanmar soldiers will be sent back to their countr

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday assigned portfolios, keeping the home department with himself while giving the finance ministry to deputy CM Jagdish Devda and public health to the other deputy CM, Rajendra Shukla. The present strength of the state cabinet, including the chief minister, is 31. The Madhya Pradesh cabinet can have a maximum of 35 ministers. Yadav, who became chief minister by replacing Shivraj Singh Chouhan after the BJP retained power in the last month's assembly elections, will also handle the General Administration Department (GAD), Public Relations, Jails, Mining, Aviation, Industrial Policies and Investment Promotion besides all other departments not specifically assigned to any minister, said a gazette notification issued by the GAD. Deputy CM Devda was given Commercial Tax department besides Finance. Devda was the finance minister in the Chouhan government too. Rajendra Shukla, the other deputy CM, was allocated Public Health and Medic

Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately. The object of the lawsuit was the "incognito" mode on Google's Chrome browser that the plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that what they were surfing online was not being tracked by the Silicon Valley tech firm. But internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit demonstrated that users using incognito mode were being followed by the search and advertising behemoth for measuring web traffic and selling ads. In a court filing, the judge confirmed that lawyers for Google reached a preliminary agreement to settle the class action lawsuit -- originally filed in 2020 -- which claimed that "millions of individuals" had likely been affected. Lawyers for the plaintiffs were seeking at least $5,000 for each user it said had been tracked by the firm's Google An

Nationalist Congress Party working president and Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Thursday said she had two choices in front of her, power and struggle, and she chose the latter. "I had two options, power or struggle. On the side of struggle, there was my father and on the side of power was (Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader) Amit Shah. I had to choose between power and struggle. I chose struggle," she said at a public meeting in Indapur. "Do not forget the person who has given you birth. Someone has to say the truth. If we all get scared, there will be no democracy in the country. Today, we were sabotaged. Tomorrow you will meet the same fate," she said in an apparent reference to the split in the NCP on July 2 this year. Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, while Ms Sule and several others chose to remain with party founder Sharad Pawar. Ms Sule said she had informed her family that she would be staying in Baramati for th

A three-member team looking into how 25 schools in violence-hit Manipur applied for CBSE affiliation without the state government's permission will give its report by January 5, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on December 19 cancelled the affiliation of the 25 schools in the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. The CBSE action came four days after the state government in a statement said it had not issued the no-objection certificates (NOCs) that the schools had given to the central board while applying for affiliation. The CBSE's bylaws make it a must for state board schools to bring NOCs from the state government before applying to the central board. The three-member team is checking who are the officers who issued the NOCs to the schools illegally, and whether other people have forged the signatures on the NOC papers, sources said. The team will also suggest what action should be taken against th

Biscuit manufacturer Parle left internet users surprised after it shared a post featuring an influencer's face on its packet's cover instead of the iconic Parle-G girl. The amusing post was in response to content creator Zervaan J Bunshah's viral video where he put forth a hilarious question to his followers. "If you meet the owner of Parle, do you call him Parle sir, Mr. Parle, or Parle G?" he asked in a video. In the clip, Mr. Bunshan is seen sitting in a car with a confused look on his face while the catchy 'Ae Jee Oo Jee'  track from Anil Kapoor's movie 'Ram Lakhan' plays in the background.  The video, shared three days back, went viral eliciting rib-tickling responses from Instagram users.  Watch the video here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zervaan J Bunshah (@bunshah) The video also caught the attention of Parle-G and the biscuit manufacturer joined in the fun with a witty

Inside Edge actor Tanuj Virwani married Taniya Jacob on Tuesday in the presence of his family and close friends. Pictures from their wedding ceremony were shared by the couple's friends and reshared by Tanuj on his Instagram stories. In the pictures, the couple can be seen twinning and winning in peach bridal outfits. The happy news was shared by Tanuj's uncle Atul Agnihotri on his Instagram feed. He captioned the post, "Dear nephew @tanujvirwani @taniyajacob1 Congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you both love, joy, and beautiful moments. May your journey together be as wonderful as the celebrations yesterday. You hosted a picture perfect wedding @ratiagnihotri10 lots of love and respect always #AgnihotriFamily." See some pictures shared by Tanuj Virwani: Now see what Atul Agnihotri posted: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Atul Agnihotri (@atulreellife) In a recent conversation with India Today, T

Plane grounded in France with mostly Indians lands in Mumbai: News agency PTI from NDTV News- Topstories https://ift.tt/iyVS6RX https://ift.tt/6C5dXe9

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday urged tourists to follow rules and regulations, adding that police will not lock up drunk tourists; instead, they will take them to hotels. He made the gesture towards them to promote tourism in the state, which is witnessing a large influx of visitors during the festive season of Christmas and New Year. Due to the Winter Carnival, the state government has decided to keep hotels, restaurants, and dhabas open 24 hours a day for the convenience of tourists. Apart from this, the police have also been instructed not to harass the tourists. The Chief Minister inaugurated the weeklong 'Winter Carnival' in Shimla to promote tourism in the state and said, "We want to promote tourism in the state. We have opened eating joints, Dhaba and restaurants that will function 24 hours a day, starting from December 20 to January 5. So that the tourists do not face any problems." The Chief Minister further said, "T

Former India captain MS Dhoni celebrated the festival of Christmas with his family and friends. Noticeably, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant also joined them during the celeration. The picture of the unit posing in front of a Christmas tree is going viral on social media. Rohit and Pant could be seen donning Christmas hats alongside other members present in the picture. The photo was uploaded through the Instagram account of Dhoni's daughter Ziva with a caption: "Merry Christmas!" See it here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by ZIVA SINGH DHONI (@ziva_singh_dhoni) Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant was part of the franchise's contingent at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction in Dubai. The wicket-keeper batter, who has been missing in action for more than a year due to injury, was present at the auction and took part in a number of bids. Later in the day, he was seen playing tennis

The joint US-Canadian military monitoring agency has continued its decades-long Christmas tradition of tracking Santa's whereabouts, helping children around the globe find out when his reindeer-powered, present-filled sleigh is coming to town. A 3-D, interactive website at www.noradsanta.org showed Santa Claus and his reindeer on their imagined worldwide delivery route, allowing users to click and learn more about the various cities along the way. The Santa tracker presented by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) dates to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement printed a phone number to connect children with Santa but mistakenly directed them to the hotline for the military nerve center. To avoid disappointing the little ones, NORAD's director of operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Old Saint Nick might be and update the children on his location. Sixty-eight years later NORAD is continuing the

A sixty-year-old woman in the US has recalled the time when she woke up with no recollection of the last 30 years of her life after she visited the hospital because of a headache. The intriguing medical case unfolded in 2018 when the woman then 56, awoke with the belief that she was still a teenager in the 1980s, New York Post reported. Kim Denicola, a resident of Louisiana, is now cherishing this Christmas season as she reflects on the many holidays lost to her mysterious memory loss. ''I've lost a lot of Christmases, so it's a big deal,'' Mrs Denicola, now 60, told WAFB . ''It's unbelievable to me as it probably is to other people. Never in my wildest dreams did I get up and go to bible study and think I'm going to wake up in the hospital and I'm going to be 60 years old,'' she added. According to her family, she developed a blinding headache and sudden blurry vision while at a bible study. When she woke up in the hospital emerge

Thirteen unaccompanied minors are among the more than 300 Indian passengers of a Nicaragua-bound plane held in France over suspected human trafficking, authorities told AFP on Saturday. The Airbus A340 has been held at Vatry airport, 150 kilometres (95 miles) east of Paris, since arriving from Dubai on Thursday following an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking. The civilian protection unit of the Marne department said the plane was carrying 13 unaccompanied minors as well as accompanied minors, with their ages ranging from 21 months to 17 years. The 303 passengers of the flight operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines were still in the airport's entrance hall on Saturday morning, an AFP reporter saw. Tarpaulin covered the entrance hall's glass exterior and nearby administrative buildings, while police and gendarmes prevented access. Two passengers were in custody on Friday as part of the investigation. Liliana Bakayoko, a lawye

West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose has removed the interim Vice Chancellor of the Jadavpur University, Buddhadeb Sau, an official statement said on Saturday. "The authorization given to Prof Buddhadeb Sau as per order no. CU/WB/22/23 dated August 17, 2023, to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the office of Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University till further orders, is withdrawn. This order will take immediate effect", read the notice. Meanwhile, preparations are underway at Jadavpur University which is going to hold its annual convocation tomorrow. The convocation, which is held on December 24 every year, witnessed uncertainty after the governor did not grant permission to hold the university's court meeting, which is crucial for hosting the event. Governor Bose said that students had complained that they had to spend the hard-earned money of their parents for the "illegal" convocation. Earlier this year, Kolkata's Jadavpur University hit the

Niraj Shah, Indian-American Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of online furniture firm Wayfair, curated a special message for his employees after the company yielded profitable results. According to CNN , in his note to employees, Mr Shah not only encouraged employees to work hard and be ambitious but also asked them to do more work and blend "work with life". He told them to not shy away from working long hours and added that there was no historical evidence which showed laziness led to success.  "Winning requires hard work. I believe that most of us, being ambitious individuals, find fulfilment in the joy of seeing our efforts materialize into tangible results," the CEO said in a note to employees earlier this month, as per CNN . "Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success," he added.  According to Fortune , Mr Shah also added that the

India once again asserted on Thursday that its "core issue" with Canada remains that of the space given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country. The comments by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India's ties with Canada may have undergone "a tonal shift" following the indictment of an Indian national in the US for plotting an assassination attempt on a Sikh separatist. "Our position has been consistent. We have highlighted how we see the problem and frankly, the core issue remains the space that is given to extremists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country," Mr Bagchi said. He, however, chose not to make a direct comment on Mr Trudeau's remarks. "I would not like to say whether they have noted a shift or not. Certainly, our positions have remained consistent and we would hope that they would take action on such

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has strongly called out nations of not demanding that the terrorist organisation Hamas stop hiding behind civilians, lay down its arms, and surrender. In a press briefing at the US State Department on Wednesday, Blinken said that many countries are urging the end to the ongoing conflict, but how is it possible that there are no demands made of the aggressor? "What is striking to me is that even as, again, we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see, I hear virtually no one saying--demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that," Blinken said. "How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victim?" he added. Blinken's remarks coincide with ongoing negoti

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor's elder son Taimur celebrates his 7th birthday today. Taimur's aunt Karisma Kapoor shared images from the celebrations and they are fun-filled ones. In the carousel post, Karisma Kapoor shared images with the birthday boy, Saif Ali Khan and sister Kareena. Kareena's younger son Jeh was MIA from the pictures. In one picture, Taimur can be seen seated on Karisma's lap. Karisma and Kareena Kapoor can be seen posing together in another picture and they can be seen setting fashion goals. While Kareena can be seen dressed in a colourful shirt, Karisma chooses a black ensemble. She can be seen matching it with a jacket. There's also a glimpse of the FCB (Fan Club Barcelona) theme-based birthday cake. Karisma wrote in the caption, "Happy birthday to our Tim Timmy." The celebrations took place at the Pataudi palace. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karisma Kapoor (@therealkar

Citing a new book written by former Army chief General M M Naravane, the Congress alleged on Tuesday that the Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment into the armed forces was "bulldozed" through, "without meaningful consultations" with those who were being directly impacted by such a "disastrous policy". In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The headlines are being hogged by the mass suspension of INDIA MPs that has reached 142 till now. But these headlines should not minimise the importance of other news."  Former Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane has disclosed in his memoir that the Agnipath or Agniveer scheme came as a total surprise to the Army, Air Force and Navy chiefs, Mr Ramesh said. "He (Naravane) has now confirmed what had been commonly believed when the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme was bulldozed through without meaningful consultations with those who were being directly impacted by such a disast

Twenty-five schools in Manipur have lost their CBSE affiliation after the state government flagged to the central board that it had not given no-objection certificates to the schools. The Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) bylaws make it a legal requirement for state board schools to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government before applying for central board affiliation. The CBSE SARAS 4.0 website no longer shows the 25 schools in Kangpokpi and Churachandpur as "affiliated". SARAS is short for 'School Affiliation Re-Engineered Automation System' that updates in real-time the affiliation status of over 28,900 schools across India. "... CBSE has withdrawn affiliation which was recently granted to the schools... with immediate effect on the ground that the NOCs submitted by these schools have not been issued by the authorised functionaries of the state government..." Manipur school education joint secretary Anjali Chongth