LONDON/PARIS: London's Heathrow Airport cancelled a fifth of flights on Sunday and airlines scrapped 40 percent of flights to Paris's main airports as snow blanketed parts of Europe, with more forecast. Air France predicted more cancellations on a similar scale for Monday. Heathrow Ltd, owned by Spain's Ferrovial , said the reduced schedule - amounting to around 250 fewer flights - would help it cope with the snowfall without making further cancellations. As snow continued to fall through Sunday, the airport operator said Monday's flight schedule would be cut by 10 percent. That number could rise, depending on conditions at other European airports, Heathrow said. The

HYDERABAD: A local BJP leader on Friday filed a police complaint against Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri's for his remarks about Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the state assembly.

"The Nizams built the state assembly building in Hyderabad, but see what has happened. They have installed a statue of Mahatma Gandhi there. Who constructed it and who has been installed there," Quadri, who represents Charminar in the assembly, told a gathering in Karimanagar district's Jagityal town on Thursday.

He said "we" have built all significant structures in India. "What have you done?" he asked. &

Jaipur: After Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar accused India of ‘warmongering’ and dsnubbed India’s concerns of its soldiers being killed and mutilated by Pakistani soldiers, UPA Chairperson, in a strong message, said ‘civilised behaviour’ is a must.   “Our dialogue must be based on accepted principles of civilised behaviour. We will never compromise on our vigil and preparedness to deal with terrorism and threats on our borders," Gandhi said in her address during the Chintan Shivir in Jaipur.   The two-day Chintan Shivir of the Congress is being attended by top brass of the party including the Prime Minister, and the issu

For those who thought western culture is all about, booze, non vegetarian - cuisine are highly mistaken. Apparently, westerns are not that brash as they are thought to be. Foreign devotes who have accumulated at the Sangam for the Mahakumbh, are seen following the mantra, “ Eat veggie, keep fit and spiritual.” Bathed in the aura of spiritualism, these devotes have opened their own restaurant at the Kumbh site. Mahayogi and Juna Akhara has seen the maximum number of devotes. They can be seen chanting religious jargons and eating veg food. The foreign tourists who have come from countries like France, Australia and British are seen to quite at home at Mahakumbh. Sou

Indore: The striking auto rickshaw drivers created a huge ruckus in front of commissionrate on Thursday causing prolonged traffic jam on MG Road. Around 500 school auto rickshaw drivers gathered at commisisonarte at around noon and went to commissioner's office to submit a memorandum. They, however, could not do so as the commissioner was busy in a meeting. An hour later, the protestors again reached the commisionrate but were asked by CSP Rajesh Dandotiya to gather at Gandhi Hall for a meeting. In the meeting, no agreement was reached at and the police arrested around 100 drivers. Enraged over the arrests, the agitators started stopping auto rickshaws and forcing passengers to disem

New Delhi/Islamabad: India is preparing to launch a major strike on Pakistan, a Pakistani publication alleged, referring to a report citing New Delhi's plan to construct underground shelters for storing missiles, rockets and ammunition close to the borders. The report published in the 'Pakistan today' said that India is planning to construct underground shelters to store ammunition close to the borders with Pakistan and China. Citing that the development was a follow-up to the ongoing tensions between the two neighbours following the killing of two Indian soldier (one Indian soldier was beheaded by troops from the other side and his head was taken as trophy by Pakistan r

NEW DELHI: Ten days after it plunged into political crisis, Jharkhand was brought under President's Rule on Friday for the third time since its formation 12 years ago.

President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a visit to Kolkata, signed the proclamation imposing the central rule in the state which is known for political instability and has seen eight governments since 2000, Rashtrapati Bhawan sources said.

The Union Cabinet had recommended imposition of President's rule on Thursday, where chief minister Arjun Munda has resigned after his government was reduced to a minority.

The Cabinet discussed the report of Jharkhand governor Syed Ahmed who

ISLAMABAD: A case officer investigating a corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was found dead on Friday in Islamabad, officials said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday demanded Ashraf's arrest in the long-running case, but anti-corruption watchdog the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) told the chief justice on Thursday that it did not yet have enough evidence.

Officials said the officer, Kamran Faisal, was found dead in the government hostel where he lived with other colleagues from NAB.

"He was found dead in his room. He is suspected to have committed suicide. Police have taken the body. A post-mortem is being car

Brisbane: Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene on Thursday called for an end to experimental fielding restrictions in one-day cricket, saying they discourage risk-taking.
     
On the eve of the third ODI against Australia, the veteran batsman said the new laws allowing a maximum of four fielders outside the circle from the 11th over to the 40th encouraged negative play.
     
"The spinners are being taken away from the game, to be honest," he said. "Most of the spinners are being very negative now.
     
"They are bowling overs aiming for fewer runs rather than trying t

It was a wet Friday morning in the capital after a night of heavy rain and even hail in many parts, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The cloud cover over the city saw a slight increase in temperature with the minimum temperature recorded four notches above average at 11.3 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature is expected to be around 18 degrees Celsius, the IMD official added. More rain and hailstorms are expected in the day, the weather office said.

The city recorded a total of 21 mm of rain."Hailstorm and rainfall are normal for this time of year. It is an impact of the western disturbance," an IMD official said.

T

The cabinet on Thursday approved upgrading of NH-232 from Tanda to Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) approved the development of the 289.19 km project at an outlay of Rs 1,118.79 crore. The project would be developed as a two-lane road in two sections - Tanda to Rae Bareli and Rae Bareli to Banda.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will develop the road project in the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode. According to an official statement, the length and cost of Tanda to Raebareli sector will be 155.91 km and Rs 648.15 crore respectively and that of the Raebareli-Banda sector 133.285 km and Rs 4

Under the guise of making economy strong, the government today took two major steps. First, subsidised cylinders will now be increased from 6 to 9. Second, by deregularising diesel, the mandate of deciding its price has now been given to the oil companies. As a result, we could see a surge of up to Rs 9 per litre in the prices of diesel.   Government has cited the losses suffered by the oil companies as a reason to have taken this step. If the prices of diesel do rise in future, we may see us-the common people suffer once again. It could be in the form of increased fare of public transport system, rise in prices of essential commodities, which are transported from once place to the

NEW DELHI: On a day when Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar's offer for talks received lukewarm response here, Pakistan high commissioner Salman Bashir turned out be the real game-changer as he said that Islamabad was willing to address all Indian concerns over LoC, including its demand for a probe into the mutilation of the bodies of Indian soldiers.

In an exclusive interview to TOI, Bashir said: "Essentially, what the Pakistan foreign minister has said is that Pakistan is willing to discuss all Indian concerns, especially those related to recent LoC developments with a clear objective to ensure respect for ceasefire along LoC." It was Pakistan's re

The government on Thursday raised the annual cap on supply of cheap cooking gas to nine cylinders from six and gave freedom to state-run oil companies to raise price of diesel "from time to time".

The new cap on cooking gas would come into effect from April 1, oil minister M Veerappa Moily said after the meeting of the Cabinet's panel on political affairs that took the decisions.

As a fallout of the higher cap, the consumers would now be able to avail five cheap cylinders between September 14 last year, when the cap was imposed, and March 31 this year. This level was earlier set at three cylinders during the period.

The decision on d

The city of Sangam, Allahabad has been receiving devotes from across the globe. The Kumbh site is flooded with people, who have come to the site pay their homage, among them are a few celebs who  are swept with the fervor of devotion are dipping into the holy water to seek eternal bliss. The latest celeb to be a part of kumbh is none other than the Bollywood bombshell Poonam pandey. Known for grabbing headlines for her notorious acts, this time she can be seen swept over by devotion. Click to see the pictures.  

Indore: Following the students protest, Shri Govindrao Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science (SGSITS) plans to setup CCTV cameras in its hostel premises on Tuesday. In a meeting held with protesting BE students and senior faculties with director S Bhadoria, the institute assured them of taking strict action against the guilty. SGSITS public information officer Prof MPS Chawla said, "The institute is very serious on installing CCTV cameras in the hostel premises. Students met the director and faculties and they have been assured of appropriate action. A probe committee has been constituted to investigate the matter". "We tried to make students understand that it wa

New Delhi: Few Tihar prisoners have gone on to form a rock band and they will soon become the first in the world to cut a commercial album from inside a jail.    Titled Jaane Anjaane, the album, which will be launched on January 28, has six songs, written and composed by the finalists of Tihar Idol, a talent hunt for inmates. Each song has an accompanying video, shot inside the jail.   Amit Saxena, 34, a murder undertrial who has spent nine years behind bars, has composed and sung the title track, along with Bhagirath, 28, who was arrested for dacoity. “The sleepless nights in jail were tormenting. That’s when music came to my rescue,” says Saxena.

On Friday, Jan. 11th, high school students from around the world joined in fierce competition to claim the championship spot in the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES, Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2012. The young competitors operated robotic satellites aboard the International Space Station, or ISS, using programs they wrote in preparation for the event. The finalists watched the action via live downlink from the space station with anticipation, as astronauts supervised the satellites during the ISS Finals.

The finals event followed three months of online simulation competitions, during which the initial pool of 96 teams f

MENLO PARK, California: Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled on Tuesday a feature to help its billion-plus users search for people and places within the social network, in the company's first major product launch event since its May initial public offering.

Speaking to reporters at its Menlo Park, California headquarters, Zuckerberg described what he called " graph search," which allows users to sort through content that has been shared with them.

Critics have long deemed the social network's current search capabilities inadequate.

Available as a "beta" or early version now, the new feature - dubbed "graph sea

NEW DELHI: Technology major Infosys will take over the Corporate Affairs Ministry's ambitious e-governance initiative MCA-21 from tomorrow.

Infosys would take over the programme from its rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The second phase of the e-governance initiative would, among others, see gradual replacement of desktops, printers and scanners.

It is designed to fully automate all processes related to enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under the Companies Act.

"The operator for MCA-21 project is changing with effect from tomorrow from TCS to Infosys," the Corporate Affairs Ministry said in a p