Rail Budget 2015: No Increase in Passenger Fares, No New Trains Announced

Suresh Prabhu in an very unusual move, announced no new trains in his Railway Budget today. He also said that there will be no increase in passenger fares, disappointing markets, which tanked 300 points.

In a 70-minute consumer-focused speech that carried the distinct imprint of Prime Minister Narendra Modi - Mr Prabhu referenced his pet schemes like Swachch Bharat, Digital India and Make in India - the rail minister emphasised that the "vicious cycle of underinvestment" must end in the bleeding Railways. 

PM Modi tweeted, "#RailBudget2015 is a forward looking, futuristic & passenger centric budget, combining a clear vision & a definite plan to achieve it," also expressing delight that, "for the 1st time there is a concrete vision for technology upgradation & modernisation of the Railways."

The Rail Budget was watched keenly for pointers to what the Union budget - billed as a make-or-break presentation on Saturday - will hold.

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Yoga will bring down rapes, claims BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi

New Delhi: If yoga comes into the life of every common people, it will help in bringing down incidents of rape in the country, veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said.

In a remark that may spark a controversy, he also said that Muslims do yoga five times in a day and termed "Prophet Mohammad as the greatest yogi".

"I believe if yoga comes into the life of common people, then the daily incidents of rape, I would not say, they will cease to exist, but there will definitely be a decrease in them. It will create a new way of thinking amongst men and women. Changing the way one feels for a human body that the body is such a machine which nature has given us for some larger work, people's attention will go towards this," he said.

He was speaking during a seminar on the "The Iyengar way - Yoga for the new millennium". Referring to an experiment done in New York on transcendental medication introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Joshi said that when a vice chancellor of a university reviewed it, it was found that the crime rate in New York had come down while the inmates in jails had undergone change in

their behavior.

"Our Muslim brothers do yoga five times in a day. The postures of 'namaz' in that two or three postures, even you will be able to tell (which are they). That is why I think Mohammad sahab was a great yogi. As this prescription is of praying to god connecting it to yoga, he could not have done it without practising yoga," he said.

Referring to the government's focus on skill development, Joshi said that that there should be coordinated group between various ministries including Ayush, Education, Health and Skills which would see how yoga can be utilised in ones social and economic life.

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Modi Government Faces Pressure on Land Ordinance Bill as Budget Session Begins

NEW DELHI:  Top BJP leaders will meet at 6 this evening to discuss the government's strategy on its land acquisition ordinance, with a united opposition determined to stonewall it in Parliament, and activist Anna Hazare launching a farmers' protest at Jantar Mantar.

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Times Group Present another Ultimate Punjabi RAP Song

Times Group Present another Ultimate Punjabi RAP Song

After the success of Saturday Saturday, Indeep Bakshi is back with the Party Anthem of 2015 - 36 Aayengi 36 Jayengi. Pump up the volume and enjoy this massive Punjabi hit.

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New Super Hit Punjabi Song Of Times Group

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Microsoft updates Windows Defender to remove Superfish adware

Microsoft has updated its Windows Defender to remove the Superfish adware which reportedly made Lenovo users susceptible to attacks.

According to the Verge, researchers are reporting that Windows Defender, Microsoft's onboard anti-virus software, is now actively removing the Superfish software that came pre-installed on many Lenovo computers. Windows Defender will also carry the task of resetting any SSL certificates that were bypassed by Superfish, and restore the system to proper working order.

Researchers recently discovered that Lenovo's Superfish bug could easily give way to attackers looking to breach the systems using the security flaws opened up by the software. Superfish is present on Lenovo laptops sold between September 2014 and January 2015, although Lenovo says no Thinkpads were shipped with the software, the report said.

Researchers have reportedly found and published a password that can turn a security flaw into an active carrier of attack. Errata Security's Robert David Graham said in a post that the password was stored in the Superfish software's active memory and was trivial to extract, the report added. 

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Australia prepares for floods in aftermath of major cyclones

ROCKHAMPTON, Australia: Australia braced on Saturday for heavy rains and floods after weather authorities downgraded two cyclones that lashed its north and northeast, damaging homes and snapping power links, but there were no reports of casualties. 

Troops were on standby to help with clean-up efforts in the northeastern state of Queensland after heavy rains and winds in excess of 200kph (125mph) brought by Cyclone Marcia on Friday. 

Weather authorities warned of destructive winds, heavy rains and abnormally high tides as rivers swelled, but officials said the storm's impact had been weaker than expected. 

"At this stage, everyone is breathing a deep sigh of relief that there has been no loss of life," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters in state capital Brisbane. 

However, most properties in the northern Queensland towns of Rockhampton and Yeppoon had been left without power, she added. 

The worst of the rain would pass by Sunday as the storm is moving quickly back out to sea, the weather bureau said. 

In Rockhampton, long queues snaked out of the only fuel station left with the power to run its petrol pumps, as people flocked to refill cars and get fuel to operate generators. 

Residents ducked fallen trees and power lines to gather at the few automatic cash machines still functioning. 

Heavy machinery was pressed into assist efforts to clear debris on the road to Yeppoon, the coastal town hit hardest by Marcia, but fallen power lines left many roads impassable. 

The fury of the cyclone drove Demelza and Shaun Bischoff out of their home, along with their three children. 

"It felt like the whole house was going to crumble," Demelza Bischoff told Reuters, describing how storm damage had forced the family to move from room to room of their home. 

"It started getting really bad, the tin roof started lifting and the ceiling blew out," she said. "Then we took shelter under the kitchen table with mattresses all around us." 

Now back home, they put furniture and clothing in their garden to dry out in the hot sun. 

In northern Australia, teams were heading to two communities on the remote islands of Goulburn and Elcho to weigh up damage after Cyclone Lam, packing wind speeds ranging up to 240kmph, began to lash the Northern Territory late on Thursday. 

The weather bureau has also downgraded that storm, to a tropical low moving in a south-westerly direction, with warnings of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and some storm surges.

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Encounter breaks out in Sopore, two terrorists killed

An encounter broke out today between security forces and militants in north Kashmir's Baramulla district.

On specific information about the presence of militants in Thak-Gund Village of Sopore area of the district, a joint team of army and police began a search operation this morning, police said. They said as the security forces were conducting the search operation, the hiding militants opened fire on them triggering an encounter. Two terrorists have been killed so far. 

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PM Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' turns big business for All India Radio

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' has emerged a big revenue-generating property for All India Radio, which has already collected more than Rs 25 lakh from advertisers for the coming Sunday's programme, an AIR official said.

"We made a proposal to market the PM and the management agreed," said the official who deals with advertisers. While Modi is using the national public radio broadcaster to reach out directly to people across the country on a pre-decided Sunda .. 

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Fire breaks out at Dubai Torch apartment skyscraper

Hundreds of people in Dubai were evacuated from one of the world's tallest residential buildings on Saturday when fire swept through the Torch, a 79-story skyscraper, residents said.

A witness said flames shot out from two sides of the building as glass and metal rained down from near the summit of structure, which stands more 330 metres (1,082 feet) tall.

Medics said there were no casualties. At least a dozen fire trucks were able to extinguish the blaze several hours after the fire alarm went off around 2 am local time (2200 GMT Friday).

Residents said the fire had been fanned by high winds. Dubai civil defense officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment and the cause of the fire remained unclear.

Residents of two other nearby buildings in the emirate's Marina district, home to thousands of expatriate professionals, were also evacuated, the witness said.

Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Gulf Arab trade and investment hub.

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