In pics: Mamata Banerjee walks out of CNN-IBN show

The West Bengal Chief Minister lost her cool and stormed out of a CNN-IBN show when students asked her about crime against women.The show was organised to mark one year of Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minster of West Bengal.She lost her cool and stormed out of the interactive TV session when members of the audience questioned her on the arrest of Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and increased rate of crime against women in the state.
02:35 PM, May 19, 2012

Chhattisgarh: Gunbattle on between Maoists, police

Chhattisgarh: Gunbattle on between Maoists, police Raipur: A gunbattle is on between police and suspected Maoists near Chhindgarh tehsil in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district. Eight police personnel are reported to have been injured, while two are missing in the encounter which began on Wednesday. This is the third time in a week that Maoists have targeted security forces in Chhattisgarh. Sukma district was in the news in April 2012 after its Collector Alex Paul Menon was held...
10:40 AM, May 16, 2012

Gurgaon hit-and-run: BMW owner's son gets bail

Gurgaon hit-and-run: BMW owner's son gets bail New Delhi: Few hours after he surrendered in the Gurgaon BMW hit-and-run case, the son of the car owner, Suraj Singh Sherawat, was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. The 21-year-old, who was absconding for 10 days, surrendered in a court on Tuesday in connection with the accident in which two people including a pregnant woman were killed. The Gurgaon Police said Suraj had not been cooperating...
12:46 PM, May 15, 2012

Tikku-Karan murders: Gautam Vora gets bail

Tikku-Karan murders: Gautam Vora gets bail Mumbai: Stock broker Gautam Vora was on Monday granted bail by the Bombay High Court in the murder cases of Delhi-based businessman Arun Kumar Tikku and aspiring film producer Karan Kakkad. Vora was arrested in April for allegedly sheltering gangster Vijay Palande alias Karan Sood, the key accused in twin murders, when he escaped from police custody. The High Court granted Vora bail on a surety of Rs 30,000. The...
04:57 PM, May 14, 2012

Founder member of Indian Mujahideen arrested

Founder member of Indian Mujahideen arrested New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Friday arrested one of the founder members of the Indian Mujahideen from Bihar. He was identified as Tariq. According to sources, Tariq is an ideologue responsible for indoctrinating Indian Mujahideen cadres. He was a part of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) till 1998, following which, he along with Riyaz, Iqbal and Yasin Bhatkal formed the Indian Mujahideen. He had earlier escaped...
10:35 PM, Feb 03, 2012

Rajinikanth's next film 'Kochadaiyaan'

Rajinikanth's next film 'Kochadaiyaan' New Delhi: After Enthiran (Robot), before Rana, Super star Rajinikanth's next release would be a hi-tech 3D film titled Kochadaiyaan. This is the first time that a 3D film with performance capturing technology is being produced in India. It is worth mentioning that all time box office hit Avatar directed by James Cameron and the latest sensation creating new records The Adventures of Tin Tin Directed by Steven Spielberg have...
05:49 PM, Nov 24, 2011
Vijay-starrer 'Velayutham' makes Rs 40 cr

Vijay-starrer 'Velayutham' makes Rs 40 cr

The big Diwali release in Tamil Nadu is a runaway hit - superstar Vijay's Velayutham rakes in Rs 19 crore in the state and Rs 40 crore worldwide. ...
02:01 PM, Nov 01, 2011

In pics: crackdown on Team Anna

Social activist Anna Hazare was arrested by the Delhi Police ahead of his proposed fast against corruption on Tuesday.Kiran Bedi, center left, a supporter of prominent anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and a member of the committee to draft legislation to create an anti-corruption ombudsman, is detained by police outside Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, in New Delhi, August 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)Shanti Bhushani, center, a supporter of prominent anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and a member of the committee to draft legislation to create an anti-corruption ombudsman, is detained by police outside Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, in New Delhi, August 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
11:35 AM, Aug 16, 2011

SOTN Poll: Political pulse of the nation

While the proportion of those satisfied with UPA government%u2019s performance is more than those dissatisfied, there has been a huge drop in the proportion of those satisfied. In 2009, for every person dissatisfied with the central government%u2019s performance, there were three who were satisfied. Now it is down to one is to one and a half.When asked to compare the first term of the UPA with the second term, most respondents across all categories said UPA I was better. For every person who feels UPA II is better, there are two who feel UPA I was better. The preference for UPA I is highest among UPA voters, the college educated, urban respondents and the upper class.There is a very small difference of two percentage points between those wanting the UPA to continue and those who want it out. The difference was ten percentage points in 2009. The sentiment against the UPA continuing in power is stronger in urban areas and among the upper classes. While in rural areas and among middle, lower and poor classes, the sentiment against the UPA is also fairly strong, but there are still more people among these sections who want the UPA to continue in power, than not continue. In Urban areas and among upper classes, it is the other way round.
04:47 PM, Aug 12, 2011

State of the Nation: Terrorism

Most people are aware of the recent blasts in Mumbai. The awareness is much higher in towns and cities compared to rural are as. Among all regions (north, south, central, west and east) of the country, awareness of the blasts was highest in West India, of which Mumbai is a part. The proportion of those who are satisfied with the steps taken by the government to control terrorism is slightly higher than those dissatisfied. However compared to 2009, there is a big shift towards dissatisfaction.While both urban and rural areas are, more or less, equally satisfied with government's performance on curbing terror, dissatisfaction is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. North India is the most satisfied and West India is the only region where dissatisfaction exceeds satisfaction.
04:20 PM, Aug 10, 2011

State of the Nation: Economy, price rise and land acquisition

Over half the respondents feel that under UPA II, economic growth has either remained same or has deteriorated over the last two years. Significantly, the number of those who say it has deteriorated is more than those who say it has improved. The upper and middle classes have a more positive view compared to the lower class and the poor.While most respondents still say the economic condition of their household has improved over the past few years, the ratio of worse is to better, which was 1:4 in 2007 and 2009, is now beginning to come down. While satisfaction with personal financial condition remains high among respondents, the ratio of those dissatisfied to satisfied has increased since 2007. In 2007, for every one person who was not satisfied, there were three who were satisfied. Now there are only two.
02:57 PM, Aug 10, 2011

State of the Nation: Corruption and Lokpal

The recent spate of high-profile corruption scandals has severely dented the UPA government's image. UPA is perceived as running a very corrupt or somewhat corrupt government by more than half the respondents. This perception is higher in urban areas and among the more educated.For every person who feels that the government has been sincere in responding to issues raised by the anti-corruption movements, there are two who think otherwise. Most are also of the opinion that the government is shielding those with black money in foreign banks. Compared to the overall sentiment, the College educated is even more critical of the government on the issue of corruption. When asked which government was most corrupt- central, state or local - most people said the Central government was most corrupt. The perception of the Central government being most corrupt is strongest in Bihar, followed by Rajasthan and Delhi. The perception of the State government being most corrupt is strongest in Karnataka, followed by Andhra Pradesh. The state governments of Gujarat and Bihar fare best when compared to other levels of government.
05:42 PM, Aug 09, 2011

State of the Nation: Personalities and leadership

Most people want to see Rahul Gandhi as the country's next prime minister. The percentage of those who want to see Rahul as PM has increased by three times since 2009. There has been a sharp decline in the proportion of those who have mentioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name for the country's top job. There has also been a steady decline in the proportion of people who have mentioned Sonia Gandhi's name ever since she chose not to take up the post in 2004. Significantly, the top three preferences for prime minister are all from the Congress. From the BJP, L K Advani's support has declined drastically, while those wanting Narendra Modi's as PM has risen slightly.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's performance has been rated much less favourably than it was when his government was re-elected two years ago. While the level of satisfaction with Manmohan gradually rose through his first tenure, it now appears to be on the way down. Two years ago, for every dissatisfied person, there were four people satisfied with Manmohan's work. Now there are only two. Among Congress voters, satisfaction with Manmohan Singh is higher at 69 per cent compared to the overall trend.Manmohan Singh does not appear to retain the squeaky clean image that he once enjoyed. The proportion of those who believe that he is clean and honest is less than those who believe that while he is clean and honest he has done nothing to control corruption as well as those who say he is corrupt. This is true even for Congress voters. Interestingly, although a majority of those who think he is clean and honest want him to continue as PM (44 per cent), a sizeable proportion of them (30 per cent) also want him replaced.
03:59 PM, Aug 08, 2011