Year: 2017

SHIMLA: Jairam Thakur has been chosen to be the 13th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, the BJP announced today after a meeting attended by the party’s central observers and union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar. The 52-year-old five-time MLA from Seraj in Mandi emerged as one of the frontrunners for the top post after the defeat of BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 Assembly polls, the results of which were announced last week. Dhumal, who was expected to take over as the chief minister before the…

MUMBAI: Google on Sunday, paid tribute to the legendary playback singer and Padma Shri awardee Mohammed Rafi with a doodle on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and one of the most popular and successful singers of the Hindi film industry. Rafi was notable for his voice and versatility; his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor,…

GANDHINAGAR: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday started his day offering prayers at the state’s famous Somnath temple.After the Somnath Temple visit, Rahul will fly to Ahmedabad to hold a meeting of party leaders and candidates who lost the elections. Rahul had visited the Somnath Temple during the recent election campaign and his name was found written on the entry register meant for non-Hindus.He along with Congress General Secretary in-charge Ashok Gehlot and Gujarat Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki performed puja at the temple. Sources said that the party chief, besides wanting…

A special CBI court holds RJD chief Lalu Prasad guilty in a fodder scam case. The punishment will be pronoucned on January 3, 2018. RANCHI:  A special CBI court in Ranchi gave its verdict today in a fodder scam case in which former Bihar chief minister Lalu Yadav is an accused. He has been found guilty and was taken into custody soon after the verdict. Lalu Prasad, the chief of RJD, and other convicts were taken into custody immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict.The case pertains to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs…

By: Barnali Bose ( Associate Editor-ICN Group ) Santa Claus is coming to town riding on his sleigh…. With Christmas round the corner, there seems to be a flurry of activity everywhere. Everyone seems to be busy. But guess who is the busiest now? Who else but Santa, the favourite wishmaster for children. Santa Claus is now busy making his itinerary for Christmas Eve. Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer ( the icy wind adding crimson colour to his nose) is also energising himself as he gets ready to chariot Santa  on his…

NEW DELHI: A special CBI court on Thursday acquitted all 18 accused including A Raja and K Kanimozhi in 2G spectrum allocation case. The scam came to light almost seven years ago when the Comptroller and Auditor General or CAG in a report held then Telecom Minister A Raja responsible for allocating 2G spectrum licenses at throwaway prices. But, today the court found that the prosecution failed to prove the charges. This verdict, however, doesn’t override the Supreme Court judgement or take away from the fact that the licenses issued during 2G…