Gay sex shouldn’t be legalised at any cost: Lalu

RJD chief Lalu Prasad denounced Delhi High Court's ruling decriminalising gay sex and felt the Centre should appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court.

"Gay sex should not be legalised at any cost and the Centre should appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. I am dead against legalisation of gay sex and will strongly raise the issue in Parliament. Section 377 of the IPC should not be amended," Prasad said.

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BJP committed to build Ayodhya Ram Temple

Lucknow, April 29: Raking up the Ram temple issue, BJP chief Rajnath Singh today said his party's commitment to building the temple in Ayodhya "remains intact" and it will be subsequently proven.

Rubbishing the charges of rivals that the saffron party has dropped the issue of Ram temple for power, he said, "This is simply a false propaganda by those who never wanted the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya and had even questioned the very existence of Lord Rama.

"And as far as the building of Ram Temple is concerned, our commitment for it remains intact and we will subsequently prove it," he said in an interview.

On the Kandahar hijacking issue, he said, "The Congress frequently raises the issue of Kandahar hijacking only to save its skin and to mislead the people of this country. In fact, let me tell you that we were at the crossroads of allowing innocent passengers to get killed or saving them.

"The decision to release the terrorists was taken at an all party meeting and Congress was a party to the decision," he claimed.


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Naxals free hijacked train in Jharkhand, all passengers safe

Ranchi, April 22: The five-hour-long hostage drama in Jharkhand’s Latehar district ended at noon on Wednesday after Naxals released the 'hijacked' train and the passengers unharmed.

The development was confirmed by AK Chandra, PRO of East Central Railway, who said, “The train moved from its location at 11.39 am after persuasion by the passengers and local railway officials.”

"The train has been released by Maoists and has moved from the station," Latehar District Magistrate Sarvendu Tathagat also told reporters.

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Laxman ready for match-winning knocks in NZ

Hyderabad, Feb 23: Stylish batsman VVS Laxman today said defeating New Zealand in their own backyard would be a tough challenge for the Indian team but he was ready to play match-winning knocks for his side.

"We have a challenge in defeating New Zealand in New Zealand. If we play to our potential, then we will definitely win both Test as well as one-day series.”

"I would like to contribute to the team winning the Test series. I want to adapt to whichever situation. I will have to play match-winning knocks," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Laxman said Team India was high on confidence after their string of good shows.

"It is an important series for the Indian team. Last time we went there in 2002, we had no idea about the conditions. But Indian team has done well and won matches all over the world since 2002. We are now performing well overseas too. We are high on confidence ahead of the tour," he said.

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'Slumdog' composer Rahman wins 2 Oscars

In just one night, Indian film composer A.R. Rahman equaled the number of Oscars his fellow Indians had taken home during the first 80 years of the Academy Awards.

The 43-year-old composer, hailed in India as the Mozart of Madras, won Oscars Sunday for best original soundtrack and best original song, both from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

Other Indians to collect Oscar gold before him were costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, honored for "Gandhi" in 1982, and arthouse director Satyajit Ray, who received a lifetime achievement award in 1992.
"I was excited and terrified," the soft-spoken Rahman said as he collected his first Oscar, for best original soundtrack. "The last time I felt like that was during my marriage."

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Now, Obama wants to see Slumdog Millionaire

The US President, Barak Obama wants to watch "Slumdod Millionaire", the White house has said.
"Slumdog Millionaire", the exhilarating rags-to-riches fairy tale set in Mumbai, swept the Oscars with eight awards including the best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay; with A R Rahman becoming the only Indian to bag two Oscars for the best score and original song.

"I don't know if he has seen 'Slumdog Millionaire'. I know he wants to," White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters during the course of his daily press briefing.

Gibbs said Obama has watched several movies recently. "I think that a lot of the movies that he has seen recently are movies that might also entertain a seven-and-a-10-year-old girl. Not sure that "Slumdog Millionaire" would be on that

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Govt reduces excise duty, service tax by 2 per cent

The Lok Sabha approved the Interim Budget by voice vote, amidst a walkout by the BJP and Left parties.

Giving relief to the industry reeling under the impact of slowdown, the Government reduced by two per cent rates of excise duty and service tax. While the general excise duty has been reduced from 10 per cent to 8 per cent, the rate of service tax cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.
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