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“Life itself was only futility, vain words, a squabble of cap and bells. ”
| VBA's Positive News |
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German wage rises, exports offer hope for euro zone
German wages rose at their fastest pace in almost four years at the start of 2013 and euro zone exports jumped in April, giving the bloc a basis for a recovery from its long recession. Higher wages in Europe's largest economy should mean German shoppers have more cash to spend on Spanish holidays, Italian cars, and so forth, potentially helping depressed southern Europe out of its downturn. In another positive sign, euro zone exports to the rest of the world grew 9 per cent in April.
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Rare US-Cuba talks to explore resuming mail services
The United States and Cuba are exploring the possibility of resuming direct mail services between the two countries after a 50-year ban, US officials with knowledge of the talks said on Monday. Representatives from the US State Department and US Postal Service will meet with Cuban diplomats on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington to discuss the issue, but the talks are technical in nature and do not indicate a change in US policy toward Cuba, the officials said.
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Airborne laser reveals hidden city in Cambodia
Airborne laser technology has uncovered a network of roadways and canals, illustrating a bustling ancient city linking Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex. Archaeologists had long suspected that the city of Mahendraparvata lay hidden beneath a canopy of dense vegetation atop Phnom Kulen mountain in Siem Reap province. But the airborne lasers produced the first detailed map of a vast cityscape, including highways and previously undiscovered temples.
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England's Rose blooms after 17-year wait for major
Ever since Greg Norman's final-round implosion allowed Nick Faldo win the Masters in 1996, a generation of fine English talent has come up short in golf's four major championships. Finally, after a 17-year wait, England has a major winner in US Open champion Justin Rose. Rose is England's first US Open champion since Tony Jacklin in 1970. The modest, mild-mannered Rose is among the most popular players on the circuit and his victory has been well-received, in England and beyond.
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Video of the Day:
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World Round-Up
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar confident of proving majority during trust vote
Patna: It is a big day for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as his party will move a trust vote in the state legislature in what is being seens as a litmus after the BJP-JD(U) split.
The voting is expected to take place around 2 in the afternoon and Nitish Kumar seems confident of proving his majority.
JD(U) leaders said Nitish Kumar was "calm and cool" and spent the day in office on Tuesday, not worried about the trust vote in the 243-seat legislature. "Nitish Kumar was busy as usual in office work. He was not at all tense," an official in the chief minister's office said.
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that Wednesday's trust vote would be smooth sailing for Nitish Kumar.
The JD(U) has 118 legislators, but it needs 122 votes to win the confidence of the House. Four independent legislators have reportedly pledged support to the JD(U).
"After four of the six independent legislators announced their support to Nitish Kumar, the sole LJP legislator, Zakir Hussain Khan, has also announced his support to the government," Neeraj Kumar said.
"We have the magic number of 122 including 118 JD-U legislators, four independents and one LJP legislator," he added.
The independents supporting Nitish Kumar are Pawan Kumar Jaiswal, Som Prakash Singh, Vinay Bihari and Dulal Chandra Goswami.
But the BJP in Bihar with 91 legislators is gearing up to vote against Nitish Kumar. RJD's Lalu Prasad has said that his 22 legislators will all be voting against the JD(U) also.
But what will be interesting to see is if the four Congress legislators will abstain from voting and help Nitish Kumar as is expected.
Nitish Kumar called off the alliance with the BJP and his colleague Sharad Yadav quit as the convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) following differences with the BJP over the growing clout of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
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Astrology
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Aries March 21 to April 19
This looks like a day to gather up the family and kick back. The weekend is around the corner and you may like starting early. Your ruling planet, Mars, will be joined by Venus, and the fun may feel contagious as these two planets light up your home sector. Maybe a family cookout might do the trick or a gathering of some close friends to help welcome the oncoming solstice. You may feel nostalgic and enjoy reminiscing over old photographs and familiar stories.
Taurus April 20 to May 20
You words may carry an extra touch of sweetness today as you work your way through meetings and encounters with friends and associates. You may feel motivated to do good deeds and help out in any way you can. You may also be particularly prone to much needed research on a topic you have been interested in for some time. The day may bring you rich rewards in all of the aforementioned areas. This should be an excellent time to get out and be heard.
Gemini May 21 to June 20
 This may be an excellent day for you to work on financial matters. Whether they are your own personal investments or helping out a friend or organization, your efforts may go quite far in this area. You may be able to share some research that you have recently completed and the advice you've received from an expert. Quite by chance you may be able to extend your knowledge to help a close friend or maybe one of your favorite charities.
Cancer June 21 to July 22
The world may on a string for you today. With both Mars and Venus in Cancer, you may attract just the right kind of people and attention. The energy may feel especially harmonious and pleasing since it may have a marvelous combination of action and beauty merged together. You may decide to change your looks for a bold new style that literally turns heads. Another aspect may be a warm and open approach to helping others with your soft-hearted attitude that beckons friends and family to your side.
Leo July 23 to Aug. 22
 This should be an excellent time for bringing some positive closure to one or many of your projects. Of course, when you bring closure to something you also have an opportunity to begin something as well. The area of your life that may see the most action is in and around your home sector. A few of your relationships may be coming to a transition point as well. Whether your work together has been completed or people decide to move to new places, you may experience a period of change.
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Mayaram panel recommends full foreign ownership in telecom & aviation, 74% FDI in multi-brand
NEW DELHI: A government panel has recommended a dramatic liberalisation of India's foreign direct investment regime, including raising the FDI limit to 74% in multi-brand retail and allowing complete foreign ownership of telecom and aviation companies.
It has also batted for raising or doing away with FDI caps in a number of sectors, including non-scheduled air transport, ground handling at airports, satellites, private security agencies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to attract capital flows that are needed to finance the current account deficit and bolster the rupee, which hit a new low on Tuesday.
"We have given our recommendations to the finance minister. He has forwarded them to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)," department of economic affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, who headed the panel, told reporters on Tuesday. He did not provide details of the report's contents.
The DIPP, the administrative ministry in charge of FDI policy, will now have to implement the Mayaram Committee report. Key ministers, notably Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, are expected to meet in the first week of July to finalise the plan.
Manmohan has Endorsed Plan
After clearance from key ministers, the proposal will then be brought before the Cabinet. Chidambaram has already briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the plans to further liberalise the foreign direct investment regime and Singh has endorsed the plan.
In a story on March 11, 2013, ET had reported that the government was thinking of scrapping FDI caps in a number of sectors. On June 17, ET reported the government's plans to raise caps to 49% in sectors where they are currently set at 26%.
The panel has suggested allowing foreign supermarkets to buy up to 74% in Indian retailers with prior government approval. The multi-brand retail sector was thrown open to foreign investors in September 2012 but has failed to see any investment so far.
A number of foreign retailers have evinced interest in setting up shop in India but have stayed away citing stringent conditions such as minimum investment in back-end infrastructure and mandatory 30% sourcing from the small and medium enterprises sector.
"Increase in FDI caps will certainly boost market sentiment that particular day, but may not attract actual investment unless the government works on conditionalities in sectors such as retail. No one is coming here to do philanthropy, so we should not only look at the FDI policy from our point of view," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE Ratings.
The panel has suggested 100% FDI in telecom and non-scheduled air transport and amending rules to allow complete ownership by foreign investors, including airlines, in scheduled carriers. FDI in telecom will need approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a government panel.
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How to use meditation for pain relief?
With its origins in ancient religious and spiritual traditions, meditation is a widely used mind-body practice used even today, to complement medical procedures and treatments.
Although, used mostly for relaxation and stress reduction, meditation-based therapy is increasingly offered in medical centers and clinics today to manage pain and reduce anxiety prior to surgeries. Surprised? Recent studies have shown that frequent practice of meditation can lead to significant control of pain. Read on to know how meditation alters your pain perception and quells pain even better than some of the most powerful drugs.
Meditation and common forms
The term meditation refers to a set of techniques wherein a person minimizes the activity of the mind without altering the level of alertness. Broadly, the technique has been categorized under five basic categories:
Mantra meditation
This comprises the Transcendental Meditation techniques, Clinically Standardized Meditation and Relaxation Response. In this process, by repeatedly using a sound or phrase, a person focuses to achieve a state of perfect consciousness.
Mindfulness meditation
This form of meditation involves focusing on what you experience while performing the technique like the very flow of your breath.
Yoga
Here, a person attempts to achieve a state of calmness by combining bodily postures with controlled breathing. Tai-Chi - A form of Chinese martial arts, the technique is performed using self-paced series of movements in a slow-graceful manner along with deep breathing. Qi gong - This involves a combination of meditation, breathing exercise, relaxation and physical movements.
Meditation and pain management: In the past, meditation has been explored extensively for its effects on stress reduction and other similar clinical functions. However, researchers have now identified another significant health benefit of the technique that suggests that it is actually possible to overcome debilitating pain with the help of meditation. What's more, some of these studies have also suggested that the pain-relieving effects of meditation might be even more effective than morphine.
Back in April, 2011, a study by the researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center indicated that a person can attain at least 40 per ent decrease in pain intensity and 57 per cent in pain unpleasantness merely by practicing these techniques regularly. This decrease in pain was found to be much higher than with morphine or other pain-relieving drugs. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, the brain activity of study participants after meditation demonstrated how the technique increased the activity of certain areas which are responsible for pain perception.
Despite such findings, scientists were unable to ascertain the actual mechanism of this phenomenon until now. According to a recent research published at the Brain Research Bulletin, investigators from Harvard, MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a possible answer.
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Virgo Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
Working with others may be one of your best efforts today as Mars and Venus will align together in your house of collaborations. This general theme may find you bringing team-oriented projects to fruition through mutual sharing and maybe even brainstorming. Fortunately, the theme may be very action-packed and positive, which could actually prove to be quite exciting as words and ideas fill your head and conversations with others. You, and the others, will feel very energized and positive.
Libra Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
You may expect to make a lot of progress today as Mars and Venus team up in your work sector. Together these two planets can shed new light driven by a strong desire to see results. Action and a general good vibe are what you may witness as the day unfolds with high-quality work and great progress made in all work-related areas. This same drive may prove to be very useful when working on resource or budgetary concepts.
Scorpio Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
 Research may be one area that you may see a lot of action unfold throughout your day. You may be particularly motivated to find answers or learn some new skill set. Perhaps you will train on a new web-based portal or work through some new software training. Either way you may be quite motivated to get results and have them be as useful and positive as possible. One of your ruling planets, Mars, may provide you with just the right amount of drive and determination to reach a successful end.
Sagittarius Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
You may feel especially driven to seek out and resolve all sorts of legal topics. This area includes wills, estates, insurance policies, claims, and taxes as well. You may change some documents or reassign names or shift priorities in this area of your life. The end result may prove to be quite helpful in clarifying roles amongst those in your inner circle. This may also be a good time to reopen investigations into tax refunds or overlooked investment documents.
Capricorn Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
 A lovely day may await you and your significant other, especially if you are out and about with each other in public settings such as concerts or other big events. Perhaps you have been too busy lately and haven't had the time for each other, so the current theme may be particularly satisfying. With Mars and Venus together in this sector of your life, you may find conversations, jokes, and all interchanges to be pleasing and positive, and parties and gatherings with friends will make it all even better.
Aquarius Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
 You may want to join humanitarian efforts during this phase as Mars and Venus will join together in the service sector of your life. This may be where you extend yourself and offer help, resources, and energy to the cause of charities, organizations, and even neighborhoods where people come together. You may be the one responsible for pulling together a block party for your street or helping a family move. The time may be ideal for simply pitching in and helping others.
Pisces Feb. 19 to March 20
The creative energy of the day may work quite well for you, especially with fun and enthusiastic projects that involve any sort of amusing activities. You may be headed to the park or off to the beach, but either way, you may find that the fun never stops as you hop from one fun event to the next. Family and friends will be obvious companions, but you may even meet some new folks along the way, which makes your experience even more exciting.
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Moral Story
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SMS
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
“Funny how we take it for granted that we know all there is to know about another person, just because we see them frequently or because of some strong emotional tie.”
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Good leaders are people of integrity. Leaders are held to the highest standards, because a significant part of their job is to teach these standards to others. Hypocrisy is one of the biggest pitfalls of leadership. The hypocrite loses all credibility.
Teacher: Wht do u want to be when you grow up?
Pappu: I want to follow in my father's footsteps
and be a policeman.
Teacher: I didn't know your father was a
policeman.
Pappu: He isn't. He's a burglar!
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Admission process underway in colleges affiliated to Chhatrapati Shahuji University
KANPUR: The admission process had started in the degree colleges affiliated to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University (CSJMU). The admission forms are being made available through different banks. The colleges have decided to take admissions on the merit basis. The process would continue till June 30. The new academic session would begin from July 1.
At PPN Degree College, the admission forms had been made available from June 5. The admission forms are available at the branch of Development Cooperative Bank situated outside the college campus. The students can also apply online for taking admission in the first year of the undergraduate courses. They would be given admission through online mode only in the first year of the undergraduate courses like BSc, BA and BCom. The students would be able to take admission in as many as 13 post-graduate courses but only through offline mode. The prospectus and the admission forms are available at the bank for Rs 130. The college has nearly 350 seats each in BA and BSc and 160 seats each in BCom and BBA courses. In the post-graduate category, there are 60 seats in each discipline especially in MA and MCom. In MSc course, seats are limited.
The admission process had also commenced at Christ Church Degree College. There are 360 seats in BA first year and 480 in BSc first year. There are 400 seats in first year of BCom. The admission forms would be available till June 22 and cost of the form is Rs 400. The forms are available in the Govind Nagar, Sarvodaya Nagar, Naveen Market, Birhana Road and Ashok Nagar branches of UP Cooperative Bank. The first cut-off list will be released on June 30.
In Harsahay Degree College, the admission in BCom and BSc would be done. There are 420 seats in BSc I year but under self-finance scheme. In BCom, there are 240 seats only. In MCom, there are 120 seats. This is a regular course run by the college. The admission forms would be available from June 15 and admission process will go on for 15 days. The merit list for MCom would be out on June 25.
In Kanpur Vidya Mandir Girls Degree College, the sale of the admission forms would start from June 12 at a cost of Rs 20. There are 360 seats in BA first year, 240 in BSc first year. BSc is a self-financed course in this college where students can opt either BSc maths or BSc Biology. The first merit list will be declared on June 22 and the admission process will go on till June 30. The classes would start from first week of July.
In Armapur PG College, there are 840 seats in BSc first year. In BCom first year, there are 240 seats. The sale of the admission forms began from June 10. The forms are available for Rs 100 at the college campus. The merit list will be out in the first week of July.
In Jwala Devi Girls Degree College, 450 seats are available in BA first year and 120 in BCom first year. The sale of the admission forms began from June 5 and will be available till June 25. The forms can be bought from the college campus near Lenin Park on P Road. The first merit list would be out on July 1.
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Federer, modern version of the old era, says Amritraj
NEW DELHI: Look no further than the Fab Four and the Serena machine on the hallowed Wimbledon courts. A sports enthusiast knows that, and former tennis star Vijay Amritraj is not ready to think any differently.
"The Top Four are clearly ahead of the pack, they are the heroes of the up-and-coming bunch. Federer comes in as the defending champion with the right mindset having won at Halle.
Murray now has the monkey off his back and he won the Olympic gold here. Nadal isn't playing a warm-up tournament but he has been in eight finals and is confidence is high.
The early matches at Wimbledon will be his warm-up. Djokovic knows how to win here. It all depends on the day's performance," the two-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon tells TOI from Los Angeles.
Amritraj also wonders if he has ever seen Serena Williams play better. "She seems a lot more relaxed and mentally composed, and extremely fit," said the man who was made an honorary member of the All England Club in 2001.
"She beat everyone handily at the French and it was not her best surface. Her only real rival on grass should be Russian Maria Sharapova."
But what makes these thirty-somethings like Serena and Federer push themselves in such an energy-sapping sport. "Two things," Vijay, who is now a commentator on ESPN-Star, points out.
"First, you must have an overwhelming desire, and second, the physical fitness. Someone like Federer rarely suffers an injury."
Why is that so? "It's the way he plays. Federer is the modern version of the old era. He's so easy and graceful. Watching Nadal play those long rallies, even I get tired but Federer, even after playing the longest point, looks like he is settling down for a cup of tea."
Any new player who can upset the applecart? Strangely, the 59-year-old who will be at Wimbledon for the 44th consecutive year, will rather talk about veteran Tommy Haas than Grigor Dimitrov. "There are more guys over 30 who are likely to cause more trouble."
Leander Paes commented after touching 40 on Monday that he regretted not playing singles longer. Maybe that has helped in his longevity, Amritraj says.
"Once you give up singles, it is easier to preserve your body. If you look at doubles, it is the older, experienced sets that are doing well."
Although there is plenty of doubles action, India has no one to cheer for in the singles department with Somdev Devvarman exiting in the qualifiers.
"The reason why our stars turn to doubles is more the no-choice option. You are simply not good enough. Doubles provides great opportunities to win trophies, generate revenues."
Elaborating on the subject, Vijay says, "You need someone in the Top 100 to keep the interest alive. Sania had a couple of good years but it's hard to pinpoint where it went wrong. In the first few years, you have to reinvest consistently in yourself. Perhaps it was down to decisions her entourage made."
There is no better example than Amritraj himself. As a 19-year-old in 1973, he reached the Wimbledon quarters for the first time. "That Wimbledon memory is up there with beating Yannick Noah after he had won the French, and the five-setters against Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors."
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Enemmy
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Enemmy
Movie Name : Enemmy
Release Date : June 21, 2013
Genre : Crime, Thriller
Producer : Yogeeta Bali
Director : Ashu Trikha
Music Director : Bappa Lahiri, Gourov Dasgupta
Cast : Suniel Shetty, Kay Kay Menon, Mithun Chakraborty, Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Johny Lever, Uvika Chaudhary, Zakir Hussain, Mumait Khan, Akshay Kapoor, Priyanka Upendra.
Synopsis:
A thriller set against the backdrop of the battle between the Mumbai mafia and cops, Enemmy is the story of four intrepid CID officers (Suniel Shetty, Kay Kay Menon, Johny Lever and Mahaakshay), who are entrusted with the responsibility of cracking down on the underworld and cleaning up the city by any and all means possible.
When the four cops initiate an investigation and manage to nab Mukhtar Memon (Zakir Hussain), a crime lord, everyone heaves a sigh of relief. However, the relief is short-lived and after a brief spell of peace, the gang wars start again, shocking everyone.
Deciding to up the ante, the dynamic political leader R.G, who had unleashed the CID sleuths, sends in a CBI officer (Mithun Chakraborty) to Mumbai to get to the bottom of things.
However, what the officer discovers is that the gang-war is merely a façade to find out about a heist, in which two truckloads of hard cash were stolen from Memon, who will stop at nothing to get his money back. The question is...who is crazy enough to steal from the king of the city
underworld?
Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game between the characters of the film that keeps the story line interesting right to the logical end of the film.
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Most lipsticks contain fish scales.
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" INSPIRING STORY "
Keep Your Dream
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Isidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”
He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”
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“Never tell your problems to anyone...20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them.”
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