Nirmal Om newsline

Union Budget 2013-14 presented by Finance Minister February 28, 2013   Finance Min P Chidambaram announced a sharp increase of Rs 1.25 lakh crore in agriculture credit target to Rs 7 lakh crore for next fiscal and allocated additional Rs 10,000 crore in subsidy for implementing the Food Security Bill. Following are some of the key highlights of the Union Budget 2013-14 presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament. *No change in income tax slabs *Relief of Rs 2,000 for tax payers in tax bracket of Rs 2-5 lakh *10 pc surcharge on persons with taxable income of over Rs 1 crore *Tobacco products, SUVs and mobile phones to cost more *Income limit under Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme raised to 12 lakh from Rs 10 lakh *First home loan of up to Rs 25 lakh to get extra interest deduction of up to Rs 1 lakh *Duty free limit of gold import increased to Rs 50,000 for male passengers and Rs 1 lakh for female passenge...

CHUCK HAGEL IS NEW US DEFENCE SECRETARY February 27, 2013 US,former Republican senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed as the new Defence Secretary by the Senate.Senators voted 58-41 to approve 66-year-old Hagel, ending a long and acrimonious nomination process and clearing President Barack Obama’s choice for the top post held by Leon Panetta. Hagel’s confirmation comes as a great relief for the Obama Administration as his nomination was held up for weeks and the Democrats and the White House had to do a tough convincing act to get him approved by the Senate. Several Republican Senators are said to have voted in favour of Hagel despite their reservations over his past statements and votes. They argued that he was too critical of Israel and too compromising with Iran.

Berlusconi has declared "no agreement with Monti"   Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister and leader of the center-right coalition, on Tuesday expressed  willingness to negotiate an alliance with the center-left coalition after Italy's parliamentary election turned into a rare political deadlock. Berlusconi has  declared "no agreement with Monti" via his Twitter account, without mentioning the obvious fact that an alliance with Monti could go nowhere due to lack of enough seats in the Parliament. Italy's government always needs the support of both the lower house and the Senate to govern, which have equal law-making powers."Italy deserves to be governed... Now we have to take time to reflect," Berlusconi said in a local TV program when asked about the possibility of making an agreement with the center-left. Center-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani narrowly won the election in the lower house in order to be assigned to form a new gov...

US SC:No challenge to FISA United States Supreme Court will not let Americans challenge a provision in a foreign intelligence law that lets the federal government secretly eavesdrop on the intimate communications of millions of Americans. On Tuesday, the top justices in the US said the country’s highest court will not hear a  case  in which Amnesty International and a slew of co-plaintiffs have contested a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, or FISA, that lets the National Security Agency silently monitor emails and phone calls [. pdf ]. Under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA), the NSA is allowed to conduct electronic surveillance on any US citizen as long as they are suspected of conversing with any person located outside of the United States. That provision was scheduled to expire at the end of 2012, but Congress voted to re-up the bill and it was put back on the books for another five years. Along with human rights workers an...

Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister and leader of the center-right coalition, on Tuesday expressed  willingness to negotiate an alliance with the center-left coalition after Italy's parliamentary election turned into a rare political deadlock. Berlusconi has  declared "no agreement with Monti" via his Twitter account, without mentioning the obvious fact that an alliance with Monti could go nowhere due to lack of enough seats in the Parliament. Italy's government always needs the support of both the lower house and the Senate to govern, which have equal law-making powers."Italy deserves to be governed... Now we have to take time to reflect," Berlusconi said in a local TV program when asked about the possibility of making an agreement with the center-left. Center-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani narrowly won the election in the lower house in order to be assigned to form a new government, according to the count of all domestic vo...

Egypt hot air balloon crash kills 19 Asian, European tourists February 27, 2013 Posted on February 27, 2013 by sagarmedia At least 19 people, mostly Asian and European tourists, were killed on Tuesday when a hot air balloon caught fire and crashed near the southern historic Egyptian city of Luxor. The hot air balloon carrying 21 people caught fire mid-air before crashing to the ground, General Mamdough Khaled, director of security for Luxor Governate said in a statement. Luxor International Hospital received 19 badly burned bodies, Khaled said. The balloon was operated by a company named Sky Cruise, state-run news agency reported. Ahmed Aboud, who runs another balloon company, was quoted by the media as saying that gas tanks ignited the balloon about 1,000 feet. Two people survived, a tourist and the pilot, Aboud said. Both are in critical condition, the statement from Khaled said. Passengers in the balloon included 19 forei...

Report of National Initiative for Allied Health Sciences Report of National Initiative for Allied Health Sciences The report of the National Initiative for Allied Health Sciences has been released on 21.12.2012 to develop a framework to improve allied health training, education and regulation in the country. Highlights of the report are as follows:- The need for an overarching regulatory body for Allied Health Professionals excluding doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists. The establishment of national and regional institutes of Allied health Sciences, dedicated to nurturing and retaining talent in the allied health space. Standardization of allied health Education. Putting in place quality control Mechanisms for educational institutions, teaching methods, clinical protocols, workforce management and other related issues. Standardized nomenclature and acceptable terminologies for the various allied...