Blair 'delighted' at Mittal's £2 mn gift

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has thanked NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal for his contribution of £2 million to the ruling Labour Party and said he was "delighted" to receive such a sizeable donation from one of the "world's most successful businessmen". Mittal, President and Chief Executive of world's largest steel company Arcelor-Mittal, on Tuesday announced the donation to Labour Party, commending PM Blair's record since he came to power in 1997. "I am delighted that Mittal, who is one of the world's most successful businessmen, has made such a generous donation. I thank him for his continued support for the Labour party," Blair said. Mittal, the world's fifth richest men, is a major supporter of the party and donated a similar amount in 2005. "I am a long-term supporter of the Labour party and the work it has done in the United Kingdom to improve the overall prosperity and prospects of the country since coming to office in 1997," Mittal, said, in a statement. A previous gift of £125,000 in the 2001 general elections prompted a political row when it emerged that Blair later wrote in support of his company, LNM, when it was trying to land a lucrative contract in Romania. The latest donation comes as the Labour party struggles to avoid a financial disaster in the wake of allegations being investigated by police that several wealthy businessmen who lent Labour money for the last general elections were rewarded by being nominated for peerages.

Wipro Q3 net profit up 46% at Rs 738.9 cr

Software major Wipro on Wednesday posted a 46.28 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 738.9 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as compared to Rs 505.1 crore for the same quarter last year. The total revenue of the company increased by 45.82 per cent to Rs 3,651.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, from Rs 2,503.7 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, Wipro informed the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. “Our global IT business delivered good volume growth primarily driven by robust performance of our energy and utilities vertical, technology infrastructure services and enterprise application services. Our financial services and retail businesses delivered more than 50 per cent YOY growth,” Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said. Premji also said that the software biggie has brought down its attrition rates in both the IT and BPO businesses. He said that he expected revenue from the global IT services and products businesses to be approximately around $685 million for the quarter ending March 2007. The group posted a net profit of Rs 765.4 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as against Rs 543.5 crore in the same quarter last year. The total revenue of the group increased to Rs 3,979 crore for the December quarter from Rs 2,743.9 crore in the year-ago period.

Hindus resist pollution to bathe in Ganges festival

Hindu holy men brandishing spears and tridents charged into the sacred Ganges on Monday, after threats to boycott the world's largest religious festival over pollution failed to dent devotees' fervour.
The ritual bathing kicked off the most auspicious day yet in the six-week Ardh Kumbh Mela, or Half Pitcher festival, where tens of millions of pilgrims gather to wash away their sins and free themselves from the earthly cycle of reincarnation.
Chanting battle cries to Lord Shiva, holy men dressed in saffron robes and other naked and ash-smeared "sadhus" ran into the river to the sound of drums for the first "Royal Bath" as dawn broke over the Ganges.
"The water is dirtier than last time. It's like neglecting my mother. This river is the source of all life," Naga Baba Triveni Puri, a naked holy man whose dreadlocked hair had not been cut in 18 years, said as he smoked cannabis after a dip.
After thousands of holy men had threatened to boycott a festival that records show is more than 2,000 years old, authorities last week released fresh water from an upstream dam to clear up what many locals said was filthy and greenish water.
Industrial discharges, sewage, pesticides and the rotting remains of dead bodies have increased pollution levels in the Ganges over the years despite government promises to clean-up India's most sacred river.

Saddam's aides hanged

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's co-defendants - his half brother and the former head of Iraq's revolutionary court were both hanged today, just two weeks after Saddam's execution. Saddam's half brother Barzan Ibrahim, was the former intelligence chief. The other - Awad Hamed al-Bandar headed Iraq's Revolutionary Court. Both, along with Saddam, were found guilty in the killing of 148 Shiite Muslims, prompted by the 1982 assassination attempt on the former dictator. The execution of the two, who were initially to be hanged along with Saddam, had been delayed by Iraqi authorities after there was a huge outcry over the manner in which Saddam's execution took place.

Nariyal Chutney: Pathrosum , Mohanlalum , Oru New Yearum Pinne Njanum

Nariyal Chutney: Pathrosum , Mohanlalum , Oru New Yearum Pinne Njanum

Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal: Triple celebration

Colorful Picture of Celebrations.

Flaying Horror

Few clips of flying adventure.