Well, if not in the real world, at least in the virtual world each one of us has a secret corner on the Internet. But what if someone gets a permit to sneak a peek into our inbox? Security agencies will soon be equipped to intercept emails and cyber chats in real time through the Centralised Monitoring System (CMS). While this is a move to put a check on terrorist threats via email, cyber experts say that this could mean that every cyber activity of ours will be watched.

Pariborton has certainly come to the Writers’ Buildings. During the Left Front rule, the state secretariat used to remain deserted on Saturdays but with Ms Mamata Banerjee taking charge as the new chief minister, a flurry of activities was witnessed there.

The Congress-led UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will step into the third year of its second term on Sunday. The success of the two-year rule of the UPA could be gauged from the fact the Congress wrested back Kerala from the Left, retained power in Assam and virtually became victorious in West Bengal in the recently concluded Assembly elections to the four states.

After Jacqueline Fernandez, a.k.a. Jackie, was off the Bollywood scene for a full year, her biggest fear was being forgotten. As she waited for offers, the former Miss Sri Lanka came to realise that beauty just wasn’t enough!

With no fresh leads for investigation, the government is likely to put on hold the NIA case against US national and LeT operative David Coleman Headley and his accomplice, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, accused of plotting terror attacks in India. This would essentially mean that the officers involved in the investigation would be taken off the case and allowed to devote time to other cases, senior government sources said.

With the BJP calling the Karnataka governor Mr H.R. Bhardwaj a “history-sheeter” and therefore his recall, and the Congress unit of Karnataka demanding the dismissal of the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in accordance with the recommendation of the governor, the crisis seems to have reached a point of no return.

Khalid Mohamed

If they are ignored, they hate it. If they are adored, they detest it, frequently groaning about the pressures of star adulation. For convention’s sake, top-rankers in the popularity charts do scrawl their signature for autograph hunters. And they also say “Cheddar” or “Cheese” for their fans clicking them on cellphone cameras at airport lounges. Like it or not, though, the smiles are plain put-on paneer.

As former Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf prepares to return from exile, his wife, Sehba Musharraf, has landed in Islamabad with an “important message” for the Pakistan Army Chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, sources said.

The Centre is mulling a rejig of governors across states, an exercise that may see H.R. Bhardwaj moving out of the Karnataka Raj Bhavan.
Government sources said any new appointments or transfers of governors are likely in the first week of June, about a month after the UPA-II government completes two years in office.

Decalepsis hamiltonii or Swallow Root is an ancient herb that has been used for centuries by tribes deep in the jungles, down the Vindhyas. Though there have been several claims about its medicinal properties, it’s only of late that scientific studies have been conducted to verify some of these. The herb has been found to be good at