World Bank approves $1 bn loan to clean Ganga river

Washington, June 1 (IANS) The World Bank has approved a $1 billion loan to India to help clean its river Ganga that accounts for one fourth of the country's water resources.

The river is facing extreme pollution pressures and threats to its biodiversity, the bank said in a statement Tuesday.

The Ganga basin is home to more than 400 million Indians.

Only about one-third of the sewage generated by the towns and cities along the river are treated, while a significant volume of untreated or poorly treated industrial effluents are discharged into the river, it said.

'The World Bank is honored to be able to support the government in its efforts to revitalize this holy and mighty river of India,' Xinhua quoted Roberto Zagha, the bank's country director for India, as saying.

In 2009, India had set up the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) to help clean the river.

'The government of India is clearly committed to this, has a robust plan of action and is dedicating the required resources for this national effort. I am confident that with sustained public and political support for the NGRBA Program, significant progress towards cleaning the Ganga will be achieved,' Zagha said.

First date fibs

First dates can be nerve-racking and tend to be steeped in little white lies. You’re promoting a better, glossier version of yourself. Showcasing the best bits, not the paranoid, annoying, lazy, real you. In new romcom Just Go With It, Adam Sandler stars as a plastic surgeon who tells his new girlfriend he’s married as a means of avoiding real commitment, which leads to him recruiting a fake family to prove his honesty.

This got us wondering how honest men actually are when they’re trying to impress on a first date, here are some of the most common and most ridiculous lies men have told to get the girl.

As a general rule, men will lie about how much they like a girl and play up what a good time they’ve had if they think there’s more chance of getting a result – sad but true! There is also the tendency to feign interest in the girl’s favourite types of music, films, books, political beliefs, green issues, or anything else she spends time talking about, in order to appear to have more in common than with her than is strictly true.

“I pretended to be really into the environment when I actually never recycled and drove everywhere.”

Another common lie is the one about coming out of another relationship recently – and the psychological impact it’s had – because they want the benefits without the commitment. This also works when claiming that they’re not looking for anything serious because in a few months they’re leaving the country, moving city or becoming a monk.

“I told a girl I was dating that I’d just landed a supporting role in a major blockbuster film (top secret of course), and had to move to America for filming.”

Exaggerate much?
Exaggeration is something we’re all guilty of, and that desire to be seen as a success can lead to any number of little white lies.‘Working in IT’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as ‘Head of the IT Department’, and then there’s the Mercedes he happened to park several streets away that looks suspiciously like his mum’s old Ford Fiesta.

Lying about salary and financial status happens all the time, describing the studio flat as a penthouse, flashing around a friend’s expired American Express Centurion card (yes, this actually happened) and generally behaving as though he always carries around lots of £20 notes and buys the most expensive wine on the list.

“When I was working as a street cleaner I used to tell girls I was a Nike representative, I don’t know why, it just seemed cool at the time!”

Playing the pity card
Then there are the pity lies. “I once told a girl I cried at Titanic so I’d seem like a sensitive guy”, “I brought up the fact I’d recently had a testicular cancer scare so she’d feel sorry for me”. And possibly the worst of all: “I knew a guy at college who used to pretend to women that he was a virgin because he was so embarrassed of his small penis, strangely this used to make them feel sorry for him – and he slept with more women than anyone else I knew!”

There are the blatant and outrageous lies: “I once told a former girlfriend I could’ve been a professional footballer but for sustaining knee ligament damage as a 16 year old, and that I went to uni instead (where we met). It was meant as a joke - just harmless fun, but she mentioned it about six months later and had been telling loads of people when telling them about me - her family and mates back home etc. Happily, none of her family ever saw me actually attempt to play football!”

And the fake brushes with fame: “I got my mate to tell a Swedish girl in a pub in Amsterdam that I was Colin Farrell’s cousin (the lie is more believable if someone tells it on your behalf with you seemingly oblivious).”

“I remember telling some girls in a club that I was Armand Van Helden’s manager and could get them back stage; I had to make myself scarce after that so they wouldn’t hold me to it.”

“I once told a girl I was a Robbie Williams impersonator, I was a big fan of his at the time but I cringe about it now!”

“I actually pretended I went on Wacaday as a child and met Timmy Mallett”, (we're not really sure how this is impressive!)

Not forgetting the lie that backfires: “A mate of mine was stopped in the street by a pretty charity collector – he got out of signing up by saying he had no money because he was a recovering drug addict, they got on so well they ended up going on a date but then she found out it was a lie and it was really awkward.”

SRK talks about Ra.One

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is highly ambitious about his superhero flick 'RA.One' directed by Anubhav Sinha, said he might have certain stunts in 3D to woo his younger audience but would certainly not compromise on the acting part.

'I have started promoting the film from January, almost five months ago. The first ad came out on Jan 3. We know superheroes through comics or stories or if we take from mythology then we knew who was Karna, who was Abhimanyu? In our country we don't have any such character, which we could chose for our film.'

What I thought was if I could introduce that G.One is made of electricity, made of pixels, he can fly, he can see through things half the jobs done as now you know the character.

G.One is the life giver, who saves life. He is the hero ... what I am playing the film. RA.One is actually Random Access Version One but it also stands for Raavan.

So I thought if I keep it 'RA.One' it would be bit different. People might be confused and take me as RA.One but it is not so. Evil doesn't have any face, that's also logic behind keeping this name,' said Shah Rukh.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is particular about every detail of his upcoming superhero flick 'RA. One', is depressed ever since the song 'Wanna be my Chammak Challo' from the film, sung by American R&B singer Akon, has been leaked online.

'I think we have found out from which IP address it has been leaked. Once I get to catch that person I will cane him and make him keep singing the song (Laughs),' he said.

WHO says cell phone use can cause brain cancer

LONDON (Reuters) - Using a mobile phone may increase the risk of certain types of brain cancer in humans and consumers should consider ways of reducing their exposure, World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer experts said on Tuesday.
A working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries meeting at the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said a review of all the available scientific evidence suggested cell phone use should be classified as "possibly carcinogenic".
The classification could prompt the U.N. health body to look again at its guidelines on mobile phones, the IARC scientists said, but more research is needed before a more definitive answer on any link can be given.
The WHO had previously said there was no established evidence for a link between cell phone use and cancer.
"After reviewing essentially all the evidence that is relevant ... the working group classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans," Jonathan Samet, chair of the IARC group, said in a telebriefing.
He said some evidence suggested a link between an increased risk for glioma, a type of brain cancer, and mobile phone use.
The decision comes after a study published last year which looked at almost 13,000 cell phone users over 10 years found no clear answer on whether the mobile devices cause brain tumours.
The decision has been keenly awaited by mobile phone companies and by campaign groups who have raised concerns about whether cell phones might be harmful to health.
Use of cell phones use has increased dramatically since their introduction in the early-to-mid 1980s. About 5 billion mobile phones are currently in use worldwide.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Alison Williams)

MS Dhoni in B-school syllabus

New Delhi:Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh dhoni isn't 30 yet but he is already one of India's most iconic figures. From being an inspiration to millions, Dhoni is now the subject of a management curriculum.
Be it the historic first on a sunny afternoon in Johannesburg or the mighty heave that landed the trophy that an entire nation had waited for nearly three decades, MS Dhoni's exemplary leadership skills and self-confidence is already much talked about.
The Indian captain has now become a role model not just for budding cricketers but also for management students. At IFIM Business School in Bangalore, Dhoni's case study has been made a part of the mandatory paper on leadership skills of the school's curriculum.

"Having a dream and performing it, there is a lot of difference. And here is a young man who played cricket and cricket is a game that needs a lot of strategy, there is a huge amount of competition. There is a lot of coolness that is needed and he showed that on the field. For the students they could identify (with) that immediately," said Madhumita Chatterjee, professor and chairperson of IFIM Business School.
Students too are keen to learn more from Dhoni's ability to excel under intense pressure.
"It is a positive approach towards the growth because Dhoni is a perfect example of the young leader we are looking forward to, because he has the belief in himself as well as the belief in the team," said Siddharth, a student.
Certainly, the Indian skipper's influence is not just restricted within the boundaries of a cricket field anymore and with so much success already in the bag, it is hardly a surprise.