Sheena Bora Murder: Peter Mukerjea Arrested For Allegedly Destroying Evidence, Lying, Say CBI Sources

Mumbai:  Media tycoon Peter Mukerjea, who was arrested on Thursday in connection with the Sheena Bora murder, has been charged with destroying evidence and lying to protect his wife Indrani Mukerjea, sources have told NDTV.

The sections listed against Peter Mukerjea are "causing disappearance of evidence of offence and giving false information to screen offender," sources say.

Peter Mukerjea's wife Indrani Mukerjea was arrested in August, days after the remains of Sheena Bora - her daughter - were found in a forest 80 km from Mumbai.

Sheena was strangled in 2012 allegedly by Indrani Mukerjea, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai.

Sources say Peter Mukerjea was arrested after Indrani Mukerjea's conflicting statements led the CBI to believe that he was aware of the plot to kill his step-daughter.

The Mumbai police had earlier learnt that Peter Mukerjea had received an email from Sheena's hotmail account after her disappearance. Indrani Mukerjea had allegedly used this account to send emails to Peter Mukerjea and Rahul Mukerjea, his son from a previous marriage and Sheena's fiance. She also sent mails to Vidhie Mukerjea, another daughter, and Sheena's brother Mekhail Bora.

All the family members were told that Sheena Bora had moved to US with a boyfriend.

Rahul Mukerjea was also questioned by the CBI on Thursday and left this morning.

Sources say he told the police that after Sheena's disappearance, he visited four police stations in Mumbai to lodge a missing complaint but the police didn't act after being told by Indrani that Sheena had moved to the US and Rahul was stalking her.

Rahul, sources say, has told the CBI that he had approached his father about Sheena's disappearance and questioned Indrani's claims that she had gone abroad.

Rahul had told Peter Mukerjea that Sheena Bora's passport was with him, sources say.

Sources say driver Shyam Rai has recorded a confessional statement before the CBI and is likely to turn approver in the case.

Story First Published: November 20, 2015 11:55 IST

Through Their Eyes: Awesome Photos Show How Animals See the World

by Elizabeth Palermo, Associate Editor

The winning photo in the first annual Royal Society Publishing Photography competition features the same tiny critters you might find in your own backyard. Entitled "Tadpoles Overhead," the winning image encourages viewers to take a look at the world from a frog baby's point of view. Other noteworthy images from the 350-year-old scientific society's inaugural competition evoke similar sentiments. From a baby gorilla's playful hug to a monkey's resourceful tactics, here are the award-winning moments that this year's winners captured on film.

Tadpoles overhead

Overall winner
Category winner: Ecology and Environmental Science

Tadpoles of many anuran species come in high numbers, but not many make it to adulthood. Here a group of common toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles is seen from below. (Credit: Bert Willaert, Belgium.)

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Ancestry. Dominance. Endangered.

Runner up: Ecology and Environmental Science

This photo shows the strength and power of gorillas, one of our closest living relatives, yet also shows their vulnerability due to the pressures put on their world by humans. Taken in Rwanda, I observed the gorillas walking to the eucalyptus trees outside of the Volcanoes National Park and watched them strip the bark with their teeth. Within a few minutes, the silverback of the group sat down to eat bark and faced out towards the farmland — almost as if he was contemplating the human society that lives next to the gorillas' habitat. (Credit: Martha M. Robbins, Germany.)

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Caribbean brain coral

Special commendation: Proceedings B Publisher’s choice

The deep and abundant mysteries of reef building corals — their systematics, genetics, and phenotypic plasticity (variability in form possible within a single genetic individual) are only just now yielding their secrets to modern science. This image of what appears to be a single colony of the giant Caribbean brain coral Colpophyllia natans hints at the virtuoso abilities of corals to assume a wide range of different forms and appearances. This photo raises many important questions regarding this species of coral. Are the four distinct zones in this photograph really genetically identical? What spurred the colony to grow in this strange and beautiful manner?  (Credit: Evan D'Alessandro, USA.)

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Going with the flow: schooling to avoid a predator 

Category winner: Behaviour

A school of tropical clupeid fish exhibit synchronized behaviour to keep a healthy distance from a teenage black-tip reef shark. Sharks would cruise placidly for hours without so much as looking at the smaller fish, until, all of a sudden, they would strike and gobble up a mouthful of clupeids. The picture was taken on a shallow reef flat on Kuramathi Island in the Rasdhoo Atoll, Republic of Maldives. (Credit: Claudia Pogoreutz, Germany.)

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Smashing 

Runner up: Behaviour

An adult wild bearded capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus) uses a stone tool to crack a very resistant palm nut in Fazenda Boa Vista (Piauì, Brazil). These monkeys habitually crack open very resistant palm nuts on hard surfaces using stones as percussive tools. This behaviour is considered one of the most complex forms of tool use by nonhuman species seen in nature. The alpha male, weighing 4.2 kg, picked up a big stone (3.5 kg) and lifted that above his head to crack a piassava nut. Capuchins’ actions are very fast so it is hard to capture the decisive moment. In a matter of milliseconds I shot and took the photo that I wanted: the representation of capuchin monkeys' strength and beauty. (Credit: Luca Antonio Marino, Italy.)

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Sand has scales

Runner up: Evolutionary Biology

Bitis peringueyi is an endemic adder from the Nabib desert. It's an ambush predator, highly equipped for the job. Many snakes are disguise masters but few completely burrow their entire body beneath the surface and fewer have their eyes located on the top of their head. Actually, if I hadn't blown off the sand to better show its scaly pattern, this adder would have been completely invisible. (Credit: Fabio Pupin, Italy.)

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Fish louse

Special commendation

Lice lineages began to split and diversify during the late Cretaceous era, when dinosaurs, birds and early mammals probably were on the resilient parasites' menus. Argulus is a species of fish lice that has been shown to be a well-adapted parasite, exhibiting unique hunting and breeding strategies that enable it to live in the harsh and variable climates of Europe, East Asia and Siberia, wreaking havoc on the profitability of any freshwater fishery it inhabits and infests. (Credit: Steve Gschmeissner, UK.)

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A baboon gets lost in his thoughts

Special commendation

This image was taken at Cape Point Reserve, South Africa. I was taking photos of a group of baboons trying to capture some interesting action shots. The baboons were not very active as the sun was up and most of them were just resting. I noted this baboon sitting and facing the sun with his eyes closed, once I got close enough, without distracting him, he put one hand under his face, posing as though he was lost in his thoughts. (Credit: Davide Gaglio, South Africa.)

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Fern with a drysuit

Category winner: Evolutionary Biology

Plants have evolved elaborate surface structures to modify the wettability of their leaves. The leaves of the water fern Salvinia molesta are covered with whisk-like hairs. The leaf surface and all but the very tip of the whisks is extremely water-repellent, keeping the leaf perfectly dry even when it is submerged for several weeks. The hydrophilic tips of the whisks 'pin' droplets in place. This further helps to prevent the water from entering the space in the between the whisks. In recent years, plant surfaces have repeatedly inspired the design of biomimetic ("nature-mimicking") applications for human use, most famously the self-cleaning paints based on the Lotus leaf. The photograph was taken in Bonn Botanic Garden (Germany). (Credit: Ulrike Bauer, UK.)

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Runs at Dawn

Special commendation: Biology Letters publisher’s choice

In the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, after every winter rains Canarian Houbarabustard (Chlamydotis undulata) males begin their impressive courtship displays. From dawn onwards these males display at their favourite places and from there scamper around showing their plumage in all its glory. (Credit: Jose Juan Hernandez Martinez, Spain.)

A sample Rs 1000 meal

The VAT + Service Tax (Including Swachch Bharat Cess) would be Rs 195.5. (Govt earning 195.5)

Now to take home that Rs 1000, I had to earn Rs 1333.33 rupees (25% approx Income Tax on salary). (Govt. earning Rs 333.33)

I had to use my bike for the 20km trip to and for home. Fuel Expenses -  Rs 45 (Govt earns Rs 23 on that. Including latest excise hike of 1.50

So when i went out for a meal for Rs 1000, the Govt. earned 195.5+333.33+23= 551 Rupees.
In total I have to earn Rs 1551 to have Rs 1000 meal outside home

This is today's scenario on direct and indirect taxation.

25+ Smart Excuses For Coming Late In The Office

It’s a working day and you are late because of last night show or party. Then you need to make up your mind and get ready to make a smart excuse so that your boss believe whatever you are saying. If you are working in a company or organization then it is obvious you need to deal with your boss’s attitude and we all know how bosses are like, don’t we?
You need to reach your office at time. Though sometimes you can make excuses but if you are frequently late then it might have a negative impact on your job and appraisal. Think of a situation when you were late for office and your boss didn’t even ask you anything. You also know it never happens. Sometimes we all get late due to some personal reasons or any other. In such a situations people generally go for excuses so that they could relieve themselves from boss taunt and lectures. However, you cannot repeat the same couple of excuses all the time. You need to make smart excuses.


We are providing you the list of some smart excuses that you can use next time when you were going to be late. I can bet these excuses will save you. No doubt you will make excuses so excuses must be smart enough. Don’t you think so? Find out the excuses and get ready to use them next time.
25+ Smart Excuses For coming late in the office

1. Held with doctor’s appointment

This is good reason to be used as no one can deny the issue of health as health is wealth, everyone knows that. When you are running out of time to office, make a statement that you were waiting to meet the doctor and crowd takes a lot of time. This excuse will convince your boss.

2. Death in family

This is excuse used by many people who needs no argument but meant to be accepted. Say your grandparents or far off relatives expire which turn you up late to work.

3. Feeling Dizzy

This is another good excuse that you can make but before using this excuse make a call to your boss early in morning with morning voice which will force him/her to believe you are not lying. Taking cough syrup or tablet last night makes you feel dizzy that unfortunately make you run out of time.

4. Take children to school first

Your boss knows the importance of family and children. Tell your wife is ill and there is no one to take children to school so you need to do that before coming to work place which makes you late for the office.

5. Weather condition

You can blame weather of your area in winter and rainy seasons, just ring up boss and tell about weather conditions and so on.

6. Missed your purse

Another valid reason and make sense for both male and female employees. Tell your boss half the way, you realize you leave your purse and getting it back eats all your time and result is here.

7. Getting caught by police

With interesting reason, make excuse you were held up by police for no reason or due to some misunderstanding. Keep yourself safe side as don’t try to be over smart in such situation as your boss might ask your for police slip or proof.

8. Car break down

Many employees make excuses that their car broke down in half of the way like battery break down or flat-tire.

9. Blame Traffic

This is genuine reason that mostly makes use of. If you use public transport then this excuse can help you out. Say there was heavy traffic or fight happened between drivers that take time to reach office.

10. Train timing

If you use train to reach office, say your train was late but make sure of other employees who use the same vehicle to reach office as they could increase your difficulty.

11. Blame alarm clock

This excuse can be making once or twice or more times it will look like lie so, use it smartly. Say your alarm clock didn’t work or ring in the morning and you actually realise later at the office time.

12. Blame Car keys

Why don’t you blame car keys, you can’t find your car key and thus no usage of car. Say this is done by your pet or small kids.

13. Have cramps

It is true there could be many issues related to health that need to be resolved. Just say you have cramps and that make you late for office.

14. Helping others

This can be acceptable reason as this will show you a responsible citizen and helping person. Say, you were helping one pregnant lady or old man to cross the road or dealing with strangers.

15. Blame your wife

You can use this excuse and your boss could agree, say your wife was in emergency or was out of house which makes him late for office.

16. Meeting with client

Say last night, you had meeting with client. Because of dealing with clients up to so late in night made you feel sleepy and unintentionally you become late for the office.

17. Laptop issue

This is genuine excuse to be made, say your laptop break out last night and without laptop you can’t for any work, so early in morning you took it to some computer shop and get it repaired from there which makes you run out of time.

18. Ill family members

This is one of the best excuses made by most of the employees that can’t be even denied. You can mention about illness of your family members like mother, father or grandparents and you were out to hospitals.

19. Fitting new appliance

You were waiting for mechanical appliances to be fixed by technician or company boys and you were not remembered of the appointment because of busy schedule. You waited for them to come and fix the machine. Sometimes unique excuses convince boss easily.

20. Public employee come for some enquiry

You can say some people came when you were about to leave the house for some income tax enquiry and unfortunately it took some time to deal with people.

21. Forgot important files

You were half of the way and suddenly you remembered you forgot the file that client asked for. Taking it back to home makes you run out of time.

22. Pet issues

At the last moment, you can blame your pets that they might run out or your pet may be ill or missing and it takes time to deal.

23. Looked indoors

You can say you were locked by your wife or children when they leave for school or office and by mistake they locked indoors and you kept on calling them for keys and neighbors to get out of situation.

24. Wet clothes

You can blame your wardrobe or washed clothes like they were wet and didn’t expect showers would mess clothes. This eventually becomes the reason for being late.

25. Not feeling well

Call your boos in the morning and tell you are not felling well because of cold or cough. But you can’t miss the office so you would be late.

26. Wrong hair cut

In order to look good for next presentation or meeting with client, lead you to salon that ate up half of the time as their machines stop working or they made wrong hair cut.

27. Difficulty in getting the car out of garage

Your car garage is automatic with power operated doors but unfortunately you were not able to get car out of garage due to power failure. This can be a good excuse for being late.

INCREDIBLE | VIDEO | Woman makes a beautiful rangoli in minutes.

He Fries Pakoras With His Bare Hands

Ram Babu sells over a hundred kilograms of fries each day and makes around Rs. 2000.

A street chef in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh has been dubbed super hands - thanks to his ability to dip his hands into boiling hot oil unscathed.

Ram Babu regularly attracts hordes of spectators, who come to see his astonishing ability. The 60-year-old snack seller can bury his bare hands into searing cooking oil heated up to 200C for frying fritters.

"People from far away come to see me frying pakoras without burning my hands. I have been doing this for more than forty years but have never suffered blisters or any burn injury," he says.

When Babu - who fries potato and eggplant wedges at his roadside stall - started selling the deep-fried snacks to make ends meet at the age of just 20, he never thought his small stall would see such a large turnout. But as the demand grew, Babu stopped using any apparatus to save time - opting to spoon them out with his hands.

"Using the heavy spatula was time consuming. One day, there was a throng of customers at the shop and I had no helping hand. In panic, I mistakenly put my bare hands to take out fries. Before I could realise, my hands were deep into the pan of bubbling oil. I immediately took my hands out expecting blisters covering my hand but surprisingly there was nothing," he recalls.

"Ever since that day I decided to not use spatula. I have never been hurt, it feels as if I am putting my hands in water," he adds.

Babu sells over a hundred kilograms of fries each day and makes around Rs. 2000. "People go bonkers seeing me doing this, they keep asking if I have done some magic - but I simply smile and say this is all God's magic," he says.

Over the years, Babu has earned a bevy of customers and a huge fan following over the years, who travel from across the capital region to sample his crispy fries.

Amit Singh who is a frequent customer at Babu's stall says: "It really surprises me when I see him pulling out the fritters straight out of the pan. One has to see to believe him doing this.

"I can never think of even touching that boiling oil but he astonishingly takes out crispy pakoras as if they have been fried in cold water. And the fritters taste really good."

And just like his customers, Babu's unique ability has also left doctors baffled. He says: "As my popularity grew, several doctors approached me for research. Many took the sample of my skin, but none found anything unusual. I do not know why I am like this but as long as I am unhurt and my ability helps me make money, I will happily fry fritters with my hands."

Story First Published: November 17, 2015 15:51 IST

Want to Avoid Conflict? For Just $10, You Can Outsource Your Breakup

The Breakup Shop. Image courtesy: The Breakup Shop, Handout/The Washington Post

Just in time for the holidays, two Canadian brothers are selling the heartwarming gift of avoidance: Starting at just $10, you can pay someone else to end your relationship for you.

The Breakup Shop is the vision of 20-somethings Mackenzie and Evan, who declined to use their last names publicly for fear of inciting the wrath of a scorned sweetheart. ("We're really just the messenger," Mackenzie says.)

The brothers, who described themselves as university-educated entrepreneurs, launched their business Nov. 9 with a crisply designed website that offers an array of ways to ditch your significant other. These include a breakup text or email (starting at $10), a standardized form letter (starting at $20) or a phone call ($29 and up). If you must be single by Saturday, rush orders are available; and if you care to soothe your soon-to-be-ex's pain, you can always send the $80 "Breakup Gift Pack," which includes a Netflix gift card, a box of Chips Ahoy! Rainbow cookies and either "The Notebook" on Blu-ray (for those who want to cry) or the "Call of Duty: Ghosts" video game (for those who want to blow things up).

It's the kind of gimmick that gets passed around and gawked at online - which can create a bit of a fiction, because although the service does exist, only a handful of people have used it.

Mackenzie says he and Evan were inspired to create the Breakup Shop after Mackenzie was recently "ghosted" by a woman he was dating: Instead of just telling him she didn't want to see him anymore, she stopped communicating and disappeared. Mackenzie was bummed.

"My brother and I were commiserating, and talking about our experiences with relationships in the 21st-century modern dating world, and saying - you know, if there's all these apps and services to help you get into a relationship so easily, why isn't there one to help you get out of a relationship easily, with compassion and empathy?" he says.

Nothing says "compassion and empathy" quite like the phrase "end-of-relationship technology solutions," as Mackenzie puts it.

They're not the first to become breakup middlemen. There was, for example, "IDUMP4U," launched in 2010 by a pragmatic Iowan who offered to handle people's breakups by phone for cash, according to the Globe and Mail; or "Sorry It's Over," an Australian breakup service founded this year by a former nurse, according to the Daily Dot.

For now, Mackenzie and Evan are the only ones fielding breakup orders at the Breakup Shop, although they say they're looking to recruit employees who have a background in counseling, writing and/or psychology. So far, people seem more interested in becoming a professional "heartbreaker" than hiring one.

As of this week, more than 500 people have applied to work at the Breakup Shop, Mackenzie says. The number of breakup orders? Fourteen - including one from Emanuel Maiberg, a writer at Motherboard who purchased a phone breakup as a stunt for a story.

The brothers like to keep the ordering process simple; they won't ask any invasive questions about what prompted the imminent split. "We don't want to be asking why or casting judgment on anyone who wants to get out of a relationship," Evan says.

But customers can choose to include personal information if they want, which is then plugged into the breakup message. (We're imagining something like a breakup Mad Lib: "Tobey no longer wants to be with you because he feels DISTRAUGHT when you MAKE HIM WALK THE DOG EVERY TIME and he thinks it would be better if you NEVER SAW EACH OTHER AGAIN but he hopes you can still be friends.")

In other words, the service seems slightly better than straight-up ghosting; still arguably worse than a parting Post-It note (la "Sex and the City" - at least it was handwritten!); and on par with getting Homer Simpson to deliver your message ("Dear Baby: Welcome to Dumpsville. Population: You").

But wait! Before we rush to judgment, the Breakup Shop's blog page includes two heartwarming stories from satisfied customers - Samantha, who eventually married her Candy Crush-obsessed beau after an icy text from the Breakup Shop inspired him to turn his screen-centered life around; and 24-year-old Vanessa, who found lasting love after she dumped her loser boyfriend, Steve, who couldn't support her and her kid because all he did was play in a band. Angry Steve then stole Vanessa's car, but then Vanessa became smitten with Mark, the lawyer who put Steve behind bars: "Before you know it, Mark was taking me to the opera, to fancy wine bars and taking my son Zachary to the zoo," Vanessa gushes.

But, wait: None of that is true. The fabricated testimonials are merely "intended to allow people to try to relate to how their experiences might be," Mackenzie says.

Still, Mackenzie and Evan say their commitment to the Breakup Shop is just as real as the testimonials are fake. "We want to grow to become the biggest and best out there, and the most trusted and the most well-respected," Mackenzie says. The brothers are talking to investors, he adds, and focusing on how to build the business.

"There have been articles saying, 'Oh, it's a cowardly service' and whatnot, but there are a lot of people in relationships who know they don't want to be in them and because of conflict they choose not to actually do the deed of doing the breakup," Mackenzie says. "I think, if anything, if our service is just a 'Hey, the cat's out of the bag' service, then it's served its purpose."

Fair enough. Considering how many breakups are plagued by second-guessing - Was it really for the best? Is there a chance this person was The One? - the Breakup Shop gives the gift of certainty.

And cookies.

© 2015 The Washington Post

Mumbai Woman, 89, Has a Confession For Husband Who Died 12 Years Ago

"My husband and I had the best time after he retired," says an 89-year-old woman from Mumbai on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page. Her post, about her favourite memories of her husband, will help you believe in true love, the kind that never ends.

In her post, the octogenarian explains how she and her husband spent their time doing different things and were never idle. They would paint, redecorate their house, watch the evening mass on TV, even cook their meals together.

"But his favourite thing to do was to go for long walks in the evening, where he would hold my hand during every crossing and only let go once we reached the other side," she recalls.

They followed this lifestyle until her husband died. "He passed away peacefully in his sleep 12 years ago, but I still want more time with him," she says.

"I try and keep myself busy by going to my daughter's house for lunch and dinner and going to mass whenever I can, but it isn't quite the same without him," she explains.

And she has a secret she never told her husband, a confession she never made. It is this and might make you cry a little: "At 89, I can say I've lived a great life and nothing really scares me... except one thing which I would have never admitted to him then, but I'm terrified of crossing the road by myself and I still can't do it without him."

The Top 5 Largest Aircraft in the World

Let’s take a look at top five world’s largest aircrafts up to this day. These immense flying objects really impress!

The first prize goes fairly to Ukrainian Antonov An-225 Mriya which is acknowledged to be the world’s largest plane up to date. The plane made its first flight in 1988, on December 21. This really huge thing was built exceptionally for military purposes, in particular for carrying the Buran orbiter (Russian Space Shuttle). The developers of An-225 aircraft used a base of An-124 and increased sufficiently its engine capacity. 6 engines are used in the An-225 instead of 4 in An-124 as well as twin nail. The aircraft is the heaviest up to date: its maximum takeover weight is more than 640 tons.

Today there is only one An-225 in service.

Brothers, Both Soldiers, Died at Siachen. 21 Years Later, a Body Found.

New Delhi: The frozen body of a soldier who went missing 21 years ago at the Siachen glacier has been found last Sunday by a group of soldiers patrolling the world's highest battleground - Siachen Glacier. 

Havildar TV Patil, who belonged to Maharashtra, had fallen into a crevasse in February 1993. He was 30. Because of the sub-zero temperatures, his body had not decomposed, said sources, and he was identified by a letter from his family and a medical certificate found in his pocket.

His brother, also a soldier with the Maratha Light Infantry, died in an avalanche in 1987 while posted to the glacier. His body remains unfound.

Sources told NDTV that Havildar Patil, whose body has been found, was trying to collect air-dropped supplies when he moved away from the prescribed path and fell into a crevasse. As others tried to pull him out, his snow gloves slipped off, and he plunged several feet.

In August, the frozen body of Havildar Gaya Prasad from Maharastra had been found at the Siachen Glacier; in 1996, he had fallen into a crevasse there.  

At more than 18,000 feet (5,700 meters) Siachen sees temperatures that can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

10 Reasons Why You Are the Way You Are

We are all born with a unique personality and nature; some good qualities and some bad. Some of our traits are loved by all and others bag us a few negative remarks. The tricky part is that since all these traits are innate, we don't have much control on them. Let's find out why we are the way we are! 

Friendly (a little too much?)

Friend of one and friend of all! Does this describe you well enough? Are you the always–there–for–everyone kind? Well, that is just awesome. You have a confident and positive approach and therefore connect well with others. You also like being in the lime light and hence, attract a lot of people around you.  Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Pisces are born with this beautiful trait.

Curious Cat (wink)

“What's going on there?” “Why did he call you?” “What happened after the party?” “Shush! Let me hear what they're talking about”; are these your favorite words?  One hell of a curious mind you've got there! The urge to know everything makes you like this. Of course, there's nothing wrong with it! A curious mind leads to great inventions and creations! You'll often find a Virgo or an Aquarian digging very deep.

The Romantic Lover

Does the lover within you comes alive every time you lay your eyes on an attractive person from the opposite sex? Do you start planning a cozy candle light dinner and a long walk across the street at dawn? Your romantic tactics make you win hearts because romance is all you've got in your heart! You can find an irresistible lover in a Taurus or Libra! They are prone to falling head over heels in love.

The Worried Soul

Some people are quite conscious about their reputation, always worried about offending or hurting others (even unknowingly). This way you restrict your friends' circle and people end up thinking you're antisocial or reserved. You people have this tendency due to your soft and caring heart and emotions. Cancer, Scorpio and surprisingly Libra fall under this category.

Flirty much! 

Are you the guy who makes all the girls in the room giggle as you enter? Or are you the girl who leaves guys awestruck just at the sight of you? Well, what a flirtatious little thing we've got here. You all are just happy and friendly (in a different way) people who love to see happy people around them. Flirting is generally just your way of bringing a smile on other's faces. This naughty trait is clearly visible in a Sagittarian or a Gemini.

The Angry Bird! 

Some of us often have temper issues. We cannot control ourselves and burst out like a volcanic eruption! Why is that? Well, either you're too patient and have reached your no tolerance point, or you just have that angry streak in you. It's natural, although you can try to keep it in control, but only to some extent, after all, what is an innate trait remains an innate trait! Aries, Scorpions, Leos, and Taureans have the most horrifying temper outbursts (whenever they have them).

The Helping Hand

You people are always there to help others. Even if it's 1 AM in the night or 4 in the morning, you are that friend who's always there when needed.  This isn't an attempt to please others; it's just your way of staying happy. Your heart feels comforted when you comfort others. Taureans, Aquarians and Virgos are the helping souls here!

The Workaholic

Your professional life is reaching new heights; happy bosses, quick promotions and a successful career, you guys have it all. Umm.. and your personal life, is also your office. You like spending late nights together, don't you? Your high ambitions make you a very hard worker. Not a bad thing, but it's always good to have some alone time to relax. All you Capricorns out there, are you listening?

The Optimist 

A flat tyre early in the morning, heavy rainfall causing traffic or a fight with your mother just before stepping out; no matter what, a few of us will just find a reason to smile. Finding the positive side of every situation is a wonderful trait, isn't it? Having such an optimistic approach towards life is appreciable. You are positive about everything; this is just an innate trait that you're blessed with. Being a Sagittarian or an Aries is in other words, being gifted!

The Perfectionist


“Push the cupboard a little to the right, no no, a little to the left, not that much! Push it to the right again, a little more, perfect!” Wow! What a perfectionist we have here! So what is it that makes you this eager for perfect work? Yes, you have an eye for perfection and you know how to reach there too! You're bosses might love you for this! Hey Virgos, do we see a little giggle there?

Slave girl kept in cellar awarded $160,000 in UK court

LONDON: A deaf and mute girl smuggled to Britain and kept as a slave for almost a decade must be paid £1,00,000 ($1,60,000) by her captors, a court ruled on Wednesday.

Trafficked from Pakistan as a 10-year-old girl, the victim was repeatedly raped by Ilyas Ashar, 85, who along with his wife Tallat, 69, forced her to work as their servant.

She was discovered in the cellar of their five-bedroom house sleeping on a cot bed by investigators looking into allegations of money laundering.

Now in her 20s, she learned a form of sign language to testify at the trial last year.

"The money will in no way make up for what she went through over a number of years, but it will help her move on with her life and continue her inspiring recovery from these awful events," said Salford Chief Superintendent Mary Doyle.

"I believe today's outcome also gives hope to any victim of trafficking. It reminds us that there are people out there willing to bring people to this country purely to be exploited but, with the correct use of the law, the perpetrators can be brought fully to justice."

The court calculated the Ashars should pay the victim £101,300: what she would have been paid if she had earned the minimum wage working for the couple for 12 hours a day, every day since 2003 except for ten days off.

The two also must also pay back benefits to the state that they wrongfully claimed for the girl.

The victim, who cannot be named, could not read or write but was taught to write her name by the Ashars so that they could claim social benefits on her behalf.

Ilyas Ashar was earlier jailed for 15 years for rape, trafficking and benefit fraud, and his wife Tallat was jailed for five years for trafficking and benefit fraud.

Their daughter Faaiza Ashar, 46, was ordered to do community service after being convicted of benefit fraud.

At their earlier conviction, judge Peter Lakin said the Ashars had shown no remorse and were "deeply unpleasant, highly manipulative and dishonest people" who did not treat the girl as a human being. 

Brawling in the Street, Shocking! And Wait Till You See Who's Fighting

Two wild kangaroos came to fisticuffs on a street in Australia.

The feud turned ugly and went viral on the Internet. The two kangaroos in the video below are champions at the double-footed kick, balancing themselves on their super-strong tails.

The amateur video, titled 'Wild Kangaroo Street Fight Aussie Style' and uploaded by Rodney Langham on YouTube, has over three million views already.

The kangaroos could easily replace prizefighters in a boxing ring. They pack a mean and very accurate punch and they just don't give up.

How to Keep Your Brain Healthy

Could sudoku, drugs and a Mediterranean diet help keep our brains fit? What can the latest neuroscience research tell us?

Neuroscience research got a huge boost last week with news of Professor John O'Keefe's Nobel prize for work on the "brain's internal GPS system". It is an exciting new part of the giant jigsaw puzzle of our brain and how it functions. But how does cutting-edge neuroscience research translate into practical advice about how to pass exams, remember names, tot up household bills and find where the hell you left the car in a crowded car park?

O'Keefe's prize was awarded jointly with Swedish husband and wife team Edvard and May-Britt Moser for their discovery of "place and grid cells" that allow rats to chart where they are. When rats run through a new environment, these cells show increased activity. The same activity happens much faster while the rats are asleep, as they replay the new route.

We already knew that the part of the brain known as the hippocampus was involved in spatial awareness in birds and mammals, and this latest work on place cells sheds more light on how we know where we are and where we're going. In 2000, researchers at University College London led by Dr Eleanor Maguire showed that London taxi drivers develop a pumped-up hippocampus after years of doing the knowledge and navigating the backstreets of the city. MRI scans showed that cabbies start off with bigger hippocampuses than average, and that the area gets bigger the longer they do the job. As driver David Cohen said at the time to BBC News: "I never noticed part of my brain growing - it makes you wonder what happened to the rest of it!"

Yet great breakthroughs don't automatically translate into practical benefits. "Research may give us great insights, but we still can't cure Alzheimer's," points out neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield. "And just because we know more about what parts of the brain do normally, it doesn't tell us why things go wrong. We still need to know why special cells die in dementia. How come you can have a major stroke with lots of neuronal damage, but not lose your memory? What is the link between Parkinson's disease and dementia?" In other words, why are some cells damaged but not others?

Lab-based research is key to piecing together the jigsaw of how our brains work and what goes wrong when they don't. Even scans or postmortem examinations of brains of people who had dementia are of limited value, points out Greenfied, because "degeneration starts 10-20 years before symptoms appear". So what does neuroscience tell us about keeping the brain fit?

Professor John O'Keefe.Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

Use it or lose it It seems obvious that the more you train, use and test your brain, the better it will perform. There is some evidence that people with more education or skills have a lower incidence of dementia. But the picture is complicated; perhaps highly educated people eat better food. And more skilled people may be more likely to be in work, benefiting from exercise, social interaction and mental stimulation. You may build up a "cognitive reserve" while young, which gives you a headstart over less educated people once dementia sets in. Staying physically, mentally and socially active means that even if your brain scan looks as ropey as that of a less active person, you will function better. No one can confirm the benefits, but there is at least no downside to daily sudoku, crosswords, reading, walks and talks.

Neuro-enhancing drugs Nootropics are also called smart drugs or cognitive enhancers. One of the best known is modafinil, a "wakefulness-promoting" drug that stimulates the central nervous system and is only prescribable in the UK for excessive daytime sleepiness (narcolepsy). Whether it is much more effective than a strong cup of coffee remains debatable, but its effect lasts longer. Modafinil is widely used by academics and students because it makes people feel sharper and more alert. Professor Barbara Sahakian of the University of Cambridge has found that sleep-deprived surgeons perform better on modafinil, and thinks it may have a wider role in improving our memory and mental function. "We found that modafinil improves motivation and working memory in healthy people and makes doing tasks more pleasurable," she said. But long-term safety, especially for young brains, is still not established. But for a lot of students, the question isn't whether the drugs are safe or constitute cheating, but how they can get hold of some.

Avoiding damage Our environment is full of neurotoxins that can interfere with the genes, proteins and small molecules that build and maintain our brains. The younger the brain, the more susceptible it is to neurotoxins. A paper by the US National Scientific Council on the Developing Child says there are three types of neurotoxins that can affect the developing brain: environmental chemicals such as lead, mercury and organophosphates (pesticides); recreational drugs such as alcohol, nicotine and cocaine; and prescription medications such as Roaccutane, used for severe acne. Mature brains can be quite resilient, thanks in part to a barrier of cells that restricts entry of chemicals from the bloodstream into the brain tissue. But drugs, alcohol and cigarettes will poison even the most developed of brains if you take enough of them.

Keep the blood flowing The brain needs a good blood flow to deliver vital nutrients and oxygen and take away waste products. Smoking, high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol all sludge up the arteries and impede blood flow. If you care about your brain function, sorting out these risk factors remains the most useful thing you can do.

Effects of diet Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and vitamins B and D all have neuroprotective effects, but trials have failed to show that high-dose supplements of these individual nutrients will protect you from dementia. However, eating a tasty Mediterranean diet that combines most of these nutrients can't hurt.

Future research Professor Sahakian has identified five areas of neuroscience research that will help our understanding over the next five years.

• Smart and wearable technology to monitor people's brain health - similar to wristband monitors that track heart rate.


• Brain scanning to monitor changes in mental illness and track changes during treatments such as CBT.

• Trials of neuroprotective drugs such as solanezumab to prevent further deterioration in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

• Connectomics, the study and production of connectomes - neural maps of the brain - will combine a number of techniques to map and study connectivity in the brain.

• Genetics, to understand the genetic mutations that contribute to autism and other conditions.

 A brain ready for dissection. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian