Anna Kendrick had “reservations” about signing up 50/50. The 26-year-old star plays the role of a therapist in the comedy about a man suffering with cancer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, and she admits she was worried about what questions she would have to answer when the film came out.

A village in Jharkhand has carved out a niche for itself by showing for over 30 long years that its people do not need to visit the police station to seek help for resolution of their conflicts. The gram sabha (village council) has been doing this job amicably and everyone is satisfied.

In a move that clearly showed that Pakistan’s democracy experiment of the last three years has changed little in that country, its Prime Minister and President on Saturday made peace with its Army Chief. Gen. Kayani has let the Gilani-Zardari duo be, for now. But while the gun has been withdrawn, the gavel hangs over them. A change of
leadership has been deferred but it is not far off, says Neena Gopal.

The people of Pakistan have now learned a lesson from our own history, that democracy is not easy but it is the only viable option. Democracies are noisy, reflect power tussles and highlight internal conflicts. But it is only through democracy that we can work together to forge national unity.” – Pakistan prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani
Misplaced sentiments? Or clever ploy to whip up public sympathy?

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, in a rare gesture, has offered to bail out about 250 jail inmates in Uttar Pradesh who are languishing behind the bars because they cannot afford to pay the fine that the court has fixed for them.
Salman has offered to bail out the hapless prisoners through an NGO that recently approached the state officials with the offer.

The Panna Tiger Reserve authorities on Friday succeeded in putting a radio collar and bringing under surveillance one of the two semi-adult 21-month-old male tigers born to T1 —one of the two tigresses brought to Panna from Bandhavgarh and Kanha in March 2009 under the ambitious plan to repopulate the Panna habitat following extinction of tigers from this area.

Twelve people, including two women, were killed in a stampede at Hussain Tekri, falling under the Jawra Industrial Area police station of Ratlam district in western Madhya Pradesh, early on Saturday morning.

In what appears to be a mega scam in Bihar’s education department, enrolments of over three lakh out of some 10 lakh students shown to have been admitted in the state’s primary and middle schools have been found to be fake.

After back-to-back assaults on college principals, the assistant headmaster of a Nadia school was attacked by a Trinamul Congress activist. Dipak Guha Roy, the assistant headmaster of Kendriya Adarsh Vidalaya at Madanpur in Chakdah police station area was allegedly caught by the collar and dragged out of his chair by a Trinamul Congress activist Dilip Guha after he refused to promote some students who had failed.

Punjabis are known for their hospitality and flamboyance, but thanks to a proactive Election Commission in the state, both these qualities are missing from the election campaigning in Punjab this time. “Sober campaigning” would not be a euphemism, considering the fact that Elections Commission is counting even the number of tea cups served by a particular candidate in public meetings now.

The guns have fallen silent and the shadow of fear is gradually receding.
Dreaded dacoits have been eliminated and the fear of the bullet has evaporated, particularly in the Bundelkhand region.