Chennai, Oct 23: Heavy rains over the past two days have disrupted normal life in Chennai. The rains have been occurring due to a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.

Caused by a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal, rains have lashed parts of coastal India including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Lakshwadeep apart from Tamil Nadu.

“It''s raining heavily and so we could not go to college. There is no electricity. If the rain stops, we will be able to get on with our routine life," said Karthick, a resident.

The state''s meteorological department said the condition would remain the same for some more time.

Sydney - Old people with pets live longer and are healthier than those who don't share their home with a dog or a cat.

Sadly, research by the Australian National University's Ruth Paslow has exposed this commonly held view as a myth.

After interviewing 2,551 Australians aged 60-64 she reluctantly concluded that pet owners were more likely to be depressed and to take painkillers than the pet-free.

"I would've been happier finding that pets are good for you," Paslow said, "but I wanted to do research that's reliable and statistically sound."

On the other hand, children who grow up in a home with a dog are less likely to be overweight.

Pune/Patna, Oct 23: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists celebrated the bail granted to their leader Raj Thackeray, here last evening.

It was a festive mood at Thackeray's residence as his party activists and kin burst crackers and exchanged sweets after he reached home.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed both the ruling parties – the Congress and the NCP - in Maharashtra for the violence.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of Chhattisgarh has shown door to 18 of its 51 sitting MLAs. They were dropped from first list of candidates for coming assembly poll scheduled to be haled on next month.  A total of 58 names got a place in the list.  

Chief Minister Raman Singh has been shifted from Dungargaon to Rajnandgaon constituency. He is representing Dungargaon assembly segment in the present assembly. .

After releasing the lists party General Secretary Ananth Kumar said "We have decided not to field 18 of the sitting MLAs in Chhattisgarh. This decision has been taken as per the political and social realities. Out of this, three MLAs have lost their seats due to the delimitation process,"

Berlin - An eyeliner pencil that is too hard can be softened by holding it over a flame or simply by blowing on it, said the Berlin branch of Germany's consumer product testing organization.

The organization tested 16 black eyeliner pencils, including one that has to be sharpened and those with an in-built, automatic mechanism for sharpening. Five of the eyeliner pencils were rated good in a report by the organization's monthly magazine. The remainder were rated satisfactory, including an 18-euro eyeliner -

the most expensive among the tested products.

Bangkok - Laos has beefed up patrols to prevent "any untoward happenings" in Champassak province, part of the tri-border area where Laos, Cambodia and Thailand meet, state radio broadcasts said Thursday.

Champassak's military command said the increased vigilance was necessary to prevent "untoward happenings" in the increasingly sensitive border area which has been drawn in to a Thai-Cambodian dispute, Radio Laos said in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok.