Bangalore, Mar. 18 : In a bid to motivate youngsters to participate in the democracy's biggest exercise `General Election 2009', a five-city rock show-cum-awareness drive called ''shut up and vote'' was launched in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Janagraha and Tata Tea announced the campaign across the nation, as a part of their ongoing nationwide rock concert by an Indian Rock Band- Thermal and a Quarter.

New Delhi, Mar. 18 : The Election Commission on Wednesday slapped fresh notices on both Varun Gandhi and the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking their response by Friday to what it termed were clear violations of the Model Code of Conduct.

Gandhi has been charged with issuing anti-communal statements during a rally in his Pilibhit constituency, and the Election Commission has even ordered a video tracking of his entire campaign.

Karachi, Mar. 18 : The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Wednesday announced its squad for the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup Tournament to be played in Malaysia.

Zeeshan Ashraf will captain the side and Mohammad Imran will be his deputy. The other players in the squad are Nasir Ahmed, Rana Asif, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Sharif, Akhtar Ali, Shabbir Khan, Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Shafqat Rasool and Fareed Ahmed, a PHF release said.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest.

Chennai, Mar 18 : Self-help groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu are helping rural women become self-reliant by opening new employment avenues.

With help from the State and Central Governments, women residing in Krishnagiri District in Tamil Nadu have set up cottage industries to make various items ranging from soft toys to beautiful accessories.

Workers involved with the SHGs are earning a decent sum for their livelihood.

Silliguri, Mar 18 : Farmers in Siliguri district of West Bengal face severe crop loss due to lack of rainfall.

They fear that the dry rain spell would make it extremely difficult to make both ends meet.

"There is no produce this year. We spent so much money on sowing the crops. We don''t know what we can do now," said Paresh Chandra Roy, a farmer.

New Delhi, Mar. 18 : ''Stop Protectionism'' will be the India''s advice to the developed world during next month''s G-20 Summit in London.

According to sources in the government, India is likely to pitch against the protectionist policies adopted by Europe in general and US in particular in the wake of the economic crisis.

India has been highly critical of the US Congress''s latest move in curbing the issue of H1B visas, which is likely to affect the job prospects of thousands of Indian professionals.