New Delhi, Jan 12 : Union Water Resources Minister Professor Saifuddin Soz today said the India is making serious efforts to address numerous challenges in water resources sector with due emphasis on the sustainability of the eco-system in the larger interests of mankind.

Inaugurating the International Conference on Water, Environment, Energy and Society (WEES-2009) here today, Soz said population growth is a contributing factor to the per capita availability of water reducing day by day.

New Delhi, Jan 12 : The Government has promulgated the Central Industrial Security Force (Amendment) Ordinance, 2009 to allow the fore to provicde security to the private sector.

With the growing threat of terrorist outfits, the industries in the private sector and joint venture, which have contributed to the growth of economy, also require assurance of security, a government release said.

Therefore, the relevant sections of the CISF Act, 1968 have been amended to enable the deployment of CISF for security of private sector and joint venture enterprises on cost reimbursement basis.

New Delhi, Jan 12 : Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan is `in denial' about her split from lover Samantha Ronson, according to reports.

It was recently suggested that the `Mean Girls' actress was unable to come to terms with the split with Samantha, and that she had been spending ample time with Sean Penn after the lesbian couple's split.

However, Lindsay has now rebuffed the split reports on her MySpace blog and branded the reports "Gross", reports the China Daily.

New York, Jan. 12 : In eight days, after eight turbulent years, George Bush will depart Washington, and leave behind a radically different country and a changed world.

And the inevitable wrangling will officially begin over the Bush legacy: How this man and this presidency will be viewed through the long lens of history.

"I think he''ll be able to look himself in the mirror when he is done and say, I did my best, I made decisions based on principle," CBS News quoted former Bush communications director Dan Bartlett, as saying.

New Delhi, Jan 12 : President Pratibha Patil today greeted the nation on the occasion of Makara Sankranti and Pongal, which will be celebrated on January 13 and January 14 respectively.

In her message, Patil said, "On the occasion of Makara Sankranti and Pongal, the nation acknowledges with gratitude the hard work of our farmers and those millions of people living in our rural areas."

New Delhi, Jan 12 : Brit actress Kristin Scott Thomas has landed herself the role of ex-Beatles John Lennon''s Aunt Mimi in new movie "Nowhere Boy".

The movie, based on the late Beatles' early life, has English actress Anne-Marie Duff playing his mother, Julia, with newcomer Aaron Johnson playing Lennon, reports the China Daily.

Shooting for the new flick, which will also mark the directorial debut of artist Sam Taylor-Wood, will start in March on location in Liverpool and at Ealing Studios.