Kathua (J-K), Dec 11 : The extended polls in Kashmir being held in seven phases have boosted the business of transporters whose vehicles are in great demand for election campaigning.

Transporters in Kathua district as elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir are a happy lot with the demand for their vehicles having grown after almost two-months long slump due to the Amarnath shrine land row.

New Delhi, Dec 11 : India’s inflation rate continued its southward movement and declined to eight per cent for the week ended on November 29 from 8.4 per cent in the previous week.

This was the slowest rise since mid-April when inflation was at 7.95 percent.

Inflation fell for the fifth consecutive week to a seven-and-a-half-month low of 8 per cent due to cheaper food items.

In fact, the rate of price rise in all certainty is expected to moderate substantially with cascading effect of fuel price cut and four per cent across the board excise duty reduction getting mirrored in the data in subsequent weeks.

New Delhi, Dec 11 : Defence Minister AK Antony today informed Rajya Sabha that the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun was not tampered during any trials.

The army with successful results has carried out reliability trials systematically, he said, adding that the DRDO has not proposed any enquiry into the matter.

Antony denied knowledge whether a lobby in the Army is in favour of the purchase for entire equipment for army from foreign countries.

The Defence Minister said Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Phase 1 for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was sanctioned in 1993.

Imphal, Dec. 11 : Arun Yumnam has set up a special garden here to provide the comfort of garden-cum recreation centre for the people who wish to visit a place where they can relax and enjoy for some time.

The venture, which is yet to complete, is unique in the militancy-torn Manipur State.

A florist by profession Arun Yumnam wants to develop this recreation "Millennium Garden" at Haorang Sabal, Lamsang Kendra, 15 kms from Imphal, the capital city of Manipur.

Kochi, Dec. 11 : The countdown to Christmas has started. Traders in gift items and cakes are waiting for the demands to pick up.

The local markets used to witness a heavy demand by this time ahead of Christmas till last year by corporate companies or local customers. But the response is dull.

For Keralaites, the Christmas and New Year celebrations are like Deepawali, the biggest festival of Hindus. The State has a considerable number of Christians.

Most of the people here are Christians and many of them are in Gulf countries, who return to homeland during Christmas holidays.

New Delhi, Dec 11 : Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves, who admits to being a big science fiction fan, is delighted to have landed the opportunity to act in the sci-fi flick `The Day The Earth Stood Still'.

The `Chain Reaction' actor wants his fans to know that the remake of the 1951 cult classic is not just any sci-fi flick, as it has a very deep meaning to it, reports China Daily.

"It''s about the world we live in and the destructive nature of man, so it gives you a lot to think about. It''s very timely," Reeves said.