videos of the week

Two powerful explosions ripped through crowded areas at Dilsukhnagar in the eastern part of the State capital on Thursday evening, killing 13 persons and injuring more than 83.

The first blast took place at 6.50 p.m. on the city's busiest road that link it with Vijayawada, and, as terrified people were scampering to safety, the second blast went off.

The twin blasts brought back painful memories of the August 25, 2007 IED attacks in Lumbini Park, in front of the State secretariat, and at Gokul Chat in Kothi that killed 44 people.

 Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told media that the toll from the Hyderabad serial blasts was at 14 and 119 injured with six in critical condition.

Shinde told the media that he had visited the site of the blast along with Home Secretary RK Singh and the Chief Minister and Governor of Andhra Pradesh, and also visited the hospitals and met with patients who were not that seriously injured.

"We have appointed a team to investigate the incident. Since the Parliament is in session, this is the only information I can give you," he said.

Asked whether the government had information about the attack, he said, "There was a general alert for whole of country. If there was a threat perception earlier, it will come out in the investigation. We will not leave any stone unturned to find the culprits."

 President Pranab Mukherjee, making his first address to a joint gathering of MPs from both Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session today, said he hoped for a productive Parliament sitting, that comes after a tough economic year.

In an hour-long address to the joint sitting of Parliament, his first, President Pranab Mukherjee also touched on various issues like slower growth of economy and steps to deal with factors responsible for the slowdown.

"My government remains committed to ushering in reforms for greater transparency, probity, integrity and accountability in governance," said Mukherjee, days after the country was rocked by yet another scam in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for purchase of VVIP helicopters from an Italian company AugustaWestland.

 The now famous The Shillong choir, sang exclusively for rediff.co, listen to the melody from the choir.

Thousands of people have uploaded 30-second video on YouTube since February began, showcasing a dance step called "Harlem  Shake." This "new" dance step threatens to dethrone Korean viral superstar Psy's gallop-horse dance featured in his hit  "Gangnam Style."

In the video, 4 boys are hanging out in a bedroom while a 5th boy is dancing the "Harlem Shake" while wearing a while  motorcycle helmet. After a few seconds, all 5 boys are dancing the "Harlem Shake."

This video has received 11,263,897 views as of writing. Filthy Frank's subscribers has grown to 127,032 from 12,000.

"Harlem Shake" is also the title of the song you hear people dancing to in the video, produced by DJ and music producer  Baauer aka Harry Rodrigues.

 Mercedes-Benz India unveiled its most expensive SUV, G63 AMG, in India with a price tag of ₹1.46 crore.

The company is looking forward to launch three more new models in the country this year. The newly launched SUV packs  5.5-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine which can generate 544PS of power and 760Nm of torque and can reach 100 km per hour  in less than 5.5 seconds. The model will replace the company's previous car G55 AMG.

"While the design of the G-Wagen has remained unchanged since inception in 1979, it has undergone upgrades over the years and  incorporates the latest technologies. It is the highest end performance SUV and is capable of going from 0-100 kilometres per  hour in 5.4 seconds," said Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India.

There is a new kind of music in the air of Meghalaya, playing out the tune of the impending election. The state government has hit upon the innovative idea of luring voters through songs in music-loving Meghalaya.

In fact, the state government has come up with a compact disc titled 'Your Vote Counts' in what is perhaps the first such election endeavour by a government department to use music to lure voters. The CD was conceptualized by state chief election officer (CEO) Prashant Kumar Naik, with the assistance of additional CEO Bhalang Dhar.

Listen to this vote appeal song from Meghalaya.