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Boy in a bubble

When a family reports that their six-year-old son has accidentally floated away in a homemade helium balloon, the result is frenzied media coverage and nationwide sympathy for the stricken parents, accompanied by copious church-going (in addition to a small number of harassed papas and mamas mulling the possibility of constructing similar dirigibles for their own little Damians). When it turns out that there was no one in the vagrant balloon and that the kid was munching biscuits in the attic all the while, there is relief, along with puzzlement. But when it later transpires that the publicity-hungry parents had concocted the whole story just to get their own reality TV show, the reactions really heat up.

That's diplomacy

The ambitious East–West Metro corridor project of Kolkata— which includes the country’s first underwater rail link—is set to be constructed jointly by the urban development ministry and the West Bengal government. After becoming railway minister, Mamata Banerjee has been keen that her ministry take over the project. After a Cabinet meeting, Banerjee confronted Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy and said, “Jaipalji, why don’t you give that project to my ministry?” Reddy smiled but didn’t say anything and that made Banerjee jittery: “Please don’t smile. I am serious. Give it to me,” Banerjee repeated. Reddy finally broke his silence and said, “OK. When you become the chief minister of West Bengal, I’ll hand over the project to you.”

Top-8 cos add Rs 1 lakh cr in m-cap last week

The country"s most valued firm Reliance Industries (RIL) helped eight of the top-10 Sensex firms add over Rs 1 lakh crore in their market valuation during the last week, while the state-run MMTC and private telecom services provider Bharti Airtel saw value erosion.