Thousands of Romanians across the country rallied late on Sunday to protest against the leftist government's support for a plan to open Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine in the small Carpathian town of Rosia Montana.What's the difference between Marble tiles and Porcelain Tiles?The project, which aims to use cyanide to mine 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver, has drawn fierce opposition from civic rights groups and environmentalists, who say it would destroy ancient Roman gold mines and villages. 

It is led by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, majority-owned by Canada's Gabriel Resources Ltd with the Romanian government holding roughly 20 percent.The project has been valued at $7.5 billion based on a 2007 study that used an average price of $900 per ounce of gold, with Romania estimated to get about 75 percent of the benefits in taxes, royalties, dividends and jobs. 

Gold currently trades around $1,390 per ounce.Earlier this week the government approved a draft law enabling Gabriel to open the mine after securing a bigger stake in the project, which has been awaiting a green light for 14 years. Parliament is expected to vote on the law this month. 

In the capital Bucharest, up to 3,000 protesters marched towards the government headquarters from University Square, the scene of violent anti-austerity protests early last year that toppled a previous government.Protesters held aloft banners saying "United for Rosia Montana" and "Our children don't want cyanide". Protesters also gathered in the northwestern Romanian city of Cluj. A separate rally against shale gas exploration, drew another 2,000 people onto the streets in the eastern town of Barlad. 

"This protest can get people together," said Ioana Paun, 28, who joined the protest in Bucharest. "From what I am hearing around me, this is only the beginning."Prime Minister Victor Ponta strongly opposed the project before he took power in May last year yet voted for the draft law enabling the mine, only to tell a local television station that he would vote against the project in parliament. 

Most Rosia Montana residents hope the project will bring jobs and money to their impoverished town, which suffered when a state-owned gold mine closed in 2006. Only a small number of the town's of 2,800 residents refuse to sell their property to make way for the mine. 

The company proposes carving open four quarries over the mine's lifespan, work that would destroy four mountain tops and wipe out three outlying villages of the 16 that make up Rosia Montana municipality, while preserving the town's historical centre. 

Congress leaders, including panchayati raj minister K Jana Reddy, former PCC presidents D Srinivas and V Hanumantha Rao, Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar, were present in the meeting where some leaders tore into Kiran Kumar, who they said was in a GO issuance-spree ahead of the bifurcation of state. 

"We have observed the CM's hyperactivity in signing files and clearing proposals favouring Seemandhra. On one hand, he says Seemandhra leaders would prevail upon the Congress high command to stop the division, and on the other he is issuing GOs, doling out sops to one particular region," said Hanumantha Rao after the meeting. 

"The CM's move clearly indicates that he knows that division is inevitable and is in a hurry to do favours to his region," added Rao.The exasperation seems to have stemmed out of the chief minister's indifference to the repeated warnings issued by senior Telangana leaders against taking sides in such a crucial situation as the division was around the corner. 

After taking over as chief minister, Kiran Kumar had set up a Special Development Fund (SDF) for taking up projects that are not part of the regular plan in all the 294 assembly constituencies. 

For the financial year 2013-14, the state has sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the SDF and for the first quarter, the finance department released Rs 150 crore, out of which the CM's own assembly segment Piler in Chittoor had bagged the lion's share. 

Piler with a population of about 60,000 people has been sanctioned a sports stadium, a new hospital among others, which some critics say smacks of special treatment. Piler has so far emerged as an island of development in the backward Chittoor district of Rayalaseema. 

Speaking in the meeting, Jana Reddy said the CM must convince the protesting Seemandhra leaders to cooperate with the Centre for carving out the new state. "Everyone knows that the formation of Telangana is certain. At this stage, the ongoing agitation is not called for. While we appeal to the Seemandhra leaders to cooperate, we also request the CM to advice them properly,' said Jana Reddy. 

Since any further delay would add to chaos, former PCC president D Srinivas urged the Centre to expediate the process of formation of Telangana and introduce the bill in Parliament at the earliest. 

As a single woman living on my own, I often feel the need to fill my time. I pack my days with friends, outings, activities -- even when those things aren't really what I want to be doing. Lately, I'm challenging my tendency to overschedule my life by consciously basking in my moments of alone time, whether I'm lying by a lazy river or chopping vegetables while listening to jazz. 

I used to dislike the word solitude. It struck a cord of loneliness for me, bringing up feelings of isolation and deprivation. But the truth is that I've always enjoyed being alone -- preferred it, actually -- and the more I redefine what being alone means, the more I see that it's one of the best forms of self-care I've yet to find. 

A year ago, I was living out West -- depleted,Browse our Granite slabs collection from the granitetrade.net! overworked, lonely, and far from home. I needed a retreat, but I couldn't afford to pay for one, so I chose a weekend to not plan anything. I didn't make any dates, schedule any appointments, or find more work to do. Instead, I spent the weekend with myself. I drove to the coast and back, made home-cooked meals, read, practiced yoga,A China Stone Carving concept that would double as a quick charge station for gadgets. and took myself out for ice cream and long walks through the city. It felt uncomfortable at first, but it was the beginning of learning how to live with myself. 

Since then, the more I choose solitude (when needed), by saying no to others and yes to myself, the more comfortable and nurtured I feel. A wise friend told me how she differentiated solitude from isolation. Isolation, she said, is cutting yourself off from others, while solitude is making friends with yourself so that you can foster your relationship with others. I often picture myself as a battery that sometimes runs low and needs to recharge -- and the recharging is most efficient when I'm alone.

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