Asian News International

A new Boko Haram video shows the beheading of a man identified as the pilot of a missing Nigerian Air Force jet and burnt out parts of a plane the first indication that Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremist group has the capability to bring down aircraft.

It also allegedly features Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, a man Nigeria’s military twice has claimed to kill in 2009 and again last year. Two weeks ago the military said they had killed in battle a Shekau lookalike who had posed in the group’s videos.

Holding that it was AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa who had paid for the arrangements for the lavish marriage of her now estranged foster son V N Sudhakaran, the special court in the disproportionate assets case against her pegged the expenses incurred by her at Rs three crore.

Sudhakaran’s marriage, dubbed as “mother of all weddings” was held in 1995 when Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister and had raised a huge controversy, inviting public criticism for ostentation, protests and petitions to court.

Despite being tagged as “mindless”, “loud”, “dumb”, “pointless” and “exhausting”, action thriller ‘Bang Bang!’ has emerged as a clear winner at the box office with business of Rs.27.54 crore on the first day with simultaneous release ‘Haider’ minting just Rs.6.14 crore.

‘Bang Bang!’, reportedly made at a budget of Rs.180 crore, was pitted against Rs.24 crore film ‘Haider’, which is Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, with both releasing Thursday.

A major fire broke out early on Saturday morning in the famed Lohar Gali here, gutting approximately 250-300 shops.

One of the locals present at the spot said, “Nobody is listening to us. The traders are continuously trying to contact the SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police), but his phone is switched off.”

Around eight fire brigade vans were called in to control the blaze that began at around 2 a.m. Locals also raised the need for calling the military.

The estimated loss till now is being pegged at around Rs. 40 crores. (ANI)

Mahesh and Namrata live up to the tag of being the “best looking couple” in the industry. The former Miss India’s presence give the impression to bring out the more relaxed side of the generally cloistered Mahesh.

Namrata, a short time ago said, “I’d love to walk the ramp with Mahesh. It’s just that we haven’t been offered anything interesting so far.” At this time, that would be something to look out for.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg Mutton keema
2. 300 gm Mustard oil
3. 5 Bread slices
4. 4 tsp Arrowroot
5. 2 eggs
6. 100 gm Biscuit powder
7. 2 tsp Ginger paste
8. 2 Large onions
9. 10 cloves Garlic
10. 5 Green chilly
11. 2 bundles Coriander leaf
12. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix arrowroot with water to get a thin batter. Keep aside.
2. Finely slice the onions, green chilli, garlic and coriander. Add ginger paste.
3. Mix all of these with the keema, and leave it for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients

1tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 cups thinly sliced onions
2tbsp chopped hara dhania (coriander)
2tbsp chopped raw papaya
1/4 cup bhuna chana, powdered (roasted black chickpeas)
1/4 tsp kali mirch (black pepper)
1 moti elaichi (black cardamom)
1tsp jeera (cumin)
1/8 tsp powdered dalchini (cinnamon)
1 blade javitri (mace)
1/4 tsp grated jaiphal (nutmeg)
1 egg
2tsp salt
Chopped green chillies to taste
1/2 cup ghee
4 laung (cloves)

Method:

1. Heat 1/2 cup ghee. Fry the onions till brown and crisp. Keep aside.

Credit growth of commercial banks continued to remain weak with a growth of just 9.7 per cent at Rs 61,46,526 crore for the fortnight to September 19, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

Bank credit was Rs 56,02,021 crore in the corresponding period last year.

This was for the second consecutive fortnight that the credit growth came at sub-10 per cent.

Bankers have expressed concerns over sluggish credit demand and appear reluctant to cut lending rates.

Union Tourism Ministry said that the visa-on-arrival facility, which is being mulled for large number of countries might become redundant once e-visa facility is introduced.

“Visa on arrival (VoA) for six airports would be extended within a month. But moreover we are working for e-visa facility which will help tourists to get their travel document by applying online. Once e-visa facility is introduced, VoA is likely to become redundant,” Union Tourism Minister Sripad Naik, said on Friday.

Improved market sentiment helped mutual funds pick up shares worth more than Rs 4,000 crore in September, making it the fifth consecutive monthly inflow.

Besides, they pumped in a staggering over Rs 23,000 crore in the debt market during the period.

The inflow in equities during the month followed net investment of close to Rs 6,000 crore in August, Rs 5,000 crore in July, Rs 3,340 crore in June and Rs 105 crore in May.

A weekend treat awaits biking enthusiasts and adventure junkies courtesy the Bike Festival of India, a two-day extravaganza bringing together biking, adventure, sports and music at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

To be held Saturday and Sunday, the festival will host various events such as stunts, and dirt and drag races. It will also cater to the less adventurous people with activities such as rappelling, paragliding, bungee jumping, cycle stunt shows and virtual game bike racing.

Do you find yourself holding back in conversations and hiding your true credentials? Ladies, it’s time to make a change and banish the barriers and be vocal about your career achievements- as it may be causing more damage than you might have expected.

A new study, carried out by LinkedIn’s “Career Control” campaign, has shown that 56 percent of women believe they are overlooked for a promotion because of modesty. Many believe that fear of coming across arrogant or big-headed is the main concern for growth, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Actress Jennifer Garner says she had head lice when she met actor George Clooney for the first time.

The mother of three children says that her daughter picked up the lice at school and everyone at home was infected, apart from her husband actor Ben Affleck, who was desperate to take his wife to a star-studded party, reports contactmusic.com.

The actress recalls: “They (hair lice experts) come over and they comb painstakingly through your hair… and then they comb this oil through… and you smell like a mixture of sulphur and rosemary and you do it everyday for, like, a month…

Farah Khan has choreographed song sequences with a bevy of Bollywood stars in her over two-decade-long career. But she says her favourite dancer amongst them all is comedy king Govinda for his sheer ability to dance with all his heart.

“Govinda is my favourite dancer. I feel very happy when he dances,” Farah said here Thursday at a press conference for the official announcement of new dance reality show “Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale”.

The Zee TV show, which will be aired starting Oct 11, is being launched in conjunction with Farah’s forthcoming directorial “Happy New Year”.

The Swachch Bharat (Clean India) campaign on Thursday got off to an energetic start. But a glance at the jaw-dropping dimensions of the problem makes one conjecture whether PM Modi in actual fact has a chance to meet his target to clean up India by 2019?

Every year, urban India generates about 47 million tons of solid waste (garbage) or about 1.3 lakh tons every day , according to a study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). And this stats is only in cities and towns with a municipal body reporting.

Civil supplies and Finance Minister Etela Rajender at ‘Meet the Press’ programme said free education from KG to PG for all will be provided from the next academic year onwards.

The event was organised by the district unit of Telangana State Working Journalist Union (TSWJU) at Hotel Swetha here on Thursday.

The TRS regime will provide quality education in the state, said Mr Etela. Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s words, he said ‘Gram Swarajyam’ is only possible through steady development in villages. MLAs Rasamai Balakishan, Gangula Kamalakar, and others were present.

In Telangana, Bathukamma festivities do better than the Swachh Bharat campaign hardly any of the government officials of the public participating in the campaign.

Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan however swept the bylanes in the Raj Bhavan Colony as a token gesture whereas Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and other ministers didn’t have the programme on their schedule.

Most state government offices were also close for the day on Thursday for the holiday while officials were engaged preparing for the Bathukamma gala. But, the government said that the campaign was not being overlooked.

Like every year, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed in the special programme on occasion of Vijayadashmi. But this year, Mohan Bhagwat’s speech will be followed by India’s public sector broadcaster Doordarshan (DD).

The two speeches did not see any ‘clash’, as they were a few of hours apart. Modi would be on radio whereas Bhagwat’s speech will be telecast live by Doordarshan between 7.15 am and 7.30 am.

Bhagwat’s speech is likely to be live streamed on the internet by RSS’ IT team from Reshmi Bagh, in Nagpur.

Fulfilling the election promise, the government of Telangana withdrew 690 cases against students, youths and other agitators that were involved in the T agitation and booked under different sections by the then Andhra Pradesh Police during the separatist movement of Telangana.

State Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, who is undergoing treatment in Yashoda Hospital in the city, has signed the file scrapping the cases against agitators.

A new Android application for women was introduced by the City Cyberabad police that will help them alert the police and their family when in danger.

Just a click on the app called ‘Fight Back’ and messages will at once be sent to five mobile phones including the Cyberabad police.

The app would be improved with GPS location tracker and caller ID soon; hoped IT Minister Mr K.T. Rama Rao.

Mahindra Satyam in collaboration with the Cyberabad police developed the app “Fight Back” which is available free on Google store and one can sign up with their email or Facebook account.

Congress and NCP, before their split claimed equal rights on Muslim votes. Post-split, both are contending to woo the community.

Muslim votes in Maharashtra’s multicornered assembly polls seem to have raised the pre-poll electoral relevance of small parties which were at one time dismissed as vote splitters with marginal appeal.

Turkey gives a warning sign that it may send its troops into Syria or Iraq and allow allies to use Turkish bases to fight Islamic State, as coalition jets launched air strikes on Wednesday on insurgents lay siege to a town on its southern border with Syria.

The government forwarded a proposal to parliament which would broaden existing powers and permit Ankara to order military action to “defeat attacks directed towards our country from all terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria”.

An 80-year-old Indian-origin social worker in Singapore has been felicitated and given a cash prize of SGD 10,000 for his community work.

KV Veloo was felicitated by the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Lawrence Wong and an award by Tabla, a local weekly on Indian social activities in addition to the cash prize of 10,000 Singapore dollars given by the State Bank of India.

A controversy broke out today over the live telecast by state broadcaster of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s address at Nagpur with Congress and Left parties slamming the “misuse” of Doordarshan but BJP defended it.

Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit termed the hour-long telecast as a “dangerous tradition”, saying RSS is a controversial religious and political organisation.

“It is a dangerous tradition. This is not an organisation which is completely neutral. It is a controversial organisation,” he said, adding it is a political decision of the government.

Two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants have been killed in an encounter in the Awantipora region of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama District.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)