Dhoni, Yuvraj turn actors

Mumbai, July 01: Dino Morea is producing a film featuring cricketers MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who are the star clients for his merchandising company for sports celebrities.

According to the buzz, Dino is all set to cast the two cricketers for his production house, Clockwork Films. Dino has written the script keeping in mind both the star cricketers.

Incidentally, Yuvraj and Dhoni are both closely associated with Bollywood and its glamour brigade. In fact, Dhoni plays a role in David Dhawan’s Hook Ya Crook.

Suppliers lose Rs57L for Kambakkht Ishq

Mumbai, July 01: The much-awaited Kambakkht Ishq, which stars Sylvester Stallone, Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor, paid a heavy ‘price’ before its release. An investigation carried out by BMC’s vigilance department has revealed that more than 819 boxes of colour positive films, used for copying the original film and distributing them across cinemas, was brought into the city without paying octroi duty.

Federer, Murray eye dream Wimbledon final

London, July 01: Roger Federer and Andy Murray are locked on collision course for a dream Wimbledon final, but a giant Croatian and a wily Spaniard stand in their quarter-final paths on Wednesday.

Federer will be playing his 25th Grand Slam quarter-final while 6ft 10in (2.08m) Ivo Karlovic has never before got this far in the majors.

But he still represents a huge barrier to Federer’s ambitions of winning a record 15th Grand Slam title having not faced a break point in four rounds so far.

Indians’ death details suppressed: The Age

Melbourne, July 01: Australian authorities have suppressed the details of the deaths of more than 50 overseas students in their country within a year; nearly half of them were Indian. There is evidence to indicate that the death toll is higher than what the Federal Government has admitted, a local daily claimed.

UN assembly condemns Honduras coup

United Nations, July 01: The United Nations General Assembly has condemned the military coup that forced Honduras’ elected president from power.

The assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for the “immediate and unconditional” return of Manuel Zelaya to the Honduran presidency, two days after he was forced into exile.

Zelaya, who was attending the meeting of the 192-member body in New York, thanked the assembly for the “historic” resolution, saying that it mirrored the world’s “indignation” at the court-backed military coup.

Fernandes huddled into room for ‘servants’

Shimla, July 01: Spurned by the party and now looked down on by even district authorities in Himachal Pradesh, George Fernandes, a nine-time MP and former defence minister, got a raw deal from the Kangra district administration when he reached Dharamshala on June 22.

Despite knowing that he is the NDA convenor and a former Union minister, he was allotted an ordinary room – number 201 – in the circuit house. This room was usually given to servants and security staff of ministers and bureaucrats.

Jackson’s will puts assets in trust

Los Angeles, July 01: Michael Jackson’s will gives guardianship over his children to the singer’s mother and leaves all his assets in a trust fund, a person with knowledge of the document told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The word came just a day after the family said in court documents it believed the entertainer had died without a valid will and moved to take control over his estate.

Iraqis celebrate US pullback but bombing kills 33

Baghda, July 01: Not a single American soldier was in sight. Gone, too, were the American helicopters whose buzz has for years defined Baghdad’s background track.

Left alone to protect the capital Tuesday were thousands of Iraqi troops and police manning checkpoints, with army tanks deployed at potential trouble spots and convoys of pickup trucks with machine guns roaming the streets.

Insomniac Jackson begged for drug

Los Angeles, July 01: Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid.

Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.

MJ’s father suspects foul play

New York, June 30: There was a new twist to the Michael Jackson death case after the pop star’s father suspected foul play in his son’s sudden demise.

Joe Jackson said he had a “lot of concerns” over events leading up to the tragedy. He refused to believe that stress was the reason that led to Jackson’s death.

The senior Jackson was commenting as details of autopsy on MJ’s body began to emerge.

According to the post-mortem findings, the singer had four injection marks near his heart, apparently from attempts to pump adrenaline into the organ in a bid to restart it.

Buddha goes soft on Maoists

Kolkata, June 30: Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Monday told the core committee of his cabinet that people arrested during Operation Lalgarh will be charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and not the more stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA). This is a major change for the CM who had so far appeared to favour stern action against the Maoists.

PWD Minister Khsiti Goswami said, “CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the core committee that none of the 22 people arrested so far will be charged under the UAPA. They have been arrested under sections of the IPC.”

CPM supporters protest against Lalgarh operation

New Delhi, June 30: The reverberations of Operation Lalgrah were on Monday felt in the national capital, as the CPI(M) supporters gathered outside the party headquarters to voice their protest against the anti-Naxal operation in Lalgarh.

Members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Revolutionary Democratic Front and Pragitisheel Mahila Sangathan gathered in huge numbers raising slogans against Operation Lalgarh.

They alleged that tribals were being made vulnerable targets in the operation. According to the protestors, security forces were committing atrocities on tribals.

J-K: Separatists’ call for 3-day bandh

Srinagar, June 30: Baramulla remained on the edge on Tuesday after the death toll in the recent spate of violence in the Jammu and Kashmir valley town reached two.

Curfew continued in the town after violent clashes between protestors and police on Monday. One person was killed and 12 others injured in the clashes of which one died later on Monday.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

New York grosses 35 crore in first weekend

Mumbai, June 30: Yash Raj films’ New York, which released worldwide on June 26, has grossed Rs 35 crore in its three day first weekend. The film has broken all earlier opening weekend collection records for 2009, a Yash Raj Films press release issued here said.

“Yash Raj Films ended 2008 with its highest grossing film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and has started 2009 with a bang,” the release said. The movie has also had an impressive opening across all markets. New York has opened at the third slot on the Australian charts and at the tenth spot in the UK this weekend.

Woman sets self, daughter ablaze, die

Surat, June 30: Worries about the future of her three-year old deaf & dumb daughter, led a woman to set herself and the child, on fire. Both succumbed to burn injuries. According to information, Kajal Sanani, 24, a resident of Rang Avdhoot society, Lambe Hanuman road, doused kerosene on herself and her daughter Priyanshi, before setting themselves ablaze, at 8.30 am on Monday.

Modi back to his blogging best

Ahmedabad, June 30: After a pause, chief minister Narendra Modi has taken to blogging again. What’s more, the CM will be taking up questions from the readers and replying to them in coming days. To start with, he replied to question regarding his fitness during one of his recent entries.

PM gets Babri Masjid demolition reportt

New Delhi, June 30: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya today submitted its report to prime minister Manmohan Singh. The Commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the prime minister by Retd Justice MS Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram. The contents of the report were not immediately known.

Pregnant woman of Indian-origin drowns in Oz

Sydney, June 30: A pregnant woman of Indian descent drowned after falling into water in Tweed Heads. The woman’s body was found on Monday, close to the luxury cruiser she disappeared from.

“Police divers found the body of Prashila Wilson close to the 30-metre luxury cruiser she disappeared from on the weekend,” the Herald Sun reported on Monday. Her husband Michael Seery had reported her missing.

No firing and no lathi charge on protesters in AP

Hyderabad, June 30: There may not be suppression of people’s voice using lathis and guns in Andhra Pradesh hereafter.

Setting a precedent in doing away “uncivilised way of dealing with public movements”, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday issued strict instructions to all the district superintendents of police against opening fire in the name of controlling mobs at public agitations. They should instead find innovative means to control mobs.

Piggy Chops remembers King of Pop

Mumbai, June 30: Guess which movie has been the most difficult for Priyanka Chopra? It’s her upcoming film What’s Your Rashee?. “It is definitely my most difficult film!” she writes on her Twitter account after joining the burgeoning Twitter family.

Piggy Chops said she was feeling warm and fuzzy while driving to the second last day’s shoot of What’s Your Rashee?. We hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the film’s director, Ashutosh Gowarikar, who believes Priyanka didn’t deserve an IIFA award for Fashion.

Katrina has never been to college!

Mumbai, June 30: It’s hard to believe the top female celeb of the country, Katrina Kaif, has never been to college. But life itself is a better teacher for the actress whose film New York released on Friday.

In the film, she plays Maya, a college-going girl with a bohemian attitude. She loves her college like any teenager.

Kat, who started earning at the young age of 14, never got the chance to study further because of her modelling assignments and going to college remained a distant dream.

But, after acting in New York, she has become familiar with college life.

Hangover’s hangover

Mumbai, June 30: Whenever Hrithik Roshan goes to watch a film in a theatre he makes sure that he books the entire row to ensure privacy. However, he was recently disappointed when he went to watch the latest Hollywood release, The Hangover, at a suburban multiplex on Sunday night.

And no, it wasn’t because Hrithik didn’t like the film. He was upset as he could only get three tickets. A far cry from an entire row he is used to.

I am from a good family, so give me bail

Mumbai, June 30: Shiney applies for bail even as forensic report on Monday confirmed that the semen sample taken from maid’s body matches the star’s DNA

The Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina on Monday confirmed that the semen sample in the vaginal swab of the maid who alleged rape, matched with the DNA of the accused, actor Shiney Ahuja.

Regardless, Shiney moved the Sessions Court last week for bail on the ground that “he is from a good family” and that some of his films are only half done and “need to be completed”.

Meet Dr Khan

London, June 29: King Khan has been nominated to receive an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain’s University of Bedfordshire. The actor would receive the doctorate on July 10 by Routes to Roots, an NGO and a member of the World Association of Non Governmental Organization (WANGO) that works closely with universities in various countries.