shameen

Faced with the threat from the International Olympic Committee to take action if its directives are not followed, the Indian Olympic Association today announced the date of its elections and said it wanted “perfect relations” with the parent body.

IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters here after its Executive Board Meeting that the elections to the apex sports body will be held on November 25 and a General Body Meeting has been called on October 18 to announce the poll process.

After rising to over four-month high in early trade, the rupee on Monday surrendered gains to close at 53.47, two paise lower, on heavy month-end dollar demand from importers and weakness in local stocks.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee commenced a paisa higher at 53.44 a dollar from last Friday’s close of 53.45.

It rallied further to a 4-1/2-month high of 53.04 on dollar selling by exporters and heavy capital inflows. Previously, rupee had touched an intra-day high of 52.95 on May 10, 2012.

In order to meet the manpower needs of an expanding branch network, public sector Bank of Baroda plans to hire some 22,000 employees over the next four years, said a top official.

“Over the next three-four years, we will be hiring around 5,500 new employees every year,” M.D. Mallya, the chairman and managing director, told reporters here Monday.

He was here to inaugurate the bank’s new zonal office for Tamil Nadu and Kerala regions besides a branch in the city suburbs and six automatic teller machine (ATM) centres.

Former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has approached Interpol to seek the dismissal of a request from the Pakistan government for issuing a Red Corner Notice against him in connection with Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, according to a media report on Monday.

He sought Interpol’s help following a third request from Pakistan last week seeking a Red Corner Notice for him.

Thousands of Sri Lankan Muslims marched towards the heavily barricaded US embassy on Monday calling for ban of American brands, denouncing an anti-Islam film that has triggered protests across the world.

Around 20,000 people carried placards urging boycott of US brand names in the second anti-US protest in the capital since Friday.

The US embassy had shut down today as a precautionary measure.

Today’s peaceful protest march was led by the Governor of the Western Province, Alavi Moulana of the ruling UPFA coalition.

Thousands of Muslims held a rally in Colombo Monday to protest against an anti-Islam US film.

Police placed barricades near the US embassy to prevent the protestors from getting close to it, Xinhua reported.

“There were around 8,000 protestors clad in white who marched from the Fort area and proceeded along Galle Face to the embassy,” police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

They demanded that the US government take action against the film-makers.

After weeks of tension over the purchase of disputed islands by Japan from a private owner, Beijing and Tokyo Monday settled for quite diplomacy even as the coast guard ships of both the countries patrolled the waters of the islets avoiding direct confrontation.

Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Chikao Kawai, who arrived here today for a two-day visit, held talks with Chinese officials.

China has been allotted a plot in the heart of the Maldivian capital to open its embassy.

Chinese embassy currently works out from a rented complex and the plot has been allotted to it to construct its own building.

The plot with a land area of 3,920 square feet at Majeedhee Magu near the National Stadium, is a stone’s throw away from the Indian High Commission.

China had opened its embassy in November last year in a rented building belonging to the family of former Maldivian Presdient Mohamed Nasheed.

Decks have been cleared for the trial of disgraced Chinese leader Bo Xilai, as his former police chief was Monday sentenced to 15 years in jail for attempting to defect to the US and other crimes, ahead of a generational power transfer in the ruling Communist party.

Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court in Sichuan Province convicted Wang Lijun, 52, the former vice mayor and police chief of Chongqing city, and sentenced him to 15 years jail term for misusing of power, attempting to defect to the US and for accepting bribes.

Just a week after filing cases in coal block allocation scam, CBI has begun probing alleged irregularities in the country’s first-ever attempt to explore untapped mineral wealth worth thousands of crores lying in the deep sea bed, sensing another mega scam.

CBI sources said a preliminary enquiry has been registered by the agency in connection with the alleged favours extended to the companies by the unknown officials of the Indian Bureau of Mines while awarding licences for exploring minerals in the sea bed of Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.

Continuing its attack on the UPA government over its decision on FDI in retail, the BJP has alleged that the decision was taken under pressure from foreign countries.

State BJP chief Laxmikant Vajpayee, speaking at an ABVP function here yesterday, said the move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail was taken under pressure from countries like America, whose economic interests stand inversely proportioned to that of small traders and farmers.

Vajpayee also slammed Samajwadi Party over its support to the UPA government, and dubbed it a party with a dual face.

Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday attacked the Opposition for stalling key legislations on higher education in Parliament, saying it is resulting in “paralysis” of decision making process.

“In the event the opposition parties continue to stall these very significant legislations, I do believe they are harming the future of India and people. The paralysis does not lie in government decision making, the paralysis lies in Parliament where those decisions are not allowed to fructify through legislations,” he said.

At least five children died and 60 others taken ill following an outbreak of diarrhoea in Katha Loknathpur and Gularia villages under Mufassil police station in East Champaran district.

Civil Surgeon Saroj Singh today said five children have died over the past three days after suffering from symptoms of diarrhoea like vomiting, loose motion and dehydration

Three of the victims were identified as Pushpa Kumar (10), Dhoa Kumar (10) and Kameshwar Mukhiya.

At least 60 other patients were undergoing treatment in the villages by medical teams, Singh said.

PTI

They make lofty promises of taking the years off your face, of reversing the clock and making your partner fall in love with you “all over again”. But be careful before reaching out to anti-ageing products. Dermatologists say that such products could actually end up harming your skin.

Filmmaker Karan Johar says that Yash Chopra`s ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ is going to be the most special film of the year as it might be his last film.

“Yashji (Yash Chopra) is like my father. His birthday this year is very special because he is probably making his last film. All of our films are releasing this year but that film will be the most special experience of 2012,” the 40-year-old said here in an interview.

“This year is special not just for him but for the whole industry because Yashji`s last film is releasing this year,” he added.

Chopra turns 80 Thursday.

Sridevi`s daughters are still quite young, and the actress is not too sure of their career path. But the evergreen beauty believes showbiz is a tough industry to survive in and, as a mother, she would like her children to settle down soon after they reach marriageable age.

Sridevi, who is in the news for her comeback film ‘English Vinglish’, says her 15-year-old daughter Jhanvi has not decided anything about her career yet.

Enjoy this layered, soft-yet-crispy sweet delicacy.

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cup Maida
• 1/2 cup Badam (paste)
• 3-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1-1/4 cup Rice Flour
• 100 ml Milk
• 1 gm Saffron
• 1 tsp Cardamom
• 25 ml Ghee
• 1 cup Oil
• 1 cup Water

How to make Badam Puri:

• Knead dough with rice flour, maida, milk and alomond paste.
• Heat water in a pan and add saffron and cardamom to it. Stir it to make sugar syrup.
• Make small balls of the dough and roll each ball into a small round puri.

Legendary singer-actor Kishore Kumar has become a source of inspiration for director Anurag Basu, who is making a “colourful and entertaining” biopic on him with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.

“Ranbir, UTV and I, all three of us are committed to make this film. Ranbir is busy, he is doing two films in between. After `Barfi`, Ranbir and I will come together again for this movie,” Basu told PTI.

After registering a powerful box office collection in its opening weekend, Anurag Basu`s ‘Barfi!’ has continued a successful run in the country. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer has managed to earn Rs.58.6 crore in its first week.

The movie, released Sep 14, was made at a budget of Rs.30 crore.

It minted Rs.34.6 crore during the weekend, and amassed a total of Rs.58.6 crore over the week – Sep 14 (Rs.9.2 crore), Sep 15 (Rs.11.5 crore), Sep 16 (Rs.13.9 crore), Sep 17 (Rs.6.5 crore), Sep 18 (Rs.6 crore), Sep 19 (Rs.7.25 crore) and Sep 20 (Rs.4.25 crore).

Bollywood continues to inspire fashion among youngsters, and if you`re one among those who fancies Kareena Kapoor`s outfits from ‘Heroine’, here`s your chance to grab them online.

Apparel brand Jealous 21 joined hands with the Madhur Bhandarkar-film for creating its clothes range, inspired by Kareena`s glamourous look. Now, online portal www.fashionara.com is opening up pre-orders for it.

In tune with the actress` get up, there are chic party dresses in colours ranging from white, yellow, black and blue, which are up for grabs.

A comprehensive and interactive atlas of the adult human brain that shows the activity of genes across the entire organ has been developed by scientists.

The map reveals the activity of genes across the entire brain to help shed light on neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, US, created the atlas as a kind of ready reckoner for to compare and contrast their own findings from brain scans and genetic surveys, to unveil more secrets about psychiatric conditions.

Over 18,000 cases of cholera have been reported in west Africa`s Sierra Leone, and at least 273 people have died in the biggest outbreak since the 1970s, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

The disease broke out in Feburary in the coastal areas and had gone down, Xinhua quoted WHO Control of Epidemic Diseases coordinator William Augusto Perea Caro as saying.

When it picked up again in July, it mainly affected the capital city of Freetown.

The number of newly-reported cases has now dropped to 100 per week from the 2,100 at the peak time, he said.

With an increasing elderly population falling prey to it, Alzheimer`s disease, a kind of dementia, stands as one of the biggest health threats in India, say doctors.

The disease, caused by the degeneration of brain cells and nerves, impacts functioning of the brain, effecting day-to-day activities by its victims.

Though the causes of the disease are not completely known yet, India has almost a fourth of the world`s Alzheimer`s patients, with doctors adding that underreporting is the biggest problem.

Adding more yogurt to your diet may help lower risk of high blood pressure, according to a new research.

A study presented at the American Heart Association`s High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions found the long-term yogurt-eaters were less likely to develop high blood pressure and on average had lower systolic blood pressure than those who didn`t eat yogurt.

Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading. It measures the force of blood against the walls of arteries when the heart is beating.

Reigning 100 metres world champion Yohan Blake has sent out an early warning that he will be hard to beat when the new track and field season starts next year.

Blake, the Olympic silver medallist in the 100 and 200 metres after finishing behind Usain bolt, says he will fix his flaws and be ready in time for the new season, reports CMC.

Addressing a news conference in Kingston Thursday the Jamaican, 22, signalled his intention to replace his 26-year-old team mate as the fastest man on the planet.