shameen

Anurag jealous of Dibakar Banerjee, says wife Kalki

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He is known for making films on unconventional subjects, but Anurag Kashyap is jealous of fellow director Dibakar Banerjee for making a film like “Shanghai”, says the film`s heroine and Kashyap`s wife Kalki Koechlin.

“Anurag has seen `Shanghai`. He is little jealous of Dibakar Banerjee for having made a film like this,” Kalki told IANS at the world premiere of her film at the ongoing International Indian Film Academy awards here.

“Shanghai” is set to release Friday.

Dance about energy, passion: Karan Johar

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Filmmaker Karan Johar, who will be one of the judges in the fifth season of the dance reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, says although he is not a dancer, his experience behind the screen has made him understand what dance is all about.

“One of the large parts of filmmaking is song and dance in India. I have shot about 50 songs, lavishly. Dance is a big part of our cinema. It is not about the finer nuance and the grammar of dance, it`s about the energy and passion you bring to your performance,” the 40-year-old said here at the launch of the new edition Thursday.

‘Ferrari Ki Sawaari’ a game changer for me: Sharman Joshi

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This movie is extra special for Sharman as it is his first solo project in a decade-old-career and he will be seen tackling the role of a father for the first time on-screen.

“This is possibly a dream role. It is a special film because it is my first solo film in such a big production house and it is going to be a game changer in terms of my commercial standing if it’s accepted at the box office. But I don’t work for box office only. I like to do a good film with consideration towards the box office,” Sharman said.

Sensex up for 4th straight day, ends at 1-month high of 16,649

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Spurred by the government’s steps to push infrastructure development and an appreciating rupee, stocks rose for the fourth straight day on Thursday with BSE Sensex climbing 195 points to a one-month high of 16649 amid investors betting on fresh stimulus by global central banks.

After gaining 434 points yesterday, the 30-share index opened with a 100-point gain on strong Asian cues.

RIL targets to double operating profit; invests Rs 1 lakh crore

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Battling a sharp dip in output at its showpiece gas field, Reliance Industries on Thursday announced plans to invest Rs 100,000 crore across energy, retail and telecom businesses in the next five years to double operating profit.

RIL aims to increase revenue from retail business by as much as six times in 3-4 years and is targeting a ten-fold increase in sales from its shale gas business in the US, Chairman Mukesh Ambani told company shareholders here on Thursday.

Vernon Philander is South African Cricketer of the Year

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All-rounder Vernon Philander swept Cricket South Africa`s Gala Awards, bagging three top awards, including the `Cricketer of the Year` honour at the Sandton Convention Centre here.

Philander was also named the `Test Cricketer of the Year` and to put an extra cherry on the top, he also won in the national popularity stakes by fans who made him CSA Fans` Cricketer of the Year with their online votes.

French Open 2012: Sania-Bhupathi in final, Paes-Vesnina knocked out

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India`s Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi reached their maiden French Open mixed doubles final but Leander Paes and his Russian partner Elena Vesnina were knocked out of the event here Wednesday.

Mirza and Bhupathi outplayed Galina Voskoboeva and Danielle Bracciali 6-4, 6-2 to enter the mixed doubles final. They will face the Polish-Mexcian combine of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gonzalez in the title clash at the Roland Garros.

The unseeded pair of Klaudia and Santiago caused a shocking upset beating the fifth seeded pair of Paes and Vesnina 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

Google unveils its new digital mapping service

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Google, on Wednesday, unveiled its new digital mapping service in order to be more convenient and convincing for the users.
In a live event , Google demonstrated 3D models of individual buildings and entire cities. The new features were shown off to members of the press on an Apple iPad, rather than an Android-based tablet.

Besides providing 26 million miles of driving directions, Google’s maps will now include imagery of most of the world’s neighborhoods.

Is Microsoft buying Nokia?

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Finnish telecom giant Nokia, considered among the most trusted brands in India, is going through a bad patch with its shares at an all-time low, triggering speculation that it may be acquired by Microsoft.

Once the most valuable companies in Europe, the mobile telecom equipment firm has seen its share prices fall to 2.20 euros in recent days — the lowest since the mid-1990s.

The weekly Helsinki Times in its latest edition said the Nokia stocks were now below book value — a situation described as “worth more dead than alive” rhetorically.

Air pollution ups risk of repeated heart attacks by 40pc

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High pollution increases the risk of repeated heart attacks in cardiac patients by over 40 percent, a Tel Aviv University researcher has claimed.

Air pollution, which posed a serious danger to the environment, is also a major health risk, associated with respiratory infections, lung cancer and heart disease.

The researcher has concluded that not only does air pollution impact cardiac events such as heart attack and stroke, but it also causes repeated episodes over the long term.

`Stress may retard brain development in kids’

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Stress may retard brain development in children, altering the growth of a specific part and the abilities tied to it, researchers say.

“There has been a lot of work on animals linking both acute and chronic stress to changes in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in complex cognitive abilities like holding on to important information for quick recall and use,” says study co-author Jamie Hanson of Wisconsin-Madison, US.

Kiran Bedi denies sending invitation to Poonam Pandey

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Recently Poonam Pandey had announced that Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner Kiran Bedi has forwarded an invitation to her asking her to be a part of Team Anna’s campaign in support of the Lokpal bill. But Kiran Bedi was totally shocked when she heard about it and rubbished the news by saying, “I don’t know what she (Poonam) is talking about.”

This is not the first time Poonam Pandey has done something like this to gain publicity.

Aamir Khan refuses to apologize to doctors, ready to face legal action

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Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today refused to apologize to the Indian Medical Association which has accused him of defaming the medical profession through his popular TV show Satyamev Jayate and said he is ready to face any legal action threatened by it.

“I am very comfortable if they (IMA) plan to take legal action if they feel that I have done something wrong. Of course, the courts are available for them. My answer is no, I will not be apologizing,” Aamir told to a news channel.

The actor denied IMA’s charge of defaming and insulting the medical profession.

French Open: Paes-Vesnina beat top seeds to enter semis

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Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina defeated top seeded duo of Max Mirnyi and Liezel Huber 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 to reach the mixed doubles semi-finals at the French Open tennis tournament here Tuesday.

India`s Paes and his Russian partner Vesnina came back from a set down to dispatch the Belarusian-American combine of Mirnyi and Huber in a quarter-final lasting 91 minutes.

The fifth seeds face Poland`s Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Mexican Santiago Gonzalez for a place in the final.

Klaudia-Gonzalez too won their match in the super tie-breaker with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 scoreline.

South Africa dump Boxing Day Test for T20s

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South Africa for the first time in two decades have dumped the traditional Boxing Day Test, played in Durban since Proteas re-entered international sport in 1992, in favour of Twenty20 internationals.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced Tuesday that the Boxing Day Test would be replaced with three Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand over the Christmas period. The first Test will now be played in Cape Town in the New Year.

Brazil in bid for athletics Diamond League stage

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Brazil’s athletics confederation is in talks with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to host a stage of the elite Diamond League in 2014.

Brazil’s athletics confederation’s new chief Jose Antonio Martins Fernandes revealed he spoke with organisers of the competition during last weekend’s stage in the US city of Eugene, Xinhua reports.

“It would be too soon to try for 2013 but we are going to make a bid to bring a round of the Diamond League to Brazil in 2014,” Fernandes told Globoesporte.

A simple blood test can detect breast cancer early: Study

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Scientists have developed a simple blood test which they say could lead to early diagnosis of breast cancer and predict whether a patient faces high risk of relapse or death following treatment.

The study carried out by a team from the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Centre builds on previous work that identified tumour cells circulating in the blood of patients suffering from spreading (metastatic) breast cancer.

SRK-Akon join hands for KKR’s new anthem

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While the fans of Kolkata Knight Riders are still basking in the glory of the team’s glorious win against Chennai Super Kings, owner Shah Rukh Khan is already preparing for the next IPL season.

According to reports, SRK wants the team to create an even bigger buzz next time round and for the starters, SRK wants the team anthem to undergo a change and sound more aggressive. And, to realise the same, the actor has reportedly approached R & B singer Akon to do the honours.

I wish Kalki was my wife: Abhay Deol

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Actor Abhay Deol was all praise for the co-star of his upcoming film, ” Shanghai” at Jawaharlal Nehru University recently.

The cast and the director of the film, Dibakar Banerjee were at the university campus to encourage a political debate and to talk about the film. Thus, during the course of the question answer round, when one student asked Abhay Deol what he thought of his co-star Kalki; the answer surprised everyone, including the director.

Need to play against tougher teams: Michael Nobbs

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Indian hockey team, which won the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia on Sunday, returned home last night to a warm reception at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport.

Coach Michael Nobbs, who faces a Litmus test with the team at the July-August London Olympic Games, was cautious in his reaction about the team`s mixed performance in Malaysia where they failed to defend their crown.

“We need to play more matches against tougher teams,” said Nobbs on his arrival at the airport.

Dry weather, soaring mercury cause forest fires

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Dry weather and soaring mercury have caused several forest fires in Himalayan region of Garhwal and hills near Kotdwara.

“This exceptionally dry weather has accelerated the incidence of fire,” Range officer J P Kukreti said here today.

He said the problem has been compounded by villagers starting some fires with the belief that they will get a richer fodder crop yield.

Touch, the new technology trigger for children’s games

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In today’s ‘touch’ technology simple games aided by a sophisticated mechanics has altered significantly the manner in which children play, turning video games into one of the most popular segment among kids.

“The future (of gaming) is touch games or even games that do not need any physical interaction such as the Microsoft Kinetic which uses motion capture cameras to bring affordable advanced technology to the masses,” says Anshu Mor of Microsoft India. Mor was participating in a panel discussion during the recently concluded World Children Expo here.

Cancer-causing salt used to preserve eggs in China

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Over 100,000 salted duck eggs and two tonnes of an industrial salt used to preserve them have been seized in China after it was found the salt could cause cancer.

Police and quality supervision officials raided an underground salted egg production site in Jiangmen city of Guangdong province, the Shanghai Daily reported.

The industrial salt was found to contain nitrite, the long-term intake of which can lead to cancer, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Depression is linked to feelings of guilt: Study

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People prone to depression often respond more strongly than others to feeling guilty, according to a new neuroimaging research, which may help explain how the emotions are processed by the brain.

Dr Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, was the first to claim that crushing guilt is a common symptom of depression. Now, the new research found a communication breakdown between two guilt-associated brain regions in people who have had depression.

Going abroad? First serve the country, doctors told

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The Indian government plans to bring a regulation to ensure doctors have a compulsory stint in the country especially in the rural sector, Minister of State for Health Sudip Bandopadhyay Monday said.

“The government is spending crores of rupees for making doctors and specialists, but after passing out most of them go abroad. We are planning to bring in a regulation/declaration which will make sure that the doctors serve in their state/country for a specific period,” said Bandopadhyay.