Shashank

Santoshi to have a meeting to bail ‘Power’ out

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Mumbai, February 09: Dates problems have delayed Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘Power’ for which the director was in touch with Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn. Now a meeting bringing together the principal stars of the film is on the anvil to get the troubled project moving again.

It is reliably learnt that producer Feroz Nadiadwala and Santoshi will be getting together the A-listers under the same roof to avoid all confusion over dates.

“We’ll only proceed when all the stars are with us. We’re having a meeting with the stars shortly,” said Santoshi.

Dhoni’s college backs plan to give him honorary degree

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Ranchi, February 09: The St Xavier’s College here has welcomed the Jharkhand government’s plan to award an honorary degree to Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Jharkhand Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Baidyanath Ram last week announced the plan to give the honorary degree to Dhoni as a gift if India win the cricket world cup starting Feb 19.

“We welcome the government’s announcement to award an honorary degree to Dhoni. We will do the needful if we get a proposal from the government,” Father Nicolas Tete, principal of the college, told IANS.

Aircel to launch 3G services before World Cup in all 13 circles

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New Delhi, February 09: Aircel today said the company will launch 3G services before start of world cup cricket in all 13 telecom circles where company has won spectrum for the services.

“We expect 3G presence in all circles where we have bagged spectrum before world cup begins on 19th February,” Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, Aircel said today.

When asked about the tariff, Mr. Singh said it will be competitive.

Talking about broadband wireless access (BWA) services, Mr. Singh said the high speed internet services will be launched by end of this year.

Arms recovered from private car from Bardhaman

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Bardhaman (WB), February 09: Three pistols and seven rounds of cartridges were recovered from a private car with Government of West Bengal sticker pasted on it from Sridhar village in Bardhaman district today, police said.

As the car, carrying six unknown people, was moving in the village, the locals suspected the occupants and intercepted it.

Overpowering the six occupants, a huge number of people beat them up and informed the police.

By the time police reached the spot, one of the six miscrreants fled the scene. The remaining were arrested.

Charismatic leadership can be learned

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Washington, February 09: Though much has been written in business management textbooks and self-help guides about the role that personal charisma plays in leadership, how do you measure charisma? That’s the question a professor set out to answer.

Until recently, no one was able to describe and measure charisma in a systematic way, which prompted Kenneth Levine, professor of communications studies at University of Tennessee, to seek to fill the lacuna.

Eggs shedding cholesterol: US study

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Washington, February 09: If you shy away from eggs because of their high cholesterol content, then there is some good news for you. A study has found a drop in average amount of cholesterol in eggs.

Data from the US department of agriculture (USDA) show that the average amount of cholesterol in one large egg is 185 mg or 14 percent lower than previously recorded.

The analysis also revealed that large eggs now contain 41 international units of vitamin D, an increase of 64 percent, according to a USDA statement.

Protein that turns off stress identified

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London, February 09: How does the body recover from responding to shock or acute stress? This question is at the heart of a research which has identified a protein family central to the brain’s stress coping mechanism.

The study, based on mice, was conducted by Alon Chen, neurobiologist at the Weizmann Institute of Sciences in Israel.

The response to stress begins in the brain, and Chen concentrates on a family of proteins that play a prominent role in regulating this mechanism, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

Telecom watchdog suggests six-fold hike in spectrum fee

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New Delhi, February 09: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed a six-fold hike in the fee charged for scarce spectrum, or airwaves, on mobile phone service firms in two stages of up to 6.2 megahertz and beyond, leaving the industry worried.

Against a price of Rs.267.51 crore companies had to pay for each megahertz, the watchdog has recommended Rs.1,769.75 crore per megahertz for up to 6.2 megahertz, and Rs.4,571.87 per megahertz for any additional spectrum.

This validity of the fee is for 20 years, as earlier.

Guj High Court allows rape victim to undergo abortion

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Ahmedabad, February 09: In a rare order, an 18-year-old Dalit rape victim has been allowed by the Gujarat High Court to undergo abortion after taking into account the numerous mental, social and other problems she may face if her 16 week pregnancy was not terminated.

Pronouncing his order, Justice Anant S Dave said he had kept in mind the best interests of the girl and her parents.

Late to bed, early to rise way to heart attack

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London, February 09: Sleeping for less than six hours a night boosts the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.

But beware — those who have too much sleep are also more likely to suffer a heart attack, the European Heart journal warned.

While the extra slumber is unlikely to be the cause, long-term illnesses such as heart disease often make sufferers feel tired. So sleeping for longer than nine hours a night may be an early warning sign.

Onion: falling prices make farmers angry

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Nashik, February 09: Farmers protesting fall in onion prices today blocked the busy Mumbai-Agra national highway between Pimpalgaon Baswant and Chandvad here for over two hours.

The protesters, numbering around 500, demanded that ban on onion export be lifted, police said.

Prices of the onion came down to as much as Rs 450/500 per quintal, at Pimpalgaon Baswant Market Yard, a major producing region about 25 kms from here. On December 20 last year, wholesale rates of onions had shot up to nearly Rs 6,300 per quintal at both Lasalgoan and Pimpalgaon.

Extra cheese could raise bladder cancer risk

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London, February 09: Beware, munching on extra helpings of cheese could up your risk of bladder cancer.

Scientists have found that the risk increased by more than 50 percent in those who ate more than 53 grams of cheese daily, roughly the same weight as a small chocolate bar.

But eating less than that did not appear to increase the dangers, the European Journal of Cancer reports.

These findings come from a study looking at how dietary fats influence a person’s chances of getting bladder cancer, according to the Daily Mail report quoting the journal.

January vehicle sales zoom 19 percent

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New Delhi, February 09:Indian car and two-wheeler companies Wednesday reported a stellar 19 percent increase in sales figures for January, which stood at 13,22,979 units as compared to 11,14,692 units in the like period of last year.

The figures, which were released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), point towards high growth in the automobile industry due to high disposable incomes of families and low-interest rates in a growing economy.

Assange’s mum wants Kevin Rudd to keep his word

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Sydney, February 09:Ahead of a rally in Brisbane supporting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, his mother said Wednesday that she wants Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to keep his promise about her son’s protection.

Christine Assange said she would also put pressure on the government to support her son.

She announced that she will be holding a media conference outside the office of Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd Friday afternoon, asking him to act on promises he had previously made regarding her son.

Black money: Government does not give names to court

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New Delhi, February 09: The central government Wednesday maintained silence when the apex court sought to know from it the names of people who have stashed away huge amounts of money in foreign banks located in tax havens.

The central government, in its 18-page affidavit that was filed with the apex court, mentioned all mundane details but refrained from naming the names and addressing the issue of bringing back the black money that has been stashed away in banks outside the country.

Electronic fitness trainer to keep you exercising

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London, February 09: With the overwhelming temptation to give up half way spoiling your stay-fit dreams, researchers have come up with an electronic fitness assistant to motivate you.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS at Erlangen in Germany have developed a fitness assistant that not only motivates you to keep exercising but also gives demonstration.

Congress leader sent to judicial custody

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Muzaffarnagar, February 09:A special court here has sent Congress leader Rajiv Verma to judicial custody till March 30 for his alleged involvement in several criminal cases, officials said today.

Rajiv Verma alias Titu was booked under the stringent Gangster Act by the district authorities on February 5 and his property worth Rs 22 crore was seized on February 2, they said.

Nearly Rs 2 crore in cash was also reportedly recovered from the former Uttar Pradesh Congress General Secretary.

After Goutam Ghose, Benegal to wow audiences in Nepal

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Kathmandu, February 09:Close on the heels of acclaimed Indian film director Goutam Ghose wowing Nepal with a mini film festival that screened three of his films in Kathmandu this month, now it is the turn of another renowned Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal to entertain moviegoers with his 2008 comedy “Welcome to Sajjanpur”.

Benegal, whose debut film “Ankur” and its successors boosted the genre of parallel cinema in Hindi film industry, will be present in Kathmandu Friday for the screening of the film that stars Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao, Kunal Kapoor and Ila Arun.

Cassidian opens engineering centre in Bangalore

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Bangalore, February 09:Cassidian, the defence and security division of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Wednesday said it has opened a new engineering centre, the first of its kind from a global defence firm stable, in the city.

The centre will work in the areas of radars, protection suites, avionics, information technology and three dimensional visual simulation, aero-structure and aerospace modelling and simulation.

HC stays EC order on Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha

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New Delhi, February 09:The Delhi High Court has stayed an order of the Election Commission that it will not recognise anyone as authorised office bearers of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

The order by Justice S Muralidhar came on a petition filed by Swami Chakrapani, who had challenged the order of the Election Commission not to recognise any office bearer of the ABHM following rival groups claiming themselves to be authorised office bearers.

China to build 5000km of railways in Iran

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China, February 09:China has signed a $13 billion contract to construct a railroad network in the Islamic Republic, Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company has announced.

The railroad network will extend 5,300 kilometers (3,293 miles) and consists of eight lines, the company said in a statement published on its website on Tuesday.

The managing director of the company, Massoud Rahnama, said that Tehran and Beijing have also agreed to collaborate in many other railroad projects in Iran.

Toronto, London stock exchanges to merge to form new global giant

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Toronto, February 09:The Toronto Stock Exchange, the third largest in North America, is set to merge with the London Stock Exchange to create a new global mega bourse.

The TMX Group, which operates the stock exchanges in Toronto and Montreal, said Tuesday that “it is in advanced discussions with London Stock Exchange Group regarding a possible merger of equals to create an international exchange leader.”

The 150-year-old Toronto Stock Exchange is the biggest resource (energy and mining) leader, with about 1,500 companies listed on the bourse.

CBI arrests Balwa in 2G Spectrum scam case

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Mumbai, February 09:CBI tonight arrested Dynamix Balwas (DB) group Managing Director Shahid Usman Balwa in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Highly-placed sources in the agency said Balwa was arrested from his Bandra residence here this evening and would be taken to Delhi for being confronted with former Telecom Minister A Raja whose CBI custody was extended by two more days today.

The arrest of Balwa comes two days before the 2G case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court.

Proper breathing a boon to health

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Berlin, February 09:To take a deep breath, to breathe a sigh or relief, to catch your breath – everyone knows expressions having to do with breathing.

“But a lot of people know little about the importance of proper breathing for health,” noted Gisela Schmachtenberg, chairwoman of the Berlin-based Working and Research Group on Respiratory Education and Therapy.

Someone under emotional stress or with tensed muscles usually breathes shallowly, high in the chest. This is no problem as long as it is temporary.

Shrien Dewani innocent of wife’s murder in SA

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London, February 09: One of the gunmen accused of killing an Indian woman on her honeymoon trip in South Africa has cast aspersion on the police claim that her husband might have plotted the murder.

Anni Dewani, 28, was murdered last year on the evening of Nov 13 after the taxi she and her husband Shrien were travelling in was hijacked as it passed through the Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town in South Africa.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe told police that, rather than being a planned hit, there was never any intention that she should die, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.