Month: July 2009

Smoking film villains ‘encourage well-behaved teens to light up’

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Washington, July 03: Experts suggest that it is ‘alluring’ even for well-behaved children to emulate ‘bad’ characters on a film screen”.

But the study also shows that movie characters who smoke, regardless of whether they are a ‘goodie’ or a ‘baddie’, overall influence teens’ smoking tendencies.

Susanne Tanski, the lead author on the study, and an assistant professor of paediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School in the US, said: “It’s true that ‘bad guys’ are more often smokers in the movies, but there really are not that many ‘bad guys’ compared to ‘good guys’.

My girl Amna is pretty: Aftab

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Mumbai, July 03: Aftab Shivdasani, who turned 31 on Thursday, brought in his birthday with family and very close friends. And that included the pretty Amna Sharif, his co-star from the flop Aloo Chaat and also rumoured to be the love of Aftab’s life. Tell him she’s the prettiest girlfriend he has had and Aftab doesn’t demur. “Thanks. I’ll tell her that,” he acknowledges the lady’s presence. And that’s a first.

Irrfan, Divya made love for an hour!

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Mumbai, July 03: Frontal nudity is still a taboo for mainstream actors. But Bollywood is slowly warming up to the trend. Recently, Irrfan Khan came close to baring all for a lovemaking scene in Hissss.

Irrfan said, “I had absolutely no problem when my director Jennifer Lynch said I would have to take off all my clothes for a lovemaking scene with Divya Dutta, who plays my wife. But I suddenly thought that Indian couples make love with their clothes on and I conveyed the same to Jennifer.”

Seen Ranbir in disguise?

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Mumbai, July 03: His fans will probably not be able to ‘bear’d this news, but well, the truth is that lately Ranbir Kapoor has been in disguise. Yeah, don’t blame the poor fella, he enjoys every bit of the stardom, and all the attention, adulation etc, but right now even he can’t help it. Ever since he’s grown a thick beard for his role as a sardar in Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year, he’s been sporting a very un-Ranbir-like avatar. Apparently, when he’s in public places, he often goes unrecognised, while at first he was quite stunned, he soon got kinda used to it.

Chunky’s brush with Hollywood

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Mumbai, July 03:For the last couple of weeks Chunky Pandey and family were vacationing in their annual summer hotspot — the US of A. Well, this time it was a lot more fun because they had friends for company, and a close brush with Hollywood celebs, too (at least, so claims Chunks).

Akshay, Kareena and Stallone pack a punch!

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Mumbai, July 03: If 2008 was the year of Ghajini, then Kambakkht Ishq — which opens today in 2,030 screens worldwide, is already being declared the biggest triumph of 2009 and promises to be Akshay Kumar’s and Kareena Kapoor’s day in the sun!

Sajid Nadiadwala’s romantic comedy for Eros International with stunts provided by Akshay, glam and sex appeal by Kareena and Hollywood actress Denise Richards, and action by the legendary actor Sylvester Stallone himself, is booked solid this weekend.

Ranbir wasn’t distracting for Deepika

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Mumbai, July 03: A lot of women might envy Deepika Padukone for she is the lucky woman who’s got Ranbir Kapoor as her guy. Deeps however can be envied for her brave attitude as well for she knows how to balance beau and business. The actress recently clarified, “I am committed to my films once I sign them and I am professional when it comes to my work. Stories of me talking to Ranbir on phone for hours together when we are not working together are not true as I don’t get distracted by Ranbir once I am on the sets of my film and vice versa.

Pakistan, India PMs to meet on sidelines of NAM summit

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Islamabad, July 03 : Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Sharm El-Sheikh on July 16, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry has said.

”The Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries will also meet on the sidelines of the summit,” it said, adding that we hope India would realize that resumption of composite dialogue process is in the interest of the two countries.

RAF stages flag march in Mysore

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Mysore, July 03: Rapid Action Force on Friday, staged a flag march in violence-hit areas in Mysore as three more persons were stabbed on Thursday night in continuing communal clashes over alleged desecration of a madrasa.

Police said three armed persons on motorcycles stabbed three persons and fled.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital.

Contingents of RAF staged flag march in troubled areas where prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC are in force.

The communal tension that rocked Udayagiri and adjoining areas on Thursday left three persons including a child dead.

S Korea: North being monitored for signs of more missile firing activity

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Seoul, July 03: South Korea says it is closely monitoring North Korean military sites amid speculation about a long-range test launch aimed toward the US.

The North fired four short-range missiles off its east coast Thursday. The US and Japan called the North’s move “provocative.”

An official of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking anonymously, the South is “keeping a close watch on North Korea as it may fire more missiles.”

Pak appeals against HC order freeing JuD chief

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Islamabad, July 03: A month after 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed was let off the hook, the Punjab government of Pakistan challenged his release on Friday.

The government took up the matter to Pakistan’s Supreme Court. The Punjab government filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Saeed’s release from house arrest.

The petition stated that Saeed, the chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) front, needed to be detained for his own protection.

Saeed was released on June 2 by the Lahore High Court for want of sufficient evidence.

No briefcase, Mamata carries Budget papers in jhola

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New Delhi, July 03: It was the humble jhola (bag) rather than the traditional leather briefcase that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee preferred to carry her Railway Budget papers to Parliament on Friday.

The patent cloth bag she carries hung from her shoulders as she arrived in Parliament to present the Railway Budget 2009-10.

Also, the car in which she came was her personal Maruti Zen rather than the official vehicle, which she has chosen not to take from the Government.

–PTI

In Israel, former US lawmaker remains imprisoned

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Jerusalem, July 03: Former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney and several other human rights activists remain in an Israeli prison after refusing to sign a deportation form that they claim is self-incriminating.

In a press release from McKinney’s Green Party, she said the form states that the their relief boat carrying 21 activists, medial supplies, cement, olive trees and children’s toys en route to Gaza, was violating the Israeli blockade and trespassing its territorial waters.

She, however, insists the Spirit of Humanity, the Greek-flagged relief boat, was in international waters.

Black magic at Asaram ashram: Guj govt

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Ahmedabad, July 03: India’s richest state is not immune to the evils of an ancient past. The state government on Friday filed an affidavit in Gujarat High Court admitting that black magic was practised in the ashram run by religious preacher Asaram Bapu.

This comes a year after the mysterious death of two gurukul students in Ahmedabad which fanned rumours about black magic in the ashram.

The government’s affidavit follows a CID report to the court that black magic rituals were widely practised in the ashram.

Muralitharan set to sign for Victoria Bushrangers

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Melbourne, July 03 : Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is all set to sign for Victoria Bushrangers for the Twenty20 Big Bash and play as local hero at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the same venue where 14 years ago he was labelled a chucker by umpire Darrel Hair.

“Murali has been in touch with the authorities in Cricket Victoria, he is pretty keen to represent Victoria. If it goes through it will be great news. It will be magnificent if that happens – I think it will. It’s just a matter of signing,” Murali’s manager Kushil Gunasekera was quoted as saying by The Age.

‘Transformers 2’ named most blooper-laden film of 2009

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Washington, July 03: The Transformers sequel has been named the “most blooper-laden film of 2009”, with cinemagoers spotting as much as 40 movie mistakes. According to MovieMistakes.com, ‘Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen’, which grossed over 200 million dollars in cinemas across the US during its first five days on release last week, was not “picture perfect”.

Many Railway production units performed well : Mamata

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New Delhi, July 03 : The production units of the Indian Railways have performed well during the past year with several units setting a new records both in terms of production and productivity, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee told Parliament today.

Presenting the Railway Budget for 2009-10, she said Railway Coach Factory, Kapurthala manufactured 1558 coaches including 121 stainless steel coaches of new LHB design as against the target of 1562 coaches.

Hamas cell arrested in West Bank plotted to kill Abbas

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Ramallah, July 03: Members of a Hamas cell arrested in the West Bank last month had been tracking the movements of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the “clear” intention to assassinate him, senior officials in Abbas’ Fatah party were quoted Friday as saying.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Secretary-General Tayeb Abdel Rahim had announced the arrest of some 10 Hamas members in a news conference Monday, saying the cell had been preparing to assassinate leading officials in Abbas’ West Bank-based administration.

India rail budget a competent job – PM Singh

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New Delhi, July 03: The 2009/10 railways budget is a “competent” job, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday.

“She has outlined a program of modernising 50 railway stations to world class standards,” Singh said.

Earlier, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee kept freight and passenger fares unchanged and said improving passenger amenities was a priority.

“A large number of amenties have been mentioned by way of using the innovative financing mechanism of public-private partnership,” he said.

–Agencies

Fatka and Jhatka in Love Aaj Kal

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Mumbai, July 03: Fatka and Jhatka in Love Aaj Kal Love Aaj Kal is the dream project of Saif Ali Khan, being his home production film.

We heard they had lots of fun during the shoot but there were few incidents which created a bit panic situation.

Our sources reveal that, “The film had almost come to an end but suddenly an incident took place where we have to re shoot 4-5 scenes as the camera broke down.”

Not Just a Comic

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Mumbai, July 03: A movie release always portends that reclusive Akshaye Khanna will emerge out of his cocoon. With Short Kut: The Con is On releasing next month, he is in a mood to chat but admits that he’s had to make that extra bit of effort.

“I’m not much of a public relations guy.

People often misconstrue this as attitude but I’m not comfortable reading about myself in the papers every morning. And partying is out of the question since a room full of people makes me nervous as hell,” he says candidly.

Warrant against Mona Singh in reality show case

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Chandigarh, July 03: A local court on Thursday issued bailable warrants against actress Mona Singh and the CEO of Colors channel after they failed to appear in the court in a case of hurting religious sentiments.

Judicial Magistrate Dr Rajnish issued the bailable warrants. In April this year, the court had declined their application, seeking exemption from appearance in court.

Last year, Arvind Thakur, chairman of a local NGO, and VHP’s Punjab unit spokesperson Vijay Singh Bhardwaj had moved court against the them and cricketer Harbhajan Singh.

Sena in attack over Rajiv name, NCP rejects claim on Savarkar

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Mumbai, July 03: The political battle over the Bandra-Worli Sea Link’s name continued on Thursday, with the Shiv Sena slamming NCP chief Sharad Pawar for suggesting Rajiv Gandhi’s name and the NCP disputing the Sena-BJP’s claim that any decision was ever made to name the landmark after Veer Savarkar.

The Sena-ruled BMC also demanded that no toll be levied on corporators using the link.

Palestinian woman carrying toy gun shot

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Gaza, July 03: A Palestinian woman who was carrying a toy gun has been injured after being shot by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers near a Nablus-area checkpoint.

The Israeli soldiers claimed that they shot the woman at the Bekaot checkpoint on Friday morning because she ignored their request to stop.

According to the soldiers, they discovered that she was carrying a toy gun after shooting her.

The Palestinian woman was rushed to hospital for treatment as she sustained wounds to her legs.

World T20 is now in the past: Younis

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Karachi, July 03: Younus Khan insists there will be no hangover from Pakistan’s ICC World T20 triumph when they resume battle against beaten finalists Sri Lanka, with the first Test in Galle starting on Saturday.

Pakistan’s eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s on June 21 sparked massive celebrations at home, but captain Younis has urged his players to put such memories to the back of their minds and focus on the task at hand.

“We have won the World Twenty20, but that’s in the past,” Younus said.