Month: July 2009

I regret making my relationship with Ranbir public: Deepika

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Mumbai, July 01: Deepika Padukone has everything going for her in Bollywood. She has worked with top stars and big banners.

But she does have one regret – making her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor public.

“When we got into a relationship, we decided to be open about it. Otherwise there would be reports about us being spotted holding hands, kissing, hugging, etc. Since we were so clear about our relationship, we had nothing to hide. I thought people would respect that. But it didn’t work out that way,” Deepika told IANS.

Allahabad HC directs UP govt to file response on CIC by July 10

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Lucknow, July 01: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file its response by July 10 on a Public Interest Litigation challenging appointment of Ranjeet Singh Pankaj as the Chief Information Commissioner.

The order was passed by the bench comprising Justices Rajiv Sharma and Satish Chandra on the PIL filed by a lawyer Himanshu Shekhar Awasthi.

On behalf of the petitioner, senior advocate Virendra Bhatia contended that that legal provisions were violated in appointment of Pankaj as the CIC.

Bidding war for Iraq’s huge oil contracts sputters into life

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Baghdad, July 01: Iraq is locked in a struggle with the world’s largest oil companies over contracts that would see “Big Oil” return to the Iraqi oilfields for the first time in almost 40 years.

The award of contracts began in Baghdad yesterday and was broadcast live on television to show there were no secret corrupt deals.

But the process was immediately in trouble as some of the 32 international oil companies involved baulked at the low level of fees they would be paid by Iraq.

ECB considers cutting Championship fixtures

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London, July 01: As the Twenty20 juggernaut rumbles on, a report in the Daily Telegraph claims that the ECB is considering cutting the number of County Championship matches to accommodate the Champions League, which will take place in September 2010.

A proposal by Alan Fordham, the ECB’s head of cricket operations, includes several schemes such as reducing the number of Championship games from 16 to 12, and possibly splitting the tournament into three divisions.

Ahmadinejad trip to Libya called off

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Tehran, July 01: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cancelled a planned visit to Libya where he was due to address an African Union summit.

“The president’s visit to the summit that was supposed to start on Wednesday has been cancelled,” Reuters quoted a presidential office spokesman as saying.

No reason has been given for the decision.

Iran’s president had plans to pay a visit to Libya on Wednesday to address the summit of African leaders, which is set to discuss agricultural investment in Africa.

—–Agencies

Dhoni praises Windies pacer Ravi Rampaul

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New Delhi, July 01: West Indian pace surprise Ravi Rampaul has found an admirer in Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has praised the right-armer for his ability to force mistakes from batsmen by consistently bowling in the right areas.

Rampaul returned career-best figures of 4-37 against India as West Indies beat India by eight wickets in Kingston to stay afloat in the four-match series currently tied 1-1.

“Rampaul swings the ball really well, bowls in the right area, he forces you to play a big shot like the cover drive,” Dhoni said ahead of the third one-dayer here on Friday.

N. Korean ship puzzles US with course change

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Washington, July 01: A North Korean ship, suspected of transporting a cargo of weapons, has suddenly changed course while being monitored by the US Navy, a US official has claimed.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the official said that a ship named Kang Nam — whose quest was allegedly to deliver weapons to Myanmar — has reversed its course and may be headed back to North Korea.

“We’ve no idea where it is going,” the official said. “The US didn’t do anything to make it turn around.”

“It’s pretty much on a reciprocal track,” the official added.

Shoaib needs to be match fit for a comeback: Sarfaraz

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Lahore, July 01: While Shoaib Akhtar’s future in the national team looks bleak with the emergence of bowlers like Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer, former Test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz believes the pacer still has a chance but only if he gets himslef in shape on time.

Chiranjeevi seeks PM to stop Babli construction by Maharashtra

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Hyderabad, July 01: Praja Rajyam Party founder president Chiranjeevi has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and immediately stop the Maharashtra government from going ahead with Babli and 11 other projects across the Godavari.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the actor-turned-politician drew Dr Singh’s attention to the plight of Andhra Pradesh and said Telangana region would become barren if the upper riparian state was allowed to complete these projects.

The Centre should immediately intervene and take steps to protect the riparian rights of the lower State, he added.

Thomson calls Ponting a ‘crap’ captain

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London, July 01: Ricky Ponting’s record may single him out as one of the most successful captains in Test cricket, but former fast bowler Jeff Thomson has unleashed a verbal assault on the Australian skipper’s captaincy skills, describing him as a ‘crap’ leader.

Thomson however, said Australia will win the Ashes series against Australia by a single Test but was too critial about Ponting whose captaincy, he thought, hasn’t improved one bit ever since he took over from Steve Waugh five years ago.

Iran orders end to election activities

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Tehran, July 01: Following the conclusion of a probe into the complaints into the 10th presidential elections in Iran, the Interior Ministry has ordered all election headquarters to end their activities.

“Any activities by the election headquarters in provinces, cities and districts will no longer have a legal basis,” warned the ministry.

Don‘t punch my dad

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Mumbai, July 01: Akshay Kumar will no longer consent to being punched in the face. This restriction on the action hero is courtesy his son. Aarav loves to see his father involved in all the action and beat the bad guys up in the fight scenes, but seeing him getting punched in the face is something he can’t come to terms with.

No marriage for the next 10 years: Amrita Rao

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New Delhi, July 01: She was rumoured to be dating Shahid Kapoor and then Hurman Baweja. But there is no one “special” in her life right now and she won’t think about marriage for the next 10 years, says actress Amrita Rao, who is all set to don a glamorous avatar in “Short Kut”.

“I’m not getting married for the next 10 years. I don’t have anyone special in my life at the moment and my complete focus is on my work,” Amrita told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

7 years on, farmers yet to get relief for acquired land

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Faizabad, July 01: Seven years after their land was acquired for Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) camps in Siddarthnagar district, poor farmers in the terai border region are yet to get any compensation. Left landless and with no jobs at hand, they are fighting to earn a living for their families.

The state government had in 2002 acquired hundreds of acres of land, all agricultural fields, for a permanent camp of the SSB, a paramilitary force guarding the Indo-Nepal border, in Siddarthnagar district that shares about 15 km of open border with Nepal.

Mugdha Godse gets nostalgic

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Mumbai, July 01: Mugdha Godse gets nostalgic After the success of Fashion, Mughda Godse is looking forward to a string of films ahead.

She has Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail and Ajay Devgan’s All The Best. The model turned actress tells us she is excited about the films she is doing now. She also at the same time shared with us one of her most memorable moments in life.

Michael Jackson’s death gives birth to new wave of fans

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Pune, July 01: Twenty-eight-year-old Subaassh Chavaan was never a big fan of Michael Jackson. After the sudden death of the pop star, Chavaan has been showing interest in the life and times of the pop legend and has bought an audio-CD of Thriller, for the first time.

The city book stores and music shops are recording a rush of people, including first-timers like Chavaan, and sale of books and CDs of Michael Jackson is going up.

Vivek Oberoi joins Stunt Mania

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Mumbai, July 01: Vivek Oberoi is slated to make an appearance on the show MTV Stunt Mania — where contestants prove themselves through a series of stunts on motorbikes.

Says a source close to Vivek, “Vivek was holidaying in the Greek Islands when he got a call from the producers of his forthcoming film Prince to inform him about the tie up with the channel and they urged him to return to shoot for the show.

The actor boarded the next flight out, and reached Mumbai at 3.30 the following morning. He headed straight for the shoot, which was to begin at 9 am on the outskirts of Mumbai.

After showers, city under water

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Ludhiana, July 01: The first pre-monsoon shower in the city has highlighted the Municipal Corporations’ preparedness for the rains. A patch of Chandigarh road caved in on Tuesday morning. This road was constructed about a year ago. Now, temporary repair work is being done on the spot.

Besides, water-logging was reported in many areas. Field Ganj, Kitchlu Nagar, Purana Bazar, Kareempura and Talaab Bazaar remained water-logged for more than four hours.

In most areas, overflowing sewers added to the problem. Chocked sewer lines, sources said, cause the overflow.

Ajay and Bips join the Blackberry club

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Mumbai, July 01: A lot of bonding and gifting happened on the sets on Ajay Devgan’s All The Best, directed by Rohit Shetty. First Sanjay Dutt, a Blackberry addict, converted Ajay Devgan, by gifting him one. Now, Ajay has presented his leading lady Bipasha Basu with the same phone last week.

Laughs Bipasha, “Yes today I am a Blackberry convert thanks to Ajay and the rest of the gang in Goa. I have been listening to Sanju, Ajay and Fardeen talk about their phones since the last two months. Then last week, Ajay gifted me one and since then, I have become a BB fan.”

After massive bombing, Obama warns Iraq

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Washington, July 01: US President Barack Obama hails the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi towns and cities as a “milestone” but warns of the “difficult days” he believes are yet to come.

Obama late Tuesday touched on the US military success in meeting a June 30 deadline to complete its pullout from urban areas and hand over full control to local security forces ahead of its planned departure from Iraqi soil by 2012.

Dhoni, Yuvraj turn actors

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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.

Govt finally fulfills its promise, toppers get award money

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Ludhiana, July 01: The state government finally lent a helping hand to Punjab School Education Board Class XII topper Prabhjot Kaur. The topper was awarded a cheque of Rs 1 lakh by Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg today.

Neha Sharma, who ranked third in the state and first in the district in the PSEB Class X exams, too was handed over a cheque of Rs 25,000. Both the achievers needed financial support to pursue their dreams.

While Prabhjot aspires to be a fashion designer, Neha wants to be an engineer.

Strauss warns Flintoff over discipline

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London, July 01: England captain Andrew Strauss has issued a stern warning to Andrew Flintoff after the allrounder was disciplined for missing the team bus during a trip to the World War I trenches in Ypres. Strauss said he would be strong enough to drop Flintoff from England’s Ashes team.

Ready action plan to meet power crisis, CM tells BSES

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New Delhi, July 01: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today asked power distribution company BSES to pull up its socks and submit a detailed action plan with a point-wise description to bring the system back in gear on Wednesday.

“I have asked the BSES to file a plan of action for the next 15 days by tomorrow in writing,” Dikshit said after a review meeting with MLAs on Tuesday morning.

The BJP did not attend the meeting, with Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Malhotra saying they had not been informed about the meeting.

Hussain says Vaughan ‘one of best captains ever’

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London, July 01: Former England skipper Nasser Hussain praised Michael Vaughan as “one of the very best England captains” Wednesday, the day after he announced he was retiring from the sport.

“To win more than half your games in charge is a phenomenal achievement, and while I do not like comparing people of different eras it is hard to think of anyone who could have been better,” Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail.

“He just ticked so many boxes, an excellent leader of men, a cool and calm captain who developed into an astute tactician.”