Month: November 2009

Khans do not rule Bollywood: Ajay Devgn

by

Bhopal, November 04: Actor-producer Ajay Devgn, who is riding high on the success of his latest flick ”All The Best”, does not believe that Khans (Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir) rule the Bollywood. “It is totally wrong to say or assume that the Khans dominate the Bollywood film industry.

I try to do the best I can,” Devgn, who was recently seen in Vipul Shah”s ”London Dreams” along with Salman, said. The actor added that he detests going to award functions and would rather prefer his work to speak for him.

“”All the Best” has just made a mark at the box office.

Three-day Mahakumbha of Arya Samaj to start on Nov 6

by

Mathura, November 04: The three-day Mahakumbha of Arya Samaj organised to commemorate the maiden meeting of Swami Dayanand Saraswati with his teacher Acharya Virja Nand 150 years before would start here from November 6. President Pratibha Patil would inaugurate three-day Mahakumbha, chief convenor of the programme Acharya Swadesh Bhagat Singh Verma told reporters today.

Over one lakh delegates from the country are likely to participate in the program. “Security has been beefed up for the occasion,” District Magistrate Dinesh Chandra Shukla said.

Paedophile to be crucified in Saudi Arabia

by

London, November 04: A Saudi Arabian paedophile who raped five children and left one of them to die in the desert is to be beheaded and crucified, reports said.

Muhammed Basheer al-Ramaly, from the northwestern city of Hail, is to be executed Wednesday, the Times said quoting Saudi reports.

An appeal court in the capital Riyadh has approved the death sentence handed down in June by judges in Hail, where the convicted 22-year-old man carried out his crimes.

The rapist was arrested several weeks ago as he tried to seize another boy after offering him a ride home from school.

British envoy urged to extend urban project

by

Bhopal, November 04: Madhya Pradesh Urban Administration and Development Minister Babulal Gaur has urged Britain to extend to 2012 the deadline for a project that seeks to improve living conditions in slums.

Gaur made the request to the British High Commissioner to India, Richard Stagg, saying the deadline for Project Utthan should be revised, officials said.

“The present deadline for Project Utthan (also known as urban service programme), being implemented with British aid, is 2011,” Gaur told the British officials.

Pets peeve Delhi civic agency, licensing policy soon

by

New Delhi, November 04: With increasing mumber of abandoned pets and complaints of unregulated pet shops in the national capital, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday took a stand to form a policy on the matter soon.

The proposed pet policy was tabled in the MCD standing committee meeting Wednesday. The policy aims at regulating the unlicensed pet shops operating across Delhi.

Five booked for ragging

by

Lucknow, November 04: Five students of a government-run polytechnic in Uttar Pradesh have been booked for ragging and torturing a junior, leading to his hospitalization, police said Wednesday.

Pawan Kumar, pursuing his first year civil engineering diploma from Rajkiya Polytechnic in Gorakhpur district, about 300 km from Lucknow, was assaulted by his seniors on the campus Tuesday.

A group of students directed Kumar to polish their shoes. They also told him to smoke a cigarette. Irked by his refusal, they assaulted him. Kumar suffered head and ear injuries, a police officer said.

Wafaa contains hot scene?

by

Mumbai, November 04: Wafaa, the movie, featuring actor Rajesh Khanna along side hot Pakistani actress Saara Khan has some scorching scenes? Audience are eager to know about the story and scenes.

Grapevine is that the flick contains some kissing scenes. Pakistani actress Saara is much younger to Khanna. She is half his age.

Sources said that Bollywood hottie Rakhi Sawant’s brother Rakesh Sawant has directed the movie. The plot of the movie is simple. It revolves around an entrepreneur who ties the knot with a young air hostess.

Protesting farmers burn sugarcane crop in Uttar Pradesh

by

Lucknow, November 04: Growing resentment against the sugarcane price policy of the central government has prompted farmers to burn their produce in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

At least 20-25 incidents of farmers setting ablaze their own produce have been reported from Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts over the past two days.

Ghandy approaches high court challenging narco test

by

New Delhi, November 04: Communist Party of India-Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order permitting a narco test on him.

Filing the petition through his counsel Redecca M. John, Ghandy cited a Supreme Court case which says that consent of a person is necessary before he undergoes narco test.

The petition also states that the court cannot force anyone to undergo such tests. The petition is likely to be heard Thursday.

Government to pay science graduates to stay in class!

by

Bangalore, November 04: The Central government will financially help the science graduates to continue higher studies, as the two year financial allotment will also help to curb the decline in basic science research.

The project of the Union Science and Technology Ministry will be open to MSc and Phd students. The grant is meant to instill confidence among students to take up basic sciences. The grant is intended to instill confidence among students to take up basic sciences, science and technology.

Homeopathic doctor held for domestic help’s murder

by

New Delhi, November 04: A homeopathic doctor has been arrested here for killing his 55-year-old domestic help as she was allegedly blackmailing him after she saw him with a prostitute, police said Wednesday.

“The body of Gulabo (the domestic help) was discovered from a house in Bhagwan Nagar in southeast Delhi in a highly decomposed state on Oct 26. On investigation we discovered that the place where the body was found was taken on rent only 15 days back by N.K. Sharma, a homeopathic doctor,” a police officer said.

EU trade surplus with India was over $3 bn in 2008

by

Brussels, November 04: Trade in goods between India and the European Union (EU) more than doubled in value during the period 2000-2008, according to the reports on Wednesday.

Exports rose from 13.7 billion euros to 31.6 billion euros (about $46 bn), while imports increased from 12.8 billion to 29.5 billion euros (about $43 bn).

Opposition slams proposal to hike RTI fees in Bihar

by

Patna, November 04: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came in for criticism from opposition parties Wednesday for proposing a change in the fee structure of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, wherein a petitioner would have to pay Rs.10 per query instead of Rs.10 for any number of queries in his petition.

Nitish Kumar has proposed amendment to the RTI Act in Bihar and has proposed increasing the fees for seeking information through the RTI to Rs.10 per query.

Till now a petitioner could seek as many queries in his petition by paying Rs.10 only.

India, Nepal to hold talks on security, terrorism

by

New Delhi, November 04: India and Nepal will begin two-day home secretary level talks on Friday with effective cooperation in combating terrorist activities and trans-border crimes high on the agenda, an official said Wednesday.

Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai leaves on Thursday for Kathmandu where he will hold a meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Govind Prasad Kusum.

Arunachal students protest China’s ‘hegemonic’ claim

by

New Delhi, November 04: A group of students from Arunachal Pradesh protesting China’s “jingoistic claim” over their state tried to hold a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy here Wednesday, but were prevented by the police.

Shouting slogans like “Born in India, (will) Die in India”, activists of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), regretted the “lukewarm attitude and diplomatic romancing” of India with China over the issue.

Pirated DVDs Windows 7 generates $100,000 in India

by

Lucknow, November 04: About 50,000 pirated DVDs of Microsoft Windows 7 are estimated to have been sold here since the official launch on Oct 22, generating unaccounted business of around Rs.50 lakh (nearly $100,000).

The reason for the allure of the pirated versions: These cost Rs.40-Rs.250 in Naza Market in Hazratganj here, drawing buyers from not only the rest of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand but also Nepal and Bangladesh.

Dope is more harmful for cricketers, says ICC expert

by

New Delhi, November 04: Cricket and tennis thought to be the sports where performance-enhancing drugs would not work. The myth has been broken in tennis and cricket, too, has had its share of doping cases leading to the International Cricket Council (ICC) signing the re-drafted World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code in January.

Chidambaram promises rehab of Kashmiri Hindu migrants

by

Jammu, November 04: Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday assured Kashmiri Pandits that he would do his best to fulfil the central government’s commitment on the return and rehabilitation of the migrants to Jammu and Kashmir.

The return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrant Hindus – 350,000 of whom fled the Valley en masse in 1990 – “is a commitment” of the United Progressive Alliance government at the centre, he said.

“I will try my best to fulfil this commitment,” the home minister said.

Somdev advances, Harsh-Huey ousted from Charlottesville challenger

by

Virginia, November 04: India’s Somdev Devvarman was stretched to three sets by Hungarian wildcard Denes Lukacs before winning 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round of $50,000 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament here.

Third-seeded Somdev’s win Tuesday has pitted him against South African Davis Cupper Izak Van Der Merwe in the next round. Van Der Merwe defeated compatriot and the doubles partner, Raven Klasssen 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.

Audit firm approaches court in Satyam scam case

by

New Delhi, November 04: PricewaterhouseCoopers, the city-based audit firm on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of proceedings initiated by the government following the Rs.78,000-crore Satyam scam.

Appearing for the audit firm, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi submitted before Justice Sanjeev Khanna that the Delhi chapter of the company had nothing to do with branches at other cities.

Salman Khan, Jeyam Ravi refuse to act with Nayantara

by

Mumbai, November 04: Looks like Prabhu Deva has got himself drenched in troubles for recommending his close friend Nayantara in all his upcoming films. If what we heard from sources is believed to be true, then Salman Khan and Jeyam Ravi have strongly refused to pair up with Nayantara in the films Prabhu Deva is supposed to direct them.

Obama’s half brother recalls abusive father

by

Washington, November 04: President Barack Obama’s half brother has broken silence to launch his novel on a painful childhood with an abusive father.

Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo made a rare appearance on Wednesday in southern China to unveil his novel, ‘Nairobi to Shenzhen’, the semi-autobiographical story of an abusive parent.

Barack Obama’s Kenyan father and American mother separated when he was two years old. Obama’s late father had Ndesandjo from his third wife, Ruth Nidesand.

Godrej eyeing Rs 1,000 crore acquisitions globally

by

New Delhi, November 04: FMCG firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd is looking at several acquisition opportunities globally and has earmarked a budget of Rs 1,000 crore for the purpose.

“Internationally, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is looking at categories that are core to its business,” GCPL Spokesperson told PTI in an e-mailed response.

The company is looking for a slew of acquisitions in different markets. In Africa, it is exploring the possibility for acquisition in the hair colour and hair care segment, While in India, GCPL is eyeing the hair care and personal care categories.

Iraqi colonel killed in Baghdad blast

by

Baghdad, November 04: A senior Iraqi police officer has been killed after being hit by a bomb left outside the door of his house at Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad.

The victim identified as the deputy head of Abu Ghraib police, Colonel Shalal al-Zubay, was struck by the bomb as he left home to go to work, Iraqi police reported on Wednesday, adding that his wife and his daughter were also killed in the incident.

On Wednesday, several bombing attacks shook Baghdad and its nearby neighborhoods, leaving at least 20 people wounded.

No rift, Pratik campaigns for dad Raj Babbar

by

Mumbai, November 04: Belying rumours of a rift between them, budding actor Pratik Babbar this week took off for Ferozabad district of Uttar Pradesh to campaign for his father and Congress candidate Raj Babbar for a by-election Nov 7.

While Pratik was in Uttar Pradesh, his aunt Manya Patil confirmed Pratik’s determined bid to stand by his father publicly for the first time. Pratik’s mother was the critically acclaimed actress Smita Patil.