Month: November 2009

Settlements still ‘main peace obstacle’

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Palestine, November 01: West Bank – The Palestinians on Sunday said illegal Israeli settlement construction was the “main obstacle” to relaunching peace talks after the United States backed off from its demand for a complete freeze.

“Israel should not be given any excuse to continue building settlements, and we consider all settlement activity to be illegal,” said Nabil Abu Rudeina, the spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

“This is the main obstacle in the way of peace. Israel must halt all settlement activity immediately without making excuses.”

Rs 400 cr hawala transactions: Income tax dept claimed evidence against Koda found

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New Delhi, November 01: Income tax department claimed that it has found evidence of Rs 400 crore hawala transactions linked to former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, according to TV reports say.

The department had claimed on Saturday that its had found evidence of Koda’s hawala transaction and investments after searches were conducted at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nasik, Ranchi, Chaibasa and Jamshedpur.

IT authorities added the department will also initiate the unlocking of seized lockers at various places of the former Chief Minister and his associates.

BJP calls 12-hour West Bengal shutdown Nov 30

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Kolkata, November 01: Protesting against the “abnormal” price rise of essentials, the West BengaL unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday convened a 12-hour shutdown across the state Nov 30.

“We have started a month-long statewide agitation Sunday against the rising prices which have hit the common people hard. The shutdown will be the climax of our agitation,” new BJP state president Rahul Sinha told IANS.

Sinha said the BJP will make written appeals to all political parties, except the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), to support the Nov 30 shutdown.

Goods worth lakhs destroyed in Karnal mill fire

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Karnal, November 01: Goods and raw materials worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed when a thread mill near here caught fire Sunday, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the incident as no worker was present inside the Jagga Spinning Mill, it being a Sunday. Goods worth nearly Rs 50 lakh were destroyed.

Fire officials said that electrical short circuit appeared to be the reason for the fire. Several fire brigade vehicles took over two hours to control the fire.

UAE to organise lecture on ‘Dialogue of Civilisations’

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Abu Dhabi, November 01: A lecture titled “Dialogue of Civilisations between yesterday and today” will be organised here Monday under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president’s representative and chairman of the cultural and media centre.

The Counsellor for cooperation and cultural affairs at the French embassy here, Didier Gazagnadou, will deliver the lecture with particular reference to the Islamic Arab world, its development and Europe, a WAM news agency report said.

Cheryl Cole listens to her own records

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London, November 01: English singer Cheryl Cole has revealed she listens to her own records at home.

The singer whose debut solo single “Fight for this love” reached number one in Britain charts last week, insists she can’t expect her fans to buy her music if she won’t play it herself, reports.

“I wanted my album, ‘3 Words’, to be something that was true to me and to what I would listen to at home. As weird as it sounds, I do listen to my own albums. But if I don’t listen to them, I can’t expect anyone else to,” she said.

—IANS

She’s set out to make millions smile

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Mumbai, November 01: On her 36th birthday today, Aishwarya Rai has been named the first goodwill ambassador for Smile Train, a charity that works worldwide for children with cleft lip.

The former Miss World has partnered with the NGO, in association with her own charity – Aishwarya Rai Foundation – and will spread awareness and garner resources to help the movement, said a press release.

50 Cent makes violent records to please fans

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London, November 01: American rapper 50 Cent says he makes violent records to please his fans.

“For a certain audience some guys can just make straight pop records and it will go to a 40 or 50 million audience and they can just be happy and like their records. But because of the public has assessed me in a certain way, they expect from me to have that kind of aggression that ‘crimewave’ embodies,” he said.

Elton John admitted to hospital with severe flu

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London, November 01: Singer Elton John was on Sunday being treated in a hospital for a severe case of the flu and a bacterial infection, according to British media reports.

The 62-year-old singer announced on his website that he has had to cancel three more concerts on the advice of his doctors. He was admitted to a London hospital after his health deteriorated Friday.

His partner David Furnish told the Daily Mail that the singer was doing well.

Since Oct 23, John has cancelled several performances during his Red Piano Tour of Britain and Ireland after he came down with the flu.

Riya Sen makes Bengali film debut with Rituparno film

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Mumbai, November 01: Bollywood actress Riya Sen made her Bengali film debut with a small appearance in director Rituparno Ghosh’s film “Abohamaan”, which was screened here on Sunday.

“I refused every offer I got for Bengali movies as I wanted to start my career in Bengali films with a Rituparno Ghosh film. I was waiting for the right opportunity,” said Riya.

“Abohamaan” is the story of a Bengali filmmaker who marries an actress. The actress sacrifices her career for love and marriage. Later, the director falls in love with another young actress and that leads to a scandal.

Boyzone to release new album featuring Gately

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London, November 01: Irish pop band Boyzone wants to release a new album with vocals recorded by former member Stephen Gately before his recent death, lead singer Ronan Keating said Sunday.

Gately was found dead last month after a night out in Mallorca, aged 33.

According to Keating, interviewed on Sky News in Britain, Gately had already recorded vocal parts for several songs, which will now be included in the next Boyzone album.

No kids until marriage, says Dita Von Tesse

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London, November 01: American actress Dita Von Tesse has revealed she doesn’t want to have children until she gets married again, but insists she is in no rush to settle down.

The burlesque dancer who is dating Count Louis-Marie de Castelbajac and was previously married to rocker Marilyn Manson has said she is not sure what the future holds for her but she is refusing to consider having children until she ties the knot again.

Big B wishes Aishwarya happiness, long life on b’day

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New Delhi, November 01: She celebrates her third birthday after marriage to actor Abhishek Bachchan and her megastar father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan has wished Aishwarya Rai a “long prosperous life” on her 36th birthday on Sunday.

“We have… just brought in Aishwarya’s birthday and wished her love and happiness and a long prosperous life. It was just the family,” Amitabh posted on his blog.

Barrymore left injured on movie set

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New York, November 01: Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore has revealed she was left nursing a leg injury on the sets of her directorial debut “Whip It”.

The “Poison Ivy” star donned her skates alongside Juliette Lewis and Ellen Page in a scene for the film, but was left with an injury after a nasty tumble.

“In one scene I wrestle Juliette Lewis. Her skate and both our body weights were on my thigh, so I ended up with a bruise a foot long and a foot wide,” said Barrymore.

—IANS

Aishwarya knows art of exploiting her acting talent

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Mumbai, November 01: Awesome beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is celebrating her 37th birthday today. From modeling to films Aish ruled the roost. She knows art of using her skills to add beauty to her performance. Presently she is number one actress of Bollywood.

Making her film debut in Iruvar, a Tamil movie, Aishwarya never looked back. Success embraced her with release of Jeans. The beautiful actress Aish, who won Miss World Crown in 1994, made her presence felt in Bollywood with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Jude Law torn between kids!

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London, November 01: Hollywood star Jude Law has revealed he is “torn” between his new daughter, Sophia, and his other three children with wife Sadie Frost.

The 36-year-old is keen to meet his five-week-old lovechild, Sophia, with US model Samantha Burke but wants to be sure his three other children are comfortable with the situation first, reports newsblaze.com.

Law had originally said he wanted nothing further to do with Burke, but vowed to support her and the baby financially.

Britain poised to sell off three nationalised banks

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London, November 01: The British government is poised to sell off some of the country’s struggling banks bailed out and nationalised in the wake of the global financial meltdown, it was reported Sunday.

Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Bank are all set to be sold to the private sector, creating three possible new high-street bank chains.

To increase competition, no existing British financial institution will be permitted to buy up the banks, paving the way for three new bank chains by 2015.

Haryana to set up 1,500 skill development centres

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Chandigarh, November 01: The Haryana government Sunday announced it will set up skill development centres to impart training to nearly 100,000 youth in the state.

This was disclosed by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here on the occasion of 44th Haryana Day.

The state was created Nov 1, 1966, by bifurcating Punjab.

Hooda said youth would be imparted skill training in various disciplines which are required for industry.

A rose named Natasha Richardson!

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London, November 01: Friends of late star Natasha Richardson are planning to honour the actress by naming an English rose in her memory.

The 45-year-old actress, who was married to star Liam Neeson, died in March this year following a skiing accident in Montreal, Canada, and her family and friends have been planning a way to honour her memory and they’ve now decided on a floral tribute.

“We all want something to remember Natasha and there’s no one who better resembles a perfect English rose than her. The whole family loves the idea of having a rose named after her,” she said.

Bush, the ladies man!

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Washington, November 01: Former US president George W. Bush may not exactly be a favourite with the fairer sex, with all his tough 9/11 talk and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan during his presidency. But women’s issues dominated his talk during his first visit to India after leaving the White House.

‘Sleeping with Jagger should have been part of job’

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London, November 01: A former personal assistant to the English rock band Rolling Stones has revealed that sleeping with frontman Mick Jagger was no less than part of her job profile during the rocker’s wild years.

Groupie Chris O’Dell embarked on an affair with Jagger during the rock legends’ 1972 summer tour and insists having sex with the singer should have been a job description considering its frequency, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Banerjee demands ban on CPI-M

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Kolkata, November 01: Seeking to counter West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s charge that her party was hand-in-glove with the Maoist rebels, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday demanded action against the state’s ruling communists for “carrying out armed operation” against political rivals.

“The CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) cadres are conducting armed operation. The Moists are also doing the same. Maoists are banned. Then why should not CPI-M be banned?” Banerjee asked.

Girl attempts suicide in Jammu and Kashmir over sim card

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Srinagar, November 01: A girl in a north Kashmir village Sunday allegedly attempted suicide after learning that her pre-paid sim card was not functioning, residents of the village claimed.

According to villagers, Taslima, 23, living in Chattergul village in Ganderbal district, consumed some poisonous substance and had be taken to the hospital in critical condition after she learnt that her pre-paid mobile phone would not function any longer.

Michael Jackson was planning ‘Thriller’ movie

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London, November 01: Late pop legend Michael Jackson was planning to make a feature-length big screen version of his hit “Thriller” video when he died, it has been revealed.

Close friend and Jackson’s comeback tour director Kenny Ortega reveals he had discussed several movie projects with the star including a “Thriller” movie, and a film version of Peter Allen musical “Legs Diamond”.

“He told me he wanted to create a partnership with me to do films. We were talking about doing ‘Legs Diamond’. And we were talking about doing a full-length, 3-D feature of ‘Thriller’,” said Ortega.

All five Indian boxers in Asian Indoor Games semi-finals

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New Delhi, November 01: India’s World Champion woman boxer M.C. Mary Kom, Chhoto Loura and Kavita Goyat entered the semifinals of the third Asian Indoor Games at Vietman on Sunday.

Their wins mean all the five Indian women boxers participating in the tournament are in the medal round. L. Sarita Devi and N. Usha had entered the semifinals Saturday.

This year’s Khel Ratna recipient, Mary Kom overcame a indifferent start to beat Chinese Taipei’s Ting Lo Yueh in the 46 kg weight category.