New Delhi, December 01: After her performance as queen Jodha in film ‘Jodha-Akbar’, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is set to play Mumtaz Mahal in Ben Kingsley’s ‘Taj’, which depicts one of the greatest love stories of Indian history.
The period film on the legendary Shah Jahan-Mumtaz Mahal love story will see her opposite Kingsley with whom she had earlier acted with in the 2007 film, ‘The Last Legion’.
Mumbai, December 01: In-form Indian pacer S Sreesanth today hurt his finger in the nets but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni assured the injury was not serious and the speedster would play the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka starting here tomorrow.
Sreesanth hurt the little finger of his right hand while practising at the nets but Dhoni played down any injury scare ahead of the match.
“He hurt his finger a bit but it’s not too serious. He would play tomorrow,” Dhoni said at a pre-match press conference.
New Delhi, December 01: With reports suggesting that China was building over two dozen new airstrips along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Government today said there was no need to be “unnecessarily” worried as India was adequately strengthening itself.
“I don’t think we need to be unnecessarily alarmed. As a regional power, they (China) will strengthen their infrastructure.They will procure their arms and we are doing what we have to do for strengthening our line,” Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju told reporters.
New Delhi, Dec 01: India’s plan to hike gas prices by about a third as it edges toward market rates promises relief for hard-pressed state energy firms, but will draw flak from fertiliser and small business lobbies worried over input costs.
Nearly two decades after kicking off market reforms, India has eased controls on most sectors of the economy, but still sets the prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas, kerosene, natural gas and fertiliser.
New Delhi, December 01: The Supreme Court today declined to grant any relief to UP Chief Minister Mayawati for carrying out maintenance and cleaning work at the Rs 2600 crore Ambedkar site in Lucknow.
Justice H S Bedi, who was heading the Bench, also at one stage threatened to recuse from the matter after senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi pleaded that the matter be heard by a three-judge bench that included Justice Aftab Alam.
Tehran, December 01: OPEC is due to discuss its production quotas at its meeting in Angola to be held on December 22.
Iran’s envoy to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says there is currently no big difference between demand for OPEC oil and the group’s supply.
“The figures show a balance between supply and demand in the oil market,” Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the semi-official Mehr news agency on Monday.
Islamabad, December 01: The Pakistani military says it has discovered substantial evidence of Indian involvement in assisting pro-Taliban militants in the Khyber tribal region.
Khyber Agency area military commander Brigadier Fayyaz told reporters in Barra that they have found Indian-manufactured weapons and sophisticated ammunition, as well as some literature, during the ongoing offensive against the militants in Khyber Agency, a Press TV correspondent reported late on Monday.
Washington, Dec 01: Despite the beneficial effects of physical activity in keeping individuals healthy, a new study finds excessive exercise in the middle-aged population may lead to arthritis.
According to the study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, osteoarthritis particularly of the knee is more common in middle-aged individuals over-exercising.
Tehran, December 01: Iran’s long-delayed first nuclear power plant has been tested successfully, a senior Iranian nuclear official announced on Monday.
“A 250 bar (atmospheric) pressure test has been successfully carried out at the Bushehr nuclear plant,” Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Mohammad Ali Salehi said at a press conference with visiting Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko in Tehran.
In February, tests were carried out at the power plant using “dummy” fuel rods loaded with lead in place of enriched uranium to simulate nuclear fuel.
Islamabad, Dec 01: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has arrived in Germany on a four-day visit to promote economic ties and discuss the campaign against terrorism.
Before leaving for Berlin, Gilani told reporters that Germany was Pakistan’s “important trading partner.” The main agenda of his visit is to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade, economics, science, technology, health, and education.
New Delhi, November 30: Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan on Monday told a delegation of advocates from the Karnataka High Court that the Supreme Court collegium had asked the Centre to institute an independent probe to arrive at the truth behind the allegation of land grabbing against Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran.
Lucknow, December 01: AICC General Secretary and MP from Amethi constituency Rahul Gandhi is planning to undertake a two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh next week to muster support of youth in party’s membership drive.
The Indian Youth Congress has launched a membership drive, ending December nine, in 26 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state to draw youths towards the party.
“Rahul is expected to undertake two-days tour next week and visit a number of constituencies where the membership drive is going on,” party sources said here.
New Delhi, December 01: Upset over her colleagues’ repeated failures to turn up during important parliamentary proceedings, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought a full list of MPs who skipped the Question Hour in Lok Sabha a day earlier.
According to reports, the development comes a day after Parliament proceedings in the Lok Sabha had to be abandoned with as many as 34 members, with questions listed against their names, failed to register their presence in the House.
Islamabad, Dec 01: The Pakistani security forces say they have killed 17 pro-Taliban militants and injured several others in the northwestern Kurram tribal region.
“The security forces launched a pre-dawn attack against the militants in Dola Ragha area of central on Monday and have so far killed some 17 pro-Taliban militants,” a senior government official told.
During the onslaught, the army also destroyed five of the militants’ vehicles, including one belonging to one of their commanders.
New York, December 01: The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Monday to extend for another 12 months a mandate for member countries to conduct anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.
The Security Council renewed for another 12 months the authorization for states and regional organizations fighting piracy off the Somali coast to enter the territorial waters and “undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia.”
Chicago, December 01: The detention hearing of terror suspect David Coleman Headley, arrested by the FBI for plotting attacks in India at the behest of Lashkar-e-Taiba, scheduled for December 4 at a court in Chicago has been indefinitely deferred.
“The detention and preliminary hearing for David Coleman Headley that was scheduled for Friday in US District Court in Chicago is cancelled and will not be held (as scheduled). There is no new date and no further information available at this time,” US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, announced here today.
Hanover, December 01: Many people have more than one PC nowadays. Add in all the mobile devices like netbooks and smartphones that need data moved around and you have got a problem: photos, songs, videos, and other files are available on one unit and not another.
Midnapore (WB), December 01: A five-day shutdown has been called by pro-Maoist group, People’s Committee against Police Atrocities, in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts from today to protest alleged atrocities against villagers by the joint forces.
Alleging that villagers were being harassed by forces when they went to the fields for harvesting, PCPA spokesman Asit Mahto demanded suspension of the operation by the joint forces till harvesting was over.
Reports said shops, educational institutions and offices were closed and most vehicles stayed off the roads.
New Delhi, December 01: India dismissed a draft climate change proposal by Denmark that expects developing economies to peak their greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, media report said.
The draft document was circulated to a few countries ahead of the Dec 7-18 summit in Copenhagen, which is supposed to draw up an agreement for controlling emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases causing global warming.
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the Danish draft was “totally unacceptable,” a media report said.
London, Dec 01: Despite general belief, offering early but effective therapy can increase IQ levels in autistic toddlers and improve their language skills and behavior.
Based on existing guidelines, children are screened for autism at the ages of 18 and 24 months. The necessary treatment, however, is not started unless the child passes 30 months of age.
“It’s crucial, if we’re going to offer screening at such a young age, that we can offer an intervention, and now we know we have methods that are effective,” said lead researcher Geraldine Dawson.
Mumbai, December 01: K P Pawar, who has taken over as the main defence lawyer in the 26/11 terror attack case, appears all set to go ahead with the trial and said today that he would do his best to defend the Pakistani gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.
“I will undertake to fulfil whatever responsibility that has been entrusted to me with determination and zeal. The court has expressed confidence in me by appointing me as Kasab’s lawyer and I shall co-operate and do my best,” the 55-year-old lawyer told PTI.
Washington, Dec 01: The number of diabetics residing in the US will double in the next 25 years if no special policies tackling the issue are adopted, health officials say.
“We forecast that in the next 25 years, the population size of people with diabetes — both diagnosed and undiagnosed — will rise from approximately 24 million people to 44 million people by the year 2034,” said lead researcher Elbert S. Huang.
New Delhi, December 01: Criticising the government for withdrawing the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class Bill 2004, a Parliamentary panel has asked it to come up with a fresh bill on the subject.
The committee on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which submitted its report ‘Situation arising out of the employment secured on the basis of false caste certificates’ to Lok Sabha yesterday, has sought to know from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions the reasons for the withdrawal of the bill.
Melbourne, December 01: Beleaguered West Indies captain Chris Gayle yesterday made it clear that he would not quit the job even though his critics are growing in number after the crushing defeat in the Brisbane Test against Australia.
Gayle conceded losing the first of the three-match series inside three days was “downright embarrassing” but made it clear that he was in no mood to kiss captaincy good bye.
“Times are tough but I’m determined to be the strong captain the team needs right now,” Gayle wrote in his column for “Courier Mail”.
Washington, Dec 01: Natural lipid molecules commonly found in soy have shown promising results in treating colon cancer, a new study finds.
Previous studies had linked the consumption of soy-rich diets to various health benefits such as diminished menopausal symptoms, heart disease and kidney disorders.
According to the study published in Cancer Research, sphingadienes in soy can protect individuals against colon cancer through triggering the death of mutated cells.