Month: April 2010

Asin bags the title of Youth Icon

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Mumbai, April 01: The southern belle Asin who seems to win one accolade after another just added another feather to her cap.

Recently we come to hear that Asin won the title of “Youth Icon of Kerala” -a public voting poll that was conducted over a period of 15 days.

Reveals a source, “The poll was conducted for over 15 days and involved a lot of personalities – Asin came out the reigning winner since she is intelligent and representative of the thinking youth. She is talented, beautiful and has done Kerala proud”

AIADMK will capture power in next polls: Jaya

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Erode (TN), April 01: Shrugging off the series of electoral reverses, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa today asserted her party would bounce back and capture power in the next year Assembly elections.

Putting up a brave front days after her party lost deposit in the March 27 Pennagaram byelection, she said AIADMK had faced similar situations even during the period of its founder M G Ramachandran. But not disheartened by it, he strove hard to bring the party back to power.

Gadkari fires inflation questionnaire at PM

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New Delhi, April 01: Lashing out at the government for its allegedly flawed pricing policy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Thursday sought from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh answers to 14 questions on “mehangai (inflation), poverty and food chaos”.

Food inflation, Gadkari said, has remained within 17 to 20 percent for the last 20 weeks. “Where have things gone wrong?” he asked, remarking that 11 percent inflation in India was the “highest in the world”.

“Do you deny that inflation in India is 11 percent as against global inflation of one to two percent?”

Riteish Deshmukh refused to kiss Jacqueline

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Mumbai, April 01: Riteish Deshmukh flatly refused to kiss ‘good friend’ Jacqueline Fernandez while he shot for Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. Apparently, this is because of the influence of his good buddy Shahrukh Khan, who has always adopted a no-kissing policy while acting on screen.

No-kiss policy

China to continue diplomacy over Iran

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Beijing, April 01: Amid US-led efforts for fresh sanctions against Tehran, China said Thursday that it would continue to work towards a “peaceful resolution” of the Iranian nuclear case.

“On the Iranian nuclear issue, China will continue to endeavor toward a peaceful resolution,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

“We have always and will continue to push for a peaceful settlement of this issue,” Qin said, adding that the standoff should be resolved by “diplomatic means”.

‘Lack of will to reform holds up research in Muslim world’

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London, April 01: Scientific research in Islamic countries suffers from a lack of political will to reform, to tackle corruption and to overhaul failing educational systems, institutions and attitudes, a theoretical nuclear physicist at a British University has said.

Jim Al-Khalili of the University of Surrey identifies these factors as holding up scientific progress in the Islamic world, where historically science was once so strong, and examines some projects that could herald a brighter future.

Dhoni Cricket Academy a possibility

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Ranchi, April 01: The Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) has initiated a dialogue with Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to set up a Dhoni Cricket Academy in Ranchi, a top company official said Thursday.

‘We have a dream to set up a Dhoni Cricket Academy in Ranchi. We have initiated dialogue with Dhoni,’ R.K. Saha, chairman cum managing director of CCL told reporters here.

Situation peaceful in Hyderabad as curfew relaxed

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Hyderabad, April 01: The situation in riot-hit parts of Hyderabad Thursday remained peaceful while people in curfew-bound areas of the city got some relief with authorities relaxing the curfew for two hours.

No untoward incident was reported from any of the areas in the old city, where curfew was relaxed in two phases, police said.

Thousands of people, living under curfew for the last three days, came out to buy essential commodities. Long queues were seen outside grocery shops, milk booths and medical stores during the relaxation.

More trouble for Modi? Nanavati Commission may summon him

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Ahmedabad, April 01: Narendra Modi may have to explain his role in the Gujarat Riots to the Nanavati Commission, after all.

Last weekend, the Gujarat Chief Minister spent nine hours with a Special Investigating Team (SIT) that’s looking into the communal riots in the state in 2002. That team has been appointed by the Supreme Court.

Alert sounded in Madhya Pradesh after girl killed over water

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Bhopal, April 01: An alert has been sounded and police superintendents in Madhya Pradesh have been asked to be vigilant and deploy adequate force in sensitive areas during water supply timings after a girl was murdered in Indore following a dispute over filling of water, officials said Thursday.

An 18-year-old girl in Indore, 200 kms from here, was stabbed to death Wednesday when she refused to let her neighbours draw water from a tap in her home.

Iran’s N-scientist defected to CIA: Report

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Washington, April 01: An Iranian nuclear scientist, who has been missing since June last from Saudi Arabia, has defected to the US and is helping in CIA’s operation against Tehran’s nuclear programme, a media report said.

Shahram Amiri, an award-winning nuclear physicist, has been settled in the US, ABC News reported quoting people briefed on the operation by intelligence officials.

The officials were said to have termed the defection of the scientist, ‘an intelligence coup’ in the continuing CIA operation to spy on and undermine Iran’s nuclear programme.

Pakistan media abuzz with ‘Shoania’ news

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Karachi, April 01: The forthcoming wedding of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and India’s tennis star Sania Mirza has stirred media frenzy here with TV channels and newspapers full of juicy gossips.

On Thursday,’The News’ – Pakistan’s mainstream English language newspaper – coined the name’Shoania’ for the pair on the lines of Brangelina that refers to the Hollywood supercouple consisting of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Abhiwarya for the Bollywood couple of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

‘Pankh’ deals with serious problem in film industry: Bipasha

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Mumbai, April 01: Bipasha Basu, who will be seen sporting nine different looks in her forthcoming film ‘Pankh’, says the movie highlights a serious problem in the movie industry.

”Pankh’ is very special, and not just because it’s my first so-called art film. But the minute I heard the subject, I was bowled over. It deals with a very serious problem within the film industry,’ Bipasha told.

‘Let’s not trivialise it by people speculating whether the character I play is based on me. That’s exactly what would have happened if my name was Bipasha in ‘Pankh’.’

I am what I am today because of education

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New Delhi, April 01: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday gave his own example of how education has shaped his life from an ordinary boy to the prime minister of India and urged all Indians to join the ‘national effort’ to make right to education a success.

‘I was born to a family of modest means. In my child hood, I had to walk a long distance to go to school . I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp,’the prime minister said in his address to the nation, both in Hindi and English.

Tripura University professor commits suicide

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Agartala, April 01: A senior professor of Tripura University, Manjari Choudhury, who was also the wife of the vice-chancellor, has committed suicide, police said Thursday.

Choudhury, 60, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her residence Wednesday night, police officer Narayan Chandra Saha told IANS.

‘A suicide note recovered near the body stated that Choudhury committed suicide because of some incurable diseases,’ he said.

‘Will stand for DMK chief post if there is contest’

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Chennai, April 01: Asserting that his father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was his leader, Union Minister M K Alagiri today said he would stand for the party president’s post in future if there was a contest.

“Ours is a democratic party. I will contest the president’s post if there is an election,” he told reporters at the airport here.

Asked whether he would contest against his brother M K Stalin, he said, “currently he is the deputy chief minister. I will contest the party’s president post in case there is an election for it”.
–PTI

IPL form not enough for national selection – Prasad

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New Delhi, April 01: Venkatesh Prasad, the Chennai Super Kings bowling coach, believes that IPL performances cannot be the only yardstick for selection to the Indian team.

“Though the IPL is top of our minds, you cannot pick players for an international team on the basis of their IPL performance alone. Young cricketers have to prove themselves in domestic cricket, the Ranji and Duleep trophies to understand their capabilities, their talent and their ability to withstand pressure,” Prasad, a former India bowling coach, wrote in the Times of India.

Panchayat orders rape accused to be beaten by shoes

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Muzaffarnagar, April 01: A kangaroo court has ordered that three youths, who allegedly raped a 27-year-old woman, be beaten up five times with shoes.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them yesterday.

The woman was raped by Rohit, Mangal and Rajnish on March 28 at Morikuka village following which her husband lodged an FIR.

Police said the panchayat had passed the order to hush up the matter and added that efforts are on nab the accused.
–PTI

Clarke in line for move to No. 4

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Melbourne, April 01: Michael Clarke’s increasing seniority within the Test team is set to continue with his likely promotion to No. 4 during the series against Pakistan in England.

As the vice-captain, Clarke is being groomed to take over the leadership whenever Ricky Ponting retires and over the past year he has shouldered that responsibility by being Australia’s leading run scorer with 1171 at 65.05.

Ponting tells New Zealand how to improve

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Wellington, April 01: Disappointing though the 2-0 result was for New Zealand, it wasn’t a shock. They have not beaten Australia in a Test for 17 years and with a developing side, the chances of that changing on this tour were slim.

The Trans-Tasman Trophy remains in Australian hands, as it has since 1987, and although there is no easy way for New Zealand to change that, Ricky Ponting had one idea when asked how his opponents could improve.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene in Sri Lanka all-time XI

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Bangalore, April 01: Aravinda de Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were unanimous choices for Sri Lanka’s all-time XI, picked by a ten-member Cricinfo jury of ex-players and journalists. Notable omissions included Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera.

Over half the side consists of current players and those recently retired: Chaminda Vaas, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, who got nine votes apiece, also made the XI.

Neil Nitin Mukesh signed for Oxemberg suitings

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Mumbai, April 01: For those who thought that a doctor’s son will go onto become a doctor, an engineer’s son will become an engineer, here is a man who went onto prove them wrong! He is none other than the Bollywood’s literal blue eyed boy, Neil Nitin Mukesh, the son of the illustrious singer Nitin Mukesh.

Priyanka Chopra to be wooed by Irrfan Khan

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Mumbai, April 01: Priyanka Chopra who started shooting in Kashmir for Saat Khoon Maaf has her first of her 7 screen husbands, Irrfan Khan, frantically preparing for his part of a love-stuck poet.

Irrfan had started his career as a film actor with the role of a love-stuck poet in Govind Nihalani’s Drishti where he had got to make love to the older woman, the beautiful Dimple Kapadia.

Israel Navy fires warning shots at Palestinian fishing boat

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Tel Aviv, April 01: Israel Navy patrol boats opened fire at a Palestinian fishing vessel off the coast of Gaza early Thursday, an Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv said.

He said the Palestinian boat had strayed into waters off-limits to Palestinian fishermen, and did not heed orders to halt, causing the Israeli ships to fire warning shots.

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

In the Gaza Strip itself, meanwhile, Palestinians reported that Israel dropped thousands of leaflets overnight, warning residents to “wait for the response tomorrow.”