Month: August 2010

Shakira in trouble over music video

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London, August 24: Singer Shakira is in trouble with Spanish authorities after dancing in a Barcelona fountain while filming a music video.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” hitmaker was joined by fans as she frolicked in the city’s historic Pla de Palau fountain while filming a promo for her upcoming track, reports ecpress.co.uk.

But the star failed to obtain a permit ahead of filming and now the city officials have slapped the Colombian star with a fine. Her actions were deemed a violation of strict anti-social behaviour laws.

–Agencies

‘Lafangey Parindey’ fails at box office

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Mumbai, August 24: The title of the movie might be crisp as nachos, but Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone starrer edgy love story “Lafangey Parindey” was not crunchy enough to attract the audiences to theatres.

“The business of ‘Lafangey Parindey’ was nothing great. It was below expectations as the movie could manage only 50 percent occupancy over the weekend on an average,” Amit Awasthi, senior manager (Programming and Operations) of Spice Cinemas, told news agency.

‘The Switch’ bombs at box office

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London, August 24: Jennifer Aniston’s latest release ‘The Switch’ has performed badly in its opening week by grossing a mere USD 8.1 at the US box office.

It is a second disappointment for the star, whose last rom-com ‘Bounty Hunter’ starring Gerard Butler too failed to impress the audience. However, ‘Bounty Hunter’ had a better opening weekend by collecting USD 20 million.

Tom Hanks, Bullock to star in post 9/11

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London, August 24: Oscar-winners Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock’s name is being considered for a feature version of post 9/11 novel ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’.

Warner Bros and Paramount have reportedly made the offers to Bullock and Hanks for the movie but the studios are yet to begin formal negotiations on the project.

Based on Jonathan Safran Foer novel and set in 2003, the story centers on a 9-year-old boy who finds a key in a vase that belongs to his father, who perished in the September 11 terrorist attacks, and searches to find the lock that goes with it.

Karan-Kajol share striking bond

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Mumbai, August 24: The sultry Bollywood actress Kajol feels that bonds are made from the heart. She said that she shares a beautiful bond with the filmmaker Karan Johar, who is more than a brother to her.

“The definition of a friend is somebody you choose and not somebody you are born with really. I think Karan is my friend for centuries and generation and lifetime I feel. I always felt that connection with him. He is more than a brother. It’s a unique fantastic friendship that I am very grateful to have in my life,” Kajol told the reporters,

Five killed in wall collapse

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Jharkhand, August 24: Five people, including four children, were killed and three injured when the boundary wall of a school collapsed following incessant rain in Jharkhand on Tuesday, police said.

“A 20 foot high wall of Guru Govind Singh Public School situated at Bank roundabout in Dhanbad collapsed. Five people four children and a woman died and three were injured,” a police official told reporter.

The injured children have been admitted in a hospital in Dhanbad, some 240 km from here. The condition of two injured was serious, police said.

Rains lash Bihar capital

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Bihar, August 24: Rains continued to lash Bihar’s capital Patna and other parts for the fourth day on Tuesday giving relief to people hit by scanty rainfall this year.

Heavy rains lashed Patna Tuesday evening leading to water logging in some areas and affecting normal life.

“In Patna, various residential colonies in low lying areas are under knee-deep water and road traffic was badly affected after rains,” a police official said.

Delhi reeling under attack from dengue-swine flu

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Delhi, August 24: Forty-three more people tested positive for dengue, taking the number of those infected by the mosquito-borne disease in Delhi this year to 496, a health official said on Tuesday.

“Forty-three new cases of dengue have come up in Delhi but no deaths have been reported on Tuesday,” Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) chief medical officer N.K. Yadav told reporter.

Fire at Mumbai warehouse

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Mumbai, August 24: A major fire broke out at a warehouse in south Mumbai on Tuesday evening, a police official said.

“Eight fire engines have been rushed to the spot that is very close to a cinema hall, a coaching institute and a sound studio in Dadar. We are waiting for more details,” said a police official of Bhoiwada police station, in whose jurisdiction the warehouse falls.

“We have no report of any casualty so far,” the official said, adding taht the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

—Agencies

Four vehicle thieves arrested

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Haryana, August 24: Four members of an inter-state gang of auto thieves were arrested and 12 stolen vehicles recovered from them in Haryana on Tuesday, police said.

The four men were arrested in Pinjore town, 20 km from state capital Chandigarh. The gang was active in Chandigarh and in different towns of Punjab and Haryana, according to police.

The arrested men were identified as Balkar Singh (kingpin of the gang), Baljinder Singh, Rakesh Kumar and Rajesh Kumar.

C’garh to build shopping complexes

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Chandigarh, August 24: Chhattisgarh’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will build Atal Bazars or shopping complexes in 40 village panchayats this fiscal, a statement said on Tuesday.

The state government has set aside Rs.5 crore for constructing the Atal Bazars in fiscal 2010-11, the statement said.

The government floated the Atal Bazar scheme, named after veteran BJP leader for former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in fiscal 2007-08 to inspire villagers to take up commercial activities.

Mahila Cong accuses MP govt

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Madhya Pradesh, August 24: The Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress (MPMC) has charged the state government with neglecting women who had been unable to get benefit of the schemes launched for them.

In a statement, State Mahila Congress General Secretary Deepti Singh alleged that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh was playing with the sentiments of women.

Maoists gun battle with security forces

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Singhbhum, August 24: Security forces on Tuesday battled with Maoists in a jungle near Basadera village in naxal-hit Ghatsila of East Singhbhum district.

Two landmiens, electric wires were recovered from the spot after the encounter, the police said.
A combing operation has been launched to flush out the Maoist guerrillas from the area, Senior Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar Jha told reporter.
He said details about the encounter was being awaited and there was no casualty of any security force was received.

Royal Rajasthan on Wheels to start soon

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Rajhasthan, August 24: New super luxury train of Rajasthan Tourism and Indian Railways ‘Royal Rajasthan on Wheels’ will start its first commercial tour this season from September 5.

“The train, with around 50 passengers onboard, will start its journey from Safdarjang station in New Delhi. The train this time will take tourists to Khajuraho and Varanasi also apart from destinations of Rajasthan and Agra,” an official of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) said here on Tuesday.

Heroin worth Rs.1 crore seized in UP

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Uttar Pradesh, August 24: Five drug peddlers were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district and heroin worth Rs.1 crore was seized from them, police said on Tuesday.

The five men were nabbed late Monday from a hotel in the Charkhambhakua area following a joint operation by the police and sleuths of the Special Operation Group (SOG).

“Acting on a tip-off that the five men were looking for prospective buyers for the illegal consignment of drugs, some police officials approached them posing as buyers,” police inspector Rishipal Singh told reporters in Kanpur, some 80 km from Lucknow.

Saina to take on Chen at World Badminton

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China, August 24: Shuttler Saina Nehwal will challenge Chinese supremacy in the World Badminton Championships against Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) at the Pierre de Coubertin stadium here on Wednesday.

World No.2 and second seeded Saina, who got a bye in the first round like World No.65 Chen, has defeated her twice, but she is not leaving anything to chance.

“Reputations will take a backseat and you have to be at your best in every match to move up.

Meteors collide with Jupiter

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Japan, August 24: A rare flash caused by a meteor colliding with Jupiter has been videographed by an amateur astronomer.

Masayuki Tachikawa, aged 52, recorded the flash of light lasting less than two seconds, at his home in Kumamoto City, southern Japan.

“I took it for noise signals at first but I was really surprised because the image of the light remained on the video,” Tachikawa said, according to the Telegraph.

Oberois to raise stake in EIH

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Mumbai, August 23: The Oberois, founders of East India Hotels Ltd, are planning to raise their stake in the company every year.

“We have 46.4 percent stake now. We plan to raise stake gradually,” Chairman P.R.S. Oberoi told reporters here Tuesday after the annual general meeting of the company.

The company can raise up to 5 percent stake every year through creeping acquisition.

Asked whether he plans to raise stake in the current financial year, he said: “If due to some extraneous reasons market goes down may be in few months we will acquire.”

Earth Quake jolts Pakistan

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Islamabad, August 24: An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of flood hit Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon, meteorology office said.

The tremors of the quake having epicentre near Afghanistan-Tajikistan border were felt in Swat, Dir, Mohmand tribal areas and the provincial capital Peshawar, media reports. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province is the worst hit region in the catastrophic floods which have killed over 1,600 and affected some 20 million in Pakistan.

—Agencies

35 insurgents killed in Afghan clashes

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Afghanistan, August 24: A NATO soldier and 35 Taliban insurgents were killed in clashes in Afghanistan, the military alliance said on Tuesday.

“A NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldier was killed following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan Tuesday,” a military statement said without revealing the deceased’s nationality.

Over 450 international troops, most of them from the US, have been killed in the conflict this year.

ING Vysya Life to raise equity base

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Bangalore, August 24: Bangalore-based ING Vysya Life Insurance Company will increase its equity base by Rs.227 crore this fiscal and is awaiting the sectoral regulator’s sanction for four new products on Tuesday.

“The shareholders will be infusing Rs.227 crore additional equity towards meeting the solvency norms and expansion of distribution network. The current equity capital is Rs.1200 crore,” Director Sales (Tied Agency) T.K. Uthappa told reporters here.

Left offers views on Nuke Bill to Govt

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New Delhi, August 24: Left parties on Tuesday offers Government to consider views on the civil nuclear liability bill.

Government today offered to consider the Left parties’ views on the civil nuclear liability bill, which includes their strong opposition to provisions they feel “protect” the foreign suppliers’ interests.

The offer came at an hour-long meeting Minister of State of Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan had with CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.

Sensex ends 104 points down

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Mumbai, August 24: A benchmark index for Indian equities on Tuesday ended trade with a 104-point loss.

Realty and metal scrips added to the overall drag in the markets.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,407.01 points, closed at 18,304.82 points (provisional), 104.53 points or 0.57 percent down from its previous close at 18,409.35 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was 0.73 percent lower at 5,503.25 points.

As PRP turns two, Chiranjeevi stuck at a two-way junction

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Hyderabad, August 24: Exactly two years after he launched the Praja Rajyam Party with the promise of ushering in a “change” on the political front in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi virtually finds himself stuck at a two-way junction.

His road to glory — films — is now calling Chiranjeevi back, but he is not in a position to abandon the the track of politics midway.

In recent days, Chiranjeevi, now a member of AP Assembly, has been repeatedly talking about his “first love” (movies) and the “demand from his fans” that he put on the greasepaint once again.

NIA tight-lipped over identity of Indian aides of David Coleman Headley

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New Delhi, August 24: The identity, status and the numerical strength of Indian aides of terror suspect David Coleman Headley have been kept as a closely guarded secret by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which has also sought the co-operation from a court here to maintain total secrecy.

The NIA has told a designated court here that the Indian suspects, who had helped Headley and others to plot and carry out terror attacks in Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country between 2005-09, hailed from Kerala and Mumbai.