New Delhi, October 03: Calm descended on the Capital on Saturday as anxiety finally gave way to anticipation, if not palpable excitement, on the eve of the Commonwealth Games.
Eerily, the roads were empty; metro trains rattled through deserted stations and bazaars were quiet. The teeming millions conjured up by the word ‘India’ was missing. Delhi was a ghost town on Saturday.
Mumbai, October 03: Bollywood star Katrina Kaif is back in India and is busy shooting at Patadui Palace near Delhi for a romantic-comedy with Imran Khan.
In an interview to Harper’s Bazaar, the actor said on her relationship with Salman Khan: ‘Whatever has been said, has been said. Beyond that there is my private space. I don’t want to talk about that…Of course, we’re friends. Salman will always be an extremely important person in my life no matter what happens. He’s one of the kindest souls anyone can ever have the privilege of meeting.”
Durban, October 03: Mahatma Gandhi’s message is still relevant today with discrimination on basis of race, caste, tribe, language and gender being current issues globally, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said Saturday at an Indian diaspora conclave here.
“Gandhiji can help us to see the truth, simple as it is,” he said, paying his tribute to Gandhi, the guiding figure of India’s freedom struggle, on his 141st birth anniversary.
London, October 03: Hollywood actress Kim Cattrall says she was always told that she “lacked talent” when she started her acting career, but admits her critics were “right”.
The “Sex and the City” star says meeting with veteran director Otto Preminger when she was just 17 years old made her realise her looks were going to be just as important as her acting ability if she wanted to be successful.
“He told me, ‘Darling, you remind me of Marilyn Monroe – not in looks of course, but in lack of talent,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.
Islamabad, October 03: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six others charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks today put off a decision on the government’s request to form a commission to interview key witnesses in India.
Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan of the Rawalpindi- based anti-terrorism court asked the prosecution to inform him whether the Indian government has granted permission for the commission to visit that country to interview 24 witnesses, including lone surviving Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab.
Mumbai, October 03: Although the music of “Knock Out”, starring Sanjay Dutt and Kangana Ranaut, is not one of the best we have heard in the recent past, one song stands out -”Khushnuma se ye” composed by Gourav Dasgupta.
The film, slated to hit screens Oct 15, boasts of six tracks.
New Delhi, October 03: He has styled the tresses of Hollywood divas like Heather Graham, Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone but Los Angeles-based celebrity hair expert Jamal Hammadi is in awe of Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan. And he would love to style them too.
Toronto, October 03: Having complained about every aspect of the Commonwealth Games and taking their reservations about India’s ability to hold the show to ridiculous levels, Canada reportedly even expressed reluctance to join the opening ceremonies Sunday.
According to media reports here, the Canadian contingent agreed to march in Sunday’s opening ceremonies only after organizers satisfied some concerns expressed by Canadian officials.
Kolkata, October 03: The timeless magic of Rabindra Sangeet is set to dominate the special album releases this Durga Puja.
The melodies composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150th birth anniversary celebrations began in May, have left all other genres of music behind in West Bengal this year.
“This year, we have brought out 15-20 albums on Rabindra Sangeet only. The number of such albums has surpassed all previous records,” Music 2000 proprietor Swarup Pal told IANS.
New Delhi, October 03: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has now come into auto mode after gaining partial victory in the court regarding the dispute of the Ram Janmbhoomi and Babri Masjid issue.
The VHP has got mileage in its prime agenda of building a grand temple at the Ram Janmbhoomi site in Ayodhya and it will keep the issue alive till the temple is constructed.
Hyderabad, October 03: “Aur Ek Dhaka Telangana Pakka” (Another one Push; Telangana sure), Decision for formation of Telangana will be announced on December 9th and task ahead is to implement the decision after 31st December” said Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao, President, Telangana Rashtra Samithi here today.
He said and asked the people to be firm and alert from all sorts of controversies and baseless campaign against movement as well as leaders. Mr. Rao said this in a centenary celebrations of State Electricity Department.
Baghdad, October 03: A missile was fired on Saturday afternoon from southern Kirkuk in the direction of the US forces’ al-Hurria airbase, a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“Policemen arrived at the scene and removed the launch pad, which turned out to be home-made,” he said, adding that it was not clear where the projectile landed.
Seven US soldiers died in September, bringing the death toll for US troops in Iraq to 4,424 since 2003, according to an AFP tally.
London, October 03: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf rallied supporters Saturday in the British city of Birmingham, saying he wants to end his London exile and begin efforts to return to power in Pakistan, the BBC reported.
Musharraf, who ruled the country for nine years, Friday launched a new political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, asking the nation to forgive him for past mistakes.
He said though it was unclear when elections would take place, he would return to Pakistan for them. He has previously said he fears assassination if he returns.
Darjeeling, October 03: Mamata Banerjee’s recent visit to Darjeeling and her discussions with hill outfits, including the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has caused panic among the CPM leaders who are apprehensive about its impact on the forthcoming polls for 12 Assembly seats in the Darjeeling-Dooars-Terai region.
Nepali-speaking voters will play a decisive role in these constituencies and Banerjee’s tacit understanding with the hill leaders may swing the poll result in her favour, feel the CPM leaders.
Ahmedabad, October 03: Mahatma Gandhi may have devoted his life to the cause of communal harmony but, not one to be deterred, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dragged him into the Ayodhya dispute.
Kickstarting the BJP’s campaign for the civic polls in Saurashtra on Gandhi Jayanti day, Modi said the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on Ayodhya title suits would help realise the Mahatma’s ‘Ram Rajya’.
New Delhi, October 03: India’s woman tennis star Sania Mirza will skip the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games here Sunday to keep herself fresh for the mixed doubles first round tie the next day.
The second seeded pair of Leander Paes and Sania are scheduled to take on Saint Lucia’s Stacey Nykita Roheman and Alberton Richelieu in the first round.
Hyderabad, October 02: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will construct 20 bus depots and 152 bus stations on the Outer Ring road (ORR), according to P Narayana Swamy, executive director of the Greater Hyderabad zone.
Speaking on the occasion of attaining superannuation, Narayana Swamy said 1,540 new buses had been allocated to the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and 1,392 buses were already sanctioned.
Tirumala, October 02: The Two Town police of Tirumala today registered criminal cases against three former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board members and 21 others in the multi-crore Arjita Seva ticket booking scam.
Cases under Sections 420, 408, 467, 468, 427, 471, 477 and 120 (B) of IPC were registered against them. The police action follows a complaint lodged with them today by TTD chief vigilance and security officer N K Singh. It was the first time that the TTD CVSO lodged a police complaint against former board members.
Hyderabad, October 02: Even as former minister K Surekha shot off another letter to PCC president D Srinivas asking why the party has been ‘sparing those who are harming its interests and harassing those sincerely working for its growth’, the PCC served a showcause notice on Nellore DCC president Y Gopala Reddy for making an appeal to the party cadre to participate in big numbers in YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Odarpu Yatra.
Hyderabad, October 02: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member M Venkaiah Naidu today welcomed the Allahabad High Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi and urged both the contesting parties to settle the issue out of court without continuing the controversy further in the larger interest of the nation.
“All petitioners, without going back into the history, should move forward to find an amicable solution by holding consultations,’’ he said at a crowded press conference at the party’s state headquarters here.
Hyderabad, October 02: The hearing on the petition filed by principal secretary (Home) P Gautam Kumar in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking dismissal of K Aravinda Rao as director general of police, has been posted to October 29.
Simultaneously, CAT has given three weeks time for the respondents to file their petitions.
Hyderabad, October 02: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has extended regularisation of illegal connections up to October 30. The Water Board had introduced the scheme to regularise illegal water supply and sewerage connections for consumers. Previously, last date of closure of the scheme was September 30.
Hyderabad, October 02: The qualifying mark in the Learner’s Licence test has been reduced by the transport department officials in consideration of ambiguity to answers in the existing question bank.
Officials said that out of 20 questions, the applicant is expected to clear 12 questions to get himself qualified for the next level. Till now a candidate had to answer 16 questions correctly or score 80 per cent to be eligible for the next round.
Hyderabad, October 02: The Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) would be embarking on yet another yatra of the 10 Telangana districts before launching their struggle for separate statehood after December 31, if necessary. The JAC leaders will seek the support of the people of Telangana for their struggle and also console the families of those who laid down their lives during the movement.
New Delhi, October 02: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computers on a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking cancellation of his bail granted by the AP High Court in the multi-crore rupee accounting scam.