Hyderabad, November 03: Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday requested the Centre to extend financial assistance from the National Calamity Contingency Fund for relief operations in rain-ravaged districts of the state.
Heavy rainfall since October 30, which has been much above than normal, took a toll of 25 persons so far while four others were still missing.
Shimla, November 03: The Himachal Pradesh state secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has decided to hold a state-wide protest against the visit of US president Brack Obama on November 8.
“The visit is to further accelerate the pace of economic reforms in India and aggressively force the government to adopt policies which are detrimental to the interests of people, in the name of strategic alliance,” a CPI(M) statement said.
New Delhi, November 03: Gold buying spirit of Indians was dampened a bit on Dhanteras today as sale of the commodity, both by value and volume, showed a downward trend because of high prices, traders said.
By evening, estimates indicated that gold sales would be around Rs 800 crore, compared to Rs 891 crore last Dhanteras, they said.
Last year this day, about 5.5 tonnes of gold was sold at the price of Rs 16,200 per 10 grams in the national capital, compared to Rs 19,740 today.
Chennai, Nov ember 03: Dismissing as mischievous and malicious the charges that crime was on the rise under the DMK Government, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today asserted that Tamil Nadu is one state having best law and order.
“Tamil Nadu is one of the states where law and order is best maintained. Due to vigil by my government, caste and communal clashes have not occurred. The charge that law and order situation has deteriorated is totally false,” he said in a statement.
Gaza, November 03: A massive explosion near the main police headquarters in the Hamas-controlled and blockaded Gaza has claimed the life of a Palestinian.
Four people, including a woman, were also wounded on Wednesday after a car was blown up in the city center, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Police cordoned off the area after the incident and launched an investigation.
The exact cause of the blast is still not clear. Some reports suggest it was caused by a missile fired from an Israeli drone flying overhead.
Srinagar, November 03: With the recovery of four more bodies, the toll in the road accident in Doda district today has risen to eight, while 40 others are injured, police said here. The mishap took place when a bus, which was on its way from Jammu to Kishtwar, skidded off the road and rolled down into Chenab river at Prem Nagar, about 180-kms from here, they said.
Lucknow, November 03:National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman P.L. Punia Wednesday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of being insensitive to the problems faced by Dalits.
He also alleged that she was not taking any serious steps to prevent atrocities against them.
‘In the last five-six months, several incidents of rape and killing of Dalits took place in districts like Muzaffarnagar, Basti, Kannauj and Hathras, but the state government preferred to remain silent on all such incidents,’ Punia told reporters at a press conference here.
Mumbai, November 03: Minissha Lamba was in Dubai recently to walk the ramp for Zaeem Jamal at the Fashion week.
The actress was told she had to wear a saree.
On reaching there, she realised that the drape came with a long train, so the actress demanded that she be provided with a good-looking male model to walk behind her holding the train, else she wouldn’t walk!
Mumbai, November 03: Director Sabir Khan has cast Deepika Padukone opposite Shahid Kapoor in Heer And Ranjha, a contemporary take on the old Heer-Ranjha legend.
The only reservation was the difference in the lead pair’s height. Dippy is even taller than Sonam Kapoor, who is Shahid’s co-star in Mausam.
It is a well-known fact that Dippy is very conscious of her heroes’ height. Before the shooting of Karthik Calling Karthik, Farhan Akhtar had to actually stand next to her, and show her that he can match her height.
Mumbai, November 03: Thanks to her Kites co-star Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori won’t be flying down to Mumbai later this month to promote her Spanish flick My Brother’s Wife.
Mori’s film releases on November 19, the same day as Hrithik’s Guzaarish.
Sources close to the actor reveal that he does not want Barbara in the city at a time when he will be promoting his film.
He believes Mori’s presence in Mumbai will take attention away from his film and focus it onto them, given their history.
Don’t spoil it for me!
Mumbai, November 03: Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Karan Johar are all set to light up Diwali this Friday with loved ones.
Here is what some B-Town residents have to say about their plans:
Priyanka Chopra: Thinking I’ll head to London. I have family there and may just be a fun holiday.
Amitabh Bachchan: My father’s marked verse on the Ramayana shall be read, a gentle prayer shall go up for all, from all; sweets and bonuses shall be disbursed to staff by members of the family.
Mumbai, November 03: The Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Guzaarish will release soon. A lot has already been said and written about the steamy hot scenes between Hrithik and Aishwarya, and this in itself, is being said to be the ultimate USP of the film.
However, what has caught the attention of many a critics is that the model Monikangana is also one of the protagonists in the film, and this film is her launching pad.
Mumbai, November 03: Akshay Kumar, who had established his name in the film industry by proving to be one of the most diehard action stars, was suddenly seen shunning from the very genre of cinema that he was so much well appreciated for.
Washington, November 03: President Barack Obama faced a bleak political landscape on Wednesday after voters punished Democrats over high unemployment and a sluggish economic recovery, delivering a divided Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Republicans pushed Democrats decisively from power in the House of Representatives and strengthened their ranks in the Senate, a result that could herald legislative gridlock when the new Congress takes power in January.
Mumbai, November 03: Tusshar, who knows how much his mom loves jewellery, bought her a set of diamond bangles. He also arranged a special trial of his Golmaal 3 for his mom. She usually watches all his films at a public theatre.
Tusshar says, “They have completed 36 years of being together! I keep telling my mom how amazing that is, in today’s day and age when marriages are breaking down all around us.
Despite all these years, mom and dad have the same amount of energy and enthusiasm towards life and each other.”
Chamarajanagar, November 03: Five labourers were killed and and seven injured today when a lorry overturned near Gundlupet, about 40 km from here.
The deceased were natives of Raghavpura village in Gundlupet taluk.
New Delhi, November 03: A teenager was arrested in the national capital with one kg of heroin worth around Rs one crore, police said today. Feroz Sheikh (19) was apprehended from near Nanak Saar Gurdwara in Wazirabad Road recently with the contraband, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Neeraj Thakur said.
Sheikh”s mother is also an alleged drug peddler and has several criminal cases registered against her. “Sheikh has been caught for the first time.
Mumbai, November 03: A hunt is on for a leading lady for Aamir Khan in Reema Kagti’s next directorial venture. If the buzz is to be believed, Kareena Kapoor has been finalised.
A source close to the project says: ‘Kareena is extremely keen to work with Aamir again. While shooting with Aamir for Raj Kumar Hirani’s ‘3 Idiots’, she got along very well with him. And the part in Reema Kagti’s film suits Kareena.’
At the moment, Kagti is not willing to reveal details about the cast.
‘The film has strong parts for two leading ladies. And we’re in talks with quite a few girls,’ she said.
Kalaikunda, November 03: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is upgrading its capabilities in the northeastern region of the country by revamping eight advance landing grounds and improving major airfields, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik said late Tuesday.
“We are going for composite upgradation of capabilities in the northeast. It should have been done a long time ago. Eight advance landing grounds are being upgraded and there are five to six major airfields where infrastructure will be improved to enable them to receive more modern aircraft,” Naik said here, some 140 km from Kolkata.
Kabul, November 03: Militant attacks have killed two US-led soldiers in Afghanistan as the number of attacks against Western troops in the war-torn country has soared significantly in the past months.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Wednesday that one of the soldiers died following a militant attack in northern Afghanistan and the second lost his life in a bombing in the south.
Mumbai, November 03: Concerned that excessive lending for home loans and rising realty prices may create a financial crisis, RBI today directed banks to keep more funds aside as a cushion for advances of Rs 75 lakh and above, sending realty stocks into a tailspin. Realty companies said, however, that supply of houses has to improve to correct the situation and bankers indicated that home loan rates may not go up immediately.
Johannesburg, November 03: Herschelle Gibbs has claimed in his controversial autobiography, ‘To the Point’ that former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje had made an offer to the team to fix a match in India in 1996.
However, an one-time ace opener admitted that Cronje remained a man he would always admire. In a chapter titled ‘The controversies’, Gibbs recalled the night Cronje changed the face of the game forever.
Mumbai, November 03: After the astounding success of ENDHIRAN, Rajnikanth is now gearing up for his next film, HARA, being directed by his daughter, Soundarya.
The film was earlier titled SULTAN- THE WARRIOR. The hunt for the female lead is on with Vidya Balan and Katrina Kaif being the front runners.
Reveals a close hand, “Yes, Rajnikanth’s SULTAN- THE WARRIOR is now called HARA. HARA is one of the synonyms for Lord Shiva or Lord Krishna. It’s a 3D animation film. 50% of the film has already been shot.”
Mumbai, November 03: MNS chief Raj Thackeray today said action should be taken against chief minister Ashok Chavan if he was “really involved” in the Adarsh Society scam. “Only a section of the media wants Chavan to resign in the wake of the scam and it is not a valid reason.
Newspapers should not decide that. If the Chief Minister was really involved in the scam, then he should only go,” Thackeray told reporters here.
New Delhi, November 03: A Delhi court today asked the city police to file a report on a complaint seeking prosecution of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy on the charges of sedition for their alleged anti-India statements.
“The Station House Officer of the concerned police station is directed to file a status report on November 16,” Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha said.