Mumbai, December 02: Well, Shahid Kapoor, who has certainly grown as an actor and matured too, is now gradually shifting his image from being a chocolate boy hero to a star that ought to be taken a lot more seriously. Yet, according to his dad he has not been getting good enough roles to prove his worth.
Hyderabad, December 02: The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh plunged into crisis Thursday, less than 24 hours after the new cabinet was sworn in, with a minister resigning over the portfolio given to him and 10 other senior ministers also expressing their unhappiness amid indications that they too could quit.
In a midnight drama, Vatti Vasantha Kumar sent his resignation both as minister and member of legislative assembly.
Beirut, December 02: Israeli troops have opened fire on Lebanon from two border posts across the Lebanese southern border, a Lebanese security source says.
The machinegun fire came from Israeli positions near Shebaa Farms on the border between Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian land on Wednesday, dpa reported.
According to the source, the Wednesday shooting came from Israeli troops stationed in al-Sammaqa and Rwaisat al-Alam positions. No casualties have been reported.
UN sources said that they were checking the latest shooting on Lebanon by Israeli troops.
Washington, December 02: The United States and South Korea have announced that they plan to hold new maneuvers off the Korean Peninsula early next week.
The two countries have just finished joint four-day war games. In addition, China’s push for the revival of the six-party nuclear negotiations with North Korea was refused by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
In a statement, the US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said that the US has ruled out any possibility of going back to the negotiating table.
Rome, December 02: Tariq Aziz’s son Ziad Aziz has pleaded that his father, the condemned former aide to late Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, not be put to death. Aziz was for years the “international face” of the regime.
Speaking through a lawyer, Ziad Aziz asked Iraq’s ambassador to Italy Saywan Barzani to transmit his request to Baghdad.
“I beg you to deliver this clemency request to your government. We appreciate all the efforts that you are making to re-establish democracy and we hope that the right to life will be safeguarded,” Ziad Aziz said though his lawyer.
London. December 02: As a fresh batch of leaked files gave new urgency to worldwide controversy surrounding the publication of US diplomatic communiqués, there was continued mystery over the motivation, intentions and whereabouts of the man at the heart of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.
Washington, December 02: The White House dubbed as “ridiculous” the suggestion by WikiLeaks chief editor Julian Assange that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton should resign over leaked documents that showed she instructed US diplomats to engage in espionage.
“That statement is ridiculous and absurd,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on CNN. “I’m not entirely sure why we care about the opinion of one guy with one website. Our foreign policy and the interests of this country are far stronger than his one website.”
Moscow, December 02: Russia has threatened to continue building up its nuclear arsenal if the United States fails to ratify the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN’s Larry King, “We’ve been simply saying that this is what all of us expect to happen if we don’t agree on a joint effort there.”
He added that Russia would be forced to react by developing new nuclear weapons technology, AFP reported.
Mumbai, December 02: Rumours related to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have again started making the rounds. The rumours, this time, are related to her pregnancy not in India but in Dubai.
Ash was recently set to fly to Dubai to do some important interviews but her visit was canceled on account of ill health, which sparked the rumour that Ash is finally in the family way.
Mumbai, December 02: Bipasha, who is usually seen in a glamorous avatar in most of her films, has posted a picture from the movie her Twitter page. Though her complete look is not visible, the picture shows her wearing a red-dupatta pulled over head, an ornate neck piece and a maang-tika.
Mumbai, December02: Lara Dutta to embrace Kellogg’s Special KLara Dutta to embrace Kellogg’s Special K: Kellogg India has appointed Bollywood actor
and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta as the brand ambassador for its breakfast cereal brand Special K.
Kellogg’s Special K is aimed at weight- and fitness-conscious women and offers them a weight management plan. It is a crunchy and convenient breakfast option made from honey-coated flakes of wheat and is 98 percent fat-free. Special K provides protein and fibre and is fortified with vitamins to meet the nutritional needs of Indian women.
Hyderabad, December 02: Former Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy lastnight said there is “no truth” in reports that he and his uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy had an altercation during a meeting in native Kadapa district.
“I was surprised over media reports that an altercation and a scuffle took place between me and my uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy. It is true a discussion took place in the presence of our family members last Tuesday and that there was no unanimity of views. There is nothing wrong in writing that.
Hyderabad, December 02: Allocation of portfolios to the newly sworn-in ministers triggered a major rebellion against Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy around midnight on Wednesday, as two ministers resigned hours after he constituted his Council of Ministers. Two ministers –Vatti Vasantha Kumar and
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Komatireddi Venkat Reddy– have already sent in their resignations to the chief minister.
Tel Aviv, December 02: One of Israel’s three cellular telephone networks collapsed Wednesday, leaving an estimated three million people unable to use their mobile phones.
By Wednesday evening, around 10 hours after the Cellcom network first collapsed, the problem had not been fixed. A statement on the company’s website, signed by company CEO Amos Shapira, apologized for the “serious fault”.
Gandhinagar, December 01: The Gujarat High Court Wednesday issued notice to the state government and police on a petition seeking registration of a complaint and a CBI probe against Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G.L. Singhal over a residential dispute.
A single judge bench of Justice M.R. Shah issued notice following a petition by Vasudev Bhavsar and ten others, residents of Manichandra Society-I, where Singhal, superintendent of police with Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) resides.
Gandhinagar, December 01: The Gujarat High Court Wednesday issued notice to the state government and police on a petition seeking registration of a complaint and a CBI probe against Indian Police Service (IPS) officer G.L. Singhal over a residential dispute.
A single judge bench of Justice M.R. Shah issued notice following a petition by Vasudev Bhavsar and ten others, residents of Manichandra Society-I, where Singhal, superintendent of police with Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) resides.
Jaipur, December 01: Gautam Gambhir today termed his match-winning century against New Zealand in the second ODI here as “special” as it was his maiden ton as India captain.
Standing in for regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the first two ODIs of the series, Gambhir led by example and smashed an unbeaten 116-ball 138 to helped India register a convincing eight-wicket win and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match rubber.
“It was important. Getting a century as captain is special, and winning the game was more special,” he said after the match.
Mumbai, December 01: National air carrier Air India today said it has no plans to hike productivity-linked incentives paid to its employees, as reported in the media.
“Air India, in response to the media report regarding increase in incentive payments, wishes to state that no such payments are being made,” an Air India statement said here.
On November 26, Air India signed an MoU with its officers’ association for the release of ad hoc interim relief, in addition to existing PLIs, with retrospective effect from April, 2010.
Chennai, December 01: Rejecting allegations of AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa that he had amassed wealth in public life, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today declared his assets, saying he possessed nothing more than a house at Chennai and a little over Rs six crore deposits in a bank.
“It is not true that I came to Chennai penniless. I had started earning even before settling down here….’ the DMK patriarch, who has come under repeated attacks from Jayalalithaa, wrote in party mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’.
New Delhi, December 01: Indian Government on Wednesday denied visa to former Pakistan President and Military Chief, General Pervez Musharraf to visit India.
Musharraf was invited by Young’s President Organization. He was to travel to India to attend a seminar.
Sources close to Home Ministry revealed that government has not given any reason for the denial.
However some other sources said that the Government of India doubted Musharraf’s real intentions of visiting India. He was planning to stage a comeback in Pakistan politics.
Hyderabad, December 01: They fumbled many a time while taking oath of office and secrecy as ministers of Andhra Pradesh today with two of them referring to themselves as “Chief Minister”.
P Sudarshan Reddy inadvertently assumed the post of “Chief Minister” when taking oath of secrecy, while one of the senior-most members N Raghuveera Reddy swore by his parents, whom he equated with God.
Riyadh, December 01: The US cables exposed by WikiLeaks “do not concern the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, an official said after communications showed Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region urging America to attack Iran and destroy its nuclear facilities.
An official source of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “These documents do not concern the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nor does the Kingdom has any role in drafting them, nor is it aware of their correctness and authenticity. Therefore, Saudi Arabia cannot comment on them.”
New Delhi, December 01: The World Health Organisation (WHO) Wednesday said that HIV/AIDS is still a serious public health problem, although Southeast Asian countries were witnessing a downward trend in new HIV cases.
Children are the most vulnerable group, with such cases having increased by 46 percent between 2001 and 2009, WHO said.
New Delhi, December 01: The gold price today crossed the all-time high level of Rs 21,000 per 10 grams in the national capital, with demand from jewellers drastically picking up amid a busy marriage season.
Silver, also used in jewellery, spurted to the record high level of Rs 43,950 per kg, as demand from industrial units and coin makers went up.
The prices of 99.9 per cent purity gold shot up by Rs 200 to Rs 21,020 per 10 grams, as stockists and jewellers created fresh positions to meet the current marriage season demand, traders said.
New Delhi, December 01: Treading cautiously on the Wikileaks issue, government today said it will react only after complete facts come out.
“Let the facts come out, then we will react,” External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters outside Parliament House.
He was asked to comment on the cable communication between the US Embassy here and Washington leaked by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.