Month: November 2012

It has been nine years since Karan Johar’s “Kal Ho Naa Ho” hit the screens. The movie, he says, will always be special because it was the last helmed by his father Yash Johar.

“Nine years to ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’… the last film my father helmed at Dharma Productions. An ironic title of a very special film to me… always,” Karan tweeted.

The movie released on Nov 28, 2003.

Nikhil Advani, who made his debut as a director with “Kal Ho Naa Ho”, also thanked Karan for “giving” him a “dream start”.

“Thank you for giving me the dream start!!!” tweeted Advani.

The union sports ministry has ties with eight countries, including China, for cooperation in the field of sports.

Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, in his response to a question in the Lok Sabha, informed that India has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Argentina, Brazil, Belarus, China, Cuba, Turkey, Mauritius and New Zealand.

Seven members of a family were shot in a town near Baghdad Wednesday, while six others were injured in two blasts in the Iraqi capital, Xinhua reported.

Before dawn, unidentified gunmen broke into a house of a leader of a government-backed Awakening Council group in the town of Tarmiyah, some 30 km north of Baghdad, and shot him dead with their silenced weapons, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attackers also shot dead two women and four children of his family before they fled the scene, the source said.

Actor Anil Kapoor, who is set to bring the Indian adaption of award-winning American TV series “24” to the small screen, says he is willing to cast daughter Sonam Kapoor if there is a role for her.

“If there is a character which suits Sonam or Sonam thinks will suit her, then why not? We will definitely pitch, these days we have to talk to Sonam’s managers,” the 52-year-old said here Tuesday at the launch of “24.”

“24” is an American television series that started in 2001 and ran till 2010, with a total of 192 episodes.

A Pakistani woman who allegedly acted as a surrogate mother for a childless Pakistani American couple has been granted custody of the child by a court after a seven-year-long legal battle.

Justice Ijaz Ahmed of the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court yesterday said in an order that Farzana Naheed was the legitimate custodian of Fatima, the girl she gave birth to in February 2005 as Farooq Siddiqui, a Pakistani American, had failed to prove his contention that she had acted as a surrogate mother after being paid Rs 1 million.

A business delegation from Britain currently visiting India loved the Hyderabadi biryani they had here and are now keen to see some food joints from the city selling the royal rice preparation and other delicacies in London.

Like all the visitors to this historic city, the British businessmen could not resist the temptation of having the famous Hyderabadi biryani – made of finest variety of rice cooked with mutton or chicken along with generous mix of spices.

Any American mission in Afghanistan or presence of troops there would be only at the invitation of the Afghan Government and a possible post-2014 presence would be aimed at training its forces and targeting the remnants of al Qaeda, the Pentagon has said.

Maharashtra’s Palghar town and surrounding areas remained shut Wednesday in response to a call by the Shiv Sena to oppose the suspension of the two police officials who had arrested two girls for their Facebook comments on Bal Thackeray’s death.

The shutdown call evoked a near-total response in the industrial town, around 100 km north-west of the state capital Mumbai in Thane district, officials said.

Ruud van Nistelrooy insists Robin van Persie has the ability to fire Manchester United to the Premier League title.

The retired Dutchman, who scored 150 goals in a five-year spell at Old Trafford, believes his countryman – who has already netted eight times in 13 appearances for the club – can give United the edge in their battle to win back the crown they lost to Manchester City last term.

The humble teabag could be squeezed out of kitchens as scientists are developing a new machine that brews tea in just two minutes, half the time of a traditional teapot.

Cambridge Consultants, who brought the round teabag, believe they can take tea to the next level using pods filled with leaves which are spun at high speed.

The “Te” system brews tea in two minutes, rather than the traditional four that is recommended by tea companies but largely ignored by consumers.

A passenger aircraft could one day be flown by remote by pilots sitting in a control room hundreds of miles away, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

Tests on a new breed of civilian aircraft which use the same pilotless technology currently found in military drones begin next month in Britain.

The consortium behind the project hopes it will dramatically slash the costs of air travel, make possible new airborne services, and free pilots from potentially dangerous but essential missions.

A newly discovered gene that is essential for embryo survival could also hold the key to treating and potentially controlling chronic infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis, scientists say.

The gene, called Arih2, is fundamental to the function of the immune system – making critical decisions about whether to switch on the immune response to an infection.

Dementia patients who fumble for words, trying to recall their usage, could now regain their word memory thanks to a new training programme.

This ability to re-learn vocabulary indicates that even in dementia, some recovery of function is possible, says a new study led by Sharon Savage at NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia).

“People with this type of dementia lose semantic memory, the memory system we use to store and remember words and their meanings,” Savage was quoted in the journal Cortex.

India has recorded over 35,000 dengue cases in 2012, the highest number in a year so far, parliament was told Tuesday.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health Abu Haseem Khan Choudhary said total 216 dengue deaths were reported till mid November this year across the country.

Dengue, a vector borne disease, has effected all major cities of the country, with the total number of cases by Nov 15 reaching 35,066 – a sharp increase from 18,860 cases and 169 deaths in 2011. Over 28,000 dengue cases and 110 deaths were reported in 2010.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) here claim to have hit the bull`s eye with a potential vaccine directed at the dreaded kala azar disease that claims dozens of lives in eastern India every year.

“The vaccine formulation is highly potent. We have shown the way and further research will give us a weapon against kala azar,” Nahid Ali, scientist at the Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division of the IICB here, told IANS.

Singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya, who has co-produced ‘Khiladi 786’ with Akshay Kumar, is sure it will be yet another Rs.100 crore film for the actor.

“As far as Rs.100 crore is concerned, I am 100 percent sure and pray that the record Akshay Kumar has set with `Rowdy Rathore` and `OMG- Oh My God!` this year, in `Khiladi 786` we will surely cross that figure,” the 39-year-old said here Tuesday on the sidelines of a college fest.

Reshammiya was present at the event with Akshay and the film`s leading lady Asin Thottumkal.

Orientation programme for the fresh students of Amjad Ali Khan College of Business Management was held under the chairmanship of the President of Sultanul-Uloom Education Society. Mr. Khan Lateef Mohammed Khan. Mr. Mohammed Waliullah, Vice Chairman, Mr. Zafar Javeed, Secretary Mr. Nisar Ahmed, Joint Secretary and Prof Shahbaz Ahmed addressed the gathering.

Mr. Khan Lateed Mohammed Khan advised the students to proceed in their educational career with confidence.

Siasat Urdu Daily in collaboration with M.S. Education Academy will conduct a Talent Search Test on Sunday 2nd December from 2 to 3.40 p.m. in Hyderabad, Adilabad, Mahboob Nagar, Medak, Warangal, Kurnool, Khammam, Karimanagar, Prakasham and Nizambad Districts for the students of Urdu, Telugu and English media.

Mr. Mohammed Farooq Husain MLC termed the formation of Commissionerate for Minorities a gift from the Chief Minister for the community. He expressed the hope that C.M. would take a few more steps for the welfare of Minorities. He told that Congress is a secular party. Whatever steps it has taken since 2004 are the proofs of its secular policies towards Minorities. He said that Congress didn’t deviate from it principles.

It also didn’t neglect protecting the rights of Minorities. He told that the Minorities are with Congress and they would continue to be with Congress in future also.

Padmabhushan Mr. Jatin Das lamented on damaging the cultural heritage in the name of modern developments. He pointed out the influence of Persian kalamkari on the Dakhini paintings. He was addressing a gathering at Maulana Azad National Urdu University yesterday on “Miniature Paintings of the Dakhan”. The meeting was organized by Prof. Haron Khan Sherwani Center for Deccan Studies. He termed India a unique country from the point of view of an artist where everyone knows at least three languages.

The struggle for Telangana would continue till a separate State is formed.

The disunity among the leaders supporting Telangana Movement is hindering the efforts for separate Telangana.

These thoughts were expressed in a round table conference convened by Telangana Praja Front yesterday. The meeting was convened to consider ways and means to intensify Telangana Stir.

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha M.P. Mr. P. Goverdhan Reddy told that negotiations and movement both are necessary for achieving the separate state of Telangana.

Inviting Mr. K.Chandrasekhara Rao to New Delhi for negotiations at the instance of Ms. Sonia. Mr. K.C.R should now refrain from criticizing the Congress President Ms, Sonia Gandhi.

Mr. Goverdhan Reddy played an important role in arranging the meetings of Mr. K.Chandrasekhara Rao with Congress High Command.

Sachar Committee has declared that the Muslims are more backward than Daliths. This situation has been there for the past 50 years. Congress didn’t bother about the welfare of the Muslims. Now it has decided to allocate a sub plan for SC’s and ST’s, which is commendable, but there is a need to prepare a sub-plan exclusively for Minorities on a par with the purposed sub-plan for SCs and STs.

A.P. Wakf Board is making efforts to save the land allotted to LANCO Hills through legal proceedings in the Supreme Court on the one hand but it failed to take any action on the orders issued by A.P. High Court in respect of Azam Jahi Masjid and Chilla Mahboob Subhani situated at Erram Manzil, Panjagutta.

High Court had issued orders to protect 400 Sq. land belonging to Azam Jahi Masjid in Panjagutta.

C.M. of A.P. Mr. N.Kiran Kumar Reddy has instructed the officials of Irrigation Department to accelerate the construction works of irrigation projects in Rayalaseema area. He instructed them to prepare an action plan.

C.M. reviewed the irrigation projects of Rayalaseema involving an expenditure of Rs.28 thousand crore. He expressed his desire to the officials to complete these projects as early as possible.