Diplomacy still the preferred option with Iran: Panetta

Asserting that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the “diplomacy” is still the preferred option for the Obama Administration in this regard.

“I continue to believe that there is time and space for an effort to try to achieve a diplomatic solution, which remains, I believe, the preferred outcome for both the United States and for Israel,” Panetta told Pentagon reporters at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak yesterday.

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Yasser Arafat’s widow calls his death a mystery

The widow of Yasser Arafat says she sees a spiritual significance in the timing of her late husband’s exhumation, which came just two days before a UN vote on whether to recognise a Palestinian state.

Suha Arafat told a news agency today at her home in Malta that the exhumation to determine whether Arafat had been poisoned “was as if his soul was resurrecting” ahead of today’s vote in the General Assembly.

Mrs Arafat called the former Palestinian leader’s death in November 2004, a month after suddenly falling ill, “the most important mystery of the Middle East.”

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Attempt to encroach upon Ashoorkhana land at Begum Bazar

Miscreants are making attempts to encroach upon the land of an ancient Ashoorkhana located at Begum Bazar, Multanipura. Complaints regarding Imam of Masjid Jalgeeran being harassed by the miscreants have been received.

As per the second Waqf survey report issued by the government, Masjid Jalgeeran, Ashoorkhana and Chilla Mubarak Mahboob Subhani have been recorded under Waqf gazette. Notwithstanding this attempts are made by miscreants to encroach upon the land.

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Pak panel calls for ban on ads with Indian models

A Pakistani parliamentary panel on Thursday called for a ban on advertisements featuring Indian models and suggested that it should be mandatory for female anchors on news channels to cover their heads with a dupatta.

The suggestion was made by the Standing Committee for Information and Broadcasting of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament during a meeting attended by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira.

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‘Perfect seat on the plane is 6A’

The perfect seat for passengers on a plane is 6A , as it combines maximum comfort with convenience, a new survey has found.

The poll of over 1,000 airline passengers questioned respondents on their seat preferences, including which section and whether they chose window, middle or aisle seats.

The poll also delved deeper to find out if choices were influenced by lucky numbers as well as odd or even row numbers.

Combining these responses, flight search engine ‘Skyscanner’ found that the most sought after seat on a standard aircraft is seat 6A.

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Afghan girl beheaded after rejecting marriage proposal

A 15-year-old girl in Afghanistan was beheaded by a relative after she and her family turned down the man’s marriage proposal, a British daily reported.

The victim named Gisa was decapitated with a knife in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province, police told the Daily Mail.

Police said two men, Sadeq and Massoud, were arrested after the murder. They are close relatives of the victim and live in the same village.

Police said the men wanted to marry the girl, but their advances were turned down by the victim’s father.

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Unfair to call anyone a prop in films: Asin

Bollywood actress Asin says it is unfair to call anyone, let alone a heroine, a prop in a male-oriented film. She says whatever the role may be, a heroine plays a part only she can essay in a movie.

“I don’t think anybody is a prop (in a film). You need a female protagonist and only she can do the role. So it is not very fair to call anybody a prop,” Asin told IANS.

After making her mark in the southern film industry, Asin made her Bollywood debut with “Ghajini” in 2008. Since then, she has been a part of many successful films like “Ready”, “Bol Bachchan” and “Housefull 2”.

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Sub plan of Rs 4800 crore demanded for minorities

Sending a letter to chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, President Pradesh Congress minority department Mohammed Sirajuddin has demanded a sub plan of Rs 4800 crore for the development, welfare and prosperity of minorities.

Congratulating chief minister, on behalf of minorities, on the completion of two years of his service, Mohammed Sirajuddin told that Kiran Kumar Reddy has extended Muslim reservation for further 10 years and increased the minority budget from Rs 301 crore to Rs 489 crore and now he has announced minority commissionerate.

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Sanjiv Bhatt’s wife to contest against Modi in Guj Assembly polls

Shweta Bhatt, the wife of suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, today announced that she will contest the state Assembly elections on a Congress ticket against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from Maninagar constituency in the city.

“Yes, I will be fighting against Modi from Maninagar on a Congress ticket,” Shweta Bhatt said.

“We have moved far away from democracy in Gujarat and to restore it, everyone has to do whatever they can. Fighting election against Modi is the logical step in our quest for democracy and to curb anti-democratic forces,” she said.

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U.N. vote recognises state of Palestine; U.S. objects

Palestine overwhelmingly won a historical UN General Assembly vote which will upgrade its status to non-member observer state at the world body, despite intense opposition from the US and Israel.

India was among the 138 nations in the 193-member body that voted in favour while nine countries opposed the resolution that sought upgrading the status of Palestinian Authority from ‘entity’ to ‘non-member observer state.

Forty-one countries abstained from the voting which took place on Thursday.

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Crime In Hyderabad (30.11.2012)

Woman brutally murdered
(Siasat News): A woman was brutally murdered in Alwal. Her dead body was thrown in the bushes behind a school.

According to inspector Alwal Mr. Guruviah, the neck of the woman was found slit. The motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained.

The deceased Sahu Bai, had left the house yesterday to deliver tiffin to his son to the school but did not return.

Her husband was a bakery worker. Both husband and wife were the native of Nanded, Maharashtra.

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Seminar on ‘message of peace and tolerance in different religions’

A seminar will be held at Madina Education Centre Nampally, on Saturday, December 1, at 6 pm. Justice Damana Rao former Judge AP High Court and President Bharat Ekta Manch will preside over. Justice Bhaskar Rao former chief justice Karnataka High Court will be the chief guest. Prof. Dr. Faizan Mustafa, Vice Chancellor, Nalsar University, Mrs. Nitya Ramakrishna advocate Supreme Court will be the honourary guests. Mr. K M Arifuddin will deliver inaugural address.

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Ponting retiring doesn`t mean Sachin also has to quit: Gambhir

Ricky Ponting`s decision to call it quits today might have added fuel to the fire in the raging debate over Sachin Tendulkar`s retirement, but India opener Gautam Gambhir feels his senior teammate still has a lot to offer.

“Nobody can force anyone to retire. Each individual knows when is the best time to retire. Ponting retiring doesn`t mean that Sachin also has to quit now. It`s an individual decision. They are from two different countries, two different individuals. So there is no question of a comparison,” Gambhir said.

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Messi, Ronaldo & Iniesta nominated for 2012 FIFA Ballon d`Or

FIFA and France Football have announced that Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo are the remaining three candidates in the running for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d`Or.

The Argentine has netted an impressive 82 goals since January, and needs only three more in 2012 to equal Gerd Muller`s record of 85 strikes for club and country in a calendar year.

Messi helped Barcelona to the Copa del Rey in 2011-12, while also guiding Argentina to top spot in their 2014 World Cup qualification section.

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Insects’ chill-coma recovery mechanisms revealed

Researchers have identified the mechanisms by which insects can recover from a paralyzed state in extreme cold, called chill-coma, which may give a new insight into managing agriculture and biodiversity in a changing climate.

A research team, led by Western University doctoral student Heath MacMillan, studied the recovery from chill-coma in autumn field crickets and found it depends on fixing the water and salt imbalances that materialise when the insect is cold.

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‘Bangalore among world’s top polluted megacities’

India’s ‘silicon valley’ Bangalore has been rated among top polluted megacities in the world, claims a new study, using data collected by NASA’s high-tech satellites.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University tracked pollution trends for 189 megacities, including Mumbai, New York City and Tokyo, by analysing eight years’ worth of data from three of NASA’s high-tech aerosol monitoring satellites.

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Dev Anand`s statue to be unveiled in Mumbai

A statue of late Hindi cinema icon Dev Anand will be unveiled at the Bandra Bandstand Promenade here on the actor`s first death anniversary Dec 3.

The statue will be unveiled as part of UTV Stars` property Walk of the Stars here, and it will join the statues of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor.

Remembered as Bollywood`s evergreen hero, Dev Anand died of cardiac arrest last year in London. He was 88.

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Aditi Rao Hydari roped in for Akshay Kumar`s `Boss`

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari, who was last seen in ‘London, Paris, New York’ with Ali Zafar, has now been roped in to be part of Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Boss’.

The film`s director Anthony D`Souza told IANS: “Aditi is finalised for the film, but we can`t talk exactly which character she will be playing in the film. You will have to wait till Dec 15 for an official announcement.”

D`Souza, who helmed “Blue” in 2009, says the first schedule of the film has already been shot in Delhi.

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Sanction sub plan for minorities too: Abid Rasool Khan

General Secretary Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr. Abid Rasool Khan has made representation with Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh besides chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and urged them to sanction separate sub pan for minorities also on par with SCs and STs.

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‘Son of Sardar’ crosses Rs.100 crore mark in India

Bollywood`s Diwali release “Son Of Sardaar” has finally crossed the Rs.100 crore mark at the India box office.

The Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt starrer movie has managed to mint Rs.100.55 crore, said an official statement.

“Son of Sardar” garnered an opening week collection of Rs.71.53 crore in India.

The action comedy released alongside Yash Chopra`s romantic “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” Nov 13. The latter crossed the Rs.100 crore mark in India Nov 23.

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Priyanka Chopra inspiring as singer: Zeenat Aman

Yesteryears` glamorous actress Zeenat Aman, who walked for designer Riyaz Gangji at the India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW) Thursday, says all the current breed of Bollywood actresses are multi-faceted, especially Priyanka Chopra for her “inspiring” singing talent.

“All the girls today in the industry are multi-faceted and multi-talented. They are doing everything with confidence. Each one has their own style statement. I like Vidya Balan in a Sabyasachi Mukherjee sari or Katrina Kaif in western garments.”

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Music found to be soothing in surgery

Music therapy helps soothe patients before, during and after surgery, besides reducing pain and speeding up recovery time, says a study.

A review by the University of Kentucky examined the use of music in the pre-operative, operative and post-operative stages of surgery, and music was shown to have positive results in all three stages.

Calm, slow, gentle music was shown to produce the most positive results and facilitate relaxation and pain reduction in patients.

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Rosemary herb compound promotes eye health

Rosemary herb has yielded a compound carnosic acid that promotes eye health, according to researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.

Stuart A. Lipton`s team at the institute found that carnosic acid protects retinas from degeneration and toxicity in cell culture and in rodent models of light-induced retinal damage.

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IIT Kharagpur develops software to detect Diabetic Retinopathy

The IIT Kharagpur has developed a software that will be beneficial in detecting Diabetic Retinopathy, a disease that can lead to loss of eye-sight, in a patient in the early stages.

The disease, whose root cause is diabetes, can be detected as well as categorised by just scanning the retina and taking multiple frames of it, Chandan Chakrabarty of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur said here.

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2G: Chargesheet likely against Airtel, Vodafone?

The Supreme Court Thursday directed the CBI to go ahead with its outgoing Director A P Singh’s view on the prosecution of telecom companies, their officials and public servants on the allocation of excess 2G spectrum during the NDA regime when late Pramod Mahajan was the Telecom Minister.

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