Month: February 2013

Vivek Oberoi’s ‘kismet connection’ with Sanjay Dutt!

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Vivek Oberoi, who had earlier done “Shootout at Lokhandwala” with Sanjay Dutt and is now seen in “Zila Ghaziabad”, says he has some ‘kismet connection’ with the actor.

“It was fun working with Baba bhai (Sanjay Dutt) and we have some kismet connection, baba bhai and me. Whenever we do a film together it is a blockbuster. I just pray that this film is also a blockbuster,” the 36-year-old said here Thursday at the premiere of “Zila Ghaziabad.”

Vivek also recalled how Dutt always pushed him to start a family and it was him he called up first after becoming a father recently.

Curfew imposed in parts of Kashmir Valley

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Authorities have imposed curfew or restrictions on movement of people in most parts of Kashmir Valley to foil plans of separatists to hold protests demanding handing over of the body of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru to his family.

Curfew has been imposed in 11 police station areas of Srinagar city and some other towns of the Valley as a precautionary measure, a police spokesman said on Friday.

He said barring 16 police station areas of the city, restrictions under Section 144 CrPC or curfew were in place in the entire Valley.

Curbs in Srinagar to foil separatist protests

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Authorities Friday imposed curfew like restrictions in parts of Srinagar and some towns in the Kashmir Valley to foil separatist protests.

A police officer told IANS that section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed in areas including Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safa Kadal, Soura, Maisuma, Shaheedgunj and Batmaloo.

Similar restrictions banning the assembly of four or more people have been clamped in Jammu and Kashmir’s northern towns of Sopore, Baramulla and Bandipora.

Opposition takes on Shinde over Hyderabad blasts in Rajya Sabha

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition today targeted Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for giving a delayed response to the Parliament on the Hyderabad blasts.

There was chaos inside the Rajya Sabha today as Shinde briefed the house over the twin bomb blasts that rocked Hyderabad last evening.

Condemning the Hyderabad blasts, Shinde said the government is committed to curb such terror attacks.

Shinde further said the situation is under control.

Saif to make nasty ‘Bullet Raja’ look cool

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Actor Saif Ali Khan says although his character in new film “Bullet Raja” wears nasty clothes, he will still try to make him look cool in them.

“I think it is one of the most fun things when you do a role, try and find the look for the character. So ‘Bullet Raja’ is kind of like this (points to stubble) but a little, sort of wears pretty big and nasty clothes but hopefully we’ll make it look kind of cool.

That’s the idea, nylon shirts and white pants and white shoes,” the 42-year-old said here during a photo shoot for Image sunglasses.

‘Viral’ YouTube video shows Saudi Arabian duo driving car on two wheels while changing tyres

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In a shocking YouTube video which has quickly gone viral, the driver of a white Hyundai sedan is shown driving the car on two wheels on a highway in the Saudi desert. The video, named ‘prohibited talent’, has been uploaded by a Saudi Arabian national Khaled Al-Humeidan and also shows a passenger of the car managing to change all four tyres by hand while the car was driving at an apparent high speed, New York Daily News reports.

Pakistan condemns terror attack in India

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Pakistan Friday condemned the deadly bomb attacks in the Indian city of Hyderabad, in which at least 16 people were killed and over 100 injured Thursday.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the bomb blasts in Hyderabad, India, causing several deaths and injuries,” the foreign ministry said.

“Being itself a victim of terrorism, Pakistan fully understands and shares the pain and agony of the people of India. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families of victims of this terrorist attack,” reported Xinhua citing a foreign ministry statement.

Clinton to charge USD 200k per speech

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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has signed up for speaking circuit and will charge a whooping USD 200,000 per speaking appearance, making her one of the highest paid public figures on such appearances.

Notably her salary as the Secretary of State, which she relinquished less than a month ago was USD 186,000.

“Now that she’s out as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton isn’t going to be hurting for money, thanks to speaking fees of more $200,000 per speaking appearance, according to a source familiar with the situation,” Buzzfeed reported.

Afridi vows to capitalize on ‘last chance’ in ODI series against Proteas

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Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is confident of making a successful comeback in the one-day Internationals, targeting key performances in the upcoming five-match ODI series against South Africa, according to a source. This has come in the light of Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chief selector Iqbal Qasim describing the recall of the all-rounder as his ‘last chance’, indicating that failure to perform again might bring Afridi’s career in the format to an end, the Express Tribune reports.

Rolls Royce customized cars in the offing

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The super luxury car maker, Rolls Royce will put up its legendary Phantom and Ghost models for customization. A senior office of the company told this. Herfried Hasenoehrl, general manager (emerging markets Asia), Rolls Royce after launching dealership in the city told press persons ‘We are talking to designers and other professionals. This idea will take two months to come to market since we also have to give priority to the quality of the product.’ The two cars cost between `3.2 crore and `4.9 crore.

Shabana sad at Hindi films shunning Urdu language

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Actress Shabana Azmi feels sad that Hindi films, that once used to protect the Urdu language, are slowly shunning it.

“If you compare today’s songs with the songs of the 1960s and 1970s, then definitely today’s songs are according to the demand. But if you see, Hindi films used to protect the Urdu language as they used it but it is slowly dying and I feel bad for it,” the 62-year-old said here Wednesday at the Tahzeeb Gangojaman – A Unique Mushaira.

Shabana’s husband and renowned writer Javed Akhtar also read out his poetry here and the actress calls him a “great poet”.

American Education Expo Scholarship Fair

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International Student Network (ISN) is organizing American Education Expo Scholarship Fair on February 22 5:30 pm, at Taj Deccan Hotel Banjara Hills.

Scholarship will be given to undergraduate and graduate students on merit basis. This event includes a Student Visa Seminar presented by the U.S. Consular officer, which explains the Visa process for students.

Students should bring multiple copies of their report cards, transcripts, TOEFL scores, etc. to the Expo. This event is supported by US Department of Commerce at the US Consulate in Hyderabad.

Indian Mujahideen suspected, ammonium nitrate found on site

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Preliminary investigation into the twin blasts in Hyderabad has suggested that Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were used to carry out the explosions and the modus operandi was similar to blasts triggered by the banned militant outfit Indian Mujahideen.

“The blasts triggered by IED tied to two bicycles at two sites 100 metres apart and some traces of Ammonium Nitrate were also found from the two spots,” police said.

The toll in last evening’s powerful explosions has climbed to 16. Five of the 119 injured are stated to be in a critical condition.

Madhuri has surprise for budding dancers?

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Bollywood’s dancing diva Madhuri Dixit says there is a “huge surprise” for dance enthusiasts in the country.

“We have a huge surprise in store for all you dancers and budding dancers! Watch for news on Monday,” Madhuri tweeted Friday.

Perhaps it could be the announcement of a new season of a dance reality show she has judged before.

For now, she is heading to Lucknow to shoot for Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Dedh Ishqiya”.

There are also rumours that Madhuri is likely to feature in a fiction TV show. However, there is no confirmation on the front.

———–IANS

US had warned of terror attacks a day before

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A day before blasts at Dilsukhnagar, United States had issued a worldwide travel alert to its citizens including South Asia where it said terrorist outfits like al Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) might harm them.

Islam has no connection with terrorism: Prof. Bruce Lawrence

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Noted researcher of comparative study of various religions, Prof. Bruce Lawrence, Professor Emeritus, Islamic Studies, Duke University, U.S.A. said that Islamic has no connection with terrorism and the propaganda of the forces which are trying to link Islam with terrorism is baseless. Prof. Lawrence who is on his visit to various cities of India, told this while talking to selected media persons at the US consulate-general here on Thursday. Prof. Lawrence has also done comparative study of various languages and exhaustively read religious books.

IAEA says Iran installing new nuke equipment

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Iran has started installing advanced centrifuge machines for enriching uranium at its nuclear plant at Natanz, the UN”s nuclear watchdog has said.

The IAEA said Iran has started to install about 180 advanced centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear plant, potentially a major upgrade in Iran”s nuclear programme.

Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium. Low-enriched uranium is used for civilian purposes. But higher-grade enriched uranium can be used as the material for an atomic bomb.

Dilsukhnagar Blast: This is attack on India

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MIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi Thursday condemned the twin bomb blasts in the city and appealed to people to maintain peace.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president said it was a testing time for people and called for unity to defeat the designs of terrorists.

MIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi termed the serial blasts in Dilsukhnagar as attack on India.

Walmart posts profits of $17 bn

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Walmart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said Thursday it posted income from continuing operations of $17 billion in the fiscal year ended Jan 31, up 7.8 percent from the comparable prior period, thanks to higher sales and lower financing costs.

Revenues totaled $466.1 billion in fiscal 2013, up 5 percent over fiscal 2012, the company said.

“Walmart topped off a really good year with a solid fourth quarter, and I’m proud of what we accomplished as a team,” Walmart Stores, Inc. president and CEO Mike Duke said.

Govt. must explain why Hyderabad terror strike could not be avoided: Mulayam

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Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday condemned Thursday evening”s twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad and questioned why the government had been unable to prevent these incidents despite having relevant intelligence inputs.

“The government must explain what shortcomings are there that such attacks are taking place,” Yadav said.

“The whole country, the house is with them, so the government must explain where we are lacking? Even after we had the information, how can an incident like this take place,” he said.

Eating avocados can reduce stroke and diabetes risk

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Consuming avocados could be associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake level, lower intake of added sugars, lower body weight, BMI and waist circumferences, higher “good cholesterol” levels and lower metabolic syndrome risk, a new study has revealed.

We must not fall into the trap of terrorists: Nitish Kumar

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Condemning Thursday”s twin blasts in Hyderabad, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and calm to defeat the terrorists.

“We must not to fall into the trap of terrorists who want to create divisions. Terrorists are trying to destabilize normal life. We have to stay determined and maintain peace,” Kumar told media here.

Earlier this morning, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde who visited the twin bomb blasts site at Dilsukh Nagar in Hyderabad, said 14 people were killed in the blast and 110 were injured.

Google introduces high-end Chrome OS laptop

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Google has introduced its own high-end laptop Chromebook Pixel powered by its Chrome operating system.

“With the Pixel, we set out to rethink all elements of a computer in order to design the best laptop possible, especially for power users who have fully embraced the cloud,” said Google in its official blog Thursday.

According to the search giant, Chromebook Pixel, with a 4.3-million-pixel touchscreen, has the highest pixel density of any laptop screen on the market today, reported Xinhua.

BJP calls for shutdown in Andhra Pradesh

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a shutdown in Andhra Pradesh Friday to condemn the twin bomb blasts here, which killed 14 people and injured over 100.

BJP state president G. Kishan Reddy appealed to all people to voluntarily observe the shutdown to protest the blasts and show their sympathies with the victims’ families.

Talking to reporters, he said the state government failed to take steps to prevent the blasts despite warnings from the central intelligence agencies. He demanded the government to act firmly against terrorists.

Pakistan must resist US pressure: Daily

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Pakistan could and should resist US pressure regarding the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, said a leading daily Friday.

“Each time it appears that the Iran-Pakistan pipeline deal is edging closer towards final status, an old roadblock appears: the objections of the US,” said an editorial in the Dawn.

It said that with US sanctions against Iran being tightened further, Islambad’s “attempt to import gas from Iran was inevitably going to be the source of some friction in Pakistan-US relations”.