Decision to act was right, says Saif Ali Khan

His father and grandfather were cricketers, but Saif Ali Khan decided to make his career in showbiz as an actor and says he made the right choice.

His father Mansoor Ali Khan Patuadi and grandfather Iftikar Ali Khan both were cricketers, while his mother Sharmila Tagore is an actress.

RCB beat Pune Warriors by 17 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Pune Warriors by 17 runs in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match here today.

Brief Scores:

Royal Challangers Bangalore: 187 for three in 20 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 52, A B de Villiers 50 not out; Ashok Dinda 2/52).

Pune Warriors: 170 for nine in 20 overs (Robin Uthappa 75, Angelo Mathews 32; R Vinay Kumar 3/31).

JP welcomes decision to amend Prevention of Corruption Act

Lok Satta Party national President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today described the Union Cabinet decision to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act providing for confiscation of ill-gotten properties of corrupt public servants and imposing a time frame for sanction of prosecution as “small and positive steps” in the fight against corruption.

In a media statement, he said that corruption cannot be exorcized unless a number of other steps are initiated without further delay.

Dr. JP listed them as follows:

Chada lashes out at KCR, Praises Kodandaram

Senior leader and former MP Chada Suresh Reddy lashed out at TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao saying that the latter had no interest in achieving Telangana.

Chada said KCR was only interested in money and talks about Telangana movement only when he needed money. Rest of the time he confines himself to his farm house, Chada alleged. Reports said Chada had already talked to Chandrababu Naidu and got his clearance. It is in this context, KCR expelled him from the TRS.

Khurshid visiting Iran from Friday

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is paying a three-day visit to Iran from Friday, during which development of the Chabahar port that would provide India a vital link to transport its goods to Afghanistan is to figure prominently.

Khurshid is to attend the 17th meeting of the India-Iran Joint Commission May 3-5. He will co-chair the meeting along with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Saleh.

Khurshid is likely to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and would also inaugurate the Indian Culture Centre in Tehran and interact with the Indian community.

Kolkata protestors burn Zardari’s effigy, hold torch rally

Angry protestors in Kolkata Thursday burnt effigies of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, while torch rallies were held as a mark of respect to Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who died after a brutal assault in a Pakistan jail.

In central Kolkata, Congress workers held a rally outside the Tea Board office, demanding the perpetrators of the barbaric attack on Sarabjit be brought to justice.

“Why did Sarabjit Singh die? Pakistan government, shame shame,” cried a poster.

Mamata trying to prevent CBI probe into chit fund muddle: CPI-M

The CPI-M Thursday claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was desperately trying to prevent a CBI probe into the multi-million rupee chit fund scam to save the image of her Trinamool Congress, but said she would “miserably” fail in her efforts.

“Her party will go, her government will go, and everything will be in jeopardy if the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probes the scam. So she is desperately trying to prevent any probe by the CBI,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee member Gautam Deb told media persons here.

Pakistan army to deploy 70,000 troops for election security

Pakistan Army has started deployment of 70,000 troops for election-related duties that include security and maintenance of peace and order, the military spokesman said Thursday.

Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa told a press conference in Rawalpindi that the armed forces have been called upon to act in aid of the civil power under constitutional provisions, reported Xinhua.

IPL: RCB race to 187/3

Pune, May 2 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bangalore smashed 187 for three against Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League here Thursday.

A.B. de Villiers hammered 50 off 27 balls while Saurabh Tiwary scored 52 off 45 balls.

Sarabjit”s body brought back, taken to civil hospital for post-mortem

Amritsar, May 2 (ANI): The body of Sarabjit Singh, which has been brought back to India from Pakistan, is being taken to a civil hospital in Patti for post-mortem.

Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur received Sarabjit”s body at the Amritsar airport here on behalf of the Central Government after the special flight carrying his coffin from Lahore landed here.

A lot of other state Congress leaders, including Punjab Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa, were also present at the Amritsar airport here.

Karnataka polls: BJP is neck-deep in corruption, alleges Sonia

Gulbarga, May 2 (ANI): Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for pointing fingers at her political outfit, and alleged that the main opposition party is neck-deep in corruption.

“How could they dare to point finger at our party and government when they themselves are neck-deep in corruption,” she said.

Gandhi, who was addressing an election rally in Gulbarga, also alleged that the BJP fanned communalism in Karnataka.

98 pc women satisfied with breast augmentation results

Washington, May 2 (ANI): Ninety-eight percent of women undergoing breast augmentation surgery say the results met or exceeded their expectations, according to a new study.

Women also report improvements in self-esteem and quality of life after breast augmentation, according to the study by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Eric Swanson, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kan.

Guwahati hosts International Chess Championship

Guwahati, May 2 (ANI): Around 342 players from different parts of the country, Bangladesh and Nepal participated in the Fifth edition of Jugal the Kishore Newatia Memorial International Chess Championship in Guwahati. Held under the aegis of Lions Club, Guwahati, the aim of the event was to provide an opportunity to local chess players to compete with national and international players. The event was open to players with a FIDE rating of 2200 and below, and also to all unrated players.

Revolutionary People”s Front claims responsibility for Manipur serial blasts

Imphal, Mar 2 (ANI): The Revolutionary People”s Front claims responsibility for three three recent bomb blasts and gun attacks which claimed the life of one security person and injured several others. In the first explosion, on a public works department convoy, one security personnel and several others were injured. A victim, Manoj Singh said, “We were escorting the team which was on an official visit to Moreh. It was at around 8 when they started firing. We exchanged fire for more than half-an-hour.

Sarabjit”s body being brought to India, family reaches native village

Bhikhiwind (Punjab), May 2 (ANI): Family members of Sarabjit Singh have reached their hometown Bhikhiwind where his body will be brought to from Pakistan.

According to reports, Sarabjit”s body will first be flown in a special Air India plane to Amritsar, where it will be kept in a hospital mortuary for further post-mortem tests. The body will be released by the unidentified hospital on Friday morning and flown by helicopter to Bhikhiwind.

The funeral rites of the dead Indian prisoner are expected to take place around 2 p.m. on Friday, reportedly with full state honours

Modi calls Rahul Gandhi ”Mr. Golden Spoon”, campaigns for BJP in Karnataka

Mangalore, May 2 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left no stone unturned in wooing the voters of Karnataka ahead of the May 5 state assembly polls, and took an indirect jibe at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi by calling him ”Mr. Golden Spoon”.

A confident Gujarat Chief Minister asked the Karnataka voters to cast their votes on the basis of the work done by a political party for the state”s development

Kareena Kapoor sizzles in new photoshoot for Metro Shoes

New Delhi, May 2 (ANI): Kareena Kapoor was recently spotted shooting a scintillating photo session for the brand new summer cooler collection 2013 of Metro shoes.

The ‘3 Idiots’ star revealed that the latest campaign was unlike the previous one because it is more vibrant and youth friendly.

“This campaign is completely different from what we shot earlier, this is more colorful and I think it caters more to the youth, that’s what I feel. So there is lot of energy and lot of color something that I think people relate to me about,” the actress said.

New Zealand bans bizarre baby namesw

Sydney, May 2 (ANI): New Zealand officials have released a list of baby names, which were put forward by parents and were rejected as they sounded too bizarre or offensive.

The list included names like Lucifer and Mafia No Fear among others.

The barred list of 77 names reveals that one child was set to be called Anal while another narrowly avoided being named . or full stop before the Department of Internal Affairs vetoed the application, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The other names that were proposed on the list included 4Real, V8, and Queen Victoria.

Osama hunt documentary to tell ”new story”

Washington, May. 2 (ANI): A new documentary about the hunt for the Al Qaeda leader that will air on HBO will tell a slightly different story leading to the killing of Osama bin Laden. Greg Barker, the director of the film called ”Manhunt”, said there are still missing gaps in the story that won”t be known for a long time, adding that they have managed to “scratch the surface”, reports Politico. Barker said getting people to talk, especially those within the intelligence community, was a tough job.

Pak police charge two prisoners with Sarabjit Singh”s murder

Lahore, May 2 (ANI): Police have charged two prisoners with the murder of Indian convict Sarabjit Singh who was jailed in Pakistan for espionage, officials have said. Tariq Mehmood, a police official at Lahore”s Kot Lakhpat police station, said they have added a murder clause to the police complaint. Sarabjit died in the early hours of Thursday from injuries suffered in an attack on April 26, reports The News. The two suspects were taken into custody immediately after last week”s attack.

Facebook”s net income, revenue grew in first quarter of 2013

California, May 2 (ANI): Facebook has said its net income and revenue grew in the first quarter of the year, helped by an increase in mobile ad revenue. Facebook Inc. said that its net income was 219 million dollars in the January-March period, which is up from 205 million dollars in the same period a year ago, when the company was still private, reports CBS News. Revenue grew 38 percent to 1.46 billion dollars from 1.06 billion dollars. FactSet said analysts expected revenue of 1.44 billion dollars.

Pak to choose local films over Shahrukh Khan starrer this Eid

Karachi, May. 2 (ANI): The Pakistani film industry has finally braced itself for the release of four Pakistani films after a two-year hiatus. And for this reason, distributors and exhibitors in Pakistan have decided to abandon Shahrukh Khan starrer ”Chennai Express” and Akshay Kumar starrer ”Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2” – the two films films which are slated to release worldwide around Eid.

Saudi Arabia to ban males from working in women-related product shops

Riyadh, May 2 (Xinhua-ANI): Saudi Arabia planned to adopt a decision, which bans males from working in women-related product shops in order to encourage more females to get jobs, the Al Riyadh newspaper reported Thursday. According to the decision, the employers who continue to hire males, including sale assistants and accountants in the women- related product shops, will face penalties. As a result, thousands of job opportunities will be provided for females.