Month: September 2013

Nicole Scherzinger storms out of `X Factor` set over contestants` flop show

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Nicole Scherzinger launched into a foul-mouthed rant at her girls and accused them of not trying hard, before storming out of the sets of ‘X Factor.’

Scherzinger, after watching lacklustre performances on stage at boot camp, told her fellow judges, Gary Barlow, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne that the performance was very uninspiring and depressing.

The 35-year-old singer then tore into the acts backstage and yelled at the girls that she is not in her best mood and that previous performance “p****d her off,” the Mirror reported.

Asaram’s Indore ashram’s ‘illegal’ gate razed to ground

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The illegally-constructed main entrance gate of an asharam of controversial godman Asaram in Indore was demolished on Saturday by the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation.

The action was initiated after the ashram’s authorities concerned failed to produce permission certificate for construction of the gate after MPRDC issued notice to the ashram a week ago, sources said.

US intelligence claims al-Shabab planning new Kenya-like attacks

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The US intelligence community has reportedly said that the al-Qaeda linked terrorist group al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for the Nairobi mall-attack, may be planning new attacks in East Africa, particularly Kenya.

The intelligence community monitored a specific stream of classified information, but it did not include details of specific target or date.

One US intelligence official said that there are data points which are worrisome and now the intelligence is focused on how to prevent any more attacks, CNN reports.

`White Widow` plotted Nairobi mall massacre at rented home 100 yards away

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The fugitive White Widow, Samantha Lewthwaite, had rented a secret house just 100 yards away from the Westgate shopping mall, where the al-Qaeda-linked terror group killed upto 150 people last week, to plot the bloody siege, security forces said.

The widow of 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay and a mother-of-three, who has become the world’s most wanted female terrorist, is said to have plotted the slaughter with the al-Shabaab terror group in revenge for the capture of her right hand man, Mirror reports.

Music is key to mental health

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A new study has revealed that the risk of mental decline through age or illness, is less in people, who play one or more musical instruments.

Researchers at St Andrews University found that musicians have sharper minds and they are able to pick up and rectify mistakes quicker than their non-musician counterparts, News.com.au reported.

For the research, led by psychologist Ines Jentzsch, scientists compared the behavioural and brain responses of amateur musicians with non-musicians when performing simple mental tasks.

Misbah ranked among Pak”s `most successful` cricket captains

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Pakistan”s Test and ODI captain Misbah-ul Haq is reportedly ranked currently among the country”s most successful cricket captains given his impressive record in international cricket and leadership abilities. According to the Daily Times, the list includes former and current stalwarts like Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Mushtaq Mohammad.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul reassure Manmohan Singh after lawmakers” ordinance criticism

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Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi have reassured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the party”s support for him and the government in the wake of Rahul Gandhi”s criticism of a Union Cabinet ordinance that allows MPs and MLAs to attend Parliament and state assemblies despite having criminal cases against them.

Nawaz-Manmohan meeting and Pakistan’s internal struggle

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Two suicide bombers rammed into the All Saints Church in the Kohati Gate area of Peshawar, Pakistan, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on his way to New York to attend the U N General Assembly session.

The debate this attack sparked in Pakistan’s media and political circles has clear indicators how successful the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be in resuming peace talks.

Lata Mangeshkar turns 84

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Playback singer Lata Mangeshkar is celebrating her 84th birthday today.

One of the best-known and most respected playback singers of the country, Mangeshkar has been described as the “Nightingale of India”, and has won several awards and honors, including Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for contributions to Indian culture, entertainment and cinema.

In her career spanning seven decades, Mangeskar has recorded over 25,000 songs and has sung in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and dialects.

Mumbai building collapse death toll rises to 23

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The death toll in the Dockyard area building collapse in Mumbai has risen to 23.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Management cell has confirmed this.

According to the Disaster Management Cell, 18 people have been rescued from the debris, while 32 people have been injured, and are being treated at Mumbai’s J J Hospital.

Fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force officials are supervising the relief and rescue operations, even as many people are said to be still trapped in the building debris that once housed about 22 families.

Madhya Pradesh launches first ever AC double decker train service

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Madhya Pradesh has launched its first ever air conditioned double decker train service.

This train will run between Habibganj and Indore.

It was flagged off recently by Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the Habibganj Railway Station in Bhopal.

The LHB A C Double Decker is the fifth such train in the country. The four other trains are running between Jaipur-Delhi, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Banglore and Howrah-Dhanbad.

Mumbai Indians beat Lions by seven wickets in CLT20

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Mumbai Indians have beaten Highveld Lions in the 11th match of the 2013/14 Champions League Twenty20 tournament, by seven wickets in a Group A encounter, with important contributions from Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard. Mumbai, who invited the Lions to bat first after winning the toss, were set a target of 141.

2 US women basketball players issued `personal` fouls following `sweet kiss on cheek`

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Two American women basketball players were reportedly issued personal fouls during a match after one of them kissed the other on the cheek following a heated altercation between them. Diana Taurasi from women”s side Phoenix Mercury surprised players, match officials and fans alike when she kissed Seimone Augustus from rival side Minnesota Lynx during a Women”s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game.

`Love hormone` helps increase our positive evaluation of others

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Researchers have found that oxytocin can sharpen the brain’s self-other differentiation – a function that has been shown to play a crucial role in social bonding, successful social interactions and the tolerance of others.

They researchers also found that oxytocin helps to increase our positive evaluation of other people.

Vitamin D-based treatment key to halting MS

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Researchers have discovered a vitamin D-based treatment that can halt – and even reverse – the course of the disease in a mouse model of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

The treatment involves giving mice that exhibit MS symptoms a single dose of calcitriol, the active hormone form of vitamin D, followed by ongoing vitamin D supplements through the diet.

Lead scientist biochemistry professor Colleen Hayes said that all of the animals just got better and better, and the longer we watched them, the more neurological function they regained.

Jagan calls for united fight to stall Andhra’s division

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YSR Congress party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday called for a united fight by all political parties to stall division of Andhra Pradesh and said he is ready to be the first signatory to a letter to the central government in this regard.

In his first public statement after his release from jail this week and his maiden reaction to Congress party’s decision to carve out separate Telangana state, he said the central government should keep the state united if it is unable to do justice to all the regions.

Andhra minister’s resignation over Telangana accepted

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Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan on Saturday accepted Animal Husbandry Minister P Viswaroop’s resignation following Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s recommendation, Raj Bhavan sources said.

Viswaroop had on Thursday submitted his resignation to the Governor to oppose the Congress party’s decision to carve out a separate Telangana state. He said he would now participate in the ongoing movement in Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra) against the proposed bifurcation.

CBI court rejects Talwar’s plea to send ‘khukri’ to England

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A CBI court trying Rajesh and Nupur Talwar for the murders of their daughter Aarushi and domestic aide Hemraj on Saturday rejected the couple’s plea to send a ‘khukri’ to a British forensic lab for another round of DNA testing.

After rejecting the petition, Additional Sessions Judge Shyam Lal fixed September 30 for the start of final arguments in case.

‘Khukri’, a sharp-edged weapon suspected to be used in the crime, was recovered from the room of Talwars’ compounder Krishna.

Pakistan must shut down terror machinery: PM at UN

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In a hard-hitting speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Pakistan to shut down “terrorist machinery” on its soil while making it clear that there can “never, ever” be a compromise on the territorial integrity of India of which Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part.

In his address to the UN general assembly on Saturday, he virtually rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s demand for resolving the Kashmir issue on the basis of UN security council resolutions, saying India favoured settlement of all issues on the basis of the Simla Agreement.

Muzaffarnagar riot victims to get govt jobs: UP govt

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An order has been issued by the Uttar Pradesh government to provide government jobs to those killed during riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas, a official spokesman said here.

“Implementing the announcement made by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on September 15 that kin of those killed in riots will be given government job according to their qualification an order has been issued,” he said.

The spokesman said that 62 people were killed in the violence of which five remain unidentified.

Qaeda tells Syria schoolgirls to wear Islamic clothes: NGO

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An Al-Qaeda front group in Syria says girls in a village it controls will not be allowed to attend school unless they wear Islamic clothing, a monitoring group said today.

In Tweihineh, “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant… Has forbidden girls in primary education and above from attending school unless they wear fully Islamic clothing including an abaya (gown), gloves and a veil,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Pan shop owner killed in road accident

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A 24-year-old man received injuries in a road accident when a car from back side hit his motorcycle, while he was from Kushaiguda cross road.

According to Kushaiguda police, deceased – Mohammed Qasim pasha, a Pan shop owner, s/o Mohammed Ibrahim, r/o ECIL, met with an accident on Sept 21 while he was going on his motorcycle, immediately he was shifted to private hospital for treatment where in undergoing treatment he died on 28th Sept.

TDP levelling charges to divert attention from its failure

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Brushing aside the allegations levelled against Party Honorary President YS Vijayamma and other family members, YSR Congress has said the desperate move is only to divert the attention of TDP’s faux pas on giving a letter to the Centre accepting the division of the State unconditionally.