Month: September 2013

John’s ‘Welcome Back’ look close to Aamir’s in ‘Rangeela’

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Actor John Abraham says his ‘tapori’ look in “Welcome Back” resembles Aamir Khan’s look from the 1995 film “Rangeela”.

“It’s a very different character in ‘Welcome Back’. I can say it’s somewhere close to Aamir Khan’s look in ‘Rangeela’. I am having a lot of fun shooting. I hope the audience will be shocked to see me in a different look,” John told reporters here at an event.

The actor, who is experimenting with different genres, says his first love will always be action.

Artistic crowds flock to Bangalore literary fest

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The second edition of the Bangalore Literary Festival opened Friday with a bang, as hundreds of book lovers and cultural aficionados flocked to the venue on the city’s outskirts to interact with their celebrity authors, historians, actors and theatre personalities.

Sikkim eyes Rs.1,500 crore business from tourism annually

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Sikkim is aiming to generate tourism business worth Rs.1,500 crore perannum by 2020, a state minister said here Friday.

Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel said the state’s annual business from tourism leap-frogged to Rs. 400 crore in 2010 from Rs.75 crore in 2000. The figure was only Rs.1 crore in 1980.

“The target for generation of economic activities by the eyar 2020 from the sector has been fixed at Rs.1,500 crore per annum,” Dhungel said at the launch of 777 days of the incredible India Himalayas organised by union tourism ministry here.

India, China favour quick IMF quota reform; to coordinate economic policies

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India and China Friday called for expeditious quota reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urging other countries to speedily fulfil their commitment of implementing the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform.

“Both sides are committed to pushing forward reforms in the international financial institutions and urge other countries to fulfil their commitment of implementing the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform expeditiously and to complete the next general quota review by January 2014,” said a joint statement issued here after the 6th China-India Financial Dialogue in Beijing.

Government okays FDI proposals worth Rs.2,000 crore

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The government Friday said it has approved 15 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals that will result in an inflow of Rs.2,000.49 crore-worth of overseas capital.

The government has approved the proposals based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The FIPB had given its recommendations after a meeting held Aug 27, 2013.

Mahindra to raise vehicle prices

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Automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Friday said it will increase the prices of its vehicles by up to two percent from next month.

According to the company, the price increase will be effective from Oct 1, 2013 and would be in the range of Rs.6,000 to Rs.20,000.

“We have been holding back prices for a while but now it has become necessary to raise them due to increasing input costs, devaluation of the rupee and increase in some raw material costs,” said Pravin Shah, chief executive, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra.

India needs to innovate to excel: Jaipal Reddy

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India needs to innovate to excel and must develop technologies for people at the base of the economic pyramid, Science and Technology Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said Thursday.

Speaking at the 71st Foundation Day celebration of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Reddy said: “The real value in a knowledge economy could only be derived from invention and innovation.”

“We thus need to invent and innovate more and more and also engage all the stakeholders in doing so,” he said.

ICRISAT launches website for sharing information

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) The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), which conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Thursay launched a website to make large volumes of scientific knowledge and information easily accessible by the public.

The website (exploreit.icrisat.org) was launched Thursday, said a statement by ICRISAT, which has its headquarters at Patancheru near here.

EXPLOREit will become the main source of ICRISAT’s scientific information, with profiles of all topics, systems, crops, locations and resources where it works.

Rover Curiosity finds ‘abundant’ water in Martian soil

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The first scoop of soil analysed by the Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the Martian surface may contain “abundant” water, Xinhua reported Thursday citing US researchers.

Curiosity touched down Mars last August and began its 100-day mission of collecting and analysing samples of all kinds in Gale crater, which is near the Martian equator, with its high-tech lasers and scoops.

In this study, researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used the rover’s scoop to collect dust, dirt and finely grained soil from a sandy patch known as “Rocknest”.

Oil subsidy, rupee may push fiscal deficit above 5 percent

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Widening oil subsidy and weakness in rupee are likely to push India’s fiscal deficit above 5 percent in the current financial year as against the budgetary target of 4.8 percent, a ratings and research agency said.

India Ratings & Research, a unit of Fitch Group, said the recent depreciation in the value of rupee is likely to increase oil subsidy to 0.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), 0.1 percent more than the budgetary target.

The increase in oil subsidy bill could alone push the fiscal deficit over 5 percent of GDP as against the budgeted 4.8 percent, it said.

Ten killed in Mumbai building collapse

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Ten persons were killed and 25 others injured when a four-storeyed building collapsed in a south Mumbai locality Friday morning, officials said.

While 20 persons were rescued without injuries from the debris, search operations were underway Friday evening on a war footing to trace 10 more people feared trapped under the rubble, an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control unit said.

Among the injured, the condition of some was reported to be serious, raising the possibility of more fatalities.

PM heads for summit; to consider issues raised by Rahul on return

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As a political firestorm storm broke out back home, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday the issues raised by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi about a controversial ordinance would be considered on his return to India.

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the ordinance to protect convicted lawmakers hours before his summit meeting with President Barack Obama, Manmohan Singh made clear that the ordinance was cleared by the cabinet.

Will consider issues raised by Rahul on return: PM

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday the issues raised by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi about a controversial ordinance sent to the president would be considered on his return to India.

“The issues raised will be considered on my return to India after due deliberations in the cabinet,” said a statement issued by the prime minister after Rahul Gandhi said the ordinance that seeks to protect convicted lawmakers was “nonsense” and, in his personal opinion, “should be torn up and thrown away”.

Why some people remain lean and others obese

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Researchers have said that becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body’s energy-producing “battery.”

Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles that generate and maintain proper energy levels in complex organisms. Using animal models, the Yale research team studied mitochondria in different populations of brain cells known to be involved in the regulation of appetite.

Venus Williams hits fastest 209 km/h women”s serve but WTA refuses to recognize it

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Former World No.1 Venus Williams hit a 209 km/h serve during her quarterfinal match against Eugenie Bouchard at the WTA Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, but it was not considered as a record because the company collecting data was not IDS.

According to TennisWorldUSA.org, Venus expressed that she knows she has been serving a lot harder in the tournament after coming back from a back injury, adding that it felt good but she did not know whether it was that hard. WTA recognizes serve speeds only by IDS for record purposes, the report said.

Fawad Alam hopes to make comeback after `disappointing` omission from Pak team

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Pakistan player Fawad Alam, who was cast aside for 17 months after scoring a Test century on debut, has said that he was frustrated by the manner in which he was treated and was desperate to make the squad again.

According to the Dawn, the left-handed batsman, still relatively young with his 28th birthday around the corner (Oct 8), last played for Pakistan on the New Zealand tour on the Boxing Day in 2010 at Auckland”s Eden Park in the first of three Twenty20 Internationals.

US, Arab states blame Assad for atrocities in Syria

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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, in a meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry, said Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and senior Syrian officials were accountable for all the atrocities being suffered by the Syrian people.

The meeting, held on the margins of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly Thursday, was also attended by US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hegel.

Pakistani accused of raping 30 sheep in Saudi Arabia

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A Pakistani has been accused of raping 30 sheep belonging to a citizen in Al Aflag, Saudi Arabia.

The man was arrested after the police was told about the incident from a citizen, who saw a man entering the sheep yard before midnight to conduct a sexual intercourse with the animals. According to alriyadhh, the sheep owner filed a complaint to the security authorities to analyze his cattle. Ministry of Agriculture will execute the analysis on the animals to complete the investigation procedures with the accused offender. (ANI)

Indian gems worth 205k pounds found beneath Mont Blanc glacier

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A French mountaineer has found gems believed to belong to a passenger on one of two Air India planes that crashed in 1950 and 1966.

The Mont Blanc gem find was made on the Bosson glacier, which has often spewed to the surface all sorts of remnants from the Air India crashes.

It was an unexpected find for the young French alpinist as he approached the summit of Mont Blanc.

Ordinance may be taken back after Rahul slams govt move

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With Rahul Gandhi slamming the ordinance against disqualification of convicted lawmakers, Government is expected to take back the controversial measure, Congress indicated today.

“Rahul ji’s opinion is the opinion and the line of Congress… Now Congress party is opposed to this Ordinance,” he said. The views of Congress party should always be supreme,” party general secretary and communication department in-charge Ajay Maken said when asked about the fate of the ordinance in the wake of Rahul’s views and whether it is likely to be withdrawn.

Minor raped by three youths

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A teenaged girl was allegedly raped by three youths in Ramsanehi Ghat area here, police said today.

According to FIR lodged by the victim’s parents, Neeraj and two others took his 14-year-old daughter into captivity on September 21 and raped her for several days.

The girl some how managed to escape and narrated the incident to her parents, who yesterday lodged an FIR in this connection.

–PTI

India gives mixed opinion over SC ruling on ‘right to reject’

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People across the country gave mixed reaction to the Supreme Court verdict that gave the citizens of India the right to reject candidates in elections.

Pradeep Deshmukh, a resident of Bhopal, welcomed the order of the apex court and called it ‘historic’.

“This is a historic order and this would strengthen people’s confidence in democracy. The Supreme Court has given this great right to the people and if people don’t like any candidate they can now reject that candidate or all of them,” he said

India to raise LeT activities of Hafeez Saeed with Obama Home

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India is likely to seek the support of the United States in curbing terrorism emanating from Pakistan, and would want Washington to use its influence on Islamabad to crack the whip on the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba and its founder Hafeez Saeed, during bilateral talks scheduled for Friday.

Decks have been cleared for a meeting at the White House between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.