Tension in communal clash hit Muzaffarnagar

The situation in Muzaffarnagar, where three people were killed in a communal clash late Wednesday, continued to be tense Thursday, police said.

Officials admitted that the killings had once again endangered the fragile peace in the region.

Another incident – stabbing and then shooting of a couple at Phugana in Shamli district late Wednesday night – fuelled the tension.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has sent state police chief Deo Raj Nagar to the violence hit region.

Over 950 suspected poachers held in Tanzania

A staggering 952 suspected poachers have been arrested and 104 ivory seized in Tanzania during a special anti-poaching operation launched about two months ago, it was revealed Wednesday.

A total of 631 firearms, including 13 military weapons, have been seized during the operation jointly conducted by the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, Tanzania Police Force and Tanzania National Parks, reported Xinhua citing minister for defence and national service.

Husband kills wife, her parents in China

A man was arrested in China’s Ningxia Hui region Wednesday for allegedly murdering seven people, including his wife and her parents, following an argument in the family earlier this month.

The Pengyang County People’s Procuratorate approved the arrest of the suspect, Ma Yongdong, Wednesday afternoon, causing police to arrest him later in the day, Xinhua reported.

Ma was detained Oct 18 Wuzhong city and sent to Pengyang County the next day, according to the public security bureau of Pengyang, where the killing occurred.

CM again targets Congress HC on AP’s division

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy once again targeted the Congress High Command for its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana State.

Speaking after paying tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 29th death anniversary here, the Chief Minister said that Indira Gandhi was against the division of Andhra Pradesh. He reminded that as the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi rejected the demand for State’s division in 1969 and 1972 agitations. He said that Indira Gandhi was clear on her stand and was in favour of united Andhra Pradesh till her death.

Anushka Sharma turns producer with ‘NH10’

Actress Anushka Sharma, who has featured in films like “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”, “Band Baaja Baaraat” and “Jab Tak Hain Jaan”, is now set to try her hands as a producer for her film, “NH10”.

The actress, who will also play the lead role in the film, is co-producing it with production house Phantom.

“I’m thrilled to get a chance to do this so early on in my career. And I couldn’t have found a better project than ‘NH10’ to kick-start this new phase in my film journey,” Anushka said in a statement.

‘X-Men…’ will exceed fans expectations: Hugh Jackman

Actor Hugh Jackman feels that his upcoming movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past” will surpass the expectations of fans.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is the seventh film in the “X Men” franchise and stars Jackman as Wolverine.

“As excited as (the fans) are, I can tell you it’ll exceed those expectations. I feel it’s that good. I’m very, very excited about it,” eonline.com quoted the 45-year-old as saying.

Directed by Bryan Singer, the movie also features Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Halle Berry. It is slated to release in 2014.

SRK invites media for his birthday

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan carries on the tradition of inviting media on his birthday this year too. He turns 48 Saturday, and has planned a sit-down gathering with jounalists at his home.

Shah Rukh stays with his family at his palatial bungalow, Mannat, located at Bandstand in Bandra here.

“I feel very weird when people celebrate my birthday with great enthusiasm every year. So, you all (reporters) are invited. Come to my home. We will sit down, have cold drinks and chat and all,” Shah Rukh said here Wednesday at the launch of a jewellery lounge by Lista Jewels.

Now Javed Akhtar’s poetry in French

Acclaimed writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar’s poetry has now been translated into French. This is the first time that any Indian poet’s works in Urdu have been translated into French.

Akhtar, 68, was recently at the University Of Paris for the release of the French translations of his Urdu works and thanked two ladies Vidya Venkatesh and Anne Sinha, for making this possible.

“It was most unexpected. To find my literary, non-film Urdu poems being translated into French was no easy task. But these two ladies made it possible,” said the poet-author.

India invites American investment in aviation

With India’s aviation sector poised “for breaking boundaries and scaling new heights”, Indian Aviation Minister Ajit Singh invited American industries to invest in India taking advantage of “tremendous opportunities” offered by it.

“With ever increasing scope for participation by private sector, we expect significant development in the years ahead,” he said at the inaugural session of the three-day US-India Aviation Summit here Wednesday.

Cuba, India pledge to expand economic cooperation

Cuban First Vice President of the Council of State Miguel Diaz-Canel and visiting Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari pledged to expand economic, trade and cooperation ties between the two countries, media reports said.

The two senior officials discussed international matters here Wednesday, such as their consensus on issues at international forums, and Cuba’s role as current president of Community of the Latin American and Caribbean States, Xinhua cited from a press release.

Former IMF official cautions about global low-growth trend

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) senior official Thursday expressed his concerns about the prolonged low growth trend of the global economy amid lack of leadership and cooperation.

“There will be no big collapse or big threat, but I’m personally pessimistic (about the global economic outlook),” Xinhua reported Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former IMF managing director, as saying. He was addressing a conference here.

Kuwait PM to visit India from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9

Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah would visit India from November 7 to November 9 on the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah will visit India on invitation of our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from November 7 to November 9. This is the first visit of a head of government from Kuwait since they bifurcated the crown prince from the head of government,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told media here today.

Twitter hit by $124 mn lawsuit over trying to boost valuation ahead of IPO

Micro-blogging site Twitter has been sued for 124 million dollars by two financial firms for allegedly organizing a failed private sale of its shares in an attempt to increase investor interest days before the company’s initial public offering.

Precedo Capital Group and Continental Advisors, alleged that Twitter intentionally wanted to create an artificial private market wherein it could maintain its stock for 19 dollars per share, which would have allowed the company to set an artificial price floor of 17-20 dollars for its IPO, Wall Street Journal reports.

Iran likely to abandon IP gas pipeline project

Iran, it seems, will abandon the multi-billion-dollar contract to supply gas to Pakistan under the IP gas pipeline project.

Fars news agency quoted Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as saying that the contract for supplying gas to Pakistan is likely to be annulled, the Daily Times reports.

However, he did not reveal any other detail, the report added.

Iran was supposed to export 21.5 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan from next year.

The IP gas pipeline project, worth 7.5 billion dollars, has faced repeated delays since it was conceived in the 1990s.

Putin pips Obama as `most powerful person` in 2013 Forbes list

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been declared the world”s most powerful person by Forbes magazine, leaving United States President Barack Obama in second position in the 2013 list.

Forbes said that Obama”s “lame duck period” had started earlier than usual, while Putin strengthened his control over Russia, the BBC reports.

According to the report, it is the first time in three years that Obama has dropped to the second place on the Forbes list.

Increased Facebook mobile ad sales lead to 60% boost in revenue in Q3

Social networking site Facebook has reported 60 percent boost in revenues driven by its accelerated mobile advertising business in the third quarter.

The company’s shares also soared up by almost 15 percent in after-hours trading, following the earnings, before dropping back below their closing price, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Facebook has shown one ad per 20 stories in the newsfeed from past sometime now.

Apple iPad loses market share as android competitors gain momentum

Apple’s iPad has started to lose its market share due to its Android counterparts gaining momentum during the third quarter.

iPad’s market share in the third quarter was reported to be steady at 29.6 percent, while Samsung closed-in at 20.4 percent for the same period, Cnet reports..

A new IDC study has revealed that the overall market for tablets grew seven percent in Q3, with tablet shipments hitting 47.6 million units worldwide.

Android tablets have been the major push in market growth during this quarter, the report added.

Nawaz says Pak, India must end `tit-for-tat` policy

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said Islamabad and New Delhi should put an end to their “tit-for-tat” policy to ensure development in both nations.

Sharif said the two South Asian neighbours have wasted precious resources over the years for fighting against each other, which rather could be utilized for improving education, economy and infrastructure, the Daily Times reports.

He further said that India should have no objection to third party intervention on the Kashmir issue.

Indian spices imported to U.S. found to have highest rate of contamination

U.S food authorities have revealed that spices imported from India and Mexico have the highest rate of contamination.

An analysis of spice imports by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that almost 12 percent of spices brought to the U.S. were contaminated with insects, rodent hair and their excretions, the New York Times reports.

According to the F.D.A., nearly a quarter of the spices, oils and food colorings used in America comes from India.

Justin Bieber splurges 10K dollars on strippers

Justin Beiber reportedly showered strippers with a lot of money during a recent visit to VLive in Houston.

The 19-year-old Canadian pop musician recently visited the alcohol-free strip club in Houston and “made it rain”, according to strippers, as he spent 10,000 dollars in less than 90 minutes, the Courier Mail reported.

One of the exotic dancers who performed for the pop star revealed that the ‘Baby’ singer wasn’t shy when it came time for a lap dance, and added that she alone made 7,000 dollars that night. (ANI)

Woods still on top of world golf rankings following BMW Masters

American golf star Tiger Woods has reportedly retained his world number one position, according to the latest world rankings which followed the PGA Tour”s CIMB Classic and the European Tour”s BMW Masters. According to Sport24, the 14-time Major winner is at the top of the list with 12.56 points, followed by Australian Adam Scott at the second place with 8.94 points, Woods” American compatriot Phil Mickelson at the third place with 8.06 points and Swede Henrik Stenson at the fourth place with 8.02 points.

Syria destroys chemical arms equipment

Syria has completed destruction of equipment that it used for producing chemical weapons and filling munitions with poison gas. The revelation was made by an official at the global chemical weapons watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. According to Dawn News, the announcement made by the official on conditions of anonymity comes one day ahead of the November 1 deadline set by the Hague-based organization for Damascus to destroy all chemical weapon production facilities. Destruction of the equipment means that Syria can no longer produce new chemical weapons.

George Clooney says new girlfriend rumours all made up

George Clooney has dismissed all the rumours that have been circling regarding his relationship with different women after his split with Stacy Keibler, by saying that it’s all made up.

The ‘Up In The Air’ actor told People Magazine that there have been three different stories in three weeks, and that he should be an athlete.

Meanwhile the 52-year-old actor’s rep, Stan Rosenfield, corroborated his statement, by saying that Clooney wants the “crap” regarding Monica Jakisic to stop and he wants Katie Holmes to get a break.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher settle divorce two years after split

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have finally settled their divorce two years after they separated.

The couple had split in November 2011 and has been battling ever since but they have finally signed the divorce paperwork and are about to file paperwork with the court that will formally end their marriage, next week, the New York Post reported.

Sources revealed that there had been extensive negotiations between lawyers for both sides about the financial settlement and they have finally come to an agreement that was acceptable to both sides.

Prince Harry’s girlfriend Cressida Bonas gets `royal seal of approval`

Britain’s royal family has reportedly given their nod to Prince Harry’s 15-month relationship with girlfriend Cressida Bonas.

A source told a UK publication that the socialite had spent a few days on Queen Elizabeth II’s private estate and Sandringham is almost a rite of passage for any future royal bride, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The insider asserted that the 29-year-old royal has an extremely demanding role in the military and Sandringham’s the perfect place for him to unwind with those he dearly wants to be around.