Month: December 2013

My unsuccessful films are my ‘biggest learnings’: Aamir Khan

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In a career of almost 25 years, Aamir Khan has seen successes and flops. But it is his failures that he credits for his life`s “biggest learnings”, saying that it doesn`t matter to him if his films make Rs.100 crore or more but he gets “upset” if people lose money from a film which rides on his name.

“There are a lot of films I did that didn`t make me happy, but it is also true that you don`t always get success despite all efforts. When I look back and see these films, I feel that I`ve learnt a lot from my unsuccessful films. Those are my biggest learnings,” Aamir said here.

Want to contribute to society, nation-building via films: Aamir Khan

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Aamir Khan, Bollywood`s hugely popular actor-producer, says he doesn`t have to join politics to bring in change because he can do it as an entertainer.

He is the face of Incredible India campaign. He is a UNICEF ambassador to promote child nutrition, and he hosted ‘Satyamev Jayate’, but is not looking at politics at all.

“I have no intention to enter politics. I want to use the medium of filmmaking and entertainment to contribute to the society and nation-building,” Aamir said.

Five minor girls killed in Gaya

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Five minor girls were shot dead when they were sleeping by unidentified assailants in Sonaf village in Bihar’s Gaya district, police said today.

The girls belonging to three families, were kept in one house by their parents, who had fled from the village following some personal rivalry, Additional Superintendent of Police (Gaya) Ashok Kumar said.

A villager Shambhu Singh had lodged a complaint with the police against the three families over some personal dispute, Kumar said.

Black-marketing at ration shops continues unabated

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It would have been a much better move for the government, which provides ration cards to the poor people through Rachabanda and other government programmes, to ensure supply of commodities free of irregularities, as the black marketing at fair price shops continues unabated. The concerned ration shop dealers in connivance with some officers are selling the commodities in the black market, instead of selling them to the residents.

Seminar on Hakeem Ajmal Khan: Life and Achievements

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All India Unani Tibbi Conference Andhra Pradesh branch is organizing a 1-day national seminar on Hakeem Ajmal Khan: Life and Achievements on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maseehul Mulk Hafez Hakeem Ajmal Khan, on December 28, at Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Erragadda.

Karwan has majority of uninhabited masajid

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Karwan assembly constituency owns majority of masajid and unfortunately this assembly constituency also has the majority of uninhabited mosques. Similarly this assembly constituency is also infamous for most of the illegal occupations on waqf properties.

Ghalib Award to Mus’haf Iqbal Tauseefi

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Mr. Mus’haf Iqbal Tauseefi has been selected for ‘Ghalib Award for Urdu Poetry 2013’. The prestigious award of the Ghalib Institute will be conferred upon him on December 27, 2013 at 5 pm, at Aiwan-e-Ghalib, New Delhi on the occasion of the inaugural function of the international seminar. The award comprises of Rs. 75000, a medal and a citation.

Mus’haf Iqbal Tauseefi will leave for Delhi on December 26 and will attend the 3-day programme based on seminar and mushaira.

Siasat news

I am single: Aditya Roy Kapur

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Actor Aditya Roy Kapur has denied reports that he is dating his ‘Aashiqui 2’ co-star Shraddha Kapoor.

“Everybody asks me this question but I chose to keep mum or say no comments. All I can say is I am single and not dating Shraddha. She is a good friend,” Aditya said.

The actors were paired in ‘Aashiqui 2’ which turned out to be a successful film and the actor says life has certainly changed post the release.

Information Commissioner Sushma Singh to take over as CIC

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Sushma Singh, the senior most Information Commissioner, will be the next Chief Information Commissioner of India and will succeed Deepak Sandhu, who completes her term.

The decision on appointing Singh, a former IAS officer, as the next CIC was taken unanimously by a panel comprising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Law Minister Kapil Sibal.

Singh will the second woman to become CIC after Sandhu, whose term comes to an end later this month.

Smoking while pregnant damages placenta

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Moms-to-be, please note! Smoking while pregnant may cause severe damage to cells in the placenta and significantly impair its function, a new study has warned.

Researchers from the University of Otago, New Zealand, analysed 236 placenta samples donated by women in the Otago Placenta Study (OPuS) after delivery.

Of these women, 52 smoked throughout their pregnancy, 34 gave up smoking four weeks before delivery or earlier, and the remaining 150 were non-smokers.

Tummy ‘clock’ tells us how much to eat

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Scientists have found the first evidence that the nerves in the stomach act as a circadian clock, limiting food intake to specific times of the day.

The discovery, by University of Adelaide researchers, could lead to new information about how the gut signals to our brains about when we’re full, and when to keep eating.

In the University’s Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory, Dr Stephen Kentish investigated how the nerves in the stomach respond to stretch, which occurs as a consequence of food intake, at three-hourly intervals across one day.

Cause of infant deaths from SIDS identified

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Researchers have claimed that babies dying from Sudden infant death syndrome ( SIDS) have brain stem abnormalities regardless of whether they were exposed to risks like suffocation or co-sleeping.

The researchers analysed the brain stems of 71 infants who had died suddenly and unexpectedly over 11 years.

The study found that all the babies who died had abnormalities of four neurochemicals in the brain stem, located at the skull’s base and connects the brain to the spinal cord.

Soon, male contraceptive pill that blocks sperm during ejaculation

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Scientists have said that a new male contraceptive could be on the horizon after they identified a novel way to block the transport of sperm during ejaculation.

The study enable the scientists to find that complete male infertility could be achieved by blocking two proteins found on the smooth muscle cells that trigger the transport of sperm.

The researchers demonstrated that the absence of two proteins in mouse models, a1A-adrenoceptor and P2X1-purinoceptor, which mediate sperm transport, caused infertility, without effects on long-term sexual behavior or function.

PM to Modi: Will evolve broad-based consensus on Communal Violence Bill

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Responding to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the government’s Communal Violence Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said it would be his endeavour to develop a broad-based consensus on the proposed legislation.

Dr. Singh was responding to Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate’s, letter to him in which the Communal Violence Bill was termed as ill-conceived, poorly drafted and a recipe for disaster.

Modi and the rest of the BJP top brass have claimed that the Bill could vitiate the atmosphere and polarise Indian society.

Dementia sufferers set to treble by 2050

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A new analysis has revealed that number of people afflicted with dementia worldwide would treble by 2050.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, 44 million people suffer from the disease, but that figure would increase to 135 million by 2050, the BBC reported.

Alzheimer’s Disease International expects increasing life expectancies to increase Dementia cases in poor and middle-income countries, particularly in South East Asia and Africa.

South African marathon runner faces up to 6-year ban

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South African marathon runner Lindhikaya Mthangayi could face a six-year ban for a second doping offence.

The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport said Wednesday that Mthangayi tested positive for banned anabolic steroid methandienone at the Cape Town Marathon in September, reports Xinhua.

Mthangayi was previously banned for six months after testing positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine in 2009.

———-IANS

Sensex breaches 21,000-mark

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Led by good buying support in banking, capital goods and realty stocks, a benchmark index of the Indian equities markets soared past the 21,000-points-mark in pre-noon trade Thursday.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened sharply higher at 20,992.25 points, was ruling at 20,995.21 points in the afternoon session, up 1.38 percent or 286.50 points from its previous day close at 20,708.71 points.

The benchmark Sensex soured past the psychological resistance level of 21,000 points and touched a high of 21,165.60 in the intra-day in a 456-points jump.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh trashes exit poll predictions

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Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has rubbished the exit polls, being aired on some news channels, predicting an edge for BJP over Congress in recently-concluded Assembly elections in five states.

“There is no meaning in such exit poll results and they deserve to be consigned to dustbin,” the Congress general secretary told reporters last night at the Raja Bhoj airport.

Digvijay’s son Jaiwardhan, accompanying his father, said exit polls are unreliable and are error-prone.

Amphetamines linked to high HIV risk

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People who injected amphetamines were more at risk of contracting HIV or other blood-borne viruses, a new study has revealed that.

The study by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) in co-operation with the Asia-Pacific Drugs and Development Issues Committee found users of amphetamine-type stimulants faced multiple HIV risks, News.com.au reported.

The report said that use appears higher among groups vulnerable to HIV such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and young people. (ANI)

Fatherless kids more likely to grow up aggressive

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While it is well known that mothers play an important role in the upbringing of their child, a new study has shown that the absence of a father during critical growth periods, leads to impaired social and behavioral abilities in adults.

The study from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), conducted on mice, is the first study to link father absenteeism with social attributes and to correlate these with physical changes in the brain.

Abducted eighth standard girl released

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A girl student, allegedly abducted by an unknown gunman in upper Assam’s Sibsagar district, was today released along the interstate-border with Nagaland, police sources said.

The Class VIII student of Kendriya Vidyalaya at Nazira, was abducted along with 10 others but the rest were released soon afterwards.

The girl, after safely reaching home, told reporters that she was taken by foot across a stream and into a forest in the night and released early this morning by her abductor.

Make milk adulteration punishable with life imprisonment: SC

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The Supreme Court Thursday urged the state governments to make necessary amendments to their laws to make production and marketing of adulterated milk, which is injurious to human consumption, an offence punishable with life imprisonment.

The observation by an apex court bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice AK Sikri came after taking note of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha having made the sale of adulterated milk, contaminated with synthetic material, an offence punishable with life imprisonment.

16 Iranians arrested for anti-government activities

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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has arrested 16 persons for providing material to anti-government websites that are reportedly seeking to topple the country’s Islamic ruling system, state media reports.

The official IRNA news agency quoted a local prosecutor in southeast Iran, Ahmad Ghorbani, as saying that all 16 activists are facing charges of cooperating with Western and anti- Iran news networks, Fox News reports.

Ghorbani revealed that the confessions obtained during interrogations proved the charges against the defendants.

Cook hopes Jonathan Trott will resume England’s No.3 position

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England batsman Alastair Cook has expressed hopes that Johanthan Trott will return to his No. 3 position despite his abrupt departure from the Ashes tour with a stress-related illness.

Cook said that Trott must be allowed to recuperate in his own time and wished him luck to come back in the game.

According to the Guardian, Cook confirmed that the problems Trott had been experiencing in Australia were not isolated incidents, as throughout his career, the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2011 has struggled at certain times.