Month: June 2014

Jon Favreau made ‘Chef’ keeping ScarJo and Sofia Vergara in mind

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Jon Favreau has revealed that he wrote the leading ladies’ characters for ‘Chef’ by keeping Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara in mind.

The ‘Iron Man’ director said in a statement that he wrote those parts specifically for Vergara and Johansson because it made him look like a good chef, who makes some great food and that’s why these gorgeous women are attracted to him.

He further added that chefs are like rockstars right now and he was trying to figure out if he could get away with a certain amount of beauty around him if the food is really good. (ANI)

Rajnath seeks roadmap for strengthening internal security

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Taking note of concerns voiced over government’s development projects being affected by the internal security situation, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today asked chiefs of security agencies and paramilitary forces to quickly prepare a roadmap to strengthen the security architecture.

At a meeting attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, chiefs of Intelligence Bureau(IB), RAW and others, Singh reviewed the security situation and asked them to prepare a blueprint to ensure a good security environment for faster development.

UN condemns rape and murder of two teenaged girls in UP

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The United Nations has condemned the “brutal” gang rape and murder of two teenaged girls last week in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district, calling for immediate action against the perpetrators and to address violence against women and girls across India.

“There should be justice for the families of the two teenaged girls and for all the women and girls from lower caste communities who are targeted and raped in rural India. Violence against women is not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue,” resident coordinator of the UN system in India Lise Grande said.

Jennifer Lawrence tops ‘most-liked’ list of summer movie female stars

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Jennifer Lawrence claimed first position in the most-liked summer movie actresses list by TheWrap.com.

According to People Magazine, the website ranked the stars by Q Score, a metric which is used in Hollywood to calculate how well does the audience respond to celebrities, where the 23-year-old Oscar winning star beat actress Melissa McCarthy by just two points while, ‘Maleficent’ star Angelina Jolie ranked third.

Meanwhile, ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ star Rosario Dawson was at the bottom of the list at 23. (ANI)

May automobile sales a mixed bag

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Dented by high fuel and interest costs in a slower economy, automobile manufacturers reported mixed sales for last month.

Sales of India’s largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki reported an increase of 19.2 percent in its total sales, including exports, for May at 100,925 units.

The company sold 84,677 units in the corresponding month of 2013.

The company’s domestic sales surged by 16.4 percent to 90,560 units during the month under review as compared to 77,821 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Why has Akhilesh not visited rape victims’ families, asks Paswan

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Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan Monday met the families of the two girls who were gang-raped and killed in a village here, and lashed out at the Akhilesh Yadav government for not doing enough in the aftermath of the crime.

Accompanied by his son and Lok Sabha member Chirag Paswan, the Lok Janshakti Party chief said the families in Katra Sadatganj village were living in constant fear and accused the Samajwadi Party government of conniving with criminals.

Justin Bieber apologizes for racist ‘n’ word joke he cracked as a teen

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Justin Bieber formally apologized for the racist joke he made as a 14-year-old, which was recently released in a video.

In a statement released to Us Magazine, the 20-year-old star said that he was just a kid back then and didn’t realize his actions could hurt people.

He continued saying that he’s extremely sorry for his ignorant behavior and offensive comments, and is grateful to his family and friends who helped him learn from his mistakes.

Kerala issues handbook on migrating to free software platforms

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The Kerala government Monday released a handbook to help its various departments and institutions migrate to free and open source software (FOSS) based operating systems.

Last month, the state government had issued an order stipulating that computers in all government and quasi-government institutions migrate their desktop PCs to FOSS-based platforms, unless there were unavoidable reasons to defer the migration. The decision has been taken in view of the withdrawal of support to Windows XP by Microsoft.

Ukraine makes partial payment to Russia in gas dues

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Russia confirmed Monday that it received $786.4 million in partial payment of Ukraine’s gas debt, and had rescheduled a pre-payment scheme due to start from June 9.

Two money transfers were made as payment for gas supplies in February and March 2014, when Ukraine’s Naftogaz company took 1.64 billion and 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas, respectively, at $268.50 per 1,000 cubic metres, according to Russia’s energy ministry.

Google offers to 3D map Goa

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Goa may soon be one of the first states in India to have a 3D digitized mapped presence online if the state government accepts Google’s proposal, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Monday.

R.S. Kamat, director general of the state’s top trade body, said in a statement that at a meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Monday, Google India’s managing director Rajan Anandan also proposed to sponsor 1,000 start-up business in the state.

Iran providing greater transparency over n-programme: IAEA

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Iran is cooperating with the UN nuclear watchdog “substantively” in clarifying its disputed nuclear programme, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told its board members here Monday.

A report presented by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to the board of governors’ meeting said Iran was providing greater transparency to the agency, including clarification of elements related to the so-called possible military dimensions (PMDs) in Iran’s nuclear plan, Xinhua reported.

Irani nonconformist executed for ‘enmity against God’

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An Iranian nonconformist has been reportedly executed by hanging for ‘enmity against God’ despite protests by human rights groups.

According to Fox News, Gholamreza Khosravi Savajan had been sentenced to death in 2010 after it was alleged that he donated money to the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), a group that seeks to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

The report added that Khosravi was also accused of providing photos of the country’s military facilities to the MEK, as well as helping to recruit for the group.

Family comes first for Nicole Kidman

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Actress Nicole Kidman says that her family comes first and that she “wouldn’t even bat an eyelid,” to give up her career for them.

Kidman, who played Princess Grace Kelly in “Grace Of Monaco”, said this when she was asked if she would give up her career for her family, similar to what her character did in the film.

“If it were the choice between my family and Keith, and my career, I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. The most important things to me are the love of our relationship and my children,” contactmusic.com quoted Kidman as saying.

Shiv Sena takes dig at BJP, says Uddhav will be CM candidate

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Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will be its nominee for Maharashtra chief minister’s post, the party said today even as it attacked ally BJP’s senior leader Gopinath Munde over his chief ministerial ambitions.

“We have always had this understanding with BJP, that the prime minister will be from the BJP and the chief minister in the state will be from Shiv Sena and all our cadre, everyone wants Uddhavji to be chief minister if our grand alliance comes to power,” Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said.

A play that delves into relationship of minority groups

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A gay couple discovers the life of an old Anglo-Indian couple through their left over belongings, and develops their own love story during this intimate journey. A play in the capital raises questions about love and its limitations for these couples who form a small part of India’s population.

In this 90-minute play, “The Pad”, Pulkit, a banker uses a house for his random hook-ups, and it is where he meets Sahil, a researcher in history of interior design, who is intrigued by the belongings left behind by its previous occupants — an Anglo-Indian couple — Jennifer and Fabian.

Two paradigms lock horns at Shangri-La Dialogue

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The Shangri-La Dialogue is held annually in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), with the three-day summit adjourning on 1 June. This regional security summit was the largest to date with some 450 delegates attending. It was also the feistiest on record as security tensions in Asia begin to boil over.

‘Article 370 is ‘jugular vein’ of the bond between JK, Centre’

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CPI(M) today described Article 370 of the Constitution as “jugular vein” of the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Centre and said if the Constitutional provision is weakened the bond will also follow the suit.

“Article 370 is a jugular vein of the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union of India and if this jugular vein is weakened, the relationship would be weakened,” CPI(M) state secretary M Y Tarigami told reporters here.

He condemned the “provocative overtures” about abrogation of the article.

Hunger blocking hormone could also help treat obesity

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A new research has revealed that hormone leptin does not only influences neurons to modulate behavior and body weight but it also acts on other types of brain cells to control appetite.

Tamas Horvath, senior author said that the scientific community believed up till now that leptin acts exclusively in neurons to modulate behavior and body weight but this study has now changed the paradigm.

Eating prunes could help lose weight

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University of Liverpool researchers have found that including prunes in a health based diet helps lose more weight.

A study by the University’s Institute of Psychology, Health and Society tested 100 overweight and obese low fibre consumers whether eating prunes as part of a weight loss diet helped or hindered weight control over a 12-week period, examining if they could tolerate eating substantial numbers of prunes in their diet, and if it had a beneficial effect on appetite.

Jiah Khan’s death: Memorial service in London

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A year after Bollywood actress Jiah Khan was found dead and hanging at her Mumbai residence, a memorial service will be held here Tuesday, with her mother, family and friends in attendance.

“A memorial service will be held in Jiah’s memory at the Chelsea Town Hall attended by Jiah’s friends and family, including her mother Rabiyya Amin, who has campaigned tirelessly over the past 12 months to unearth the truth behind Jiah’s death,” read a mailer.

The service for the actress, who grew up in Chelsea, will be held Tuesday evening.

Modi expresses sadness over Sikdar’s passing

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his sadness over passing away of BJP leader Tapan Sikdar. He described his contribution in building the party as rich.

The prime minister wrote on Twitter: “Shri Tapan Sikdar will be remembered for his rich contribution in building the BJP and his years of dedicated public service.”

” Tapan Sikdar ji’s demise is extremely saddening. May his soul rest in peace,” he added.

Sikdar, 70, one of the tallest leaders of BJP’s Bengal unit, was admitted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on May 29. He died there this morning.

22-year old gang raped, strangled to death after being forced to drink acid

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A 22-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped after being forced to drink acid and later strangled to death in Bareilly here on Monday.

The incident took place in Baheri area of the city.

The victim’s body was recovered from a field in Aithpura village on Saturday.

According to police officials, acid was detected from the stomach of the victim and her face was mutilated due to the acid poured on it.

Dubai to host Miss India Worldwide 2014

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Miss India Worldwide 2014, which will see over 40 winning contestants of Indian origin from 40 countries across the globe, will be held June 20 in Dubai.

“More than 40 contestants of Indian origin settled in various countries across the globe between the age of 17 years and 27 years, unmarried and citizens, residents, or born in the country they represent, will participate in the Miss India Worldwide pageant,” Anuj Saxena, national director, Miss India Worldwide and CEO of Maverick Productions, said in a statement.

Congress says Modi vesting all powers in PMO

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The Congress Monday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concentrating power in the PMO in an unprecedented manner.

“There are certain traditions, practices and mannerisms in the country which call for collective responsibility and utilisation of collective wisdom… But we are seeing in the last 24 hours that all powers are being vested to the PMO,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told media persons here.
(IANS)

Industry, service sectors to drive Telangana’s economy

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Telangana recorded a GSDP (State Gross Domestic Product) of Rs 3,35,018 crore for the year 2012-13, driven by industry and services sectors.

As per reports prepared by the officials of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the average annual GSDP growth of Telangana, which came into being as the country’s 29th state today, between 2004-05 and 2012-13 was 16.05 per cent.

The state GDP grew 13.26 per cent in 2012-13 to Rs 3,35,018 crore over Rs 2,95,767 crore in 2011-12, it said.