Month: November 2014

‘Ouija’ is slow-paced and reveals nothing (IANS Movie Review)

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Film: “Ouija”; Cast: Olivia Cook, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, Bianca Santos, Shelley Hennig, Ana Coto and Lin Shaye; Director: Stiles White; Rating: **

‘The Ouija’, also known as the “spirit board” or the “talking board”, is used in seances as a conduit to reach out to the spirits.

For the curious, it’s just a mode of entertainment, but for the serious, it means much more. There are rules for those who indulge in it. They are: follow the rules and never break it, never play alone and finally always say goodbye when signing off.

‘Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe’ – refreshingly creative

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Film: “Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe”; Cast: Pia Bajpai, Shabeer, Shruti Hariharan, Viji Chandrasekhar, Thambi Ramaiah and Y. Gee Mahendran; Director: Lakshmy Ramakrishnan; Rating: ***1/2

There’s a thin line that divides being preachy and creative while addressing a burning issue.

When A.R. Murugadoss’s “Kaththi” attempted to win the audience’s heart by portraying mass suicide of farmers just a week ago, it only made me sympathetic, but didn’t quite move me.

Tangerines are a tonic for your heart

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It’s often said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Now, scientists say the same is true even for tangerines which have properties that keep several diseases at bay.

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada found that eating the citrus fruit regularly could protect against heart attacks, diabetes and stroke as well as it helps stave off obesity.

According to them, tangerine’s peel has a pigment, called Nobiletin, which is ten times more potent than a similar one derived from grapefruit, the Daily Mail reported.

20 militants killed in Pakistan clash

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At least 20 militants and four security personnel were killed Saturday in a clash in Pakistan’s federally administered Orakzai Agency, an official said.

Three security personnel were also injured during the clash in Shirin Dara area, Dawn online reported. The firefight lasted several hours, it said.

Saturday’s clash comes as the army is engaged in an offensive against local and foreign militants in North Waziristan and Khyber.

Lindsay Lohan and Tom Cruise ‘not’ dating

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Lindsay Lohan has denied the rumors claiming that she was dating actor Tom Cruise.

The representatives for the 28-year-old troubled star, who had allegedly ran into the actor, 52, at the London nightspot Chiltern Firehouse and was believed to be “secretly going out with him”, have said that there was “no truth at all” to the talks, News.com.au reported.

IS poses grave threat to Pakistan, says MQM chief

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Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, has said that the Islamic State (IS) is the new threat to Pakistan, media reported.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi via telephone from London Friday, the MQM chief said that Taliban militants were joining IS ranks, The News International reported.

He said that IS flags were visible from the south of Punjab all the way to the federal capital of Islamabad, adding that the IS, which was formed by its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by merging different militant groups, is far more dangerous than the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

NASA’s Mars spacecraft ready for test flight

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The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has fully assembled the Orion spacecraft for a test flight Dec 4.

Orion is scheduled to be launched aboard a Delta IV heavy rocket and will complete a 4.5-hour, two-orbit test flight.

The capsule designed and built by the Jefferson County-based Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. (LMSS), is the first vehicle made to take astronauts to deep space destinations, such as the asteroids or Mars.

The spacecraft will travel around 3,600 miles into space and return to Earth at a speed of more than 20,000 mph.

Security situation has improved in Northeast, says US Consul General

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US Consul General in Kolkata, Helen Lafave, who recently visited Tripura, said that the security situation has improved in Northeastern region.

The envoy was in the northeast to review to overall law and order situation and had covered Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim and Mizoram before reaching Tripura.

The visit was aimed at knowing the investment potential in the resource-rich northeastern region bordering China, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

—-ANI

Berdych secures place in Tour Finals post reaching Paris Masters semis

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Czech tennis ace Tomas Berdych beat South African’s Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters to secure his place at the season-ending World Tour Finals for the fifth straight year on Friday.

The Czech number one, who won the Bercy tournament on his debut in 2005, his only Masters win to date, came through a tight contest 6-7, (4/7), 6-4, 6-4 in just under three hours.

Berdych would now play Canadian Milos Raonic, who beat world number two Roger Federer 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, for a place in Sunday’s final, Sport24 reported.

Iranian ship detained in Gujarat

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An Iranian ship has been detained at Essar jetty in Hajira port for its alleged involvement in an accident with a fishing trawler, in which two fishermen were killed and three others are missing, police said here today.

“We have detained a foreign ship ‘M V BATIS’ of Iran at Essar jetty in Hajira port, as its captain was allegedly found involved in an accident,” Police Sub Inspector V J Bharwad of the Surat marine police station said here today.

Kazakhstan’s Official Development Assistance to focus on Central Asia, Afghanistan: Foreign Minister

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Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov has said his country’s official development assistance (ODA) will focus on Central Asia, Afghanistan.

Reporting on the draft law “On Official Development Assistance” at the plenary session of the Mazhilis (lower chamber of Parliament) earlier this week, Minister Idrissov said the draft law is designed to implement President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s decree of April 9, 2013, “On the Concept of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the sphere of official development assistance.”

China completes first return mission to Moon

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China on Saturday successfully completed its first return mission to the moon with its unmanned orbiter landing back on Earth, becoming only the third country in the world to do so after the former Soviet Union and the US accomplished the feat about 40 years ago.

In the latest step forward for its ambitious space programme, the test lunar orbiter landed in Siziwang Banner of China’sInner Mongolia Autonomous Region early this morning over a week after it was launched to test its ability to go to the lunar orbit and return to Earth.

Clashes in West Bank after Muslim prayers

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Clashes erupted in the West Bank today after weekly Muslim prayers while security forces deployed heavily around Jerusalem’s flash point Al-Aqsa mosque which reopened following the killing of a Palestinian by police.

Al-Aqsa, in the Old City, and adjacent neighbourhoods have seen months of violence, and the mosque compound has been a rallying point for Palestinian resistance to perceived Jewish attempts to take control of it.

Universal Health Insurance Scheme launched in Itanagar

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Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki recently addressed a sensitsation programme on the activation of the Chief Minister’s Universal Health Insurance Scheme at the Banquet Hall in Itanagar.

Speaking at the event that was attended by district medical officers and hospital superintendents, Tuki called upon the state health officers to be updated on the scheme and ensure the coverage of 1.72 targeted households under it.

The CM also called for providing better medical facilities to the people by utilizing the funds properly.

Brazil screens arrivals from Ebola-affected areas

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Brazil has begun screening passengers arriving from the Ebola-affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Health Minister Arthur Chioro says passengers from those countries will have their temperatures taken and asked to answer a questionnaire that will help authorities determine if they have the Ebola virus or not.

The screening process went into effect today in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport and will be in place in five other airports by the end of November.

Assam, Nagaland agree to find solution to border situation

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Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang and his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi recently met with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for a high level meeting where they agreed to make efforts to come to a final solution to the border dispute .

The Union Minister urged the two sides to maintain people-to-people contact along inter-state border to strengthen relations.

As per the decision taken during the meeting, the Chief Secretaries of the two states will submit suggestions to the Home Ministry within two weeks.

PIA crew took 34 Indian transit passengers to Lahore hotel without visas

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Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) says that at least 34 Indian transit passengers flying from New Delhi to Saudi Arabia with a stopover in Lahore were taken to a local hotel there by Pakistan International Airlines crew, despite the passengers not possessing required visas.

According to the Express Tribune, the PIA crew took the passengers to the hotel, bypassing FIA check points inside the airport, where they reportedly spent a night.

BCCI demands multi-million dollar settlement from WICB

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The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will have to cough up nearly $42 million in order to stave off a lawsuit from the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI), stemming from the abandoned tour of India last month.

Indian authorities Friday told the WICB that its losses as a result of the abandoned one-day and Test tour had been estimated at $41.97 million, and gave the regional board 15 days in which to come up with a plan of compensation, reports CMC.

BCCI demands $42 million settlement from WICB

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The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will have to cough up nearly $42 million in order to stave off a lawsuit from the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI), stemming from the abandoned tour of India last month.

Indian authorities Friday told the WICB that its losses as a result of the abandoned one-day and Test tour had been estimated at $41.97 million, and gave the regional board 15 days in which to come up with a plan of compensation, reports CMC.
ALSO SEE WI seek talks with BCCI after legal threat

Uddhav’s presence during Maharashtra CM swearing-in ceremony ‘heartening’: BJP

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Source : ANI
Last Updated: Sat, Nov 01, 2014 07:55 hrs
2 Comments
Uddhav Thackeray clarifies CM ambition

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday hailed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s presence during the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, calling it a positive and heartening step.

“We had Uddhav Thackeray, his wife and the whole family on the stage. I think it is a very positive and a heartening step taken by Thackeray to be present on the stage in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy told the media.

“We will like take Shiv Sena along”: Nadda

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As Devendra Fadnavis today took oath as the first BJP chief minister of Maharashtra, senior party leader J P Nadda said they would like to take their former ally Shiv Sena along.

“Discussions are on. We would like to take Shiv Sena along,” Nadda, BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, who was here to attend a party programme told PTI.

Nadda along with Union Home Mnister Rajnath Singh was present as central observer when Fadnavis was elected leader of BJP legislature party in Maharashtra.

—PTI

Retired Indian Army Officer Appointed to UN Peacekeeping Panel

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed Abhijit Guha, a retired Indian Army Lieutenant General, to a high-level panel to assess UN peace operations.

Announcing the formation of the 14-member panel on Friday, Ban Ki-Moon said it would make a comprehensive assessment of UN peace operations. It would also assess the needs of the future and its recommendations would be sent to next year’s UN General Assembly (UNGA) session. Its mandate, he said, will include the changing nature of conflict, evolving mandates and capabilities for peacekeeping operations and performance.

BJP workers make it point to travel to Mumbai for swearing-in

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Atmosphere of joy and celebration prevailed at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai today where nearly 30,000 people gathered to witness the swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as the first BJP Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The grand ceremony featured depiction of the history of the state, starting with King Shivaji, the most revered icon of Maharashtra, through hi-tech props and documentaries.

BJP supporters who had travelled to Mumbai from every nook and corner of Maharashtra were present in large numbers.

Former world champion Aruna Mishra sorry for L Sarita Devi; all praise for Mary Kom

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Former World Boxing champion Aruna Mishra today alleged that the adverse decision against Sarita Devi has robbed her off a gold in the Asian Games, but opined the boxer should have accepted the bronze medal as it was for the nation.

“The decision against her was atrocious. It was a clear bout in favour Sarita. But it was shown as a close affair before knocking her out of the gold medal contention,” Aruna told PTI here.