Month: April 2015

Jamie Foxx to sing national anthem at Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

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Jamie Foxx will be singing national anthem before one of the biggest fights ever that will going to happen between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

The sources informed that the Academy Award winner, who will be playing the role of Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic, grabbed the offer that was given to him to show his sing ing talent before the fight, TMZ.com reported.

This isn’t the first time the American actor will be doing so as Foxx has belted out “America the Beautiful” before the Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight back in 2011. (ANI)

‘We share Afghanistan’s pain over persisting terrorism, extremist violence’: PM Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said New Delhi shares Afghanistan’s pain over persisting terrorism and extremist violence that destroy lives and derail progress.

“I thank him for our cooperation against terrorism. We are deeply grateful to the Afghan security forces, who protect our people in Afghanistan as they would their own,” he said in his address at the joint press briefing with Afghan President Dr. Ashraf Ghani.

Prime Minister Modi said India admires the courage and resolve of the Afghan people to seek a future of peace and prosperity.

Fake degree row: Opposition mounts pressure on Kejriwal to sack Tomar

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress on Tuesday demanded that Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar should be sacked after a Bihar-based university informed the Delhi High Court that his law degree was fake.

“It’s an irony that a man who had been playing with law all these years, the man who has graduated in breaking law has become the protector of law in Delhi. He should definitely be sacked,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

“The law will take its own course and catch up with him, but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today has been completely exposed,” he added.

Crystal Renn prefers homemade beauty products over botox

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Supermodel Crystal Renn has confessed that she would never go for botox and prefers using homemade beauty products to maintain her glowing complexion.

“I have this lip trick – I have these exfoliating witch hazel pads, and I do like a real scrub with them on my lips. I go inside the mouth, which brings blood forth to the lips. You look like you just had Botox, which I won’t do. But if I need bigger lips immediately, for a shoot or something, I can do this, and it really works,” said the 28-year-old.

Nepal death toll 4,347, may touch 10,000

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The death toll from Nepal’s deadly earthquake has touched 4,347 and could go up to 10,000, making it the country’s worst ever temblor, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said on Tuesday.

Koirala’s alarming assessment was conveyed to the envoy of India, China and the US as an army of Nepalese and foreigners worked feverishly to look for people who may still be buried under Saturday’s debris.

PM deputes four Union ministers to quake-hit areas

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deputed four Union ministers to assess the loss of life and property in quake-hit areas of the country, especially Bihar, and oversee the relief and rescue operations there.

While Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is already deputed at the Indo-Nepal border and in overseeing relief operations in quake-hit areas, the other Ministers deputed are Ananth Kumar, Radha Mohan Singh and J P Nadda.

‘Coconut production in Andhra, Kerala and Karnataka shows dip’

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Coconut production in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka is showing a decline, while it is increasing in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Maharashtra, according to a statistical survey by the Coconut Development Board (CDB), it was announced on Monday.

In a press release issued here, the CDB said its survey for the concurrent estimation of production and productivity of coconut in major growing states for 2014-15, said production in major coconut growing states in India is showing a decrease of 10 percent over the 2013-14.

Boycott classes if Surya Namaskar continues: Muslim clerics suggests

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Infuriate by the Rajasthan government decision to introduced Surya Namaskar in schools, Muslim clerics are planning to mobilise minority community students to stay away from their classes and school, “if Surya Namaskar programme is not rolled back by the government”.

Around 120 Muslim clerics, who assembled in Ajmer on Tuesday to talk about the issue, decided to take the government head on over the issue.

The clerics are also planning to intensify their objection against the programme through sermons from mosques and other religious assemblies.

Gunman shouting Allahu akbar in Bosnia storms police station

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A gunman stormed into a police station in a northeastern Bosnian town shouting “Allahu akbar”, killing a policeman and wounding two others, authorities said.

The gunman was also killed during the attack yesterday in the town of Zvornik, police spokeswoman Aleksandra Simojlovic told The Associated Press. “Allahu Akbar” is the Arabic phrase for “God is great.”

The Bosnian Serb police chief, Dragan Lukac, identified the man as Nerdin Ibric.

I am as good as my director: Ranbir Kapoor

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As someone who has teamed up with some of the best directors in Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor says he considers himself as good as the filmmaker he is working with.

The 32-year-old actor, who will be next seen in the role of a street-fighter trying to make it big in Anurag Kashyap’s “Bombay Velvet”, loved collaborating with the “Dev D” helmer.

Producer C Kalyan assualted a lady doctor

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Telugu Movie Producer C Kalyan is back in the news for assaulting a lady doctor identified as Dr Kavitha.

The lady doctor approached the police and filed a complaint against the producer on Monday night. In her complaint, the doctor stated that she had deposited Rs 1.14 crore with the apartments in Jubilee Hills as the compensation amount paid by the Metro Rail.

Sensex sheds 66 points; FMCG stocks drop

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A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets, the 30-scrip BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex), was trading 65.77 points or 0.24 percent down during afternoon session on Tuesday.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading 10.40 points or 0.13 percent down at 8,203.40 points.

The Sensex of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 27,215.61 points, was trading at 27,111.22 points (at 1.20 p.m.), down 65.77 points or 0.24 percent from the previous day’s close at 27,176.99 points.

Telugu actor Kalyan assualted a lady doctor

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Telugu Movie Producer C Kalyan is back in the news for assaulting a lady doctor identified as Dr Kavitha.

The lady doctor approached the police and filed a complaint against the producer on Monday night. In her complaint, the doctor stated that she had deposited Rs 1.14 crore with the apartments in Jubilee Hills as the compensation amount paid by the Metro Rail.

Reliance Group ends accord for Jharkhand power project

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In a move that will cut by Rs.36,000 crore the future capital expenditure of Reliance Power, a part of the Anil Ambani-led group, the company announced on Tuesday that it has terminated the power purchase agreement of its 3,960-MW ultra mega project at Tilaiya in Jharkhand.

Citing the reasons for the termination, the company said the power purchase agreement required the procurers to hand over by February 2010 the land for the power station and the coal mines, as also the site clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

VHP to rebuild houses, shrines damaged in Nepal quake

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VHP today said it would offer extensive support to quake-ravaged Nepal by helping to rebuild residential houses, temples and shrines which have been flattened by the devastating temblor.

The VHP will also bring orphaned children from the country to India and provide for their education and upbringing at its numerous educational institutions spread across the country.

“The VHP will provide free boarding and education to Nepalese kids who have lost their parents in the earthquake. We will bring them to our 150 residential schools and 50 orphanages spread across the country.

Indian-origin scientists challenge cancer biology dogma

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Indian scientists at Columbia University in the US have challenged a decade-old dogma in cancer biology by showing that a gene critical for preventing cancer did not work as thought of previously.

Healthy individuals have a normal variety of this gene, commonly known as A20. However, individuals develop cancer if the gene cannot function properly. Thus, many cancer patients are known to carry a dysfunctional variety of the gene.

US praises India’s role in helping quake-hit Nepal

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US today praised India’s leadership role in helping earthquake-hit Nepal and persons of different nationalities stranded in war-ravaged Yemen.

“India has demonstrated its global leadership in recent weeks, first in Yemen and now in Nepal. We are grateful; we are impressed; we are inspired.

“And because our cooperation is expanding, India is using C-17s and C-130s on the front lines of its response,” US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said here at the Amcham function.

He said that the US side has received administrative clearances for its relief efforts in Nepal without delay.

Nepal earthquake: India steps up relief work, sends 6 more teams of NDRF

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India on Tuesday pressed six more teams of NDRF personnel into its relief and rescue operations in Nepal as the Himalayan country struggles to cope in the grim aftermath of the deadly earthquake which has left thousands dead and affected millions.

With the induction of the new teams on the fourth day of the disaster, the total number of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams in Nepal has gone up to 16 with 10 already engaged in rescue operations there for the last few days. Each NDRF team has about 45 personnel.

Congress seeks probe into TRAI releasing 1 mn e-mail IDs

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The Congress on Tuesday asked the government to investigate as to why the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) put up on its website the names of over one million people who had written to it on net neutrality.

Raising the issue during zero hour in the Lok Sabha, Congress member Gaurav Gogoi said: “TRAI putting up the list of names and e-mail addresses of net activists on its website is akin to a bank making the account details of its customers public.”

“This will expose these net activists to hackers,” he said.

Margarita With A Straw’ bags best feature film at Washington fest

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Kalki Koechlin-starrer disability drama “Margarita With A Straw” has bagged the best feature film honour at the recently concluded Washington, DC International Film festival. Kalki, 31, who plays a cerebral palsy patient in the Sonali Bose-directed film, took to Twitter to share the news. “And in Filmfest DC look who won best feature film! http://filmfestdc.org/ #MargaritaWithAStraw,” Kalki tweeted.

And in Filmfest DC look who won best feature film! http://t.co/5xP4a3NhvY #MargaritaWithAStraw

— Kalki Koechlin (@kalkikanmani) April 28, 2015

Ruckus in Rajya Sabha over PM’s remark during foreign tour

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The Rajya Sabha witnessed a ruckus on Tuesday over comments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent three-nation tour.

The house saw both treasury and opposition benches raise the pitch, necessitating three adjournments in the pre-lunch session.

Raising the issue soon after the house met, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the comments made by the prime minister were an insult to the nation. He was supported by the entire opposition.

Tibetans pray for Nepal quake victims

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Thousands of Tibetans assembled on Tuesday in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, to pray for the victims of the earthquake that devastated Nepal last weekend.

Expressing his profound grief and condolences at the prayer service, Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay said: “The earthquake has resulted in extensive damage to life and property in Nepal and its adjoining countries like Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India.”

Congress seeks Modi’s apology over his ‘anti-India’ comments

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The Congress on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “anti-India” comments made in Germany and Canada when he was on a three-nation tour earlier this month.

“He must apologise for whatever he had said,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told reporters.

Sharma, who raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha earlier in the day, said that it was the prime minister who made comments like “cleaning dirt” and “scam India to skill India” on foreign soil, thereby “insulting the country” and only he can explain what he meant.

NASA officially launches project to find alien life

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The US space agency has launched an ambitious project to hunt for signs of life beyond our solar system.

The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NexSS) project will not only expand the network of researchers collaborating on exoplanets but also help NASA develop missions to hunt for exoplanets in the 2020s and beyond.

It will bring together experts in earth science, planetary science, heliophysics and astrophysics together on one platform, Space.com reported.

Insomnia hampers productivity of night shift workers

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Treating insomnia in night shift workers may improve their work productivity and safety, says a new research.

The researchers found that night shift workers classified as alert insomniacs had the highest level of impairment in work productivity and cognitive function, which was significantly worse than controls.

“Our findings are important to everyone who is dealing with night shift work,” said principal investigator Valentina Gumenyuk from Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey.