Jamie Foxx goes geeky for new ‘Spider-Man’ film

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Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx sports a never-seen-before, geeky look for the new “Spider-Man” film, which was being shot here over the weekend.

Foxx plays nerdy engineer Max Dillon, who is struck by lightning while working on a power line, and transforms in super villain Electro for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, releasing in 2014. He certainly looked the part on the set, hiding his well-toned good looks under a weird hairdo and fake gnashers, reports thesun.co.uk.

Russia, US stress need for joint counter-terror efforts

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Russia and the US are committed to boosting their efforts to jointly fight terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

During a recent telephone conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama confirmed their commitment to strengthen security coordination, Lavrov said in response to a question about the Boston marathon bombings.

Lavrov declined to comment on reports that a Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had visited Russia.

Italy’s Eni gets Mediterranean exploration block

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Italy’s oil and gas giant Eni has been awarded a deepwater exploration block in Egypt’s eastern Mediterranean, the company said.

Eni said it will operated the 3,765 square km block, named Shorouk Offshore, though its fully owned affiliate IEOC, with 100 percent equity.

The block also known as Block 9, is located in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 1,800 metres, off the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

Russian officials must not own foreign property: Kremlin

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Russian state officials should not own real estate abroad, as it could leave them open to “pressure”, a spokesman for the Kremlin has said.

“Officials should not possess real estate in foreign countries,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with state-run Rossiya 24 TV channel.

“(People) working for the government shouldn’t possess any assets or real estate that could leave officials open to pressure,” Peskov said.

“Officials would be better advised to be patriotic and have both feet in their own country.”

Suspect in Sri Lankan woman’s death dies in Italy

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A 45-year-old Sri Lankan migrant who police suspected of murdering his wife has died in a hospital in Italy from severe burns after a fire at their apartment.

The charred corpse of 42-year-old Maduri Warnacula, wife of Sarath Moragoda, was found in the couple’s gutted apartment in the Sicilian city of Catania Saturday.

The woman had a rope around her neck and ankles.

Although Moragoda suffered critical burns in the blaze, he had not been tied up, leading investigators to suspect that he strangled Warnacula and attempted to destroy evidence of the murder by setting her body on fire.

Russian voters can contest poll results in court

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Russia’s Constitutional Court has confirmed voters’ rights to contest election results in court.

The court has been reviewing the Civil Procedure Code as well as federal laws on voting right guarantees and on the State Duma elections to confirm their constitutionality.

The Duma’s representative at the Constitutional Court, Dmitry Vyatkin, said earlier a voter could only contest an action if it is “directly related to exercising the right to vote”.

A voter could for example complain about the inaccessibility of a polling station or the lack of an opportunity to vote at home.

Muslim parents appeal againts hijab ban in Russian court

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Muslim parents whose children have not been allowed to wear headscarves or hijab to school in a southern Russian region have appealed to the Supreme Court.

The ban on hijabs for pupils in Stavropol region came into force in September 2012 after local authorities issued a ruling requiring schoolchildren to wear uniforms.

The uniform guidelines ban pupils from wearing brightly coloured clothes, veils, pants and skirts with a low waistline or high slits, and accessories depicting informal youth group symbols, as well as religious clothing.

Man to get 40 lashes for drinking alcohol in Qatar

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A court in Qatar has sentenced an Asian Muslim migrant to 40 lashes for consuming alcohol.

The Al-Sharq daily said the Muslim migrant, whose nationality was not stated, works as a barber in the Gulf state.

He was arrested after a man reported him to police for allegedly harrassing his maid by plying her with visiting cards with his phone number on them.

Police raided the barber’s shop to question him over the claims but found him drunk on the premises.

The court also ordered the man to pay a fine of around 100 euros for being disorderly and disturbing the peace.

Younger US bombing suspect born in Kyrgyzstan: Minister

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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the deadly bombing of the Boston marathon, was born in Kyrgyzstan but left the country in 2001, a minister said.

“Only the younger of the two brothers, that is to say Dzhokhar, was born in Kyrgyzstan and was a Kyrgyz citizen,” Joomart Otorbayev, the first deputy prime minister of the former Soviet republic told US State Department officials during a meeting.

Woman held for axe attack on son-in-law

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A woman in west Siberia has been charged with attempting to murder her son-in-law with an axe.

“Despite having a broken leg and being on crutches, the woman waited until her son-in-law had fallen asleep and hit him several times around the head with the blunt side of an axe,” regional investigators said in a statement.

The man was able to put a stop the attack, investigators said.

They did not give any information on the motive for the crime or the victim’s condition.

The incident took place in February in Mariinsk, a small town in Russia’s West Siberian Kemerovo region.

MP’s BJP Govt. to give Re. 1 per kg wheat & rice Rs.2 per kg to poor from June

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(Pervez Bari): With an eye on impending elections of the state legislative assembly at the end of this year the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced to provide wheat at Re. 1 kg and rice Rs.2 per kg from fair price shops in the state from June 2013 to poor families. Iodized salt will also be provided to BPL (Below Poverty Line) and “Antyodaya” (poorest of the poor) families at the rate of Re. 1 per kg in all development blocks.

IPL now a hair raising show

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) is far beyond just cricket. Even the hairstyle sported by the cricketers has a touch of IPL in it.

Virat Kohli has emerged as a new icon for youngsters with his attitude and performance. His hairstyle has also become a craze in the ongoing sixth edition of the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ Caribbean spinner Sunil Narine has not only tormented the batsmen with the ball, his ‘mohawk’ has also caught the attention of the fans.

No BJP leader is ruled out for PM candidate: Sushma Swaraj

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No BJP leader has been ruled out as Prime Ministerial candidate, senior leader Sushma Swaraj said when asked if L K Advani’s name will be discussed for the top post.

“We are not moving ahead by ruling out anyone. We are not ruling out anyone. When we will discuss then we will first decide whether we have to declare (the PM candidate) or not.

“If we decide to declare then we will discuss about all the names. How can we rule out a topmost leader like Advani,” Swaraj told a news channel in an interview.

US foul play from Boston to Damascus

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As the FBI reels from its bungled Boston bombing case, where the suspects turned out to have been contacted and perhaps monitored (even directed) by the FBI up to 2 years prior to the attacks, the Chicago Tribune has now reported of yet another bizarre FBI entrapment case hyped as a “foiled” would-be terrorist.

In its article, “FBI: Aurora man wanted to join al-Qaida in Syria,” the Chicago Tribune would report:

Mugdha to learn Bengali to be in Aparna Sen, Rituparno films

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Actor Mugdha Godse says she would do anything to learn Bengali so that she can act in films of Rituparno Ghosh or Aparna Sen. “I am keen to work in Rituparno Ghosh and Aparna Sen films. My only regret is I don’t know the language. I am ready to give everything to learn (it) and pick up the dialect nuances,” she says. Talking to PTI on the sidelines of a fashion event here yesterday, the “Saheb, Bibi Aur Gangster” actor says she did not “want to do a half-baked job with someone else mouthing my lines”.

Man held for allegedly raping his 21-year-old stepdaughter

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A 31-year-old man hailing from Bihar was arrested today for allegedly raping his 21-year-old stepdaughter on several occasions for two months, at his house in suburban Goregaon, the police said. A trap was laid and the accused Rajesh Kusuva was arrested from near Ratna Hotel in Goregaon under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506(2) criminal intimidation, police said. According to police, Rajesh had tied the knot with a married woman, who separated from her husband in 2005.

Latest to flood the Indian market: Made in China doctors

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Not just toys and consumer goods, the Chinese seem to be flooding Indian markets also with doctors trained in China.

The number of Chinese medical colleges that take in Indian students has more than doubled from 24 in 2007-08 to 50 now — each with an average intake of about 150 students.

Hezbollah has declared war on Syrian militants, SNC chief says

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Syria’s foreign-backed opposition has accused Lebanon’s Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah of “declaring war” on militants in the Arab country.

“What is happening in Qusayr in Homs is Hezbollah declaring a war…,” George Sabra said on Monday in a press conference in Istanbul. “Hezbollah fighters have crossed the border into Syrian towns and cities.”

Rahul a big zero, Cong afraid of Modi: BJP

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In a fresh salvo ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Madhya Pradesh, ruling BJP today said the Congress Vice-President pales in comparison to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. “In comparison to Modi, Rahul is a big zero and the Congress leaders have a fear of Modi. They are afraid of him even in their dreams,” BJP spokesman Vijay Sonkar Shastri told reporters here. He was replying to a query on Rahul’s impending visit to poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on April 24 and its likely impact. “The two-day visit of Rahul Gandhi will prove to be a futile exercise.

MoUs signed at investors summit-2012 being implemented speedily in MP

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(Pervez Bari): Work is progressing fast for implementing MoUs (Memorandum of Understandings) signed at Investors Summit at Indore in October 2012 with a view to promoting investment in industry and commerce sectors. Total 1101 investment proposals were signed at the summit. Implementation of these proposals worth Rs.3 lakh 77 thousand 678 crore will provide jobs to 20 lakh persons. These include 529 MoUs, 335 Expressions of Interest and 239 agreements.

BJP should fight polls under L K Advani’s guardianship: Shatrughan Sinha

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BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha today said the party should go to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls under the guardianship of L K Advani as “experience and vision” are needed to guide the party.

“Like Veer Kunwar Singh, who fought the British at the ripe age of 80, Advaniji who is also 80 plus has enough energy left to guide the party in the upcoming polls,” he told a function on the eve of the birth anniversary of Kunwar Singh organised by BJP.

Karan Johar is the perfect bachelor for me: Mallika Sherawat

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Actress Mallika Sherawat, who is featuring in an upcoming reality dating game show on television, feels film-maker Karan Johar is the “perfect bachelor” in Bollywood. ‘The Bachelorette India- Mere Khayalon Ki Mallika’ is the Indian version of the American competitive reality dating game show ‘The Bachelor.’ The show is likely to go on air in August. It will revolve around the single bachelorette and a pool of romantic interests trying to impress her. “I think in Bollywood, Karan Johar is a perfect bachelor …He is perfect for me.

Huma Qureshi attributes her success to Anurag Kashyap

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Actress Huma Qureshi today said that she owes her success to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who launched her in Gangs of Wasseypur and later cast her in his home production Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurrana.

The director cast Huma in his two-part revenge drama Gangs of Wasseypur, which did good business at the box office.

Kangna Ranaut plays Vidya in ‘Shootout At Wadala’

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With the sensational news about the dazzling cameos of Priyanka Chopra, Sunny Leone and Sophie Choudry in Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala, having created a splash, the film’s fourth female dimension comes in the form of the heroine of the film, Kangna Ranaut.

Kangna plays the role of Vidya Joshi who is Manya Surve’s (John Abraham) love interest.

Interestingly, Kangna’s de-glam cotton-sari look, make-up and hair have been styled on the lines of Shabana Azmi’s character from Arth. Sanjay says, “She’s done something she hasn’t done before.”

Member of anti-Islamic Dutch party converts to Islam

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Arnoud Van Doorn, a former member of the extreme right wing, and anti-Islamist Netherlands “Freedom Party,” was converted to Islam.

Geert Wilders is the head of the extreme right wing, and anti-Islamist, “Freedom Party” in Netherlands. Arnoud Van Doorn, a former member of Freedom party was converted to Islam.

A leading member in far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ party has reverted to Islam after an extensive study about the Islamic religion and Muslims.