Bernanke: Crisis shows need to right imbalances

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Washington, October 19: US Federal Reserve Chairman claims the global financial crisis of the past two years has shown the need to improve regulation and to deal with global imbalances.

“The crisis has highlighted the need for many policy reforms that range from improving financial regulation to addressing global imbalances,” Ben Bernanke said Sunday at an Asia economic conference in Santa Barbara, CA.

Bernanke also said the global downturn highlighted the strong links that exist in the economies of the US, Europe and Asia.

IRGC promises Jundallah ‘crushing response’

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Tehran, October 19: The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has vowed to give a sever response to the Pishin attack that killed 42 people, including commanders and tribal figures.

“The murder of Nour-Ali Shoushtari, Rajab-Ali Mohammadzadeh, and Bluch tribal leaders, whose blood represents the unity between Shia and Sunni in Iran, will not be left unanswered,” commander of the IRGC ground force General Mohammad Pakpour said on Saturday.

Hooligans harass Kangana Ranaut in Lucknow

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Lucknow, October 19: Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who is here to shoot for a film, was harassed by a group of hooligans in the Kaiserbagh locality of the city.

Kangana is here with co-stars R. Madhavan and Jimi Shergil for the past 10 days to shoot for Anand L. Rai’s “Tanu weds Manu”.

The incident took place Sunday at the Lal Baradari building where the cast and crew were shooting a sequence for the film around 10 p.m. It was a holiday, so a huge crowd, over 2,000, gathered around the location.

Comedy is undervalued in Bollywood: David Dhawan

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New Delhi, October 19: At a time when comedies are raking in the moolah for filmmakers, comedy king David Dhawan’s lighthearted movie “Do Knot Disturb” wasn’t received well at the box office. He laments that the genre is very much undervalued.

“Comedy is very much undervalued in Bollywood. This is because every person today stands up and makes a comedy. People feel it is the easiest to make so everyone is making it. But that’s just a perception,” Dhawan told IANS.

Deepika Padukone’s daring step!

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Mumbai, October 19: The super star Shahrukh Khan and macho man Salman Khan are said to be each other’s rival for quite a long time, but that certainly doesn’t stop the duo’s professional phenomenon.

This we came to know about when actress Deepika Padukone was seen in guest appearance in Salman and Kareena Kapoor’s Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

Deepika does a cameo in Sohail Khan and UTV Spot Boy’s Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

Goa police probing Sanatan Sanstha’s foreign links

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Panaji, October 19: Goa police is probing the foreign links of Sanatan Sanstha allegedly involved in the Margao blast in which two of its members were killed.

“Some foreigners often visited the ashram at Ramnathi. I have checked with the police. They were not even submitting their C forms to police station,” State Home Minister Ram Naik told PTI.

Boman, Cyrus to tickle audiences in ‘Fruit & Nut’

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New Delhi, October 19: A first reference to the movie title reminds one of a Cadbury chocolate with the same name. VJ-turned-director Kunal Vijaykar’s debut movie “Fruit & Nut”, releasing Friday, might not be high on buzz but promises rib-tickling humour courtesy its star cast.

“Fruit & Nut” is a social parody starring Boman Irani, Cyrus Broacha and Mahesh Manjrekar. Dia Mirza also plays a pivotal role in the film produced by Studio 18.

Philippines on high alert ahead of Typhoon Lupit

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Manila, October 19: The Philippine military deployed boats and helicopters to the northern Philippines Monday, officials said, as Typhoon Lupit threatened more devastation after two storms claimed nearly 1,000 lives.

“We have been pre-positioning food and transportation assets in areas likely to be hit by the typhoon,” Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters.

The navy said it had sent 18 rubber boats, as well as trucks, amphibious vehicles and helicopters to areas of the nation’s main Luzon island, which is expected to start being lashed by Lupit from the middle of this week.

Abhi gifts Ash the Perfect Diwali Gift

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Mumbai, October 19: Abhi gifts Ash the Perfect Diwali Gift As it was in the news a couple of days ago that to rejuvenate herself from the hectic shoot of Raavana , Aishwarya took a day off and has visited an uber exclusive spa centre in Mumbai which is famous for the natural use of products.

Our khabroo did a lot of probing and has found out that Ash got herself pampered with some of the rare beauty oils…which made her skin so beautiful and luminous? So that seems to be the latest beauty mantra one the most beautiful women of the world, apni Ash…

Lohan seeks restraining order against father

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London, October 19: American actress-singer Lindsay Lohan is scared by her father Michael’s behaviour and is seeking a restraining order to stop him from contacting her.

“Lindsay is actively getting a restraining order, her lawyer has already been contacted. She’s scared. This is really serious,” contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying.

The news comes a day after Michael said that he wanted to “kidnap” his daughter and take her to an isolated location to help “get her straight”.

—–IANS

Inflation data to be released monthly, base year changed to 2004-05

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New Delhi, October 19: The Government on Monday approved a proposal to release wholesale prices-based inflation data on a monthly basis, instead of every week now, and changed the base year to 2004-05 from 1993-94.

However, data on primary and fuel items would continue to be released on weekly basis.

“The new series of WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation with 2004-05 as base year would be launched soon,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

Ajay Devgan Is Smiling Year To Year

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Mumbai, October 19: Ajay Devgan has suddenly become far more accessible, affable and voluble says he has been running around “like a madman” juggling several projects and hats.

“I was in Bhopal shooting for Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti which was a completely different experience from shooting All The Best in Goa. Then I also completed London Dreams which is a third experience.”

ASIN: FROM GHAJINI TO LONDON DREAMS!

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Mumbai, October 19: I was still shooting for Ghajini but Vipul had seen some of my South Indian films. So I got a call from him and he said he had a role of a headstrong talented girl in his next directorial venture after Namastey London.

‘US fund manager cleared of funding terrorism’

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Colombo, October 19: Sri Lankan-born hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam was investigated for allegedly funding Tamil Tiger rebels, but there was no evidence against him, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said Monday.

US authorities on Friday charged Rajaratnam, 52, with fraud after saying they had uncovered the biggest ever case of insider-trading by a hedge fund.

He was among several wealthy overseas Sri Lankans whose donations to a Maryland-based charity, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), are suspected of making their way to the separatist Tamil Tigers.

Pakistan steps up border offensive

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Islamabad, October 19: Troops fought militants on three fronts and fighter jets bombed insurgent positions Monday as Pakistan pressed ahead with its assault on an al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuary close to the Afghan border.

The army and the Taliban have each claimed early victories in South Waziristan, a mountainous tribal region that Islamist extremists use as a base to plot attacks on the Pakistani state, Western troops in Afghanistan and targets in the West.

Hamilton pledges to reclaim title

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Sao paulo, October 19: Outgoing world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday he was pleased to see that another Briton had won the title following Jenson Button’s success in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who started 17th on the grid, made the most of an early safety car intervention to steer his McLaren Mercedes through the debris of an incident-packed race to finish third behind triumphant Mark Webber of Red Bull and second placed Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber.

Pakistan denies involvement in Iran terrorist attack

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Islamabad, October 19: Amid accusations of having played a role in a deadly terrorist explosion in southeast Iran, Pakistan moves to dismiss any involvement in the terrorist attack.

“Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities … we are striving to eradicate this menace,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Basit told the Daily Times newspaper on Sunday.

Iran asks Pakistan to hand over terrorists

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Tehran, October 19: After Jundallah group takes responsibility for the deadly attack in southeast Iran, Interior Minister calls on Islamabad to hand over the terrorists to Tehran for trial.

“Pakistan’s negligence to submitting terrorists to Iran cannot be justified by any means. The Pakistani officials should be accountable to the terrorists attack in Sarbaz town,” Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said in a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik.

Sutil blasts ‘stupid’ Trulli

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Sao paulo, October 19: Force India driver Adrian Sutil blasted Toyota’s Jarno Trulli as “stupid” after the two men were involved in a dramatic first lap collison at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Sutil had started in third place on the grid at Interlagos, but his race was quickly over after Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen went past him before the Finn clipped the Red Bull of race winner Mark Webber.

“The start was fine, I lost one position as Kimi overtook me on the outside. It was fine for the next corner but then Kimi hit Webber and lost his front wing,” explained Sutil.

Oxygen tank blast kills worker in Iran

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Tehran, October 19: An explosion of an oxygen tank in a building under construction near Iran’s Oil ministry has killed one person and injured 17 others.

An oxygen welding cylinder exploded in an unfinished building due to construction workers’ negligence Sunday night.

The blast took place in the center of the Iranian capital Tehran near the country’s oil ministry killing one and injuring 17, mostly Afghan emigrants.

Firefighters and rescuers arrived at the scene of the accident and sent workers to the nearest hospital. An Iranian worker died following serious injuries.

UK: Afghan war continues despite unpopularity

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London, October 19: UK’s army chief says the Afghan mission will continue despite its unpopularity at home, following a dramatic rise in British troops’ death toll in recent months.

General David Richards wrote in a letter to The Daily Telegraph on Monday that the British government must disregard negative opinion polls about the war and press ahead with its own security policies.

Israel boycotts Turkish resorts, coffee

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Jerusalem, October 19: Turkey’s firm stance against Israel over its war crimes in the Gaza Strip has prompted Israeli officials to boycott Turkish coffee and vacations.

Yossi Levy, a senior official with Israel’s national carrier ElAl, has told Army Radio that his employee association and those of several other major Israeli businesses plan to stop subsidizing vacations for their workers to Turkey during the Passover holiday, AFP reported.

Normally, during the holiday next April, some 80,000 Israelis should visit Turkish resorts.

Karzai: Foreigners manipulating Afghan vote recount

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Kabul, October 19: The Presidential campaign of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused foreigners of manipulating recount process, saying new results would not be acceptable.

Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said on Sunday the recount process is being politically manipulated by outsiders.

Campaign officials criticized the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) that is re-tallying the numbers.

“The ECC is pretty much controlled by foreigners, and its foreign commissioners intervene in the process,” chief advisor to the Karzai campaign, Maeen Mirstyal, said.

Laird hits Las Vegas jackpot with playoff win

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Las vegas, October 19: Briton Martin Laird beat American George McNeill on the third playoff hole to claim his first PGA Tour victory at the Las Vegas Open on Sunday.

Laird, who began they day outside the top 125 on the money list and in desperate need of good result to secure his playing card for next season, clinched the title with a par on the 18th while McNeill bogeyed the hole.

Chad Campbell was eliminated after the second playoff hole, the par three 17th at the TPC Summerlin layout.

Laird earned $756,000 for the win and secured a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

UN: Israel planted spy devices in Lebanon

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Beirut, October 19: A UN investigation into explosions in southern Lebanon says that Israel denoted spy devices it planted on Lebanese after their discovery by Hezbollah resistance movement.

The two explosions over weekend occurred after Lebanon’s Hezbollah discovered cables used for spying in the al-Abbad area near an Israeli border post.

After the incident ,the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were called out to investigate the cause of the blasts.

A first explosion was reported on Saturday evening and a second on Sunday morning. No injuries were reported.