14 bar girls arres5ted in Mumbai

The city police has arrested 14 bar girls. Acting on a tip-off, the police raided the bar in suburban Borivali in the wee hours and arrested them, they said. "Bar manager, cashier and one more person were arrested along with these 14 girls," R Joshi of the SSB said. Rs 1.20 lakh was recovered from the bar, police said. They were later handed over to the Kasturba Marg police station, police said adding further investigation is on in the matter.

John among world’s sexiest men!

Bollywood’s hottie is the only Indian to make it to the ‘25 Sexiest Men’ of the world list put together by a large and popular Hollywood network that is viewed in 600 million-plus homes worldwide. Congratulations are in order even though the countdown to the Top 10 and then, the Sexiest Man in the World title, is some time away; only John is stuck in Philadelphia shooting for Yashraj and you will have to wait until hereturns. The rugged star stands shoulder-to-shoulder alongside other internationally acclaimed male sex symbols like David Beckham (naturally!), Bend it like Beckham coach Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and rugby footballer Dan Carter of New Zealand. The Hollywood network covered the globe in its search for “the sexiest, scorching, beach-bound hard-bodies; delicious hunks that can melt women with their voice and crush ‘em with their sizzling sex appeal”. John fell into the net that was cast acrossAsia. Interestingly, John’s own definition of sexy is Hollywood actor George Clooney. Why Clooney? “For the strange reason that, at 47, he has perfected the art of ageing beautifully,” replied John who is 36. “I think Clooney’s sex appeal lies in that. Indian actors don’t know how to carry age, we try to be young; look at Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, they are sexy because they show their age and don’t try to hide it.” His own sexuality, John shyly admitted when asked what rocketed him from Bollywood to Hollywood in the sex stakes, was his individuality. “I don’t know how to be, look, and act like anybody else,” he admitted. But what was physically sexy about him since Hollywood doesn’t score brownie points for individuality? “Well, my smile,” John added reluctantly. “Six packs cannot substitute for honesty on the face.”

Cricketer Harbhajan sorry for playing Ravan

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh under attack for taking part in a TV reality show dressed as mythological character Ravan, apologised and vowed “never to do anything that could hurt religious sentiments of any community”."I apologise if my actions have hurt anybody. It was not my intention to hurt sentiments of anyone which includes members of my own community," the off-spinner told reporters in Chandigarh."It will be my sincere endeavour not to repeat such things in future," said Singh, currently playing in the first Test match against Australia at Mohali.

THANKS TO LG INDIA

Hi Friends……!!
Today, I want to share my experience with LG Product.
1st of all , I want to thank LG INDIA and the Service Center Staff of Gurgaon Service Center for their service and support, they provided.
I purchased LG Split AC last year from M/s Regal Electronics, Gurgaon and it was installed by M/s Regal Electronics.
But it was the bad luck that the AC didn’t function well from the day, it was installed.
There was water leakage from the indoor unit. I made compliant to LG Helpline (Noida). The compliant was attended on time.
But the problem could not remove. I made compliant again and again, the technicians visited again and again, but all in vain.
I sent mails to LG India and requested the related officials explaining all the condition with the pictures of the water falling unit.
The responsible personal from the Service Center, visited my home and checked the AC.
My AC was replaced with a new one.
I, again thank LG India, particularly Satender Raghav Ji, Mr. Joshi/Doshi Ji, Mr. Mohit Ji and other related personals from Gurgaon/NCR Service Center, who did good efforts and helped me in this matter.
Friends, I was told my some of my friends that the service and products of LG INDIA are not much good.
But, friends, as far as my experience is concerned, I hereby recommend LG Products and Service, the best service provided.
Once again I thank LG INDIA for their support and service!!!!

The sexy actress and her mother

The sexy actress and her mother have been supporting NGOs in suburban Mumbai that take in beggar children, give them shelter and try to put them up in schools. Last year, a girl child got molested in one such shelter, and when Sameera’s mother got the police involved... the landlady of the shelter was pressurised by the molester to evict all the children and shut down the home. “It happened on Independence Day,” revealed Sameera, “and that’s when I decided to do something for these children. One year later, on this August 15, the actress will throw open the doors of a 1,200 sq ft shelter in Goregaon East that she has managed to raise from scratch for these same street kids. “I appealed to everyone to chip in and within a week, managed to raise Rs 25 lakh,” she said. “I was overwhelmed. Even my liftman offered to help.” She’s had further luck since then. Another well-wisher has donated a place in Mulund for the same cause. “We can now house the girls and boys separately,” said Sameera, thoroughly enthused by the spirit of Mumbai.

Cancer and incense

Burning incense may create a sweet scent, but regularly inhaling the smoke could put people at risk of cancers of the respiratory tract, researchers reported. In a study of more than 61,000 ethnic Chinese living in Singapore who were followed for up to 12 years, the investigators found a link between heavy incense use and various respiratory cancers. The findings are published in the medical journal Cancer on Monday. Incense has been used for millennia in many cultures' religious and spiritual ceremonies. In Asia, people commonly burn incense in their homes - a practice that is becoming more popular in western countries as well. Incense is usually derived from fragrant plant materials, like tree bark, resins, roots, flowers and essential oils. Past research has found that burning these materials can produce potentially cancer-causing substances, including benzene and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. However, no studies until now had linked the practice of burning incense to an increased cancer risk over time, according to the researchers, led by Jeppe Friborg of the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen. For their study, the researchers followed 61,320 Singapore Chinese men and women between the ages of 45 and 74 from the Hokkien or Cantonese dialect group. All of the subjects were cancer-free at the outset. Participants reported on their typical incense use, including how often they burned it in their homes and for how long - only at night, for instance, or all day and night. Over the next 12 years, 325 men and women developed cancer of the upper respiratory tract, such as nasal, oral or throat cancer. Another 821 developed lung cancer. The researchers found that incense use was associated with a statistically significant higher risk of cancers of the upper respiratory tract, with the exception of nasopharyngeal cancer. However, they observed no overall effect on lung cancer risk. Those who used incense heavily also had higher rates of a type of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, which refers to tumors that arise in the cells lining the internal and external surfaces of the body. The risk was seen in smokers and nonsmokers. Study participants who used incense in their homes all day or throughout the day and night were 80% more likely than non-users to develop squamous cell carcinoma of the entire respiratory tract.

Safe Sex Ringtone!

A cell phone ring tone that sings ‘Condom, condom!’ has been launched to promote safe sex in India, where condoms carry a strong social stigma even though HIV and AIDS are growing problems, health experts said. The cappella ring tone features a professional singer chanting the word condom more than 50 times, a playful approach that public health activists hope will spark discussion and make condoms more socially acceptable. "We've made a conscious effort to move the concept of the condom away from negative association, like HIV and sex work," said Yvonne MacPherson, country director of BBC World Service Trust India. "Condoms are actually health products and if you have a condom and you use it, you are seen to be smart and responsible." Nearly 2.5 million people in India are infected with HIV and the disease is still largely taboo. The BBC group, which is funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes the condom ring tone can make people in India more comfortable with safe sex issues. More than 270 million people use mobile phones in India and ring tones, especially those featuring hit Bollywood songs, are extremely popular. "A ring tone is a very public thing," she said. "It's a way to show you are a condom user and you don't have any issues with it." The ring tone was launched August 8 and has been downloaded 60,000 times, MacPherson said.

Are you really together?

he media has a tendency to portray extremes — either extremely content couples or miserable and intense ones. But the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. It is impossible for any couple to be unhappy or head-over-heels in love with each other all the time. Every relationship has its ups and downs. However, there are some ways to create a strong bond with your lover. Give your partner space Couples that are in solid relationships are not clingy and give each other enough space. This doesn't mean that they don't do anything together. But they don't feel the need to be stuck together all the time nor do they keep an eye on their partners. Only once you are happy with yourself and don't need constant approval from your partner, can you enjoy the space. Positive support Couples in good relationships give each other emotional support and don't put each other down in front of family or friends. Instead, they discuss their problems in private. If you are upset with your partner and feel a strong need to vent your frustration, take him/her to another room where you can talk in peace, instead of making a scene. Quiet moments Content couples don't feel a constant need to talk to each other. You and your partner can be sitting in the room together and reading. Sometimes the physical presence of the other person is more than enough. Share responsibilities It is important to ensure that both of you share equal responsibilities. Especially when it comes to domestic chores, take turns in doing the laundry or picking up the children from school. It shouldn't be that one person in the relationship handles all the tasks and the other doesn't pitch in.

Shilpa Shetty is the highest paid bollywood girl!

Is it possible for a girl??

We have heard that the actress is slated to become the highest paid female anchor in the history of television in India. Sources reveal that Shilpa Shetty has been offered the popular reality show deal at a whopping Rs 10 crores. And, this makes her the highest paid female anchor on Indian television. Must add, Shilpa mein hai dum!

so, therez no substitute of this girl ryt now

Delhi : 49 babies die during clinical trials at AIIMS

What kind of research and trial is this?
As many as 49 babies, many of whom hadn't even celebrated their first birthday, have died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences while being subjected to clinical trials for testing new drugs and therapies over the last two and a half years. Responding to a Right to Information (RTI) query on clinical trials on babies, the AIIMS administration admitted that of the 4,142 babies — 2,728 of whom were below the age of one — who were enrolled for clinical trials by the institute's department of paediatrics, 49 had died since January 1, 2006. The department conducted 42 sets of trials on babies during this period. In its reply, AIIMS said the deaths amounted to a 1.18% mortality rate. The RTI query was filed by Rahul Verma of Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects and Rare Blood Groups, an NGO. Clinical trials are the final stage of research conducted to answer questions about safety and efficacy of vaccines, drugs and devices, new therapies and forms of care or new ways of using known treatments. Many of these trials are for foreign drugs. India recently pipped China to become Asia's most popular destination for conducting clinical trials. According to the Planning Commission, 139 new trials were outsourced to India recently compared with 98 in China. The cost of conducting trials in India is 20% to 60% of the cost in industrialized countries. The RTI query also digs out information on the top drugs (according to volume of consumption) made in a foreign country that were used during the trials on the babies. AIIMS has said five foreign-manufactured medicines were tested during the trials. They were zinc tablets for treating zinc deficiency and serving as a nutritional supplement, olmesartan and valsartan for treating blood pressure-related problems, rituximab for treating chronic focal encephalitis and gene-activated human glucocerebrosidase for treating Gaucher's disease, which affects the liver. AIIMS said it had taken clearance for the trials from its own ethics committee, the health ministry steering committee (HMSC) on ethics and the national ethics committees of ICMR and DBT. Speaking to TOI, Verma said, "This is shocking. We decided to file the RTI when we saw parents unable to admit their seriously ill children at AIIMS while children of some other poor and illiterate families were being kept in the hospital needlessly for a long time." He added, "AIIMS said in its reply that families of patients are given social counselling before trials are started. With most patients in AIIMS being illiterate and belonging to extremely poor families, I doubt if they even understand what a clinical trial is and what their children are being subjected to."

It's possible to be fit and fat

It may be possible to be both fat and healthy, researchers reported, for at least half of overweight adults, and close to a third of obese men and women, have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and other measures of heart health. And being lean does not necessarily protect people, either. Close to a quarter of normal-weight American adults in one study had risk factors for heart disease or diabetes. "We really don't know as much about obesity as we think we do," Judith Wylie-Rosett of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who oversaw the study, said on Monday. "A considerable proportion of overweight and obese US adults are metabolically healthy, whereas a considerable proportion of normal-weight adults express a clustering of cardiometabolic abnormalities," Wylie-Rosett and Rachel Wildman and colleagues wrote in their report, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. Wylie-Rosett's team looked at data on 5,440 men and women who were examined and filled out questionnaires for the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys between 1999 and 2004. Most did not exercise very much. They found just over 51% of those who were overweight, and 31.7% of those who were obese, had healthy levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and other measures linked to heart disease. These measures have been shown in many other studies to predict heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and other heart disease, although this particular study did not look at whether people suffered any of these problems. More than 23% of those who were at a healthy weight had two or more unhealthy readings, the researchers found.

Paris Hilton's pregnancy

The 27-year-old socialite’s rep said that reports are "completely false." Rumours started off when she wore a green satin slip-dress to Crown Bar in Los Angeles.
However, Paris admits that she wouldn't mind having kids. “I love kids, so one day I’ll have some of my own,” Usmagazine.com quoted her as saying. When asked whether she wants children with beau Benji Madden, she replied, "Maybe ... we are very in love.
"Everyday he does romantic things, and he writes me beautiful letters," she went on. He just has a heart of gold,” she added.

Daughter was killed for family honour by father

Yet another young life has been snuffed out in the name of honour killing, this time in the Rajput community, in Nawanshahr district.

Hearing of his 17-year-old daughter's relationship with a relative, Raghbir Singh allegedly poisoned Manpreet Kaur to death. Police arrested Raghbir and sent the ashes and bones of the deceased for forensic tests.

"Raghbir used to scold Manpreet because of her relationship with the boy, the son of her mother's cousin and also related to her father. But Manpreet, who completed Plus Two this year, continued seeing the boy, who is unemployed," said a police officer involved with the investigations.
Banga SHO Lakhbir Singh told TOI that Raghbir had given a complaint to the police saying his daughter had threatened to commit suicide over the relationship.
"On June 3, he poisoned the girl at around 8 am with tablets and she died within minutes. He then informed his relatives and friends in the village that Manpreet had died all of a sudden."
Passing it off as a natural death, Raghbir cremated Manpreet’s body on June 3 afternoon but some cops present in the village at that time, grew suspicious.
"When we questioned the father, he confessed to killing his daughter," said Lakhbir Singh.
Police also recovered the container in which the tablets were stored. The SHO said, "The father said when his pleas with his daughter fell on deaf ears, he was left with no option but to save his family's honour."

Cricket : 24 million watched IPL final

If you were glued to your television set on Sunday, you were not the only one. Groans or cheers (depending on which team you were supporting) filled the air in numerous pubs, coffee shops, homes and offices with the Indian Premier League reaching its crescendo and millions of viewers logging on to the final between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Snap polls suggest that over 24 million watched the nail-biting final, though industry experts say that this is a conservative estimate and the numbers could be much higher. According to Audience Measurement And Analysis Ltd (aMap)-the overnight audience measurement system-the semi-finals too drew a crowd. Though the semi-finals were damp squibs, over 20 million people watched the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils while the second semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab drew an audience of 19 million. The aMap has a sample size of 6,000 households in 85 towns. Media analysts say that IPL viewership has been unprecedented. TAM has pegged the aggregate viewership between April 19 and May 24 at 99 million. According to TAM, the World Cup cricket ODI final which was simulcast on SAB, Set Max and DD drew in 32.8 million people while the T20 final-in which India played and won-attracted an audience reach of 48 million. In contrast, aMap said that 27 million watched the 2007 T20 final, indicating that these numbers could be on the lower side of the estimate

Big B : I didn't invite media to follow me on temple visits

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he cannot prevent the media from making his temple visits look like a public spectacle. Bachchan said he never invited mediapersons to follow him during his rituals. "My religiosity is my democratic prerogative in a free society. No one has the right to question it or to paint adverse malicious comments," Bachchan wrote on his blog. The actor was responding to bloggers who posted comments wanting to know what he asks from Gods and whether there is a need to make a public spectacle of it. Bachchan accompanied by his son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya walked bare foot to Siddhivinayak temple early Tuesday morning to offer prayers to Lord Ganesh. The Big B said he visited the temple to seek strength and protection and to exist with honour and grace. The actor also denied that special treatment is meted out to him and his family during such visits. "The portals of divine presence belong to no particular individual. HE is the only VIP. In HIS presence, all are equal. I deny any special treatment meted out to us. For better people management, certain locations have intricate procedures in place. If it is accessible to all and if I fall in any one legally programmed category, I shall avail it. My presence there is that of a devotee; as one with the others," he said. Bachchan said he is disturbed, immensely upset and angry by the "anti-secular" comments made by certain elements on the blog. "I shall not mention them by name but they must know that they will never be entertained or acknowledged here. They are ignorant and wrong in their assessment and accusations," he added.

Raje puts the ball in Centre's court on Gujjar quota

As the Gujjar agitation seeking ST status entered the sixth day, the Rajasthan government on Wednesday said the reservation should be done at the central level and asked the community members to "use their wisdom".

"Now the entire proceedings of reservation should be done at the central level. The Gujjar community should take their initiatives to the Centre and use their wisdom," Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said.

She also appealed to the Gujjars to stop violence, understand the reservation procedure and come forward to settle the issue through dialogue.

In a full-page advertisement issued in leading newspapers, Raje sought to remind the people that lakhs of people have been stranded at different places in the state due to the agitation.

Acting tough, the Rajasthan government has clamped National Security Act (NSA) in 15 violence-hit districts as the agitation, which showed no signs of ending, spread to several parts of the state and threatened to spill over to the National Capital Region (NCR).

With the agitating Gujjars planning a "complete NCR roko " on Thursday, the Union Home Ministry put the region on high alert to prevent stalling of trains. As many as 39 people have been killed and scores injured in police firing and violence since Friday last.

While the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has referred the issue of reservation sought for Gujjars by Raje to the Law Ministry, the Congress dismissed her recommendation saying it was "immature" and legally untenable.

Aarushi Talwar urder : My husband's innocent, says Nupur Talwar

Nupur Talwar, the wife of dentist Rajesh Talwar, arrested on Friday for allegedly killing his daughter and domestic help, on Saturday claimed that he was totally innocent and she would fight his battle for justice and not sit quite. She also denied there were any illicit relations between her husband and Anita Durrani, a dental surgeon, which the police said was one of the reasons for the twin murder. "Even after all this, I can say it has nothing to do with this. There is no such thing," she told a TV channel. Coming out in strong defence of her husband, Nupur said, "With all my conviction I can say it (Rajesh killing Aarushi) can't be the way it is suggested (by the police). He was a doting father. It is doubly untrue.” She added, “In fact I used to feel that I had done something good in the past to be part of such a wonderful family. I have faith in the legal system and I have faith in God." Nupur, who is also a dentist, said she cannot believe that her husband could be behind the murders. "It is not possible, just not possible. The killer is out there somewhere. We will have to fight it out in the court. The truth is there. The truth has to come out." Breaking her silence for the first time ever since the murder came to light last Friday, Nupur said they were a very close knit family and on the night of the murder, the family had food and watched television together like any other family before they went to sleep. "I have been in the house. Is such a thing possible? Do you think...can any mother sleep throughout...I think it is beyond anybody's imagination. Utter nonsense, baseless nonsense. They (police) can say whatever they want. I know it is not true. God knows it is not true," she said. Asked as a mother can she be part of a cover-up to save the husband from law, she said "would any mother do that? Then I don't think she is a mother. She is not a human being. She is an animal. Even a father would not do it." To a question about the police charge of extra-marital relationship between Rajesh and Anita Durrani, she said, Dr Durrani was like an extended family. "I have known her since Aarushi was born. Her daughter may be six months older than Aarushi. Her daughter and my daughter were like sisters. Whenever we have had medical problems, her husband (Praful) would come and give medicines for Aarushi. Even when Rajesh gets asthmatic attack, the first to be called would be Praful. In fact, we never had a family doctor. Praful was our doctor," she said.

Now Angelina considering France for twins' birth

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will be welcoming their twins into the world on August 19 this year, and the couple is considering having their babies in France, the native place of the actress’ late mother. The news about when Angelina would be giving birth was revealed by actor Dustin Hoffman, reports The Sun . However, it was Angelina herself who revealed that she was 'certainly thinking' about giving birth in France. Speaking at a news conference in Cannes, she revealed that the couple’s kids were already learning to speak French. "It's a second language in our home," the BBC quoted her, a saying. "My children are starting to speak French, it's good for them," she added. The babies will take the number of kids in Brangelina’s brood to 6. The couple is already parents to two boys – Maddox and Pax, and two girls – Zahara and Shiloh.

Is India to be 8th wealthiest place by 2017?

India with its increasing number of millionaires is projected to be in the 8th position among the world's top 10 wealth centres by 2017, says a report by banking giant Barclays. The report further says that emerging markets like India, China and Russia are fast catching up with the rich countries in terms of their wealth. "Over the coming decade, the gap in wealth between the world's most developed countries and the leading emerging markets will continue to narrow with many new millionaires being created in India, China, Russia and other countries which are undergoing rapid development," says Barclays Wealth Report. Moreover, by 2017 the four emerging markets-- India, China, Brazil and Russia-- will have so many millionaires that it would be inappropriate to call them emerging markets, Barclays added. The second fastest growing economy India is expected to join the league of top 10 wealth centres by 2017 by that time its neighbour China is likely to move up to third rank from its present seventh place. While Russia could experience considerable growth, moving to 11th place from 19th, Brazil will also move up the ladder to 12th from 15th. The report says a sudden spurt in the wealth of emerging markets has displaced more developed economies such as Australia, South Korea and Portugal from the list. In 2007, G7 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US -- contained more than one million millionaire households.

Sharmila said - Ramadoss should focus on real issues

A day after Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss trained his guns on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, censor board head Sharmila Tagore took a dig at him saying the minister should focus on real issues. After asking actors to quit smoking on screen, the minister took Bollywood head-on over alcohol. On Wednesday, Ramadoss pointed out that movies were frequently showing 'drunken' scenes as a tool of humour. He specifically targeted Shah Rukh Khan's rendition of a drunken junior artist in the movie, 'Om Shanti Om'. Ramadoss lashed out at actors potraying scenes of consuming alcohol to drown their sorrow. He expressed pity that these actors have been idolized by the country's young and old. When quizzed about the Union Health Minister's stance on the issue of alcohol, Sharmila Tagore said: "First it was about smoking, then he spoke about chips and now alcohol. I think what is primarily very important now is that he should focus on real issues like fake medicines. There are lot of drugs that are fake and it's a known fact, which is actually causing a lot of problems." While Sharmila Tagore's ire against the Health Minister isn't that unexpected, especially after Ramadoss took a dig at her son, Saif Ali Khan, for endorsing Lays Chips and even went to the extent of citing the actor's heart attack in relation to his brand endorsement. With SRK taking potshots at the minister and Sharmila Tagore also making her ire felt, it looks like that the minister's popularity stakes in Bollywood are declining.

Hey Yana! happy B'day!!

Yana Gupta turns 29 today. No, the lady is not averse to revealing her age. In fact, she is looking ahead to the New Year with anticipation as according to a Chinese friend of hers, 29 is the time when changes take place, “And they have already begun,” reveals the birthday girl who will spend the day all alone. “I love to be alone on my birthday. Last year, too I was in Goa for three days, all by myself.” So no party? “I might just invite a few friends over to my house for dinner,” says Yana who’s music album is ready for release. Her book on fitness too will be out by the year-end. “I’m finally doing what I always wanted to do, sing and write,” says the Czech beauty. So will she be singing happy birthday to herself? Laughter is all we hear from the other end. Happy Birthday Yana, let the party begin!

Priyanka met her father's assassin

Priyanka Vadra, who has created a flutter by meeting one of the conspirators in her father Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, on Tuesday said she does not believe in anger, hatred and violence and will not allow these to overpower her. "It was a very personal visit and completely on my own individual initiative. I would be deeply grateful if this could be respected," she said about her meeting with Nalini Sriharan in Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu last month. Nalini, married to Murugan, sentenced to death in the assassination case, was also awarded capital punishment. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Sonia Gandhi pleaded for clemency for the sake of the convict's daughter. "It is true that I met Nalini Sriharan in Vellore central jail on March 19, 2008. It was my way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that I have experienced," she said. Recalling her mother's intervention in getting Nalini's death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Priyanka said she did not believe in hatred and violence. "I do not believe in anger, hatred and violence and I refuse to allow these things to overpower my life," she said. Her brother Rahul Gandhi said "I have a different way of looking at these things. I don't have a problem either". Rahul said "we don't carry hatred, we don't carry anger. It's not an exercise...She felt that she wanted to go and see the person. She has been feeling it for sometime". The issue of Priyanka meeting Nalini in the Vellore jail came to the fore with a city lawyer, D Rajkumar, seeking queries from the prison authorities by invoking provisions under Right to Information (RTI) Act. Priyanka was in Vellore on March 19 to visit the newly constructed Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple. Rajkumar, in his application to the Superintendent of Prisons, had asked whether it was true that Priyanka met Nalini? And if so under which legal provisions was she allowed to meet the convict and who accompanied her? Vellore jail authorities, when contacted, declined to comment saying that they would reply to the RTI petition filed by Rajkumar.

Sexy Ayesha goes for liposuction!

After Esha Deol it’s now Ayesha Takia’s turn to undergo cosmetic surgery. Esha has reportedly undergone a lip surgery and now apparently, Ayesha, who has been criticised for her recent weight gain, is going abroad for liposuction.

The pretty actress, who recently starred in Sunday, looked quite chubby and definitely needs to shed those extra kilos. Maybe she has no time to exercise and burn it out in the gym so she has chosen the easy way out. We are waiting to see her all svelte and sexy when she comes back!

Is it Pam’s Angel love

Pamela Anderson is reportedly dating magician Criss Angel. The former Baywatch actress was spotted getting very cosy with Britney Spears’ rumoured ex-boyfriend at Elton John’s concert in Washington recently. An onlooker said, “They were dancing along to the music, and at a few different points during the evening they looked very cosy, hugging and kissing.” This is not the first time Pamela and Criss have sparked rumours of a relationship. They were seen together at an Los Angeles nightclub last December following Pamela’s split from her third husband Rick Salomon. The 40-year-old mother-of-two was recently rumoured to be dating magician Hans Klok, after working as his assistant in his Las Vegas show. Meanwhile, Criss is widely reported to be the father of Minnie Driver’s baby. The actress recently revealed she is expecting her first child, but has so far refused to reveal the identity of the father.

Earth in danger, warns NASA's top climate-scientist

Global warming has plunged the planet into a crisis and the fossil fuel industries are trying to hide the extent of the problem from the public, NASA's top climate-scientist says. "We've already reached the dangerous level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," James Hansen, 67, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, said. "But there are ways to solve the problem" of heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which Hansen said has reached the "tipping point" of 385 parts per million. In a paper he was submitting to Science magazine on Monday, Hansen calls for phasing out all coal-fired plants by 2030, taxing their emissions until then, and banning the building of new plants unless they are designed to trap and segregate the carbon dioxide they emit. The major obstacle to saving the planet from its inhabitants is not technology, insisted Hansen, named one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2006 by Time magazine. "The problem is that 90 per cent of energy is fossil fuels. And that is such a huge business, it has permeated our government," he maintained. "What's become clear to me in the past several years is that both the executive branch and the legislative branch are strongly influenced by special fossil fuel interests," he said, referring to the providers of coal, oil and natural gas and the energy industry that burns them. In a recent survey of what concerns people, global warming ranked 25th. "The industry is misleading the public and policy makers about the cause of climate change. And that is analogous to what the cigarette manufacturers did. They knew smoking caused cancer, but they hired scientists who said that was not the case." Hansen says that with an administration and legislature that he believes are "well oiled, our best hope is the judicial branch." Last year Hansen testified before the US Congress that "interference with communication of science to the public has been greater during the current administration than at any time in my career." Government public relations officials, he said, filter the facts in science reports to reduce "concern about the relation of climate change to human-made greenhouse gas emissions." While he recognizes that he has stepped outside the traditional role of scientists as researchers rather than as public policy advocates, he says he does so because "in this particular situation we've reached a crisis." The policy makers, "the people who need to know are ignorant of the actual status of the matter, and the gravity of the matter, and most important, the urgency of the matter," he charged. "It's analogous to an engineer who sees that there's a flaw in the space shuttle before it is to be launched. You don't have any choice. You have to say something. That's really all that I'm doing," he explained. Hansen was in Wilmington to receive a 50,000 dollar Common Wealth Award for outstanding achievement, along with the former prime minister of Australia John Howard, the US actress Glenn Close, and NBC news anchor Ann Curry. The awards are provided by a trust of the late Ralph Hayes, a former director of Coca Cola and Bank of Delaware, now PNC. In 29 years, 165 former honorees in seven fields have included former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former US newsman Walter Cronkite, French marine biologist Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Howard, who would not sign the Kyoto protocol when he was in office, said: "I thought it was the right policy at the time because the major emitters" were not on board." He added: "You need a new Kyoto protocol with all the major emitters committed to it. Then you are cooking with gas."

Miss India World 2008 : Parthy Omanakuttan

Miss Earth 2007 Pooja Chitgopekar and Miss Tourism 2007 Priyanka Shah, Miss India Puja Gupta alongwith Kareena Kapoor on stage to crown the winners! Last year’s winner Sarah Jane could not come to the event.
Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth 2008 is Harshita Saxena. Pooja Chitgopekar crowns the winner.
Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe 2008 is Simran Kaur Mundi. Puja Gupta crowns Simran.
Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2008 is Parvathy Omanakuttan. Kareena crowns Parvathy.

Both Clintons earn USD 109 mn in 8 years

US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton earned a combined USD 109 million in eight years, paid USD 33.8 million in taxes and gave away USD 10.2 million to charities, according to the tax return released by them. This puts them among the top tier of tax payers in the United States. Most of their income - after Bill Clinton left office in 2000 - came from the sale of books the two wrote as well as the former President's speaking tours. Expert tax analysts started closely examining the returns immediately after they were released but at least initially failed to find any smoking gun. The presidential candidates are not required to release their tax returns under the law but only provide rudimentary information. However, they do release the returns in the interest of transparency and to squash any rumours about their financial position. Barack Obama, who is fighting Hillary Clinton for Democratic presidential nomination, had earlier released his tax returns and had challenged her to do so. The documents show that Bill Clinton made much more after leaving the While House and the couple's income shot up to USD 16 million in 2001 from mere USD 350,000 in 2000, their last year in the White House.

Jiah jale? Jiah Khan

Ken Ghosh’s untitled film with Shahid Kapoor will see a change in its leading lady soon. Reportedly, the production house does not wish to continue with Jiah Khan any more and has approached Katrina Kaif to be part of the film. Interestingly, Jiah Khan has already shot for the film and is currently shooting for it. But our source from the industry informs that Katrina has been approached to replace Jiah. When contacted, Jiah said, “I have not been told anything and as far as I know I am doing the film.” When contacted, Katrina messaged saying, “Not signed”. However, when asked if she has been approached for the film she did not revert. However, a close friend of Katrina informed us, “Though she was approached, producers have not given any reason to her but have offered her around Rs 4.5 crore. Katrina is in two minds about doing the film as it is completely hero-centric

A man relocates lost family with Google Earth in Agra

Agra: Orphaned at seven, he ran away from home to escape the tyranny of his uncle and was taken care of by an affluent Muslim family in northern India. Now at 20, Rakesh Singh has through Google Earth traced his village near Agra and is fighting to get his property back.
Rakesh, who developed an early fascination for computers, has found his village in Kiraoli, about 22 km from the Taj Mahal city, thanks to his interest in the internet.
"Google Earth helped me locate the village that was faintly in my dreams. I knew the name of the village but did not have any idea where in India it was," Rakesh said.
For the past few weeks, Rakesh has been running from one office to the other to get his house and land back from his uncle. He accuses his uncle of torturing him, beating him, and even trying to get rid of him after his father Jagan Singh's death when he was just seven. His mother was kicked out of the house and died under "mysterious circumstances".
Desperate, little Rakesh ran away. Railway stations became his home. Then one day, a university couple from Delhi spotted him on a train, took pity and asked him to accompany them to their home where they looked after him, educated him and gave him a decent life.

"Every now and then the days of my childhood would wake me up. My village would appear in my dreams. I kept thinking hard about my roots but with no success. All I could remember all these years was Kiraoli. I did my diploma in computers and got involved with this fascinating technology. Then I searched various districts, one by one, on the internet.
"I looked up the maps on Google Earth and finally zeroed on Kiraoli in Agra district. A visit to the village confirmed this was the place of my birth. I found my relatives and my uncle and now I am trying to win back my property," Rakesh said.
Retired professor S W Hassan, his foster father, recounting how they got Rakesh, said he and his wife were going to Varanasi from Delhi when they saw a little boy on the train with high fever and crying endlessly. The couple asked him about his whereabouts, which he did not know as he was hardly seven at the time. The boy was brought to Delhi and a First Information Report filed at the police station. In the school records his name is Bilal alias Rakesh.
"I filed an FIR (First Information Report), on June 8, 1996, describing how the boy came with us from a railway station. Rakesh has a copy of it. But no one came to claim the boy, so we brought him up to the best of our ability, got him educated, gave him whatever he wanted. I have a son in America. Our family considered him as a member and there were no differences," Hassan said.
Hassan's wife is also a teacher.
"We are happy and relieved that he has found his home though sad he will be leaving us," Hassan said. "Please do whatever you can to help him get his lost identity and property. I am a kidney patient on dialysis."
Rakesh has all the documents and is even prepared to have a DNA test because his uncle is not accepting him for fear of losing the property. But the villagers are solidly with him.
Tall and well built, Rakesh is also a trainer at a gym. He is keen to settle down among his people and do something for those similarly distressed - making the best use of the technology he loves.

How to do safe netbanking

Are you one of those wizards whose Internet banking password is `Password123’? You are in August company. Most don't seem to have the patience to create an elaborate password. Your Internet banking account is only as secure as its password. A weak password exposes it to strangers and hackers. If you love the ease of online transactions, you have to learn the ropes of basic online security, in your own interest. Here are a few tips for creating and more importantly, remembering a secure password. Your name, surname, pet name, names of your kids, your birthday, your employee number, your car’s number plate, and your account number, are all easy to guess. Avoid them completely. Don’t create lazy passwords. To make passwords strong, complicate them with capitals and small letters; use numbers and characters such as !@#$% ^&*() . Create an algorithm. It could be important dates, the first line of your favourite song or your favourite movie. Like `One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest', will get you ‘1F^TCNest’. Don’t scramble around wondering if `F’ was capital or if it was `o’ or `0’ or `1’. Have an algo and always apply it. For example, one number, one character, beginning with caps and ending with the last word in full. Use the algo to reset and change passwords. Don’t discuss your algorithm, it is the formula to your password.
Learn to differentiate :-
There are passwords to your Yahoo and Hotmail accounts and there are passwords to your bank account. Don’t sweat over the small stuff. If your friend logged in to read your mail, you may at the most lose a friend; if someone logs in to sweep off your cash, you lose both the money and the friend. Keep your critical passwords strictly confidential. Also, avoid typing a password in front of someone. Passwords like ‘qwerty123456’ are so easy for peepers to figure. Avoid strokes to adjacent keys that can be cracked by mere observation.
The longer, the better :-
Short passwords can be easily assaulted. Hackers routinely crack up to six characters. If your algo is a good one, remembering may not be tough. `Raindrops keep falling on my head and I want to steal your umbrella’ can become a superb password -- RkFoMh&Iw 2SyU. Longer a password, the more secure it is. For, every extra character increases the potential for more possible combinations. Anyone who uses a combination of at least eight letters, numbers and special symbols make things hard for decryption software.
Choose non-dictionary words :-
If you use 26 lowercase letters of the alphabet and a password length of seven characters you will have 26 = 8.03 billion combinations to choose from.This may appear large but it will be cracked in 45 minutes by a common computer. Passwords longer than seven characters, using non-dictionary words are therefore to be preferred in an attempt to use 'good' passwords.
Deadly writing :-
Don’t make the password so complicated and bizarre that you cannot remember it unless you wrote it down somewhere. Commit your password to memory with a keyword or picturisation. Imagine for example, a cuckoo clock striking one, on the top of your bank building. If you don’t leave your house key below the door mat, you don’t leave your password below the keyboard, mouse pad, in your diary, or on a post it slip stuck to your monitor. If you have to store it, make it a sentence only you understand. For example, cuckoo clock above the bank strikes one. Never keep the user name and password together.Follow system rulesOnline banking comes with some preset safeguards. Your password is masked when you type it -- it is not displayed on the screen. You are required to reset passwords periodically. When you reset, you are asked for the old password for authentication. Your new password has to be typed twice, so that you don’t inadvertently set a password with a typo and are unable to retrieve it. Your account is locked after a few attempts at guessing the password. You can ask for resetting if you have genuinely lost the password. As most writers on the subject say, a password is like your toothbrush: choose carefully, change regularly, and never share it with anyone.

Why Madonna sleeps with her mobile phone

Pop superstar Madonna sleeps with her mobile phone and so does her husband Guy Ritchie. She says it is not unromantic. She says, “We lie right next to each other with our cell phones under our pillows. It is not unromantic, it’s practical. I’m sure loads of couples keep their mobile phones in bed with them.” She further adds, “I often wake up in the middle of the night and remember that I’ve forgotten something, so I jump up and make notes.”

Tanushree Dutta : I want justice

It looks like Tanushree Dutta will not let go of this issue without a fight. Here’s a recap: Tanushree was supposed to do an item number in the film Horn Ok Please. But she refused to do an intimate step with Nana Patekar, and so got kicked out of the film, and Rakhi Sawant was given the item number. Not only that, Tanu alleges that mediapersons, along with the crew of the film, damaged her car, and harassed her. Tanu has now filed a complaint with the Cine and Television Artistes Association (CINTAA), demanding compensation for damage to property and her reputation. “I’ve spoken to Raza Murad from CINTAA and have explained my case to him. He has promised that notices will be sent to all the people involved. I am claiming compensation for both damage to property and my reputation,” she says. Rakhi Sawant may also get into trouble for replacing Tanushree in the item number without seeking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from her. Dinesh Chaturvedi, general secretary of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said, “Rakhi should have sought an NOC from Tanushree before shooting for the song. She will definitely get pulled up for this.” Echoes Murad, “Had Tanushree left the sets without informing the producer and the director of the film then Rakhi had every right to shoot the song. But since that did not happen, as per the regulations, Rakhi will be held accountable.” He added, “As far as Tanushree’s complaint goes, we will look into the matter and take action. All the parties involved in the case will be questioned before we take a decision on this.” Tanu still cannot accept the fact that people damaged her car. “I still can’t get over the fact that people were climbing over my car and damaging it while we all were inside,” she says. Did Nana Patekar misbehave with her on the sets? “The less said about him, the better. If a co-star behaves in the manner he did with me, others will definitely take us for granted.” However, an eye-witness from the sets reveals, “The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena arrived on the set in huge numbers and began abusing Tanu. Nana was also present, did nothing to stop them, and Rakhi was shouting slogans.”

Only for $30m : Virgin Madonna is available

Madonna will only perform Like A Virgin again for $30 million. The 4 Minutes star, who is set to embark on a tour this autumn, is tired of singing her early hits and has no desire to include them in her set lists. She said, “I’m not sure I can sing Holiday or Like A Virgin ever again. I just can’t — unless somebody paid me like $30 million or something.” Madonna also spoke about troubled singer Britney Spears, and revealed she works out to her new album Blackout. She added, “I actually love Britney’s new album. I usually work out to her record. I do a combination of Pilates and dance aerobics. People need to step off. For real, let’s go save her.”

Different D A to Babu??

Here's some good news for babus – a clear majority of the youth in some of India's biggest cities believes there's nothing wrong with the goodies they have got from the Sixth Pay Commission. What's more, there's even a section that believes they should have got bigger pay hikes. That's the finding of a six-city opinion poll done among college-going students exclusively for TOI by Synovate, a global market research agency. The poll was conducted among students from the elite IIMs and IITs as well as those from government colleges and approval for the pay hikes cuts across both segments. Overall almost two-thirds approved of the hikes and if we add the 11% who felt the hikes should have been even higher, that's an impressive three-fourths of all respondents who felt that the pay increases were not overly generous. However, there were variations in the response to this question across cities. In Delhi, for instance, 89% were in favour of the recommendations being implemented, while in Mumbai — at the other end of the scale — only 43% approved of it. The approval ratings were in the high range for Chennai (76%) and Bangalore (64%), but much lower in Ahmedabad (56%) and Kolkata (48%). Interestingly, there was hardly any difference between the responses from the IIMs/IITs and those from government colleges. In fact, if anything the elite institutions were slightly more inclined to approve of the pay hikes than the others. But should pay hikes have been linked to productivity in some way? An overwhelming 80% said they should have been. Here again, there were greater variations in responses across cities than between students from different types of institutions. In Delhi, 95% wanted such a link to be made, whereas in Kolkata and Ahmedabad those seeking productivity-linked wage hikes were only 68% and 69% respectively. Have the latest pay increases made a difference to the way the students perceive government jobs as a career option? We first asked them how many of them would have sought government jobs before these hikes. The answer was a surprisingly high 63%. Unlike the previous questions, the responses in this case varied significantly not only across cities, but also depending on the type of college the respondent was studying in. Only 41% of IIT/IIM students said they would have looked at the government as a career option before the hikes, while 77% of students from government colleges replied in the affirmative. Not surprisingly, Delhi had the highest percentage (82%) of those voicing this opinion. This could also explain why Delhi students were more approving of the pay hikes than those from any other city. At the low end of the scale in terms of enthusiasm for sarkari jobs were cities like Bangalore (49%), Ahmedabad (55%) and Kolkata (56%). We then asked them whether the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations had made the option of a government job more attractive to them. Again, about 63% said they had. The variations across cities and institutions reflected the same patterns as the responses to the previous question, with 50% of IIT/IIM students maintaining that despite the pay hikes, working for the government was not an attractive option. Responses to questions on the link between government pay levels and the extent of corruption in India reveal a certain despair about tackling this festering problem. When we asked them how important a factor low pay levels was in breeding corruption, about half the respondents felt that it was a major factor and another 29% said it was a minor factor. That left only 21% expressing the view that pay scales had nothing to do with the phenomenon of graft. Not all cities reflected the overall pattern. In Chennai, for instance, 44% said low pay scales were not a factor in corruption and only 28% saw this as a major factor. At the other end of the spectrum, a mere 4% in Ahmedabad said it was not a factor, while 65% saw meagre pay as a major contributor to corruption. Across institutions, the IIT/IIM students were less inclined to dismiss it as a non-factor (17%) than those from government colleges (24%). But, when we asked the students whether the latest pay increases would help bring down corruption levels in the government, 45% said they would have no impact at all, while only 17% felt they would have a significant impact, the rest being of the view that they would make only a slight difference. Chennai once again appeared the most cynical of all the cities, with 72% saying there would be no impact and just 7% saying the impact would be considerable. At the other extreme, 17% in Delhi said there would be no impact while 37% said there would be a major impact. Students from the IITs/IIMs were less inclined to be optimistic on this score than their counterparts in government colleges, though the differences between the two sets of respondents was not very large. The broad message coming through from the poll seems to be: The pay hikes are fair enough, but don't expect things to change very much as a result of them.

Goa has just become costlier in the budget for 2008-09

Your dream to own a beach-side home in Goa has just become costlier. In the budget for 2008-09, the state government has increased stamp duty on property from the average 2% to varying rates depending on the value of the property. So while the state will continue to charge 2% stamp duty for land valued up to Rs 30 lakh, an additional duty of Rs 90,000 or more will be charged for a property worth between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. Property worth above Rs 50 lakh will be charged a stamp duty of 4%, while a 5% stamp duty will be levied for property costing more than Rs 1 crore. “Everyone wants to own a piece of land in Goa, so let them pay more,” said state finance minister Dayanand Narvekar defending his decision. Aware of the danger of properties being undervalued to save on stamp duty, the government has also proposed setting up a benchmark for property prices, based on which duty will be charged. This is similar to the ready reckenor introduced in Maharashtra. The state has also raised infrastructure tax from Rs 40 per sq mt to Rs 50 per sq mt for residential constructions and Rs 100 for commercial developments. Meanwhile, buoyed by a 12% growth rate with a revenue surplus of Rs 141.41 crore, the state has decided to waive off all loans taken by farmers from the state agricultural department. The state will also write-off the housing loans of farmers taken from the director of panchayats. The state will also offer farmers bank loans up to Rs 5 lakh at 4% interest. It has also decided to pay the difference in interest rate to banks. The state budget has also decided to provide 50% subsidy to farmers for purchase of machinery, apart from providing support prices for various items like areca nut, paddy and cashew. This grant is applicable to also horticulturists and those involved in animal husbandry; and is expected to cost Rs 50 crore to state exchequer. The state, has also extended social schemes and benefits available to SCs and STs to all families with an income of less than Rs 1 lakh per year. At the same time it has also introduced a concept of creamy layer (which include families with an income of Rs 6 lakh per year) which will be excluded from availing of any government subsidy.

Will Shilpa Shetty marry boyfriend Raj Kundra?

Well, it's now Shilpa Shetty's turn. The echoes of ringing temple bells have culminated into a possible wedding bell rumour for the duo. Apparently, Raj Kundra joined Shilpa, Shamita and mom Sunanda Shetty on a visit to Shirdi. However, marriage, they maintain is still not on the cards. And the yet-very-much-single Shilpa is flabbergasted by the 'misreporting', her publicist tells us. Not very long ago, the media got Rani Mukerji married off to Aditya Chopra, speculating a big fat Indian wedding in the city of Jodhpur. Bipasha's engagement to John was also another serious conjecture. The diamond ring on Sushmita Sen's finger began assumptions of her having been proposed to by then-boyfriend Sanjay Narang, and more recently the Kareena Kapoor - Saif Ali Khan secret nikaah was just the minds of many working overtime! But then Ash and Abhi did eventually tie the knot. Wonder what Sai Baba has planned for the Shilpa-Raj jodi.

Mrs. Bachchan i.e. Ash turns down Will Smith again

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has declined to co-star with Hollywood wonder boy Will Smith yet again! Two years ago, Smith offered her a role in his comedy Hitch which Ash could not accept due to time constraints. At that time, a besotted Smith who wanted to work with the beauty queen had said in an interview, “Aishwarya has this powerful energy and doesn’t have to say anything, or do anything, she can just stand there. Anything she’s making, I’ll be there.” Since then, Aishwarya turned down two more Will Smith projects. “That’s true,” she laughed. “I had to say no to Will for The Seven Pounds and now again for Tonight He Comes (Smith’s super-hero flick re-named John Hancock). I feel awful about it. But I’ve my priorities. Family always comes first.” Contrary to reports, Aishwarya didn’t decline the film to celebrate Karwa Chauth in Mumbai. “That’s what the Hollywood press wrote... that I preferred to return to Mumbai to ‘starve’ myself for a religious occasion than to meet Will. That’s incorrect. The script reading was just after Diwali when Dadima’s (Teji Bachchan’s) health dipped. So I didn’t make that trip for the reading with Will. Is that wrong? Not to me. I’d any day put family over career.” Now Ash has said no to Tonight He Comes. “I couldn’t do it because of my schedules. Flying in and out of the country for a role is not what I want to do now,” she said. Are Ash and Will star-crossed? “When it has to happen it will happen. There’s something very charismatic about that actor. He gives off very nice vibes. He’s very adventurous as an actor. He did I Am Legend and Pursuit Of Happiness at the same time. He’s an actor, rapper, and a great family man. I like that.”

Encounter Specialist Delhi Police ACP Rajbir Singh shot dead

Delhi Police Special Operations Squad ACP Rajbir Singh, known as the "encounter specialist", was gunned down allegedly by a property dealer on the city outskirts late on Monday night. The ACP, who was shunted out of DP crime branch and returned in November last year to head its special anti-terror cell, was allegedly shot dead by Vijay Bharadwaj, a property dealer near Sukhrali village in Gurgaon. Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said that the shooting is believed to have taken place around 10:30 pm and they were informed about the incident by their counterparts in Gurgaon around Monday midnight. A Delhi Police team had been sent there to verify details and a statement on what exactly happened could only be made after it returns, he said. Gurgaon Police Commissioner Mahendra Lal independently confirmed the incident. Reports said the property dealer shot dead Singh over some monetary dispute. The Additional Commissioner of Police was transferred from the crime branch to Delhi Armed Police after allegations of his involvement in an illegal land deal last year. The vigilance probe however gave him a clean chit and he returned to head the Special Operations Squad in November last year.

Haryana all for 6th Pay Commission recommendations : Monday, March 24, 2008 19:30 [IST]

Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said that the State government would implement the report of the sixth Pay Commission "by and large" as per its recommendations, but made it clear that at the moment there was no proposal to raise the retirement age of the employees of the State government. Talking to reporters in the press lobby of the state assembly here this afternoon Hooda said that the state government has already provided Rs 1500 Crore in the budget of the State for the year 2008-09 for implementation of the report of the sixth Pay Commission. Hooda reiterated that the state was for having its own High Court here by bifurcating the existing Punjab and Haryana High Court between the two states on 60:40 basis as had been done in respect of other issues, including Secretariat and the state assembly after the reorganization of Punjab. On the reported statement of Union Law Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj that Haryana could get its High Court after getting its own capital, Hooda said that Chandigarh is the capital of the state. He would further pursue the issue of separate High Court for Haryana, Hooda said.
He supported the recent passage of a resolution unanimously by the Punjab Assembly urging the centre to rename the International Airport coming up here as the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.
In reply to a question on the problem of drinking water in Gurgaon city following a recent breach in a canal, he said that the normal water supply would be restored in a couple of days as the task of plugging the breach was expected to be completed today. On by-election to Gohana and Indri assembly constituencies following the disqualification of two ruling party legislators Dharampal Singh Malik and Rakesh Kamboj under the anti-defection law after they joined a new political party formed by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi, Hooda said the State has informed the Election Commission of India about the two vacancies and there was a possibility of these by-elections to be held alongwith those of Karnataka in May.

6th Pay Commission : Panel recommends up to 40 pc pay hike for top officials

New Delhi: Government employees are in celebratory mode as the Sixth Pay Commission has handed over its report to the Finance Ministry on Monday. A major hike has been announced for Government servants across the board.
The Government will incur a one-time burden of Rs 18,060 crore on payment of arrears in the event of the report being accepted with the salary increase of 77 per cent for the starting level employees.
The hike would be effective from January 1, 2006 as per the prevailing practice.
The maximum salary of Government employees will be Rs 80,000 per month while the minimum salary will be Rs 6,600 per month.
The Commission has reportedly recommended a hike of over 40 per cent in salaries of Government employees at the senior level and substantial salary hike in other categories as well.
As widely speculated, the Commission is silent on the retirement age for government workers.
The existing HRA rate has been retained for A-1 cities while it is higher by 20 per cent for A, B-1 and B-2 cities. For C and unclassified cities the allowance is higher by 10 per cent.
The report recommends that CCA be subsumed in Transport Allowance, and the rate be increased by four times. In other changes, travel is to be paid on actuals.
The Finance Ministry will consider the report and will submit its recommendations to the Union Cabinet.
With general elections round the corner, the Government is likely to accept the recommendations without any cut.
The Commission — the arbitrator in the collective bargaining process between labour and the largest employer in the country, the Central Government — however, faces challenges that seem staggering.

Haryana to implement 6th pay commission report : Saturday, January 26, 2008 18:00 [IST

Chandigarh: Haryana will be the first State in the country to implement the report of the sixth pay commission, State's Finance Minister Birender Singh claimed today.
"We will implement the report soon after it's receipt and as a result of it the employees of the State Government will get more salary as compared to those of other states, Singh said speaking at the Republic Day celebrations in Rohtak, where he also unfurled the tricolour, according to an official release here.
The only surviving member of the Constituent Assembly, Ranbir Singh, who is father of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was special invitee at the function. Birender Singh said that the present Government has not only withdrawn ban on filling up of vacancies, but also provided employment to about 20,000 youth during last about 34 months.
A target has been fixed to provide jobs to more than one lakh youth in next two years, he said, adding it was a matter of great pride that Haryana was ahead of many other states in financial management. "The State ranked at number two after Goa in per capita income," he said. He said that new schemes involving an investment of Rs 600 crore have been initiated to enhance the socio-economic status of members belonging to Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and economically weaker sections of the society. Singh paid rich tributes to the martyrs and freedom fighters. A colourful cultural programme was also presented by the school children and 16 tableux were taken out to project the developmental strides made by various departments.

'unsexiest woman' title upsets Sarah

Sarah Jessica Parker, the Sex And The City actress, revealed that both she and her husband Matthew Broderick were upset when they found out that a US magazine has voted her the ‘unsexiest woman in the world’. A website reports Parker as saying, “It’s so brutal in a way, so filled with rage and anger. It upset him because it has to do with his judgement too. ” She also added, “Do I have big fake boobs, botox and big lips? No. Do I fit some ideals and standards of some men writing in a men’s magazine? Maybe not! Am I really the unsexiest woman in the world? Wow! It’s kind of shocking. It’s condemnation and it’s insane. What can I do? I guess you can’t please all people.” Runners up on the infamous list included singer Amy Winehouse, Madonna and Britney Spears.

TIO report : Central govt staff all set to get 52% raise

Central government staff and officers, along with their counterparts in defence and paramilitary forces, have a reason to paint the town red on Holi — the Sixth Central Pay Commission is set to hand them a hike of up to 52%, if read along with their house rent allowance (HRA). The report is likely to be submitted to Finance Minister P Chidambaram by panel chairman Justice B N Srikrishna any day after the festival of colours, possibly as early as Tuesday. Higher housing and transport allowances may be the icing on the cake, though there could be only a modest hike in city compensatory allowance. Indications are that a secretary to the government will have a basic salary of Rs 80,000 a month (up from Rs 26,000 with 50% merged dearness pay and 47% DA). The Cabinet Secretary, the country's seniormost officer, is likely to have a basic of Rs 90,000 (up from Rs 30,000 with 50% merged dearness pay and 47% DA). The across-the-board hike could be paler compared to the pay commission's fifth edition (1997), the best bounty so far, as the proposed quantum of hike now is a few percentage points (just around 0.40) lower. But the good news is that a government employee could, sources said, now look forward to higher annual increments, besides the regular addition of DA, which is now an annual average of 12%. There is, however, the possibility of a fresh rationalisation of DA rates (decided on the basis of consumer price index) because of the upward scaling of salaries. The increase in city compensatory allowance (maximum Rs 300 at present) may also not be substantial. The bounty for senior officers, sources said, could have been more attractive had the President's monthly salary not been fixed at Rs 1 lakh recently. As expected, the commission may slash the number of scales to 18 from the present 33, to facilitate accounting and uniformity across various employees and officers. A likely implication for senior officers in A1 cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad) could be that government accommodation might not seem as attractive as before because their HRA may rise substantially. At the minimum entry level (Group 'D'), a government employee is likely to get Rs 8,000 now while the highest starting pay in non-gazetted grade (Group 'C') could be Rs 20,000. The expected starting pay for gazetted Group 'A' and Group 'B' officers could be Rs 26,000 and Rs 22,000 respectively. Pay at the highest government (secretary) level is likely to be Rs 80,000. At present, a Group 'A' officer gets around Rs 18,000 at entry (12% HRA in A1 cities is extra). These scales would have higher annual increments.

Is Eva’s figure perfect for underwear!

The We Own the Night actress — who already fronts an advertising campaign for the fashion label’s fragrance — has been offered the deal despite her recent high profile stint in rehab. The fashion house’s president Tom Murry said, “News reports of Eva going to rehab made no difference. We were already in one campaign when it occurred and it did not affect our decision making for the underwear campaign. She really embodies the essence of our brand and we look forward to seeing that carried through in the creative.” Murry revealed Eva’s curvy figure was the deciding factor in choosing her for the campaign, which will be unveiled this autumn. He added, “We are trying to get across that these new products are for fuller busted, shapelier kinds of women and when we looked at the talent, Eva was right.” Eva said, “The company has such an incredible creative legacy. I’m honoured to be associated with such an iconic, world-class brand.”

Lindsay and Jessica : dolled up

Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson have been recreated as blow-up dolls. The Lindsay doll reads: ‘She’s no love bug, she’s a fiery red who never says no and is always up for a good time’. While Jessica’s ‘Love Doll’ reads: “She’s sexy, and newly single! She’s dumb as an ox and never says no!’ Other new additions to the collection include Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and Eva Longoria. Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez and Paris Hilton dolls also appear in the range.

RK Sharma held guilty in Shivani murder case

Suspended IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma and three others were on Tuesday convicted by a Delhi court in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
Additional Sessions Judge Rajendra Kumar Shastri held Sharma, a Haryana-cadre IPS officer, guilty of hatching the conspiracy to murder Shivani, who had allegedly threatened to expose the suspended IPS officer's alleged involvement in leaking classified documents to her, nine years ago.

Three other accused -- Sri Bhagwan Sharma, Pradeep Sharma and Satya Prakash -- were also held guilty for executing the suspended police official's plot to kill Shivani.

Two accused -- Ved Prakash Sharma and Ved Prakash alias Kalu -- were acquitted for want of evidence.

The court would hear the argument on quantum of sentence, which may range from life term to death penalty, on March 20.

Bhatnagar, an Indian Express scribe, was killed in her east Delhi flat on January 23 1999.

The prosecution held that RK Sharma in his capacity as OSD (officer on special duty) at the PMO between July 1997 and April 1998 had leaked classified documents to the deceased journalist. It said that the two later developed an intimate relationship.

The prosecution also claimed that after some time differences cropped up between them and Shivani resented Sharma's bid to avoid her. Later, she decided to expose his involvement in "pilferage and passing out classified documents" to her.

It was this fear that Shivani would spoil his career, social status and married life that prompted Sharma to plan her killing, the investigation had reveale

Latest Forex News

The UsdJpy fell below 99 and EurUsd hit a record high after Bear Stearns said a worsening cash position forced the Wall Street firm to secure emergency financing. News that the New York Federal Reserve and JP Morgan Chase were to provide funds for the fifth-largest US investment bank signaled more credit turmoil to come and added to investor fears that the economy is in for a long recession. UsdJpy dropped -1.66% to 99.08. It was down nearly 11% so far in 2008. EurUsd hit 1.5688 on Friday, all-time high, before easing to 1.5680 up 0.38%. UsdChf fell below parity for the first time ever, trading at 0.9973 before easing to 0.9979 -1.23%. Analysts said the dollar is likely to remain on the ropes because the Fed may have to do much more to ease market nerves, either by cutting interest rates even more aggressively or by taking additional measures to inject liquidity. In addition to providing funds to Bear Stearns, the Fed last week announced plans to lend $200 bio to primary dealers and accept various mortgage debt as collateral. US economic data on Friday did no favors for the Dollar. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a fresh multi-year low. A separate report showed underlying inflation unchanged in February.

The Risk Today:

EurUsd Euro posted a new all-time high 1.5688 last Friday. Medium term trading range is still 1.4500 – 1.6000. Initial support hold 1.5533 Friday low. Psychological 1.5000 level marks strong key support before 1.4500 pivot point. Initial resistance hold 1.6000 key level. GbpUsd Cable advanced as high as 2.0398 last week, 2 ½ month high. Further strength might open the way toward 2.0577 3-month high. Psychological 2.0100 former resistance level marks support. Renewed pressure below 2.0000 might reopen the way down to 1.9337 January low and 1.9105 (50% retracement of 1.7049 – 2.1162 advance). Further support holds 1.9630 former Trendline resistance. UsdJpy It remains weak in the last 4-week down trendline. Recent weakness open the way toward 101.68 January 2005 low and 101.22 November 1999 low. Bottom support holds 95. On the Upside, only a return over 100 may open the way up to 110.10 strong (Trendline) resistance and mid January double top ahead of 111.92 early January high. Initial support holds 95.74 today low. UsdChf Market remains weak, having broke down through 1.0000 last Friday psychological level. Further weakness open the down to 0.9639 intraday low. Uptrend would return over 1.0000 and 1.0700 opening the way for 1.1130 (38.2% of 1.1603 – 1.0838 decline). Early January double top 1.1191 marks strong resistance.

Rs 2000 cr invest in DLF realty

Global financial firms Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and DE Shaw are likely to invest Rs 2,000 crore or $500 million in the DLF Assets’(DAL) real estate investment trust(REIT), according to sources. The transaction is likely to be completed by early next week. Part of DLF Group, the largest real estate developer in the country, DAL is focused on buying and managing office space. Currently, DAL is a owned by DLF promoters and the listed firm has no equity stake in this firm. However, as per the plan, DLF will also invest $750 million or Rs 3,000 crore in the REIT. DAL had earlier planned to list the REIT, but now is going for a private placement.
DLF spokesperson declined to comment saying that the Singapore market regulation didn’t allow company to make any comment on the issue as its application for listing of REIT was still being scrutinised by the authorities.
DLF Assets originally planned to raise $2 billion through its REIT called DLF Office Trust. Given the downturn in the global financial markets, DAL has now put on hold its plan to list the REIT. In the meanwhile, it is going ahead with its fund-raising plan through the private-placement route. According to sources, DLF Office Trust will now be a private trust, raising money only through institutional investors. A private trust, unlike a public trust, is not listed and doesn’t have retail participation. DLF had originally planned to have 10% retail investors in its REIT
Sources add that DLF was reluctant to go in for the public offering as it felt the share prices may not be able to hold the price on listing even if it were to subscribe fully.
The company is now in negotiations with Citigroup and Merrill Lynch apart from US-hedge fund DE Shaw, who are likely to put in a combined sum of Rs 2,000 crore in the trust. Citigroup is likely to be the lead investor in the transaction.
According to sources, DAL would use the funds to meet its debt obligations which are due by the end of March’08. Real estate developers see REIT as an avenue to cash out of property investment. DAL owns five IT SEZs, purchased from DLF. For DE Shaw, this would be yet another exposure into DLF Group. Last year, it invested $400 million in DAL. US-based investment bank Lehman Brothers, too, had pitched in with $200 million in DAL at that time.
The other investor, Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s largest securities firm, had bought 49% in DLF’s seven housing projects for Rs 1,481 crore or $377 million. These projects are spread across the cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore.
ment

The largest Deal in Delhi - By BPTP for more than Rs.5000 crore

In the field of real estate, Delhi based real estate firm BPTP has raised the largest deal for more than Rs. 5000 crore beating the India's largest real estate firm DLF by capturing 95 acre land in sector 94 Noida. The consortium comprising BPTP and its three subsidiaries offered Rs 1,30,207 per sq metre, compared to DLF’s Rs 1,17,000 per sq metre and Omaxe’s Rs 80,000 per sq metre. The fourth bidder, Ansal API, didn’t meet the technical criteria. The BPTP deal leaves other big-ticket land transactions in the country far behind in absolute terms, but is not the most expensive. Last year, Wadhawan Group won the bid for a 7,107 sq metre commercial plot at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai at Rs 5.04 lakh per sq metre. The other big deals include Adani’s Rs. 2,250-crore deal with HDIL in BKC, DLF’s Rs 1,675-crore acquisition of DCM Shriram’s property in Delhi, Unitech’s Rs 1,586-crore deal in Noida and DLF’s Rs 702-crore purchase of NTC Mills land in Mumbai. The deal is being seen as a major leap for BPTP, a closely-held firm promoted by Kabul Chawla. The company, which sold 5% stake to Citigroup last year for an undisclosed sum, expects to close the current financial year with a revenue of Rs 1,200 crore and net profit of Rs 400 crore. BPTP director Sudhanshu Tripathi told ET the acquisition will be funded purely through internal accruals. It is a staggered payment, where BPTP will have to pay only 30% of the total amount now. The company will pay the rest in 16 installments over eight years, along with an interest of 11% compounded annually on the due amount. The company may take on board strategic investors for the development of the project, Mr Tripathi said. BPTP, which has put off its IPO till market sentiment improves, is raising money through private equity. This shows the bright future of BPTP.

New Study - 70% want to talk to BPO agents of opposite sex

New study :- If you dial a call centre, whose voice do you want to hear at the other end? Amitabh Bachchan’s baritone was the overwhelming answer in a recent survey on call centres. While Bachchan was voted favourite-celebrity-to-answer-a-call by both men and women, there were gender differences when it came to the other questions. To start with, the men said they preferred talking to women and the women customers said they preferred talking to men. The survey thus confirmed what has long been an open secret. The study was conducted by Avaya GlobalConnect and the Sydney-based research firm callcentres.net. Questionnaires were emailed to 300 respondents in India who had recently used the services of a call centre. They were from various income groups. Exactly 70% said that they preferred talking to an agent of the opposite sex. And almost one-third were more demanding—they wanted the agents to be both of the opposite sex and younger than them. The study comes at a time when a number of banks and telecom companies have begun diverting their customer-query traffic to their call centres rather than have people visiting their outlets. Even government monoliths like the Indian Railways and state-owned telecom companies, which have a less-than-shining record of customer service, are setting up call centres to address queries. The customers don’t seem to mind with 58% saying that interacting with call centres made life easy. More than gender, it was the age groups that responded in different ways. The youngsters or Generation Y (16 to 30 years) had the most complaints and said it was usually a problematic process. They also had the lowest service expectations from the men and women at the other end of the phone. Middle-aged customers or the Baby Boomers (46 to 61 years) had the highest expectations about service quality. The Silent Generation (62 to 82 years), surprisingly, found the least problems with call centres. They were more than happy to speak to a number of different people on the same call, as long as it helped resolve their problem. What did customers look for in an agent? Once again there was a gender difference: for males it was being helpful, while for females, intelligence was most sought after.

Is it true that Bipasha Basu tries to be Sharmila?

History repeats itself!!!!!!!!!!
Old trends return with a bang, and all mommies suddenly feel proud that the knee-length skirts they once wore are back in fashion, or that short kurtas and tight churidaars were a trend of their golden era. So, now what’s making the ma’s of India happy is the way Bipasha Basu has worn her eyeliner in Race. She extends it far and wide just like Sharmila Tagore did once upon a time. But Bipasha says she enjoyed ‘drawing the line’, only figuratively speaking of course!

Doctors said - British girl was murdered in Goa

Goa :- The case of a dead British tourist, which is threatening to ruin Goa's image as an idyllic sea-and-sand vacation spot, got murkier as doctors on Saturday conducted a second autopsy on the body of Scarlette Eden Keeling and confirmed that the 15-year-old girl was indeed murdered, as claimed by her family. A panel of three doctors, however, said that though they could not confirm rape, there were strong indications of sexual violence because of injuries in the vagina. The report came as pressure mounted on Goa police to explain why full details of the death, summarily dismissed by police earlier as suicide, were not being released to the family. The report, which will add to the murkiness of Goa's tourism sector, urged the sub divisional magistrate in-charge of the case to investigate the death as a homicide. Since her barely-clad body was recovered from the state's prime Anjuna beach, her mother Fiona MacKown has been screaming that multiple bruises on the corpse clearly pointed to rape and murder. But cops ignored her, saying the first autopsy established death due to drowning. The incensed mother refused to take her daughter's body from the government morgue. After the report she was going to file a complaint against the police for cover up. The case has exposed the dark underbelly of Goa's otherwise picture-postcard touristy life and revealed a web of crime and drugs involving foreigners. According to police statistics, of the 25 people arrested on drug charges in 2006, 15 were foreigners. The number has steadily risen since 2004, when the first numbers are logged. Even as the second autopsy report was presented to a magistrate, the cops clung to the drowning story. "We are conducting the second autopsy only because we are not satisfied with the first," IGP Kishan Kumar said. The autopsy was conducted by three doctors at Goa medical college and hospital. Kumar also blamed the media for sensationalizing the case and levelling allegations of a police cover up. Worried that bad publicity was hurting the tourist cash cow, Goa tourism minister, Francisco X Pacheco on Saturday demanded strong action against Anjuna police station in charge, Nerlon Albuquerque and doctors who had conducted the first autopsy.

Sen Riya is shocked! Or something….

What was it??
Suchitra, who has turned reclusive and shuns media attention, was admitted recently in a Kolkata hospital’s ICU. It is here that Gopa Mukherji, a lady journo working for a Kolkata channel, entered her ward. Needless to say, her family is livid. Her granddaughter Riya Sen confirms the incident and adds, "On Feb 29, Gopa entered the hospital claiming to visit someone else and caused a lot of trouble. It’s shocking." There’s a lot of anguish in her voice as she says, "Just because we are celebs, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have a right to privacy. Especially when a person is in ICU, people must leave her alone. We are so upset, especially my mom Moon Moon Sen. Granny has got a setback again, just when she was on her road to recovery."

Priyanka won't work with Akshay

Last seen together in Waqt, reportedly Akshay decided not to work with Priyanka after news of an alleged link-up between the two spread like wildfire and wife Twinkle Khanna issued an ultimatum to hubby dearest. But after a three-year hiatus, Akshay and Priyanka were to work together in Blue, an action flick by Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision. Only Priyanka didn’t give her nod. The grapevine suggests that is because Twinkle is not comfortable with the prospect of Akshay working with Priyanka again. But a well placed source puts all wild rumours to rest. "Blue did not work out because the script was just not good enough for Priyanka. Priyanka’s declining the offer has nothing to do with Twinkle," he says.

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Aishwarya Rai working hard to get in shape for 'Robot'

Not that she doesn’t have an excellent figure, but for the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan matching Rajnikant 's agility in Robot will be no mean feat.It is for this reason that director Shankar wants the Bachchan bahu to get in shape real soon before she starts shooting with the superstar in his sci-fi flick 'Robot'.
Although Ash had put on some weight for her role in Jodhaa Akbar , she is working hard on her figure now.Reports are that Ash's current diet comprises sprouts and liquids like juices and soups.Shankar is very particular even about the smallest details in his films. He has churned up some of the biggest hits like the Rajnikant starrer Sivaji and the Kamal Haasan starrer Ek Hindustani . He wants to leave no stone unturned for 'Robot' too.So Ash has already started to loose weight, through gymming and dieting, ending recent tabloid speculation that she is pregnant and has withdrawn from the film.

Britney warned she could end up bankrupt in 4 years

London: Britney Spears has been warned by financial advisers that she could be out of money within four years.
According to newly released court documents, the troubled singer had a fortune of 80 million pounds but is now left with just 20 million pounds.
Last week, Britney’s parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, and Andrew Wallet, a lawyer appointed by a Los Angeles judge to run her estate with her mother, carried out a financial meeting at the singer’s Los Angeles home.
Jamie said that his daughter was on the verge of ending up like Michael Jackson, whose Neverland ranch is due to be sold by creditors at public auction this month.
“Britney was very wide-eyed and attentive ... but ... she’s as addicted to buying houses and new Mercedes as she is to the attention of the paparazzi,” Times Online quoted a business associate, as saying.
“There was a moment when her mother said she could be out of money within four years, and her two children would still be at grade [primary] school, when she sat up and took notice,” the associate added.
The Toxic singer’s income is believed to be in decline, for her most recent album, Blackout, and Believe, her fifth Elizabeth Arden perfume from a range that used to earn her 2 million pounds a year, have failed to match previous sales.
However, the troubled pop star’s friends believe that under the guardianship of her parents, she may be coming back from the edge.