Facebook now lets you edit your posts

New Delhi: A feature that Facebook had been testing for some time now has finally gone live on Facebook's web interface and is also being rolled out on the Android app. The edit feature is expected to be available on Facebook's iOS app soon.
 This means that you need not have to live with a typo or delete a post for an error in the text. Facebook users can easily edit the text of the post (and also the comments they post) and update an existing post. This new feature is available on Facebook web and is rolling out for Android. It is expected on iOS soon.
 Until now Facebook only allowed editing of image captions. This new Facebook change also raises the question of altered context. A comment or a like could be in reference to what was originally in the post, but by letting users edit the post itself may sometimes alter the meaning altogether.

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Movie review: Warning 3D

Warning 3D 
Cast: Santosh Barmola, Suzana Rodrigues, Manjari Fadnis, Varun Sharma, Jitin Gulati, Sumit Suri and Madhurima Tuli
Director: Gurmeet Singh 
Rating: zero
 The plot of Warning is lifted straight from the Hollywood film Open Sea 2 and despite knowing what he had to make, the director ends up with an immature film. A group of friends reunite and meet on a luxury yacht to sail to the middle of a beautiful ocean in Fiji. Tanveer, who pretends to own the yacht, is the host. He has a mind of his own and decides to head out somewhere in the middle of the sea and so we have some boys, girls, a baby and a dog on the yacht, far away from civilization and any trace of a mobile network. One by one they decide to go for a swim but guess what? They forget to lower the ladder, which is the only way to get back on the yacht.
Even Tanveer who has been maintaining the yacht doesn’t bother checking the most important thing. One mistake and all of them are trapped in the midst of an ocean except the dog and the little child. After all of them indulge in a big of blame game while floating in sea, everyone realizes the gravity of the situation. At one point they decide to get the dog excited thinking that he might press the red button which may lower the ladder but within minutes the dog is in the water, swimming right next to them! The yacht is too high for them to get back up. Frustrated and angry, they come up with bizarre ideas. They even strip naked and use their swim suits to make a rope but fail to climb up.
 Now that they have drifted further. Obviously, there are sharks around them to add to the drama. You would expect the film to be gripping but this one is just a dull bore. All you wait for is the end and that takes too long to come. As the plot doesn’t move, you keep listening to a song called "Bebasi" with long shots of the yacht and human beings floating around it. There is not one reason why I would recommend you watching a film like Warning. Somewhere around the interval, the dog drifts away from the group and returns right at the end, to miss all the drama..he is one lucky dog!

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Kate Winslet took Divergent role to impress her children

Titanic star Kate Winslet took on the role of a villain in the upcoming movie Divergent because she wanted to leave a lasting impression on her children. The 37-year-old actress, who is pregnant with her third child, says she immediately signed on to play Jeanine Matthews in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's bestselling novel so that her kids, Mia and Joe, would consider her to be 'cool', reported MTV online.
 "I didn't have any hesitation at all. It was such a great script. It's a fantastic book. My daughter is going to be 13, and my son is almost 10, and they're getting to that age where this is the type of literature they're going to be reading very soon," Winslet said. "In fact, my daughter, two days ago, came home from school and went, 'Mum! You're never going to believe it. Rufus came up to me at school and said, is your mum really in Divergent?
 Is there going to be a premiere? Can you get me a ticket?'... My daughter suddenly had a new found respect for me. I'm just going to go with that. I did it because I wanted my kids to think I was cool," she said. The Neil Burger film, set in a dystopian version of Chicago, Illinois, is the first in a trilogy of movies and is due for release next year. Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Maggie Q are also set to star in the film.

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Dilip Kumar admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, stable

The condition of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday after complaining of uneasiness in his chest, is now stable. "Dilip Kumar has been admitted to our hospital, he is in the intensive care unit (ICU) and his condition is stable," Lilavati Hospital spokesperson Dr Naresh Trivedi told PTI on Sunday.
 Mr Kumar, 90, known as the 'King of Tragedy', essayed iconic roles in classics like Devdas, Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam and Ganga Jamuna. He was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) and his acting career spanned six decades and over 60 films. He was the first to receive Filmfare Best Actor honour when the awards were started in 1954 and, with eight wins, shares with Shah Rukh Khan the record for the most number of Filmfare awards won in that category.
 He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. He was also nominated to Rajya Sabha for a term from 2000 to 2006. In 1998, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award conferred by the government of Pakistan.

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China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar can’t have

China was going to build a giant dam in Myanmar a few years ago, but after Myanmar’s government unexpectedly put a stop to the project in 2011, it didn’t look like it would ever happen. Now, with a leadership change taking effect in 2015, China is confident that the project will move forward. Myanmar (aka Burma), for those keeping score, is a poor Southeast Asian country bordering China. Myanmar is in political upheaval after their repressive military junta stepped down in favor of, let’s say, a democracy-adjacent form of government.
 Why Would China Build a Dam in Myanmar? China loves damming rivers. The country has about 22,000, and the entire rest of the world has about 23,000. Most of China’s dams have been built in the past 50 or so years. Flood control is their first stated concern when they build a dam, followed by generating hydroelectric power. Since China doesn’t have a vested interest in protecting farmers in Myanmar’s river valleys from hazardous flooding, this is obviously about generating hydroelectric power. In some ways you can’t blame them. They generate almost as much CO2 as the U.S., and there’s a big push in China toward sustainable energy (the party line is 15% by 2020). The Myitsone Dam project started in 2001, and made a lot of sense in context.
Yunnan Province, China has an oil pipeline coming in from their unbelievably impoverished neighbor to the south. Getting the area’s energy needs met by throwing them a few table scraps was just how things got done. Untitled drawing China is flooding part of Myanmar to generate power Myanmar cant have A dam project in which China hires a decent number of Myanmarese workers, and eventually gives them 10% of the dam’s profits, and pays an export tax sounded okay at the time to the Myanmarese military government. However, in 2011, Myanmar’s new president, Sein Thein, sort of said (not a direct quote) “Wait.
 Why are we letting you do this? It’s a huge drag for our country.” A Huge Drag for Myanmar What they’re doing is, flooding a piece of Myanmar the size of Singapore. If it happens (and it probably will), it’s going to displace ten thousand villagers and farmers, and completely halt the agricultural prospects of perhaps millions. Dams prevent all flooding, including the good kind needed for some farming, and also stem the flow of nutrients needed by farmers down river. The flooded area also contains heritage sites considered important by the locals. Standing up to China Power Investment out of concern for the livelihood and culture of one pocket of poor people is one of the Thein administration’s signature achievements, and a major environmental and humanitarian success story.
 Presidents don’t normally do things like that. Since they’re changing their story and saying they’ll be resuming this project in 2015, and it’ll be done in 2017, China must be pretty sure Sein Thein won’t be re-elected in 2015, and someone more China-friendly will be. “The next incoming government will hopefully do what is best,” Wang Qiyue, director of China Power Investment, said.

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‘Grand Masti’ Review: Inane sleaze fest

Not being a big fan of adult comedies has nothing to do with the fact that ‘Grand Masti’ is not funny. Not that one can expect any less of sleazy shots of body parts of hot women or double entendres. But the movie goes beyond that. It is a poor sequel to a much funnier ‘Masti’ that was quite a laugh riot based on the same premise.
 For some reason Indian sex comedies are based on the assumption that men are always horny and women (especially if you are married to them) are always the dampener. However, if women are single, they will pounce on you and ‘tempt’ you in ways that your wives will never do. The mindlessness and the lack of even a decent plot is not the reason why this film is unbearable. Amar, Meet and Prem are three friends who are married; hence have their own reasons to have non-existent sex lives. When an invitation to their college, Shree Lalchand University of Technology and Science (in short wait-for-it S.L.U.T.S, yes the jokes are that obvious), comes up, they take the opportunity to go to find some ‘Grand Masti’.
And henceforth director Indra Kumar decides to let go of whatever comedy might be in the audiences’ books. The jokes are simply whatever sexual innuendoes you have heard in your life – ever. The sequences are not funny. Even with a predictable plot, there are no build ups to any comic scenes. True, there are some segments that look promising, like the scene in which the three heroes are caught unawares with their respective temptresses, and Robert, played by Pradeep Rawat looks around for them. But that ends like a pin prick to a balloon. There some places where you simply want to ask the script writers why they didn’t get more jokes to the table. Robert’s wife, daughter and sister are called Rose, Mary and Marlow.
Trust me, a little after they have been introduced, the joke is repeated so often that you are left wondering if that was the only bright idea on the table. Bruna Abdullah, Kainaat Arora and Maryam Zakaria are playing the temptresses while Karishma Tanna, Manajari Phadnis, Sonalee Kulkarni are the wives. Riteish stands out while Aftab and Vivek have a good comic timing. They have played their parts well and they look as if they are having fun. But are wasted in the movie. So is Suresh Menon. The story might have pulled off if there was something of a sticking point. Bad dialogues, despite the good comic timing of most of the actors make you lose interest pretty soon. When the women were not objectified enough, there was some cheap man-on-man action that attempted to make people laugh as the camera zooms in to the men parts, of those in a tight situation.
 The camera work is also less to do with the film in itself, and the directive seems to have been to zoom in whenever a skimpily clad girl appears onscreen. Added to that is the fact that there are just three songs which dont give any respite either. The sleaze is just cheap. If you are fifteen and looking to laugh at some asinine gags, it probably will still work but for most of the way, the movie is at most cringe worthy. It’s a sad attempt at sex comedy, but in an age when `American Pie` series is accessible to every teen, this movie just makes you wonder what humour has come down to.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 spotted running Tizen 3.0, gives peek at UI

A pre-release version of Tizen 3.0 has been leaked out, running on the Galaxy S4, giving us a look at the alleged user-interface of the OS. The leaked images of Samsung Galaxy S4 running Tizen 3.0 comes courtesy Tizen Indonesia. The site has posted a number of images of the device running Tizen 3.0 on top that reveal the lockscreen, which looks quite similar to Samsung's Touch UI. The images leaked reveal a vanilla UI which looks a bit familiar to Windows Phone UI.
The notifications appear on the lockscreen along with some app controls which can be seen in the leaked image. Other UI features revealed by the leaked image include a Dial-pad interface which looks very similar to that of Android and the Music player which looks quiet colourful. The Tizen 3.0 mobile operating system is expected to bring new features such as a secure app development environment and framework for social services and context claims the site.
The site also notes that the Tizen 3 will be launched in early 2014. Earlier, a report claimed that a Tizen-based SM-Z9005 handset was spotted on the UAProf (User Agent Profile) string on the company's mobile website. The alleged Tizen-based SM-Z9005 is reportedly said to come with a HD display, however the screen size has not been revealed, yet. It is likely to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with Krait cores but it was not clear if it was a dual-core or a quad-core processor.
 The report also pointed out that the Tizen smartphone, SM-Z9005 may come with specifications similar to the company's 2012 flagship, the Galaxy S III. Earlier this year, Samsung officially announced that it was integrating its Bada OS development team with that of Tizen, a few months back. Since then, Samsung has reportedly been working on the devices running the new OS.

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Narendra Modi to bring BJP back to power in 2014?

New Delhi: Bulldozing opposition from almost every quarter, Narendra Modi has finally been named the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate. Modi is, in fact, now the PM candidate of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too endorsing his candidature. The NDA, at present, consists of BJP, SAD and Shiv Sena. While BJP leaders and cadre are celebrating, the big question on everyone’s mind is - can he catapult the party to victory in the all-important 2014 General Elections?
 While announcing Modi’s anointment on Friday, BJP leaders reposed their faith in him. And the man of the moment pledged to lead the BJP to victory in 2014. The BJP’s decision, expected since Modi was named the election campaign chief in June also against LK Advani's wishes, triggered a wave of euphoria in the main opposition party that has been out of power since stunningly losing the 2004 Lok Sabha battle. There were joyous scenes at the BJP headquarters as the 62-year-old Modi drove in to attend a meeting of the parliamentary board which decided to name him its general. More celebrations took place later too.
 BJP president Rajnath Singh made the formal announcement at a media conference, and Modi pledged to do everything to ensure that the BJP again got to rule the world's largest democracy. "I promise that in the 2014 election, the BJP will emerge victorious," said Modi, dressed in a lemon green buttoned-up traditional kurta, flanked by senior colleagues, the only absentee being former mentor Advani. "For this, the party will work hard and we will leave no stone unturned," said Modi after accepting sweets, bouquets and garlands.
 "I am sure people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari will vote for the (BJP)." The Friday announcement came after days of drama during which Rajnath Singh tried his best to persuade those who ranged against Modi to fall in line. He succeeded -- except in Advani's case. Advani not only stayed away from the parliamentary board meeting but wrote -- a la June -- a stinging letter to Rajnath Singh voicing displeasure over the latter's style of functioning -- an obvious reference to the way the party president goaded others to come on board the Modi decision. The BJP decision on Modi -- widely seen as a divisive figure despite enjoying mass support -- became public knowledge on Friday afternoon through Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, who was one of the two key allies Rajnath Singh telephoned seeking their support.
 "The decision ... is in tune with the mood of the people," Thackeray said. Modi, who once sold tea in a railway station in Gujarat, said it was a matter of pride that the BJP had catapulted him -- despite his origin from "a humble family" -- as the prime ministerial candidate. In his four-minute speech in Hindi, Modi paid tributes to Vajpayee and Advani. In an attempt to buy peace, Modi later drove to Advani's residence but details of what they discussed were not available. "We have always announced prime ministerial candidates... Seeing the national mood, we have decided that Narendra Modi will be our PM candidate in the Lok Sabha election," Rajnath Singh said. The ruling Congress, meanwhile, spoke in different voices.
While spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury called it "an internal affair" of BJP, Law Minister Kapil Sibal was sarcastic: "If BJP wants to celebrate an early Diwali, let them." The Congress is unlikely to name a prime ministerial candidate though there is clamour within to pick Rahul Gandhi, the party vice president and son of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. (With IANS inputs)

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Styling Ileana D'Cruz for 'Phata Poster...' song was fun: Designers

The designers have depicted Ileana as a Marathi `mulgi` (a typical Marathi girl) in a dance sequence where she wears a `kashti` saree. "We were given a brief about the whole song. Ileana was to be depicted as a "Marathi mulgi" in a kashti saree (a traditional Marathi style of saree). "It was a dance sequence number so we had to pre-stitch the drape and give it a whole feel of the real draped kashti," Riddhi said.
 Siddhi said the colour of ensemble had to be bright and vibrant keeping in mind mood of the song. "Also, there were rigorous dance movements which had to be performed by Ileana so pre-stitched kashti saree was a perfect choice." The designer duo has styled some of the top names in the Hindi film industry including Katrina Kaif (`Ek Tha Tiger`), Sonam Kapoor (`Thank You` and `Players`) and Akshay Kumar (`Oh My God`). Riddhi said they managed to execute the assignment for `Phata Poster...` in a day`s time.
"Film work is usually done on short time bounds. It was work of a few days though we managed it skillfully in a day`s time." Asked to compare between fashion and dress designing for films, Siddhi said, "ramp is mostly theme-based and we have control over style, ideas and colour. Film scripts and looks are predetermined, so we have to imbibe the requirements smartly and at the same time maintain our touch." PTI

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Britney Spears gets 'dirty' for new music video

Singer Britney Spears has shared some seductive photographs of revealing outfits that she has worn for the music video of her new song Work Bitch.
 The 25-year-old shared a sexy snapshot from the her first day of the video shoot for her comeback single, It shows her flaunting her abs in a gold bustier, and she has also worn elbow-high leather gloves, reports contactmusic.com. "Hot day on set... A little dirty, little flirty, danced my a** off. Stoked for tomorrow," she tweeted.
 Spears hinted that the highly-anticipated video was being shot in the middle of a desert. "Gonna get my tan on in the desert in between shots on the #WorkBitch set today. It's HOT out here people!!!! #desert #heatwave(sic)," she further tweeted.

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Anna Hazare writes to PM on Lokpal, to launch another fast

New Delhi: Accusing the government of "betraying" people on Lokpal Bill issue, activist Anna Hazare on Thursday said he would start another hunger strike before the Winter Session if immediate action is not taken for passage of the anti-corruption bill in Parliament. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Hazare demanded that he urge the President to convene a special session of Parliament to pass the Bill if his government wants to avoid the "blot" of turning back on its promises.
He accused the UPA government of "betraying" the trust of 1.2 billion Indians and said he would begin fast in Ramlila Maidan before the Winter Session to demand its passage. "I broke my fast (in Dec, 2011) believing in your assurance that your government would pass the Bill before the then Winter Session. One Session after another has come and gone and now another Winter Session is before us. The Bill has not been passed yet" the anti-corruption crusader wrote in his letter. "Had I been aware that your government would betray the country's 1.20 billion people, I would never have broken my fast," he told the PM.
It is clear that the UPA does not intend to table the Bill in Parliament, he alleged. It got so many Bills, including Land Acquisition Bill, Food Security Bill and Pension Bill, passed but not Lokpal Bill," he said. Anna Hazare writes to PM on Lokpal, to launch another fast After being passed in the Lok Sabha in December, 2011 the Bill was referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha, which is yet to submit its report. "After being passed in the Lok Sabha, the Bill has been pending in Rajya Sabha for close to two years. The only conclusion I can draw is that the delay is deliberate on the part of your government," Hazare said.
 He said he would go before people again and made an appeal that they should start an agitation similar to the one they did when he sat on fast on August 16, 2011. The subsequent popular agitation had forced the government to convene a special meet of Parliament which passed a resolution, agreeing with three of his crucial demands. Some of Hazare's key aides, including Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, have split from him to form a political party as the veteran activist was against their move.

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KBC 7 first crorepati Taj’s special gift to Amitabh Bachchan

The first ‘Maha’ crorepati of KBC 2013 Taj Mohammed Rangrez could not ask for more. On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, he was blessed with one crore rupees and he also met the legendary Amitabh Bachchan.
That’s not all! He also got a special gift for Mr. Bachchan. Taj Mohammed Rangrez gifted Amitabh Bachchan a special photo frame which had the picture of Lord Krishna. The special thing about this photo frame was that it had two hearts made on the bottom two corners of the frame.
Inside the hearts were two grains of rice on which the names ‘Amitabh’ and ‘Jaya’ were engraved. Big B was very overwhelmed on receiving this gift and could not thank Taj enough for this very thoughtful gift. The TV audience will be able to watch Big B receive this wonderful gift from Taj this Saturday, September 14, 8:30pm.

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Watch: Sunny Leone as the beautiful ghost in 'Ragini MMS 2'

The wait has been worth it for Sunny Leone fans. The adult film actress, who made her Bollywood debut in 'Jism 2' last year, is back on the big screen with 'Ragini MMS 2'.
As the teaser of the film says-fear gets sexy- the film has Sunny in a very sultry avatar. The first film, 'Ragini MMS' was a surprise hit and the producer Ekta Kapoor hopes that the sequel will be instant hit as well.
The film will be releasing in January 2014.

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IRCTC App for e-ticketing launched

New Delhi: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Thursday launched a new application for Windows Phone and Windows 8 devices to facilitate the users with a new channel of booking e-tickets tickets in addition to the existing portal. The new IRCTC App, developed in collaboration with Microsoft, is expected to enhance access to its existing e-ticket portal.
 "With this alternative channel of booking, the passengers will have an additional convenience and better experience of booking e-ticket," said Rakesh Tandon, CMD of IRCTC after the launch of the App. The App has been made available exclusively for Windows devices. The users of Windows Phone, Windows 8 Desktop, Tablet, laptop can download this application free of cost as per their requirement from the Windows Phone Store and Windows Store respectively. "We are excited to make the IRCTC App available exclusively on the Windows platform.
We are committed to bring exciting and new experience to your Windows devices and will continue to create many such firsts," said Joseph Landes, General Manager of Microsoft Corporation. Using this new App one can plan a trip, make railway reservations, check the PNR status and perform all the tasks already available on the IRCTC web site.
 The service, however, will not be available between 8 AM and 12 AM and 11.30 PM and 12.30 AM as per the existing Railway guidelines. Tandon said, "We feel the App is ideal for the modern consumer who is always on the move. Windows is the most trusted and widely used platform and offers the requisite security required while handling vast amounts of personal and financial user data." PTI

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Advani tells Rajnath he'll oppose Modi at BJP Parliamentary board meet

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh seems to be finding it difficult to reach a consensus on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate. Sources now say that party patriarch LK Advani has told Rajnath that unlike Goa, he will attend the Parliamentary board meeting and register his protest on nominating Modi. Sources say Rajnath is still keen on achieving consensus on Modi's nomination.
The RSS wants Modi nominated, but has left the decision on the process and timing of announcement to Rajnath, say sources. Sources say the Modi camp is insisting that the announcement be made either on Friday or on Monday. Rajnath Singh has said that an announcement will be made after discussions. Rajnath denied there is any split in the party on Modi. "No one in the party is upset. All are together. There is no problem in the party," Rajnath Singh said.
 Sources say Rajnath Singh is still keen on achieving consensus on Narendra Modi's nomination. Meanwhile, there has been a tweet war of sorts after BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi's tweet against senior leader LK Advani. Advani aide Sudheendra Kulkarni and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy have now argued against what Sushil Modi tweeted. "A socially polarising leader has polarised his own party. Can he run a smooth, stable and effective government at the Centre?
THINK SERIOUSLY," Kulkarni tweeted. "Advani was the favoured candidate for PM in 1996. But he chose then to make a sacrifice then. It is wrong to say PM aspiration is behind it," Swamy tweeted. All these reactions came after Sushil Modi tweeted, "Advaniji has failed to gauge the public mood. He himself declared Atalji as PM candidate. He could have done the same for Modi. Politics is the only profession in which people aspire till their last.
Ministerial berth can resurrect a dead politician." This comes as Advani remains adamant on his view that announcing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its PM candidate could polarise state assembly polls slated later this year.

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Tax officials raid Ram Gopal Varma’s office; grill him for over 8 hours

New Delhi: Ram Gopal Varma, Bollywood’s eminent film maker, had an unexpected visitor on Wednesday – the service tax officials. The tax officials knocked on the doors of the film maker’s Millat Nagar office in Andheri at 2 pm and stayed in there till 10.30 pm. The director came under the scrutiny of the department when it came to the notice of the tax men that his name does not feature on a list of 132 celebrities who have been issued notices over the past year for suspected tax evasion. Furthermore, the tax officials said there are no records of his production houses with the department which he claims were registered in Hyderabad.
During the raid, the officials discovered that there is no record of his production houses being registered anywhere let alone in Hyderabad. According to the tax men, two of these phantom production houses are Dream Force Productions and Dream Force Enterprises. On condition of anonymity, a tax official said to a daily, "We will scrutinise each of his projects to find out the amount of service and professional tax he has evaded. Film producers are liable to pay service tax as they sell their films and their satellite rights.
Varma, being a director scriptwriter as well, is also liable to pay professional tax. We are recording his statement." The service tax officials say that Varma tried to evade tax by shifting base to Hyderabad when his films suffered financially post 2008. Until then he was based out of Mumbai. But the officials grew suspicious when they saw that RGV’s name is not there in the list of 132 persons from the film industry. The raid has only confirmed their doubts. A source close to Varma confirmed the raid to the daily and added that the director is cooperating with the officials. The raid was conducted at the Silver Arch building in Millat Nagar, Andheri.

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Salman Khan: Shah Rukh is welcome to promote his film on Bigg Boss

  

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who will be hosting the seventh season of the reality show Bigg Boss, says that Shah Rukh Khan is welcome to come on the show and promote his films. "Of course, he can come. If he is promoting his next film, he is more than welcome," Salman said at the launch of the show.
 The two actors, who have been giving the cold shoulder to each other for five years now, recently hugged each other during an Iftaar party. Salman said that hugging Shah Rukh was the natural thing to do. "I feel that it was Ramadan time...This gesture should be done by everyone. It is a good thing to shake hands and hug," he said.
 He further added that if he has to, he will compete with Shah Rukh through his work. "If we have to hit at each other, we will do so through our work. Aamir is also coming (with his film now) and there is Ranbir too," he said. The actor will be seen hosting Bigg Boss for the fourth time. Bigg Boss Season - Saath 7 will be aired September 15.

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Poonam Pandey back to cleavage show again!

It seems Poonam Pandey is missing all the limelight her debut film Nasha gave her. Although the film fell flat at the box office and Poonam Pandey's acting skills and the film's story line was castigated by the critics, Poonam Pandey earned some four lakh twenty four thousand followers on Twitter!
 Emotional scenes, sex and skimpy clothes in Nasha did not work for Poonam as much as her suggestive dialogues and revealing photo on Twitter do.
 But it seems post Nasha, Poonam Pandey has very little to say and hence she is back to posting her photos that show off her different body parts. Poonam Pandey Recently she tweeted a photo that said 'home alone', in a cleavage revealing dress.
 While Poonam Pandey no doubt is a great model (although we find her conspicuously absent from the ramps!) she needs to hone her acting skills to grab more films. May be a crash course in acting would help!

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iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner 'confirmed' by WSJ report

Ahead of Apple's scheduled special event where it's expected to unveil two new iPhones, a new report reiterates that the premium iPhone or iPhone 5S, could sport a fingerprint scanner. The report comes through sources at the Wall Street Journal, familiar with the matter. It clearly mentions that Apple will include a fingerprint scanner on the more expensive of two iPhones it is expected to unveil on Tuesday, September 10.
 WSJ's report also mentions that at least one Android phone to be released later this year will also include a similar fingerprint scanner, but it is not clear if that phone would be sold in the US market. As expected, Apple did not comment on the matter. The report doesn't specify the exact use case for the fingerprint scanner but speculates that it could be a way to authenticate users while unlocking the phone, in line with previous rumours and leaks.
 Just a few days back, a new leak that claimed to identify a Home button flex cable in the iPhone 5S in a way confirmed that the Home button would integrate a fingerprint scanner. Purported images of the iPhone 5S casing had also revealed a silver ring around the phone's Home button, indicating the possibility of a fingerprint scanner being present on the button.
 Rumours related to the next iPhone sporting a fingerprint sensor started when KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed in his research report that Apple was expected to integrate a fingerprint reader under the home button for security. Reports following it suggested that Apple had selected Taiwanese chip maker Chipbond for sourcing a number of components for the iPhone 5S, including the touch display driver and hardware to support the fingerprint sensor and near field communications (NFC) capabilities.
 Apple had acquired mobile security firm AuthenTec, last year, in a deal valued at about $356 million. AuthenTec makes security software and chips including chips for fingerprint recognition and near-field communication (NFC) for mobile phones. After the deal, analysts and tech pundits have been expecting Apple to use the technology in its next-generation iPhone. Code hinting at the presence of a fingerprint scanner in the Home button had appeared in iOS 7 beta 4.
However, the code was apparently removed in the next version of the OS. Apple's September 10 event is expected to feature unveilings of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, and so, it's a just a matter of a few hours till we know if the new iPhone will indeed offer the fingerprint scanner feature.

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Upgrading Mars rovers could aid discovery on more distant worlds

Washington: An upgrade to Mars Rovers could help make discoveries further out in the solar system, according to scientists. A new camera has been developed that can do more than just take pictures of alien rocks -- it also thinks about what the pictures signify so the rover can decide on its own whether to keep exploring a particular site, or move on. Senior researcher Kiri Wagstaff, a computer scientist and geologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said that they currently have a micromanaging approach to space exploration.
 She said that while this suffices for our rovers on Mars, it works less and less well the further you get from the Earth. Wagstaff said that if you want to get ambitious and go to Europa and asteroids and comets, you need more and more autonomy to even make that feasible. To help future rover and space missions spend less time waiting for instructions from Earth, Wagstaff and her colleagues developed an advanced two-lens camera, called TextureCam.
 Although Curiosity and other rovers can already, on their own, distinguish rocks from other objects in photos they take, they must send images all the way to Earth for scientific analysis of a particular rock. This process costs time and limits the potential scientific scope of rovers’ missions. TextureCam can do the analysis by itself. The research has been published in Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.

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Kochadaiyaan teaser out and it's more than just Lungi dance for all the Rajini fans

The first teaser of superstar Rajinikanth-starrer Tamil period-drama "Kochadaiyaan"is out. The film will feature Rajinikanth in dual role, while Sarath Kumar, Shobana, Aadi Pinisetty and Nassar will be seen in important roles.
 Also starring Deepika Padukone and Jackie Shroff, "Kochadaiyaan" is touted to be India's first motion capture technology film being made along the lines of Hollywood films like "Avatar" and "Tin Tin". Reportedly being made on a budget of over Rs.100 crore, "Kochadaiyaan" is directed by Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Ashwin and jointly produced by Eros International and Media One Global Entertainment.
 The film will be dubbed in Telugu as "Vikrama Simha". It will also dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam and foreign languages such as Japanese, Italian and Spanish.

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2012 Delhi gangrape: All 4 convicted, victim's mother says hang them

Four accused in the December 16 Delhi gangrape case were on Tuesday convicted by a court here. The court will announce the quantum of punishment on Tuesday. Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna found the four guilty in the case. They were present in the court. They were found guilty on 13 counts. The court's decision on accused - Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur -- came after almost nine months of the brutal crime in which a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang raped in a moving bus.
 As soon as the verdict was delivered, Pawan broke down while Vinay was in a state of shock. Mukesh was heard saying "that they would have to face the consequences for what they have done". The fourth convict Akshay seemed unaffected. "All the accused have been convicted for various offences including attempt to kill the complainant (victim's male friend), for gangrape with the victim and also for unnatural sex with her and killing the victim. The accused have also tried to destroy the evidence after the incident, so they are convicted under section 201 of the IPC.
 They had abducted the victim to have illicit intercourse with her, so they are convicted under section 366 of the IPC," the judge said while pronouncing the judgement.The charges against the accused include murder, attempt to murder, gangrape, unnatural offence, dacoity, destruction of evidence, conspiracy. Victim's father expressed his happiness over the verdict and said he wants death sentence for all the accused. Victim's mother also said that she is happy with the verdict.
Defence counsel A.P. Singh said the verdict was under political pressure and his clients are innocent. "Accused did not get a fair trial. It is a mockery of justice. The verdict was only given to appease people," he said. "We have made strict laws on rape, death penalty is assured in this case. The guilty will be hanged in all such future cases," said Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on December 16 gangrape verdict. "The convicts should be given death penalty; this will set an example for the future," said BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on December 16 Delhi gangrape case.
 "All Convicted! This was never in doubt. What is vital is severity of punishment. Justice demands this to be treated a rarest of rare!," tweeted Kiran Bedi. "It was one of the most heinous crime that we have come across. We expect capital punishment in this case. We need to fix the delay in our judicial system. Despite the special court in this case it took seven months. Investigation should also be fast," said former home secretary R.K. Singh. The incident sparked nationwide protests and nudged the central government into enacting a stringent anti-rape law. While an accused was found dead in a cell in Delhi's Tihar jail, a juvenile involved in the crime was on August 31 sent by the Juvenile Justice Board to a reform home for three years after it concluded that he was involved in rape and murder.
Will the four accused get death sentence?
 12:40 pm: The Saket court hearing the case held all four accused Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur guilty of being involved in the brutal gangrape and murder which took place on December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in Delhi. The court will announce the quantum of punishment tomorrow.
 12:37 pm: All four accused in December 16 Delhi gangrape accused held guilty.
 12:02 pm: Court to deliver verdict in Delhi gangrape case shortly.
 10:55 am: The lessons learnt from the December 16, 2012 gangrape would be shared with all officers, said Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi.
 10:35 am: Government likely to amend Juvenile Justice Act: Sources to Headlines Today. 10:20 am: Fast-track court to pronounce its verdict around 12:30 pm.
 10:10 am: Won't rest till all accused are given death penalty: Victim's father to Headlines Today.
 10:03 am: Delhi gangrape victim's family also reaches court.
 10:00 am: All four Delhi gangrape accused brought to Saket court.
 09:57 am: Fast-track court to pronounce its verdict in December 16 gangrape case.
 There has never been as much anger at the death of a girl, the riots that followed her death and the subsequent sentencing of an accused-especially a juvenile -than it has been in the gruesome December 16 Delhi gangrape and murder case.
 The case was put on a fast-track hearing but speedy justice was an illusion since it took seven months and 130 hearings to reach a culmination. Moreover, reported to be the "demon" among the accused in the December 16 Delhi gangrape case, the juvenile accused escaped severe punishment only because he was 170 days short of turning 18 and therefore was punished under the prevalent juvenile laws and not the Indian Penal Code, under which his five co-accused are undergoing trial.
The incident occurred after the woman and her male companion boarded the bus in Munirka in south Delhi. The six accused threw both of them out of the vehicle -- without clothes -- on the streets in the cold December night after committing the ghastly crime, police said. The gangrape victim succumbed to her injuries on December 29 at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where she was airlifted for specialised treatment.

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Apple to ‘brighten everyone’s day’ with iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C launch

Apple is raring to go again with the much-anticipated launch just around the block — the top-end iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone 5C are set to be showcased in an event in Cupertino, which will also be shown to a select group of guests in China via satellite link.
 The invite makes it almost certain that Apple will most likely continue with its boring naming convention and unveil the iPhone 5S, along with a lighter iPhone 5C, on Tuesday. As with previous Apple smartphones, the iPhone 5S will be available in stores in the latter part of 2013, following in the footsteps of the iPhone 5 and the older iPhone 4S.
 The 5S may well carry the same design features as the iPhone 5 but with a slightly faster processor and a better camera running. With massive launches like the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Note III, Sony Xperia Z1 behind us, Apple seriously needs to up the ante if it has to strengthen its faltering profit margins. It may be too early in the day to say that both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C have what it takes to topple the ever-increasing competition. Nevertheless, things are about to get very interesting very soon!

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Eco-friendly festivities in Hyderabad for Ganesh Chaturthi

Hyderabad: With the 10-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival beginning on Monday, authorities are trying to promote more eco-friendly celebrations, including popularising clay idols and minimising immersion in water bodies, especially the famous Hussain Sagar Lake. Considered one of the city's landmarks, the lake is struggling for revival in the face of rampant civic pollution.
Authorities are therefore trying to promote small changes in the festival observances to save the water body. Festivities surrounding the Ganesh festival have grown manifold over the years. According to RP Khajuria, member (environment) of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), this specially pertains to the size of idols and the number of celebrations at various community levels, the two counts on which the authority is now appealing for moderation.
 "We have appealed to the public to reduce the size of the Ganesha idol, and immerse these smaller idols at the household level, maybe in a bucket or tub of water, and then use this water for gardening," Khajuria told IANS. "Additionally, we have also requested people to hold collective celebrations at significant points of the city - instead of doing it at every community level - and then immerse the idols at an artificial pond," he added.
 In a bid to encourage people, HMDA has promised to highlight stories of the "heroes" who practise local immersion methods. To further encourage eco-friendly celebrations, Khajuria said HMDA has also launched a campaign for popularising clay idols.

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Muzaffarnagar Live: Death toll rises to 28; BJP, RLD blame SP govt

Muzaffarnagar: The death toll in Muzaffarnagar riots rose to 28 on Monday even as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav called for restraint from political parties. Four BJP MLAs, one former Congress MP are among the 40 people who have been booked for allegedly inciting communal violence. Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi has sent a report to the Union Home Ministry in which he has reportedly slammed the state government for its inability to contain the violence.
Joshi has also called for more forces in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas. Curfew has been imposed in three police station areas - Civil Lines, Kotwali and Nai Mandi- with schools and colleges shut for the next three days in the entire city. The Army is carrying out flag marches in the entire region.
 Latest updates 11.25 amRLD chief Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Choudhury put the onus on the state government to maintain law and order in state and blamed its negligence for Muzaffarnagar violence 11.20 amPolitics of secularism shouldn't be done, action must be taken against those responsible, says Mukhtar Ababs Naqvi of BJP
 11.15 amBahujan Samaj Party leader Sudhindra Bhadoria has demanded that UP government must be dismissed immediately and President’s Rule be imposed in the state
 11.05 am Death toll has risen to 28: Arun Kumar, ADG law & order UP on Muzaffarnagar violence 10.57 am A total of 90 people arrested; gun licenses in 3 police stations cancelled, says police
 10.50 am Situation under control, no news of fresh violence, curfew will continue for next 48 hours, says Kaushal Raj Sharma, DM Muzaffarnagar
 1.55 am BJP MLA Hukum Singh, who has been named in the FIR, denies making provocative speech. He has in turn blamed the Samajwadi Party government for failing to control the law and order situation 10.30 am No leniency towards those who disturb pace, said Akhilesh Yadav. Speaking to a news channel, asked all political parties to exercise restraint
 10.20 am Will make committees in villages from where villagers have fled faring violence and bring them to their homes, says Ajit Singh
 9.40 am State government transfers Inspector General of Police (Meerut Range) Brijbhushan and Saharanpur DIG DC Mishra. While Bhavesh Kumar Singh will take ovwer as Meerut IG, Ashok Mutha will be the new DIG of Saharanpur
 9.35 am FIR has been filed against the following: Sangeet Som, Hukum Singh, Bhartendu, Suresh Rana (BJP) and Harendra Malik (Congress)
 9.30 am Four BJP MLAs and a former Congress MLA are among the 40 people who have been booked for rioting by the UP police
 9.20 am RLD leader Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary are also on their way to Muzaffarnagar 9.15 am Despite prohibitory orders, a three-member fact finding team headed by Ravishankar Prasad is on its way to the troubled town
 9.05 As a precautionary measure an alert has been sounded in adjoining cities like Meerut and Moradabad
 9.00 am Shoot-at-sight orders are in place in the curfew hit areas. All entry points to Muzaffarnagar including UP-Uttarakhand borders have been sealed and all outlying villages are being patrolled to maintain calm Reports said in Delhi the Centre has asked the state government to take necessary steps to ensure that communal tension does not spread to other parts of the state.

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Film industry is an insecure place: Kangana Ranaut

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who has no film background, says the film industry is not a secure place to be in. She says there are times when she has movie offers, but there are days when she has no projects in hand. "I won't say I don't want to be where I am today, but the industry is an insecure place to be in. This industry is like one fine day you get up and you get a call for work and at times you don't get work for six months. It's not just about me.
 I think everybody has their own insecurities," said Kangana. She said that it is nice to have her elder sister Rangoli around. "I have been without my family in this city (Mumbai) for a long time so it's nice to have your family around. My sister works with me. She handles my work, manages everything and I only act," said the 26-year-old. "Its not about me being successful or unsuccessful ... no matter what happens, she is always there for me.
 It's a great feeling. This industry is a place which can tend to be an insecure place so it's good to have somebody around who doesn't judge you," she added. Kangana has made a place for herself in the Hindi film industry, but she has one regret. "I have learnt everything here, but my only regret is that I wish I had better guidance in the beginning of my career. I wish somebody was there to guide me. The place where I come from, they don't give much importance to art.
 I didn't know how to behave or what expectations people have from me," she said. Kangana, who impressed audiences with her acting skills in movies like "Gangster", "Fashion" and "Tanu Weds Manu", is also praised for her fashion sense. She says her inspiration comes from "old Hollywood". "I don't have any fashion guru as such, but I travel a lot and take inspiration from different places.
Old Hollywood is my all-time inspiration," said the curly haired beauty who is looking forward to the last quarter of 2013. "(The year) 2013 so far has been dull, but towards the end it's exciting. I have some good films coming up so I am really looking forward to it," she said. She will be soon seen in superhero movie "Krrish 3".

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Modi is the right choice, RSS tells BJP

The RSS, the saffron brigade's parent organisation, sent out another clear signal on Saturday that Narendra Modi would be the right choice for the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister. "We have told the party about the Sangh's feelings and janta ki maang. It's the party that has to take a decision now," said RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya, referring to Modi.
He was speaking on the same day that Narendra Modi was giving yet another shot to his Red Fort dreams from a replica of the castle in Chhattisgarh. The statement came in a short interaction with Vaidya a day ahead of their crucial meeting in Delhi to discuss what Vaidya described as "routine issues". Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally at Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally at Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. Deliberate delay But the meeting is expected to clear doubts about Modi's anointment, which has been delayed by incarcerated Gujarat police officer D.G. Vanzara's letter bomb and doubts raised by the Advani camp in the BJP which wants to delay the announcement of the BJP's candidate till after the Assembly elections in four states.
 The logic is that it may not help the party in states like Madhya Pradesh, where Shivraj Singh Chouhan may need to garner the votes of a sizeable Muslim population. It's for BJP to decide on Modi, says RSS Another reason for wanting a delay in the announcement is that the anti-Modi faction in the BJP would get a chance to prop up Chouhan as an alternative to Modi if he wins a thumping majority in Madhya Pradesh. Modi is still regarded by many as a powerful regional satrap with big national ambitions. Speculation is rife that the party may come up with Modi's name formally on his birthday on September 17, after which the Pitr paksh period, regarded by Hindus as inauspicious, begins.
 A day before the meeting of the BJP-RSS coordination committee in the Capital, Vaidya admitted having conveyed the Sangh's stand to the party. However, he also insisted that the issue of naming a political alternative is not likely to come up during the two-day meeting starting September 29. Modi is likely to be present at the meeting on both days. No discussion Contrary to the buzz in the media, he said there will be no discussion on the current political situation or Modi's candidature in the meeting. "The discussion on (naming) a political alternative has reached an advanced stage. It doesn't really have to be a part of this meeting," Vaidya said. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to be present in the meeting only on Monday, which had earlier been touted as the final day for announcing Modi's candidature.
 The level of the bi-annual meeting has apparently been scaled up this time with 65 karyakartas likely to attend. According to Vaidya, there will be 25 officebearers from the Sangh, 12 members from the BJP and workers of 13 other sangathans from across the country. Modi says govt throwing acid on wounds of the poor "We will all deliberate on issues concerning the economy, society and security as well as share the experience. The next such meeting, in January, will be held in Hyderabad," Vaidya said before walking out of the press briefing without answering any further questions on Modi. With confusion continuing in the ranks, sources say the RSS wants to get the issue settled soon as it believes that a delay will cost the party dearly and will also send a confusing signal to the BJP's cadres and its voters. However, with a section of party leaders aligned to senior party leader L.K. Advani still holding on, the Sangh is finding it difficult to have its way even as the window of opportunity for Modi's official crowning is fast shrinking.
 NaMo takes on PM from 'Red Fort' As camps, for and against Narendra Modi's coronation as BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, huddled in New Delhi on Saturday to plan their next move, the Gujarat Chief Minister chose to skip any mention of the issue during his address from a Red Fort replica in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. Rather, he used the platform to launch a scathing attack on the Congress-led UPA at the Centre. He drew comparisons between the Congress-led government at the Centre and the BJP government in the state to target Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the economy. "We have a Singh (Raman) in Chhattisgarh and another one in Delhi. Both are doctors and both are completing ten years in power... Raman Singh has reinvigorated Chhattisgarh, while because of Manmohan Singh, our Rupee is in the hospital...," Modi said at the function organised to mark the completion of Raman's Vikas Yatra.
 Modi may be named PM candidate on his birthday on September 17 Also present on the dais, erected especially for Modi, were BJP president Rajnath Singh. Both the leaders targeted the UPA for inflation, deficient food law and economic crisis that the nation is facing. Modi didn't spare Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too. Without taking his name, he said: "Even his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) who gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' would be pained to learn that he said 'poverty is a state of mind'." Hitting out at the Congress for Telangana violence, he said: "When Atal Bihari Vajpayee created three states (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand in 2000), sweets were distributed by all, but when Congress created Telangana, curfew was imposed.
" Turning the function into a political rally, the BJP leader appealed to the lakh-plus crowd at the venue to ensure a hat-trick for Raman in Chhattisgarh. In his unique style, Modi compared Chhattisgarh's 13 years as a separate state with a child's adolescence. "There is not much development in a child till the age of 13. There will be greater advancement in Chhattisgarh over the next five years as in the case of a child between 13 and 18 years. Please ensure you commit no mistake this time and return the BJP to power once again, he said. Raman said he saw emergence of a new Chhattisgarh during his six-phase yatra, which started in May. "The yatra has emerged as a valuable medium to seek feedback directly from the people and I have seen a new Chhattisgarh emerging," he said. Badal to attend Modi summit for farmers The upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Agricultural Summit 2013 will provide Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal the opportunity to discuss the ticklish issue of eviction of Sikh farmers from Kutch region.
 The summit, which aims at bringing together "progressive farmers" from across the country, will begin from Monday in Gandhinagar. Badal is expected to take up the farmers' issue, as the eviction of peasants from Kutch region has created resentment among the Sikh community in Punjab. While the Shiromani Akali Dal has been one of the oldest and most trusted allies of the BJP-led NDA, the face-off between the Gujarat and Punjab governments has been becoming a sore point between the two parties. Despite Punjab's request to not pursue the eviction case, the Modi government went ahead to challenge the Gujarat High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. On his part, Modi had assured Badal that his government had never made any pressure on Sikh farmers to leave the state. The Gujarat government is committed to ensure that no injustice happens to the Sikh farmers, he added. Modi had blamed the previous Congress regimes for the impasse. Sikh farmers, who had settled in Kutch over 50 years ago, were barred from selling, buying or taking any loans or subsidy on their land. This was a fallout of the Gujarat government's order to 'freeze' their land under the provisions of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1958.

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One Direction announces new album 'Midnight Memories'

Los Angeles: Boy band One Direction has revealed that their third studio album will be titled Midnight Memories and scheduled to be released on November 25. The album is expected to feature hit single `Best Song Ever` which is a hit since being released last July.
The track also won the Best Song of the Summer title at the live telecast of the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, reported Ace Showbiz.
 "YES - 1D`s third album is Midnight Memories and is out on November 25th! And you can pre-order," the band`s Twitter page reads. The `Little Things` hitmakers recently released their documentary `One Direction: This Is Us`.
 PTI

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Muzaffarnagar clashes: death toll rises to 12, Army called in

Muzaffarnagar: The death toll in clashes between two communities in western Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district has risen to twelve. Over 1000 Army jawans were moved from Meerut to Muzaffarnagar today while 38 companies of the paramilitary forces have been deployed. The situation continues to be tense, with sporadic incidents of violence reported today.
 Police have arrested more than 30 people so far. Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert following the communal clashes. The state government has decided to continue the curfew in the affected areas of Muzaffarnagar for a week. Violence broke out in the Kawal area of Muzaffarnagar yesterday when members of a community returning from a panchayat meeting in Naglabadhod, three kilometres from Kawal, clashed with members of another community.
 Rajiv Verma, who worked as a freelance television journalist, was reportedly caught in the crossfire at Meenakshi Chauraha. In Sekeda village, a photographer who the police had hired, was beaten to death. Appealing for calm, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, "People should not pay attention to the rumours and exercise restraint. Whosoever has done this will not be allowed to go scot free."
 The state government has announced a relief of Rs. 15 lakh to the family of the TV journalist and Rs. 10 lakh to the family of others killed in the clashes. The seriously injured will be paid Rs. 50,000 each while those who received minor injuries will get Rs. 20,000, officials said. The Kawal area has been tense since August 27 when three young men belonging to the two communities were murdered. The police booked several politicians for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in the area.
These include three Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders - an MP and two MLAs from Muzaffarnagar - and one Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Meerut. The police have also registered cases against 299 others for promoting enmity on religious grounds after they posted a fake video claiming it showed the young men being killed on social networking site Facebook.

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Shuddh Desi Romance beats Zanjeer at the box office

Finally the Chopra sister clash comes to an end with Parineeti Chopra's Shuddh Desi Romance & Priyanka Chopra's Zanjeer releasing this Friday.
 The youth centric film opened to a decent response on Friday collecting Rs.6.45 crore and picked up well on Saturday too reaching approximately Rs.7.15 crore wheras the new Zanjeer collected Rs.3.58 crore in the first day furthur slipping to Rs.2.89 on Saturday collecting a total of Rs.6.45 crore on two days.

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The hidden meaning of Ganesha’s body parts

What do we really know about Ganesha? That we ought to chant his name prior to any important work or prayer, he is bestowed with a head of an elephant, and is often portrayed with having a large belly and not a taut mid riff like other Gods. But the fact is that these unique body parts describe Ganesha`s character and the qualities that humans should adopt for spiritual growth. An elephant has the ability to uproot strong trees and even pick a fine blade of grass.
 Therefore, Ganesha`s trunk symbolizes that a wise being has the ability to be strong as well as skilled to identify good from bad much like the white swan which can segregate milk from water. His large ears mean that he listens to the prayers of every single person devoted to him. His four hands too have an amazing meaning attached to them.
 His lotus bearing hand symbolises enlightenment. Another hand that holds a hatchet symbolises that enlightenment cuts off all bonds of attachment with the material world. The third hand carries sweetmeats which imply the sweet gains reaped by practicing good deeds. As Bhagwadgita makes it clear that a person should always focus on the karma and not the fruits of it, Ganesha is never shown enjoying the dessert he holds in his hands, thereby making it clear that he is not attached to the outcome of his good deeds.
 His fourth hand is seen in an `Aashirwad Mudra` or the blessing pose. This means that an ideal person always wishes for societal well-being. Ganesha is also depicted with his one foot down on ground and the other one resting on his knee. This symbolizes that the enlightened person lives on earth without any attachment to material life.
The reason why Ganesha rides the back of a rat is because rat stands for greed and the mind of a wise being should control his senses rather than getting controlled by them. An ideal person should master his senses to enjoy a wholesome existence is the message Ganesha gives. A person embodying such qualities becomes the near and dear of the Supreme God — Shiva and Parvati — the parents of the Universe and of course, our dear deity Ganesha.

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Global gaps in high blood pressure knowledge, treatment

New York: It`s the leading contributor to deaths worldwide yet most people with high blood pressure don`t know they have the condition and even for those who do, treatment is mostly ineffective, according to a large new study. Researchers examined more than 140,000 adults in 17 countries and found that about 41 percent had consistently high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, but fewer than half of those people knew it.
 "We found that surprisingly many people didn`t realize their blood pressure was high," lead author Clara Chow, from The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia, said. Less than a third of those aware of their condition and getting treatment had their blood pressure under control, with poor and rural populations faring the worst. "Whereas in high-income countries a larger proportion of people knew they had hypertension and were on treatment than people in low-income countries, the control problem was significant wherever you were," Chow said. Normal blood pressure is defined as a systolic reading (the top number) of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or less and a diastolic reading (the bottom number) of 80 mm Hg or less.
 The National Institutes of Health estimates that one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure. High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and strokes, which are the top two causes of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, hypertension is tied to "at least" 7.6 million deaths each year, Chow`s team writes in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Despite the condition`s worldwide impact, Chow told Reuters Health, there hasn`t been much research on how it should be targeted to bring down the incidence of cardiovascular disease. For the new study, she and her colleagues from several research centers around the world recruited 142,042 adults in 17 countries of varying income levels to be examined between January 2003 and December 2009.
 They defined the condition either by a participant`s self report of having been diagnosed with hypertension, or by two blood pressure readings of at least 140/90 mm Hg. Overall, 57,840 of the participants had high blood pressure, but only 26,877 were aware of their condition. The vast majority of those who were aware were taking some sort of medication - often two medications - to treat high blood pressure, but only about one third were successfully controlling the disease. "People who knew they had hypertension, about 88 percent were initiated on some sort of treatment. However the control of their blood pressure was poor," Chow said.
 When researchers looked at the results by country, they found that in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, around 50 percent of people with high blood pressure were aware of their condition and around 47 percent were getting treatment. In comparison, in lower-income and lower-middle-income countries around 42 percent of people with hypertension were aware of it and about 34 percent were treated. In poorer countries, awareness, treatment and control of high blood pressure were better in urban areas compared to rural ones, and among better educated people, the researchers note.
 Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of the Vascular Disease Prevention Program at Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston, said the new study confirms previous findings on blood pressure around the world and adds to what is known by showing the differences between urban and rural areas. "I think it`s another stimulant to get a variety of groups to look at and think about this issue," Plutzky, who was not involved in the new study, said. For example, he said, international groups have been effective in combating a variety of infectious diseases throughout the world.
 "We need those same kinds of groups to also start thinking about chronic diseases," he said, adding that techniques developed overseas can also be brought back to rural areas in the U.S. Chow said the focus should be on finding ways to detect high blood pressure in people in different places around the world, and removing barriers to treatment, including costs and transportation to and from doctors` offices.

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IOC DEADLINE FOR IOA: Drop tainted members, hold elections by December 15

The International Olympic Committee has asked the Indian Olympic Association to drop charge-sheeted members by October 31 to enable its return to the Olympic family. The international body also wants India to hold fresh elections by December 15. If the IOA doesn't, India could face more censure. NDTV has exclusive access to the IOC letter sent to senior IOA officials like acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra and IOC member, Randhir Singh.
 The IOA has been in exile since last December when the IOC's executive board suspended India after Lalit Bhanot, who is facing corruption charges linked to the scandal-hit New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, was elected secretary-general of the IOA. In its latest diktat to the IOA, the international body has clearly said it will consider India's return only after tainted members are dropped. (Read: Ethics cannot be compromised in sports administration, says Mahesh Bhupathi) Singh is also pushing for a Sports Bill that seeks a age and tenure limit on sports administrators.
The IOC has also spoken on similar lines at it wants age and tenure restrictions should apply to all members, and not just the president, secretary and the treasurer. (Read: It will be shame if we can't represent India, says Olympian shooter Joydeep Karmakar) The IOC versus IOA stand-off intensified on August 25 when the IOA general body rejected the IOC's demand. The IOA's general body decided to bar only those who had been convicted and not just charged. (Related read: VK Malhotra tells IOA to stand united against IOC) After a meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, the international body issued a statement saying:
 "The Executive Board heard a report that the IOA's General Assembly had approved most of the amendments to the IOA's constitution requested by the IOC, but one specific (chargesheet) clause had not been adopted. This clause, which deals specifically with the eligibility of members, is key to the good governance of the NOC and needs to be fully accepted before the suspended IOA can proceed with the elections." The IOA is reluctant to accept the charge-sheet clause.

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Chinese woman arrested for breastfeeding child while driving moped

We all know women can multi-task, some more than others. But this woman from China takes the cake and everything along with it when it comes to multi-tasking.
 This young woman was snapped breastfeeding her baby while riding a moped! She was reportedly driving through the streets of Yuzhou in China when she was doing this and was pulled over by the police and placed under arrest. Officers said she had been weaving through traffic while holding her 18-month-old son in her lap as he breastfed.
 Those who saw her on the road said that she was breastfeeding the infant while controlling the moped with one hand. The police said she was stopped and placed under arrest for risking her life as well as her son's and all the people on the road.

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music review: Shuddh Desi Romance

Music: Sachin-Jigar 
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni 
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Jigar, Priya, Benny Dayal, Shalmali Kholgade, Divya Kumar and Priya Panchal

With a title like this you wonder what the music will be like. But like the title the music too is shuddh, desi and has dollops of romance oozing out from the four songs and five instrumentals. Surprisingly, for a movie dealing with live-in relationships, the music is slightly hatke from all the fast paced numbers which the youth prefer these days. The only thing that gives the song a feel of the present generation is the Hinglish lyrics. The second big surprise is the absence of what is a must in every album these days – jazz, dhol or party remixes. Salim-Suleiman who have been part of director Maneesh Sharma’s earlier ventures make way for composer duo Sachin-Jigar.
 So have Sachin-Jigar finally arrived with their first big ticket release? A Yash Chopra banner film, no less? The album opener, Tere mere beech main kya hai by Sunidhi Chauhan and Mohit Chauhan, is a soft love song that grows on you with repeated listening. Sunidhi brings out the bindaas attitude in Parineeti Chopra’s character in her trademark style, while Mohit takes the song to another level with his velvet voice. The lyrics too standout: sample this – Chaddar khaddar ki, arman hain resham ke. Writing lyrics must have been easy for scriptwriter Jaideep Sahni, as he fleshed out the characters and knew them inside out which reflects in the songs.
 The next song paints everything in pink and it would not come as a surprise if it becomes the official city anthem of Pink City Jaipur. Again a soft melodious romantic number, Jigar and Priya do complete justice to Gulabi. The arrangement gives the song a different feel. The composers and lyricist have actually managed to pull off the unthinkable – turning the odd-sounding title into a track. Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade do complete justice to what sounds like the only dance number in the album. Credit goes to Jaideep for coming up with a song that has loads of local flavor.
 Divya Kumar’s quirky number Chanchal mann ati random again has excellent lyrics by Jaideep. Though at times the song does remind you about the Dreamum wakepum from Aiyyaa, the catchy arrangement takes it to another level. Since the movie is based in Jaipur, there is ample use of the local instruments and singing style. The localised nature of the soundtrack may either work in its favour or will have a short shelf life. The instrumental part begins with the Mujhe kiss kar sakte ho song. As the title suggests, the piece in all likelihood will be played whenever there is a kissing scene on screen (we have seen quite a few in the promos that have been on air).
 Of the remaining four – In Jaipur, Tezz wala attraction, Boyfriend banogey, Bhanwara ma bhatke – they are situational and fail to add any value to the soundtrack. The album had all the potential to go above the ordinary. But it just manages to keep you hooked with the interesting arrangement. Yash Raj Films projects are known for their music, which is remembered for years. Sadly, Shuddh Desi Romance disappoints on this front.

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