Latest News

---

• US bombs erase Afghan village from map
• Shahid refused to do ’7 Khoon Maaf’: Vishal Bhardwaj
• Lindsay getting financial support from father
• I am thrifty: Reese Witherspoon
• ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ album is dull
• India lose by 48 runs through D/L; series levelled
• Karnataka shuts down over Yeddyurappa’s prosecution
• Make flag-hoisting at Srinagar all-party event: Gadkari
• Khali mobbed, two fans injured in firing
• No dialogue till Pakistan stops terrorism: Gadkari

US bombs erase Afghan village from map Posted: 21 Jan 2011 10:03 PM PST A village in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province has been completely wiped out of the map after an offensive by the US Army to get rid of the Taliban militants in the area, a media report said here. Tarok Kolache, a small settlement in Kandahar near the Arghandad River Valley, has been completely erased from the map, according to the Daily Mail. Taliban militants had taken control of the village and battered the coalition task force with home-made bombs and improvised explosive devices. After two attempts at clearing the village led to casualties on both sides, Lieutenant Colonel David Flynn, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 1-320th gave the order to pulverise the village. His men were “terrified to go back into the pomegranate orchards to continue clearing (the area); it seemed like certain death”, Paula Broadwell, a West Point graduate, writes on the Foreign Policy blog. Instead of continuing to clear the tiny village, the commander approved a mine-clearing line charge, which hammered a route into the centre of Tarok Kolache using rocket-propelled explosives. The results of the offensive were adjudged to have left “NO CIVCAS” – no civilians killed, the daily said. But with Tarok Kolache bombarded with close to 25 tonnes of explosives, assuming some collateral damage does not seem unjustified. Analysts have not been able to assess the impact of the bombing on civilians due to security concerns. However, it has been agreed that “extreme” operations such as the destruction of an entire village are likely to have a negative impact on attempts to improve coalition-Afghan relations. The erasure of Tarok Kolache was exactly the type of behaviour that would deal a body blow to Afghan acceptance of the presence of the International Security Assistance Force, Erica Gaston, an Open Society Institute researcher based in Afghanistan, was quoted as saying. “But for this, I think (NATO) would have started to get some credit for improved conduct,” Gaston wrote in an email. “Some Kandahar elders (and I stress ‘some’, not ‘all’ or even ‘most’) who had initially opposed the Kandahar operations were in the last few months expressing more appreciation for ISAF conduct during these operations, saying they had driven out the Taliban and shown restraint in not harming civilians. “I think this property destruction has likely reset the clock on any nascent positive impressions.” According to Broadwell’s post on Foreign Policy, US military commander Gen. Petraeus has approved $1 million worth of reconstruction projects but also told his commanders in the south of Afghanistan to “take a similar approach to what 1-320th was doing on a grander scale as it applies to the districts north of Arghandab”.

Shahid refused to do ’7 Khoon Maaf’: Vishal Bhardwaj Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:25 PM PST When Priyanka Chopra has seven co-stars in her forthcoming film “7 Khoon Maaf”, the question arises why isn’t Shahid Kapoor, who shares an amazing onscreen chemistry with her and is reportedly her offscreen love, one of them? Well because he refused, revealed filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. “Shahid refused to do the film. That time he was preparing for the role in his father’s film and for that he needed a particular get up, so he didn’t have time to get a new get up for this film,” Bhardwaj told reporters at an event in the Radio City office here. “7 Khoon Maaf” is based on Ruskin Bond’s short story, “Susanna’s Seven Husbands”. The seven male leads in the thriller include Naseeruddin Shah as the oldest husband, John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah’s youngest son Vivaan Shah as the youngest husband and Russian actor Aleksandr Dyachenko. The director also revealed that Priyanka was his original choice for the role. “Priyanka was my original choice for the role. She is the finest actor of her generation right now. Whe I worked with her in 'Kaminey’, I realised how under-utilised she is. She has so much talent in her. As a director I had so much trust on her that I felt that no one else can essay this role as brilliantly as she would do,” said Bhardwaj. The film is slated for a Feb 18 release.

Lindsay getting financial support from father Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:21 PM PST Michael Lohan is giving financial support to troubled daughter Lindsay following her release from the rehabilitation centre. Lindsay was recently released from the Betty Ford rehabilitation clinic in California after completing a three-month court-ordered stint and while he doesn’t want to interfere too much, the showbiz patriarch is making sure she’s fine for money. “She is doing great. I was just on the phone with her. She is taking it easy and just doing things in her own way. I am supporting her with a lot of money,” contactmusic.com quoted him as saying. Michael who is divorced from Lindsay’s mother Dina is confident the 24-year-old actress can now stay sober because she has removed all the bad influences in her life. “As long as she stays around the same people she is with now. She hasn’t been going out anywhere. She has been staying at home, cooking her own meals, going to the gym.” Michael who has battled alcohol issues himself in the past recently said Lindsay was doing everything she can to stay sober and has even been attending alcoholics anonymous (AA) meetings with her. “We went to an AA meeting last night then went home and had a quiet night. She changed back to the girl she used to be. When she was at her best – literally. She’s done a 180 and I’m very proud of her.” Even though she has left the rehab facility, Lindsay is still be subject to random drug and alcohol testing with a psychiatrist until a court hearing Feb 24.

I am thrifty: Reese Witherspoon Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:17 PM PST Actress Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she hates to spend money on frivolous things. “I’m pretty good with money. I’m really thrifty. I grew up in a really thrifty family so I don’t spend a lot of money on things that are frivolous. I have a house, two cars, I have a regular life,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted her as saying. The actress has recently splashed out on a barn for her pets. “I’m building a barn. I think it’s cool. I really do have animal friends, I have donkeys, I have goats, I have pigs. I wanted the donkeys to be called Honky Tonk and Badonkadonk but the kids weren’t so into it,” she said.

‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ album is dull Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:13 PM PST Film: “Yeh Saali Zindagi”; Music Director: Nishat Khan; Lyricist: Swanand Kirkire; Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala, Shilpa Rao, Sukhwinder Singh, Javed Ali and Abhishek Ray; Rating: ** Nishat Khan is a great Sitar player, but composing music for a Bollywood movie is a different thing altogether and the artiste has failed to impress with the music of “Yeh Saali Zindagi”. The album offers eight tracks. Barring two, the rest are disappointing. The first song is the title track crooned by Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala and Shilpa Rao. It begins with a long prelude and sets the base for the vocals. It constantly changes pace from slow to fast to slow. It’s got a very western feel and is neither bad nor brilliant. The title track has two more versions – male and female versions. Sung by Abhishek Ray, the male version is quite different from the original in terms of composition as it includes a rap portion. But even after the alterations, the song is a let-down. The female version is the same as the original; only Kunal’s part has been crooned by Sunidhi and Shilpa. Next is “Sarara”, a song that doesn’t sound contemporary at all. Javed Ali has sung the number that has a good dose of ‘desi’ beats. It has no high points and nothing worth noticing. In short, it is unimpressive. It has another version, which has been sung by Sukhwinder Singh. Then there is “Dil dar-ba-dar”, which was initially supposed to be the title of the film. A duet by Shilpa Rao and Javed, the song about love and loss is a disappointment. “Ishq tere jalwe” finally brings in some relief. The poignant love song with Javed and Shilpa behind the mike is coupled with strong orchestration and praiseworthy vocals. The rock influence gives it an edge. Finally, we have “Kaise kahein alvida” by Javed again. This is the best song of the album and is beautifully rendered by the singer. The slow pace and semi-classical touch create a tranquillising effect and makes the romantic number something to look forward to in the album. On the whole, one would have expected better composition by the composer; lack of freshness and experimentations make it boring.

India lose by 48 runs through D/L; series levelled Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:06 PM PST India lost to South Africa by 48 runs through Duckworth and Lewis (D/L) method in the rain-interrupted fourth one day international here Friday, with the five-match series now levelled 2-2. India were 137 for six in 31.3 overs and needed another 129 runs for victory when rain stopped play. At resumption, the revised target required India to make 123 runs off 87 balls. But barely eight balls were bowled when the skies opened up again. Play could not be resumed and South Africa were declared the winners. India after taking a 2-1 lead at Cape Town, were eyeing their first one-day series win in South Africa. The decider will be played Sunday at Centurion. Indian batting floundered in reply to South Africa’s 265 for seven, with the visitors were at 118 for five in 28.4 overs. Virat Kohli (87 n.o., 92b, 7×4, 2×6) was the lone bright spot in the batting and missed out on what would have been a well-deserved century. The Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel, failed to give India a solid start and were back in the hut with 32 runs on board. Both were dismissed by Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Rohit was caught by J.P. Duminy while Patel, who flew in as a replacement for injured Sachin Tendulkar, was caught leg before. India soon slumped to 49 for three when Yuvraj Singh top-edged an attempted paddle-sweep and was caught by Graeme Smith who ran from first slip to dive a catch at backward short-leg. The 63-run stand between Kohli and Suresh Raina (20) gave visitors a brief reprieve before the latter was stumped by a Robin Peterson delivery. The quick dismissal of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan then evaporated India’s hope. Earlier, Duminy struck 71 and raised vital partnerships with the lower to propell South Africa to a challenging total. South Africa were reeling at 113 for 5, before Duminy and Johan Botha (44) scored 70 runs to rescue the hosts. Duminy and Robin Peterson (31) then added another 54 runs to put up a challenging score. South Africa, after electing to bat, were off to a strong start with Hashim Amla (64) and captain Smith (18) scoring 57 runs for the first wicket. But then India came back with part-time spinner Yuvraj taking three wickets. Ashish Nehra got the breakthrough when he had Smith caught by Harbhajan Singh at mid-off. Amla then added 49 runs with Morne Van Wyk (15) before the latter fell to Yuvraj. Amla’s fluent knock, that included eight fours, was cut short as he was run out. South Africa soon lost A.B. de Villiers and Faf du Plessis before Duminy and Botha joined forces to do the recovery job. Left-handed Duminy hit two fours and one six in his 72-ball knock while Botha and Peterson struck three fours each to accelerate in the slog overs.

Karnataka shuts down over Yeddyurappa’s prosecution Posted: 21 Jan 2011 09:01 PM PST Many educational institutions in Karnataka did not open, state-run buses went off roads, and a few vehicles were stoned Saturday as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a daylong shutdown to protest Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s move to allow Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s prosecution over corruption charges. “We have withdrawn bus services at most of the places across the state after many were stoned,” a spokesperson of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which runs buses across the state, told IANS here. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) said its services in the city were not affected though there were instances of stone throwing late Friday soon after Bhardwaj granted permission to prosecute Yeddyurappa over corruption charges. “We will withdraw the services if our buses are attacked,” a spokesperson said. In Bangalore, police clamped prohibitory orders that bar assembly of five or more persons at a place for two days. “We have deployed around 18,000 police personnel on duty in the city to maintain peace,” a Bangalore city police spokesperson said. BJP activists in Yeddyurappa’s home district of Shimoga, about 280 km from Bangalore, blocked trains for about half an hour. Most of the schools and colleges across the state declared a holiday fearing violence. The shutdown, however, would not affect most of the IT firms as Saturday is holiday for them. BJP workers in north Karnataka towns of Hubli, Bidar, Gulbarga, Haveri and Mysore, Tumkur, and other districts in south began protests late Friday itself after Bhardwaj’s sanction to file criminal cases against Yeddyurappa. The permission to launch criminal proceedings against BJP’s first chief minister in south India was sought by two Bangalore-based advocates, Sirajin Basha and K.N. Balaraj, on Dec 28 following the revelation that Yeddyurappa had favoured his kin with prime land in and around Bangalore.

Make flag-hoisting at Srinagar all-party event: Gadkari Posted: 21 Jan 2011 08:58 PM PST BJP president Nitin Gadkari has justified the BJP Yuva Morcha Kashmir Yatra to hoist the national flag in Srinagar and appealed to the Congress party as well as the National Conference to join his party and make it an all-party event. He said the BJP’s Muslim workers in Jammu & Kashmir were supporting the Yatra because “we don’t find anything wrong in hoisting the natonal flag in our own country,” Gadkari told Indian journalists here. He is a on a five-day goodwill visit to China. In reply to a question, Gadkari said “I don’t think the Yatra will create any security problem. It is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order because it is the democratic right of every Indian citizen to feel free to hoist the national flag anywhere in the country”. Gadkari condemned the Karnataka governor’s action sanctioning prosecution of Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa for corruption as “politically motivated and inspired by the Congress party.” He criticized the Congress party for “misusing the office of the governor to settle scores against its political opponents in the same manner in which it has been misusing the CBI”. Gadkari defended the Karnataka chief minister and said if Yeddyurappa’s action in using his discretionary powers (to allot land) was wrong then the governor should have recommended action against previous chief ministers too who too had exercised the same discretionary powers.

Khali mobbed, two fans injured in firing Posted: 21 Jan 2011 08:55 PM PST The fan frenzy to meet World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Khali took an ugly turn in Punjab’s Ludhiana city when an unidentified man fired in the air, injuring two people, police said Saturday. “Khali had gone to the house of Punjab Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain for dinner Friday night. While he was coming out of the house, a huge crowd of fans had gathered there to catch a glimpse of the star. The fans became restless in a bid to click photographs of Khali,” police inspector Surinder Mohan told IANS in Ludhiana, some 100 km from Chandigarh. “In the melee, some unidentified person fired in the air. Splinters of the bullet hit two people, one sustained an injury in the shoulder while the other had minor bruises,” he added. Khali is also known as ‘The Great Khali’ among his fans. Born in Himachal Pradesh’s Dhirana village, Khali’s original name is Dalip Singh Rana. The wrestler has acted in a few Bollywood and Hollywood movies apart from participating in reality TV show “Bigg Boss”.

No dialogue till Pakistan stops terrorism: Gadkari Posted: 21 Jan 2011 08:52 PM PST Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Saturday said his party favoured resumption of the India-Pakistan dialogue, but only after Islamabad dismantled all terrorist training camps in its territory and stopped cross-border terrorism from its soil. Speaking to Indian journalists in Beijing, Gadkari said Pakistan has failed to take action against the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. He said any dialogue with Pakistan will be meaningless unless Pakistan completely stops promoting terrorism against India. Gadkari, who is on a five-day visit to China, the first by a BJP president, said his talks with the Chinese leaders covered a wide range of issues including the BJP’s “core concerns”. He said the visit provided him an opportunity to very effectively put across our serious concerns to the Chinese leadership about the stapled visa, Beijing’s activities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, incursions into Ladakh and the Brahamaputra water issue. The Chinese leaders “understood” the importance of the issue of terrorism raised by him, including the need for Beijing to use its good offices with Islamabad to stop all terrorist activities against India from its soil, Gadkari said. Asked whether he supported the Chinese model of development, Gadkari said “we want democracy as well as development. We are not for development at the cost of democracy”. He said there was a broad national consensus in India that New Delhi should continue to promote people-to-people contact between the two countries. The BJP too favoured party to party contact with the Communist Party of China and enhance operation between the two countries in various fields. He said the NDA government in Bihar will extend full support to the Chinese support to the initiative to develop Nalanda University. From Beijing, Gadkari will visit Shanghai and Guangzhou before returning home.

You are subscribed to email updates from Latest News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610