Latest News |
- Prithviraj Chavan bats for Jaitapur nuclear project
- Pakistani court adjourns hearing of Mumbai terror-attack case
- Finance Minister set to present budget Feb 28
- My film ‘Aarakshan’ will not create new tensions: Prakash Jha
- Abhay refuses to go topless
- NALCO CMD, wife sent to six-day police custody
- Sajid-Wajid open personal channel on Youtube
- Pakistan elect to bat against Sri Lanka
- Will Kashmir rail line by ready by 2017?
- Madonna is a fantastic mother: Kelly Osbourne
| Prithviraj Chavan bats for Jaitapur nuclear project Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:40 AM PST
Making a visit to personally meet and assure the villagers on their apprehensions over the multi-billion rupees project, Chavan said the project will strictly adhere to all norms of operational safety and environmental protection. “I appeal to you, please do not be misled by false propaganda against this project. It has been cleared with stringent conditions and will immensely benefit the people of this region,” Chavan said, addressing a rally which was interrupted by anti-project activists shouting slogans. Chavan said that all measures will be taken to ensure that the farmers and fisherfolk do not suffer any adverse impact on account of the plant, but urged them not to fall victim to misinformation spread by vested interests. In his speech, Chavan called upon the local activists and the Shiv Sena to refrain from raising “invalid” issues and instigating opposition to the mega-project. “This project is crucial to the country’s development, its power requirements and the progress of the state and the Konkan region,” Chavan pointed out. He also assured the villagers that all valid demands of the locals would be considered by the government. Chavan’s address to the villagers was marred by some activists raising slogans and demanding that the project be scrapped as it would destroy the means of livelihood of the locals. On Nov 28, Union Minister for Environment & Forests Jairam Ramesh announced the green signal for the project, being constructed by a French consortium led by nuclear reactor maker Areva. Two reactors with a capacity of 1,650 MW each are planned in the first phase at the site, barely 200 km south of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station near Mumbai. The second phase of the project is likely to have six European pressurised reactors (EPRs). The first phase is expected to be completed within the next three to four years, and the rest will be completed by 2018. This will be India’s first large-capacity plant using imported equipment after a three-decade global nuclear trade ban was lifted two years ago. The central clearance came after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Areva and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in 2009, to build at least two EPR reactors at Jaitapur. |
| Pakistani court adjourns hearing of Mumbai terror-attack case Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:38 AM PST
The public prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Chaudhary Zulfiqar maintained before the court that “non-bailable arrest warrants of two prime accused, Ajmal Kasab and Faheem Ansari, have already been issued by the court on April 17 last year”. “These were sent to the Indian authorities but they have not received these as yet,” he informed. “As per the Pakistani law, both accused need to be declared proclaimed offenders before conviction can take place,” he stated. Defence counsel Khwaja Sultan has filed an application in the court under section 403 of Pakistan’s Criminal and Procedure Code (CrPc). Kasab has already been convicted in India, so the trial in Pakistan should be stopped, he maintained. Ansari had earlier been acquitted of all charges by trial court Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani in May 2010. The Mumbai High Court later upheld his acquittal. The hearing Saturday took place in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi in Pakistan’s Punjab province amid tight security, media reports said. The court will hear the arguments of lawyers from both sides for declaring Kasab and Ansari proclaimed offenders March 5. Earlier Friday, the FIA had withdrawn a petition in Lahore High Court after the court declared that “the accused were not absconding willfully”. The FIA has built its case around the confession of Kasab in India but the court had declared it “inadmissible” under Pakistani law. Kasab has been in Indian custody since the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that left 166 people dead. The Mumbai High Court recently upheld the death penalty awarded to him by a trial court. |
| Finance Minister set to present budget Feb 28 Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:35 AM PST
The jury is still divided whether the budget would veer towards an anti-inflation approach or be pro-growth. But everybody agrees that the finance minister is going to have to walk a tight-rope to get the right mix of both. The annual report card on the state of the economy, the Economic Survey 2010-11, did indicate that inflation was here to stay at least in the short-to-medium term even as the country’s gross domestic product grows at around 8.6 percent this fiscal and 9 percent in the next. Food inflation moved up to 11.49 percent for the week ended Feb 12 as compared with 11.05 percent in the previous week. The barometer for measuring food prices has remained in high double-digits for most part of 2010-11. The annual inflation based on wholesale prices stood at 8.23 percent in January. Mukherjee, often touted as the government’s primary trouble-shooter, however has another problem at hand. Following the unrest in the middle east and Libya, global crude prices have soared to around $112 a barrel Friday on concerns that political unrest in the Arab world will create supply shortages. Even though oil marketing companies have the freedom to charge for petrol as per global prices, a further hike will only add to the inflationary pressure — something that the government would look to avoid for as long as possible. Then there are the social sector programmes of the government, which are already leaking huge amounts of funds in the absence of proper audits. Many of these programmes, which require huge funds cannot be curtailed as a number of state elections are due. Mukherjee will also have to look at ways of ramping up its revenue collection and curtail expenditure to curtail fiscal deficit, which was a high 5.5 percent this fiscal. Whether he will be able to bring it down to 4.5 percent of the gross domestic product by March-end 2012 remains to be seen. Analysts doubt its possibility in the face of continuing subsidies to various sectors like food, fertilizers, oil and absence of a spike in revenues as was seen last year due to one-offs like the 3G auction, which netted the exchequer Rs.67,718 crore ($15 billion). |
| My film ‘Aarakshan’ will not create new tensions: Prakash Jha Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:24 AM PST
The star cast of “Aarakshan”, including Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Tanvi Aazmi had an interaction with the media at Rizwan Bagh, one of the sets of the movie. “We try to understand the pain created in every society about ‘aarakshan’ and try to minimize it. It is also on the commercialization of education,” said Jha about the movie Friday evening. Jha also added that the film is neither against or in favour of reservation, “it is not going to add fuel to the issue”. The director said it is just a co-incidence that of the two main actors in the movie, Amitabh is the ‘jamai’ (son-in-law) and Saif the son of Bhopal. The actors and the director said they enjoyed working in Bhopal, a city of lakes. “This is the first time I am shooting in Bhopal. But as you people know I am ‘jamai’ of this city, I have a strong connection here. The ambience and the people are so good that even in breaks I do not prefer to go back to Mumbai,” said Amitabh, who is playing the role of a professor. Speaking about his role, Amitabh said: “The professor supports students of the weaker section of society in the movie.” On working with Jha as director, the legendary actor said: “It is really nice working with him. He handles everything so well it help us in getting into the character easily.” “It is a unique movie and I am enjoying the character,” replied Saif Ali Khan. Saif, who has a Bhopal connection — his grandmother was the Begum of Bhopal, said: “It has been 15 years since I came here, but I have grown up in this city only.” Saif was not interested in taking personal questions from reporters, and got visibly irritated when he was asked again and again about what kind of gossips he does not like. “Does my face look like only for gossip questions,” he snapped. Deepika, who plays the role of daughter of Amitabh, said she enjoyed working in the city. “I like most the sunrise and sunset. I would like to work more here. It is really a beautiful experience working in this city.” However, all the stars of “Aarakshan” including Amitabh, Saif and Deepika Padukone besides Director Prakash Jha ducked queries on what they feel personally on ‘aarakshan’ or reservations, a sensitive issue. |
| Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:17 AM PST
Zoya had asked him and Hrithik Roshan, who also plays a lead role in the film, to go topless in a scene. Hrithik obliged but Abhay refused to bare his chest, a source said. “Abhay refused to take off his shirt as he doesn’t prefer to shave his chest hair,” the source told IANS. “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” is a fun-filled road film shot largely across Spain and apart from Hrithik and Abhay, also seen in pivotal roles will be Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin. The film is scheduled to hit theatres June 24. |
| NALCO CMD, wife sent to six-day police custody Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:01 AM PST
A.K. Srivastava, chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), and his wife were sent to six-day police custody by a CBI special court Saturday, a day after they were arrested by the investigation agency for allegedly accepting bribe. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Srivastava, his wife Chandni Srivastava, along with two accomplices, Bhushan Lal Bajaj and Anita Bajaj, for accepting bribe Friday. CBI Special Judge O.P. Saini sent all four to police custody till March 3. Before entering the court, Chandni said: “The locker which the CBI has seized is not in my husband’s name, how can they arrest my husband and relate him to this?” The CBI arrested Srivastava when his wife was accepting an illegal gratification of three gold bricks, each weighing one kg, of 24-carat gold. His wife was accepting the bribe from the wife of a middleman who was brokering a deal between the CMD and a Madhya Pradesh-based private company, the CBI said in statement Friday night. At the time of the CBI raid, Srivastava’s wife, accompanied by the wife of the middleman, had just deposited the three gold bricks in a bank locker of the Bank of Maharashtra in the national capital. The bank locker was in the name of the wife of the middleman. It was being operated by Srivastava’s wife “as benami”. A search of the locker revealed seven more gold bricks of 1 kg each, golden ornaments weighing 188 grams and Indian currency of Rs.9.5 lakh. A search of Srivastava’s wife led to the recovery of Rs.5 lakh from her handbag and the key to another locker in the name of the wife of the middleman. A search of the second locker led to recovery of Rs.15 lakh in cash. The total recoveries amount to 10.188 kg gold and Rs.29.5 lakh in cash. The total value of the seizures works out to approximately Rs.2.43 crore at current prices of gold, the statement said. |
| Sajid-Wajid open personal channel on Youtube Posted: 26 Feb 2011 02:05 AM PST
“I haven’t announced it officially. I think I am the first person from Bollywood to have a channel on Youtube. It’s so beautiful and so nice and it’s just a first step of mine and I want to take this to a different level,” Sajid told IANS. “I always believe in not to talk and prove myself. I am very new right now and there are lots of difficulties that I am facing but I am covering up everything,” he said. Asked what made him resort to the web, Sajid said: “I was always a very electronic savvy guy and the thing is I think as I have got all the awards and as now my listeners really want to listen to me, they look at me, so I think this is the right time and I have taken one step ahead in electronics.” Though the channel is in its nascent state, Sajid is happy that it has already started creating a buzz among his listeners. “Good thing is I have already started getting international calls and people are talking about it.” It would be a very personal channel, which would cover everything about the duo and offer the techniques of making good music, said Sajid. “It’s a fantastic medium and (will include) all my interviews and everything of mine, be it my award functions and my songs. I want to come out with my childhood, how we grew to be music composers. We want to make it a very personal channel of Sajid-Wajid, educate people and show them the right way of doing music.” Sajid plans to launch the channel officially after they complete uploading contents of their choice. “Until now, I have loaded very few things but they are interesting and once I load lots of things then I will launch it officially. I have updated lots of interviews with stars. All the different kind of music I play, everything will come in this channel,” said Sajid. |
| Pakistan elect to bat against Sri Lanka Posted: 26 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST
Teams: Sri Lanka: |
| Will Kashmir rail line by ready by 2017? Posted: 26 Feb 2011 12:43 AM PST
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in his tweet posted: “Rail line (from Udhampur to Srinagar) date is given in 2017. Banihal-Qazigund day break this year December & line opening in 2013. Now let’s wait & see.” The Banihal-Qazigund line was to be ready by December 2011, but now the deadline has been postponed to 2013. His predecessor Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was excited when the Udhampur-Srinagar project was declared as a “national project” and the railways committed that it would be completed by August 2007. But four years have passed since the last deadline and there is no sign of the rail reaching the valley anytime soon. The work so far has been sluggish because of the low allocation of funds – the next financial year’s allocation is Rs.1,100 crore. By the current price index, the project cost is over Rs.19,000 crore and only Rs.6,000 crore have been spent so far. The second reason is the militancy and the ever-recurring summer unrest in the valley. Kashmiri protesters had torched the railway stations and uprooted the tracks last year, and before that militants had bombed the rail tracks. The uncertain situation continues to affect the progress of the work, according to sources in the railways here. |
| Madonna is a fantastic mother: Kelly Osbourne Posted: 26 Feb 2011 12:39 AM PST
Osbourne, 26, met the mother-of-four after becoming the model for her and 14-year-old daughter’s fashion range. “It completely changed my opinion of her and made me like her even more once I met Lola (Lourdes) because she’s done a fantastic job with her,” dailystar.co.uk quoted Osbourne as saying. |
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Saturday declared that the state government would go ahead with the 9,900-MW Jaitapur nuclear power project being set up at a cost of Rs.60,000 crore ($130 billion) with French collaboration in Jaitapur village in the Konkan belt.
A special anti-terrorism trial court in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city Saturday adjourned the hearing of the 26/11 Mumbai terror-attack case till March 5.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is set to present his sixth national budget Monday, with people hoping for measures that will help them brave high prices and industry expecting steps that would spur demand and reduce tax burden.
Filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is shooting his latest film “Aarakshan” in Bhopal, feels the subject matter of the film is relevant as there is always an “under current about aarakshan (reservation) in Indian society”.
Bollywood actor Abhay Deol was asked to take off his shirt for a scene in Zoya Akhtar’s next film “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, but he firmly refused to do so. The reason — he has hair on his chest.
Music-composer duo Sajid-Wajid tread a new path to reach their audience. They have opened a channel by their name on Youtube, a video-sharing website, and claim to be the first to do something like that in the Bollywood music fraternity.
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the World Cup Group A match at R. Premadasa Stadium here Saturday.
The Indian Railways’ plan to cut through the mountains in Jammu and Kashmir, construct bridges and bore tunnels and get the train chugging into the Kashmir Valley in 2017 is a deadline on which doubts have been cast by many, the latest being Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Singer Kelly Osbourne, who is the new face of Madonna and her daughter Lourdes’ fashion line – Material Girl, seems to be in awe of her, as she thinks Madonna is a “fantastic mother”.| You are subscribed to email updates from Latest News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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