I don't and never will kiss in films: SRK

In 22 years of his showbiz career, Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan has maintained a record of never locking lips with his heroines and declares that he never will. After his infamous love-making scene with his co-star in the much forgettable movie Maya Memsaab, Shah Rukh admits that more than being uncomfortable kissing on screen, he doesn’t know how to do it. This coming from the King Of Romance! Dismissing rumours that he has kissed Kareena Kapoor in his upcoming sci-fi superhero flick Ra.One, SRK said that if a film requires him to do things which make him uncomfortable, he quits i...

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Jagan to resume Odarpu yatra after bypoll results

KADAPA/VIZIANAGARAM: A day after the byelection results would be announced on May 13, YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy would resume his controversial Odarpu yatra in Vizianagaram district. "I would be resuming my yatra on May 14. I had to temporarily call off the yatra because of the election code. Now, I would go back to Vizianagaram to call on the members of the families who had died after my father's demise," Jagan told TOI. Sources said Jagan's close follower and former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy is co-ordinating with the local leaders in Vizianagaram to chart out the yatra route. Jagan launched his yatra on March 28 but put it off soon after the announcement...

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Asin: Bollywood is a tight ropewalk

Asin is back in action. After a spectacular debut with Ghajini and a rather lukewarm London Dreams, the actress teams up with Salman Khan again for her third film Ready, slated for a June 3 release.In conversation with NewsIndia24, the actress discusses her role in the film, her association with the South Indian film industry and her contemporaries. Tell us about your character in Ready?I play Sanjana. She is an orphan and is staying with her greedy uncles who are behind her property. I fall in love with Prem (Salman Khan) and Prem decides to teach the uncles a lesson. This is your second film with Salman Khan. How was it working with him second time around? I am very comfortable...

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Sehwag out of IPL

Sehwag has struggled with the problem since 2009, when a tear led to surgery and a slow rehabilitation for the batting legend. The India Board of Control for Cricket have confirmed Sehwag's absence from the domestic Twenty20 tournament, while his IPL team suspect the injury could spell trouble for Sehwag's England tour. Daredevils boss B Vanchi revealed the 32-year old will undergo another surgery, which is likely to ruin his training schedule in the run up to India's test match against England. Vanchi told Times of India: "Sehwag's injured shoulder is definitely a concern for everyone. "The BCCI has decided that it needs surgery immediately and are making arrangements for him to travel...

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Juicy "Mango"could be great leap forward for Windows Phone 7

Microsoft showed off a number of new features planned for Windows Phone "Mango," the major update for the smartphone platform due this fall, at its MIX 11 event in April. These were primarily features aimed at developers, with the company keeping new user-facing features close to its chest. News is starting to leak of just what those user-facing features are going to be, and there's plenty of them. The Windows Phone Dev Podcast posted a bunch of screenshots purporting to be of Mango. Their podcast wisely warns that in these days of Photoshop a little skepticism over such leaks is wise, but all the features shown are plausible, and consistent with glimpses of the user interface seen...

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US has told Pakistan to act against LeT: Timothy Roemer

AHMEDABAD: The US had told Pakistan that it now needed to act against the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), US ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said Tuesday while stressing that his government had been building enormous pressure on Islamabad to target terror havens in its territory. Roemer, who went around Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi for years, said the US shared India's "targets and goals" on the LeT, whose leaders have been charged with the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. "We share the targets and goals in terms of the LeT and have communicated to Pakistan that it now needs to act against the LeT as well as individuals," Roemer told journalists,...

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CPI-M rubbishes exit poll forecasts

Kolkata, May 10 : The CPI(M) today rubbished exit poll forecast of Left Front's defeat in the just-concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, saying such predictions have no "scientific basis". "There has been a competition among TV channels to broadcast exit polls which predicted that the results will go against the Left Front, but it will ultimately prove otherwise," CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose told reporters. Emphasising that exit poll forecasts had "always" been proved wrong since the 2001 assembly polls in West Bengal, Bose said, "All such predictions have failed to alter people's mandate which overwhelmingly elected Left Front to power all these years." Bose...

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Osama posters sell like hot cakes in Pak

Islamabad: There has been a record sale of posters of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan after the al Qaeda leader was gunned down in a daring US commando raid May 2 in the country, a media report said Tuesday. More than 100,000 posters of Osama Bin Laden have been sold since his death, the Online news agency reported citing the print industry. It added that the volume of sale is increasing daily. Osama's death on May 2 ended nearly a decade-long hunt for the US' most wanted terrorist. He was blamed for the terrorist attacks in the US in September 2001 in which nearly 3,000 people were killed....

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DC vs PWI: Amit Mishra strikes, Manish Pandey misses half-century

NEW DELHI: Chasing 137-run target, Pune Warriors India lost Jesse Ryder (35) after a good start against Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League match at Rajiv Gandhi stadium.  Click here to watch Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors India from Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad Ryder smashed two huge sixes and five boundaries in his quick-fire 20-ball knock before Pragyan Ojha struck in the seventh over. Ryder gave Pune a terrific start to their run chase as he added rapid 55 runs for the opening wicket with Manish Pandey. Sent in to field, Mitchell Marsh (4-25) and Yuvraj Singh (2-17) helped Pune Warriors restrict Deccan Chargers to 136/8 in Hyderabad. ...

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West Bengal polls: 84.8 pc voting in last phase

An estimated 84.8 per cent turnout was recorded during the sixth and last phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections which passed off peacefully, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. “The polls were held absolutely peaceful and totally incident free,” Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi told reporters at the end of polling. Asked whether the poll percentage in the State this time was the highest ever, he said it could be termed “maximum” compared to 2006 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Three helicopters were used and a special observer was deployed over and above general and expenditure observers to ensure peaceful polling in 14 Maoist-hit constituencies spread...

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Petrol prices may go up this week;diesel, LPG rates may follow

The government may hike diesel and domestic LPG rates next week while an increase in petrol prices may happen later this week. "The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (on fuel price hike) was to meet tomorrow evening. It has been put off," Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy told reporters here. The EGoM was to meet tomorrow to consider raising diesel prices by Rs 3-4 a litre and domestic LPG rates by Rs 20-25 per cylinder. "It has been postponed to accommodate some ministers... It could be anytime on (May) 17 or 18," he said. State-owned oil firms, however, are likely to get the go-ahead to raise the price of petrol, which they have not revised...

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NATO Carries Out Airstrikes on Libyan Capital

NATO warplanes have carried out heavy airstrikes on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, early Tuesday. Witnesses heard at least five loud blasts in the capital and watched a plume of smoke drift over the city. Government officials escorted journalists to the site of some of the damage. The airstrikes hit an office building used by a government agency, knocked over a communications tower, and shattered windows at a hospital. Reports said it is possible that the compound where the family of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi lives may have also been hit. The unusually heavy bombardment followed separate NATO air attacks Monday against government weapons depots near the western town of Zintan. In...

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Vintage fashion for Sonam at Cannes!

Indian films may not be a talking point at Cannes but fashion always is. All eyes will be on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor & Freida Pinto this year as they will light up the Red Carpet for L'Oreal Paris at the Cannes Film Festival to be held from the 11th – 22nd of May 2011. It is for the first time that L'Oreal Paris will have 3 spokeswomen representing India at Cannes! The trio is interesting since all three are unique in their own way. Ash is a Cannes veteran of sorts as its her 10th year at Cannes this year. Freida Pinto already enjoys fair amount of recognition in the west while Sonam is undoubtedly one of the best dressed actresses we have in India. Amongst...

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Microsoft Agrees to Buy Skype for $8.5 Billion to Add Web Calls

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) agreed to buy Skype Technologies SA for $8.5 billion in cash to gain the world’s most popular Internet calling service and its 663 million customers. Microsoft will acquire Luxembourg-based Skype from an investor group led by Silver Lake, the companies said in a statement today. The agreement was approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The takeover may help Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer attract Web users and narrow Google Inc. (GOOG)’s lead in Internet advertising. The acquisition is Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft’s largest, surpassing the purchase of AQuantive Inc. for about $6 billion in 2007. “This could give Microsoft a much-needed...

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An instant 'cure' for baldness... if you don't mind being injected with pigs' bladders

It is a condition that brings despair to millions of men. But now there is a potential cure for those suffering from hair loss - which takes its cue from the farmyard. Male pattern baldness could be stopped in its tracks or even reversed by the treatment, which involves patients being injected with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) taken from their own blood. And the injections will also contain ACell - a powder extracted from pigs' bladders. Cure? Male pattern baldness affects millions of men including comedian Harry Hill and Foreign Secretary William HagueThis week, 20 British men will be given the 30-minute treatment, the Daily Express reported. Dr Raghu Reddy, a Harley Street clinician...

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Pakistan board seek Shahid Afridi explanation

Pakistan's Cricket Board has asked Shahid Afridi to explain comments about the "differences within the tour management in West Indies".Afridi led Pakistan to a 3-2 win in the one-day series in the Caribbean before complaining about "interference". "An explanation has been sought from him for reasons to make such statements publically," said a PCB statement. "PCB will take appropriate action after submission of the tour-report at the conclusion of the tour." Pakistan, who are coached by former fast bowler Waqar Younis, have still to play two Test matches against the Windies. But following the conclusion of the ODI series, limited overs team captain Afridi has returned home from the Caribbean. On...

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Pakistan ignored US warnings on unilateral action on Osama: Report

Pakistani authorities ignored several warnings from the US over the past three years that it would take unilateral action if it gathered intelligence on Osama bin Laden's presence in the country, according to a media report today. The Americans had warned Pakistan "time and again" that if the US had intelligence concerning bin Laden, "they would act on it with or without Pakistani cooperation", The News daily quoted informed sources as saying. An unnamed top-ranking US official said, "Time and again we have warned Pakistan but it seems like your officials live in a dreamland and believe that we need you so much that we will close our eyes and ears to all you do." This official angrily...

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Congress flays Mayawati over land acquisition stir

NEW DELHI: Congress today came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for the violence in Greater Noida and adjoining areas over the land acquisition issue, saying Chief Minister Mayawati's "greed" has taken over all her sensible decisions. "Mayawati government has been extremely insensitive to the cause of farmers and the poor in recent years. Instead of talking to farmers and taking them into confidence, it has been taking violent action against the agitating farmers," AICC general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Digivijay Singh told reporters here. "The greed of Mayawati has overtaken her sensible decisions. The whole...

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Tiny radiation leakage from Japan atomic plant, no danger seen

Electricity wholesaler Japan Atomic Power said on Monday that gas containing a minute amount of radiation had leaked from its Tsuruga nuclear plant in western Japan the previous day, but that the amount was well below the legal limit and there was no impact on the environment. The amount of radiation was estimated at about one-four hundred thousandth of the annual legal limit, and there were no changes in readings from radiation monitoring devices set up around the plant, the company said. "The amount that came out was such an extremely small amount, so this is not a problem and it will not have an impact on the environment," said Shinichi Morooka, professor of nuclear energy at Waseda...

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Situation in violence-hit areas tense, leaders detained

Greater Noida Tension prevailed in parts of western UP hit by farmers' unrest over land acquisition even as a heavy police deployment was made in the affected areas and political leaders were detained preventing them from reaching the troubled spots. BJP leader Rajnath Singh and SP leaders Shivpal Singh Yadav and Mohan Singh were detained by police along with their supporters when they tried to proceed towards Greater Noida where prohibitory orders have been clamped following Saturday's violence. Terming the Mayawati government as being "anti-farmer", the SP leaders alleged that it was buying land at cheaper rates from farmers and selling them to private developers...

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Prasad, Jilani welcome Supreme Court ruling on Ayodhya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sunni Waqf Board counsel Zafaryab Jilani on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict staying the Allahabad High Court verdict dividing the site of the razed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya into three parts and terming it “strange”. “I agree with it. In fact, the petition (on behalf) of Ram Janmabhoomi lala (deity) said for setting aside that part of the order... No one had asked for one-third, one-third partition,” said Mr. Prasad, who is representing Ram Lalla Virajman in the case. He also stated that he was speaking as a senior advocate, not as a BJP spokesperson. The Supreme Court stayed the September 2010 Allahabad High Court...

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Chubu Agrees to Idle Nuclear Plant

TOKYO—Chubu Electric Power Co. President Akihisa Mizuno said Monday the company has decided to halt the No. 4 and No. 5 reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, while keeping offline the No. 3 reactor, which is currently undergoing maintenance. The amount of time they will be offline wasn't immediately clear. This move to halt all operations at the plant comes after a request by Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday to shut the plant's three reactors until all planned safety measures against earthquakes and tsunami of similar magnitude to those seen on March 11 are implemented. Separately, eight workers and a government inspector entered the reactor...

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Reliance Industries cuts headcount; mulls accountability-linked pay for staff

NEW DELHI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has cut its headcount for third year in a row and is mulling a salary model where pay is based on accountability and responsibility of its staff. The company's staff strength fell by 704 workers during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, and stood at 22,661 employees. RIL has disclosed its latest headcount in its 2010-11 annual report, where it also disclosed a new compensation model being mulled over at the company. "FY-11, saw a significant change in the company's compensation and banding management process. On the...

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Sweeping Arrests in Syria as Military Rolls In

Syria's leading activists are going deep into hiding following a relentless and brutal crackdown by the regime, at a time when protest leaders were expected to be emerging into public view, as they did at this stage in Tunisia and Egypt."I have spent three days at a friend's house without being able to go outside and I may have to move again. We are prisoners in our own country," said one activist from outside Damascus, speaking by Skype to elude surveillance.The military and security services continued a shoot-to-kill campaign on Sunday designed to crush antiregime protests after more than seven weeks. After the military siege of Deraa—the cradle of Syria's protest movement—tanks and...

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'No, thank you Mallika', says Kangna

While Mallika Sherawat's friends claim she is helping Kangna with some Hollywood connections, Kangna's camp denies those rumours... Kangna Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat, who are a part of the movie Double Dhamaal, were known not to get along with each other. However, the situation has changed for the better, and the actors started getting along pretty well during the second schedule of the movie. In fact, it is learnt, that Mallika Sherawat was even invited to Kangna's birthday bash. The two girls spend quality time on the sets, and it is heard that Mallika Sherawat is giving an interested and anxious-to-make-it-big Kangna some Hollywood tips. Mallika has managed to make it...

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Sony removes data posted by hackers, delays PlayStation restart

Sony said on Saturday it had removed from the Internet the names and partial addresses of 2,500 sweepstakes contestants that had been stolen by hackers and posted on a website, and said it did not know when it could restart its PlayStation video games network. The company, under fire since hackers accessed personal data from about 100 million user accounts of its PlayStation Network and PC-based online gaming services, said in a statement details posted on the inactive website also included three unconfirmed e-mail addresses. The data came from customers who entered a 2001 product sweepstakes contest. The list did not include information on credit cards, social security numbers or...

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Medical interns call off strike

Medical interns called off their strike on Sunday after receiving an assurance from State Medical Education Minister Vijay Kumar Gavit that their demands will be looked into in the coming months. “We had a telephonic conversation with Gavit today. He assured us our demands would be looked into and said the stipend would be comparable to other states. We have called off the strike. Interns will return to work from Monday,” said Dr Snehal Chavan of the Association of State Medical Interns. “We also got an assurance of support from NCP youth leader Niranjan Davkhare that he will take up our case with the government and that it will be resolved in three months," Chavan said. Last...

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China recognizes India help in rescuing its sailors

Beijing:  Acknowledging Indian Navy's effort in rescuing 24 Chinese sailors from a ship hijacked by Somali pirates, China today said it was working out a new security plan to protect its vessels and crew members from such attacks. The Chinese vessel MV Fu Cheng (Full City), registered in Panama, faced a pirate attack 450 nautical miles off the Karwar Coast (of Karnataka) while it was on its way from Jeddah to Tuticorin port on May 6. The Indian Navy swung into action and mobilised its aircraft and ships immediately after receiving an emergency call from the Chinese authorities and thwarted the attack. "It was thus the navies of other countries, Turkey's and...

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Japan to close another nuclear plant

Japan's third biggest power operator on Monday agreed to shut a nuclear plant, until it can be better defended against the type of massive tsunami which in March triggered the worst atomic crisis in 25 years. Chubu Electric Power Co said it would agree to a request by Prime Minister Naoto Kan to close its Hamaoka plant, about 200 km southwest of Tokyo. The move signals a potential shift in energy policy after the Fukushima Daichi plant in Japan's northeast was wrecked by a giant tsunami, triggered by one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. The company said it could restart the plant once its tsunami wall and other safety steps had been approved by the authorities. That could...

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2nd UPDATE: India April Car Sales Grow At Slowest Pace In Nearly 2 Years

NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--Local car sales in India grew at their slowest pace in nearly two years in April as higher loan rates as well as rising fuel prices forced people to put off purchases. Also, several auto makers raised vehicle prices over the past few months to offset an increase in the cost of steel and other commodities. All these factors led to the lowest percentage gain since June 2009 as car sales edged up 13% in April to 162,825 autos from 143,862 a year earlier, showed data issued Monday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. This is the lowest percentage rise since an 8.2% growth in June 2009, said Sugato Sen, a senior director at the automobile industry...

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