14th Star Screen Awards

The Nokia 14th star Screen Awards were announced on Thursday at Mumbai amidst much glamour and glittering. ‘Chak De India’ was awarded the best film. SRK won the best actor award for ‘Chak De’ and Kareena Kapoor bagged the best actress award for ‘Jab We Met’. Her award though was collected by sis Karisma as she could not attend the function. AR Rahman won the Best Music Director Award for Mani Ratnam’s Guru.

‘Taare Zameen Par’ proved to be a dream debut for Aamir Khan as the film bagged six main awards including the Best Director (Aamir Khan) which he shared with Shimit Amin for ‘Chak De’ ,Best Child Actor (Darsheel), Best Story (Amol Gupte), Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi), Best Supporting Actor (Aamir Khan) and Best Dialogue.

The best female playback singer award went to Shreya Ghosal for “Guru” while Soham won the Best Male Playback Singer Award for the film Life in a Metro.

News Source : Bollywood-Star

Movie Review - Halla Bol

With ‘Halla Bol’ Rajkumar Santoshi has tried to re-create the magic of 1990s when a single-man war against the entire corrupt political system was there in every third movie, and sure enough Santoshi was successful in giving memorable films like ‘Ghatak’, ‘Ghayal’ and ‘Damini’. ‘Halla Bol’ seems to be the next in the sequence of Santoshi’s hard-hitting films, but nevertheless, it lacks the energy and compactness of his past films. The storyline goes as:

Ashfaque (Ajay Devgan), a small town boy aspiring to make it big in Bollywood works in a street theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) which holds plays raising social and political issues to bring about an awakening in the masses. Ashfaque finally makes it to Bollywood with a new screen name – Sameer Khan. Once in Bollywood, he sheds his middle-class bearings and changes everything — values, ethics, attitude — along with his name. However, his wife (Vidya Balan) refuses to change and sadly and silently watches her husband’s deteriorating values. It takes the murder of a young girl in a party to provoke his conscience and ferret out the old activist, Ashfaqe-ullah. Soon, Sameer is the one-man army against the battery of evil politicians, businessmen and cops who are hellbent on covering up the crime. His support in this battle is his old Guruji’s: a firm, powerful and mesmerising Pankaj Kapoor.

‘Halla Bol‘ tries to deal with too many subjects and sequences at one time- rape, violence, power, crime, fraud, the darker side of Bollywood, things behind Page 3, media and abuse. Due to this the film seems to lose its grip and track every now and then. Two incidents which the film instantly brings to our memory is the old but not-so-old Jessica Lal murder case and the murder of the noted street theatre activist Safdar Hashmi during a performance.

The films gains momentum when Ajay Devgan steps ahead for justices aided with Pankaj Kapoor. We have some powerhouse performances by Pankaj Kapoor. Ajay Devagn has done justice to his role. Vidya Balan has not much to do except one scene when she hits the media when it raises questions on her marriage. Darshan Jariwala comes as a surprise package.

The dialogues are hard-hitting. Many of them receive a loud clapping. The musical scores are average, in fact quite forgettable. ‘Na Guzre Huwe Pal’ turns out to be the best number. The director could have done some trimming of the sequences in the second half. Also the climax is not so powerful and lacks the last impact factor.

The memorable and paisa vasool sequences are the one when Ajay relieves himself on the Persian rug at the minister’s palatial residence, when Vidya Balan shoots back at the media which is grilling Ajay if his wife has walked out on him, when Abhay Bhargava is trying to bribe Pankaj Kapur and Pankaj replies. The murder of the girl at the night club with stone faced spectators is also hair-raising.

On the whole, Santoshi has tried to bring back what seemed to have disappeared from Hindi cinema in recent times. The fight of common man against the system. Comedy, thrillers and love-story, for a change has taken a back seat and ‘Halla Bol’ has come up with hard hitting defects of our system. An applaudable try from Santoshi but lacking in a tight script and expert handling of too many issues in a short span of 2-3 hours.

News Source : Bollywood-Star

Music Launch of ‘Jodhaa Akbar’

The music launch of Ashutosh Gowarikar’s mega project ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ was held on a grand scale amidst a grand assembly of Bollywood stars belonging to various genres. The gala function was held at Grand Hyatt, Kalina, Mumbai, late Wednesday evening, on January 9.

The musical notes of the film have been given by A.R.Rahman who has successfully given the essence of Mughal era in the scores. The music has been released under the newly launched UTV music label.

Although there were celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, A.R. Rahman, Sonu Nigam, Javed Akhtar, Akbar Khan, Zayed Khan, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Hrithik’s wife Suzanne Khan, Shatrughan Sinha, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Raza Murad, among others to graced the function, the couple who stole the limelight was none other than the leading cast of the film, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The highlight of the function was the speeches of the stars of the movie on the film and their respective characters in the film.

News Source : Bollywood-Star

Jiah Khan - All praises for John and Aamir

Jiah Khan is all excited about her photoshoot for the denim brand Wrangler with the Bollywood hunk John Abraham. These days Jiah is all praises for John and praises his performance in ‘Jism’ saying “He was so intense and good in that role. I think that’s his best performance.”

She is really looking forward to working with John, “We will be shooting the ad in the next few days. I think it should be fun.”

Talking about praises, Jiah also has reasons to praise Aamir Khan while she is busy with his ‘Ghajini’. She says, “It’s fantastic being around him, as there’s so much to learn. Everyone finds him intense, but he can be very warm. He gives you complete attention.”

News Source : Bollywood-Star

JP bags Rs 30,000 crore UP expressway project

Delhi-based Jaiprakash (JP) Associates bagged the controversial Rs 30,000 crore Ganga expressway project, to be built from Greater Noida to Balia. The total length of the expressway will be 1,000 km and will be completed in four years. UP CM Mayawati will lay the foundation stone for the project on Monday.

A senior official of a company which had bid for the project said that JP bid was very aggressive as they quoted around 50% lower than Reliance Energy, the second lowest bidder. The entire stretch is devided into four sectors - Greater Noida to Fatehgarh of 253 Km, Fatehgarh to Dalmau (305 km), Dalmau to Aurai of 211 (km) and Aurai to Balia 278 (km).

JP was not the lowest bidder in all the sectors separately. But, it also had submitted a combined bid at Rs 293 crore for all the four sectors, which turned out to be the lowest and enabled it to win the contract. Reliance Energy also had submitted the combined bid at Rs 590 crore, which was the second lowest.

According to a source, while in the first sector between Greter Noida and Fatehgarh, JP was the lowest bidder at Rs 63 crore, Unitech was the second lowest at Rs 304 crore. Reliance Energy had bid for Rs 306 crore the same sector. But, for the second sector betweed Fatehgarh and Dalmau, Zoom developer was the lowest bidder at Rs 24 crore. JP had bid the same sector for Rs 70 crore.

But, JP had also submitted a combined bid for Rs 293 crore, which was lower than its sector-wise bid, which totalled at Rs 410 crore.

The government has earmarked around 63,110 hectare land for the project. But, because of the aggressive bidding, the source said that the project could be implemented for 10% of the land earmarked for the purpose.

Most of the political parties including Samajwadi Party, BJP, Congress and political organization like Jan Morcha led by former PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh are opposing the project as it will lead to acquisition of the fertile land along the river Ganga.

News Source : Samachar

Ash brings Asterix to Mumbai!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has added another diamond to her already dazzling repertoire of international movies.


The stunning actress will be seen sharing screen space with comic characters Asterix, the Gaulish warrior, and his pal Obelix, the menhir delivery man, in one of the most-awaited French films of the year Asterix at the Olympic Games.

And though her presence in it is still being kept under wraps, there’s buzz that the filmmakers had written a special role for the Indian actress in the film, which does not have any main female characters. The film whose release was slated to coincide with the Beijing Olympics of 2008 stars the veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu, who’s reprised his role as Obelix. And, while Christian Clavier would not be returning as Asterix, he has been replaced by Clovis Cornillac.

Interestingly, Aishwarya is the only Asian face in the star-studded line-up that includes international celebrities like Formula One champ Michael Schumacher, soccer star Zinedine Zidane and Hollywood action hero Jean Claude Van Damme, who’s playing the role of the muscular and smug Gluteus Maximus who represents Rome at the Games.

What’s more, the film is set to have its world premiere in Mumbai in the high profile French Film Festival later this month. Touted to be one of the most expensive European films at approximately 93 million dollars (78 million euros), the third Asterix film is being directed by Frederic Forestier and Thomas Langmann and is based on the famous French comic book series by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
"Asterix... is one of the biggest French releases of the year and has a stellar star cast. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an international celebrity right in the top league. She has been a major celebrity at Cannes as well. And it’s a great coincidence that the world premiere of this film will happen in Mumbai, as it would open the French Film Festival here," said Mohamed Bendjebbour, the audiovisual attache, Head of the French Film and TV office, French Embassy in India, which is organising the festival.

The film has been shot largely in Tunisia and Morocco, the location for the previous film Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. Incidentally, Ash had also shot for her Hollywood movie The Last Legion in Tunisia.

News Source : Samachar

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is leaving no stone unturned to support his friend and protégé Nikhil Diwvedi who makes his debut in the released 'The My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves'.

Not only has the superstar been supporting Nikhil's starry dreams, he has also been making sure the wannabe is seen in public places with the superstar.

After making his presence felt at the music release of the film, Shah Rukh showed up at the film's premiere on Wednesday night with his leg obviously in pain.

The star had injured his leg while rehearsing his steps for the Screen awards.

"It was really very nice of him," said Nikhil. "The injury was an old one. But he hurt himself in the same leg while rehearsing for his performance at the awards."

Shah Rukh couldn't stay for the whole film. But promised to catch up with 'Anthony Gonsalves' in a couple of days. News Source : Samachar

Kat to go to London... with Sallu

Though Katrina has prior professional commitments, she’s trying to accompany Salman on his trip to Madame Tussaud’s, London, where his wax statue will be unveiled soon.

Will that put to rest the speculation about the status of their off-screen relationship?

Maybe, maybe not. But Salman and Katrina are very much together - on screen, at least. In fact, they will soon be making a special appearance in Atul Agnihotri’s Hello.

The film is based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel One Night @ a Call Centre. Atul, who is Salman’s brother-in-law, requested Salman and Katrina for brief cameos and they obliged. However, both Salman and Katrina have separate appearances in the film.

A source informs, “Yes, both Salman and Katrina have brief cameos in Hello. While Salman appears in a song sequence, Katrina will be seen as the woman on the train in one of the most crucial scenes in the film.”

That apart, this jodi will also be seen pairing up once again for Subhash Ghai’s Main Yuvraj. An excited Katrina says, “Yes, we’ve already completed one shooting schedule in Austria. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s too early to talk about the film, but it retains the essence of a typical Subhash Ghai film. It’s not a comedy. It will be more of an elaborate drama.” Anant Narayan

News Source : Samachar

Britney’s got a death wish

Britney Spears is so much in love with her new man, paparazzi boss Adnan Ghalib, that she’s considering converting to Islam to marry him.

In other plans demonstrating how fragile her mental state is at the moment, friends report the troubled popstar has also considered faking her own death in order to re-invent herself.

A pal tells the News Of The World, “She’s been discussing all these wacky plans to re-invent her life. She has discussed in depth a fake death, moving abroad and even plastic surgery. It is scary to hear her romanticise about these insane plans.

“She believes she could spend six months away and make a comeback as Britney, the world’s best mother.”

Spears has also talked about how important 35-year-old Ghalib is to her now. She reportedly told a doubting relative of his over the phone, “We’re taking care of each other. He’s the only one who understands me. It’s serious.”

Meanwhile, Spears staged a bizarre 48-hour cross-country escape in a dash for freedom last week. She set up elaborate decoys involving two private jets, dozens of security guards, limos and even police in an attempt to put pursuers off the scent.

Fleeing amid fears her parents want her sectioned, Spears and Ghalib checked into a hotel in Baja, Mexico, on Thursday. But her aides hoaxed the press into thinking she was flying to New Jersey or Hawaii — and set up minders at both airports.

At New Jersey, her security men even called in police for back-up as photographers rushed to the scene. Two blacked-out limos, including one she often uses, sped away.

By Friday, she and Ghalib were back in LA. Britney, clutching her dog and with rings under her eyes, was a picture of desperation.

Yet seven hours later, the pair was out on the town. She wore a pink wig and a jacket with the crude slogan ‘F**k Off Lover Boy’ and at one stage sucked on an inhaler.

One concerned pal said, “She’s a woman teetering on the edge of a precipice. She’s vulnerable and he’s [Ghalib] taking advantage of her.”

News Source : Samachar

Katie’s Suri is a strong woman!

Katie Holmes claims her 20-month-old daughter Suri is a very strong woman.

The former Dawson’s Creek actress says Suri, her daughter with husband Tom Cruise, is constantly teaching her things, and is a ‘magical’ person.

Katie says, “She’s a very strong woman. I’m very proud of her. She’s very smart and strong, and really magical.

She’s actually teaching me a lot all the time, probably more than I’m teaching her.” The 29-year-old actress recently revealed having Tom and their 20-month-old daughter Suri on set, while she filmed crime caper Mad Money with Queen Latifah made the job a ‘billion times better’.

She adds, “Having Suri and Tom on set was wonderful. You think you love to do something and then you have the people you love there. It makes it a billion times better and you didn’t realise you were missing that before. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, life can be this good’!”

News Source : Samachar

S Korea leader 'would meet Kim'

South Korea's incoming leader said he would meet his North Korean counterpart if it would help persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear activities.

President-elect Lee Myung-bak said he would meet Kim Jong-il "any time" if it would ease tensions in the region.

The former executive takes office on 25 February, following his landslide win in December's general election.

He advocates a tougher line towards the North, calling for greater concessions in return for South Korean aid.

Economic deals

Speaking at a news conference, Mr Lee said that he was willing to talk to Mr Kim.

"If it will be a help to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and improve South-North Korean relations, I can meet him any time," he said.

Such a meeting should be in Seoul, Mr Lee said, since the other two inter-Korean summits had taken place in Pyongyang.

In October, President Roh Moo-hyun travelled to North Korea for only the second ever meeting between leaders of the two nations, signing a declaration pledging closer economic ties.

Mr Lee said that his government would look at the feasibility of the economic agreements.

"October's inter-Korean summit agreements were those sealed in principle and lacking in details," Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying.

"My new government will study the implementation of the agreements from the perspective of feasibility, fiscal burdens on the people and the national consensus," he said.

Mr Lee has consistently linked progress on the nuclear issue to the provision of economic packages.

In February 2006, North Korea agreed to end its nuclear programme in return for aid and diplomatic incentives.

It subsequently closed its Yongbyon nuclear reactor but then missed a year-end deadline to provide a full declaration of all its nuclear activities.

Envoys from the five nations involved in the deal with North Korea have been holding talks in a bid to move the process forward.

Last week US negotiator Christopher Hill met Mr Lee in Seoul to discuss the issue.

News Source : BBC News

Bush tour heads for Saudi Arabia

US President George W Bush is set to continue his tour of the Middle East by flying to Saudi Arabia from its Gulf neighbour, the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Bush is hoping to gather support there for his twin missions of furthering the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and of isolating Iran.

In a speech on Sunday, he warned of the dangers posed by Iran, saying it should be confronted "before it's too late".

Mr Bush also made a forceful call for strengthening democracy in the region.

The president called the fight against extremism the great ideological struggle of our time, and said only freedom, justice and democracy would defeat it.

Iranian issue

The BBC's Matthew Price, who is travelling with the president, says the Bush family has long been close to the Saudi royal family.

In the capital, Riyadh, Mr Bush will meet not just good allies, but good friends, our correspondent says.

He is expected to ask King Abdullah to support his recent efforts in the Middle East peace process and in particular to back Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as he negotiates with the Israelis.

While visiting Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Thursday, Mr Bush said Israel had to end its occupation of some Arab land to enable the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

The president also expected to ask the king to support his efforts to isolate Iran over of its controversial nuclear programme.

In his speech in Abu Dhabi, he said Iran had defied the UN Security Council and destabilised the region by failing to be transparent about its nuclear programme.

He also described Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, accusing it of sending hundreds of millions of dollars to extremists around the world while its own people faced repression and economic hardship.

Our correspondent says, however, that the Saudi government, like other states in the region, are unlikely to be able to offer him much on the Iranian issue.

Relations between the Gulf kingdom and Iran have been tense in the past, but in recent months there seems to have been a steady improvement, he adds.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian president to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca last month.

News Source : BBC News

Democrats clash over civil rights

Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have clashed over remarks by Mrs Clinton on civil rights that she says were distorted by the Obama camp.

Black leaders criticised her for saying Martin Luther King's dream of equality came true when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

On Sunday she said Obama supporters had misrepresented this as a slur on King. Mr Obama denied accusing her of racism.

The black vote will be crucial in the South Carolina primary on 26 January.

It will be the first southern state to vote in the primary season.

Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton are leading the race to be the Democratic candidate in November's presidential election.

Both are aiming to build momentum before 22 states nominate their preferred candidate on 5 February, dubbed "Super Tuesday".

'Ludicrous'

The latest clash between the two Democratic frontrunners stem from remarks made by Mrs Clinton during a TV interview last week.

She said Mr "King's dream began to be realised when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964" - which could be interpreted as suggesting her experience should mean more to voters than Mr Obama's rhetoric.

In her later clarification on Sunday, she told NBC's Meet The Press talk show that some had misinterpreted as giving Mr Johnson more credit than Mr King.

"Dr King didn't just give speeches. He marched. He organised," she said.

"And he campaigned for political leaders including Lyndon Johnson because he wanted someone in the White House who would act on what he had devoted his life to achieving."

Mrs Clinton went on to say that the Obama campaign was "deliberately distorting" her words.

Mr Obama denied being the source of the adverse comment on her remarks.

"The notion that somehow this is our doing is ludicrous," he told reporters.

Open Republican field

More than half of South Carolina's Democratic voters are African-American.

Analysts say they are likely to vote for the 46-year-old Illinois senator, who aims to become the first black US president.

Mr Obama finished first in the Iowa caucuses in early January, but Mrs Clinton defied pollsters with a convincing victory in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, Republican contenders are focusing on Tuesday's Michigan primary.

John Mc Cain, who won the Republican race in New Hampshire. said his tenure as head of the Senate Commerce Committee qualified him to handle the economy.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani - who has not actively campaigned so far - denied that his campaign was running out of money and told Fox News he was skipping Michigan to focus on the Florida race on 29 January.

The Republican race is open - with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Senator Fred Thompson also regarded as strong candidates.

News Source : Samachar

Freed Colombia hostage sees son

A woman who gave birth to a boy while she was being held hostage by Farc rebels in Colombia has been reunited with her child after being freed.

Clara Rojas' son, Emmanuel, fathered by one of the rebels, was taken from her aged eight months suffering from malnutrition and tropical diseases.

Now nearly four, he has been living in a foster home in Bogota.

A government official present at the reunion said that it was "a very emotional moment".

Clara Rojas and fellow hostage Consuelo Gonzalez were freed on Thursday, after prolonged efforts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to broker the release.

But the Farc continue to hold about 700 people, including more than 40 high-profile hostages.

Among them are three US defence contractors and the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, whose presidential campaign Ms Rojas was managing when the pair were seized in 2002.

Son's drawing

Clara Rojas, 44, arrived in the Colombian capital on Sunday from Venezuela, where she had been flown immediately after her release.

Emmanuel had originally been expected to be part of the hostage release plan, but after DNA tests indicated that a boy in foster care in Bogota was Ms Rojas' son, the Farc admitted that they were no longer holding the boy.

Child psychologists showed the boy photographs of his mother to prepare him for the meeting. Photographs from the reunion show him giving his mother a drawing he had made for her.

"Emmanuel has been transferred with his mother to a special location," said Elvira Forero, director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, which has been caring for the boy.

"They had a six-hour get-to-know session today in hopes of restoring family ties."

She said Emmanuel would be "living with his mother temporarily until we finish all the paper work".

Ms Rojas has not given details about the boy's father, who is believed to have been a Farc guerrilla.

She told Colombian radio she had not been able to tell him about being pregnant. She said she did not know where he was and the rebels had often told her he was dead.

'Living again'

While she was happy to be reunited with her son, she remembered the hostages still being held - especially Ingrid Betancourt.

"I feel very happy to be here, I am reborn, I am living again," she said at Bogota's military airport, before she went to meet her son.

"I want to say hello to Ingrid... what I want most is that she could be here today" she said.

Ms Rojas said she had not seen Ms Betancourt for three years and their relationship had been strained by their inability to escape from captivity.

The two women tried once and failed - getting lost in the forest before their captors caught up with them again, and punished them by chaining them to a tree.

President Chavez on Sunday said that the Farc should stop taking hostages as part of their opposition to the Colombian government.

"I don't believe in kidnapping and I don't believe in armed struggle," he said.

He had earlier angered the Colombian authorities by calling for the international community to stop labelling the Farc "terrorists".

News Source : BBC News

Brad Hogg as guilty of abuse as Harbhajan | Kumble's U-turn

It's an issue raising eyebrows for almost a week — Australian spinner Brad Hogg has allegedly abused Indian captain Anil Kumble and his deputy, Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the ill-fated Sydney Test.

In a special show, CNN-IBN debated that if Hogg is also accused of abusing Indian players, he too should be facing the music, just like Harbhajan Singh.

Brad Hogg's hearing is slated to take place on Monday, when the ICC will decide whether action should be taken against him or not.

Meanwhile, what has kickstarted another row of sorts is a statement from Andrew Symonds on Saturday, when he said he didn't think Harbhajan Singh is his friend, and therefore, will not accept anything that comes from the Indian off-spinner. However, if the same word were to be used from a close friend, it would have been fine with him.

It seems as if if this is yet another instance of a mind game being played by Symonds, as he chose to go public with his views just hours before another important disciplinary hearing.

Delhi-based correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, Matt Wade said, "I can't really comment on what Symonds has said, because the statement has only just emerged, and I can't divine all the meaning in the comment. But there has been a general sense in Australia in the past week of uneasiness about the way some of the Australian cricketers have been behaving."

This leads to the next natural question — if there is a general sense of uneasiness across the country, then Brad Hogg should also be banned from playing the next three Test matches, the same as Harbhajan Singh.

"I don't think we can necessarily assume all these cases as the same. Let's see what evidence is presented in the Hogg appearance. Just because both those incidents happened in the same Test, doesn't necessarily mean they both are the same and that both players should be punished in the same way," Wade said.

However, if Harbhajan has been held up for racial slur against Symonds, Hogg too has used an abusive word against the Indian players. The difference is as distinct as a similarity.

"Maybe there is no difference. We have to see what all the facts of the case are. All I'm saying is, just because they are two events in the same Test, doesn't make them an equivalent," Wade concluded.

News Source : Samachar

Bike rider rapes Briton in Panaji

A 32-year-old British national was allegedly raped by a motorcycle rider who offered her a lift after a cultural event they both attended in the Goa capital on Friday night, police said.

“The lady has complained that she was taken to an open place and raped by an unknown person in Panaji,” deputy superintendent of police Mohan Naik said.

“We are awaiting medical examination reports of the victim who came to the police station in an injured condition,” Naik added.

This is the second case of abuse against foreigners in the tourist state over the past week. Earlier, a Russian woman had complained of molestation against a shack owner in south Goa who allegedly tried to drag her into a Jeep.

Police sources said the motorbike rider who allegedly assaulted the British woman could be tracked down with the help of passes issued for the cultural programme.

The sources said the woman, who had earlier decided to hire a taxi to return to her lodge, agreed to go with the accused on his bike as she had met him at the event.

Later, the sources said, the woman claimed he took her to an isolated spot on the city’s outskirts where he assaulted and raped her.

News Source : Samachar

Bin Laden's son wants UK visa to live with wife

Osama bin Laden's 26-year-old son has sought a British visa so that he and his granny bride can live in the country and have a surrogate child.

British Embassy officials in Cairo have interviewed Omar bin Laden who plans to settle down with his 52-year-old wife Jane Felix-Browne at her home in Cheshire, have a child through a surrogate mother and work as "peace activists", the Daily Mail reported in London on Sunday.

The son of the world's most wanted man and five-time divorcee Jane, now Zaina Al Sabah bin Laden, have given the British Embassy in Cairo – where they are currently living – access to their bank accounts to allow checks on authenticity of their relationship. Omar has recently divorced his first wife, the mother of his two-year-old son, to prove that his marriage to Jane is nothing but "genuine".

"The embassy staff are all very friendly and they are doing all the checks. It could take a while for the visa to come through but there's no reason in law why Omar and I should not be able to live in the United Kingdom together."

"It is very easy to get a tourist visa. Other members of Omar's family have had them, but we have applied for a settlement visa. We would stay in Cheshire where I have a house," Jane was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.

News Source : Samachar

NRI booked for molesting salesgirl

ASouth Africa-based NRI, Selwyn Shetty, was on Sunday booked for molesting a saleswoman of a department store near Nerul. A group of Shiv Sainiks then beat up Shetty and the manager of the store. They alleged that the manager didn’t take any action against Shetty. The accused was visiting his family in Kharghar. The incident took place at 4.30 pm at the store near Seawoods railway station.

The police said the victim was arranging biscuits when Shetty groped her and refused to let her go. She somehow extricated herself and told the manager and other salesgirls about it. The salesgirls beat up Shetty. “The man apparently molested the woman. after which locals beat him up. We are registering a molestation case against the man,” said SS Bahure, sr inspector, Seawoods police station.

News Source : Samachar

India’s best chance to beat Australia

Counter-intuitive as it sounds, Perth represents India’s best chance of defeating Australia.

That the touring side believes it can win — and this is neither bluff nor bluster — after a draining week says everything about Anil Kumble’s leadership. Is it any wonder that he has looked imaginative, enterprising and forceful in attack, but irritable and ceding in defence?

It outrages Kumble’s nature to defend, which is why the early switch from attack at Sydney was strange.

By all accounts, the conditions at Perth will encourage cricket that advances the third Test: the strip is expected to arrange pace and bounce; the Fremantle Doctor, Perth’s stiff cooling breeze, is likely to favour swing. Kumble should be in his element as captain.

But, a couple of matters are pending resolution.

The Indians arrived here in Canberra, hoping to road-test an out-of-touch opener, an out-of-sorts number six, and the options for a third seamer.

Wasim Jaffer made runs, Yuvraj Singh didn’t, and Irfan Pathan out-bowled Pankaj Singh and V. R.V. Singh, though it isn’t saying much.

Two contenders for a batting spot, Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik, made the additional day — appended to the tour game at the last minute — count. So, where does that leave India?

Two decisions

Kumble will have to make two separate decisions, but the nature of side-composition will ensure they overlap.

The first — the assigning of rank here is the writer’s — pertains to the balance of the bowling attack.

Does Kumble play his four best bowlers (as judged in evenly-weighted conditions) or does he adopt that old favourite — horses for courses?

India’s four best bowlers on the evidence of the first two Tests and the tour game here are R. P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and the captain himself.

R. P. Singh responded magnificently in Sydney to the responsibility of leading the attack in just his ninth Test.

He has a lovely, loose left arm and a faultless wrist — the tools for whippy pace and swing.

Despite bowling well within himself here, he picked a wicket in each spell.

Ishant was luckless and consequently wicketless at the SCG. But, his fortune seemed to turn in the tour game, where he was rewarded for his hostility.

His natural angle across the left-handers and lift from a 6ft 6in frame troubled Australia’s top-order in the second Test; encouragingly, he showed signs of straightening the ball to the right-hander, if not genuine cut away, as he squared Ricky Ponting up.

R. P. Singh and Ishant are certain to play at Perth: so debilitating have been India’s problems with injury that a 22-year-old and a 19-year-old are shouldering the seam attack.

The presence of Zaheer Khan (who left Sydney after a long-standing heel injury played up) or Sreesanth (home with an injured shoulder) would have added immeasurably; it also would have made up Kumble’s mind on a third seamer.

Instead, the Indian captain will need to choose between Harbhajan and Pathan (the alternative, Pathan for Yuvraj, is part of Kumble’s second decision and will be discussed later). The off-spinner has looked world-class whenever he has bowled with flight, slowing himself both in delivery and through the air.

He will appreciate the bounce at Perth. Moreover, he has the wood on Ponting.

Knowing Kumble, if Harbhajan is selected — as he can be, awaiting the verdict of the appeal against the three-Test ban — it will be on cricketing merit and not to prove a point.

Pathan swung the new ball here at the Manuka Oval, but surprisingly didn’t appear to hurry any of the batsmen.

Since un-knotting his action under T. A. Sekar, the left-armer has hit the early 140s (kmph) in ODIs, though he has also taken to bowling cutters with the ’keeper standing up in the middle-overs.

Fierce competitor

In the Test against Pakistan, he did enough on a slow track to suggest the correction in action was beginning to pay.

Also in Pathan’s favour is the fact that he’s a fierce competitor who steps his game up against Australia.

Although Pathan can do no worse than Yuvraj with the bat, it’s unlikely he’ll replace him at six.

In bowler-friendly conditions, playing six specialist batsmen and four bowlers is prudent, for you need every run as a bargaining chip, and four bowlers, if selected wisely, work as five.

Sehwag, who should have played at Sydney, must be slotted in. But, here it gets tricky: open with him and displace Rahul Dravid and perhaps V. V. S. Laxman or bat him at six in a straight swap?

News Source : Samachar

Two more names for Bharat Ratna

The unprecedented demand for the Bharat Ratna this year is growing by the day. The most recent additions to the eminent group of politicians whose names have been proposed for the country's highest civilian award are former prime ministers late Chaudhury Charan Singh and Chandrashekhar.

While the Rashtriya Lok Dal has proposed the name of Singh, Chandrashekhar's name was suggested by the Bhartiya Bhojpuri Samaj.

RLD secretary, Anil Dubey said the party had earlier demanded that Singh be bestowed the honour. BBS president Anup Pandey said Chandrashekhar was known for his pre-independence and post-independence national interest movements and should be honoured.

News Source : Samachar

Caterpillars on Indian roads

With infrastructure activity on an overdrive in India, truck manufacturers from across the world are working hard to grab a sizeable slice in the Indian truck market pie.

Be it Volvo of Sweden or Man of Germany or Kamaz of Russia or home grown new entrant Asia Motor Works, truck-makers are looking at the Indian market with renewed interest as was evident at the ongoing 9th Auto Expo 2008.

"With heightened activity in the infrastructure sector, better road infrastructure and the Supreme Court directive banning overloading of trucks, the demand for higher tonnage trucks has increased tremendously. We are focusing on Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) in the 25 to 49 tonnes payload capacity," Anirudh Bhuwalka, managing director and chief executive officer of AMW said.

Looking at the growing market Bhuwalka said AMW will ramp up its production facility at Bhuj to 50,000 units by August-September from 10,000 units now.

"Increase in mining activity has opened up a large new segment of high capacity dumper trucks, the demand for the dumpers will remain very impressive in the next few years," he added.

Bhuwalka, said "AMW is the first company to launch the 49 ton (payload capacity) trucks in India. The HCV segment is expected to clock high growth with a potential market size of 300,000 units per annum. We expect to sell more than 1,000 units of our 31 ton capacity trucks in the next fiscal year."

With mining and infrastructure sector growing by 4.9 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively, truck makers take notice of the Indian market.

MAN Force Trucks, the joint venture project of Force Motors of India and MAN Nutzfahrzeuge of Germany is also looking to sell about 6,000 units in 2008-09 from 900 units now, according to Sanjeev Kashyap, general manager of the company.

Kashyap feels the demand for 500 horsepower trucks that can handle over-dimensional cargo (for ports, power-plants), which is about 500 units, is likely to go up to 800 units in the next two years.

Volvo's vice president sales, Somnath Bhattacharjee feels charged infrastructure activity would lead to improvement in truck technology in the Indian market.

"The demand for high performance trucks with the capacity of handling over dimensional cargo will definitely see an increase. Though it's a small market it is very significant," Bhattacharjee said.

Russia's leading truck manufactures have tied up with Hosur based Vectra to sell completely built units of 18-ton (payload capacity) tippers for the mining sector and 40-ton payload capacity tractor-trailer.

News Source : Samachar

Policemen misbehave with Spanish girl in Lucknow

Two policemen allegedly misbehaved with a Spanish girl at Bhulbhulaiya in Bara Imambara in Lucknow, police said on Sunday.

The girl accompained by her mother, a Professor in IIT, Kanpur and a Japanese educationist had gone to visit Bara Imambara when two homeguards allegedly misbehaved with her, SP (West) AK Rai said.

The two were later caught by members of the Hussainabad trust and handed over to the police, he said adding narcotics substace was also recovered from them.

The homeguards have been taken into custody and a probe is on, SP (West) AK Rai said.

News Source : Samachar