India Trying to Get 129 Votes to Get Hindi as UN Language: Sushma Swaraj

NEW DELHI:  India needs 129 votes in the UN to get Hindi included as one of the official languages in the world body, and the financial burden was not a problem, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Hindi World Conference being held next month in Bhopal, Sushma said: "The way India's global stature is growing... for the International Day of Yoga, we got 177 votes, our morale has gone up.

"And we are now trying for permanent membership in the UN Security Council. We feel after we get permanent membership, the work (of getting Hindi included in the UN) will become easier," she said.

"We are busy trying to get the 129 votes, the financial burden is not a question," she said.

The minister said India was willing to bear the financial burden if it works out.

Hindi is spoken by over half a billion people in the world.

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh told the Rajya Sabha in May: "India is taking necessary measures for popularising the use of Hindi and its acceptance as an international language.

"A World Hindi Secretariat has been set up in Mauritius to promote Hindi as an international language. The 10th World Hindi Conference is being organised in Bhopal on September 10-12. The prime minister addressed the 69th UN General Assembly in Hindi, on September 27, 2014. Necessary arrangements were made for simultaneous interpretation of his statement into English."

He said the government's "sustained efforts have also ensured that the UN offers programmes on the UN Radio website in Hindi".

The government has continued its efforts towards securing due recognition to Hindi in the UN, and inclusion of Hindi as one of its official languages, he said.

In July 2014, he had told the Rajya Sabha that the total cost provisioned by the UN on providing services in all its six official languages was approximately $492 million for two years -- and services in one language cost $41 million per annum.

"This cost is for provision of overall services including documentation, translation, interpretation, verbatim reporting, printing etc. in all the four UN offices -- New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.

"In case of including Hindi as an official language, there would be additional cost for providing infrastructure/equipment and space for additional interpreters.

"Expenditure incurred towards introduction of a new official language is borne by member states based on the scale of assessment," he said.

ITC to Enter Dairy Market with Ghee

   

The company's ambitious dairy business will rollout in the next few years, other products following ghee will include packaged milk, butter, cheese and chocolates to take on category leaders such as Amul, Nestle, PepsiCo, Hindustan Unilever and Dabur.

"Work on this plan is at various stages and when we are ready, we will launch products based on how the market evolves," Puri said, adding that ITC has identified areas across the country where they would expand dairy production over a period of time.

While Mr Puri did not ascertain the exact investment that has gone into setting up the dairy business as it is "an ongoing process", he said a "significant portion" of the targeted investment of Rs 25,000 crore for ITC over the next few years would be in foods.

The company has set up a milk processing unit in Munger, in Bihar, and there are plans to set up similar processing facilities in other parts of the country as well.

The Kolkata-headquartered business group also entered the non-aerated juice market last fiscal and launched seven variants under the B-Natural brand in January, which Mr Puri said saw robust double-digit growth in both the South and East where they began marketing.
   
ITC's stated vision is to see its revenue go up to Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2030 from the new FMCG businesses. It saw a revenue of Rs 6,411 crore in 2014-15.

Jennifer Aniston Lands $5 Million Deal With Airline

"JENNIFER ANISTON HAS SHOT A HIGH-PROFILE CAMPAIGN FOR EMIRATES, FOR WHICH SHE IS BEING PAID AROUND $5 MILLION. SHE WILL APPEAR ACROSS TV AND PRINT ADS WORLDWIDE," A SOURCE SAID
Actress Jennifer Aniston has reportedly struck a $5 million deal with airline company Emirates to endorse it.

The deal came after Emirates' rival, Etihad Airways, roped in actress Nicole Kidman to feature in their advertisements.

"Jennifer Aniston has shot a high-profile campaign for Emirates, for which she is being paid around $5 million. She will appear across TV and print ads worldwide," a source told NYPost's PageSix.

Jennifer is currently enjoying quality time with her new husband Justin Theroux in Bora Bora islands.

The couple jetted off for a romantic honeymoon after getting married in front of family and friends at their Bel Air mansion in a surprise ceremony earlier this month.

Deepika Padukone: What Shah Rukh and I Share is Very Special

"I DON'T THINK ANY OF THESE ARTICLES WILL COME IN THE WAY OF MY EQUATION WITH SHAH RUKH. I THINK WHAT HE AND I SHARE IS KNOWN TO US, IT'S VERY SPECIAL," DEEPIKA SAID WHEN ASKED TO COMMENT ABOUT REPORTS THAT SRK WAS UPSET WITH HER
Actress Deepika Padukone says there are no issues between her and superstar Shah Rukh Khan and says he was the first to congratulate her for setting up her foundation.

When asked about the recent reports that SRK was upset with her, Deepika said, "Ironically, while all of you were probably reading that article, he was messaging me and congratulating me for my foundation as I launched the logo of my foundation. He was actually one of the first people I spoke to, when I was thinking of setting it up. And he's always been very encouraging and supportive."

The Live Love Laugh Foundation is dedicated to addressing the issue of mental health in India.

Deepika had tweeted an image of her forthcoming film Bajirao Mastani with the hashtag a#challengeaccepted' which reportedly referred to the box office clash between the film and Shah Rukh's Dilwale.

Both the films are scheduled for release on December 18. The grapevine suggested that SRK was miffed with Deepika because of the tweet, which the actress subsequently deleted.

"First of all, I find it really amazing how some picture of my film that I've put with a certain hashtag is connected with some other film and blown out of proportion. Having said that, I don't think any of these articles will come in the way of my equation with Shah Rukh. I think what he and I share is known to us, it's very special," added Deepika, who attended the launch of a special collection of an eyewear brand.

Deepika made her film debut with Shah Rukh in Om Shanti Om and went on to act with the superstar in films like Chennai Express and Happy New Year.

Deepika, Ranbir Create Tamasha at Party, Break Down on Last Day of Shoot

Deepika and Ranbir photographed at the wrap-party of their film Tamasha in Mumbai on August 8
EXPLAINING HIS BREAKDOWN, RANBIR SAID, "I DON'T THINK WE GOT EMOTIONAL THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN. I THINK WE ALL WERE VERY HAPPY. FOR ME, IT WAS MY SECOND FILM WITH IMTIAZ, MY SECOND FILM WITH SAJID BHAI AND MY THIRD FILM WITH DEEPIKA. SO, I WAS VERY OVERWHELMED BECAUSE THIS FILM FINISHED VERY FAST"
Bollywood actors, former flames Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone attended the wrap party of their upcoming film Tamasha in Mumbai on August 8.

Deepika, effortlessly trendy in a black off-shoulder Zara top and ripped jeans, was photographed having a great time with Ranbir; Tamasha director Imtiaz Ali, who reportedly hosted the get-together; and the film's producer Sajid Nadiadwala.

Sajid's wife Wardha and UTV's Sidharth Roy Kapur were also spotted at the do.

Earlier, the grapevine was abuzz with the rumour of an emotional Deepika and Ranbir breaking down on the sets of the film on the last day of the shoot. A report in DNA quoted a source as saying, "It was the last day of our shoot and the final days do tend to get emotional for the whole unit. But this was something else altogether. Both Ranbir and Deepika broke down. We were all taken aback, since these two are not known to be demonstrative of their emotions."

Ranbir, however, told news agency IANS on Sunday that his emotional breakdown on the sets of the film had been blown out of proportion. The actor clarified, "I don't think we got emotional the way it was written. I think we all were very happy. For me, it was my second film with Imtiaz, my second film with Sajid bhai and my third film with Deepika. So, I was very overwhelmed because this film finished very fast. We never felt the duration of this film," he said.

A large part of Tamasha, which releases next year, is believed to have been shot in the French island destination of Corsica. Tamasha, is Deepika and Ranbir's second film together after the 2013 hit Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. It is also Deepika's second project with Imtiaz Ali after 2009's Love Aaj Kal.

Meanwhile, Ranbir and Imtiaz, who are known to be close, last collaborated on Rockstar (2011).

UK Woman Loses Vision After Mosquito Bites

LONDON:  In a rare medical case, a 69-year-old woman in the UK has permanently lost some of the vision in her right eye after she caught chikungunya fever while vacationing in the Caribbean, doctors including one of Indian-origin say.

A new report of the woman's case suggests that vision problems may be an underreported effect of the mosquito-transmitted virus.

"Sight-threatening visual loss can be a late complication of infection with chikungunya," said Dr Abhijit Mohite, who treated the woman and co-authored the report of her case.

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It is important that people with vision problems get treatment early, to prevent lasting vision loss, said Mohite, an ophthalmologist at the West Midlands Postgraduate Deanery and Queen's Hospital in the UK.

The woman had visited the Caribbean island of Grenada in July 2014. During her stay, she was bitten by mosquitoes, and developed a flu-like illness, fever, rash and joint pain.

Although the illness of the woman, who returned home to the UK that August, appeared to go away, she began having trouble seeing with her right eye.

"Her main symptom was that she felt she could not see the lower half of her vision in the right eye," Mohite told 'Live Science'.

"This had come about only a day before she came to see us, and about three weeks after she returned from Grenada," said Mohite.

Two days after her initial visit, a blood test showed the woman had chikungunya. But the doctors still had to rule out other possible causes of her vision loss, Mohite said.

During the six days that it took for the doctors to run all the tests and prescribe the steroids, about half of the nerve cells in woman's optic nerve died, he said.

The steroids decreased the inflammation, but couldn't undo all of the damage.

"The steroids, unfortunately, were not started soon enough in our patient," Mohite said. The vision loss was permanent, researchers said.

This is the first known case of a woman in the UK developing this problem, Mohite added.

Indo-Canadian Police Officer Found Guilty of Punching Cyclist

OTTAWA:  A Canadian court has found an Indo-Canadian police officer guilty of punching a cyclist while arresting him two years ago, a media report said.

The Vancouver provincial court on Friday found Ismail Bhabha, who migrated from England some years ago after marrying a Canadian woman, guilty of the single charge of assault in September 2013 while attempting to handcuff a cyclist for breaking traffic rules, Canada-based South Asian Link Newspaper reported.

The Police Complaints Commission had ordered the West Vancouver police to investigate the officer after a YouTube video surfaced of the officer striking a man.

Bhabha said he was trying to arrest the cyclist because he blew through a red light in Yaletown and was not wearing a helmet.

Police also described the cyclist's behaviour as "confrontational" before his arrest.

Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer described Bhabha as "a good police officer", adding that "just recently, he saved somebody's life".

A police spokesperson said Bhabha would remain in his current position in patrol until the court proceedings were completed.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November.

Virat Kohli Congratulates Michael Clarke for 'Magnificent Cricket Journey'

Michael Clarke will bid adieu to international cricket after the fifth and final Ashes Test against England from August 20 -- a decision which was prompted by his team's 1-3 loss in the marquee series.
Colombo: Lauding Michael Clarke's leadership, Indian Test captain Virat Kohli on Saturday congratulated the retiring Australian skipper for his "magnificent cricket journey" which would end with the fifth and final Ashes Test against England.
"Congratulations @MClarke23 on a magnificent cricket journey; a fine captain with numbers backing his records! Good Luck Mate," Kohli tweeted as he praised Clarke.
Clarke will bid adieu to international cricket after the fifth and final Ashes Test against England from August 20 -- a decision which was prompted by his team's 1-3 loss in the marquee series.
The 34-year-old, whose prolific career has been marred by injuries, announced his decision at the end of the fourth Test yesterday in Nottingham.
Clarke responded to Kohli's tweet by thanking the Indian, who is gearing up to lead the team in the Test series against Sri Lanka starting August 12.
"Thanks buddy. I wish you and the Indian team all the best for the future," tweeted the affable Australian.
Clarke was also congratulated for his fine career by senior Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
"Congratulations to @MClarke23 on his wonderful career,u will go down as one of the finest leaders the game has seen.Good luck going forward," he tweeted.
Clarke's 114 Test appearances so far have yielded 8,628 runs at an impressive average of 49.30. He scored 7,981 runs in 245 ODIs at an average of 44.58.
Clarke retired from ODIs after leading Australia to a fifth World Cup title this year. Never too keen on the Twenty20s, Clarke quit the format back in 2010 after playing just 34 matches.

The Ashes: James Anderson Returns to Engand Squad for Oval Test

James Anderson missed the fourth Ashes Test due to a side strain. England lead the series 3-1 and following Saturday's victory over Australia have regained the Ashes.
Fast bowler James Anderson returned to the 14-man squad for the fifth and final Ashes Test beginning August 20 at the Kia Oval. Anderson, who missed the fourth Test through injury, is continuing his recovery from a side strain and will be monitored closely in the build up to the final Test in the series. (Root Climbs to No.1 Spot in Test Rankings)
National selector James Whitaker said: "James Anderson is continuing to improve and with ten days to go before the Test may be able to play a part at the Oval although with the series won we will not be taking any chances given the cricket we have in the coming months. I have no doubt the players will want a strong finish to the series and we can look forward to another entertaining Test match." (Michael Clarke to Retire | 'Brave and Daring' Leader)
England lead the series 3-1 and following Saturday's victory over Australia have regained the Ashes with one Test remaining in the series.
"On behalf of the selectors I would like to congratulate Alastair Cook, Trevor Bayliss and all involved in the last month. Regaining the Ashes is a superb achievement and is down to 18 months of hard work from the players and coaches and support from a lot of people since the last series in Australia. The contributions of so many different players at key times throughout the series so far is hugely encouraging," Whitaker added. (Australia's Ashes Jinx After Successful World Cups - Mere Numbers or Australia's Poor Skills?)
England squad for 5th Test: Alastair Cook (Captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood

India Warns TV Stations Over Criticism of Hanging

NEW DELHI:  India's government on Friday accused three television networks of violating broadcasting regulations by showing interviews that criticized the execution of Yakub Memon, hanged last month for bombings that killed 257 people in Mumbai in 1993.

In formal notices to the three networks, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the interviews were improper because they "cast aspersions on the integrity" of India's judicial system. The notices require the three networks - NDTV, ABP News and Aaj Tak - to explain why they should not face a possible broadcast suspension.

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The move drew immediate protest from India's Broadcast Editors' Association, which said the notices were a "questionable pretext" for a larger government campaign to control news coverage. The association, representing top television news editors, cited several other "selective" actions by federal and state governments, including threats of defamation lawsuits and a new rule that limits news coverage of antiterrorism operations to "periodic briefings" by government press officers. "Media coverage cannot be restricted to official briefings," the association said in a statement on Saturday.

The notices come one week after the government abruptly ordered Internet service providers to block 857 pornography websites. Officials were forced to rescind the ban in the face of a furious backlash, but the episode fueled a growing perception that the government is quietly seeking greater control over what its citizens read or watch. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is overseen by Arun Jaitley, one of the most powerful and influential members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet, did not respond on Saturday to phone and email messages seeking comment.

In interviews, television news executives said they were stunned by the government's crackdown, especially since all three networks gave significant airtime to government officials who defended Memon's execution. Until now, they said, government officials have usually been content to take their complaints over coverage to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority, an independent body set up by TV networks to police unfair or unethical news coverage.

"We don't think we have violated any regulation at all," said Sonia Singh, the editorial director of NDTV. "We feel our coverage was extremely fair and balanced. However, we are looking at the notice and will respond to the ministry."

The ministry cited ABP News and Aaj Tak, two popular Hindi-language networks, for their telephone interviews with a man known as Chhota Shakeel, a Mumbai underworld figure whom authorities have accused of helping plan the 1993 Mumbai bombings.

Shakeel, who has avoided arrest, called numerous Indian news organizations to angrily denounce Memon's execution. He told The Times of India it was "a legal murder." He told ABP News that Memon was hanged for the crimes of his brother, Tiger Memon, the alleged bombing mastermind who remains at large. "This is not justice; this is vengeance," he told Aaj Tak.

In the case of NDTV, the ministry's notice took issue with a 20-minute program the network broadcast on Aug. 1 called "Truth vs. Hype: The Riddle of Yakub Memon."

The program, hosted by Sreenivasan Jain, one of India's most respected broadcasters, carefully sifted through a controversy that erupted days before Memon's execution - whether India's intelligence and law enforcement agencies betrayed him by reneging on a promise to spare him the death penalty in exchange for his cooperation in describing how the bombings were planned, financed and executed.

Jain presented both sides of the dispute, interviewing those who said Memon was betrayed and scapegoated, as well as a former senior police official who said the only promise made to Memon was that he would receive "the great justice of India."

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting took issue with comments made at the end of the program by Majeed Memon, one of Memon's former lawyers. (The two men are not related.) The lawyer pointed to a defendant who he said was pardoned despite playing "10 times more" of a role in the bombings than Memon.

"If you show this pardon to any person outside India - U.K. authorities or U.S. authorities or the best brains in the world as far as criminal law is concerned - they will laugh at you," Majeed Memon said. "They will laugh at you. They'll say, 'Is this justice?'"

He went on to emphasize that he was not criticizing India's Supreme Court, which rejected Memon's final appeal only hours before his hanging at dawn on July 30. "I salute the Supreme Court for having at least afforded to him even the last opportunity at 3 a.m.," he said.

According to the ministry's notice, this interview "not only questioned the judicial system of India, but tended to denigrate the very institution by hinting that it was not at par with the judicial systems existing in the U.K. and U.S."

Naga Rebels Impose 7-Fold Tax on Traders, 27 per cent on Government Employees

DIMAPUR:  "The demand letters come by March, April and we need to pay up within a month," Akali, (name changed) a Dimapur-based entrepreneur said. Two more slips demanding payments - euphemistically called tax - issued by NSCN (IM) and other by Naga National Council (Accordist) lay on her table.

The total demand levied on her business by two groups was Rs 2.5 lakh. "Taxation has gone beyond our reach, there are 9 factions of the underground and each of them claims they have a right to collect tax," she said. "No one wants to die for nothing," she said when asked whether anyone had approached the police.

Every shop big or small, business, enterprise in Nagaland pays militants groups like NSCN(IM), NSCN (Unification), NSCN (Khaplang) and other groups. The militant groups call it tax to run their "revolutionary government".

So how it all work? Simple, truck entering Nagaland is taxed as are merchandise it is carrying. Subsequently, when goods reach the warehouse, a fresh levy - the Godown tax - is imposed. Militant groups also tax the wholesaler and retailer separately.

"Each item is taxed at least 7 times," says Mr Khekiye K Sema, a retired IAS officer and few people who are campaigning against illegal taxes levied by the militant groups. He says, "If the government raises 50 crore as tax, the Indian underground raises at least 5 to 10 times more tax than that."

Just as the business community is getting together to oppose these illegal levies by forming groups like Association Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT), villagers, too, have joined in. This February, women of the Old Showuba armed with just sticks drove away at least 20 militants of various groups who gathered each day at crucial junction to extort money from tax. "They (the militants) used this location for long. It was unacceptable and unbearable, so we decided to get rid of them," Ajika, a member of Women Action Committee, told NDTV. For 60 days women took turns to sit for vigil till the time the militants stopped coming.

What is ironic is that government employees also pay 24 per cent of their earnings as tax to the underground. "There is no option, the disbursing officer deducts 24 per cent when releasing salary and then pays the underground," said Mr Sema. He added, "People don't mind paying to support the Naga movement, but multiple taxation by multiple groups was harming the economy and killing entrepreneurship in Nagaland."

When contacted, the NSCN(IM) said that groups like ACAUT had vested interests. The NSCN (Unification) said while it agreed that business and enterprise had point, a revolutionary government also could collect taxes.

Despite a fresh peace agreement at hand, on the ground it is still not clear whether or not multiple and oppressive system of illegal levies will end and most importantly whether cadre will agree to give up its weapons.

Army Foils Infiltration Bid Along Line of Control in Kashmir

SRINAGAR:  The Army today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district.

The troops noticed a group of terrorists trying to sneak into this side from across the LoC at Jumagund Nar in Keran sector, an Army officer said.

He said the troops challenged the terrorists who indulged in indiscriminate firing.

The troops returned the fire triggering an encounter, the officer said. He said the operation was going on and further details were awaited.

This is the second encounter between terrorists and army near the LoC in the district in the last 24 hours.

A soldier was killed and two others were injured in an overnight gunbattle in Tangdhar sector of Kupwara.

Railways to Come up With Time Table for Freight Operation

Railways to Come up With Time Table for Freight OperationNEW DELHI:  Aiming at a paradigm shift in the freight operations, Indian Railways will come out with a Time Table for goods train movement, a first for the public transporter, to attract more loadings and improve the delivery schedule.

Currently passenger trains get preference over the movement of freight trains on the busy tracks across the country which causes delay and uncertainty over the time schedule for delivery of goods.

Goods trains are kept in loop lines to allow passenger trains to pass as most of the trunk lines face congestion, said Adesh Sharma, Managing Director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC).

DFCC is a Special Purpose Vehicle set up by railways to undertake planning and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors in the country. Currently DFCC is involved in construction of two corridors - the Western DFC (1504 km) and Eastern DFC (1856 km)- spanning a
total length of about 3,360 km.

The railways used to carry about 80 per cent of total goods transported in the country but over time its share got reduced to 36 per cent, with the rest shifting to roads.

"Once the two corridors, which are being constructed for exclusive movement of goods trains, are operational then we will be able to shift goods transportation from the roads to rails as we will come out with a Time Table for freight operation," Mr Sharma said.

The DFC is expected to be commissioned in phases from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and a small section of 56 km in Bihar in the Eastern Corridor is expected to be opened to traffic in the current fiscal.

The movement of goods will be faster and we will ensure the goods reach within 20 hours from Delhi to Mumbai or Kolkata, once the two corridors become fully operational, he said.

The Eastern Corridor, starting from Dankuni in West Bengal, will pass through the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to terminate at Ludhiana in Punjab.

The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), will traverse through the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Besides the Time Table, Mr Sharma said a series of steps is being worked out to attract the loadings on the DFC.

While the speed of goods train will go up to 100 km per hour as against the current speed of 25 km per hour, frequency of freight movement will also increase significantly.

As per the plan, DFC stations will be equipped with modern systems and loco drivers will have Mobile Radio Train Communication System for constant communication with control room.

The DFC network would attract setting up of Multimodal Logistics Parks along the corridor to facilitate value addition including packaging, retailing, labeling and transportation.

Air India Plans to Replace Ageing A320s on Gulf Routes

NEW DELHI:  National carrier Air India plans to deploy new fuel-efficient planes on the Gulf routes, replacing A320 classic aircraft after questions were raised about the safety of passengers flying its ageing fleet, sources said.
   
The airline currently has 15 Airbus A320 classic, including one on lease, in its fleet of 103 aircraft.

"We have decided to move away the old classic A320 fleet from the Gulf routes and replace it with the new leased A320s current engine option (ceo) from the coming winter," airline sources told PTI.

The state-run airline has already announced its plans to replace 19 A320 planes as part of its ageing A320s replacement programme.

It has entered into a deal with a Chinese firm for five sharklets-equipped A320 (ceo) aircraft and all these planes are to be inducted into the fleet for the winter schedule, which commences from the last Sunday of October.

Besides, the airline has also tied-up with a leading Kuwaiti aircraft lessor to dry lease another 14 A320Neos (new engine option) planes, which are to be inducted between April 2017 and March 2018.

The airline's narrow-body fleet forum, Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) had in March sought grounding of the 26-year-old fleet of Airbus A320s by the aviation regulator DGCA on the ground that the planes were not "technically" fit to fly.

"The A-320 classic aircraft which are 26 years old (one of the oldest in the world) are being operated with repetitive snags endangering flight safety... DGCA should not permit AI to operate these lethal snag-prone classic aircraft for passenger safety," ICPA had said in a letter to the DGCA prompting a rebuttal by the airline.

Besides, Air India is also mulling to service some of tier-II/III cities with narrow-body A319s and A320s, which are currently being catered to by smaller aircraft, they said adding, "these cities have a huge traffic potential and could be tapped in a big way with such planes."

"As far as the capacity deployment for the winter schedule is concerned we have not added too many new flights. This time, however, we have departed from the conventional schedule and instead opted for a flexible one," the sources said.

Air India has decided to marginally reduce its domestic operations during the winter and has proposed to fly 1,705 flights a week as against 1,718 being operated by it during the on-going summer schedule, which would come to an end on the last Saturday of October.

BJP to Recite Prayers at Polling Booths in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam Constituency

BHOPAL:  BJP has stoked a controversy by announcing that its workers will recite 'Hanuman Chalisa' twice every week near the 2000 polling booths in Ratlam Lok Sabha seat ahead of the bypoll.

An outraged opposition alleged that BJP was trying to polarise voters as the so-called "Modi wave" was now over.

"We are reciting 'Hanuman Chalisa' (hymns in prayer of Lord Hanuman' on Tuesdays and Saturdays near the 2,000-odd polling booths of the ST reserved Ratlam Lok Sabha (formerly known as Ratlam-Jhabua) constituency," party's state executive member Daulat Bhawsar said.

The elections are like a "mahayudh" (big war) and no one should feel offended if the name of Lord Hanuman, who is as 'sankatmochan' or the trouble-shooter, is recited before going to the battlefield, Mr Bhawsar said.

"It brings our party cadres under one roof and promotes unity and interaction, which are required to win elections," he said.

One of the principles of BJP is to promote cultural nationalism, "so we are doing it by means of 'Hanuman Chalisa", Mr Bhawsar told PTI.

He refuted allegations that they were dragging the name of Lord Hanuman to communalise the election and polarise voters.

However, the Congress criticised the BJP's move.

"BJP is looking up to heavens as the Modi wave is now over. Besides, the tribals have come to know the real face of BJP after the expose of the Vyapam scam - a major recruitment and admission scandal in MP," Congress' former MLA from Jhabua, Javier Meda said.

The by-election for Ratlam LS seat, spread over eight Assembly constituencies of Ratlam, Jhabua and Alirajpur districts, was necessitated following the death of Dilip Singh Bhuria, a prominent tribal face of BJP, last month.

The seat had been the forte of Congress since Independence. But last time around, former Union Minister and Congress nominee Kantilal Bhuria lost the election to BJP's Dilip Singh Bhuria by a margin of 1.12 lakh votes. Prior to it, the Congress had lost the election from the seat to Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1977.

Jacqueline Fernandez: I Trust Salman Khan Blindly

"SALMAN WILL ALWAYS BE THAT SPECIAL PERSON IN MY LIFE BECAUSE HE WAS ABLE TO CHANGE MY CAREER. I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR ME," SAID JACQUELINE
Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez said that she trusts Salman Khan blindly as the superstar has given a Kick to her career.

"Salman will always be that special person in my life because he was able to change my career. I will never ever forget what he has done for me. On the personal front too, he has advised me as a friend and family, something I couldn't have even asked for," Jacqueline told PTI.

The 29-year-old actress, who played Salman's leading lady in the 2014 hit film Kick, said that the film took her career to a new height.

"Salman is genuinely a nice man who helps people. He is someone who I trust blindly. I think he has been an important person in my life," she added.

Jacqueline also said that she consults the Dabbang star regarding her films. "I do take his advice as he knows the best. He knows what works, he understands the audience well. He also told me that whosoever's advice I take, ultimately the final decision has to be mine," she said.

She said that she has signed three films this year and is looking forward to shoot five movies next year.

"After Kick, this year I did three films. Next year I will be hopefully shooting five films. Kick has taken me where I had wished to be. It is because Kick happened, that I got the opportunity to work every day," she said.

Kick producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Salman would be teaming up again for the sequel of Kick which is Kick 2. However, Jacqueline will not be a part of it.

"I will miss being a part of Kick 2. But the great part is that I was a part of the first project and no one can take that away from me," she said.

Jacqueline will soon be seen in Brothers, which also features Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra.

Brothers is slated to release on August 14.

This 12-Year-Old UK Girl's IQ is Higher than Hawking and Einstein

LONDON:  A 12-year-old girl in the UK has achieved the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, which could make her brainier than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

Nicole Barr, of Harlow, Essex, got a perfect 162 on the Mensa test.

The score puts the tween in the top one per cent of brightest people in the world and means she is more intelligent than physicist Hawking, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Einstein, who are all thought to have an IQ of 160.

"She's a hard, hard working child. She stays after school for homework club and never misses a day," said her mother Dolly Buckland, 34.

"From a young age she's been picking out mistakes in books and  magazines. She's a happy, fun-loving girl who is always asking for extra homework," she was quoted as saying by 'mirror.co.uk'.

"When I found out I got such a high score, it was so unexpected. I was shocked," said Nicole who received her IQ test results last week.

"Nicole's IQ puts her comfortably within the top one per cent of the population," said Mensa Spokesman Ann Clarkson.

The girl, who is a Year 7 student in Burnt Mill Academy, enjoys reading, singing and drama.

At primary school, Nicole was several years ahead of her peers and could tackle complex algebra before the age of ten.

World's First Ant Map Launched in Hong Kong

HONG KONG:  The world's first ever ant map showing the distribution of the tiny industrious creature around the globe was launched today by the University of Hong Kong in a bid to shed more light on the insect world.

The colourful interactive online map (antmaps.org), which took four years to complete, displays the geographic locations of nearly 15,000 types of ant with the Australian state of Queensland home to the highest number of native species at more than 1,400.

"(Insects are) one of the main groups we need to focus on when we talk about biodiversity," Benoit Guenard, one of the co-founders of the map, said.

"Ants are very important in most ecosystems," Guenard added, as they cycle soil nutrients and help in seed dispersal.

"They are one of the best studied groups of insect."

'Antmaps', a joint project between HKU and the Okinawa Institute of Sciences and Technology, also differentiates ants which are native to a region and species which were imported.

Guenard, a professor at HKU's school of biological sciences, said the map would provide an important record of insect life around the world and would aid research and wildlife conservation.

"It will help us in approaching the question of how well we are doing in protecting certain regions," he told AFP.

Work on the map is ongoing with new species of ants discovered frequently, Guenard said.

He leads the university's study of ants in Hong Kong and said his team believed they had discovered 12 new species in the city in the past year.

"We are finding and describing new life almost every week... that's what I find absolutely astonishing about the work we do."

In a recent study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel published in July, ants were found to have an astonishing ability to mix collective muscle with individual initiative for heavy lifting.

In experiments, researchers showed how a dozen or more ants working in unison to haul, say, a large insect can adjust their course based on intelligence provided by a single ant joining the effort.

Botanical Survey of India Develops Country's First Online Floral DatabaseIndo-Asian News Service, 8 August 2015

The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has developed the first open-access online database of India's floral diversity to document over 18,000 flowering plant species in an effort at boosting digitisation and conservation of endangered ones.
The 'eFlora India' test site was launched by BSI in July 2015, on the occasion of the 'Digital India Week'.

The portal, once formally launched, will also serve as an updated plant checklist of India, said BSI director Paramjit Singh.

"The information in the Flora of India volumes published by BSI will be available through this portal in the database form. This consists of more than 6,000 pages of printed treatments covering around 4,500 taxa (a taxonomic category) belonging to 92 families," Singh told IANS.

"This effort puts India at par with neighbouring countries, like China, Nepal and Pakistan that already have such e-repositories," Singh said.

Further, he said, in keeping with emerging threats to floral abundance in India such as climate change, 'eFlora India' serves as a primary database on Indian floral diversity and could be used to carry out comparisons in case of any threat perception on a particular population.

The IT expertise for the novel initiative was provided by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata.

According to Mina Desai, principal engineer, C-DAC, the online knowledge database, supported by a robust decision-support system, will help connect researchers across the globe to share insights and co-operate on botanical studies and analysis, keeping Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) reserved.

"It will help in modelling and data mining as well as analytics to gain insights into evolving issues related to plant diversity," Desai told IANS, adding sophisticated computing such as concept mapping (graphical tools for organising and representing knowledge) form a core component of the web-based tool.

A Decision Support System (DSS) is a computer-based information system that enables organisational decision-making activities and helps in making decisions about problems that may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance.

This feature aims to produce real-time and useful information for scientists concerned with conservation management in specific regions of the country.

The web application will facilitate one to glean information regarding flora by family, genus and provide updated correct scientific name and will be accompanied with high resolution images in near future.

"It will provide a rough idea about the location of the plant and the extent of its distribution in India. That way, any one working on conservation can use this data and analyse for strategies for conservation," said Singh, adding the BSI plans to digitise over two million herbarium collections representing distribution of plants in time and space.

"We are also planning to link it with Geographic Information System (GIS) in future so that precise place of occurrence can be provided," said the director.

The database also targets common man.

"It has a user-friendly interface and students or anyone wishing for complete information on one site can access it," added S.S. Dash, scientist, BSI.

The application currently has information on 4,000 species and is being loaded with more data.

ISS Astronauts to Sample Leafy Greens Grown on Space StationIndo-Asian News Service, 8 

In a pioneering feat that will help astronauts on long-duration space missions like Mars, the crew members on board the International Space Station (ISS) are set to eat fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space for the first time.

Expedition 44 crew members, including Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, are ready to sample the fruits of their labour after harvesting a crop of "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce from the "veggie plant" growth system on the orbiting laboratory.

The astronauts will clean the leafy greens with citric acid-based, food safe sanitizing wipes before consuming them.

They will eat half of the space bounty, setting aside the other half to be packaged and frozen on the station until it can be returned to Earth for scientific analysis.

Fresh foods such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce are a good source of antioxidants.

"Having fresh food like these available in space could have a positive impact on people's moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space," said Dr. Ray Wheeler, head of advanced life support activities at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Nasa's plant experiment, called Veg-01, is being used to study the in-orbit function and performance of the plant growth facility and its rooting "pillows" which contain the seeds.

The first "pillows" were activated, watered and cared for by Expedition 39 flight engineer Steve Swanson in May 2014.

After 33 days of growth, the plants were harvested and returned to Earth in October 2014.

At Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the plants underwent food safety analysis.

The second "Veg-01 plant pillows" were activated by Kelly on July 8 and grew again for 33 days before being harvested.

The seeds had been on the station for 15 months before being activated.

The veggie unit features a flat panel light bank that includes red, blue and green LEDs for plant growth and crew observation.

"Using LED lights to grow plants was an idea that originated with Nasa as far back as the late 1990s," Dr. Wheeler noted.

The purple/pinkish hue surrounding the plants is the result of a combination of the red and blue lights which by design emit more light than the green LEDs.

Green LEDS were added so the plants look like edible food rather than weird purple plants.

Besides the nutritional benefits, growing fresh produce in space may also provide a psychological benefit to astronauts.

The farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits.

"I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario," informed Dr. Gioia Massa, payload scientist for Veggie system at Kennedy.

The Veggie unit can also be used by astronauts for recreational gardening activities during deeper space missions.

Foxconn Looking to Open Factories in Every Indian State, Says ChairmanIndo-Asian News 

Foxconn, the world's largest electronics assembly manufacturer, on Saturday said India would be the next IT hub for it while expressing a desire to open factories in all states in the spirit of the Make in India initiative.
Make in India is one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite initiatives.

In an interview to CNBC-TV 18, Terry Gou, chairman of Taiwanese firm Foxconn, said, "We want to expand our base after setting it up in Pune. The Maharashtra government had encouraged us to come to India and invest in the state."

"The plant in Pune will be dedicated to production, innovation and research and development," Gou said.

"We are not only going to make things here but we are looking at bringing the whole ecosystem here," Gou said earlier.

"We are also looking for local partners in the country and have visited plants of Tata Sons, TCS and Shapoorji Pallonji," Gou said, as he reiterated his partnership with Adani.

He also talked about Foxconn's vision to work in areas of solar energy, smart power transmission, data centres and investment in startups as a part of the company's Internet Plus plan.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also announced on Saturday at an event that his government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Foxconn to set up the biggest manufacturing plant in Pune which would be through an investment of $5 billion (roughly Rs. 31,887 crores), creating 50,000 jobs. The facility would be spread over 1,500 acres.

Fadnavis said he believes that if Foxconn starts manufacturing facilities in India, the pressure of electronic imports will be reduced, giving a boost to the current account deficit of the country.

He also said Maharashtra would be a key partner in setting up a hi-tech arena in the country.

FSSAI Stubs Out Rumours, Says No Clean Chit Given to Maggi Noodles

FSSAI Stubs Out Rumours, Says No Clean Chit Given to Maggi NoodlesShares of Nestle India plunged over 5 per cent today after the food safety watchdog The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it has not given any clean chit to the company's banned Maggi noodles, while rubbishing all-clear reports from two of its empanelled labs citing lapses in tests.

(FSSAI Justifies Ban on Maggi Noodles, Says Lead Was Beyond Permissible Limit) After falling 5.42 per cent to Rs 6,461.15 intra-day trade at BSE, the stock finally ended at Rs 6,488.35, down 5.03 per cent from its previous close. At the NSE, shares of the company slipped 5.15 per cent to settle at Rs 6,486.10. The company's market valuation dipped by Rs 3,312.11 crore to Rs 62,557.89 crore.

(How Watchful has the Watchdog Been? Former Officials Speak Up On FSSAI)

The stock had rallied 8 per cent yesterday following reports that the FSSAI-approved laboratory of Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) found Maggi noodles in compliance with the country's food safety standards. Meanwhile, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India yesterday rejected findings of the Food & Drugs Laboratory of Goa as well as CFTRI, Mysore over test discrepancies. It also cast doubts over clean chits to Maggi noodles by the UK and Singapore labs saying the Swiss food giant has not shared details of foreign test reports.

(FSSAI Says No Change in Maggi Recall Despite Goa's OK)

Rubbishing tests done by the Goa lab, the food regulator said the analysts at the lab had "wrongly taken the permissible limit of lead as 10 parts per million as against the actual maximum permissible level of 2.5 ppm". On the report of the CFTRI on the same sample, FSSAI said the Mysore lab had not tested the noodles for the banned MSG.

"It is clarified in the first instance that FsSSAI has not given any clean chit regarding the safety of Maggi Noodles," it said in the statement that followed reports that the Goa and Mysore labs have found Maggi samples safe. restaurant were clean, with many being dirty and greasy.

Prime Minister Modi Promises to Consult North-East States on Naga Accord Details

NEW DELHI:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi today promised to consult North Eastern states in finalisation of the details of the peace accord signed with NSCN(IM) last week, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said in New Delhi today amid a controversy over the issue.

The Manipur Chief Minister as also his Nagaland counterpart TR Zeliang separately met the Prime Minister during which the issue related to the Naga peace accord was discussed.

"Manipur Chief Minister was informed that everything would be discussed with the state governments concerned before finalisation of the accord," a state government statement.

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A similar assurance was given to Mr Zeliang who was accompanied by his Home Minister Y Patton during the meeting with Mr Modi, sources in the state government said.

Mr Zeliang later said the accord signed with NSCN(IM) on August three is just a framework for final settlement.

Pinning "great hopes" in Mr Modi, he said consultations on the accord had been going on for the last two months during which civil society and local gropus were consulted.

Mr Zeliang heads Nagaland Peoples Front (NFP), an ally of NDA, while Manipur is ruled by Congress.

The Prime Minister's assurance comes against the backdrop of attack by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on him, saying that North East Chief Ministers were not consulted on the Naga peace accord.

The Manipur Chief Minister, along with his counterparts in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, had protested for not having consulted the neighbouring states of Nagaland before signing the initial accord with NSCN-IM on Monday.

The NSCN-IM, which had given up its original demand of sovereignty a few years ago, has been asking for integration of Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. All three states are opposed to the outfit's demand.

The Manipur Chief Minister also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought a copy of the Naga accord, which was signed by NSCN(IM) chief T Muivah and Centre's interlocutor RN Ravi.

Mr Ibobi Singh told the Home Minister that the people of Manipur were anxious to know the details of the Naga peace pact and had the apprehension that it would affect the territorial integrity of the Manipur.

Rajnath Singh replied that the agreement was just a framework and it would not affect the territorial boundary of the neighbouring states.

The Home Minister also conveyed to the Chief Minister that the Centre would invite state governments of the North East for discussion while working out the final shape of the accord.

Sonia Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Modi Government, saying it had "insulted" three North Eastern states whose Chief Ministers belonging to her party since they were not taken into confidence on the accord issue.

She chared the government with being "arrogant" in not briefing Congress chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam despite their states being "directly affected" by the pact.

BJP leader and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today accused Congress of forcing its Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh to retract statements on Naga peace accord and said it "augurs badly" for the country.

Kings XI Punjab Co-Owner Ness Wadia Not In Favour Of Foreign Teams In IPL

The Working Group set up to look into the implementation of the findings of Lodha Committee report on IPL spot-fixing scandal met representatives of Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia.
The Working Group set up to look into the implementation of the findings of Lodha Committee report on IPL spot-fixing scandal met representatives of Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia, who stated that he is not in favour of inviting foreign teams to fill the void. (IPL Scam Probe: Lodha Panel To Look At Sealed Envelope)
IPL chairman and member of Working Group Rajeev Shukla said that all the franchises have spoken in favour of an eight-team tournament. Today the working group completed meeting all six franchises as the two suspended franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were not invited for discussions. (IPL Scandal: CSK, RR suspended)
"After the Lodha Committee report, we are looking at how the IPL is being continued. We are taking advice from all the stakeholders. We had two meetings in Delhi and today we had one in Mumbai where we met the remaining franchises of Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Besides, we met (representatives of) both the broadcasters Sony and Star, sponsors CEAT," Shukla told reporters after the meeting. (IPL Scam: CSK Suspension Shocking)
Wadia also said, "Perception of league should change and this is a massive opportunity for the turnaround. I also want stability as key investor. So many uncertainties are there."
Wadia also made it clear that he does not want advocate the idea of foreign teams playing in IPL.
"I am not in favour of inviting two foreign teams to fill in the gap. Why will someone come to see a foreign team play?"
Shukla on his part said that every stakeholders' suggestion is important.
"We spoke to all of them about what to do after the Lodha Committee suspended two teams for two years. We made it clear that the Lodha Committee report will be implemented in toto. Instead of these teams, what will we do, whether other two teams will be brought in or not and how. All these we discussed with the franchises," he said.
"They gave their views, they gave good advice. We will collect all these advice together, discussed among us (Working Group) and prepare a report. We have been given six-week time till August 31 and we will submit the report within the stipulated time," he added.
Asked if there was any consensus coming out so far, he said, "It is very difficult to divulge the proceedings of these meetings. One thing I want to say is that most of them (stakeholders) said they want at least eight teams in the IPL. They don't want six teams. This is what most of the people have suggested."

Pilot and Crew Fail Breath Test, Pulled Off Plane in Oslo

OSLO:  The Latvian pilot of an airBaltic flight and three crew members were pulled off the Greece-bound plane in Oslo today after failing a breathalyser test before take-off, Norwegian police said.

"Results of the breathalyser tests confirmed that four of the five crew members ... were above the legal alcohol limit of 0.2 promille," Romerike police prosecutor Edith Ek Sorensen told AFP.

The pilot, co-pilot and two stewardesses - all from Latvia and employed by airBaltic - were taken into police custody and escorted to hospital for blood tests to confirm the breathalyser exams.

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Results were expected later.

Sorensen said police had acted after receiving a tipoff from an anonymous caller around 4:00 am (0200 GMT).

AirBaltic spokesman Janis Vanags told AFP the company had a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to alcohol.

"Zero tolerance means no alcohol," Vanags said. "It's very straightforward - safety is our number one priority."

"There has been an initial test and that is being followed up with more detailed tests. When we have the results we will take appropriate action," he added, offering the company's apologies to customers.

The four risk up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Sorensen would not comment on the flight's destination, but Norwegian daily Dagbladet said it was a tour group flight operated by the Norwegian group StarTour headed for Chania, Greece, with 109 passengers on board.

Amidst Protests Over Culling, Kerala Starts Sterilisation Drive for Stray Dogs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA:  After facing criticism from animal rights groups over their decision to cull dangerous stray dogs, the Kerala government has now partnered with trained NGO's to deal with sterilising them, over 1.5 lakh cases of dog bites are reported every year in the state.

It was an early start for NDTV by following a team of the Humane Society International (HSI), an NGO that has been sterilising stray dogs for the past eight months in Thiruvananthapuram city, armed with nets, traps, biscuits, bones and lots of patience.

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Dr Anubhav Khaguria, in-charge of the team says, "It's not about numbers. We bring the dogs, treat them with Animal Birth Control Procedures and give them anti-rabies injections... and send them back to the community happier. Even people welcome them better when they know they have been sterilised."

The mark of identification of a sterilised stray dog is a 'V' shaped cut seen on either of their ears. Apart from sterilising, HSI also gives them post-operative care, releasing them from where they were picked up. A GPS enabled collar tagging system is followed for the same reason.

But for the dog bite victims, it's still a lot of fear. One victim said, "I am still scared of dogs and how do we know if they are not rabies carriers. They can bite anyone, are filth and should be eliminated."

According to a survey conducted by the HSI, there are over 5000 stray dogs in the city. The organisation aims to ensure that 70 per cent of them are sterilised within the next 18 months.

The government is also in process of increasing the number of sterilising facilities and hired doctors on a temporary basis. But the decision to cull dangerous stray dogs after a certificate from veteri

India-Pakistan NSA-Level Talks to Take Place: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI:  The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan will take place as expected later this month, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today amid questions whether the meeting should be held in the wake of recent terror attacks emanating from across the border.

"I don't know what is going on in the mind of the Pakistan establishment. Certainly Government of India's position is very clear that NSA-level talks would continue," Ms Sitharaman at a press conference at BJP headquarter when asked if recent incidents would affect the talks.
   
The NSA-level talks are expected to take place here later this month as a follow up to the decisions taken at the Summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa last month.
   
However, in the recent days, there have been two major terror attacks - one in Punjab and another in Jammu and Kashmir - both emanating from Pakistan, triggering questions as to whether India will go ahead with the talks.
   
Asked if Government of India was in support of the decision of Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to boycott the CPU meet in Islamabad, Ms Sitharaman said it was the domain of the Speaker but the government agrees with it.
   
"Obviously, Government of India is on the same page," she said about the decision taken after Pakistan refused to invite Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker to the meet being held from September 30 to October 8.

Priyanka Chopra Paints Los Angeles Pink For Quantico

PRIYANKA CHOPRA ATTENDED THE TELEVISION CRITICS' ASSOCIATION'S BI-ANNUAL GATHERING IN LOS ANGELES, WEARING A HOT PINK DRESS BY VICTORIA BECKHAM
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who is currently shooting for her American TV series Quantico in US, attended the Television Critics' Association's bi-annual gathering in Los Angeles for a panel discussion about the upcoming show.




Thank u to every1 who made the TCAs such a delight for nervous me.Thank u all your support.Now after no sleep for days I will relish my bed!

— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) August 5, 2015


Priyanka looked uber-chic in hot pink number by Victoria Beckham, which she styled by metallic Christian Louboutin pumps.

http://twitter.com/fareed143143/status/628800784172322816/photo/1

Priyanka also shared images from fan clubs which showed Quantico posters pasted to the local buses in LA.

@priyankachopra and see what I sawed near my office n all over NYC. pic.twitter.com/8AjfQqWihW

— Pc maniac.. (@fareed143143) August 5, 2015


Before going for the TCA gathering, Priyanka, took to Instagram to share her excitement:

Nerves!! Off to LA for ABC's "Quantico" panel at the Television Critics' Assocation bi-annual gathering! #TCA #OnAPlaneAgain
A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Aug 3, 2015 at 6:23pm PDT


Quantico is a story about a diverse group of recruits have arrived at the FBI Quantico Base for training. In the ABC thriller series, Priyanka plays the lead role of Alex Parrish, an agent whose past resurfaces soon after she arrives at the training camp.

The show also stars Dougray Scott as Liam, Jake McLaughlin as Ryan, Aunjanue Ellis as Miranda, Yasmine Al Massri as Nimah, Johanna Braddy as Shelby, Tate Ellington as Simon Asher and Graham Rogers as Caleb Haas.

A Hobbit Will Perform in India Soon. Thank You Ali Fazal

Elijah will be accompanied by his music partner, Zach Cowie. (Image courtesy: Elijah Wood)
ELIJAH WOOD, BEST KNOWN AS FRODO BAGGINS IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, IS ALL SET TO PERFORM AS DJ IN INDIA. ALI FAZAL IS THE OFFICIAL HOST FOR THE EVENT
Hollywood star Elijah Wood, best known as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is making his maiden visit to India this September.

The 34-year-old actor, who is also part of a DJ duo called Wooden Wisdom, will be performing in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad from September 3 to 9.

Elijah will be accompanied on the three-city tour by his music partner, Zach Cowie.

"We love travelling abroad and playing records, so we can't wait to visit India for the first time, buy killer records and eat delicious food," he said in a statement.

Actor Ali Fazal, who featured in Furious 7, will be the duo's official host in the country.

The duo, who has performed at pre-Emmy party at The London West Hollywood Hotel, will take their passion for classic sounding disco and house onto the road for four nights hitting India's metro cities in the first week of September.

"It's going to be a new experience for us all," said Kenneth Dsouza, founder of Lucid Productions, who is organising the event.

The response was quick with the singer giving the green signal in a tweet:

Taylor Swift is a global superstar with more than 61.5 million followers on Twitter, but her work was largely unknown to the cast of the Seventeen until they began rehearsing the play, which was written specifically for them.

"These actors weren't, until these rehearsals, familiar with Taylor Swift - or much pop music - so we introduced them to this track, they learned all the words - it was kind of a big process," Ms Sarks told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"So it was quite a big deal to get denied those rights at the last minute," she added and also stated on Twitter later that Taylor's support for artists was 'a thing to behold'.

Justin Bieber Granted More Time for Community Service

THE 21-YEAR-OLD SINGER WAS SENTENCED TO THE COMMUNITY SERVICE AS WELL AS A HEFTY FINE AND AN ANGER MANAGEMENT SESSION IN JULY IN A VANDALISM CASE AFTER HE THREW EGGS AT A NEIGHBOUR'S PROPERTY
An ankle injury has led to an extension of the time frame for singer Justin Bieber to complete the five-day community service and other tasks he was sentenced to in a vandalism case, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The 21-year-old singer was sentenced to the community service as well as a hefty fine and an anger management session in July in a vandalism case after he threw eggs at a neighbour's property. Due to an ankle injury, he has got more time to complete the tasks.

The Boyfriend hitmaker, who was not present for a court hearing on August 3, was reportedly limited by the injury, so he had not yet finished his five days of roadside clean-up, graffiti removal or other manual labour although a prosecutor said he is "close".

A police officer had revealed that the January 2014 incident in which eggs hurled by the young singer had caused "extensive damage" to the victim's home.

Kishore Kumar's Fans Want His Family Home Made Into a Memorial

KISHORE KUMAR WAS REPORTEDLY FOND OF HIS BIRTH PLACE AND HE ALSO WISHED THAT HIS LAST RITES SHOULD ALSO BE PERFORMED IN THAT CITY ONLY
Fans of late singer-actor Kishore Kumar have asked for his ancestral house, in Khandwa, to be converted into a memorial to make his memories a semblance of permanence.

"We have demanded for long to convert his ancestral house, in Bombay Bazar area, into a memorial, but no action has been taken in this regard so far," Kishore Prerna Manch President, Ranveer Singh Chawla told PTI.

It was Kishore Kumar's 86th birth anniversary on August 4. The house where he was born is lying in dilapidated condition because of reported differences between his family members on the issue of converting it into a memorial.

Kishore Kumar was reportedly fond of his birth place and used to visit it quite often. He was so attached with Khandwa that he wished that his last rites should also be performed in that city only, Mr Chawla informed.

As per his wish his last rites were performed on October 13, 1987, on the outskirts of Khandwa city where a Samadhi was set up.

Kishore Kumar was fond of drinking milk and eating jalebees, and his fans pay tribute at his Samadhi by offering these two favourite dishes of the singer.

A singing competition based on Kishore Kumar's songs was also organised on the occasion in which the three winners were given a cash award of Rs 11,111, Rs 7,777 and Rs 5,555 respectively.

Mission: Impossible 5's Stunning VFX and the Indians Behind Them

MR CHHATPAR, THE VISUAL EFFECTS EDITOR OF THE FILM, HAS BEEN WORKING ON NUMEROUS FILMS IN BOTH INDIA AND THE USA
A battery of visual effects professionals from India are behind the breathtaking visual effects seen in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. The film is set to release in India on August 7.

The team of Dhirendra Chhatpar, Saurabh Nandedkar, Abhishek Singh, Indranil Bhattacharya and several others have weaved the graphic effects for the fifth instalment of the successful Mission Impossible series, India West reported.

The film released in the US on July 30. In the NYT review, Mr Manohla Dargis talks about a stunt which he says turns "the scene into the emblematic Mission: Impossible showstopper". He wrote: "As the clock tick-tocks, and Ethan struggles to keep his cool - a single drop of sweat splashed on the floor would blow the operation - the visual gloss and high-tech gobbledygook, Cruise's graceful athleticism and De Palma's New Hollywood suspense chops flow together, turning the scene into the emblematic Mission: Impossible showstopper. It's the kind of pure cine-spectacle that jolts you before sweeping you up. There's never been a scene in the series as memorable as that one, even if the exploding fish tank, the film's other eye-popper, comes close. These sequences set a high bar both for directors who followed in De Palma's wake and for Cruise's physical performance, which in the later installments has largely involved progressively scarier stunts." (Movie Review - Mission: Impossible: Your Next Stunt, Should You Choose to Accept It)

Back to the team, Mr Chhatpar, the visual effects editor of the film, has been working on numerous films in both India and the USA. Beginning his career with filmmaker Tarsem Singh's 2012 movie Mirror Mirror, his most recent Bollywood films include Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

His best known Hollywood projects are Edge of Tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, White House Down and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Saurabh Nandedkar and Abhishek Singh, who are digital compositors for the new Mission: Impossible, series have earlier delighted the audiences with their work in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and critically acclaimed Barfi!.

Mr Nandedkar's credits also include films like ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, Non-Stop and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Mr Bhattacharya is the 3D modeller for the fifth instalment of the American action spy thriller. He has earlier worked on projects like Kai Po Che!, Dabangg 2, and Housefull 2.

The visual effects crew also includes Jayesh Makwana (lighting technical director), Bhavik Patel (prep artist and roto artist), Shraddha Uppu (roto artist), Mrityunjay Singh (digital compositor) and Vikram Mohan (matchmove artist).

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin.

How Mission: Impossible 5's Extreme Plane Stunt Was Made

A still from the behind-the-scenes footage of Mission: Impossible 5.
IN APRIL, TOM TOLD HIS CINEMACON AUDIENCE AT LAS VEGAS THAT HE WAS 'SCARED S***LESS' WHILE FILMING THE EXTREME STUNT. HE WASN'T JOKING
Why do the stunts in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation look real? Because they are real, apparently. This behind-the-scenes look at Tom Cruise's most edge-of-the-seat stunt yet shows you just how a Hollywood studio took a 'multi-million star and (hung) him outside a plane' and had him live to tell the tale. "I couldn't sleep the night before," the 53-year-old actor says, and we're not doubting that for a moment.

In April, Tom told his CinemaCon audience at Las Vegas that he was 'scared s***less' while filming the extreme stunt. He wasn't joking. In the video below, he looks absolutely terrified.

As it turns out, this Mission wasn't Impossible. Here, among a clutch of other high-octane shenanigans co-starring Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and the bike scene that never fails to make an appearance in a Tom Cruise film, is the plane and him. (Also Read: Mission: Impossible 5's Stunning VFX and the Indians Behind Them )

Mission: Imposssible - Rouge Nation, which released in the US on July 31, will hit Indian screens on August 6. 

Today's Big Releases - Mission: Impossible 5, Bangistaan

TOM CRUISE'S MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5 HAS BEEN CREATING QUITE A STIR, ESPECIALLY DUE TO ITS SPECTACULAR STUNTS. BANGISTAN, A SATIRE ON TERRORISM, STARS RITEISH AND PULKIT AS DIMWIT SUICIDE BOMBERS
The first big release today is Hollywood action thriller film Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, which stars Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise.

The film, which is the fifth film in the Mission: Impossible series, released in the US a week earlier and has since then has been creating quite a stir, especially due to its spectacular stunts and stunning VFX.

The Christopher McQuarrie-directed film also stars Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin and Rebecca Ferguson.

Bollywood's first big release of this week is creating equal, if not more, 'bangs' as the Tom Cruise film. First time director Karan Anshuman's Bangistan, a satire on terrorism starring Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat as dimwit suicide bombers, also hits the screens today. The film also features actress Jacqueline Fernandez in a pivotal role.

Bangistan was initially slated to release on July 31, along with Drishyam. However, the makers pushed the film back because of the popularity of Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan and SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali.

Also up for release is Muzaffar Ali's Jaanisar, which stars designer-turned-actress Pernia Qureshi and Pakistani actor Imran Abbas Naqvi (of Creature 3D fame).

Mahesh Babu and Shruti Haasan's Srimanthudu and the Vinod Bharathan-directed Karma Cartel will represent cinema from the south.

Kristen Stewart Asks Jesse Eisenberg Sexist Questions, Scores a Win

JESSE EISENBERG WAS ASKED IF HE HAD A FAVOURITE CHEMICAL PEEL AND WAS EVEN REQUIRED TO DISPLAY HIS HAND TO THE MANI-CAM
Offence is the best defence in the fight against Hollywood sexism, the latest skirmish in which was set in a virtual battlefield of the web series Funny Or Die. Actors Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, promoting their upcoming film American Ultra, interviewed each other and it would have been just another day at work for Jesse had the questions that were put to him been the ones he was expecting.

They knew they weren't in Kansas any longer when the first query to Kristen from Jesse was 'how did you bulk up for this role?' and the first query to Jesse from Kristen was 'who's your favourite designer?'

Amid rising incomprehension on Jesse's part, Kristen's next few questions asked him to reveal who he was dating, what his favourite chemical peel was, whether he had a favourite breast (yes!) and also required him to display his hand to the mani-cam.

By now, the lightbulb's probably gone off in your head as you realise this is an episode in an ongoing battle against the sexism that's perpetuated in celebrity interviews where female stars are asked questions that relate to their appearance, personal lives and wardrobes and male stars are asked about their movies and preparing for their roles.

Kristen, as you might recall, described Hollywood as "disgustingly sexist" in an interview with Harper's Bazaar in April. She's had a tiny bit of revenge now, even if it was staged. Jesse did a fine job of pretending he didn't know Kristen was asking him the questions she's generally asked. Watch:

Just months ago, Mark Ruffalo didn't have to pretend, in an interview with Cosmopolitan UK in which he handled the questions on red carpet poses and workout regimes that co-star Scarlett Johansson.

Poor Kevin Spacey, however, really didn't see this reporter's questions coming last year: 

Voices raised against showbiz sexism are getting increasingly louder. Actresses like Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett have slammed 'red carpet sexism' with the hashtag #AskHerMore trending on Oscar day. This year's Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette called for wage equality in her speech, cheered loudly by Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez in the audience.

After Secret Wedding, Jennifer and Justin Head For Honeymoon

JENNIFER ANISTON, JUSTIN THEROUX REPORTEDLY KEPT THEIR NUPTIALS UNDER WRAPS BY USING A NEIGHBOURING HOUSE AS A DECOY
Hollywood couple Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux jetted off on their honeymoon, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The couple, who reportedly got married at their Bel Air home on August 6, was spotted boarding a private jet out of Van Nuys Airport, California, the following day, wearing casual attire.

They were reportedly accompanied by a group of friends, including Chelsea Handler, as they flew out to Bora Bora for the post-wedding vacation.

Meanwhile, Jennifer, 46, and Justin kept their nuptials under wraps by using a neighbouring house as a decoy.

A $10.7 million property has been lying empty to the south of their home, and so wedding decorations, tables and other supplies were all unloaded there, ready to be moved to the couple's house at the last minute.

Guests were told they were attending a surprise birthday party for Justin, who turns 44 on August 10, ensuring they arrived on time and kept the bash secret.