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What is the fate of Aarushi murder probe, asks Supreme Court

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court Tuesday sought to know the fate of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the May 2008 murder of Noida’s teenaged girl Aarushi Talwar and her family’s domestic help at her home in Delhi’s suburb.
“What’s the update on the case?” asked a bench of Justice Altmas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph.

Dentist Rajesh Talwar’s daughter Aarushi, 14, was found murdered in her flat May 16 last year. Their domestic help Hemraj’s body was found a day later on the terrace of the same building.

The Noida police had arrested Aarushi’s father on suspicion of murder, but as they failed in making progress, the case was handed over to the CBI.

The CBI let off Rajesh Talwar, saying there was no evidence against him.

The sensational case and the noted denist’s arrest had generated a lot of controversy in the media.

The apex court referred to this case while hearing a public interest lawsuit by a city advocate, Surat Singh, who sought the court’s directions for evolving a mechanism to ensure that the media does not end up tarnishing the image of the victim or her family while covering the ongoing criminal investigation.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam promised he would apprise the court of the latest status of the probe and said the government would place the status report before it at the earliest.

The bench earlier asked the government to assess if there could be some mechanism to restrain the media in covering criminal cases under investigation or trial.

Earlier last year, the court asked the media to be cautious in covering the double murder case.

Rajesh Talwar also approached the apex court seeking to have his say in the ongoing case.

He wanted to refute the Noida Police allegations in October last year before the Supreme Court that he was involved in the murder.

“After having been prima facie satisfied with the involvement of Dr. Talwar in the crime, he was arrested by the investigating officer,” the police had said in an affidavit, submitted to the court in response to Singh’s lawsuit.

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Sri Lanka on way to massive first innings total

February 22, 2009 By Dinesh Leave a Comment

Karachi, Feb 22 (IANS) Pakistan took three quick wickets even as Sri Lanka extended their total to 614-6 at tea on the second day of the first cricket Test here at the National Stadium Sunday.

Shoaib Malik removed Mahela Jayawardene for 240 and then scalped Tillekaratne Dilshan for a duck while Danish Kaneria got rid of Thilan Smaraweera (231) to bring smile on the faces of the few spectators who turned up to watch their team’s first Test in 14 months.

The three wickets fell in the space of ten balls which is in contrast to what happened earlier in the day when Pakistan were unable to pick a single wicket for almost 56 overs.

Jayawardene completed his fifth double century off 354 balls with 27 fours. A few overs later, Samaraweera reached his first double ton in Test cricket off 287 balls with 31 boundaries.

The pair added 437 runs which is new world record for the fourth wicket, surpassing the feat achieved by England’s Colin Cowdrey and Peter May against West Indies in 1957.

Jayawardene was the first to go when he gloved one to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal while going for a sweep. Seven balls later, Samaraweera was beaten by a Kaneria googly that went into the stumps after a thin edge off the bat.

Malik then returned to scalp Dilshan who edged one straight into the gloves of Akmal. Sri Lanka added 109 in the second session for the loss of three wickets.

Earlier, resuming their first innings at 406-3, Sri Lanka continued to score freely against a seemingly toothless Pakistan attack, adding another 99 runs in the first session off 30 overs to reach a healthy 505-3 at lunch.
Indo Asian News Service

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South Korea sees record fall of 32.8 per cent in its exports

February 2, 2009 By Dinesh Leave a Comment

Seoul – South Korea’s exports took a record dive of 32.8 per cent in January as the global economic downturn saw demand in China, Europe, the United States and Japan plunge, the government said Monday.

The export-driven economy recorded the year-on-year fall in its goods sold abroad to 21.7 billion dollars, their third-straight month of decline, the Knowledge Economy Ministry reported.

The fall was nearly double that in December, when exports tumbled 17.9 per cent, and it was the highest ever recorded since the government began compiling the data in
1957.

Imports also fell 32.1 per cent to 24.6 billion dollars, bringing the trade deficit for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to nearly 3 billion dollars.

The substantial fall in exports indicated South Korea is headed for a deep recession after it recorded a 5.6-per-cent contraction in its gross domestic product in 2008′s fourth quarter – its biggest drop since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago.

The ministry said only the shipbuilding industry saw an increase in exports in January, but all other exports fell, including cars, computer chips and petrochemical products.

Exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, fell 32.2 per cent in the first 20 days of January, the ministry said.

Exports to the United States were down 21.5 per cent, to Europe down 46.9 per cent and to Japan 29.3 per cent, it said. (dpa)

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Meet the British ‘Barack Obama’

January 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Jan 29 (ANI): A 29-year-old mortgage advisor in Britain is in demand these days – because he resembles US President Barack Obama.

After Obama’s historic win, Ryan Skeggs has been snapped up by a doubles agency, and is enjoying his instant popularity.

“I first started getting recognised when he was running against Hillary Clinton,” The Sun quoted him as saying.

“But since Obama came to power it’s gone crazy.

“I did some filming up in London for French TV.

“I was flanked by two guys dressed as Secret Service agents and people were scared to speak to me directly.

“They kept asking for permission to say something.

“I felt nervous at the start but then I thought, ‘Why don’t I just run with it.’ So I put on my Barack Obama accent and had fun.

“I had people ringing up their mums, saying ‘I’ve met the president,’” he added.

Skeggs, who lives in Stevenage, is also perfecting his ‘Obama voice’ since signing a deal with an agency last month.

He taped several speeches and sat at home repeating the lines to make himself seem even more convincing. He’s even worked on mimicking his mannerisms.

“I’ve never properly tried to speak in an American accent, except down the pub messing about,” said Skeggs.

“So I watched a few videos of Obama to work on it.

“He speaks in such a clear and precise way and at a lower octave.

“I’ve pretty much nailed it now. It’s so funny tricking people – I can’t get my head around it,” he added.

Skeggs landed his new double job after girlfriend Wendy sent off his snaps to fakefaces.co.uk . (ANI)

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There were prior problems with Hudson River plane

January 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

NewYork – The plane that spectacularly crashed into the Hudson River in New York already had problems before the accident, the news channel CNN reported Tuesday citing three passengers.

The three reportedly said that they had already heard loud blows on the same US Airways plane two days before the accident last Thursday. The crew announced an emergency landing, but then were said to have decided against it.

Both US Airways and the authorities that were investigating the crash – which miraculously left all 155 passengers and crew unharmed – declined to confirm the reports.

Pilot Chesley Sullenberger (“Sully”) and his crew had been invited to Tuesday’s historic inauguration of Barack Obama as US president.

US Airways reportedly paid each of the plane’s passengers 5,000 dollars for their lost luggage.

Passenger Steve Jeffrey – who flew from New York to Charlotte, in the state of North Carolina in that same plane just two days before the accident – said he heard an unusually loud noise 20 minutes after take-off.

“It seemed so loud, like luggage was hitting the side but times a thousand,” the businessman was quoted as saying.

The red lights started going on, he said.

John Hodock, another passenger in Jeffrey’s flight, did not just speak of loud noises, but also of flames which emerged from the plane’s right engine.

“The pilot at first told us that we were going to make an emergency landing, but after about five minutes, continued the flight to Charlotte,” he told CNN by e-mail.

A woman whose name was not made public reportedly spoke of a “loud banging sound”.

A spokesman for the investigation of the crash said that all evidence would be taken into account, but noted that there is so far no indication of possible anomalies.

The plane crashed Thursday, some 90 seconds after take-off. The pilot reported a double bird strike, but the authorities have not yet officially confirmed this as the cause of the accident. (dpa)

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Q3 net of Federal Bank doubles

January 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Federal Bank was immensely helped by the sharp rise in other income and lower interest income to approximately double its net profit for the third quarter ending December 31, 2009 to Rs 203.89 cr from Rs 102.92 cr the previous fiscal.

The net profit of the bank had a rise by 45.67% to Rs 386.32 crore for the nine month ended December 31.

There was an increase by 94% to Rs 164.81 cr from Rs 84.95 cr the previous year in the other income of the bank for the quarter while an increase by 35.11% was noted in the interest income.

As far as the interest expenses of the bank are concerned, they grew marginally by 10.5% to Rs 491.83 cr. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the bank scrip was up by 9.51% to Rs 156.

The bank also witnessed growth in its gross and net non performing assets. While net NPAs rose to 0.33% from 0.29%, gross NPAs increased to 2.83% from 2.76%.

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Antipsychotic drugs ‘double death risk in Alzheimer’s patients’

January 9, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 9 (ANI): Anti-psychotic drugs prescribed to treat aggression in Alzheimer”s patients can double their risk of dying, according to a study published in the journal Lancet.

The study, funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, was led by Prof Clive Ballard’s King’s College London team.

To reach the conclusion, researchers reviewed 165 Alzheimer’s patients who were being prescribed antipsychotics.

Eighty three continued treatment and the remaining 82 had it withdrawn and were instead given oral placebos.

Findings showed a significant increase in risk of death for patients who continued taking antipsychotic medication. The difference between the two groups became more pronounced over time, with 24-month survival rates for antipsychotic-treated patients falling to 46 percent versus 71 percent on the placebo and at 36 months it was 30 percent versus 59 percent.

This implies that after three years, less than a third of people on antipsychotics were alive compared to nearly two thirds using the dummy drug.

Antipsychotics are used to treat symptoms of agitation, delusions and aggressive behaviour. (ANI)

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Melanoma ‘raises new cancer risk’

January 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Jan 8 (ANI): Patients treated for melanoma are more than twice as likely to develop other, unrelated cancers than the general population, a new research suggests.

According to the research, which was led by Queen”s University Belfast, the risk was also elevated – although not as much – for patients with other forms of skin cancer.

The study has been published in the British Journal of Cancer.

To reach the conclusion, researchers scrutinized data from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, including 1,837 patients with melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and 20,823 patients with less aggressive forms of the disease.

Patients with non-melanoma skin cancer were up to 57 percent more likely to develop another type of cancer than people in the general population, the study found.

They were almost twice as likely to go on to develop melanoma and had an increased risk of smoking-related cancers, reports the BBC.

However, the risk of subsequent cancers was even higher in the melanoma group – more than double that of the general population.

Researcher Professor Liam Murray said there were several possible explanations for the link.

He said: “Sun exposure is an important risk factor for all types of skin cancers so patients who have had one type of skin cancer may be more likely to develop other types as well.

“Alternatively a new skin cancer may be more likely to be detected in patients who are monitored following their first diagnosis of skin cancer.

“The increase in smoking-related cancers may be because smoking predisposes to skin cancer as well as other cancers or because people who smoke may be more likely to have generally unhealthy lifestyles including excessive sun exposure.” (ANI)

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Nicotine gum effective for smoking reduction

January 7, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta 1 Comment

Washington, Jan 7 (ANI): Smokers who are trying to gradually kick the butt can effectively to so with the help of nicotine gum, according a new study.

Nicotine gum has been in use for over 20 years to help smokers quit abruptly however, the new study suggests that smokers wanting to quit by gradual reduction can substantially increase their success by using nicotine gum to facilitate reduction and cessation.

The researchers looked at almost 3300 smokers in a double blind, placebo-controlled study.

The participants were allowed to choose between 2-mg and 4-mg doses of nicotine gum, with the higher doses generally being selected by heavier smokers.

Within each dose group, participants were then randomized to receive either the active gum or a placebo, yielding 4 approximately equal groups.

The researchers assessed initial 24-hour abstinence and 28-day abstinence, and participants were followed up at 6 months to determine overall success rates for quitting.

They found that the odds of smokers achieving 24-hour abstinence were 40 to 90pct higher using active gum compared to placebo, and 2 to 4.7 times higher for attaining 28-day abstinence.

Moreover, at the end of 6 months, while absolute quit rates were somewhat low, the odds of quitting were about 2 to 6 times greater for active gum users as for the placebo users, with a quit rate of 6pct in the 4-mg group.

“This is the first study to demonstrate that smokers wanting to quit by gradual reduction can substantially increase their success by using nicotine gum to facilitate reduction and cessation,” said researcher Saul Shiffman.

“Nicotine gum helped smokers reduce smoking, achieve initial abstinence and maintain abstinence. The advantage of active nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) treatment is particularly evident for heavy smokers treated with the 4-mg nicotine gum, for which treatment increased the odds of quitting for 6 months sixfold.

This expands treatment options for the substantial proportion of smokers who prefer quitting gradually, who have relatively low chances of quitting and who have heretofore been implicitly excluded from the use of NRT to help them quit,” he added.

The findings appear in American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (ANI)

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Offsprings inherit disease clues from mums

January 6, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Washington, Jan 6 (ANI): Researchers at The University of Nottingham have found that expecting mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, when there is a threat of disease during pregnancy.

This study is the first of its kind to have revealed the transgenerational effect on immune response based on environmental cues — with maternal perception of disease risk in the immediate environment potentially determining offspring disease resistance and social dominance.

For the study, pregnant female mice were housed next to males infected with Babesia microti, which is a mild blood parasite causing few symptoms, but some anaemia.

The partitioned cages allowed the females to see, hear and smell their infected neighbours, but not touch them, ensuring that the disease did not spread.

Researchers then measured the effect of these ‘ambient cues’ on maternal physiology and behaviour, along with the social behaviour and immune response to disease challenge in the adult offspring.

The dams (female mice that had given birth) were found to have increased blood serum levels of corticosterone (a stress hormone known to have effects on foetal and new-born development) after being housed next to the infected males — double the amount found in dams housed next to a control group of males that were not infected.

The offspring of the dams exposed to infected neighbours were significantly less aggressive as adults than the control group offspring.

In the final part of the experiment, all offspring were infected with B microti to see if the ambient exposure affected their immunity.

The offspring, which had developed in the diseased environment, showed an earlier onset, peak and clearance of the infection than the offspring from the control dams.

The new study supports the existence of a ‘trade off’ between social dominance and disease resistance.

“It seems that the mothers in our study are priming offspring for the environment they will live in. When the risk of disease is high, improved immunity may outweigh any costs associated with reduced social dominance.” said Dr Olivia Curno, who led the research.

The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal. (ANI)

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Jupiter-like planets may easily form around twin star systems

January 6, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Washington, Jan 6 (ANI): In a new study, astronomers have suggested that Jupiter-like planets may easily form around certain types of twin star systems.

A disk of molecules discovered orbiting a pair of twin young suns in the constellation Sagittarius strongly suggests that many such binary systems also host planets.

“We think the molecular gas orbiting these two stars almost literally represents ‘smoking gun’ evidence of recent or possibly ongoing ‘giant’ (Jupiter-like) planet formation around the binary star system,” said astronomer Joel Kastner, professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.

Kastner used the 30-meter radiotelescope operated by the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) to study radio molecular spectra emitted from the vicinity of the two stars in a binary system called V4046 Sgr, which lies about 210 light-years away from our solar system.

The scientists found “in large abundance” raw materials for planet formation around the nearby stars, including circumstellar carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, in the noxious molecular gas cloud.

The young stars, approximately 10 million years old, are close in proximity to each other—only 10 solar diameters apart—and orbit each other once every 2.5 days.

“In this case, the stars are so close together, and the profile of the gas in terms of the types of molecules that are there is so much like the types of gaseous disks that we see around single stars, that it’s a real link between planets forming around single stars and planets forming around double stars,” Kastner said.

Planets that have just formed around young stars like the V4046 Sgr twins might leave leftover gas, a potential clue for astronomers who hunt planets.

Kastner is now encouraging other scientists to look closely at V4046 Sgr to see if planets are forming around them.

“We really don’t have any idea right now about what kinds of planets form around double stars or even if planets can form around double stars,” Kastner said.

“It’s not something that’s established. It’s theoretically possible, but I’m not aware of a single observation yet of a planet orbiting a double star. I hope someone will go looking soon, if they haven’t already, around V4046 Sagittarius,” he added. (ANI)

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Afghan army to grow to more than 100,000 by end of 2009

January 5, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Kabul – The fledgling Afghan national army was to grow to more than 100,000 troops by the end of this year, a spokesman said Monday.

The troops are to be trained by US-led international forces, as NATO commanders in Afghanistan demand additional soldiers to effectively combat the resurgent Taliban militants.

So far a total of 85,000 army soldiers, drawn from Afghanistan’s various ethnic groups, have been trained by military officers from the US, France and Britain since the start of the program in 2002.

“We will have up to 30,000 new soldiers, trained by coalition military partners in the course of 2009,” said General Zahir Azimi, chief spokesman of the Afghan Defence Ministry.

“With the new recruits Afghanistan will have more than 100,000 soldiers towards the end of the year,” he said, adding that the forces would also be equipped with modern military gear donated by the allied forces, mostly by the US government.

In 2008, Afghanistan experienced the worst insurgency since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001. The Taliban-led militants, who grew in recent years in numbers and strength, extended their writ to larger swathes of the country and penetrated districts adjacent to the capital Kabul.

With more than 290 foreign soldiers killed, 2008 was also the deadliest year for the nearly 70,000 international troops from 42 nations deployed to Afghanistan.

Following this difficult year, the commander for NATO-led forces in the country, US General David McKiernan, asked for additional troops to contain the insurgency.

The US government has announced to nearly double its troop presence in the country by sending up to 30,000 extra soldiers, while other NATO members also hinted to increase their troop presence in the country.

“With no doubt we will face fierce fighting in 2009 and in terms of severity of violence, it will not be different from 2008,” Azimi said. “But what makes this year different is our superiority in having more Afghan and international forces to fight the militants.”

Although the international community agreed to expand the Afghan army from its initial projected 70,000 soldiers to 132,000, Afghan and foreign military experts believe it may take up to a decade before Afghan units are capable of carrying out independent operations. (dpa)

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PML-Q won’t be a party to conflict between PML-N, PPP

January 5, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Jan 5 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that unity among all political forces is required in Pakistan, and added that he did not want to be a party to the conflict between the PML-N and the PPP.

“We don’t want to be a party to the conflict between the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party – which, in any case, is highly personalised and detrimental to the national interest,” Shujaat said.

Without naming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said on Sunday that his party was ready to work with all other political parties, “if the purpose of the alliance is to protect the country’s sovereignty and unite against instability.”

Shujaat, however, also said that while an “alliance is a good idea, one has to see the purpose behind such a partnership”.

“If the purpose of an alliance is to protect the country’s sovereignty, get united against poverty, inflation, load shedding and external aggression … the PML-Q is ready to cooperate and work with all political parties,” the Daily Times quoted Shujaat, as saying.

“But if the alliance is to save the Punjab government, that is a matter of retaining power, not a point of principle. If an alliance is sought solely to pressure the federal government into fulfilling its promises made to Nawaz Sharif, we wish them well in their narrow agenda,” Shujaat added.

Shujaat also said that those who criticised his party for supporting a military ruler had ‘double standards’.

He also reiterated that the former ruling party would preserve its identity at all cost. (ANI)

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French film industry branded racist for banning black actors from dubbing white stars

January 4, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 4 (ANI): The French film industry has been branded ‘racist’ after it banned black actors from dubbing white stars in Gallic versions of English-language movies.

An investigation revealed that casting directors regularly expelled black applicants in the belief that they had a distinctive tone of voice unsuitable for dubbing white parts.

The findings come amid claims that the failure to promote black stars in films and other media is contributing to a wider segregation in French society.

The Higher Authority for the Fight Against Discrimination and for Equality (Halde), France”s equivalent of the Commission for Racial Equality, said that double standards were widespread within the French film industry.

The investigation revealed that white actors were deemed to have ‘universal’ voices able to dub black actors such as Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.

Meanwhile, black artists were victims of ‘prejudice and stereotypes’, which meant that they were hardly ever chosen to dub white stars.

The investigation onto the matter was conducted after black actress and singer Yasmine Modestine complained that she had been the victim of discrimination when she was excluded from dubbing a white star in an American television series.

“Directors in the dubbing world believe that black people have black voices. But if that”s the case how come whites are allowed to dub blacks? The truth is its racism,” Times Online quoted Modestine, as saying. (ANI)

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McFLY’s Danny Jones dumps girlfriend for Miss England

January 4, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 4 (ANI): Danny Jones, the lead singer of McFLY, has reportedly dumped his girlfriend of two years for Miss England.

According to sources, the crooner of the hell-raising band was caught snogging with Laura Coleman after performing at the Miss World pageant in South Africa.

He then admitted about the clinch to his loyal girlfriend Olivia Shaw, before promptly ending their relationship.

Now, Danny is happily dating Laura — and according to sources, he’s smitten.

A pal revealed: “Danny’s a very honest guy. He didn’t want to cheat on Olivia, so as soon as he kissed Laura he realised he had to end the relationship.

“Danny never slept with Laura while he was still with Olivia, they only kissed.”

Dan and Olivia were on the rocks for a while, but despite this, the news did come as a complete blow to Olivia, reports News of the World.

The source added: “She hadn’t seen it coming. Danny has always loved his girl fanbase, but he was so tight with Olivia.

“So it was a real slap in the face when Danny told her he had kissed Miss England. Deciding to end the relationship was a double blow.”

Danny’s first dalliance with Laura took place on December 13 after McFly had performed their hit single Lies at the Miss World final.

The source disclosed: “It happened after the show. There was an instant attraction between Danny and Laura.” (ANI)

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Cabinet Nod For Hike In Judges’ Salaries

January 4, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

The approval to circulate an ordinance to raise the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts to give immediate effect to the hike proposed in the Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2008 was made in the Union Cabinet meeting.

Since the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2008, could not be passed in the Parliament session that ended on December 23, 2008.

The Chief Justice of India revised salary would be Rs 1 Lakh per month. As well as Dearness Allowance and Rs 90, 000 per month, plus DA, for judges of the apex court and Chief Justices of High Courts. Judges of High Courts would draw a monthly salary of Rs 80,000, plus DA. Pension of judges would also be equally revised.

The statement of objects and reasons in the Amendment Bill had stated, “The need to increase the salaries, allowances and pension of the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts has been necessitated because of the increase in the salaries, allowances and pensions of Central Government employees on acceptance of the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission by the government.”

From January 1, 2006 the revision will be effective. 40% of the arrears of salary will be given in the current financial year and the balance in the next financial year.

The government has taken a decision to double the existing limit of both sumptuary allowance and furnishing allowance for all the Supreme Court and High Court judges. It will effect from September 1, 2008.

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Rajinikanth Undergoes Facial Treatment For Love Scene With Ash

January 2, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Ace Tollywood actor Rajinikanth has undergone various facial treatments to improve his looks in order to match up with Bollywood hottie Aishwarya Rai’s beauty.

This gorgeous jet-setting diva is doing the role of an actress in Rajinikanth’s upcoming flick ‘Endhiran.’

Rajini will be seen doing a love-scene with Ash inside a top model Benz car at Kulu Manali.

According to sources, the movie will have Rajinikanth in double role.

‘Endhiran’ is a science-fiction Tamil–language movie being directed by S. Shankar, who with Endhiran, directs his tenth feature film.

In spite of several rumors regarding the lead actors, Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai have been formally announced to portray the lead characters. The film is expected to cost 120 crores, one of the highest ever film budgets of the Chennai film industry.

Endhiran, which is expected to cost 120 crores, is one of the highest ever film budgets of the Chennai film industry.

Will Rajinikanth’s facial treatment able to defy his age and match up to the beauty of Mrs Bachchan? Hilarious and exciting, no?

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: according, Actor, Aishwarya, bachchan, beauty, budgets, characters, Chennai, cost, crores, defy, directs, diva, double, endhiran, expected, facial, film, highest, industry, lead, match, movie, mrs, rai, rajini, rajinikanth, role, shankar, treatment

Maintaining a food diary can double your weight loss

November 3, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Want to get rid of those extra pounds? Well, then all you need to do is simply write down your daily food intake, for it can double your weight loss, according to a new study.

The study, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed 1,700 overweight people over six months, and revealed that those who wrote down everything they ate lost an average of 13lb.

“Recording what you eat can really help you lose weight, because a lot of the time, you’re not conscious of your behaviour,” Times Online quoted Azmina Govindji, a consultant nutritionist and author of The Hot Body Plan, as saying.

“Some eating habits are situational — for example, having tea and a chocolate biscuit while watching your favourite television programme. We do it on autopilot. If you know that you actually have to record every item you eat, it gives a split-second pause for thought. You think, ‘Do I really want to write this down.’

“Through the use of a food journal, we often become aware of patterns that are self-destructive.

“We become more authentically honest with ourselves, and we start asking the question ‘What’s eating me?’ instead of ‘What can I eat?’ ” Govindji said.

Even people who believe that they are resolutely healthy can get a shock when they see everything written down in black and white.

“Once someone spots a pattern, then they can do something to change it,” Govindji said.

The most common patterns she uncovers are in those who eat naughty foods because they are bored, hormonal or depressed.

The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: become, conscious, double, eat, everything, extra, food, govindji, journal, London, loss, patterns, people, plan, quoted, really, record, study, weight, wisconsin-madison

Posey sparks unbeaten Hornets past James, Cavaliers

November 3, 2008 By admin Leave a Comment

Los Angeles – LeBron James now has a clear understanding of why the New Orleans Hornets signed James Posey in the off season.

Posey sparked a fourth-quarter surge with a strip of James and a dunk Saturday night as the New Orleans Hornets pulled away from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 104-92 victory in an early season match-up of championship contenders.

David West scored 25 points, and Chris Paul added 24 and 15 assists for the Hornets (3-0), who limited James to 15 points and captured their home opener after road wins over Golden State and Phoenix.

“I never really got into a comfortable zone all night tonight,” said James, who played unselfishly and had 13 assists. “We still were in the game going into the fourth quarter, but late in the game, I never got into it.”

Both teams reached game seven of their conference semifinals last season and added key players in the off season. Cleveland traded for point guard Mo Williams, and New Orleans added Posey, who won titles with Miami in 2006 and Boston in 2008. He has been coming off the bench, providing his trademark tough defence and clutch shooting.

“Posey has been great since day one,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “I told him I’m going to use him more [offensively] than some of his other coaches have as far as allowing him to run the offence and post up.”

Wally Szczerbiak opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that gave Cleveland a 75-73 lead. The Cavaliers still held an 83-81 edge after a James free throw with 6:13 left before the Hornets surged.

Paul answered with a jumper and found Rasual Butler for a 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, Posey poked the ball away from a driving James and went in for an uncontested dunk and an 88-83 lead with 5:08 left.

“Defence was the key,” Scott noted. “We were very aggressive against LeBron and just didn’t give him the alleys he’s accustomed to seeing.”

West made a jumper, Posey added a free throw and Paul drained two more to push the lead to double digits. James finally answered with a drive, but Posey clinched it, taking a pass from Paul and burying a 3-pointer for a 96-85 lead with 2:25 to go.

“We have very unselfish guys,” said Posey, who had 15 points, six rebounds and four steals. “You have Chris making plays for himself and everybody else. You move the ball and you get wide-open shots.”

Rasual Butler started and scored 14 points for the Hornets, who were without injured starters Peja Stojakovic of Serbia and Tyson Chandler.

Lithuania’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 18 points, and Daniel Gibson added 14 for the Cavaliers, who had six players in double figures but fell to 1-2.

Elsewhere:

Indiana 95, Boston 79:

Danny Granger scored 20 points despite losing two teeth diving for a loose ball as the host Pacers surprised the defending champion Celtics. Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Boston, which started 12-0 last season.

LA Lakers 104, Denver 97:

Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and Spanish star Pau Gasol added 16 and had 16 rebounds as the visiting Lakers improved to 3-0. Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony scored 13 points in his first contest after a two-game suspension.

Dallas 95, Minnesota 85:

German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points to lead a balanced attack as the visiting Mavericks beat the Timberwolves for the ninth-straight time.

Orlando 121, Sacramento 103:

The host Magic finally broke through for their first win of the season as Dwight Howard had 29 points and 14 rebounds. Kevin Martin scored 31 points for Sacramento (0-3).

Houston 89, Oklahoma City 77:

Tracy McGrady scored 22 points to lead six players in double figures as the Rockets improved to 3-0. Chinese superstar Yao Ming added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 26 points for the visiting Thunder (0-3).

Toronto 91, Milwaukee 87:

Spain’s Jose Calderson scored 25 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer and two clutch free throws in the final 21 seconds, as the visiting Raptors improved to 3-0.

Chicago 96, Memphis 86:

Top overall draft pick Derrick Rose continued his strong play with 26 points to help the host Bulls turn back the Grizzlies.

Charlotte 100, Miami 87:

Gerald Wallace scored 34 points, and Jason Richardson added 23 as the Bobcats won their home opener, giving Hall of Famer Larry Brown his first coaching victory with his ninth team. Rookie Michael Beasley scored 25 points for Miami.

Golden State 105, New Jersey 97:

The Warriors ended a 10-game slide in New Jersey with their first win of the season as Latvia’s Andris Biedrins had 23 points and 11 rebounds, spoiling the Nets’ home opener.

Phoenix 107, Portland 96:

Amare Stoudemire scored 16 of his 23 points in the pivotal third quarter as the host Suns defeated the Trail Blazers for the 10th-straight time. Spain’s Rudy Fernandez and Brandon Roy scored 20 points each for Portland.

Detroit 117, Washington 109:

Argentina’s Walter Herrmann led a huge bench effort with 16 points to help the host Pistons outgun the Wizards.

Utah 101, LA Clippers 79:

Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Russia’s Andrei Kirilenko added 11 and nine to help the host Jazz overwhelm the winless Clippers (0-3).

Atlanta 95, Philadelphia 88:

Joe Johnson scored 35 points as the Hawks (2-0) rallied from a 23-point second-quarter deficit and won their home opener. Elton Brand had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the 76ers. (dpa)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: 3-pointer, added, answered, assists, away, ball, bench, boston, cavaliers, chris, cleveland, clippers, clutch, coach, defence, double, dunk, figures, finally, fourth, free, game, give, going, golden, help, home, hornets, host, improved, james, jersey, jumper, Kevin, key, la, lakers, lead, lebron, Miami, night, opener, orleans, paul, phoenix, play, players, points, portland, posey, quarter, rasual, rebounds, sacramento, scored, scott, season, six, Spain, started, state, superstar, surge, team, throw, victory, visiting, west, win, won

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