Jordan ruins her kids’ holiday with Peter Andre

London, Aug 31 (ANI): Former model Katie Price, a.k.a. Jordan, is said to have ruined her kids’ holiday with her estranged hubby Peter Andre, after she leaked the location on her Twitter page.

Andre, 36, was due to fly out to a secret resort on the Italian island of Sardinia with Harvey, 7, Junior, 4, and two-year-old Princess Tiaamii on September 1, but had to cancel after Jordan, 31, revealed the location.

“Heard Pete doing shoot with the kids in sardina (sic) an going Tues dont know why he is doing a shoot he has set up every other one in papers sad!” the Daily Star quoted her as having written on her Twitter page.

But pals of Andre have insisted that he had no intention of using his children in photo opportunities.

“Pete is very, very upset about this,” said a close friend.

“He and the children were really looking forward to spending some time together on holiday.

“He’d planned this trip in secret to avoid attention but now she’s managed to act like a real selfish bitch and ruined everything.

“Pete had chosen the resort because it was private and he could take the kids around to different activities without being hassled.

“Far from wanting to be photographed the whole purpose of the visit was to avoid photographers.

“Kate may have used the kids for publicity but Pete hasn’t,” the friend added. (ANI)

Warped debris disks around stars a result of interstellar wind

Washington, August 29 (ANI): In a new research, a team of scientists has determined that the warped shapes of the dust-filled disks where new planets may be forming around other stars, may be due to interstellar wind.

The dust-filled disks where new planets may be forming around other stars occasionally take on some difficult-to-understand shapes.

Now, a team led by John Debes at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has found that a star’s motion through interstellar gas can account for many of them.

“The disks contain small comet- or asteroid-like bodies that may grow to form planets,” Debes said. “These small bodies often collide, which produces a lot of fine dust,” he added.

As the star moves through the galaxy, it encounters thin gas clouds that create a kind of interstellar wind.

“The small particles slam into the flow, slow down, and gradually bend from their original trajectories to follow it,” said Debes.

Far from being empty, the space between stars is filled with patchy clouds of low-density gas.

When a star encounters a relatively dense clump of this gas, the resulting flow produces a drag force on any orbiting dust particles.

The force only affects the smallest particles – those about one micrometer across, or about the size of particles in smoke.

“This fine dust is usually removed through collisions among the particles, radiation pressure from the star’s light and other forces,” explained Debes. “The drag from interstellar gas just takes them on a different journey than they otherwise would have had,” he said.

Working with Alycia Weinberger at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and Goddard astrophysicist Marc Kuchner, Debes was using the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate the composition of dust around the star HD 32297, which lies 340 light-years away in the constellation Orion.

He noticed that the interior of the dusty disk – a region comparable in size to our own solar system – was warped in a way that matched a previously known warp at larger distances.

“Other research indicated there were interstellar gas clouds in the vicinity. The pieces came together to make me think that gas drag was a good explanation for what was going on,” Debes said.

“It looks like interstellar gas helps young planetary systems shed dust much as a summer breeze helps dandelions scatter seeds,” Kuchner said.

As dust particles respond to the interstellar wind, a debris disk can morph into peculiar shapes determined by the details of its collision with the gas cloud. (ANI)

Australia faces a long, dusty fight for survival at The Oval: Roebuck

Sydney, Aug. 22 (ANI): Australia faces a long struggle to survive at The Oval, believes noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck.

According to Roebuck, an interesting few days awaits as skilful batsmen contend with fast bowlers bent on exploiting uneven bounce and modest spinners try to make the ball bite and turn.

“Far from playing hard and true, the strip was grudging and dusty from the opening hour. Evidently the curator overdid it. This match is likely to grip till the last afternoon,” he writes in his column for The Age.

“At stumps, Australia’s position was precarious. Hereafter it might need to rethink its bowling strategy by choosing horses for courses. Previously it was able to play the same blokes in all conditions. Great bowlers travel well. The current crop have varied skills. A ruthless approach may be required, with bowlers coming and going regardless,” Roebuck says. (ANI)

Once a hub of Buddhism, Pak today bereft of even relics of Gandhara civilization

Karachi, Aug.18 (ANI): The Buddhist religion is virtually extinct in Pakistan, as there is not even a single monastery in the country which once remained a hub of Buddhism.

Pakistan, where the Gandhara civilization is believed to have flourished, holds an eminent place in the Buddhist theology. However, due to continuous suppression and disregard over the years the religion slowly died out from the region.

The Goethe-Institute of Pakistan organized a visual presentation of Buddhist relics on Monday in order to arouse interest and create awareness regarding Buddhism.

The presentation which was delivered by Department of Archaeology and Museums, Assistant Director, Mehmood-ul-Hassan, focused on the life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and the development of the Buddhism in the region, The Daily Times reports.

Hassan said Buddhism was heavily destroyed in the region after the invasion of White Huns. Following the invasion Buddhists started migrating to Far-East Asia.

He said second Buddha was born in Swat and that is the reason why the Valley region was rich with Buddhist relics.

He urged the government to introduce courses of arts and heritage in the schools and colleges so that students could know about their culture and heritage.

“We have no other option but to save these relics, these are our cultural identities,” said Hassan. (ANI)

Herschel’s first insight into space reveals spectacular results

Paris, July 11 (ANI): The Herschel Space Observatory has carried out the first test observations with all its instruments, revealing spectacular results, finding water and carbon and revealing dozens of distant galaxies.

These observations show that Herschel’s instruments are working beyond expectations. They promise a mission of rich discoveries for waiting astronomers.

On June 24, Herschel’s Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) was trained on two galaxies for its first look at the Universe.

The galaxies showed up prominently, providing astronomers with their best images yet at these wavelengths, and revealing other, more distant galaxies in the background of the images.

The pictures show galaxies M66 and M74 at a wavelength of 250 microns, longer than any previous infrared space observatory, but still the shortest SPIRE wavelength.

SPIRE is designed to look at star formation in our own Galaxy and in nearby galaxies. It will also search for star-forming galaxies in the very distant Universe.

Because these galaxies are so far away, their light has taken a very long time to reach us; so by detecting them, we are looking into the past and learning how and when galaxies like our own were formed.

Herschel’s primary mirror is 3.5 m in diameter, nearly four times larger than any previous infrared space telescope.

These images prove that Herschel enables a giant leap forward in scientists’ ability to study celestial objects at far infrared wavelengths.

Scientists used Herschel’s Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on June 22 to look for warm molecular gas heated by newborn massive stars in the DR21 star-forming region in Cygnus.

HIFI provided excellent data in two different observing modes, returning information on the composition of the region with unprecedented accuracy and resolution.

It works by ‘zooming in’ on specific wavelengths, revealing different spectral ‘lines’ that represent the fingerprints of atoms and molecules and even the physical conditions of the object observed.

This makes it a powerful tool to study the role of gas and dust in the formation of stars and planets and the evolution of galaxies.

Using HIFI, scientists observed ionized carbon, carbon monoxide, and water in DR21.

These different molecular lines contribute to a more complete understanding of what is happening deep in space.

The high quality of these first observations promises great new insights into the process of star formation.

Following these images, Herschel is now in the performance verification phase, where the instruments will be further tested and calibrated. (ANI)

US demand for Israeli settlement freeze tantamount to “extortion”: Schneller

Jerusalem, June 30 (ANI): Knesset member Otniel Schneller has termed the US demand for a settlement freeze as “extortion”, which could impede Israeli readiness for peace.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Schneller, as saying that Obama administration officials were holding beliefs shaped by “far-Left opinions outside of the Israeli consensus.”

Schneller, who has been involved in peace deals with the Palestinians and Jordan since 1994, wrote a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak ahead of his US visit.

“Although Israel must go as much as possible in the direction of American interests through democracy, maintaining peace, continuing to work together with Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas], when the Obama government extorts the government of Israel by putting forward the question of natural growth and settlements opposite the Iranian question, it is extortion in the full meaning of the word,” Schneller wrote.

In the letter, Schneller wrote he “searched for ways to find a meeting-point between Israel’s desire to advance peace, the recognition of the agreement of the majority of Israeli people to recognize a Palestinian state, and the fatalism of America that is pushing us into a corner.”

“The most dangerous thing to the peace process is to push the Israeli public into a corner,” he added.

Schneller said, the American call to freeze all Jewish building in the West Bank were “unifying the Israeli public against the American demands.”

“What does the president of the United States think – that a nuclear Middle East is less dangerous than natural growth in a small settlement? What does the American Jew who voted for Obama think? To allow him to endanger our physical existence in Israel because my daughter is going to have a baby?” he asked. (ANI)

Ruskin Bond celebrates his 75th birthday

Mussoorie, May 20 (ANI): Ruskin Bond, a stalwart of children’s literature, celebrated his 75th birthday with children here on Tuesday.

The famed writer who wrote more than hundred short stories, essays, novels in his writing career of forty years, chose a bookstore to celebrate his platinum birthday.

School children from various schools have presented Bond with flower bouquet and many other gifts. In return, Bond blessed them with autographs.

School children were delighted on being a part of the birthday function of Bond, who has written more than thirty books for children.

“We felt very nice. We have gathered here to celebrate Ruskin Sir’s birthday,” said Himani, a student.

On the occasion, Bond also revealed about his upcoming book.

“I am writing “Diary of the School Master”. Its is a funny book, ” said Bond, whose stories are predominantly set in Garhwal.

Born in 1934, Bond is known for writing simple, calm, humourous and satirical stuff.

His most famous books include “A Flight of Pigeons”, “Delhi Is Not Far” and “Vagrants in the Valley”.

Whereas his acclaimed short stories collection include “Time Stops at Shamli”, “Night Train at Deoli” and “Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra”.

Besides this, Bond has also edited two anthologies, “The Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories”, and “The Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories”.

Bond was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for his contribution to children’s literature. (ANI)

Wenger refuses to rule out switch to Real Madrid

London, May 18 (ANI): Arsenal’s coach Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out a summer switch to Spanish football giant Real Madrid.

The Gunners’ long-serving boss was coy when asked on French TV whether he had spoken to Madrid presidential candidate Florentino Perez.

Far from denying it, Wenger just said: “Please allow me to remain discreet on this matter.”

Perez is the overwhelming favourite to win next month’s presidential election at the Bernabeu.

“With Perez, the project will be greatly interesting for all the managers,” The Sun quoted Wenger, as saying.

Frenchman Wenger took over at Arsenal in September 1996 and has never walked out on a club before the end of his contract.

But this time, he would only say: “In general, I always go to the end of my contract.”

The report also claimed Wenger held a meeting with Perez in a hotel in Paris last Tuesday. But after the goalless draw with Manchester United on Saturday, Wenger insisted he was looking forward to challenging the Red Devils for the title next season.

Wenger has already told United boss Alex Ferguson: “We’ll be fighting you for the title next season.” (ANI)

Soon, black and white e-readers to be replaced by colour version

London, May 18 (ANI): An American company is gearing up to replace black and white e-book readers with a colour version, expected to be on the market by the end of 2010.

E Ink Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts, says that it will be demonstrating a colour version of its e-paper at the Society for Information Display conference in San Antonio, Texas, on May 31.

The company says that the new version of the e-book reader would be aimed at having a reflective display that uses very little power and is as easy on the eye as the printed word.

It has revealed that the colour version will be based on technology called an electrophoretic display.

In the new colour display, each pixel will be split into four sub-pixels showing red, green, blue and white in their “on” states, which means squeezing four times as many transistors beneath each pixel to control the electrodes, which has been a challenge too far- until now.

“The transistor resolution is now getting fine enough,” New Scientist magazine quoted Sri Peruvemba of E Ink as saying. (ANI)

Bahrain Petro firm completes feasibility studies worth five billion dollars

Nicosia, May 9 (ANI): The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), which wholly owned by the government of Bahrain, has just completed the feasibility studies for four to five projects expected to cost five billion dollars.

BAPCO is involved in oil prospecting, drilling, production and distribution, sales and exports of petroleum products, natural gas and refined products. It also has storage facilities for more than 14 million barrels, a marine and a marketing terminal.

One of the projects is to increase the refining capacity of the company’s refinery from the current level of 250,000 barrels a day to 350,000 barrels a day.

Another project is to expand and replace oil pipelines linking Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with the aim of increasing the flow of oil by 115,000 barrels a day.

The plan will also study the feasibility of using Bapco’s refinery for oil jointly produced by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at the Abu Safa field, instead of directly exporting the crude oil to Bapco’s customers in the Middle East, India, the Far and South East and Africa.

Company officials say that the initial studies of the project will be completed by the end of this year, or the beginning of 2010. (ANI)

US Navy reaches ship hijacked by Somali pirates

Washington, April 9 (DPA) A US Navy vessel has arrived at a US-flagged cargo ship whose captain was being held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Crew members earlier retook control of the Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, but the ship’s captain was still being held hostage.

The Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived to help the crew, a military official told CNN. Navy officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Captain Richard Phillips was being held by the pirates on the ship’s 28-foot lifeboat and was alive, second mate Ken Quinn earlier told CNN.

Quinn confirmed that the crew was in control of the ship.

‘We took one of the pirates hostage. We tied him up and kept him for 12 hours. We returned him, but they didn’t return our captain,’ Quinn said.

‘They’re (pirates) not aboard. We’re in control of the vessel. We can hear our captain – he’s got a ship radio.’

The ship with 20 US citizens on board was hijacked by Somali pirates early Wednesday morning, the first time a US crew has been taken hostage in the volatile waters.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Association said that the 17,000-ton vessel, the Maersk Alabama, was taken in the Indian Ocean, around 500 km off the Somali coast.

Four pirates apparently boarded the ship and at least one of them had been taken into custody by the crew, Defence Department officials said according to the American Forces Press Service.

The US State Department would not confirm that the ship was recaptured. Spokesman Robert Wood said there were still a number of ‘contradictory reports’ coming out of the region.

The White House earlier said it was ‘closely monitoring’ the situation. A spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain said a coalition force off the Somali coast was keeping watch on the vessel.

Somali pirates, who typically seek ransom, have stepped up their attacks on ships operating off the coast in recent weeks. The Danish-US ship is the sixth to be seized since Saturday.

The 32,000-ton British-owned Malaspina Castle, flying a Panama flag, was seized Monday along with its crew of 24 from Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines.

Taiwanese fishing vessel MV Win Far was taken on the same day near the Seychelles. Its crew of 30 is from Taiwan, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

A French yacht, a Yemeni tugboat and a German container ship were also seized over the weekend.

The pirates do not harm their crew, instead holding out for multi-million dollar ransoms.

Pirate gangs in 2008 seized dozens of ships and earned tens of millions of dollars, prompting the international community to send in a fleet of warships.

Around 15 warships from the European Union, a coalition task force and individual countries such as Russia, India and China patrol an area of about 2.85 million sq km.

Half of Universe’s starlight comes from young star-forming galaxies

Washington, April 9 (ANI): Using a two-tonne telescope, scientists from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have found that half of the starlight of the Universe comes from young, star-forming galaxies several billion light years away.

The finding was a result of a two-year analysis of data from the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope (BLAST) project.

“While those familiar optical images of the night sky contain many fascinating and beautiful objects, they are missing half of the picture in describing the cosmic history of star formation,” said UBC Astronomy Professor Douglas Scott.

“Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust,” said Barth Netterfield, a cosmologist in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at U of T.

“The dust absorbs the starlight, hiding the young stars from view. The brightest stars in the Universe are also the shortest lived and many never leave their stellar nursery. However, the warmed dust emits light at far-infrared and submillimetre wavelengths – invisible to the human eye, but visible to the sensitive thermo-detectors on BLAST,” he added.

According to UBC Professor Mark Halpern, part of the UBC team that also includes post-doctoral fellows Ed Chapin and Gaelen Marsden, “The history of star formation in the universe is written out in our data. It is beautiful. And it is just a taste of things to come.”

The study combines BLAST submillimetre observations at wavelengths around 0.3 mm – between infrared and microwave wavelengths – with data at much shorter infrared wavelengths from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

It confirmed that all of the Far Infrared Background comes from individual distant galaxies, answering a decade-old question of the radiation’s origin.

“BLAST has given us a new view of the Universe,” said Netterfield, whose U of T colleagues on the project include department chair Peter G. Martin and graduate students Marco P. Viero, Donald V. Wiebe (now a post-doc at UBC) and Enzo Pascale (now a faculty member at Cardiff University).

“The data we collected enable us to make discoveries in topics ranging from the formation of stars to the evolution of distant galaxies,” he added. (ANI)

Tempers run high ahead of Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The political temperature was rising ahead of Lok Sabha elections just nine days away with arrest orders against Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for threatening BJP candidate Varun Gandhi, now in jail, and an emotional Sikh journalist hurling a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram at a Congress press conference Tuesday.

As political parties slug it out in what is expected to be one of the toughest general elections, a few candidates, including high profile ones, are stooping low and offending the Election Commission.

On Monday, Lalu Prasad, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), stunned everyone when he threatened to run a ‘roller’ over Varun Gandhi for his alleged anti-Muslim speeches that have sent him to jail.

Addressing a rally in Kishanganj, 350 km from Patna, he thundered: ‘If I were the home minister, and if Varun had said this, then I would have run a roller over his chest and thought about the consequences later.’

He also justified the move to jail Varun Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit constituency, as right.

Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), which too has come out against Varun Gandhi’s speeches, voiced shock over Lalu Prasad’s remarks, saying it was unbecoming of a central minister to speak in this manner.

Kishanganj District Superintendent of Police Ram Narayan Singh Tuesday ordered the arrest of Lalu Prasad on the strength of a criminal complaint filed against the railway minister.

Far away from Bihar, at a press conference in the national capital, Chidambaram swerved to avoid a shoe hurled by journalist Jarnail Singh, who had got into a minor tiff with the minister on the circumstances that led to Congress’ Lok Sabha nominee Jagdish Tytler being exonerated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The ugly episode, quickly condemned by almost all political parties, highlighted how temperatures were rising before the polls. Things could get even more out of hand as parties, alliances and their supporters joust and scuffle for supremacy and voter attention.

In Hyderabad, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) condemned Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that the Andhra Pradesh capital was sitting on a powder keg and had terrorists more dangerous than those in Jammu and Kashmir.

MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that Modi’s remarks made at a BJP rally Monday were part of a conspiracy to weaken the Muslim leadership. He said he would complain to the Election Commission.

Addressing a public meeting Monday night in the city, Modi said a link to Hyderabad emerged whenever a terrorist incident occurred in Gujarat, Mumbai and other places in the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, Ashok Pradhan, the BJP candidate from the Bulandshahr Lok Sabha constituency, has been booked along with 10 party activists for making provocative statements, police said.

Pradhan, a former union minister, and the others had assembled March 30 at the BJP office in Bulandshahr, about 400 km from Lucknow, and raised allegedly offensive slogans. They were demanding the release of BJP leader Varun Gandhi, now in the Etah jail for his alleged hate speeches.

Taiwan minister identifies fishing vessel seized by Somali pirates

Taipei – Taiwan on Monday evening identified the Taiwanese fishing trawler which was hijacked by Somali pirates as the MV win Far 161.

Chang Yun-ping, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of African Affairs, told a late-evening news conference that the ship had a crew of 30 when it was seized near the Seychelles islands.

Previous reports from the region had not yet identified the vessel, an 800-ton tuna trawler.

Chang said the pirates had yet to demand ransom from the vessel’s owner in Taiwan, and the ministry was seeking international assistance for the location and possible release of the trawler.

He said of the 30 crew members include two Taiwanese, including the captain, five Chinese, six Indonesians and 17 Filipinos.

In 2005, three Taiwanese fishing vessels were seized by pirates and held for six months before the owners each paid a 500,000 US dollar ransom.

In 2007, a Taiwanese trawler was held five months by Somali pirates before the owners paid a 200,000 US dollar ransom.

Global recession spells trouble for Nepal tourism industry

Lumbini (Nepal), Mar 23 (ANI): The global recession, cancellation of certain international flights and political instability including the on-going stir by the Madeshis has affected the tourist inflow in Nepal.

Officials of Nepal Tourism have reported that the suspension of flights from Thailand has gravely affected the tourism industry in Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha. And evident are barren streets of market places and least occupancy in hotels.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M), which succeeded the 240-year-old monarchy in Nepal, is yet to stabilise the socio-politico-economy structure of the country.

“Because of global economic crisis, we have not been able to achieve our goals,” said Hari Rai, Information In-charge, Tourism Department, Lumbini.

Nepal’s famed natural beauty used to attract lot of foreign tourists, mainly from the European and Far Eastern nations.

“I think it would be sad as political instability in Nepal would make it difficult for foreigners to come to Nepal,” said Edwin Kelly, a foreign tourist.

Around 7,250 tourists visited Lumbini in January 2008 and this number has slid down to 4,485 in January 2009, marking a 40 percent decline.

Revival of tourism is crucial to revive the country’s instable economy, as it is a major source of foreign currency earnings and employment. By Pawan Kumar Shah (ANI)

China plans new stage show on Karl Marx’s Das Kapital

London, Mar 18 (ANI): China is reportedly planning to adapt Karl Marx’s Das Kapital into a new stage show.

Though revolutionaries have disregarded the bourgeois art form, the show’s producers insist that in the confident, modern-day People’s Republic, opera is a novel way to explain the proletariat’s triumph in the class struggle.

“The particular performance style we choose is not important, but Marx’s theories cannot be distorted,” the Telegraph quoted director He Nian as saying during an interview with China’s Wen Hui Bao newspaper.

He, best known for a stage adaptation of a martial-arts spoof, plans to open the production in Shanghai next year, and will borrow elements from Broadway musicals and Las Vegas shows.

There will, however, be no trivialisation of the book’s core messages: an economist from a local university has been asked to ensure that it remains intellectually respectful of Marxist doctrine.

To that end, audiences can expect a storyline that appears to be only marginally racier than the original Das Kapital, a dense, 1,000-page tract which has traditionally tested the commitment of even the most ardent Communist reader.

The opera’s plot will involve a business where workers begin to realise their boss is exploiting them. They then embrace the Marxist theory of surplus value.

Far from uniting to overthrow the established order, though, some of the chorus line mutiny, others continue as they are, while some engage in collective bargaining. He insists it will be “fun to watch”. (ANI)

Jane Fonda keeps in touch with fans through online diary

London, Mar 06 (ANI): Legendary actress Jane Fonda has found a new way of keeping in touch with her fans-using the Internet to share her thoughts with them.

Fonda, 71, said that she was a “complete Luddite” in the past, and was not too familiar with the Internet.

However, she has finally begun communicating with her fans through her website janefonda.com.

Jane Fonda revealed that since the time she has embraced the modern technology, she feels closer to her fans and often posts bulletins about her new Broadway play ’33 Variations’.

“I thought it would be interesting to bring people through this process with me. I was a complete Luddite before. I only Googled for the first time this past summer. But this is a gratifying experience and I hear from all sorts of people, many of whom say they have left the theatre inspired by this play,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

Jane even revealed that she was working on a follow-up to her 2005 autobiography, My Life So Far.

“I’m about 10 chapters in,” Fonda added. (ANI)

Jane Fonda keeps in touch with fans through online diary

London, Mar 06 (ANI): Legendary actress Jane Fonda has found a new way of keeping in touch with her fans-using the Internet to share her thoughts with them.

Fonda, 71, said that she was a “complete Luddite” in the past, and was not too familiar with the Internet.

However, she has finally begun communicating with her fans through her website janefonda.com.

Jane Fonda revealed that since the time she has embraced the modern technology, she feels closer to her fans and often posts bulletins about her new Broadway play ’33 Variations’.

“I thought it would be interesting to bring people through this process with me. I was a complete Luddite before. I only Googled for the first time this past summer. But this is a gratifying experience and I hear from all sorts of people, many of whom say they have left the theatre inspired by this play,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

Jane even revealed that she was working on a follow-up to her 2005 autobiography, My Life So Far.

“I’m about 10 chapters in,” Fonda added. (ANI)

Jane Fonda keeps in touch with fans through online diary

London, Mar 06 (ANI): Legendary actress Jane Fonda has found a new way of keeping in touch with her fans-using the Internet to share her thoughts with them.

Fonda, 71, said that she was a “complete Luddite” in the past, and was not too familiar with the Internet.

However, she has finally begun communicating with her fans through her website janefonda.com.

Jane Fonda revealed that since the time she has embraced the modern technology, she feels closer to her fans and often posts bulletins about her new Broadway play ’33 Variations’.

“I thought it would be interesting to bring people through this process with me. I was a complete Luddite before. I only Googled for the first time this past summer. But this is a gratifying experience and I hear from all sorts of people, many of whom say they have left the theatre inspired by this play,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

Jane even revealed that she was working on a follow-up to her 2005 autobiography, My Life So Far.

“I’m about 10 chapters in,” Fonda added. (ANI)

No respite for Indian markets, Sensex remains southbound

Mumbai, Feb 24 (IANS) Indian equities markets were in the red again a little before noon Tuesday, continuing last week’s dismal run with a key index dipping 1.51 percent from its closing figure Friday.

Analysts described the downturn as a reaction to depressed global sentiments.

The 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex), which opened at 8,707.35 points, was at 8,709.8 points around noon, a decrease of 133.41 points or 1.51 percent from its previous close.

Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell to 2,704.3 points, 1.17 percent down from its last close at 2,736.45.

The BSE midcap index was 1.84 percent lower, while the BSE smallcap index was down 1.79 percent.

All the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE were in negative terrain with the index for realty stocks losing the most.

Among the gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra and Mahindra (up 0.66 percent at Rs.283.10), ACC (up 0.48 percent at Rs.556.40) and Hindustan Unilever (up 0.36 percent at Rs.250.10).

Amongst the losers were HDFC (down 4.68 percent at Rs.1,290.30), Tata Steel (down 4.37 percent at Rs.160.70), Jaiprakash Associates (down 3.81 percent at Rs.64.45) and Reliance Infra (down 3.79 percent at Rs.472.70).

In other Asian markets, a key Japanese index, the Nikkei of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was ruling at 7,215.25 points, 2.18 percent lower than its previous close.

The Hang Seng, a key index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was ruling 3.53 percent below its last close.

In the US, two major gauges of Wall Street – the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard and Poor’s 500 – tumbled to their lowest levels in nearly 12 years as investors worried about the government’s efforts to beat the recession.

The Dow Monday lost 250 points, or 3.4 percent, ending at the lowest point since May 7, 1997. The S&P 500 index lost 26 points, or 3.5 percent, ending at the lowest point since April 11, 1997.

The tech-fuelled index Nasdaq composite index lost 53 points, or 3.7 percent. It has held up better than the rest of the market so far this year, closing Monday at the lowest point since Nov 20, 2008.
Indo Asian News Service