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I made martinis for my dad at age 6: Gwyneth Paltrow

May 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, May 21 (ANI): Iron Man star Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed that she used to mix martinis for her dad at the age of six, and that she enjoys drinking the odd cocktail herself.

Paltrow, 37, who is married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, told of her drink-mixing skills as she took part in a British TV cookery show.

“I love a dirty martini. I used to make my dad his drinks when I was about six!” the Sun quoted her as saying.

She also revealed that she has been cooking “seriously” for 15 years. (ANI)

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Junior doctors’ strike in Bihar, claims 38 lives

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Patna, Aug 31(ANI): The outdoor and emergency services at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) continue to be affected for the fifth day on Monday due to an indefinite strike by 800-odd junior doctors.

According to reports, the doctors strike has so far claimed lives of 38 patients.

“Work at emergency and other wards of the Patna Medical College Hospital in Patna and Darbhanga Medical College Hospital at Darbhanga have been seriously hit by the strike,” a news channel quoted official sources, as saying.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that the junior doctors should withdraw the strike as soon as possible.

“The timing of the strike is completely wrong and anti-people. It should have been amicably resolved, instead of resorting to a stir,” Kumar said.

The striking juniors are pressing for introduction of payscale system in place of existing stipend system, which they get in lieu of work while pursuing their postgraduate studies.

The juniors get Rs 13,000 per month as stipend in the first year and it goes up by Rs 1,000 in each of the remaining two years during which they complete the PG course. (ANI)

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Vanessa Hudgens recalls sweet memory with Jackson

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 13 (ANI): Vanessa Hudgens has said that she was just getting to know pop legend Michael Jackson personally when he suddenly died.

She met him when the icon and his children visited the cast of High School Musical when they were on tour in Las Vegas.

“I got a chance to meet him, which was incredible. Kenny Ortega, the director of High School Musical, was working with him on his last tour and he came out to one of the shows when we were on tour with High School Musical in Vegas,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Vanessa said that it was an unbelievable experience for both her and her boyfriend Zac Efron to meet the King of Pop.

She said: “He came backstage with his kids and was just so sweet and so normal and it’s really sad. I’ll always remember it. It was extremely surreal.”

Hudgens and Jackson had become quit familiar with each other until his demise.

She added: “I admire him so greatly like the rest of the world does but to be able to talk to him and see that he’s a normal human being was crazy.

“I got to talk to him again on the phone… It was so weird; like, how do you make small talk with Michael Jackson? It was odd but he was so kind and generous.” (ANI)

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Winner of Sarkar ki Duniya – Sarkar ki Duniya Winner – Sarkar ki Duniya – Sarkaar ki Duniya – Delhi boy wins Sarkaar Ki Duniya

July 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Winner of Sarkar ki Duniya – Sarkar ki Duniya Winner – Sarkar ki Duniya – Sarkaar ki Duniya – Delhi boy wins Sarkaar Ki Duniya

After spending four difficult months on the lonely island at Sarkaar Ki Duniya, businessman Puneesh Sharma was declared the winner! This lucky boy from Delhi defeated 17 odd contestants and went on to become the ultimate Nayakon ka Nayak and won himself a whooping amount of rupees one crore in a grand finale!

The competition was tough as all the finalists had proved their mettle by successfully accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks given to them by Sarkaar. There were equal chances of someone else becoming the winner as all the four finalists Ali, sanju, Puneesh and Rashid were equally strong and popular but as destined, Puneesh Sharma snatched away the final prize and others were just left with memories of this lifetime experience.

To read entire article visit – http://www.dayafterindia.com/july109/silver_screen7.html

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Sandra Bullock grateful her “jiggling” butt was cut from ‘The Proposal’

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 19 (ANI): Sandra Bullock is glad that her “jiggling” butt has been edited out from a nude scene in new movie, ‘The Proposal’.

The actress was bothered about unflattering areas of her body being revealed in a scene where her co-star Ryan Reynolds smacks her bare back.

“I was really worried about my butt jiggling when contact was made. Luckily, the director was a fellow female and knew just how to cut the scene before the ripple effect happened. I am very grateful,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

The beauty has never been apprehensive of a bold scene- while filming the first nude scene in her career a strategically placed cover-up had fallen away, but that did not embarrass her.

Recollecting the incident, she said: “Shooting it was odd. There are things stuck to areas that generally you don’t have things stuck to. I mean, you have things covering your body, but not stuck to it. And then they got unstuck, and oddly we didn’t care because we were so tired.” (ANI)

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Brit couple’s secret to 81yr marriage – regular rows!

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 27 (ANI): Frank and Anita Milford, aged 101 and 100 respectively, celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary yesterday. And, in case, you’re wondering what’s keeping their marriage alive, well the answer is pretty ‘mundane’ – regular rows!

The couple, who became man and wife in 1928, met at a YMCA dance in Plymouth, where they still live.

As for what’s keeping them stay so strong – they say that they still have daily squabbles.

“Not big rows, just the odd cross word. As far as I’m concerned, it’s healthy,” The Times quoted Anita, as saying.

However, as well as a little argument, “a little romance” is also essential.

“It’s our golden rule,” Mrs Milford said.
Couples these days don’t last long because they often don’t take enough time for each other. There isn’t enough respect – love is about give and take. Our advice to young couples would be to make time for a little romance every day,” she added.

Frank, a retired dockyard worker, said: “To win over your sweetheart you need a dose of old-fashioned chivalry and don’t let your standards slip.”

Their son, Frank Jnr, 74, said: “They spend most of their time together, with Dad almost completely deaf and blind, so it’s difficult for him. Mum is a chatterbox and nothing has changed there.” (ANI)

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Jordan boasted Peter was her punching bag

May 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 13 (ANI): Hollywood personality Katie Price aka Jordan had boasted that Peter Andre was her “punching bag” hours before the end of their marriage.

The former duo was busy arguing with each other at rehearsals for the British Soap Awards, but they acted perfectly when on camera.

“They were bickering over who would read what, it was really uncomfortable – although when the cameras turned on them later, they were perfect together,” the Sun quoted Jordan as saying.

However, after the rehearsals Jordan joked that they tended to have arguments very often, and that she thought Peter was her punching bag.

“We have the odd argument,” Jordan said.

Peter replied: “We don’t realise how much we argue until we watch it back – then we argue about the argument.”

Jordan hit back: “We don’t argue, we bicker, but because we’re together all the time he’s my punch bag!”

However, after Peter called it quits, Jordan declared that she had nothing to do with the decision.

She has ever since been pleading him to take her back.

Jordan has been constantly texting and calling him in a bid to save her crumbling marriage.

“It’s over between us. All I care about is the kids,” Peter said.

A source added: “They are still civil but he refuses to talk about the status of their relationship which is really upsetting Katie.” (ANI)

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The A to Z of UK leadership’s gravy train revealed

May 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 9 (ANI): British MPs have put in claims for items from the common to the bizarre. Now, The Sun has presented their own ABC list of greed.

A is for AGA: A Tory charged 160 pounds for his annual Aga service.

B is for BREAD BIN: Labour backbencher claimed for a 20 pounds one in 2007.

C is for CAT FOOD: One animal-loving female Conservative MP claimed 78p for two tins of Cesar Chicken and Turkey pet food and 3.69 pounds for Iams Senior.

D is for DYSON: Animal vacuum cleaner, 299.99 pounds, claimed by a meticulous Lib Dem MP in 2005.

E is for ELEPHANT LAMPS: Two for 134.30 pounds, bought by well-known Tory front-bencher and EYELINER: 2.50 pounds, from Boots, bought by female Lib Dem in 2005.

F is for FARROW AND BALL PAINT: Charged by a Tory shadow minister as part of a 1,775 pounds interior house painting claim for his home in the country.

G is for GINGER CRINKLE BISCUITS: 67p, bought by a peckish Labour backbencher in 2007.

H is for HORSE MANURE: One particularly wealthy Tory MP charged 10 pounds for a bag of manure for his country retreat.

I is for IKEA CARRIER BAG: 5p, claimed by a Labour MP in his Scottish constituency and ICE CUBE TRAY: 1.50 pounds, bought by a former Labour Cabinet minister from M and S in 2008.

J is for JAFFA CAKES: 1.60 pounds for two packs, charged by an outspoken junior minister in 2004 and JELLIED EELS: £1.31, claimed by Essex-based MP.

K is for KIT KAT: Bought from the minibar of a central London hotel by Labour minister Hazel Blears.

L is for LOO SEAT: John Prescott bought a pair in the space of a year for his constituency home.

M is for MAKE-UP MIRROR: 19.95 pounds, by Revlon, bought from John Lewis by a middle-aged female Labour MP and

MOLES: Tory grandee asked 35 pounds a quarter for a mole catcher at his country pile.

N is for NEEDLEPOINT RUG: Millionaire MP Barbara Follett claimed 528.75 pounds for cleaning and repair of the ornate Chinese floor covering. She was granted 300 pounds.

O is for ODD JOBS: A Lib Dem frontbencher claimed for 77 pounds paid for a handyman to fix a rope on his swinging chair and other small jobs.

P is for PIZZA WHEEL: 3 pounds, bought from a Bodum shop in Oxfordshire by Tory backbencher.

Q is for QUICHE DISH: Part of a 110-piece dinner set bought on eBay for 155 pounds by a Labour backbencher’s wife.

R is for RATS: A well-heeled Labour MP claimed 199 pounds a quarter for visits from Rentokil to deal with a rat and mouse infestation at her London home.

S is for SHAMPOO: 1.65 pounds, claimed by a balding Labour backbencher in 2007.

T is for TAMPAX: Two packs at 1.11 pounds each, claimed by a male Conservative MP who lost his seat in 2005.

U is for UTENSILS: Potato peeler, 4.50 pounds, claimed by a member of the Tory front bench.

V is for VILEDA SUPERMOP: 4.99 pounds, claimed by a moustachioed Labour MP in 2005.

W is for WEED KILLER: 3.49 pounds, from Focus DIY, bought by a Labour MP and part-time handyman.

X is X-RATED MOVIES: Ordered by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s husband Richard, two for 10 pounds.

Y is for YUCCA PLANT: 9.99 pounds from Homebase, bought by a home-loving Lib Dem member for his constituency home.

Z is for ZANUSSI OVEN: 337.18 pounds, bought by a knighted Conservative MP from B and Q in 2007. (ANI)

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Jude Law talks about Sherlock Holmes

May 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 7 (ANI): According to Jude Law, foul language, homoerotic overtones and bare-knuckle fighting are Sherlock Holmes’ “quintessential parts.”

The 36-year-old actor plays Holmes’ faithful sidekick Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie’s new adaptation of the classic detective tale.

Law doesn’t believe writers sexed up the script, reports The China Daily.

He said: “The physicality, the bare-knuckle fighting, the martial arts are all hinted at in the books. We just hold a magnifying glass over them.

“A word that author Arthur Conan Doyle uses an awful lot is ‘apprehended’. As in, ‘Holmes and Watson apprehend the villain.’ We get to show the apprehension.”

He explained: “There are many duos we wanted to draw from. Something as eccentric as ‘The Odd Couple’ to ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, ‘Withnail and I’ and ‘Laurel and Hardy’.

“The friendship between Holmes and Watson is the kind of friendship you can only have with someone of the same sex, a person you adore but who infuriates you.”

Robert Downey Jr., who plays Holmes, found his inspiration in Arthur Conan Doyle’s original text.

He added to the USA Today newspaper: “Initially, we were just infusing the dialogue with Doyle-isms. Now we tend to speak a little more on his behalf. Truth be told, we have been working our butts off. We’ve been at it for a long, long, long time.” (ANI)

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Brand “Oracle” buys Brand “Sun”

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

One of the favorite water-cooler games of the enterprise computing set over the past month or so has been, “Whither Sun Microsystems?” Now the first phase of that game is over. The answer, as of this morning, is: Oracle–subject to the usual approvals, of course.

But the next phase of the the game is just beginning.

It’s obviously very early in the process but here are a few initial reactions:

At first blush, this acquisition may seem odd. Oracle is a software company. Sun tends to be viewed as a hardware company. Why would Oracle CEO Larry Ellison want to get into the hardware business? That’s the standard “Huh???” about this purchase. But this misses a number of important points.

Kim Kardashian complains of odd sunburn on Twitter

April 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 18 (ANI): Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian recently posted her own photos on her Twitter page revealing a bad sunburn, and she urged fellow Twitter users to help her get rid of it.

Kim, who slept wearing her sunglasses while sunbathing, has developed a total sunburn except the area covered by her huge sunglasses.

“PLEASE HELP ME! I am so sunburned! I fell asleep with huge glasses on yesterday! This tan line is not ok!!! I’m going to have to hide from cameras for days. I usually never get red, I always get dark. It hurts!” People magazine quoted Kim as stating on her Twitter page.

She has urged fellow users to suggest her some good remedies so that she can get rid of it as soon as possible.

“Do u guys have any remedies I can try to help ease the pain and get rid of the redness? … I will never wear sunglasses when sunbathing again!” she said. (ANI)

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Jaws voted ‘Best Ever James Bond Character’

March 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 24 (ANI): Jaws has been voted the ‘Best Ever James Bond Character’ in a new poll.

The metal-mouthed villain, who was portrayed in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and ‘Moonraker’ by Richard Keil, topped the survey of 4,900 film fans, reports Contactmusic.

Jaws beat Q, the Head of Research and Development for British Intelligence – originally played by Desmond Llewellyn and in later films by John Cleese – into second place.

Third in the poll – which excluded James Bond himself – was Harold Sakata’s Odd Job, the baddie from ‘Goldfinger’, followed by secret service chief M, who has been played by both Bernard Lee and Dame Judi Dench.

Rounding off the top five was Miss Moneypenny, M’s personal assistant who was played by Lois Maxwell in 14 movies, Caroline Bliss in two of the spy adventures and Samantha Bond in four.

The survey was conducted by HMV.com and social networking site getcloser.com to mark the DVD and Blu-ray release of the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

Favourite James Bond Characters:

1. Jaws

2. Q

3. Odd Job

4. M

5. Miss Moneypenny

6. Pussy Galore

7. Goldfinger

8. Scaramanga

9. Ernst Stavro Blofeld

10. Sheriff J.W. Pepper (ANI)

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CPI (M) demands protection of 53,000 employees of Satyam Computers

January 9, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Kochi, Jan 9 (ANI): CPI (M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury has demanded the Government”s intervention to protect the 53,000 employees of the Satyam Computers after the company”s chairman Ramalinga Raju resigned admitting false profits shown over the years.

“We want the Government to take measures to ensure that the 53,000 odd people working in Satyam, that they are not made to suffer as a result of this and in the light of the global meltdown, in the light of exposure of various scams by various global financial insinuations that are now coming out,” Yechury said at the three-day central committee meeting of the CPI (M) on Thursday.

“The Government will have to take immediately measures to put in proper regulatory mechanisms. This will have to be taken up, but first thing is to proceed with prosecution of CEO of Satyam,” added Yechury.

Further, Yechury mentioned about the offensive unleashed by Israel on Palestine in the Gaza region.

On this score, he demanded that the Indian Government should suspend all military ties with Israel if it really wants to show its concern for the Palestinians.

“India today has a very large military trade with Israel and India has launched and is going to launch more of Isreali spy satellites. Unless this programme is suspended immediately, the Prime Minister”s assurance has no meaning. So we want the Prime Minister to follow up his own statement by immediately suspending all military contacts with Israel. Unless this is done, India will be continued to be seen as an ally of Israel,” said Yechury.

Reportedly, about 530 Palestinians have been killed among whom at least a quarter happen to be civilians, since Israel launched its offensive on December 27 to curtail Hamas rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza. (ANI)

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Quantum lubricant could be used to keep nanomachines rolling

January 8, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 8 (ANI): A team of scientists has observed a quantum effect that causes objects to repel one another, which could be used to lubricate future nanomachines.

According to a report in New Scientist, the team detected the weak repulsive force when they brought together a thin sheet of silica and a small gold-plated bead, about half the diameter of a human hair.

The force is an example of the Casimir effect, generated by all-pervasive quantum fluctuations.

The simplest way to imagine the Casimir force in action is to place two parallel metal plates in a vacuum. Thanks to the odd quantum phenomenon, these become attracted to one another.

It happens because even a vacuum is actually fizzing with a quantum field of particles, constantly popping in and out of existence. They can even fleetingly interact with and push on the plates.

However, the small space between the two plates restricts the kind of particles that can appear, so the pressure from behind the plates overwhelms that from between them.

The result is an attractive force that gums up nanoscale machines.

Harvard physicist Federico Capasso, a member of the group who measured the effect, said that that the Casimir force needn’t be an enemy.

“Micromechanics at some point will have to contend with these forces – or make use of them,” he said.

In 1961, Russian theorists calculated that in certain circumstances, the Casimir effect could cause objects to repel one another – a scenario Capasso’s team have finally created experimentally.

The team achieved this by adding a fluid, bromobenzene, to the setup.

The Casimir attraction between the liquid and the silica plate is stronger than that between the gold bead and the silica, so the fluid forces its way around the bead, pushing it away from the plate.

The effect is akin to the buoyancy experienced in the macro world, where objects less dense than water are held up by the liquid around them. But, in this case, the bromobenzene is less dense than the solid bead.

“You could call it quantum buoyancy,” Capasso told New Scientist.

The force he measured was feeble – amounting to just a few tens of piconewtons – but that is still enough to buoy up nanoscale objects.

“Harnessing the repulsive Casimir force could provide a kind of lubrication to solve the problem of nanomachines becoming gummed up by the better-known attractive version,” said Capasso. (ANI)

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Couple gets MBE award for fostering 117 kids over 32 years

January 4, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

London, Jan 4 (ANI): A couple from Hexton, Hertfordshire, has been fostering 117 children over the last three decades.

Their extraordinary efforts of foster carers Robert and Caroline Rejdak were recognised last week with the awarding of an MBE in the New Year Honours list and now their remarkable story has been told for the first time.

Since the late 1970s the pair have nurtured newborns and tearaway teenagers, reunited absent parents with their offspring and even become grandparents through an adopted son and daughter.

Mrs Rejdak, 58, said she and her husband applied to become foster parents in 1976, inspired by their experiences of looking after the disabled son of another couple who were close friends.

“I used to help out on odd days to give them a break and it got us thinking about other families in similar situations,” the Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

The couple, who are currently fostering two boys aged 12 and 18, said they had no intention of giving up their duties but that modern teenagers had become harder to deal with because of lower standards of discipline.

Mr Rejdak, 63, an estate management worker, said: “We will carry on for as long as we physically can. You never stop getting pleasure from giving children a fresh start – they come here with a clean slate as far as we are concerned.

“No-one gets on with everyone and sometimes there isn’t the right ‘click’ but it rarely happens. The teenagers we get now are very different to when we started 30 years ago – there isn’t any discipline any more and they know all about their rights and what we can’t make them do.

“We don’t have lots of rules but you do need boundaries. I think there is a shortage of foster parents because people want to look after babies and young children rather than teenagers who can be so difficult nowadays, even though it is more rewarding to help them,” he added. (ANI)

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