Tuesday, April 30, 2013

P Chidambaram seeks foreign money with tax cut

Wednesday May 1,2013,Place: New Delhi -





Finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday laid out his remedy for the widening current account deficit (CAD): beginning June 1, a two-year cut in withholding tax to 5% from 20% on interest foreign investors earn on government securities and rupee-denominated corporate bonds.



This, Chidambaram said during his reply on 2013-14 Budget in the Lok Sabha, would attract inflows from "foreign institutional investors and qualified foreign investors".



He issued a series of tax-related clarifications, all aimed at allaying concerns of various ministries, investors and non-resident



Infrastructure bonds: As per the Income-Tax Act, the payment of interest by an Indian company to a non-resident on money borrowed in foreign currency under a loan agreement or through issue of a long-term infrastructure bond is subject to deduction of tax at the rate of 5%, instead of the general rate of deduction of 20%. If such non-resident does not provide his permanent account number (PAN) to the payer, then the tax is required to be withheld at the rate of 20%.



Considering the practical difficulties in obtaining bondholders, he proposed to provide that provisions of Section 206AA of the Act shall not apply to interest paid to a non-resident on long-term infrastructure bonds. The proposed amendment shall take effect on June 1.



Tax residency: Chidambaram clarified that tax residency certificate (TRC) issued by a foreign government will be a proof of residency for tax purposes.



Railways: He exempted the Ministry of Railways from payment of service tax from July 1 to October 1, 2012.



Agriculture: On the wealth tax on agriculture, Chidambaram said, "There was apprehension that wealth tax was being imposed on agricultural land. Let me make it absolutely clear that the policy of the UPA government is not to impose wealth tax on agriculture land."


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China factory PMI raises doubts about economy\'s strength

May 01, 2013,







Beijing: Growth in China\'s manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in April as new export orders fell, raising fresh doubts about the strength of the economy after a disappointing first quarter.



The official purchasing managers\' index (PMI) fell to 50.6 in April from an 11-month high in March of 50.9. Analysts had expected the April PMI to be 51.0.



The pull back on the official PMI mirrored a similar decline in a preliminary HSBC PMI last week, suggesting China\'s exports engine faces headwinds from the euro zone recession and sluggish growth in the United States.



China\'s new government has signalled it will step up infrastructure investment, which analysts said will provide support for the economy in the second quarter.



\"Overall, my general feel is that China is growing but slower than people expected say a month ago,\" said Alvin Pontoh, economist at TD Securities in Singapore.



\"But I don\'t think this is reason for alarm... this is probably what the new administration is looking for. Structurally, China cannot grow at 9 or 10 percent any more, so over the next few years, you\'d reasonably expect growth to edge lower to say 7 percent or so\".



A string of global data, including lower than expected U.S. economic growth figures, has dented optimism seen at the start of the year that the world economy was picking up.



Market reaction to the PMI was muted as many countries in Asia and Europe are marking May 1 Labour Day holiday. China\'s markets are closed and will reopen on Thursday.



Benchmark three-month copper slipped and weighed on mining stocks in Australia following the PMI figures. The Australian and New Zealand dollars held their ground.



The official PMI figures showed a new orders sub-index fell to 51.7 in April from 52.3 in March, holding above 50 which separates expansion from contraction compared with a month earlier. However, the new export orders index fell to 48.6 from 50.9 in March, suggesting they were shrinking.



The input price sub index fell to 40.1 in April, its lowest in at least four years.



\"The dip in April PMI shows that the foundation for China\'s economic recovery is still not solid,\" Zhang Liqun, an economist at the Development Research Centre, a top government think tank in Beijing, said in an emailed statement accompanying the index.



\"All these show the possibility for China\'s growth to slow slightly in the future. We must work to stabilise domestic demand and make our economic recovery more sustainable,\" he said.



HSBC\'s preliminary PMI for April fell to 50.5 from 51.6 in March as new export orders shrank. The final reading is scheduled to be published on Thursday.



RECOVERY UNDER THREAT



The latest PMI adds risks to market expectations that China\'s annual economic expansion will pick up to 8.0 percent in the April-June quarter after it slipped in January to March to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in the previous quarter.



Zhiwei Zhang, a China economist at Nomura, said in a client note before the PMI figures that he expects growth to ease again in the second quarter to 7.5 percent.



Apart from expectations of more infrastructure investment, the central bank will hold rates steady throughout 2013, as it needs to tread a delicate balance between inflation and growth, a Reuters poll showed.



\"We still expect major activity indicators to show a moderate growth recovery in April and 2Q. On policies, we expect overall monetary and fiscal policies to remain accommodative, though we see no need for significant stimulus,\" said Ting Lu, a Hong-Kong-based China economist from Bank of America Merril Lynch, in a note to clients.



Beijing is targeting 2013 growth of 7.5 percent, lower than the double digit levels of most of the past three decades as it tries to shift the economy to reduce reliance on exports and more towards consumption.



Still, the recovery from seven-straight quarters of a slowdown through the third quarter of 2012 has been uneven so far. Growth picked up in the fourth quarter but then slipped in the first quarter of this year despite a credit boom in January through March.



China\'s debt-ridden local governments used new lending to repay existing loans instead of channelling the money into new investment, analysts said.



The government has promised to heighten scrutiny of local government financing vehicles, wealth management products and the country\'s fledgling bond market.



The politburo, the top decision-making body, said in a meeting last week China would speed up the establishment of a regulatory system for local government debt financing while strengthening oversight on potential financial risks.



Shadow banking, a main driver of a credit surge in recent months, has provided a lifeline though to property funding, fuelling unwelcome housing inflation.



New home prices jumped 3.6 percent in March from a year ago, a third straight monthly increase despite an intensified government tightening campaign during the past three years.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

RIL, Vodafone in consortium to build undersea cable

May 1,2013,Mumbai-









Reliance Jio Infocomm is fast-tracking its 4G rollout plans.



The Reliance Industries Ltd's firm has formed a consortium with five companies to construct and maintain an 8,000 km long Bay of Bengal Gateway submarine cable system connecting India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and West Asia.



The consortium partners of Reliance Jio are Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Vodafone Group, Omantel, Etisalat and Dialog Axiata.



The cable system will link all these countries with 100 Gbps technology and is expected to carry commercial traffic by the end of 2014.



The gateway will not only provide connectivity between South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, but also to Europe, Africa and to the Far East Asia through interconnections with other existing and newly built cable systems landing in India, the Middle East and the Far East Asia.



The participant companies came together to build this cable system, looking at increasing bandwidth demands faced by their respective broadband subscriber base.



For RIL, which is looking to expand its 4G network across India in the shortest time possible, the extra bandwidth from this cable system is more than welcome. This will help in making its network more robust and cost-effective, translating into lower 4G costs for subscribers.



It may also gain access to international 4G standards – FDD-LTE, which is currently unavailable in India, as the only 4G band in the country is TD-LTE.



Last week, Reliance Industries signed a submarine cable deal with Bharti Airtel to lease out capacity on Bharti's Chennai-Singapore route.
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May Day gift: Petrol now costs Rs.3 less, non-subsidised LPG Rs.54 Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/petrol-rs-3-non-subsidised-lpg-rs-54/1/268629.html

New Delhi, May 1, 2013-







May Day ushered in savings for inflation-hit consumers with a Rs.3 cut in price of per litre petrol -- the steepest reduction in five years-- and a Rs.54 fall in the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder.



The fourth reduction in petrol rates since March means that the fuel in Delhi will cost Rs.63.09 a litre instead of Rs.66.09 per litre. The rates will vary from city to city depending on local sales tax or VAT.



In Mumbai, petrol price will be Rs.69.73 per litre, Rs.70.35 in Kolkata and Rs.65.90 in Chennai.



The price cut, announced Tuesday, comes after three consecutive rate reductions on the back of falling international oil prices.



State-owned oil firms, which revise rates every fortnight, had from April 16 cut petrol price by Rs.1.20 a litre in Delhi. On March 16, the rates were cut by Rs.2.40 per litre and by Re 1 in the following fortnight.



The petrol price is the steepest since December 2008 when rates were slashed by Rs.5 to Rs.45.62 per litre.



Indian Oil Corp, nation\'s largest fuel retailer, said since the last price change, international prices have declined from $116.61 per barrel to $107 a barrel.



Rupee-US dollar exchange rate too improved from Rs.54.51 to a US dollar to Rs.54.26.



Non-subsidised cooking gas to cost Rs.54 less



The price of a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder that consumers buy beyond their quota of nine subsidised cylinders has been reduced to Rs.847 from Rs.901.



Rates will vary in different cities, depending upon local sales tax or VAT.



This is the second time that the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder was slashed in a month with the previous cut of Rs.3 having come on April 1


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

May Day gift: Petrol now costs Rs.3 less, non-subsidised LPG Rs.54 Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/petrol-rs-3-non-subsidised-lpg-rs-54/1/268629.html

New Delhi, May 1, 2013-







May Day ushered in savings for inflation-hit consumers with a Rs.3 cut in price of per litre petrol -- the steepest reduction in five years-- and a Rs.54 fall in the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder.



The fourth reduction in petrol rates since March means that the fuel in Delhi will cost Rs.63.09 a litre instead of Rs.66.09 per litre. The rates will vary from city to city depending on local sales tax or VAT.



In Mumbai, petrol price will be Rs.69.73 per litre, Rs.70.35 in Kolkata and Rs.65.90 in Chennai.



The price cut, announced Tuesday, comes after three consecutive rate reductions on the back of falling international oil prices.



State-owned oil firms, which revise rates every fortnight, had from April 16 cut petrol price by Rs.1.20 a litre in Delhi. On March 16, the rates were cut by Rs.2.40 per litre and by Re 1 in the following fortnight.



The petrol price is the steepest since December 2008 when rates were slashed by Rs.5 to Rs.45.62 per litre.



Indian Oil Corp, nation\'s largest fuel retailer, said since the last price change, international prices have declined from $116.61 per barrel to $107 a barrel.



Rupee-US dollar exchange rate too improved from Rs.54.51 to a US dollar to Rs.54.26.



Non-subsidised cooking gas to cost Rs.54 less



The price of a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder that consumers buy beyond their quota of nine subsidised cylinders has been reduced to Rs.847 from Rs.901.



Rates will vary in different cities, depending upon local sales tax or VAT.



This is the second time that the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder was slashed in a month with the previous cut of Rs.3 having come on April 1


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

From Versova to Ghatkopar in 21 minutes: the Mumbai Metro is almost here

May 01, 2013,Mumbai-





Mumbai: Mumbaikars are one step closer towards major relief from traffic woes with the trial run of the much-delayed Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar elevated Metro corridor being held today.



The Inaugural run will be flagged-off by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. The corridor will be open to public in October 2013.



The 11.4 km elevated tracks will connect the western suburb of Versova to the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar through Andheri. There will be 12 stations on the route and the distance, which takes nearly one and a half hours by road, will be covered in just 21 minutes.The metro will provide the much-needed east to west connectivity and is expected to carry about six lakh commuters every day. The fares are expected to be between Rs. 6 to Rs. 15, depending on the distance.



The initial deadline for the project was for December 2010, which was extended to June 2011 then March 2012. Later, it was again extended to November 2012 and finally to March this year.



The Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) is developing the corridor under public-private-partnership (PPP).


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Raghuram Rajan pitches for hiking FDI in insurance to 49%

May 1,2013 New Delhi-





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New Delhi: With the standoff over Coalgate in Parliament threatening to wash away the government's financial business, Finance Ministry's advisor Raghuram Rajan today pitched for passing of a bill to allow 49 percent FDI in insurance sector.



"FDI in insurance is an important bill. And to the extent possible early passage of the Bill would help the country substantially," the Chief Economic Advisor said. Talking to reporters here, Rajan said the passage of the bill would signal that the reform process is continuing."These are issues for the country as opposed to issues that are purely political … We have waited a long time for this Bill to be passed and the sooner it is passed the better it would be. We are all aware of some of the constraints, but in my sense there are very few rationals against (passage of) this bill," he said. The Rajya Sabha was scheduled to consider Insurance Bill last week.



AFP

However, it could not be taken up as the House witnessed continuous adjournments over various issues, including Coalgate scam and draft JPC report on 2G.The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, seeks to raise foreign investment cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. Rajan said the two major finance bills — Insurance and GST Bill — should be put in the front burner. "If I get assurance on those two bills, it would create a much stronger sentiment that things are going in right direction," he said.



He further said that the reform process was necessary to revive growth and given that the insurance Bill is almost close to 98 percent agreed upon, its passage "will give a signal to the markets, to foreign investors and will also help growth". Goods and Services Tax (GST) would, among other things, subsume sales tax, service tax, VAT and Octroi. Rajan further said the government was looking at other sectors where FDI can be increased and the Pension Bill would follow suit once the insurance Bill is passed.



In the past decade, insurance companies have brought in capital to the tune of over Rs 32,000 crore, of which Indian promoters invested about Rs 21,000 crore. "Insurance companies need more capital. Over next five years IRDA estimates another Rs 50,000 crore would be needed. Those Rs 50,000 crore are not going to come easily from Indian capital markets …. If FDI goes up to 49 percent, foreign insurance companies will bring more funds, more technological capabilities," Rajan said. Pitching for the importance of the insurance bill to be passed in the current session, he said, "Banks are the life- blood of a country. If we are allowing 74 per cent FDI in banks, then we must ask ourselves what is the rational behind keeping it at 26 percent for insurance?".



Rajan further said: "At the time we are running a current account deficit (CAD), having financing capital come in into safer forms that is into long term investment like FDI would be also useful for financing the CAD," he said.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

TVS Motor posts Rs 33 cr loss in Q4; FY13 net profit dips 53%

New Delhi, May 1,2013







Chennai-based TVS Motor Company on Tuesday reported standalone net loss of Rs 32.72 crore for the quarter ended March 31 due to provision made for diminution of its overseas investment\'s value.



The company had posted net profit of Rs 57.23 crore in the corresponding period last year, TVS Motor Company said in a statement.



However, the standalone net income of the company during the fourth quarter of 2012-13 went up by 6.79 per cent to Rs 1,748.32 crore, from Rs 1,637.13 crore in the year-ago period, it added.



On the loss in net profit, TVS Motor Company said: \"The company has made a provision of Rs 91.63 crore for diminution in value of its overseas investment.\"



During the last quarter, the company\'s motorcycles sales declined marginally to 1.85 lakh units from 1.86 lakh units in the previous comparable period.



Scooter sales in the quarter decreased by 13.64 per cent to 0.95 lakh units from 1.10 lakh units. Three-wheeler sales in Q4 was 13,961 units as against 7,401 units in Q4 of the previous year, up 88.64 per cent.



During January-March period, two-wheeler exports remained flat at 0.52 lakh units.



For the entire 2012-13 financial year, TVS Motor Company\'s standalone net profit declined by 53.42 per cent to Rs 116.02 crore from Rs 249.07 crore in the previous year.



The standalone net income during FY13 also dipped by 1.07 per cent to Rs 7,065 crore from Rs 7,141.52 crore in FY12, the company said.



During the year ended March 2013, TVS Motor Company registered overall two-wheeler sales of 19.95 lakh units in comparison with 21.47 lakh units of the previous financial year, down 7.08 per cent.



Motorcycle sales during the fiscal stood at 7.56 lakh units as against 8.44 lakh units, a fall of 10.43 per cent.



Scooters sales dipped by 15.05 per cent to 4.46 lakh units from 5.25 lakh units in 2011-12.



Three-wheeler sales of the company increased by 22.35 per cent to 49,143 units from 40,166 units in FY12.



Exports of the company for the year ended March 31 stood at 2.11 lakh units compared to 2.70 lakh units in 2011-12, down 21.85 per cent, the statement said.



In its meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Directors declared a second interim dividend of Re 0.60 per share for the year ended March 31, 2013. The Board had earlier declared the first interim dividend of Re 0.60 per share for the year 2012-13.



\"The total dividend, including the second interim dividend for the year ended March 31, 2013, will aggregate to Rs 1.20 per share (120 per cent) on 47,50,87,114 equity shares of Re 1 each,\" TVS Motor Company said.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

BREAKINGVIEWS - Unilever defies buyback vigilantes

01,MAY,2013





The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant is offering to pay $5.4 billion for a 22 percent stake in Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS), lifting its holding in its Indian subsidiary to 75 percent. The first rule violation is to offer a premium for additional shares in a majority-owned business. But Unilever had no real choice, since Indian stock market rules mandate a minimum price in such situations.



The high price exacerbates the second violation - buying expensive shares in another company rather than buying back its own cheaper stock. Unilever trades on a forward price-earnings multiple of 20. Its bid for Hindustan Unilever values the stock at 34 times forecast earnings.



There\'s more. Here is a multi-billion dollar transaction with no synergies. And the deal isn\'t even a route to 100 percent ownership. Unilever wants to keep the subsidiary\'s listing, to protect the profile that goes with being one of the top Indian blue chips.



Unilever\'s market capitalisation is $127 billion. It could probably spend only about $4.7 billion to buy back and retire 110 million shares without hurting its credit rating. After taking the cost of debt into account, the financial engineering would boost per share earnings more than the Hindustan Unilever transaction.



For Unilever, the difference is small - added accretion of maybe a percentage point or so. But corporate managers have previously danced to the tune of share buyback vigilantes, who have no patience with any amount of financial inefficiency.



Common sense is less precise but more helpful. Unilever has no better way to buy structural growth in emerging markets. Sure, in theory Unilever shareholders could buy that growth themselves by using the proceeds of a buyback to purchase Hindustan. But they would not get the closer ties and goodwill created in this important market. Those synergies are probably worth the $1 billion premium. Let common sense prevail.



CONTEXT NEWS



- Unilever has launched an offer for shares in Hindustan Unilever, the consumer group\'s listed Indian subsidiary, with a view to raising its stake from 52.48 percent to 75 percent.



- The offer is 600 rupees per share, a premium of approximately 29.5 percent over the mandatory floor price required under Indian regulations, 26 percent to average share price over the last month, Unilever said. If fully subscribed, it will cost 292 bln rupees.



- Hindustan Unilever distributes brands includes Lux, Lifebuoy, Pond\'s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Sunsilk, Brooke Bond, and Knorr.








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GADVASU going to hold food festival to popularise health foods

Ludhiana, April 30, 2013



Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) will organise a 'Food Festival' on 3rd May, 2013 in the campus, with an aim to popularise various value added meat and milk products developed by the university. Giving details about the 'Food Festival' Dr. V.K. Taneja, Vice Chancellor of the university said that animal protein plays an important role in human nutrition and keeping in view its short shelf life in unprocessed form. Further in view of increasing demand for ready to eat and ready to cook value added animal products, there is need to make it available in processed form with an extended shelf life and high nutritive value for additional food security. These products are more health oriented and hence fetch higher market price and additional income. GADVASU has developed number of value added products from milk, fish, chicken, goat meat etc. All the three colleges of the university i.e. College of Veterinary Sciences, College of Dairy Science and technology and College of Fisheries will display different value added products developed from meat, milk and fish, which will also be available for sale and sensory evaluation by visitors belonging to different age groups and professions.

Various value added meat products prepared by College of Veterinary Science will include low-fat/low-calorie meat patties, fibre enriched meat nuggets and sausages, omega-3 enriched meat patties and balls, bio-active compound enriched meat patties, restructured meat loaves, snacks like kurkure, caruncles, noodles, waddi, biscuit prepared from chicken meat, meat samosas, meat loaves, meat koftas, sausages, meat bites, meat pickles etc.,

Among all animal proteins, fish protein is the highly digestible and fish is also a rich source of long chain Omega -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which makes it the most sought after animal health food, especially among growing children, expecting mothers, elderly people, heart/hypertension patients etc. A variety of value added products like fish balls, fish nuggets, fish fingers, fish cutlet, fish curry, fish steaks, fish fillets, fish biscuits and fish keema from deboned carp fishes, along with fish protein concentrate and crunchy prawns, have been prepared by the College of Fisheries

College of Dairy Science and technology will also present large number of value added milk products like mango, banana & vanilla flavoured ice creams, Carrot flavoured lassi, low fat and low calorie 'Mithat Dahi', Dhoda Burfi, milk cake, Masala Paneer, Mango and jaljeera flavoured whey drinks, butterscotch and strawberry flavoured milk, Probiotic Dahi and Probiotic lassi etc. These products are fortified with ingredients to enhance their nutritive value with special reference to health of the consumer.

Since animal proteins has very high biological value and contain all the essential amino acids as compared to plant protein, It is referred as a 'Complete Health Food' which is required to be preserved through processing and value addition said Dr. Taneja. He further added that to scale up the developed processing technologies to commercial level, entrepreneurs are required to come forward to popularise these products among the masses.


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PAU BAGS AICRP CENTRE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RESEARCH WORK ON RICE AGRONOMY AND ENTOMOLOGY

LUDHIANA, APRIL 30:--



The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been bestowed with the \"Best All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme (AICRIP) Centre Award\" for outstanding research work on rice agronomy and entomology. Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir, Minister for Agriculture, Jammu and Kashmir; Dr. Swapan Kumar Dutta, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Dr. Tej Pratap Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST); and Dr. B.C. Viraktamath, Project Director, Directorate of Rice Research; presented the \"Certificate of Excellence\" to the PAU scientists namely Dr. G. Mahajan, Rice Agronomist; and Dr. P.S. Sarao, Rice Entomologist during the 48th Annual Rice Group Meeting of AICRIP, held at SKUAST, Srinagar; under the Chairmanship of Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad.







During the meet, out of 47 different centres funded by the ICAR for rice improvement work of the country, five awards were conferred upon the individual discipline and the overall best centre. Among the five awards conferred, two were conferred upon the PAU teams for their outstanding research work on rice agronomy and entomology, a discipline of the Rice Section of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics of the University. It is worth mentioning here that the PAU Rice Centre was also adjudged as the overall best centre among the 47 centres during 2012.







Dr. B.S. Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU and Dr. S.S. Gosal, Director of Research, congratulated the AICRIP Agronomy and Entomology team of the University and exhorted the rice scientists to win more laurels in future as well.







Dr. Ghumber, Head, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics highlighted that the AICRP Agronomy and Entomology Centre of the PAU is doing remarkable work on the production and protection technologies, and in establishing linkages with national and international institutions.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

Viswanathan Anand up to joint 2nd after draw with Peter Svidler iussia chess

01 May 2013,india-





World champion Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Russian Peter Svidler but rose up to the joint second spot after the eighth and penultimate round of Alekhine Memorial Chess tournament in St. Petersburg.



On what turned out to be an off-day in office after a couple of remarkable victories with white pieces, Anand could do little against Svidler who had things under control for the most part of the game despite playing black.



The Russian did not let his position slip in any way to earn an easy draw.



Maxime Vachier-Lagraev was in for a surprise as he was taken to task by Nikita Vituigov of Russia and the Frenchman suffered his first loss in the tournament after being very close to annexing the title.



Vachier-Lagraev\'s loss was a big gain for Boris Gelfand of Israel who became the sole leader after drawing with Vladimir Kramnik of Israel.



In other games of the day, Laurent Fressinet recovered after a shattering loss at the hands of Anand in the previous round and drew with world number three Levon Aronian of Armenia while Ding Liren of China signed peace with Michael Adams of England.



With just one round to come, the tournament is set for an exciting finale. Gelfand leads the field but is set to play with Anand in the final round. It may be recalled that Israel had lost to Anand in the last World Championship match held in Moscow in May last year.



With Gelfand on five points out of a possible eight, Vachier-Lagraev, Anand, Michael Adams and Levon Aronian are in close pursuit of the leader just a half point behind and they are followed by Vituigov and Fressinet now who have four points apiece.



Finding himself in an unusual eighth spot is world number two Kramnik on 3.5 points, half a point ahead of Ding Liren who in turn is a half a point ahead of the last-placed Svidler.



Anand enjoys a great record against Svidler as white but on this day the Russian had worked his opening well. The closed Ruy Lopez by the Indian ace only resulted in a level position after Svidler successfully exchanged minor pieces at regular intervals.



Anand had an extra pawn which was always under the hammer and once that went off the board the result was anyone\'s guess. The peace was signed in just 35 moves.



Vachier-Lagraev lost with white going for an overambitious approach against Vituigov. The French Grandmaster had been the pick of the tournament thus far but closely fought events like these can turn the tables upside down in almost no time.



As it happened, Vituigov got a fighting position out of the Advanced variation in the Caro Kann defense and pounced on his chances even as the pieces changed hands in the middle game.



In the end, the queen and knight combination left Vituigov with a won endgame as he successfully carved a checkmate web.



Kramnik enjoyed material advantage against Gelfand for a long time but failed to convert it to a full point as the Israeli came up with a stern defense. The game was drawn after 73 moves.



After a pounding at the hands of Anand, Fressinet played it safe against Aronian while Ding Liren liquidated in a drawn endgame against Adams.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

PAU BAGS AICRP CENTRE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING RESEARCH WORK ON RICE AGRONOMY AND ENTOMOLOGY

LUDHIANA, APRIL 30:--



The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been bestowed with the \"Best All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme (AICRIP) Centre Award\" for outstanding research work on rice agronomy and entomology. Mr. Ghulam Hassan Mir, Minister for Agriculture, Jammu and Kashmir; Dr. Swapan Kumar Dutta, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Dr. Tej Pratap Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology (SKUAST); and Dr. B.C. Viraktamath, Project Director, Directorate of Rice Research; presented the \"Certificate of Excellence\" to the PAU scientists namely Dr. G. Mahajan, Rice Agronomist; and Dr. P.S. Sarao, Rice Entomologist during the 48th Annual Rice Group Meeting of AICRIP, held at SKUAST, Srinagar; under the Chairmanship of Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad.



During the meet, out of 47 different centres funded by the ICAR for rice improvement work of the country, five awards were conferred upon the individual discipline and the overall best centre. Among the five awards conferred, two were conferred upon the PAU teams for their outstanding research work on rice agronomy and entomology, a discipline of the Rice Section of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics of the University. It is worth mentioning here that the PAU Rice Centre was also adjudged as the overall best centre among the 47 centres during 2012.



Dr. B.S. Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU and Dr. S.S. Gosal, Director of Research, congratulated the AICRIP Agronomy and Entomology team of the University and exhorted the rice scientists to win more laurels in future as well.





Dr. Ghumber, Head, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics highlighted that the AICRP Agronomy and Entomology Centre of the PAU is doing remarkable work on the production and protection technologies, and in establishing linkages with national and international institutions.




News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

FUTURE COTTON SCENARIO MAY TRIGGER SOME RALLY IN PRICES: PAU

LUDHIANA, APRIL 30:-----



The Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre (AMIC) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has analyzed the behaviour of the market prices of the cotton by keeping in view the national and the international cotton scenario. Dr Jagrup Singh Sidhu, Incharge, AMIC, PAU, has impressed upon the farmers to keep this cotton scenario in mind while planning their acreage under this crop.



Informing that the cotton prices, after jumping to record highs in 2010-11, dropped sharply in the current season, Dr Sidhu divulged, "The international market indicator, "Cotlook A Index" declined from a record high of US $ 2.34 per pound during 2011 to 0.80 in 2012 and again started increasing and reached US $ 0.95 per pound during March 2013." Consequently, the world cotton output is likely to decline by 11 per cent from 26 million tonnes in 2011-12 to 23.5 million tonnes in 2012-13, he observed. On the other hand, due to slow economic recovery from recession, the growth in global cotton mill use remained slow from 23.5 to 23.7 million tonnes. Due to high accumulation of cotton stock by China, the major cotton importer, the global cotton import dropped sharply by 20 per cent from 9.6 to 7.6 million tonnes, said Dr Sidhu. As a result, the world ending stock rebounded from 11.2 to 16.4 million tonnes, thus, resulting into the decline of the international cotton prices during 2012-13, he told.







Dr Sidhu further informed that due to scantly rainfall in some cotton growing areas, the cotton output in India has decreased by about 6 per cent from 373 lakh bales in 2011-12 to 351 lakh bales in 2012-13. He revealed, "The total cotton supply in the country including import and opening stock dropped from 435 to 419 lakh bales. The total national demand of cotton including export of 127 lakh bales, declined from 382 lakh bales to 275 lakh bales." Due to virtually no export and import of 15 lakh bales of cotton during 2012-13, the available cotton surplus rose to 148 lakh bales, he disclosed. Thus, the government is expected to continue to put cotton exports under Open General License category without any export restriction in coming cotton marketing season, he said.



In Punjab, the area under cotton during the current year decreased to 4.95 lakh hectares during 2012-13 from 5.20 lakh hectares during the last year. Consequently, the cotton production in the state declined to 16 lakh bales from the last year production of 18 lakh bales, told Dr Sidhu. The Indian Government had announced minimum support price of long staple cotton at Rs 3900 per quintal for the marketing season 2012-13 which is likely to increase further for the 2013-14 marketing season, he observed. Saying that the cotton prices in various cotton markets of Punjab remained in the range of Rs 4000 to 4860 during October 2012 to April 2013, he predicted that the above trends in the cotton balance sheet may induce the farmers throughout the world including India as well as the Punjab state to reduce the area under cotton during 2013-14. Consequently, the decline in production and stocks against the expected increase in demand from China may trigger some rally in cotton prices during 2013-14 marketing season.



In view of the expected trends in cotton production and trade, the AMIC has projected some increasing tendency in cotton prices during 2013-14 marketing season in the range of Rs 4500 to Rs 5000 per quintal for the long staple cotton. However, much will depend upon the cotton policy of importing and exporting countries to be followed during marketing year of 2013-14, said the expert.
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Aashiqui 3 and 4 not ruled out, says Mahesh Bhatt

Mumbai, Wed May 01 2013:







Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is quite happy with the success of Aashiqui 2 and he does not rule out the possibility of coming out with the third and fourth installment of the film, saying love stories don\'t have an end.



Mahesh Bhatt directed the 1990 hit romantic film Aashiqui.



The film, starring Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal, was a commercial



success, particularly because of its music and songs.



Aashiqui 2 has been directed by Mohit Suri and co-produced by Bhatts\' production house Vishesh Films. The romantic musical, released last Friday, has reportedly earned over Rs 24.50 crore in box office collection till now.



\"Love stories don\'t have an ending... they continue to go ahead. So we can have Aashiqui 3 and 4 and even more. There is no full stop to that,\" Mahesh Bhatt said at the success party of the film here tonight.



\"The film has achieved tremendous success and we are happy about it. This shows films with \'A and U\' certificate can do well provided the story is good,\" he said.



Aashiqui 2 starred newcomers Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles.



Aditya described the film as a life-changing experience for him. \"I thank everyone (makers) for having faith and trust in me and Shraddha. It (the film) is a life-changing experience for me,\" he said.



Mohit Suri said he is happy that his film has been accepted by the people. The makers are planning to add one more song to the film.
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Uncertainty in Parliament; passage of finance Bills threatened

Tue, April,30 2013: new delhi--



With the main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), mounting an all-out attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and targeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, there was an air of uncertainty in Parliament in the pre-noon session over the smooth passage of finance Bills scheduled for the day.

The opposition parties were protesting against the government's handling of the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of coal mines.

At least two Congress leaders, on conditions of anonymity, admitted that there was a "fear" that the BJP would not allow the process to get completed on Tuesday without any obstacle specially after the apex court termed the contents of the affidavit filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) "very disturbing".

According to the Press Trust of India, the Supreme Court also said on Tuesday that its first exercise would be to liberate the CBI from political interference and that its independent position needs to be restored.

Though the Lok Sabha started Question Hour on Tuesday morning, it was soon adjourned abruptly after BJP members trooped to the centre of the Hall raising slogans against the prime minister.

Meanwhile, parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath is making a last ditch effort to seek the cooperation of the opposition parties over the day's business.

At an all party meeting convened on Monday, opposition parties had agreed to temporarily allow the functioning of the legislature on Tuesday and complete the process of passing the financial and appropriation Bills, the railway budget and the demands for grants in Parliament.
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SC criticises govt over vetting CBI report

NEW DELHI: Tuesday, April, 30,2013



In scathing criticism of the government\'s interference in the CBI probe into the allocation of coal blocks, the Supreme Court Tuesday asked the CBI director to file an affidavit stating the changes made in the draft report vetted by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar.



While underlining the need to liberate the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from extraneous influences, an apex court bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha said the affidavit to be filed by the agency\'s director should be \"absolutely complete and truthful\".



The court has also sought the names and other details of the officers engaged in the investigation into the allocation of coal blocks.



During the course of the hearing that lasted nearly two hours, the court enquired whether Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had the authority to call for status reports from the investigating agencies.



The court noted that the manner in which the probe had been interfered with frustrated the very independence of the investigating agency.
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Opposition presses for PM accountability on coal allotments

NEW DELHI: Tuesday, April, 30 2013



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot escape accountability on the issue of allocation of coal blocks, the opposition said Tuesday as the government fought allegations that its top law officer had influenced the CBI probe on the case.



\"Each passing day reinforces that the prime minister is not coming out clean before the apex court of the country. It is a very, very serious issue. He cannot escape accountability,\" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said after Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal Monday blamed Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati for influencing the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the irregularities in the allotment of coal.



\"This government is embarrassment proof... let\'s not talk about embarrassment. We are deeply concerned about institutions,\" the BJP leader said.



\"We will insist upon the accountability of the prime minister,\" he added.



\"We have seen institutional integrity being compromised, CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) being attacked, CBI being misused and now even the high office of attorney general has come under serious cloud. That is indeed a very sad moment,\" Prasad said.



CPI leader D. Raja echoed him and said the prime minister must own responsibility. He added that the position of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had become \"almost untenable\".



The CBI last week told the Supreme Court that it shared its March 8 status report on investigations into coal blocks allocation with Ashwani Kumar and a senior bureaucrat in the Prime Minister\'s Office.



On Monday night, before the apex court bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha was to take up for hearing the allegations of governmental interference into the investigation, Rawal is believed to have written a letter to Vahanvati levelling serious allegations against him.
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Shiv Sena condemns US over Azam Khan detention

MUMBAI: Tuesday, April, 30 2013



The Shiv Sena Tuesday came out in support of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan who was last week detained at Boston airport while on his way to deliver a lecture at Harvard University.



Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said the US must clarify whether the treatment meted out to Azam Khan was because of his surname or because he was an Indian.



In a sharp editorial in the party mouthpiece Dopaharka Saamna Tuesday, Thackeray said that Azam Khan was virtually placed under arrest and treated as if he was a terrorist carrying 50 kg of RDX with plans to blow up White House.



\"In the past, India\'s former home minister L.K. Advani and former defence minister George Fernandes, besides Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and commoners have undergone such humiliation at the hands of US agencies which continue to insult India in the name of its internal security,\" Thackeray said.



Wondering what would be the reaction if similar treatment were meted out to the US or European officials visiting India, Thackeray demanded that the US treat Indians with dignity and respect they deserve.



Thackeray pointed out that Azam Khan was invited to Boston to deliver a lecture on how he successfully conducted the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh.



Barring the single incident of stampede, the Kumbh Mela - considered one of the largest religious congregations on earth - passed off peacefully with Azam Khan as the chief of the organising committee.
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UP members of Commonwealth delegation to skip US azam Kham

Apr 30, 2013 lucknow--





Samajwadi Party minister Mohammed Azam Khan said the three delegates from UP-who were a part of the Commonwealth delegation to US and some other countries-will not go to the United States as a mark of protest against his \"disrespectful detention\" at the Boston airport last week.





On whether the rest of the delegation to US will go ahead with the tour, Azam said it was the Government of India\'s call to make an announcement. On the basis of the hint he got from his discussion on the issue with the party\'s national president Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Centre was likely to cancel the US part of the tour for the rest of the delegates as well, said Azam, addressing a press conference at his home district and assembly constituency Rampur on Monday.



Putting aside all speculations over whether SP will withdraw its support to the UPA government on the issue, Khan said it was not the right time to withdraw support as general elections were round the corner. Refuting that he made any statement on the party\'s withdrawal of support to the UPA, he said: \"When asked by the media at Indira Gandhi International airport on whether his party should withdraw support from the UPA on the issue, I had said it was not the right time and that our party\'s national president Mulayam Singh Yadav will take a call on it,\" he said.



Azam reiterated that the Ministry of External Affairs (MoEA) in India did not take up the issue of his detention with the US as strongly as they should have had and nobody else can be held responsible for it but in-charge of the MoEA. Replying to a question, he said Salman Khurshid probably believes he (Azam) was responsible for Louise Khurshid\'s humiliating defeat in the last elections.



Asked if he really believed Khurshid had connived with the US government or its officials in Homeland Security which deals with immigration issues, Azam said: \"I have never said Salman Khurshid connived with the US officials.\" He added he had reasons to believe that the protocol officials from the Indian consulate who had come to receive them at Logan airport had instructions not to take up the issue. \"They could have at least asked the US officials to explain why I was being detained. But they did not. I had a diplomatic passport but they made no attempt to approach the US officials about it. What or who stopped them from doing so? And if nobody stopped them, why were they not reprimanded for the negligence,\" he said talking to TOI on phone shortly after the press conference.



\"If I am made to sit on a bench inside a small room and not allowed to talk to or meet fellow delegates for 45 minutes, I have the right to inquire about the reason behind such an act of the US authorities. But they did not come up with any answer whatsoever,\" Azam said, adding: \"Probably they never had one.\"



\"I refused to accept the passport and leave the airport till I got a convincing reply, but then I was assured by the Protocol officials from the Indian consulate that the issue will be taken up with the US government and pursued to a logical conclusion. But when nothing happened in the next 24 hours, we decided not to attend the Harvard University event as a mark of protest,\" Azam said when asked why the delegation did not return to India immediately after the incident at the Logan airport in Boston.


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Foreign intervention in Sri Lanka counterproductive: Peiris

COLOMBO, April 30, 2013



Foreign intervention in Sri Lanka's internal affairs — such as the pursuit of social harmony — will be counterproductive, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris said here on Monday.



He was speaking at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies. The event marked the inauguration of a series of discussion on Sri Lanka's National Policy on Social Integration.



"We do not comment on the domestic affairs of other nations. We respect their sovereignty. Sri Lanka expects reciprocity in that regard," he said.
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14-day judicial custody for Musharraf in Bhutto case

ISLAMABAD, April 30, 2013 PTI





Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Tuesday sent to judicial custody for a fortnight by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.



The court in Rawalpindi had said at the last hearing that Gen. (retd.) Musharraf should be produced for Tuesday's hearing but he was not presented before the judge for security reasons, said chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).



Though Gen. Musharraf was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, the former military strongman will be held at his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad, which has been declared a "sub jail".



The anti-terrorism court adjourned the case till May 14.



At the last hearing on April 26, Gen. Musharraf had been remanded to the physical custody of the FIA for four days so that he could be questioned by investigators probing Ms. Bhutto's assassination.



Referring to the FIA's decision not to produce Gen. Musharraf in court on Tuesday, Mr. Ali told reporters that the Interior Ministry has issued an order, which said that the former president "faces the highest level of security threat".



"Due to this very reason, he was not presented in court but he was sent on judicial remand," he said.



The FIA's joint investigation team had completed its investigation against Gen. Musharraf and gathered "solid evidence" that "directly connects the accused with the commission of the offences with which he has been charged," Mr. Ali said.



"Gen. Musharraf has tried to shift liability and responsibility on others but there is solid evidence, which proves he is guilty," he said.
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Love angle to Bandra boy\'s death?

Mumbai Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013, Agency

Two days after a 20-year-old from Bandra died in a train accident, his family has raised suspicion that he was killed over a love triangle. The family has also accused the police of trying to hush up facts.



The body of Steven Quadros was found lying on the tracks between Vasai and Nalasopara stations around 7.20pm on Saturday when he had gone out with four friends. The resident of Chapel Road worked for a Dubai-based oil rig and was down on a vacation.



The police said Steven had gone partying with four friends – Tanvi Sharma, Reece Valladares, Shalini Fernandes and Shalini's ex-boyfriend Allwyn Kilondkar. Steven's friends, who claimed that all five were drunk, said Steven was hit by a train. His family, however, maintained that Steven never drank.



Police inspector PS Bhangare of Vasai (crime) division said that Steven's friends took him to a private hospital where he died at 4am on Sunday. The accident has also left Allwyn with injuries.



Steven's family, however, said that, of late, Steven had started getting close to Shalini and that her ex-boyfriend did not like their proximity.



"When the five of them went out, the two boys [Steven and Allwyn] probably got into a fight and Steven was possibly killed," said a family member.



Inspector Bhangare said they have registered a case of accidental death for now. "The report of a post-mortem examination has revealed that Steven, who was hit on the left side, died due to internal injuries," said Bhangare.



However, a second post-mortem examination is likely to be conducted at the family's request. The family, said a police official, has raised suspicion that it appeared to them that Steven could have been assaulted and not run over by a train.



A family friend, Darrel D'Mello, said that the police were trying to hush something up. "Neither have they conducted a panchnama, nor do they have all details of the case. Steven's friends are lying because they killed him and fled the spot. It was some labourer in the area who found Steven on the tracks and went to the police," said D'Mello.



Another family friend Rujuta D'Monte, who reiterated that Steven never consumed alcohol, said they found it difficult to believe that he was drunk that night. "We have asked for a second post-mortem examination also because the police did not check the alcohol content in his blood even though one of the friends, in a statement, said that they were drunk," said D'Monte.
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Spirited Kings give Mumbai Indians a mighty scare

MUMBAI, April 30, 2013







After a lacklustre start in this year's IPL, Rohit Sharma has turned out to be Mumbai Indians' brightest star and match-winner. His legion of fans and many former cricketers are enthralled by his elegant strokeplay and the capacity to power shots to the fence and lift sixes with a flick of his wrists.



On Monday, he once again showed a beautiful pair of hands to make a masterly, unbeaten 79, with half a dozen fours and sixes, and led his team to a thrilling four-run victory over Kings XI Punjab. Southpaw David Miller piled on the pressure for the home team till the 18th over with a daring half-century before Praveen Kumar kept the match alive till the last ball.



For an hour and six minutes, it was sheer magic from the languid right-hander. With odds heavily stacked against his team on a track that showed bias to the Kings seamers, Rohit arrived at the fall of the second wicket (Dinesh Karthik) and steered his team to 174, smashing 27 runs off the last over sent down by off-spinner David Hussey.



On the way, he became the third batsman to cross the magnificent 100 sixes mark in the IPL after Chris Gayle (165) and Suresh Raina (100). Rohit has now hit 105 sixes in the competition.



Breathtaking catch



There was plenty of action in the second half as the visitor set about the chase. The athletic Kieron Pollard held his own when he pulled off another breathtaking catch at long on — just inches from the boundary line — to send back Shaun Marsh. The two Indian youngsters, Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra, were earlier removed by Lasith Malinga and Mitchell Johnson. Hussey counterattacked during his brief stay before becoming Pragyan Ojha's second wicket, playing against the spin and holing out to Johnson at long on.



Winning the toss for the second time in a row at the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit chose to bat.



But his team could not make more than 36 at the conclusion of the Power Play.



Dwayne Smith struggled to time his shots and so did Pollard, but the skipper took charge with power-packed shots. Mumbai Indians scored at a rate of more than 10 in seven of the 20 overs.



The batsmen targeted leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, Manpreet Grewal and Azhar Mahmood before Rohit lashed out at Hussey in the last over.



For a team that would have probably looked at around 150, 174 was a real bonus.



A century of sixes



Rohit crossed 100 sixes during the course of his whirlwind knock. Gayle (165) and Raina (100) are the others who have achieved the feat.



Scoreboard



Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Smith c Miller b Chawla 33 (32b, 3x4, 1x6), Sachin Tendulkar b Praveen 9 (10b, 2x4), Dinesh Karthik b Grewal 25 (19b, 2x4, 1x6), Rohit Sharma (not out) 79 (39b, 6x4, 6x6), Kieron Pollard (not out) 20 (21b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (lb-3, nb-1, w-4): 8; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 174.



Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Tendulkar), 2-43 (Karthik), 3-86 (Smith).



Kings XI Punjab bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-24-1, Azhar Mahmood 4-0-32-0, Parvinder Awana 4-0-16-0, Manpreet Grewal 4-0-43-1, Piyush Chawla 2-0-24-1, David Hussey 2-0-32-0.



Kings XI Punjab: Mandeep Singh b Malinga 9 (8b, 2x4), Shaun Marsh c Pollard b Ojha 10 (12b, 1x4), Manan Vohra c Pollard b Johnson 1 (2b), David Hussey c Johnson b Ojha 34 (18b, 5x4, 1x6), David Miller c Tendulkar b Johnson 56 (34b, 1x4, 5x6), Gurkeerat Singh c Smith b Harbhajan 2 (4b), Azhar Mahmood c Karthik b Harbhajan 9 (13b, 1x4), Manpreet Grewal c Karthik b Harbhajan 0 (3b), Piyush Chawla c Rayudu b Kulkarni 12 (10b, 1x6), Praveen Kumar c Tendulkar b Kulkarni 24 (15b, 1x4, 2x6), Parvinder Awana (not out) 0 (2b); Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-1,w-5): 13; Total (in 20 overs): 170.



Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Mandeep), 2-16 (Vohra), 3-55 (Marsh), 4-76 (Hussey), 5-79 (Gurkeerat), 6-110 (Mahmood), 7-111 (Grewal), 8-132 (Chawla), 9-149 (Miller).



Mumbai Indians bowling: Mitchell Johnson 4-0-29-2, Lasith Malinga 4-0-39-1, Dhawal Kulkarni 4-0-44-2, Pragyan Ojha 3-0-22-2, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-14-3, Kieron Pollard 1-0-15-0.



Man-of-the-match: Rohit Sharma.
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Rajasthan Royals keeps home record intact

JAIPUR, April 30, 2013







There's some mystery surrounding his name but his style remains unambiguous.



Sanju Vishwanadh (or Samson, as he's popularly known) made an enthralling 63 off 41 balls on Monday, a knock which ensured Rajasthan Royals kept its 100 per cent home winning record intact with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the record, the Kerala batsman claims he changed his surname from Samson to Vishwanadh.



Ajinkya Rahane's early dismissal brought the 18-year-old to the crease and his initial shots to the boundaries, like attractive twins, came in twos.



Two pairs of consecutive fours off Vinay Kumar, the first bunch on the on-side and the latter on the off, were followed by successive sixes off Murali Kartik.



Dravid's departure in the seventh over brought Shane Watson to the crease and the Australian proceeded to form a 68-run alliance with Vishwanadh off 46 balls.



Hodge joined his fellow countryman afterwards and hit two sixes off Rampaul in the 17th to bring down the required equation from 30 in 3 overs to 13 in 2.



Frayed nerves



Watson was dismissed in the following over by R.P. Singh and RR lost a couple of wickets more in the 20th by Vinay to fray the nerves a little. However, with three needed off two deliveries, Stuart Binny pulled the bowler's slower delivery for a four and brought his side level on points with RCB in the league table.



Virat Kohli's team is still winless outside Bengaluru and yet again its bowlers failed to contain the opposition's explosive batsmen.



Earlier, Chris Gayle presented his usual fare to lead his team to 171 after Dravid chose to put the opposition into bat for the second game running. Though he was dismissed in the 4th over by Shane Watson, the West Indian finished as his side's top-scorer with a powerful 34 off 16 balls.



Gayle's assault



Gayle's innings began with a marked tentativeness and yet he scored three fours off Ajit Chandila in the opening over. An edge, a gentle push and a sweep, which made him slip dramatically, brought the initial rewards for the opener.



The full strength assault was in order by the time S. Sreesanth came to bowl the third over and he was dispatched for another couple of fours in addition to a six.



However, Gayle exited the arena when his loose cut found Vishwanadh's gloves off Watson in the following over.



The West Indian's dismissal reduced the boisterous party to a calm evening function for the elderly as no boundaries came for seven overs.



A.B. de Villiers did manage to change the innings' tempo with two fours off Chandila in the 11th but departed soon afterwards when he was caught at deep point by Faulkner off Sreesanth.



Virat Kohli and Moises Henriques too perished in an attempt to increase the run-rate but three sixes in the final over by Vinay spoilt birthday boy Faulkner's figures.



Scoreboard:



Royal Challengers Bangalore: Abhinav Mukund b Trivedi 19 (21b, 1x4), Chris Gayle c Vishwanadh b Watson 34 (16b, 6x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c Faulkner b Watson 32 (35b, 3x4), A.B. de Villiers c Faulkner b Sreesanth 21 (13b, 3x4), Moises Henriques (run out) 22 (19b, 2x4, 1x6), Saurabh Tiwary (not out) 8 (8b), Ravi Rampaul c Samson b Watson 3 (4b), Vinay Kumar (not out) 22 (6b, 3x6); Extras (lb-5, w-3, nb-2): 10; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 171.



Fall of wickets: 1-44 (Gayle), 2-66 (Mukund), 3-99 (de Villiers), 4-123 (Kohli), 5-145 (Henriques), 6-149 (Rampaul).



Rajasthan Royals bowling: Ajit Chandila 4-0-39-0, James Faulkner 4-0-42-0, S. Sreesanth 4-1-35-1, Shane Watson 4-0-22-3, Siddharth Trivedi 3-0-20-1, Stuart Binny 1-0-8-0.



Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid b Henriques 22 (17b, 4x4), Ajinkya Rahane c Singh b Rampaul 2 (7b), Sanju Vishwanadh c Kartik b Rampaul 63 (41b, 7x4, 2x6), Shane Watson c de Villiers b Singh 41 (31b, 3x4, 1x6), Brad Hodge b Kumar 32 (18b, 1x4, 2x6), Stuart Binny (not out) 6 (3b, 1x4), Owais Shah (run out) 1 (1b), James Faulkner (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-3, w-2): 5; Total (for six wkts. in 19.5 overs): 173.



Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Rahane), 2-48 (Dravid), 3-116 (Samson), 4-162 (Watson), 5-167 (Hodge), 6-168 (Shah).



Royal Challengers Bangalore: Ravi Rampaul 4-1-28-2, R.P. Singh 4-0-35-1, Vinay Kumar 3.5-0-39-1, Moises Henriques 2-0-6-1, Murali Kartik 3-0-32-0, Jaydev Unadkat 3-0-30-0.



Man-of-the-match: Sanju Vishwanadh.
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Unilever to hike stake in HUL

April 30, 2013



Unilever plc. On Tuesday announced a voluntary open offer to hike stake in Hindustan Unilever (HUL) up to 75 per cent from the current 52.48 per cent at a price of Rs. 600 a share.



Following this announcement, the shares of HUL, a market leader in the FMCG business in India, went up by 16.28 per cent at Rs. 578.20.



Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever, said in a statement on Tuesday morning: "This represents a further step in Unilever's strategy to invest in emerging markets and offers a liquidity opportunity at what we believe to be an attractive premium for existing shareholders. The long heritage and great brands of Hindustan Unilever, and the significant growth potential of a country with 1.3 billion people make India a strategic long-term priority for the business."



The offer, which is made pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, is to acquire up to 487,004,772 shares, representing 22.52% of the total outstanding shares of HUL, which would increase Unilever's stake to up to 75%. Securities regulations in India require a minimum public shareholding of 25% for a company to maintain a public listing in the country.



The offer, payable in cash, represents a premium of approximately 29.5% over the mandatory floor price required under Indian regulations, a premium of 26.0% to HUL's last one month's average trading share price and 25.0% to the last one week's average trading price on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited. The potential total value of the transaction at the offer price (assuming full acceptances) is approximately INR 292.2 billion or €4.1 billion.



Subject to regulatory clearance, the offer period is expected to begin in June 2013. Payment for the shares will take place shortly after close of the offer. The offer is being managed by HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Limited.
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Despite hurdles, Centre keen on pushing LPG cash transfer

NEW DELHI, April 30, 2013



The Centre may be struggling to convince LPG consumers to link their Aadhaar card numbers with their bank accounts. But that has not stopped it from going ahead for an October 1 launch of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for a majority of the 14 crore consumers.



The government convened a meeting of 121 district magistrates from various parts of the country on Monday to discuss the launch of the scheme in phases from July 1. The plan is to extend it to the majority of the LPG consumers on the rolls of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) by October 1, subject to their coverage under the Aadhaar scheme.



Under the scheme, a consumer has to seed his or her bank account with the Aadhaar number to get the LPG subsidy transferred directly into the account. The annual subsidy per consumer is estimated at Rs. 4,000. The supply of subsidised LPG cylinder has been capped at 9 a year per consumer.



The OMCs have started asking customers to register their Aadhaar card numbers with them. However, several consumers are refusing to share the numbers with the banks. "We have had only 20 to 30 per cent success rate in pilot projects launched in 20 districts. Consumers are ready to give the Aadhaar numbers to the OMCs but not to the banks. There is also the issue of Aadhaar penetration, which is very patchy in different parts of the country," a senior Petroleum Ministry official remarked.



While about 32 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), only 80 lakh bank accounts have been linked to the unique identity numbers so far, officials said. Consumers will have to buy LPG cylinder at the prevailing market price (currently Rs. 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi) once the scheme becomes operational. Although, the Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to get ready for the DBT scheme, the progress thus far does not augur well for an October 1 launch.



Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia admitted at the conference of district magistrates on Monday that it would take another 5 to 6 months to get the scheme rolling. The meeting was addressed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

Sarabjit Singh may be brain dead: Report

30,april:





Lahore/New Delhi: Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan Sarabjit Singh may be brain dead and is being sustained by life support system, reports said on Tuesday.



Sarabjit Singh\'s sister Dalbir Kaur is also reportedly returning to India via Wagah border to seek advice on whether ventilator support to her brother should be withdrawn.



Before leaving for India, Dalbir Kaur told reporters that she needs to consult with people back in India and would be crossing Wagah at around 2.30 pm today.



The development was also confirmed by Rajkumar Veerka, Vice Chairman, SC& ST Commission.



"Spoke to Dalbir Kaur in Pakistan, she said that doctors have told her Sarbajit\'s brain is dead," he tweeted.



The Pakistan media had earlier reported that Sarabjit Singh was in extremely critical condition. His immediate family members were allowed to meet him again in the Jinnah hospital in Lahore.With his condition worsening, the Government of India (GoI) has asked Pakistan to release Sarabjit Singh so that he could be brought back home for treatment.



The GoI also demanded that the attack on Sarabjit be thoroughly investigated to identify those who were responsible and to ensure that they are punished. .



The government also asked Pakistan to consider the option of transferring 49-year-old Sarabjit to India so that he can benefit from the best medical treatment available here.



Based on the most recent medical bulletin put out by doctors treating him, it is clear that his condition remains critical, Ministry of External Affairs said, adding that it \"shares the anguish and concern of his family members, and our prayers will remain with them\".



In a statement, the Ministry said, \"In view of the recent tragic events and present circumstances, we once again appeal to the Government of Pakistan to take a sympathetic and humanitarian view of this case, and release Sarabjit Singh.\"



MEA also noted that \"it is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of all Indian prisoners in their custody.\"



Meanwhile, the Ministry said officials of the Indian High Commission are in touch with the medical authorities at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore and \"we would like them to consider the option of transferring Sarabjit Singh to India so that he can benefit from the best medical treatment available here.\"




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Police firing in Assam kills one, injures 10

Assam- APRIL 30, 2013:





In Assam\'s second incident of police firing in as many days, one person was killed and at least 10 injured in Sonitpur district on Tuesday. The fresh trouble broke out even as curfew continued in Goalpara district where the death toll from Monday\'s police firing rose to four with the discovery of two more bodies.

As tension continued in Rakshasini area of Goalpara district, where a mob clashed with police and security forces on Monday over the recovery of a body, trouble erupted on Tuesday morning near a power station of the Power Grid Corporation India Limited (PGCIL) at Baghmari near Tezpur in Sonitpur.

According to state Home Secretary G.D. Tripathy, the tension started after officials of the power station wanted to close a road through the campus being used by people from neighbouring villages.

\"Hundreds of people came out to the streets to oppose the move of the power station officials. As police tried to contain the situation, people charged at the police.

\"After the initial attempt to control the situation with lathi charge and firing of rubber bullets failed, police fired bullets, leading to the death of one and injuries to over 10 others,\" Tripathy told IANS.

\"There were two roads through the campus of the power station, one of which had been closed a few days back. However, after providing an alternate road, officials tried to close this second road today. This move infuriated the locals for some reason and led to the untoward incident today,\" he said

The situation, he added, was being monitored closely and was under control now

In Goalpara, the death toll increased to four with police recovering two more bodies from the violence-hit areas late Monday, police said.

Of the four, two were killed in police firing two are suspected to have been killed by the crowds.

Of the two bodies recovered late Monday, one was hacked and the other was charred, Tripathy said.

\"We recovered their bodies late Monday and it is believed that the agitated mob attacked these two people and killed them during the violence.\"

\"We have decided not to lift the curfew as tension is simmering in the area. We do not want to take a risk and want to ensure that the violence do not take any communal colour,\" he said.

The home secretary said additional forces had been sent to the violence affected areas of Goalpara district on Monday to help police in controlling the situation.

Irate crowds had begun to gather in the area after the recovery of the body of Taher Ali, who had been missing since Sunday evening.

\"People from the area people attacked policemen who reached the spot to recover the body, which was buried. Hundreds of locals pelted stones at police and damaged their vehicles,\" a police official had said on Monday.

To disperse the crowd, police resorted to firing that led to the death of two people on the spot and injury to others, he said.


















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Police firing in Assam kills one, injures 10 Read more at: http://i

assam, APRIL 30, 2013:











In Assam\'s second incident of police firing in as many days, one person was killed and at least 10 injured in Sonitpur district on Tuesday. The fresh trouble broke out even as curfew continued in Goalpara district where the death toll from Monday\'s police firing rose to four with the discovery of two more bodies.

As tension continued in Rakshasini area of Goalpara district, where a mob clashed with police and security forces on Monday over the recovery of a body, trouble erupted on Tuesday morning near a power station of the Power Grid Corporation India Limited (PGCIL) at Baghmari near Tezpur in Sonitpur.

According to state Home Secretary G.D. Tripathy, the tension started after officials of the power station wanted to close a road through the campus being used by people from neighbouring villages.

\"Hundreds of people came out to the streets to oppose the move of the power station officials. As police tried to contain the situation, people charged at the police.

\"After the initial attempt to control the situation with lathi charge and firing of rubber bullets failed, police fired bullets, leading to the death of one and injuries to over 10 others,\" Tripathy told IANS.

\"There were two roads through the campus of the power station, one of which had been closed a few days back. However, after providing an alternate road, officials tried to close this second road today. This move infuriated the locals for some reason and led to the untoward incident today,\" he said

The situation, he added, was being monitored closely and was under control now

In Goalpara, the death toll increased to four with police recovering two more bodies from the violence-hit areas late Monday, police said.

Of the four, two were killed in police firing two are suspected to have been killed by the crowds.

Of the two bodies recovered late Monday, one was hacked and the other was charred, Tripathy said.

\"We recovered their bodies late Monday and it is believed that the agitated mob attacked these two people and killed them during the violence.\"

\"We have decided not to lift the curfew as tension is simmering in the area. We do not want to take a risk and want to ensure that the violence do not take any communal colour,\" he said.

The home secretary said additional forces had been sent to the violence affected areas of Goalpara district on Monday to help police in controlling the situation.

Irate crowds had begun to gather in the area after the recovery of the body of Taher Ali, who had been missing since Sunday evening.

\"People from the area people attacked policemen who reached the spot to recover the body, which was buried. Hundreds of locals pelted stones at police and damaged their vehicles,\" a police official had said on Monday.

To disperse the crowd, police resorted to firing that led to the death of two people on the spot and injury to others, he said.






News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

100 years of Indian cinema: The non-Indians among the Indians!

APRIL 30, 2013:







India is celebrating 100 years of its cinema this year but before it became all the rage it is the world over today, back then, in its infancy it had already caused an impression in the minds of certain individuals in other parts of the world. With stars in their eyes, these individuals travelled to Bombay to try their luck in tinsel town, ending up making it big and in a certain person\'s case becoming a cult of sorts. Here, we profile these six firangs who are synonymous with Indian cinema and who will always be top of our mind even after another 100 years.



Nadia

Dear Katrina Kaif, do see if you can watch the stunt movies of Fearless Nadia, that 1930s daredevil action star of Hindi cinema, because we are absolutely certain that if you do, you will be inspired to reverse your decision to use body doubles in your forthcoming films Dhoom 3 and Bang Bang and do them yourself. Maybe producer Aditya Chopra and director Siddharth Anand could gift you some DVDs of the films of this actress, like you a foreigner ruling Indian cinema, born in Perth, Australia in 1908.







Nadia, born Mary Evans, burst on to Indian celluloid in the mid-thirties around the time silent films were dying and talkies were all the new rage. This blue-eyed, firang, who could not utter a syllable of Hindi, was adept at doing cartwheels, jumping from heights, lifting male actors and throwing them on the ground and when required, wielding the whip to bring villains back to their senses. Is it any surprise that Fearless Nadia, her screen name, chartered a flourishing career for herself in Hindi cinema?

Strangely, though Nadia had a successful career till 1959, she was never looked upon as a serious actor by her contemporaries or the unforgiving press. Most critics of the time pooh-poohed her work as \"time-pass films\" that provided \"cheap thrills\" to a predominantly eager male audience. Today, when most producers reluctantly back a woman-oriented script, it is indeed commendable that Nadia managed to do what she did at that time. Her dishoom-dishoom acts satiated viewers and kept box office registers ringing for over two decades! Not many actresses can do that on their own steam even today.



Some titles of this female Zorro-like, mask-wearing fearless tigress include - Pahadi Kanya (1936), Miss Frontier Mail (1936), Hurricane Hansa (1937), Punjab Mail (1939), Diamond Queen (1940), Bambaiwali (1941), Hunterwali Ki Beti (1943), Toofan Queen (1946), Himmatwali (1947) among others. Phew!



Nadira

When teenage Jewish girl Florence Ezekiel left Baghdad for Bombay, India, in late 1940s all she knew was that she wanted to make it in Hindi cinema. Nadira, the screen name given to Florence, hit the marquee in 1953 as then-reigning superstar Dilip Kumar\'s love interest in the film Aan.







And there ended her run as heroine. For, after Aan, she appeared in Shree 420 and did such a splendid job essaying the bitch (who can forget her femme fatale act in the song Mudh mudh ke na dekh?), audiences and filmmakers alike could see her as nothing but the quintessential vamp. Nadira ended up epitomising that character for the rest of her celluloid career, often becoming the inspiration for future such characters.

She went on to act in over 60 films as the iconic vamp of Hindi cinema of the 50s and \'60s. Fair-skinned with sharp European features Nadira acted in notable films such as Waris, Shree 420, Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi, Amar Akbar Anthony. Even Ajeeb dastan hai yeh from Dil Apna Hai Preet Parayi, picturised on Rajendra Kumar, Meena Kumari and Nadira remains memorable till today.



Eventually, as age took over and she graduated to play character roles, including mother to Sridevi in Julie for which she bagged the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. She also did parts in Pooja Bhatt\'s Tamanna (1997) and Ismail Merchant\'s English film Cotton Mary (1999). The Mansoor Khan-directed Josh was the last Bollywood film Nadira undertook. She also acted in TV serials Thodasa Aasman and Margerita. But Nadira had long made it in Hindi cinema as she had desired to - not as a leading lady but as Bollywood\'s definitive vamp.



Franz Osten

When Devika Rani, married to producer-actor Himanshu Rai, created a scandal by running away with actor Najmul Hasan from their company Bombay Talkies, one silent witness to the sordid affair was a notable German employee of theirs, Franz Osten.







Born in Munich, Osten is known for directing some of Indian cinema\'s earliest blockbusters including Achchut Kanya and Jeevan Naiya. Before the advent of talkies, Osten had already made his mark in Hindi cinema, directing many in the silent era.

What is fascinating about this man is that he did not know a word of Hindi but was instrumental in creating the most memorable films in Indian cinema. Not just this, the subject matters were close to his heart as well. Long before Shah Rukh Khan became a rage in Germany, a German import in Indian cinema made over a dozen Hindi films from the 57 films he made in his filmmaking career. These included a number of Cecil B de Mille type blockbusters like A Throw of Dice, based on an episode from the Mahabharata, Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia) of 1925 and Shiraz of 1928 as well as films that influenced Indian cinema, such as Josef von Sternberg’s classic 1930 film The Blue Angels starring Marlene Dietrich, which was remade by V. Shantaram as Pinjra in 1972. Osten\'s silent films project a tapestry richer than most silent films of the time.



Bob Christo

Why can we never forget this late firang actor, who mostly played a howling sidekick or henchman to the villain in Bollywood? Because Australia-born Bob Cristo did a spectacular job of scaring the daylights out of audiences with his Goliath-like terror and brute appeal when he burst on to Hindi cinema in the early ’80s. In fact, in an interview, he confessed that none of the films, in which he played a good guy, worked!







Born in Sydney, Bob (as he was known given that in most of his films, his character was also named Bob!), happened to see a picture of late-Indian screen Goddess Parveen Babi and travelled to Bombay to meet her. He ended up acting with her in some five films and in eventually in over 200 Bollywood films, usually getting beaten up by the Indian hero and in a way making the Indian audience feel good about themselves and their matinee idols.

A qualified civil engineer from Autralia, Bob started his acting career with Sanjay Khan\'s Abdullah (1980). He went to act in many potboilers of the 80s and 90s, including some noteworthy films he like Qurbani, Kaalia, Nastik, Mard, Mr India and Gumraah.



Instantly recognized for his brawny look, Bob came to Bombay whilst awaiting a work permit to work in Muscat. In the early 2000s, he shifted to Bangalore where he worked as a Yoga instructor and stayed away from the Hindi movie industry ever since. But Bob can never be forgotten because he was too good being so bad.



Tom Alter

Tom Alter will always be remembered for playing some firang character in Bollywood who talks Hindi with a typical foreign accent, often mispronouncing words or \'firangi-cizing\' them.







It would surprise those who do not know (shame on you if you do not!) that in reality, Tom is fluent in Urdu and Hindi and has even essayed 16th Century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib on stage.

Born to American parents 62 years ago in Mussourie, Tom was leading a content life as a cricket coach in Haryana until he saw Rajesh Khanna romance Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana. That is when he packed his bags and headed to Pune to the Film and Televison Institute of India (FTII) to study acting.



Tom went on to make his mark and how, working noted filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray (Shatranj Ke Khiladi), Richard Attenborough (Gandhi), Mahesh Bhatt (Aashiqui) and many, many others. Among those that come to mind instantly is his portrayal of a British officer in Kranti, his portrayal of Lord Mount batter in the 1993 biopic Sardar and in one of the longest-running Indian TV soap Junoon in which he played Indian character Keshav Kalse. Today he is not seen much in films but his work in theatre keeps him busy. He also writes on cricket for various publications from time to time. In keeping with the Indian fascination for white skin, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Shri in 2008.





Helen

The tag line on the cover of Jerry Pinto\'s unauthorised biography of Helen reads - \'The Life and Times of a Bollywood H-Bomb\'. A refugee from erstwhile Burma, Helen traces her roots to a Franco-Burmese ancestry. To quote a line from Pinto\'s book, ...She was perceived as a white woman. She entered a world dominated by North-Indian men who had very definite notions about how women should look and behave on screen and she managed to redefine those requirements.\'







Helen was introduced to Hindi films by actress Cuckoo and shot to fame when she appeared in the timeless number \'Mera naam Chin Chin Chu\' in the film Howrah Bridge. There was no one like Helen in Hindi cinema until then, someone who could embody sensuality and sex while keeping in mind narrow Indian sensibilities. She became a rage because she filled a slot no goody-two-shoes Indian actress wanted to a part of. Ironically, today, all Indian heroines are falling over themselves to do what Helen made iconic over 50 years ago - the item number. Indian audiences will never forget her mesmerizing belly dances and pelvic thrusts in songs like Oyee Maa Oyee Maa Yeh Kya Ho Gaya (Parasmani), Gham chhod ke manao rang relly (Gumnaam), Oh haseena zulfonwali (Teesri Manzil), Aa jaane jaan (Inteqaam), Piya tu ab toh aa ja (Carvaan) Mehbooba (Sholay), Mungda main gud ki dali (Inkaar), Yeh mera dil (Don) among others.

It is important to note that although she might not have had so-called conservative \'Indian sensibilities\' running in her blood, she actually never exposed or did anything overtly vulgar, most often than not wearing body stockings under seemingly skimpy costumes.



Helen went on to essay the vamp character and also play many supporting roles opposite actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Kumar, Shammi Kapoor among many others. She remained the fantasy of three generations of Indian men. In fact, such has been her impact that a German dancer made a documentary in search of Helen having been influenced by her dances. It can be safely said that the name \'Helen\' in Indian cinema is equivalent to a cult of sorts.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

Ekta Kapoor, Jeetendra face Income Tax raids

Mumbai, Tue April 30 2013,





Income Tax officials on Tuesday (April 30) conducted searches at the residence of producer Ekta Kapoor, her actor-father Jeetendra and Balaji Telefilms\' facilities for suspected tax evasion.



Sleuths from the department swooped down on seven locations across the city, including the yesteryear star and his daughter\'s residence in suburban Juhu, as part of the searches, which began at 0700 hours, I-T sources said.



Balaji Telefilms\' office and studio are also among the seven premises where searches are being conducted, they added.



The searches are being carried out for suspected tax evasion and a team of over 100 officials is on the job, the sources said.



The personal office of Ekta Kapoor, who made it big with television soaps, before venturing into films, and her actor-brother Tushar Kapoor in suburban Bandra was also searched, they said.



According to the sources, the statements of Ekta Kapoor, the joint managing director at Balaji Telefilms and Jeetendra,



the company chairman, are likely to be recorded later.



Officials at Balaji Telefilms were not available for a comment immediately.



Shares of the listed Balaji Telefilms were trading 4.41 per cent down at Rs 43.35 a piece on the BSE at 1132 hours, with the 30-share benchmark up 0.13 per cent.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

Independent candidate among three killed in Pakistan

Islamabad April 30,2013:





An independent candidate in Pakistan\'s upcoming polls and two companions were gunned down in the restive Balochistan province today, the latest in a string of attacks targeting politicians and campaign offices.



Unidentified gunmen killed Abdul Fatah Magsi, a candidate in polls to the provincial assembly, and his colleagues in Jhal Magsi this morning.



Magsi was attacked while he was on a door-to-door campaign. Three others were injured in the attack.



They were taken to a nearby hospital, police said.



The Election Commission deferred polls in the area and said the schedule for the election in Jhal Magsi would be announced later.



Over the past few days, the banned Pakistani Taliban and other groups have targeted campaign offices and election meetings across the country.



Over 40 people were killed and dozens injured in 26 bomb blasts in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh prvinces since campaigning began for the May 11 general election.



The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has said it will target the Pakistan People\'s Party, Awami National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement for their \"secular policies\".








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Fury over Zuma\'s \'invading\' visit to Mandela

30 APR 2013 :



The SABC broadcast exclusive footage of ailing former president Nelson Mandela on Monday evening, showing him sitting impassively with a blanket over his legs.



Although the state broadcaster said he was in good health and good spirits, many viewers questioned this on Twitter.



The ANC\'s top leaders visited Mandela at his Houghton home in Johannesburg earlier on Monday. The SABC accompanied the ANC on its visit, tweeting on social networking site Twitter about its exclusive from early afternoon.



\"We had some conversation with him, shook hands, he was smiling,\" Zuma told the SABC. \"He\'s really up and about, [and] stabilised. We are very happy, we think he is fine.\"



SABC news had footage of Mandela sitting in a chair flanked by Zuma, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, party chairperson Baleka Mbete and his medical team.



The Nobel Peace Prize laureate looked blankly at the camera while everyone around him stood chatting and laughing. This was the first footage of him in many months.



A frail Mandela was seen closing his eyes as someone\'s camera flash light clearly affected his eyes. Mandela is known to have sensitive eyes after years of working in a limestone quarry when he was imprisoned on Robben Island.
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N. Korea holding ex-UO student

APRIL 30,woolington





A former University of Oregon student could face the death penalty in North Korea if he is convicted on charges that he planned to overthrow the North Korean government.



Kenneth Bae, a U.S. tour operator, has been detained by North Korea since early November. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea but most recently lived in Washington state.



The United States on Monday called on North Korea to release Bae immediately on humanitarian grounds. A State Department spokesman said at a news conference that the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang was able to visit with Bae on Friday.



Bae spent seven terms as a full-time student at the UO between 1988 and 1990, UO spokeswoman Julie Brown said Monday. A psychology major, he earned 75 credits, but not a degree. Brown did not know why Bae left the university.



He registered for classes using his Korean name, Bae Jun-ho.



UO alum Bobby Lee, 44, said he and Bae were "practically roommates" during their years at UO. Lee, now a policy adviser for Gov. John Kitzhaber, said he learned about Bae's detainment after running in the Eugene Marathon on Sunday. "I couldn't believe it," he said.



The two met as freshmen while volunteering for a UO tutoring program for disadvantaged students in 1988.



"He was excited," Lee said of Bae. "He wanted to make friends. He was a very social guy."



The two traveled the Oregon Coast frequently, Lee said. Bae also loved to cook.



"He'd invite everyone to come over," he said. "He'd make us a Korean meal."



Dennis Kwon, 44, also met Bae as a freshman at the UO through the Korean Student Association. The two would set up tables at the Erb Memorial Union at the university's International Night to educate students about South Korean culture. They cooked together and practiced marital arts."He was very compassionate about helping others," Kwon said. "I remember he'd help Korean exchange students adjust to campus life."



Kwon, who graduated from the UO in 1991, was Bae's best man at his wedding in 1990. Bae left the UO soon after to work in California to support his wife, Kwon said.



Although neither Kwon nor Lee kept in touch with Bae after college, they are trying to spread the word about his detainment.



"He's not well-known," Lee said. "He deserves the same level of attention that previous North Korean detainees received. We want people to care."



Lee said he has contacted U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who in January tried to see Bae during a private trip to North Korea but was rebuffed by the government there.



Bae operated a travel company that took tourists and prospective investors to North Korea. He led a group of five European tourists into the country in November, a North Korean human rights activist told The Associated Press, when he was arrested in Rason, a northeastern region of North Korea near the China-Russia border.



The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday that Bae was being tried in the country's Supreme Court on charges that he plotted to overthrow the North Korean government.



Although the exact details of his arrest are unknown, the Korean news agency asserted that Bae admitted his guilt and that the charges are backed by evidence — a crime punishable by death in North Korea.



South Korean human rights advocates have described Bae as a devout Christian who not only ran tours to North Korea but was interested in helping orphans in the communist country. They said security officials in the North may have been offended by pictures of orphans that Bae had taken and stored in his computer.



North Korea, a police state, has often used the plight of detained Americans as a bargaining chip in its dealings with Washington. Some were freed only after former U.S. presidents traveled to the North. Bae is the sixth American detained by North Korea since 2009, but he is facing the gravest charges.



The North has been locked in a standoff with the United States and South Korea since it detonated a nuclear bomb in February.
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US Defense secretary reiterates protection and security commitments to Japan

US, APRIL 30, 2013





US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera at the Pentagon on Monday and afterwards at their joint press conference reiterated the United States' commitment to honor its defense commitments to Japan. This includes the nuclear umbrella, which is a guarantee by a nuclear state, in this case the US, to defend its non-nuclear allied state, which is Japan.



The meeting between the two secretaries comes on the heel of North Korea's continued nuclear threats against the US and its allies in the region and Japan's continued territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Hagel said that North Korea's behavior is the "most obvious threat to stability in the region". Although Pyongyang has been silent for the past few days, it is still not enough for Japan and other countries in the region to lower their alert levels against the reclusive state. The US is planning to deploy another X-band radar system to Japan, which can track the trajectory of ballistic missiles.



With regards to the tensions between Japan and China, the US is still maintaining its stance that they do not have a position on the overall sovereignty of the islands, but that they recognize Japan's administrative control over the Senkakus. They will honor their security treaty allocations and the US "opposes any unilateral course of action" that seeks to undermine this control. This positioning seeks to calm any doubts from observers that the US will honor its commitment to Japan, given that they are also trying to improve their own relations with China.



The two also announced the launch of a defense working group as part of their efforts to build on their bilateral defense cooperation. They will be focusing on areas like surveillance and reconnaissance and will also be conducting a review of the existing guidelines on bilateral defense cooperation. Part of the bilateral agreement is the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture and Onodera stressed that this is crucial to "mitigating the impact on Okinawa."
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