Asia / All Themes
News & Gossip : Its horror time
30.09.2008 08:21
bollyvista.com
With Ram Gopal Varmas Phoonk and Vikram Bhatts 1920 being accepted by the audiences a hoard of ...
India
Show Business
News & Gossip : Bachchans to be back in town for Drona
30.09.2008 08:21
bollyvista.com
Abhishek Bachchans most eagerly awaited Drona will be hitting the silver screen this week and a ...
India
Show Business
News & Gossip : Shilpa Shetty sizzles on the race track too!
30.09.2008 08:21
bollyvista.com
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty cheered wholeheartedly for Formula One team Force India at the ...
India
Show Business
News & Gossip : Big Pictures enters Gujrati filmdom
30.09.2008 08:21
bollyvista.com
Big Pictures, a Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company, announced its entry into the ...
India
Show Business
Russia to start delivering MiG fighters to India in 2009
30.09.2008 06:33
b4uindia.com
Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India in the spring of 2009. Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the delivery of 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four two-seater MiG-29KUB by 2009, to be deployed on the Admiral Gorshkov, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy. “The first four MiG-29K aircraft will be delivered to India in the spring of 2009,” said Mikhail Globenko, marketing director of MiG. The MiG official said that there was an option in the contract to supply an additional 30 fighters by 2015 and the company was in talks with the Indian Navy on exercising this option. “We are ready to exercise this option and it all now depends on the Indian side,” Globenko said. He also said that Indian pilots started on Monday a five-month training course for MiG-29K in Russia and technical personnel had already been training in Russia for two months. “By the time the first aircraft arrive in India, their pilots and technicians will be ready,” the Russian official said. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Malegaon tense after Monday''s blast, but curfew relaxed
30.09.2008 06:33
b4uindia.com
The situation in Malegaon remains tense after Monday night''s blast at Bhikku Chowk, in which four people were killed and 70 others were injured. According to police, the situation is under control. Meanwhile, curfew has been relaxed in the blast locality near the Noorani mosque. The blast took place at 9:45 p.m. near a hotel in Bhikku Chowk. The bomb was reportedly placed in a silver coloured Hero Honda Passion motorcycle. The injured included seven policemen and eleven homeguards, who were hurt in stone-pelting by a mob after the blast. The sub-divisional-magistrate''s jeep was also damaged. The four deceased have been identified as Shaikh Rafiq Shaikh Mustafa, Sayyad Jahir Sayyad Nisar, Sayyad Azhar Sayyad Mohmmed and Shaikh Fakir Shaikh Liyakat, the police said. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil and Guardian Minister Chhagan Bhujbal will today visit the site to review the situation. According to a police official, the Anti-Terrorism Squad team has been sent to investigate the blast. On September 8, 2006, at least 37 people were killed and 125 were injured when three bomb blasts hit in Malegaon town. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Over 100 killed, 200 injured in Jodhpur temple stampede
30.09.2008 06:33
b4uindia.com
More than 100 people were killed and over 200 were injured, when a stampede occurred at the Chamunda Devi Temple in Jodhpur today. According to media reports, rumours of a bomb in Mehrangarh near Jodhpur area led to the stampede. A huge number of devotees, especially women, had gathered at the temple from early morning in view of the Navratra festival. According to sources, 50 bodies were brought to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital and the others are being sent to Mathura Das Hospital here. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Ginger Spice pens her first screenplay
30.09.2008 06:32
b4uindia.com
After carving a niche as an accomplished popstar, Geri Halliwell has added new entry on her CV — movie expert. Halliwell, who has penned her fist screenplay for a film, revealed that it was not a difficult job for her. “I’ve just written my first screenplay. It is pretty incredible to finish it — the first draft. I got somebody to teach me — there’s a programme called Final Draft. I had someone come round my house and teach me how to use it,” The Sun quoted Halliwell, as saying. “I’ve got a few friends who are screenwriters and they said to write the premise of it first — like the whole story of it,” she added. Prior to this, Halliwell, who revealed that she turned towards film-writing after being inspired by Jonathan Ross’ wife Jane Goldman, has also penned a series of children’s books about fictional character Ugenia Lavender. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Bush, Pelosi biggest losers of bailout package vote defeat
30.09.2008 06:32
b4uindia.com
The House of Representatives vote scuttling the 700 billion dollar financial bailout plan is being described as one of the most stunning debacles of modern times, and the biggest losers seem to be President George W Bush and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. If House Republican leaders are to be believed, the bill went down because a dozen or so members changed their votes to "no" after partisan remarks by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi offended them. The other prominent loser – Bush -- has privately told associates the country doesn''t listen to him anymore. According to the New York Daily News, Bush has shown leadership by pushing hard, but lacks the moral authority to follow through. The only major politician who necessarily has not come out looking worse is Barack Obama. He wasn''t a decisive player in the doomed deliberations, but he didn''t grandstand, either. Besides, fresh economic jitters usually help Democrats, says the paper. Republicans were already being blamed for the laissez-faire policies that created the mess. Now they''re sure to be tarred for killing a bipartisan plan to fix it. "The House Republican leadership just got Barack Obama elected," a senior New York Democratic lawmaker predicted. According to the paper, Pelosi delivered more of her Democrats than the opposition, but a tough floor speech gave some Republicans a fig leaf to vote no. The speaker also violated a cardinal rule: never bring a crucial bill to the floor unless the votes are there. As far as John McCain was concerned, he rushed back to Washington to take charge of the negotiations and whip balking Republicans into line, but just didn’t seem to cut ice with them. His own side repudiated House Minority Leader John Boehner’s counsel. "These are the votes that separate the men from the boys and the girls from the women," he warned colleagues. They didn''t care. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ended up being the “wrong front man to sell this (the bailout package) to the average person." (ANI)
India
Social Life
Cadbury recalls chocolates amid fear of contamination from toxic Chinese milk
30.09.2008 00:42
b4uindia.com
Confectionery giant Cadbury has decided to withdraw products manufactured in its Beijing factory from the market, following fears of contamination from toxic Chinese milk. The company’s announcement about its decision to take the precautionary step of recalling the products comes after melamine was found in chocolates tested in Hong Kong. In Australia, the voluntary recall will affect 180g Cadbury Eclair candy bags, which are produced in China. "Chinese dairy products are not used in any of our other Cadbury products we manufacture in Australia," the Australian quoted the company as saying in a statement. The company’s headquarters in Hong Kong has confirmed that melamine had been found in tests on products made in China. A spokesman for the company said that it would be too early to say how much melamine was found in the products. Earlier, when initial tests "cast doubt" on the safety of its Chinese-made products Cadbury had earlier recalled its Chinese-made products after initial tests "cast doubt" on their safety. "As a result of these tests ... we have received results that cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China. As a result, we believe it is appropriate to take a precautionary step to withdraw from the market all of our Cadbury chocolate products that were manufactured in our Beijing plant," the company said in the statement. Milk products laced with melamine, known for use in making plastics, have claimed four children’s lives in China, and affected the health of tens of thousands. The 11 brands recalled include Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk chocolate. The chocolates are only distributed in Taiwan and Hong Kong. A spokeswoman for Food Standards Australia and New Zealand said the risk of illness from consuming the Eclairs, though minimal, was being taken seriously. "You would have to constantly eat these products over a period of time to have any effect," she said. The agency said that it had been approaching retailers and suppliers for the past two weeks to ensure that contaminated products were not on Australian shelves. "We are working closely with the states and territories to make sure that no products, even with small content of dairy, are affected," the FSANZ spokeswoman said. Last week, Australian retailers pulled a popular Chinese sweet, White Rabbit Creamy Candies, from shelves after it was found to contain melamine. Testing of the confectionary by authorities in New Zealand confirmed that it contained melamine, mixed with milk powder in China to boost its apparent protein levels. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Sensex plummets after rejection of US bail out package
30.09.2008 00:42
b4uindia.com
As an after-affect of the rejection of the 700-billion dollar bail out package by US House of Representatives, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex plunged by 442 points to a two-year low of 12,153 in early trade today. Within minutes of opening, the BSE Sensex fell mainly in the stocks of banking, metal, realty and IT sectors. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty fell by 135 points or 3.40 per cent at 3715 with all the heavy-weight stocks trading in negative zone. Major losers in Nifty were Reliance Infra, HDFC bank, Infosys, Satyam Computers, BHEL and Larsen and Toubro. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Aliens Group to build tallest residential complex in Hyderabad
30.09.2008 00:41
b4uindia.com
For the first time, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority has given approval to construct a 30-storey project by Aliens Group (www.aliensgroup.in) in Hyderabad. This approval is considered a landmark achievement in the history of Hyderabad real estate as it going to be the tallest residential complex ever in the Hitech City, which was once known as city of nawabs. Located in Gachibowli, the IT and Financial district, this 30-storied residential complex named Aliens Space Station 1, is coming up in more than 18.5 acres of land with nearly 80 per cent of remaining area as landscaped greens. Expected to go up to a height of 87 meters, this residential development will house 2,205 apartments including duplexes and penthouses. “Hyderabad is growing as Asia''s new International hub and is a gateway to the region. Keeping pace with this development, Aliens Group synonymous for its “Intelligent Living,” is developing a series of hi-tech digital homes" Aliens Group Managing Director, Hari Challa says. He added saying that Aliens Space Station 1, barely three kilometre from the outer ring road and 20 minutes drive from the new International Airport, is slated to be completed within 36 months. The key highlights of this project are its home automation features such as biometric security access systems, touch pad switches with lift buttons inside home, Wi-Fi connectivity, shopping mall, multiplex theatre and entertainment facilities. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Explosive growth of CardT makes it no.1 PayByCash® payment method
30.09.2008 00:41
b4uindia.com
Ultimate Game CardT, an unique prepaid gift card developed and supported by PayByCash®, a subsidiary of PlaySpan, Inc., has risen to PayByCash''s top payment method in the United States, which is great news for the hundreds of online multiplayer game merchants that accept payments via PayByCash. Over 50 per cent of US PayByCash transactions are now made using Ultimate Game Card, a figure that doubles PayByCash''s direct debit payments which have been traditionally PayByCash''s most popular US payment method, and the most popular non-credit card payment method in the United States. While there are many prepaid cards targeted to multiplayer games, Ultimate Game Card is exceptional in its versatility. It can be used to pay for any online multiplayer game that integrates PayByCash into its payment system. Many merchants are taking advantage of co-branding opportunities. Ultimate Game Card is available in more than 16,000 major retail outlets in the US. Still growing its distribution, it has just debuted in Canada and will be in more than 20,000 stores in time for the holiday season. Customers can purchase the card in ten dollar or 20 dollar increments. “It gets more and more difficult for individual games to effectively distribute their own pre-paid cards to a wide enough market,” commented Kevin Higgins, PayByCash president. “The up-front expense can run hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover a market the size of the United States. It can take six months or more to execute, and store shelf space is becoming increasingly limited. Ultimate Game Card''s distribution is already in place; it has great brand recognition by gamers and those buying gifts for them, and demand is strong. The fact that it supports all PayByCash game merchants makes our Ultimate Game Card stand out in a retail market that is saturated with less versatile pre-paid cards.” Higgins continued, “As credit markets tighten and consumers pull back on credit card use in a troubled economy, Ultimate Game Card continues to grow in use. It''s as instant as a credit card, accessible and easy to use for game players of all ages.” (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
India''s sensitive index sheds points on global financial crisis
30.09.2008 00:41
b4uindia.com
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) provisionally fell 3.87 per cent on Monday as a spreading global financial crisis kept investors nervous, with top private sector lender ICICI Bank leading the losses. During the day''s trading BSE was down more than five per cent, hitting its lowest in one and a half years. The 30-share index provisionally closed 472.58 points down at 12,629.60, with all but three of its components falling. The 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index provisionally lost 2.9 per cent to 3,869.65. Small investors said that though the Indian companies are fundamentally strong, the turmoil in the international markets is reflecting at the stock markets. But investors said that this should be taken as a good investment opportunity. “This is a reaction to international turmoil. Financial markets are in difficulties and what is happening in America is reflecting. But our companies are fundamentally good and some pick up can be made from the ‘A’ group shares and small investors have some money, some cash left out which they can use this opportunity,” said Santosh, a small investor. Experts also said that this can be used as good investment opportunity but investors should take care that they invest in long term and not play in the short term. “Small investors should stop the activity in the futures market because what happens is that there are very fewer amounts of margin you have to pay and in position is very large and then you sell in panic and book losses. In order to avoid that, you should buy only in the cash market, keep those stocks for sometime may be 18 months to 24 months is the time when you can get good profits. So, play with your own money, do not invest from the over leveraged amount, do not pay huge interest for borrowing that money and then buy into Indian markets, equity markets because equity markets are going to be volatile,” said Ashok Ajmera, a market analyst in his office. Rupee also fell past 47.04 per dollar to its weakest since June 2003 on Monday as month-end dollar demand from importers and oil refiners weighed and sharp losses in the share market raised worries about capital outflows. U.S. lawmakers prepared to vote on Monday the proposal to establish a 700 billion dollar fund to save the financial system from ruin, even as bank failures in Europe weighed on investors. The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg Governments were forced to rescue financial firm Fortis over the weekend. In addition, the British government will take over mortgage lender Bradford and Bingley, people in the bank industry familiar with the matter told Reuters. Japan''s Nikkei was down 0.3 per cent, while MSCI''s measure of other Asian markets fell 1.4 per cent. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Mamata Banerjee to meet Sonia to discuss Singur impasse
30.09.2008 00:41
b4uindia.com
As Tata consider re-locating the stalled ''Nano'' project, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee will meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi here today to resolve the Singur impasse. Mamata said that she will submit all papers to the UPA chairperson on the agreement that provides for return of maximum land from within the Tata Motors car project site at Singur to "unwilling" land-losers, signed in the presence of state Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on September 7. Meanwhile, the West Bengal Government has convened an all-party meet here today to resolve the farmers land acquisition row. "We are working to ensure that the Singur and TATA project continues to remain in Singur. Whatever the decision the majority would want to take, then that will have to be implemented. The law of the land has to be allowed to run its course," said Sitaram Yechury, politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Trinamool Congress is not expected to attend the meeting. Earlier, West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen had said, " West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has written to Tata requesting him to restart work at the Nano plant at Singur. The Chief Minister in his letter had promised to extend all help and cooperation to the Tatas." He also said the people of Singur and the state wanted the Tata project to remain at Singur. On Friday, Bhattacharjee had asked Ratan Tata to restart work at Singur Nano project. Work on the project has been suspended for nearly a month because of the protest by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. Trouble began after the West Bengal government acquired 1000 acres of farmland for the Tata Motors'' small car plant at Singur last year. The State Government offered compensation, which some farmers rejected. The Trinamool chief has been demanding that at least 400 acres be returned to farmers. The Government says it is in favour of a land-based solution for farmers but was against disturbing the Tata Motors plant site. (ANI)
India
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