Nobbs: We can do wonders in Olympics

India hockey coach Michael Nobbs is determined that his wards will not be going to the London Olympics simply to make numbers.

No one better than Nobbs knows the significance of the job at hand, and the Australian exuded confidence that his wards have the potential to recreate history provided luck smiles on them during the London Games.

"With a little bit of luck we can do wonders (in the Olympics). We are really a talented side but the boys need to have belief and absolute confidence in their abilities," Nobbs said on the sidelines of a felicitation function organised by Hockey India on Sunday.

HI felicitated the 34 living legends -- Olympic gold medallists -- of Indian hockey with a cash reward of Rs two lakh each from its coffers at a grand function, which also served as the send-off ceremony for the London Olympics-bound team.

But Nobbs said for that to happen, the Indian players need to do away with their habit of committing silly mistakes against top sides like Australia, Germany and the Netherlands.

"To be among the top teams in the world again we need to play more against to sides. But unfortunately, we didn't play enough against top teams (in the run up to the Olympics).

"The difference between a top side and an ordinary side is that a top team doesn't make stupid mistakes," he said.

Just like Nobbs, India captain Bharat Chetri is also fully aware about the high stakes associated with an Olympic medal.

"We are not just going there (London) to participate in the Olympics we want to do something for the country. A medal in London will mean a lot for Indian hockey as it help in reigniting interests for the game among youngsters," Chetri insisted.

"Semi-final is our first target and it is possible if every single player give his 70-80 per cent on the field," the custodian added.

Chetri's deputy and India's mainstay in the mid-field, Sardar Singh even went step ahead and said that he has already started dreaming about a podium finish.

"I am confident of winning a medal. All the players have worked hard for this for the last 8-9 months. In fact, in my dreams, I only think about winning a medal in the Olympics," he said.

Senior striker Tushar Khandker, the most-capped player of India, echoed similar sentiments but gave a more realistic reply when asked about his expectation from the upcoming Games.

"Merely participating in the Olympics won't be enough. We will have to get something from London to bring smiles on the faces of our countrymen," he said.

Another veteran Ignace Tirkey added: "It's been a long time we won a medal (in the Olympics). A medal is necessary for the revival of Indian hockey."

Rooney laments 'horrible' Euro exit

Wayne Rooney admitted "it was a horrible way to go out" after England suffered yet more penalty heartache in Kiev.

For the sixth time, England bowed out on penalties, losing 4-2 to Italy after their Euro 2012 quarter-final had finished goalless.
This time, they even managed to get their noses in front before Ashley Young and Ashley Cole failed with successive kicks to leave Alessandro Diamanti to belt home the winner.
"It was a horrible way to go out," said Rooney.
"We are all gutted.
"It was a tough game and we all worked hard, so to lose on penalties is a horrible feeling for everyone."
But he added: "We can hold our heads up high. There are a lot of young players in the squad and that will help them in next tournament."
Although manager Roy Hodgson was understandably disappointed at his team's plight, he could have few complaints.
Other than one Glen Johnson effort in the opening stages, England created barely a chance of note.
In contrast, Italy peppered the England goal at regular intervals and, in Andrea Pirlo, had the game's outstanding player.
"It's a sad moment," said Hodgson.
"It is always difficult after a defeat, but the support we received today [Sunday] was really quite incredible, from the first minute to the 120th.
"The mood back at home and the feeling we have being supported back here has made the defeat even harder.
"We so much wanted to stay on and give the fans a reward for the support they've given us.
"I couldn't ask any more than the players gave tonight. They gave their all.
"We have to accept we weren't quite good enough to win it over the 120 minutes and, in the shootout, we went down the same road we've been so many times before."
England were like walking wounded at the end, with Scott Parker's Achilles problem forcing him off during extra-time and Steven Gerrard battling to overcome cramp from before the end of the 90 minutes.

"We tried our best," said Hodgson.
"We worked as hard as we could and survived the cramps and the physical problems that one or two players suffered.
"We weren't playing for penalties but our defending was very resolute and we did very well, especially during the strong spell of pressure in the second half, to hold out and give ourselves a chance.
"Unfortunately it was a chance we couldn't take."
And so Hodgson was left to lament a lack of the composure from the spot so obviously shown by Pirlo, who chipped his effort in the calmest manner possible.
"It has become an obsession for us in English football," he said.
"They'd all done extremely well in practice.
"But you can't reproduce the tension, the occasion, the nervousness.
"This sort of cool, calculated way that Pirlo had to have the confidence to chip the goalkeeper - you either have that as a player or you don't, and no amount of coaching or training will help produce that."
Winger Theo Walcott could only express his sorrow after seeing his team-mates finish the evening in such sad circumstances.
"It's a very cruel way to go out in any competition but someone was going to go out and luck did not go our way," he said.
"The two Ashleys are strong enough lads to come back from this and the lads will be with them.
"They are two of the most experienced players in that dressing room and they will bounce back from this even better players.
"I do not worry about that at all.
"We have got to look forward to the future. It is going to be bright, I am sure of that.
"The World Cup qualifiers are going to be tough. We have to learn some lessons from tonight as that is important for the young players - me being one of them."
Pirlo could not disguise his happiness, though, as he looked ahead to Thursday's semi-final with Germany in Warsaw.
"I'm very happy to get the man-of-the-match award, but the most important thing is the side have gone through to the semi-finals," he said.
"We deserved to do so.
"Now we have a semi against Germany to come, and we're all hopeful of getting through right to the end of the tournament."

England name unchanged squad

The selectors have stuck with the original list of 14 players that helped England defeat West Indies 2-0 this month and secure a sixth consecutive home 50-over series win.

England also have a perfect record in their six one-day internationals this year and will look to test their recent improvement against the world's top-ranked side when the series begins at Lord's on Friday.

Skipper Alastair Cook, who along with Ravi Bopara has been released to play in Essex's flood-lit match against Australia at Chelmsford on Tuesday night, admitted last week that their Ashes rivals - the last team to beat England on these shores - represented a significant measure of his side's 50-over progress describing it as "a big series for us as a one-day team".

National selector Geoff Miller echoed those thoughts, saying: "The series win against West Indies was pleasing and we are making steady progress in one-day cricket with a sixth straight series victory on home soil.

"Australia are a strong one-day side and I've no doubt this will be a challenging NatWest series for us and we will need to play some very good cricket over the next three weeks.

"Playing against the number one ranked one-day side in the world is an excellent test for us as we look to keep steadily improving ahead of next summer's ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup."

Middlesex pair Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan have also been released for games in Tuesday night's round of Friends Life t20 matches, as has Somerset's Craig Kieswetter.

England could be forced into one change during the series with the funeral of Surrey's Tom Maynard taking place at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff on July 4 - the same day as the third ODI in Birmingham.

Maynard's Surrey team-mate and close friend Jade Dernbach left the squad for the second ODI against West Indies last week following the news, and could be again granted leave to travel to Cardiff.

England squad: AN Cook (capt), JM Anderson, JM Bairstow, IR Bell, RS Bopara, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, JW Dernbach, ST Finn, C Kieswetter, EJG Morgan, SR Patel, GP Swann, IJL Trott.

One-day series fixtures:

Friday June 29 - Lord's

Sunday July 1 - Kia Oval
Wednesday July 4 - Edgbaston

Saturday July 7 - Emirates Durham ICG

Tuesday July 10 - Old Trafford.

Yuvraj bats for first time since cancer treatment

Hoping to make a comeback to international cricket with the Twenty20 World Cup in September, Yuvraj Singh batted for the first time on Monday since undergoing treatment for a rare germ cell cancer earlier this year.
"Grilling session at nca! Happy to hit a few balls after almost 6 mnths. Strength is ok need to build on cardio!! Target t20 w cup.

Marketmen bet on Rangarajan, Chidambaram as new FM, see Sensex touching 19,000 by December

MUMBAI: The prospect of a change of guard at the finance ministry has lifted stock market sentiment, probably the most in the last 12 months, an ET poll of top brokers and fund managers revealed. Expectations that a new finance minister, if Pranab Mukherjee moves on to become the nation's president, would push through some economic reforms have fund managers and analysts bet that the Sensex can rise as much as 23.5 per cent by December.
Of the 20 brokerages and fund managers polled, two expect the Sensex to cross 20,000 while 11 of them see the benchmark index trade between 17,000 and 19,000 by December 31.

The poll result is a contrast to the previous three conducted by ET over the last year or so, when the bias about the market's prospects among majority of the participants was mostly negative.

In this poll, participants have a moderate upward bias, though not much has changed for a significant upgrade as interest rates are high, inflation remains sticky and eurozone issues are far from solved.

he possibility of lower rainfall this season is a fresh concern for investors, but a silver lining has been the fall in oil prices, which weakened to their lowest since October on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve decided against any major monetary stimulus.

Asian shares fell after China's manufacturing activity in June declined, sparking hopes of further policy steps to revive growth. The Sensex rose 136 points to 17,032.56 on Thursday, rebounding from losses, as JPMorgan upgraded its rating for India to overweight from neutral - the first large investment bank to do so - on the grounds that most of the negatives are priced into stock valuations, lower oil prices and possible rate cuts by the year-end.

"We expect the market to be stable now. The Greece elections are behind us now; on the domestic front, the confusion over the presidential elections is likely to clear out in two-three months. We may see the government taking some positive decisions post the presidential elections," said Sunil Singhania, head of equities at Reliance Mutual Fund. "Our big concern now is the monsoon; initial data has not been very encouraging till now," he added.

Majority of the poll participants is rooting for C Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, or P Chidambaram, Union home minister, as the next finance minister.

Their appointment would boost stock market sentiment, but sceptics say investors are expecting too much from them in a hostile political environment and challenging economic environment.

रुपया 56.57 के रिकॉर्ड स्तर पर

शेयर बाजार से पैसा निकाले जाने और आयातकों की डॉलर मांग बढऩे से रुपया आज अमेरिकी करेंसी के मुकाबले कमजोर होकर अब तक के सर्वाधिक निम्न स्तर 56.57 रुपये पर चला गया। अमेरिकी फेडरल रिजर्व के अमेरिकी आर्थिक वृद्धि कमजोर
यह लगातार चौथा दिन है जब रुपये के मूल्य में गिरावट दर्ज की गई है। दोपहर के कारोबार के दौरान डॉलर के मुकाबले रुपया 42 पैसे कमजोर होकर 56.57 रह गया। इससे पहले 31 मई को रुपया 56.52 के स्तर तक कमजोर हुआ था।

इस प्रकार से रुपये पिछले तीन सत्रों में 75 पैसे कमजोर हुआ है। विश्लेषकों के अनुसार शेयर बाजार से पैसा निकाले जाने और आयातकों की डॉलर मांग बढऩे से रुपये की धारणा पर असर पड़ा। इसके अलावा अमेरिकी फेडरल रिजर्व के अमेरिकी आर्थिक वृद्धि कमजोर रहने के संकेत से भी रुपये पर असर पड़ा।
रहने के संकेत से भी रुपये की धारणा पर असर पड़ा।

चांदी की कीमत में गिरावट

विदेशी बाजारों में कमजोरी के रुख के बीच सटोरियों की मुनाफावसूली से वायदा कारोबार में चांदी की वायदा कीमत आज 567 रुपये की गिरावट के साथ 54,003 रुपये प्रति किलोग्राम रह गई। मल्टी कमोडिटी एक्सचेंज में चांदी के जुलाई डिलिवरी वाले अनुबंध की कीमत 567 रुपये की गिरावट के साथ 54,003 रुपये प्रति किलोग्राम रह गई जिसमें 2,207 लॉट के लिए कारोबार हुआ।

इसी प्रकार चांदी के सितंबर डिलीवरी वाले अनुबंध की कीमत 572 रुपये की गिरावट के साथ 55,324 रुपये प्रति किलोग्राम रह गई जिसमें 362 लॉट के लिए कारोबार हुआ। विश्लेषकों ने कहा कि हाल की तेजी के बाद सटोरियों की मुनाफावसूली के अलावा विदेशी बाजारों में कमजोरी के रुख से यहां चांदी वायदा कीमतों पर दबाव बढ़ गया।

इस बीच सिंगापुर में आज चांदी की कीमत 1.5 प्रतिशत की गिरावट के साथ 27.72 डॉलर प्रति औंस रह गई।

Ronaldo fires Portugal into Euro 2012 semi-finals

Cristiano Ronaldo's  powerful header 11 minutes from time sent Portugal into the Euro 2012 semi-finals with a deserved 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Thursday.

The world's most expensive played hit the woodwork twice on an initially frustrating evening but crowned Portugal's dominant second-half performance with his third goal of the tournament, nodding a right-wing Joao Moutinho cross into the net.
It was an impressive display from the Portuguese who were appearing in their fifth European Championship quarter-final in a row and will play Spain or France  in the last four.
The Czechs made a lively start inspired by the clever prompting of Petr Jiracek and Portugal took time to settle.
Their simple game plan was based around getting the ball to captain Ronaldo at every opportunity and he openly vented his frustration when his team mates failed to pick him out.
Ronaldo failed to connect properly with an overhead kick to the delight of the Czech fans, smashed a 35-metre free kick well wide and just before halftime struck the post following a brilliant turn and firm shot.
Portugal's Nani and Miguel Veloso were booked as tempers frayed and they suffered another blow when striker Helder Postiga was carried off injured just before halftime and replaced by Hugo Almeida.
Almeida missed a great chance to open the scoring 19 minutes into the second half when he wastefully headed Raul Meireles's perfect cross over the bar.
Another long-range Ronaldo free kick grazed the outside of the post and the Real Madrid  forward then lashed a half-volley over the bar.
Portugal were dominating and Nani forced Petr Cech  into a sprawling save before Almeida was adjudged offside when he nodded Nani's cross into the net.
The Czechs earned a brief respite following a brilliant surging run down the left by Vaclav Pilar but Portugal hit back when Joao Moutinho's swerving drive was tipped over by Cech and Nani's shot was saved after good work by Meireles.
The match appeared to be drifting towards extra time when Portugal picked another hole on the left side of the Czech defence and Ronaldo stole in to provide an emphatic finish by heading the ball into the ground with the bounce taking it high into the net beyond Cech.

Paes pulls out of London Olympics?

Leander Paes is understood to have declined the AITA's two-team formula and may not travel to London for the Olympics.

Paes had already, in a letter to the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) on Wednesday, stated he would not go with a lower-ranked player for the tennis doubles event in case another team represented India.

The AITA had earlier capitulated to players' demands and decided on Thursday to send two men's doubles teams for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The embattled AITA claimed to have worked out a compromise formula to resolve the selection crisis for the Olympics by deciding to send two men's doubles teams for the event, pairing Paes with a lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan.

Giving the decision, which it itself termed "unfair" on world number seven Paes, AITA has allowed Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to team up for the London event after both of them adamantly refused to partner the 39-year-old veteran.

"In the given circumstances, the best option is of sending two teams. Undoubtedly, the most patriotic one, who has the record of most David Cup appearances for India and has served the nation for over 20 years, had been driven to the wall and had to react sharply," AITA president, Anil Khanna, said, referring to Paes' threat of a pullout in case of being paired with a junior partner.

"AITA does not want Leander's image to be tarnished. AITA asks Leander to forgive the utterances (against him by Bhupathi and Bopanna).

"Leander Paes and Vishnu Vardhan (ranked 207) and Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna will be the two teams. We request Leander to reverse to his thoughts and he should help Bopanna and Vishnu to succeed in their first Olympics," he added, ending speculation of Paes being paired with Somdev Devvarman, who is recovering from a shoulder injury.

"This decision is unfair to India No. 1 (Paes). AITA holds Leander in very high esteem. We are confident that Leander won't disappoint us as he has done yeoman's service to the game."

But in a decision that is bound to go down not so well with Bhupathi, the body has decided to break his Australian Open and most recently, French Open-winning partnership with Sania Mirza in mixed doubles.

Khanna said Sania, in case she gets a wildcard for the Olympics on June 28, will partner Paes as the duo's combined ranking ensures a direct entry to the mega event.

Asked why Somdev was not considered for teaming up with Paes even though he had declared himself fit, Khanna said, "We don't want to jeopardise Paes' chances by pairing him with someone who may not be fit effectively."

Thursday is the last day for sending entries for the London 2012 Games to International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Khanna, however, ruled out any immediate disciplinary action against Bhupathi and Bopanna, who had minced no words in expressing their displeasure with the original selection.

"To take a harsh decision against Mahesh and Rohan is not in the best interest of the nation. The AITA established a code of conduct, we will consider action only after the Olympics," he said.

"AITA admits that the decision of pairing with Mahesh and Rohan is not the best on tennis grounds. AITA admits that this decision may not be fair in all aspects but is the best one to AITA's understanding and in the best interest of the players," added Khanna.

India's brightest prospects disappoint yet again!

The scheduling of the India A tour of the West Indies could not have been better timed. The Indian team is in the process of rebuilding following the double

debacles in England and Australia. Rahul Dravid has retired, there is uncertainty about VVS Laxman's future and question marks remain over the bowling. 

The A and Under-19 tours have been excellent concepts and it was hoped that the three 'Tests' in the Caribbean would throw up a few answers to the

questions plaguing Indian cricket. Some of the best young talent were sent in the hope they would perform and help fill in the gaps in the senior team. 

Unfortunately, on the basis of what we saw in the three matches it appears that the problems will remain for barring a couple of players the others failed to

grab the opportunity the tour gave them. West Indian cricket is not exactly on a high these days but losing the three match series 1-2 was a disappointing

result for the tourists. 

Moreover the series provided no solutions to the problems the Indian team faces. 

The middle order in the Indian team will need to have a new face or two and the selectors did well to send Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwari and

skipper Cheteshwar Pujara on the tour. There is little doubt that the quartet comprise the best among the young hopefuls expected to step into the shoes of the illustrious seniors. 

But while one of them was a total failure the others did not do enough to clinch a place in the Indian team. Rohit finished with 145 runs in three games with a highest score of 94 - figures that are neither here nor there. That he also picked up nine wickets with his off-breaks is incidental and certainly more was expected from one of Indian cricket's brightest prospects as far as Test cricket is concerned. 

Manoj Tiwari had returns of 182 runs in the three matches with a highest score of 62 while the captain had a rather successful series topping the figures with 252 runs with a highest score of 96 not out and two more half centuries. The manner in which he came to the rescue of his side time and again underlined his ideal temperament even as we in India, are familiar with his scintillating strokeplay and excellent technique. 

But the failure of Rahane to come good - just 62 runs in six innings - with a highest score of 32 are hardly the kind of figures one would have associated with a batsman widely being touted about as the next best thing to happen to Indian cricket.

The tourists were fortunate to have Wriddhiman Saha among the runs late in the order. The wicket-keeper's aggregate of 158 runs included two half centuries. But then with Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik around there is plenty of competition for the reserve stumper's slot. 

The problems with the batting is best underlined by the fact that not once in the six innings did the team put up a total of 300.   

While Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are still firmly slotted as the opening pair failures in England and Australia have exposed some chinks in their armour.

The best Indian opening pair since Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan cannot last for much longer given the fact that Sehwag is in his 34th year. For a player whose game depends so much on hand-eye co-ordination it is a tribute to Sehwag that he has lasted longer than a decade with an excellent record to boot. 

But the first signs that either all is not well with his game or that the bowlers have sorted him out appeared in the contests in England and Australia. The A

tour of the West Indies gave the opportunity to the likes of Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan but both were dismal failures. Mukund could muster just 46 runs in six innings including a pair while Dhawan's tally was 30 runs from four outings. 

This was a cause for concern and it looks like Gambhir and Sehwag will have to carry on for some more time before the next opening bating prospect is discovered. 

The bowling too presented problems. Much was expected of Rahul Sharma given the fact that he is considered the front runner for the spinner's slot in the

Test team and also the fact that the West Indian batsmen are traditionally weak against leg spinners. Rahul's return of five wickets at 44 apiece from two

matches were rather disappointing figures. 

Parvinder Awana and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar got just one match each and did reasonably well. As pace spearhead Ashok Dinda lived up to expectations finishing with four for 110 in two matches but was overshadowed by his teammate from Bengal Shami Ahmed. The 22-year-old medium pacer was perhaps the one find of the tour. Not only did he finish with 13 wickets at just under 19 apiece he also bolstered the late order with some valuable contributions. 

Another to catch the eye was Akshay Darekar, the left-arm spinner from Maharashtra. In two matches the 23-year-old captured eight wickets at just over 24 apiece including the best innings figures by an Indian bowler in the series - six for 67 in the second match. 

Overall then it was not a successful series for the visitors in more ways than one and coach Lalchand Rajput was at least honest in admitting that ''we didn't think the series would go this way. Ours was a strong batting line up that never clicked as a unit. The conditions were difficult but we should have done better.''

Ultimately hardly anything was learnt from the series and that is the big worry even as the rebuilding process continues.       

Salman Butt released from prison after 7 months

LONDON: Just seven months into a 2-year sentence, Salman Butt became the last of the three Pakistan players to be released from prison for their roles in a match-fixing scandal that rocked the world of cricket.

Butt's lawyers said Thursday the former Pakistan captain will return immediately to Pakistan "to start to rebuild his reputation" after leaving Canterbury Prison in southeast England.

He was found guilty last November of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments by ensuring no-balls were bowled at predetermined times in a test against England at Lord's in August 2010.

Two other Pakistan players, bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, were also part of the plot and were given shorter jail sentences.

"Salman Butt has had to endure a great deal of suffering, strain, pressure and humiliation over many months, both personally and on behalf of his family," Butt's barrister, Yasin Patel, said in a statement released to The Associated Press. "His return back home will allow Salman to spend time with his family and relatives. He will get to see and hold his son, whom he has not seen since his birth in November last year.

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"He can now return to his beloved homeland, start to rebuild his reputation and begin the long process in his efforts to return back to top-level cricket."

When asked by The AP, London-based law firm 25 Bedford Row was unable to confirm British media reports that Butt has been freed under the government's early-prisoner release scheme, which for foreign nationals usually involves them agreeing to be formally deported.

If that is the case, Butt will not be able to return to England for 10 years.

The 29-year-old Asif was freed from Canterbury Prison last month after serving half of his one-year sentence. Amir, 19, was released after three months of a six-month sentence.

All three players are in the process of serving five-year bans from cricket that were imposed by the International Cricket Council

"Butt's early release has been obtained by the efforts of his legal team and in particular, Yasin Patel," the statement read.

"It is expected that on his return he will work with his barrister in relation to the next step in his endeavors to return to the cricketing world."

Patel said Butt, who was the orchestrator of the betting scam in the infamous fourth test, was "tired and jaded."

"Once he has had a little rest, you can rest assured that Salman Butt will talk to the media when the time is right," Patel said.

Emraan Hashmi open to item numbers!

Emraan Hashmi is ready to grove to item songs but on one condition: it has to be unique and different from the rest.
“The conventional item numbers are very boring. I don’t like the way they are presented. I will do something different,” he said. He also added jokingly, that if Dibakar Banerjee, his Shanghai director will cast him in an item number, he will take it up on the spot.
Shanghai has changed people’s perception Emraan Hashmi.

“‘Shanghai’ de-constructed perception that people had about me. A new Emraan Hashmi has been showcased. After this whatever role I play, it should be as unpredictable as this. I want to surprise the audience,” he told reporters.
The actor also said, “‘Shanghai’ is very different. We have made a film which breaks convention.” Though the film did not start on a great note, Emraan says, “but the jump we got, the response I got on SMS and everything is a win-win situation for the entire team. This film needs your support so that more films like ‘Shanghai’ can be made.”
Emraan is a very versatile actor. He doesn’t want to be tagged in a particular role.
“I want to be an actor who pitches his films to everyone. We know there is a divided audience. Some actors are safe and cater to one particular set of audience. But I really respect Dibakar for making a film like ‘Shanghai’. He took the risk of making something totally different. The praise that I have got for Jogi Parmar, I have hardly ever heard such praise in my career. After ‘Shanghai’, I would want to do more films like this,” he said.
And what about those who did not like the film?
Emraan said: “You can’t please everyone. You will have people who love your film and detractors as well. In this case, they haven’t understood the film….”

Voluptuous or Fat? Kareena Knows the Difference

Do you like your models and actresses skeleton thin or voluptuously curvy? Fans of Sonakshi Sinha and Vidya Balan adore them for their sexy curves. But, Kareena Kapoor begs to differ.
Kareena has gone back to her size-zero look displayed previously in Tashan. But, she swears she is still curvy, but not fat or plump. Sonakshi and Vidya declare their voluptuous curves are sexy. But, Kareena says fat is not sexy, and avers all girls want to be slim and thin.
So, what do you think? Please tell us how you like ‘em: voluptuous and curvy, or fashionably thin and slim?

Ajay’s witty side shown in ‘Bol Bachchan’…

Bol Bachchan will see Ajay Devgan in a distinct style.
Ajay’s character is named Prithviraj Raghuvanshi and he plays the role of an English speaking addict. Loads of witty proverbs have been used by the actor.
“Bol Bachchan” will see Ajay trying hard to speak in English. However, he fails to do so and ends up translating famous Hindi proverbs in English.
He translates “Bagal mein chhora aur sheher mein dhindora” as “Boy under armpit and hypercity noise pollution”, and “Tujhe paakar meri chahati aur bhi choudi ho gayi hai” as “My chest has become blouse”.
Says a source from the sets, “These are just a few! Ajay has quite a number of fascinating dialogues which are sure to get the audiences cracking. We won’t be surprised if these one-liners too become a rage like the dialogues from ‘Singham”.
“Bol Bachchan”, also starring Abhishek Bachchan in a double role.
The film releases on July 6.

Rowdy Rathore Box Office Collections – Reports and Earnings

Earnings of Rowdy Rathore as of its first week is 90.6 crores
And yes you now get to see Akhshay Kumar in a completely new avatar. Some say it is somewhat close to Akshaya’s Khiladi look however we find his act in Rowdy Rathore to be plane simple raw. The raw look seems bound to leave quite an impact and with the IPL season over and no other good movie in sight Rowdy Rathore is sure to be a bang on hit.
The movie has already received an amazing start in most parts of the countries. Housefull multiplexes and single screen theaters present the whole story. It seems the movie is doing better business in single screen theaters than in multiplexes. Single screen theaters in UP and Delhi say a 85% plus occupancy rate on day 1. The entire northern Indian region sees a similar fate. Down south and Maharashtra the movie is going a bit slow with an average of 65% occupancy rate. However, the figures are only expected to improvise by the weekend.
After opening to a huge response on day 1 it seems the movie did better than most of us anticipated. Day 1 Box Office Collections of Rowdy Rathore stands strong at 15.10 crores. It’s been quite sometime since we saw a movie do that well. Akshay Khiladi Kumar rekindles magic yet again.
The Khiladi is shaking the Indian Box Office Scenario real hard. After a huge day one Rowdy Rathore made a bigger 14.70 crores worth Box Office Collections on Day 2.  Sunday collections came true to the expectations of the makers and analysts. The movie made a smashing 18.30 crores on Sunday beating the record of many huge openings.
It was not surprising to see the movie stagger on Monday but it still did a much bigger business than any of its recent competitors. The first Monday Box Office Collections of Rowdy Rathore was 9.20 crores. Tuesday collections came down to 8.10 crores and Wednesday made a steady 7.40 crores. Thursday collections were 6.80 crores. Add to that an overseas box office collections of 11 crores.
The total domestic collections of Rowdy Rathore during its first week at the Indian Box Office was 79.60 crores. One can only imagine how heavy that figure is and I can’t help but wonder why most trade analysts predicted a way lower figure. Adding up the domestic and overseas collections of week 1 for Rowdy Rathore brings up the nett total to 90.6 crores.

Homesick Sunny Leone Rushes Back Home to L.A.

Sunny Leone was so homesick that she immediately left for her home in Los Angeles after completing shooting for Jism 2. The taxing shooting schedule took her to exotic locations in Sri Lanka, Goa and Jaipur.
On reaching L.A., Sunny gushed about how happy she was to be back home after about 90 days. She declared that her heart was aching and happy all at once. The sultry siren will be back in India soon to promote Jism 2, which releases on August 3. Sunny also has under her belt another film, the sequel of Ragini MMS. She is expected to begin shooting for this film by the end of this year.

Rs. 1 crore spent on making the song ‘Dil Garden Garden’

Mumbai: Tusshar Kapoor’s upcoming sex comedy ‘Kyaa Super Kol Hain Haum’ has been quite high in the air and Tusshar’s looks and his six pack body all have been geberting oomph for the actor and the movie. The film is the sequel to ‘Kyaa Kool Hain Hum’ and the masses are desperately waiting for the release of the film.
The film’s release date has been set as 27^th July. Prior to the release, the promotional activities are yet to be started off and as Ekta’s movies do a brilliant and mammoth publicity, the same is being expected for this product of Balaji Motion Pictures. The song ‘Dil Garden Garden’ has started generating buzz among the cinegoers and the liking has developed for the track which has become all the rage. The song’s fame was loved by the producer Ekta Kapoor that she asked the team to shoot the song on larger than life set. Sachin-Jigar’s music was simply loved by Ekta and she got mesmerized.
A source reveals that the cost on the making on this song is Rs. 1 crore. The sister of Pradeep sarkar (filmmaker), Madhu was roped in to design the colorful set and Madhu was endowed with free hand to do whatsoever she wanted to. But she was instructed to bring in unique results.

Bosco-Caesar, the choreographers of the song, revealed to the musician and the producer of the film what they had in their mind for the song’s picturisation. Ekta did not hesitate at all to provide what was needed to make the song lavish.  And when the song was picturised, Ekta saw it and got supremely happy with the outcome. The film stars Tusshar Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Neha Sharma and Sara-Jane Dias in main leads.

Rani Mukherji to doll up three item songs

Mumbai: Rani Mukherji is a famed name of Bollywood industry and she is the one babe who has biggest fan following in the world though she is not seen in movies these days nonetheless her popularity graph never lessens at all. Well, this babe will now be seen in flicks from now on. Now this dusky beauty is all set to do three item songs in a film. She is taking the item numbers to next level. She is geared up to doll up these three item songs in Anurag Kashyup’s upcoming movie ‘Aiyya’.
The reports say that the film will be a combination of dream and reality and Rani Mukherji would be seen dolling up three item numbers in her dream sequence in the movie. Amit Trivedi has been roped in to do the composition of six songs and three are on Rani. Sachin Kundalkar directs the flick.
The movie is a co-production of Anurag Kashyup and Viacom 18. The film talks about a woman who zeros in a desirable man because he smells remarkable. In this film, Rani essays the role of a Marathi girl and will be paired opposite the south star Prithvi Raj. The director of the movie utters that it is a fresh pairing. Sachin, the director of the movie, tells that he was trying hard to work with Rani for last many years and luckily this script worked big time and he fetched in her. For the lead actor, he reveals that one of his pals suggested his name.
Further he says that Prithvi happens to be an amazing star and both look damn fresh in the movie. It is said that Rani will have to undergo special training to make perfection in the character of Marathi girl.
The sources also reveal that she underwent the language training much before the starting of the movie.

Did Ranbir replace Ranveer in Bombay Velvet?

After going through a lot of casting upheavals, Anurag Kashyap has finally found his hero in Ranbir Kapoor for his ambitious dream project, Bombay Velvet. He will be romancing with Anushka Sharma in the period film set in the sixties.

If you are wondering what happened to Ranveer Singh who was reportedly signed to play the lead before Ranbir Kapoor entered the picture, here is all the dope.

A reliable source from the crew reveals, "Anurag had almost finalized Ranveer Singh for the lead role. Ranveer who also plays the lead in his production, Lootera, was very keen on working with Anurag as a director. After having a few meetings with him, Kashyap felt that he fitted the bill and was on the verge of signing him. Coincidently, Ranbir Kapoor who was also very keen to work with Anurag called him around that time and expressed his desire to work with him. He told him that he has heard a lot about Bombay Velvet and would love to be part of the film."

"It was a tough call for Anurag to make. Both Ranveer and Ranbir are fine actors and both were very keen to star in his film," adds the source. "Since he is fond of both the actors and was finding it difficult to pick one, Anurag asked his producers to intervene and take the casting decision. The producers went with Ranbir because they felt that not only did he suit the role to the 'T' but also was a bigger and more bankable star. Bombay Velvet is Anurag's most expensive film and will be shot of a mammoth scale. So obviously it made more sense for him to go with a star actor like Ranbir," says the source.

Has it upset Ranveer? "Not at all. He is a mature actor and he knows this is not Anurag's last film. Anurag has assured him that they will definitely work together in future."

Anurag however denied the story saying, "It's not true."

Reportedly, Aamir Khan and also Shah Rukh Khan was considered for the lead role earlier. Apparently, even John Abraham was considered for the lead at some point.

The film based on Mumbai Fables, a semi-fictional study of Bombay in the 1960s by Gyan Prakash, a historian and professor of history at Princeton University, is expected to go on floors by the end of this year.

Satyamev Jayate brings revolution in Maharashtra

Despite receiving mixed reactions to his much publicized debut TV show 'Satyamev Jayate', Aamir Khan and his team can now have a big smile on their faces. The reason? Well, a few episodes back, Aamir, in his show had exposed the discrepancies and corruption involved in the business of medicine sales, which not only exposed the flaws and loopholes in the medical systems in the country, but also got the show and Aamir truckloads of criticism of many doctors all over.

And this episode has now resulted in the Maharashtra Government giving the green signal to many generic medicine stores than the existing ones by announcing that generic medicines would now also be made available across all Government hospitals. Not just that, the State Government has also planned to open medical stores across the state where generic medicines will be stocked in sufficient amounts, and will be made readily available for people.

Aamir Khan and his team, on their part, wholeheartedly thanked Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Health Minister Suresh Shetty for the development.

"Thank you CM sir, Mr. Prithviraj Chavan and Health Minister, Shree Suresh Shetty for this dynamic move! Now, all we've got to do is ask our doctors to prescribe our medicines by their salt name or their generic name," Aamir announced on his facebook page.

Phuket Rape Case Sensation: Aussie Tourist Confesses to Lying, Sentenced to 15 Days' Jai

UPDATE

PHUKET: An Australian woman who told Phuket police that she had been raped but subsequently confessed to lying has been sentenced to 15 days in jail. Stevie Bamford told the court she invented the rape story because she feared her boyfriend would be angry that she was out late. She will be held at Bang Jo detention centre rather than in Phuket Prison.

Original Report

PHUKET: An Australian tourist who told Phuket police that she had been raped by a Patong tuk-tuk driver has confessed to police that she lied and will appear in court today to face a charge.

The 21-year-old from Sydney confessed to police in the west coast holiday hub of Patong last night after being shown security camera footage that proved she was lying, police said.

The Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, Colonel Sermphan Sirikong, told Phuketwan today: ''It's sad that tourists have to lie about this kind of thing. It could damage Phuket's tourism industry.''

The woman is to appear in Phuket Provincial Court with an Australian Embassy official by her side today.

Colonel Sermphan said the woman confessed late last night at Kathu Police Station after being shown the security camera footage.

Her boyfriend, also aged 21, was extremely angry when the woman confessed and appeared to have been misled by her through the week of lies.

The woman and her boyfriend went to Phuket police at 4am on Sunday alleging that she had been raped by a Phuket tuk-tuk driver.

Her story was that that she had become separated from her boyfriend in Patong's popular Soi Bangla walking street, and that she had caught a tuk-tuk back to the resort where she and her boyfriend were staying.

The woman told police that the tuk-tuk driver picked up two of his friends along the way, and that the tuk-tuk transported her to a quiet part of Patong where the driver raped her while the second man held her arms and the third held her legs.

Last night, after two days of intensive questioning on Monday and Tuesday, police revealed that security camera footage established that the woman caught a motorcycle taxi back to her resort.

There is nothing on the security camera footage to support the woman's argument that she caught a tuk-tuk and was raped by the driver, police told Phuketwan.

The woman told police that she held dual British and Australian citizenship, and had used her Australian passport to come to Phuket.

The men in the tuk-tuk had kept her Australian passport and some cash in a bag when she managed to break free and escape on foot, she told police.

The woman was given consular support when she was interviewed intensively over two days.

The case is now being overseen by Phuket Police Commander Major General Chonsit Wadhnawarangkun.

Rape victims cannot be named and Phuketwan has decided this case remains so unusual that the woman should not be named at this stage.

The question that most people will be asking about the case is: Why?

Final arguments made in rape case in which Zoloft is blamed

A San Bernardino County prosecutor Tuesday urged a jury not to be swayed by testimony that the antidepressant Zoloft put a former Westminster police detective in a fog that made him not responsible for kidnapping and raping a waitress in 2010.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Debbie Ploghaus called the so-called Zoloft defense, backed by a psychiatrist's testimony, "a bunch of baloney" and a desperate attempt by Anthony Nicholas Orban to sidestep overwhelming evidence against him.

Rape case: Asiad gold medallist Pinki Pramanik sent to jail

Kolkata: Former Asian Games gold medallist quarter-miler Pinki Pramanik, who was arrested on rape charges after being accused of being a male, was on Friday remanded to 14 days judicial custody.
The Eastern Railway athlete, who was a part of the Indian 4x400m women's relay team, was on Friday produced at the sub-divisional judicial magistrate's court that instructed the chief medical health officer to conduct gender verification test.
Dr Sukanta Sil at the CMHO said that he was awaiting the order and would conduct the tests after that. Pramanik's bail plea was also rejected as she would now undergo fresh gender verification test by the government hospital.

The former middle-distance runner, who retired from the international scene after the 2006 Doha Asian Games, was found to be a male in the test reports at a private nursing home on Thursday.
"The reports conducted by us show that Pramanik is a male," Subrata Mukherjee of Uma Nursing Home, where the test was conducted, told media.
Pramanik was arrested from Baguiati flat after the athlete's live-in partner, a divorcee and a mother of one, in her complaint alleged that Pramanik had been repeatedly raping and torturing her for several months.

Mistrial in Boone rape case; jurors split 11 - 1

23-year-old man went to trial Tuesday and Wednesday in Boone County on rape and sexual abuse charges, but the jury deadlocked and Circuit Judge Gordon Webb declared a mistrial Wednesday night, records show.

Frenchman rape case stuck in limbo

The case against Pascal Mazurier, the French consulate official accused of raping his four-year-old daughter, has hit a wall as confusion prevails over his immunity status.
On Sunday, MEA officials said Mazurier holds a service passport and not a diplomatic passport. "But that alone

is not reason enough to say he does not enjoy diplomatic immunity," MEA sources told HT. A diplomatic passport is issued to diplomats at the third secretary-level and above. A service passport is issued to government employees for work-related travel. This passport does not provide full immunity.
However, Mazurier holds a diplomatic card, which grants him certain privileges. The level of privileges is a matter of negotiation between the countries.
MEA officials said they are scrutinising documents to ascertain the privileges Mazurier's card gives him.

Drop FIR against Civil Society Members and make CBI Probe of Pipili Gang rape case, urges Odisha Gana Samaj

	In reaction to an FIR lodged by 15 local people from Pipili of Odisha complaining that civil society movements in protection of the rights of the Dalit girl allegedly gang raped and attempted to be killed were meant to tarnish the image of Pipili and its residents, leaders representing different political parties and members of leading civil societies met today in Bhubaneswar under the banner of Odisha Gana Samaj to discuss the issue that came up as follow up of alleged heinous rape case in Arjunagoda village. While appreciating the State Government’s step in providing necessary treatment and protection to the victim, they urged upon the State Government to handover the case along with the un-natural death of Babita Behera of the same village to CBI because both the cases are related where one consequently followed the other.
In the meeting, the leaders discussed regarding the FIR lodged against Prasanta Patnaik, Rabi Das, Conveners of the Odisha Gana Samaj, Women Congress President and former Minister Bijaylaxmi Sahu, former Minister Panchanana Kanungo, and former police I.G. Surendra Nath Swain and condemned the same saying that it is nothing but an attempt to divert the public attention against the miscreants and inaction of the Government. The Fir has been termed as mollified and motivated action of few intending to divert the public attention.The leaders further said in the interest of the public and to uphold democratic values, the case filed in the Pipili Police Station should be withdrawn and the police should take appropriate action against persons who have filed such false and fabricated allegations. Amongst others, Suresh Panigrahi of CPI (M), Mahendra Parida of CPI (ML), Lenin Sarani, Rabi Behera of S.J.P., Bhabani Parija of Odisha, Joint Conveners Rabi Das and Prasanta Patnaik, Senior media persons Ramesh Mohanty and Girija Dash were present during the discussion. It was decided in the today’s meeting to convene an emergency meeting of Odisha Gana Samaja on June 18, 2012, Monday at the Conference Hall of Red Cross Bhavan, Bhubaneswar at 5 p.m. to decide the future course of action. It’s to be mentioned that, an FIR was lodged on Thursday, June 7, 2012 against two senior journalists, two local leaders and a former top police officer on charges of defaming Pipili and its residents by raising the issue of alleged gang rape case of a Dalit girl.

Pipili rape case: Doctors charged with neglect of victim

inShCuttack: The crime branch, which is probing the Pipili rape case, on Tuesday filed its fourth charge sheet warranting trial of SCB Medical College superintendent DN Moharana and two other doctors.

The Judicial Commission, inquiring the same matter, also issued notices to Moharana and six others asking them to file their affidavit before it by June 30.
The crime branch police, who had earlier filed charge sheets in the case against five persons, including former Pipili police inspector Amulya Kumar Champatray, submitted its fourth charge sheet in a Pipili court accusing three doctors, including Moharana of neglecting in treatment to a dalit girl.

The curious case of Pinki Pramanik

Is she a male or a female? Even as the drama over who’ll be the next President of the India gripped the nation’s imaginations, Pinki Pramanik provided a welcome sideshow. Ahead of the Olympics, this is one controversy that India could have done without. If it is indeed proved that India’s Asian Games gold medalist in women’s relay is indeed a male, it can become quite embarrassing.

There were always question marks over Pinki right from the time she first came to Kolkata from a nondescript village in Purulia. She (let us continue calling her she till it is decisively proved otherwise) was extremely talented and yet, the way she ran left experts comparing her to male athletes.

Now, there is abundance of talent in rural India as far as athletics is concerned and coaches often visit far-flung villages to unearth potential. Pinki was discovered in such a way and never looked back from there.

Although Pinki won medals galore, she was always dogged by controversies. Theft charges were leveled against her and she also had to spend time in police custody after a pistol was found in her bag. She was aggressive, abusive and not liked by her peers. In fact, other female athletes avoided her and most refused to share room with her.

The Doha Asian Games in 2006 was the peak of her career, but immediately afterwards, she started pulling out of meets citing injury. She did make a brief comeback, but again went into the cold storage with an injury. That was curtains for her career as a cushy Railways job ensured that she would earn enough to make a decent living.

The latest charge of rape came as a bolt out of the blue, even though quite a few of her fellow athletes are not surprised. She was well settled and this will surely turn her life upside down. If she had indeed paid bribe to tweak a gender test to suit her, it goes on to show that Pinki had everything well worked out.

However, she could not contain her aggressive nature and her past, which was happily behind her, caught up to shatter her world.

Now, there are a lot of questions to be answered. If the charges are indeed fabricated as she claims, why was it done now? It would have made sense had such charges been leveled when she was active as an athlete, but now who stands to gain? A private hospital declared her a ‘male’. Would they have the courage to do so without definite proof, knowing well that she was a former international athlete?

Clearly, there are some hormonal imbalance. Have these changes occurred over a period of time? Or did she always have that and was taking everyone for a ride? If so, a few athletics officials surely would have known and that does not speak too highly about the state of affairs in our country. In the Doha Asian Games, Santhi Soundarajan failed a gender test, leading to a lot of embarrassment for India. That perhaps, saved Pinki.

Now, if she indeed turns out to be a male, what happens to her Doha gold in relay? If she is stripped of it, what happens to the gold medals of the other members of the team? There are too many questions to be answered.

It recalls that when Marion Jones was stripped of her Sydney Olympic Games relay gold, the other members of the team were asked to hand over their medals took. However, a court ruled that the other girls should be allowed to keep their medals. India could well use that as an example if Pinki is asked to return her medal.

Woman charges doctor husband with rape

KOLKATA: A woman has lodged a complaint of rape and torture against her doctor husband at the Survey Park police station on Saturday.

Police said the woman married the doctor , an eye specialist, four years ago. "The two knew each other before marriage," said an investigator . But within two years of tying the knot, the couple fell out and started living separately. While the woman returned to her Kalighat home, her husband stayed at his Survey Park house, where he has a clinic.

The woman alleged that on Friday, her husband came to her place and assaulted and raped her repeatedly. "We have initiated a case and started a probe," said an officer.

48-year-old man accused of bid to rape 4-year-old niece

BANGALORE: A 48-year-old autorickshaw driver from Mangammanapalya was taken into custody for questioning by Madivala police on suspicion that he had allegedly attempted to rape his four-year-old niece late Friday evening.

Police action followed a complaint by the child's mother. She told police that her daughter was taken out by her uncle Latheef, 48, promising to get her chocolates and eatables from the neighbourhood around 6pm. When the child returned after an hour, she was found limping . On checking there was a wound on her thighs, the mother said.

"When the mother questioned her daughter, the child had told her that her uncle had beaten her up. The mother had come to the police station around 8pm to lodge a complaint. But went back saying that she will decide the issue with her community leaders. But as no decision was taken at the mosque committee, she returned and filed a police complaint. But the complaint did not say that there was an attempt to rape allegation against Latheef," said police.

Assistant commissioner of police (Madivala sub division ) H Subbanna confirmed that a petty case under section 324 (assault) was taken up by Madivala police . "We are subjecting the child to medical examination . If the tests turn positive for any other crime, we will take up a case under the relevant provisions of criminal law," the officer said.

Daughter rape case: French diplomat's wife writes to Home Minister, MEA

The wife of the French diplomat, who has been accused of raping his three-and-a half year-old daughter, has appealed to the government to ensure that the official faces trial in India even if he enjoys diplomatic immunity.
In a letter to Home Minister P Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Suja Jones Mazurier has requested that her husband, Pascal Mazurier, be restrained from leaving the country till legal proceedings were completed and that under no circumstance should he be allowed custody of their children, who are French nationals.
Asha S Basu, counsel for Suja Jones Mazurier, who has written the letters on her behalf, sought protection for her client and her children.
Suja Jones also wanted the French Embassy to be directed to help her with legal and financial assistance, as she was currently unemployed and has to take care of their children.
Suja Jones, an Indian citizen, said she is married to Pascal Mazurier, Deputy Head of Chancery in the Consulate of France, Bangalore and have three children -- a seven year-old son, the victim and a 20-month-old son.
She said apart from High Grounds police station here registering a case of rape against the diplomat, in view of the "medical evidence", the Baptist hospital, Bangalore has also registered a medico-legal case against him.
Suja Jones said she has already written to the Ambassador of France intimating the details of alleged domestic violence and repeated child abuse.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Suneel Kumar said, "The victim (the daughter) has been taken to Government-run Bowring Hospital for a medical examination.

French official rape case: No role in the matter, says Indian govt official

DELHI: Confirming for the first time that the French official detained for rape in Bangalore, Pascal Mazurier, has a diplomatic status and hence immunity from Indian laws, sources told TOI that the Indian government now has no role in the matter. Mazurier is accused of raping his 3-year-old daughter. His wife Suja Jones had written to union home minister P Chidambaram and foreign minister S M Krishna to ensure that Mazurier is arrested and made to face trial in India.
"Even though he has only a service passport, he does enjoy diplomatic status and we have no role in the case now,'' said an Indian official. He will enjoy diplomatic immunity until the time the French government tries to revoke it. The wife of the accused must speak to the French government and ask them to intervene and provide her justice,'' added the official.

‘Piggy Chops’ Open to do Item Number

Priyanka Chopra has declared she is open to doing an item number if an interesting offer comes along. Currently, she is busily promoting her upcoming movie Teri Meri Kahaani.
The 29-year-old siren says she has refrained from doing an item number thus far because of lack of interesting songs and offers. She is thus on the lookout for any good song and opportunity to do an item number.
So Priyanka fans, what say you? Can the lithe and lissome lady outdo the likes of Malaika Arora and
Katrina Kaif in doing an item number?

Court allows DNA tests on rape accused official

BANGALORE: The eighth additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Saturday granted permission to conduct DNA tests on Pascal Mazurier, the deputy head of chancery in the French consulate here who is accused of raping his minor daughter.

High Grounds police had sought the court's permission to conduct the DNA tests in case medical tests on the victim showed she was raped. It's mandatory for police to seek sanction from a court before subjecting anyone to DNA testing.

Suja Jones, the mother of the nearly four-year-old victim, has written to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) voicing concern over "inaction" by Bangalore police. She has expressed apprehension her husband would flee India.

The letter, sent through her counsel, has requested officials to act swiftly because the accused could take shelter under diplomatic immunity.
STOI attempted to contact the accused, his lawyer and the French embassy for their versions, but there was no response.

Seeking the immunity status of French consulate official Pascal Mazurier, Bangalore police have written to MEA asking whether he should be handed over to the French embassy, or whether local police can initiate legal action against him.

2 arrested for raping, blackmailing, filming married woman

Jalna, Jun 1: Two persons have been arrested in connection with allegedly raping, blackmailing and filming a woman in Jalna, said police.

According to the police, one of the accused, Narayan Haribhau Karde allegedly raped her. On learning the incident, three of his friends-Datta Baban Shelke, Ravi Korde and Gajanan Sitaram Ingle also demanded sexual favours from the 27-year-old victim. They threatened her if she failed to oblige.

The victim in her police complaint alleged that the 4 accused raped her for over one and half year and also shot her videos in a bid to blackmail her into seeking sexual favours.

She also named another woman, who she said was also a partner in crime.

The police nabbed 2 culprits based on the complaint and is on the lookout for others.

Uttarakhand: Army officer held on rape charges

Dehradun: An Army officer has been arrested on charges of repeatedly raping a woman officer of the same rank after falsely entering into wedlock here.

Uttarakhand Police arrested the Lt Colonel rank officer last night from Jhunjhunu area and he was being brought here, police sources said on Sunday.


The woman officer, having the same Lt Colonel rank, has alleged in her complaint that the officer entered into a wedlock with her but later did not accept her as his wife.

In the FIR she alleged the officer raped her during the past few months in a military hospital.

The woman also alleged that the officer was already married and did not tell his marital status to her.

Forces Surround Parliament in Egypt, Escalating Tensions

CAIRO — Egypt’s military rulers moved to consolidate power Friday on the eve of the presidential runoff election, shutting down the Islamist-led Parliament, locking out lawmakers and seizing the sole right to issue laws even after a new head of state takes office.

The generals effectively abandoned their previous pledge to cede power to a civilian government by the end of the month, prolonging the increasingly tortuous political transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak last year. The power play has also darkened the prospects that Egypt, the most populous Arab state and one that historically has had tremendous influence on the direction of the region, might quickly emerge as a model of democracy for the Middle East.

Their moves, predicated on a court ruling on Thursday and announced with little fanfare by the state news media, make it likely that whoever wins the presidential race will — at least at first — compete with the generals for power and influence. The military counsel also indicated through the official news media that it planned to issue a new interim constitution and potentially select its own panel to write a permanent charter. The generals have already sought permanent protections for their autonomy and political power.

The military’s power grab, which many critics have called a coup, presents a new obstacle to the ascent of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that is Egypt’s largest political force. After 84 years in the shadows of secular monarchs and military autocrats, the Brotherhood dominated last fall’s parliamentary elections; it began drawing up plans to revise the Constitution and government ministries, and appeared poised to claim the presidency as well.

Then on Thursday, the nation’s highest court issued an order dissolving Parliament, on the grounds that political parties had wrongly been allowed to compete for the one-third of seats designated for individual candidates.

Now, even if the Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsi, wins the runoff, his power may be circumscribed by a military-issued interim constitution as well as the generals’ hold on legislative power, at least until new parliamentary elections are held.

The outcome of the race, however, remains impossible to predict. Mr. Morsi’s opponent, Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general and Mr. Mubarak’s last prime minister, was long considered an inside candidate to succeed Mr. Mubarak under the old one-party autocracy. Mr. Shafik has campaigned as a strongman who can restore order and hold back the Islamists. Many observers say he has benefited from favorable coverage and editorials in the state news media as well as from statements and actions by sitting public officials warning against the Islamists.

In response to the ruling on Parliament, the Muslim Brotherhood sought to portray the presidential runoff as the last stand of the revolution.

“Here comes the counterrevolution, plainly witnessed by all, so everyone knows that we are facing a defining moment and a critical turning point,” Mr. Morsi said Friday in a statement that was echoed by surrogates for his campaign. “We are now facing a heinous coup,” he added, calling it “the last card of counterrevolutionary players.”

Eschewing protests, Mr. Morsi urged supporters to join a “million-man march to the ballot boxes, because then the forces of darkness will not dare falsify your will.”

Brotherhood officials insisted that Parliament was still in business despite the soldiers guarding the doors. They continued to argue that the Supreme Constitutional Court had no authority to dissolve Parliament, citing precedents in which the previous Parliament had rebuffed such judicial interventions. They discounted the reports in the state news media that the military council had assumed legislative authority, and also wrote off the soldiers and the riot police officers barring entrance to Parliament.

Bush’s ‘severed head’ on show stirs row, TV channel says sorry

NEW YORK: A scene on the TV show 'Game of Thrones', showing a model of former US President George W Bush's head impaled on a spike has sparked outrage, forcing the show's creators and channel HBO to issue an apology.

The head, appears for just a second in an episode of the fiction series that aired last year. It went unnoticed until a Reddit user flagged it, bringing swift condemnation, reported New York Daily News.

Craig Eaton, chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party, called the grisly cameo "disgraceful" and said he would feel the same way if it was President Barack Obama's head. Show bosses David Benioff and D B Weiss acknowledged the likeness during the commentary feature on the show's DVD boxed set, noting the decision to use the model was motivated by budget and not by politics. "Bush's head appears in a couple of beheading scenes. It's not a choice, it's not a political statement. We just had to use whatever head we had around," they said in the commentary.

HBO and the show's creators apologized for the incident. "We use a lot of prosthetic body parts on the show. We can't afford to have these all made from scratch, especially where we need a lot of them, so we rent them in bulk. After the scene was already shot, someone pointed out that one of the heads looked like George W Bush," Benioff and Weiss said.

Gag on 9-year-old food blogger lifted

LONDON: Britain's youngest food critic is back in business. A Scottish local authority on Friday retreated in the face of an online outcry and lifted a ban on 9-year-old blogger Martha Payne, who had been ordered to stop taking photographs of the lunches served up at her school cafeteria.

Her images of uninspiring school meals — one consisted of two croquettes, a plain cheeseburger, three slices of cucumber and a lollipop — drew international attention. The blog was set up about six weeks ago as a writing project and to help raise money for a schoolmeals charity, has drawn more than 2 million hits.

Martha, who lives in Lochgilphead, about 210km west of Edinburgh, gave each meal a 'food-o-meter ' rating, and offered an assessment of its contents. "I'd really like to know where the chicken comes from," she wrote about having chicken fajitas for lunch, "so I am going to write to the lady in charge to ask. I'd like to know where the hen lived."

Local officials weren't amused. Argyll and Bute Council said the photos were misleading and had caused distress to cafeteria staff. The council was particularly irked by a report about the blog in Scotland's Daily Record newspaper headlined 'Fire the Dinner Ladies'.

Martha's father said the blog was never intended to make the food look unappetizing. It includes positive assessments as "lunch was really nice today".

Pak general in 2001: Can nuke India in 8 seconds

LONDON: Pakistan could launch a nuclear strike on India within eight seconds, claimed an army general in Islamabad in 2001, a warning that is described in the latest volume of diaries by a key aide of the UK's former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The general asked Blair's former communications director, Alistair Campbell, to remind India of Pakistan's nuclear capability amid fears that Delhi was "determined to take them out". Britain became so concerned about the threat that Blair's senior foreign policy adviser, Sir David Manning, warned in a paper that Pakistan was prepared to "go nuclear".

The warnings are relayed by Campbell in his latest diaries, 'The Burden of Power', which are being serialized in the Guardian on Saturday and Monday.

The warnings came during a visit by Blair to the Indian subcontinent after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Campbell was told about the eight-second threat over a dinner in Islamabad on October 5, 2001 hosted by Pervez Musharraf, then Pakistan's president.

Campbell writes, "At dinner I was between two five-star generals who spent most of the time listing atrocities for which they held the Indians responsible, killing their own people and trying to blame 'freedom fighters'. When the time came to leave, the livelier of the two asked me to remind the Indians, 'It takes us eight seconds to get the missiles over'."

Blair visited Pakistan as Britain and the US attempted to shore up support in Islamabad before the bombing of Afghanistan, which started in October, 2001.

Ratan Tata hikes stake in Tata Motors

MUMBAI: Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has hiked his stake in the group's flagship automobile firm Tata Motors by 4.25 lakh shares, taking his aggregate holding to 0.05%. Tata bought the shares on June 14, through open market operations on NSE, and paid nearly Rs 10 crore, at an average price of nearly Rs 234 per share, the company disclosed to the exchanges on Friday.

After the announcement during market hours, Tata Motors stock surged and closed 5.8% higher at Rs 240 on BSE. Compared to its gains, the sensex closed 1.6% higher. A spokesperson for Tata Sons, the main holding company for the group, told an agency that Tata had bought these shares in his personal capacity.

In the market parlance, an open period is the phase during which top company officials, who qualify as company insiders, can buy and sell stocks of the firm and then disclose the same to the public through announcements on the bourses where the company is listed. For example, two weeks leading to a company's quarterly and annual results are not open periods, and during this period the company insiders can not buy or sell shares of the company.

SBI reduces lending rates for businesses

MUMBAI: SBI has cut lending rates across the board for businesses and farmers. The bank has also done away with charges for intra-bank remittances through its core banking system.

The reduction is in the range of 50 basis points to 350 basis points with the highest cut being offered to those borrowers who have a higher credit rating. "We have not touched retail because we have already reduced rates on education, auto and home loans," said Krishna Kumar, MD, SBI. "Our base rate has been the lowest among public sector banks, which is why we did not find a need to revise our benchmark rate after recent policy interventions by RBI," he said.

SBI would review its base rate if RBI cuts rate on Monday, he added.

Dhoni has enjoyed a fairytale rise

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's one-match ban means the India captain will have time for an introspective look as to where and when his Midas touch deserted him as his team mates battle to avoid a series whitewash against Australia in Adelaide.
Dhoni, who will miss next week's fourth Test after the ICC banned him because of India's slow over rate in the third Test defeat in Perth on Sunday, has enjoyed a fairytale rise from the cricketing backwaters of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
In what seemed like a storyline straight out of a Bollywood script, he led teams to Twenty20 (2007) and 50-over (2011) World Cup victories and oversaw their rise as the number one Test team in the world, thus convincing many he was India's best captain ever.
His unflappable leadership, as much as his tactical brilliance and uncomplicated approach, impressed most, including a management institute in his home town Ranchi which wanted to do a brain-mapping of the Indian captain.

England hang on to eliminate Sweden

England  survived a 10-minute meltdown to move closer to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals when substitute Theo Walcott  scored one goal and set up another to earn a thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden who were eliminated from the tournament on Friday.

Walcott levelled in the 64th minute with a fierce shot from and he delivered a fine cross to Danny Welbeck 12 minutes from time for the striker to tuck the ball in with a clever back heel and clinch England's first competitive victory over the Swedes.
England striker Andy Carroll had opened the scoring with a super header midway through the first half but Sweden struck back thanks to a Glen Johnson own goal and Olof Mellberg's header.
England are joint top of Group D on four points with France  who beat Ukraine 2-0 earlier on Friday.
Ukraine, who play England in the last round of matches on Tuesday, are third on three points and Sweden have none.
Coach Roy Hodgson  had brought in Carroll at the expense of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to exploit Sweden's weakness in the air and the choice paid off spectacularly midway through the first half.
Steven Gerrard ] whisked in a perfect cross for Carroll to head powerfully home from near the penalty spot and give England a deserved advantage.
It spurred Sweden into action but England initially remained composed.
That calmness vanished, however, early in the second half when the unmarked Mellberg bundled the ball in after the English defence had failed to clear an Ibrahimovic attempt in the 49th minute.
Johnson tried to clear on his line but only could help the ball into the net.
England were on the ropes and Mellberg delivered another body blow 10 minutes later when found himself unmarked to head in Sebastian Larsson's free kick from close range.
Defenders Joleon Lescott and John Terry  were nowhere to be seen and Joe Hart  was left stranded on his line.
Sweden's Andreas Isaksson looked much more alert when he denied Terry with a quick reaction save and Walcott replaced the ineffective James Milner  in the 61St minute to make an immediate impact.
Sweden failed to clear a corner and the winger's fierce shot swerved high into the net past a static Isaksson.
Walcott then broke clear down the right flank to set up Welbeck who neatly diverted the ball into the far corner with his back to goal and England hung on without undue alarm to take the three points.