Posts Tagged ‘number’
Written by Rahul on 04 September 2009
Bangalore, Sep 4 (ANI): Four more swine flu deaths were reported in Karnataka on Friday, taking the H1N1 virus toll to 35 in the state.
According to sources, all the four deaths occurred Bangalore.
Though, the deaths happened between Sunday and Wednesday, the results of the swab tests arrived only on Friday.
The State Health Department is taking steps to contain the spread of swine flu. Recently a special swine flu training programme for doctors of private hospitals was held in here.
State Health and Family Welfare Director, Usha Wasunkar said: “The programme organised by state government was intended at making swine flu treatment more effective.”
Meanwhile, 19 more people have tested positive for H1N1 virus, taking the number of confirmed cases in the state to 536. All 19 cases were reported in Bangalore. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, Bangalore, Department, director, doctors, family, family welfare, flu, flu deaths, flu treatment, Friday, government, Health, Karnataka, number, people, private hospitals, programme, Sep, spread, state, State Government, state health department, Sunday, swab, swine flu, taking steps, toll, training, training programme, treatment, Usha, Usha Wasunkar, virus, Wednesday, Welfare, Welfare Director
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Written by Rahul on 04 September 2009
Koratpur (Orissa), Sep 4 (ANI): Four tribesmen died in Koraput district of Orissa after they were forced to eat a soup made of mango kernel recently.
Preliminary medical reports said the soup was bacteria-infected and the tribals, who belong to Narayanpatna block, died of food poisoning.
“My wife and two of my grand daughters died. They consumed mango kernel and wild leaves, as we didn’t have anything else to eat. Most of the times we consume this because we do not have rice at our homes,” said Balsi Suika, relative of the dead.
However, Surya Narayan Patra, the state revenue minister said that the tribals were provided with rice, but they often keep it for a number of days, leading to food poisoning.
“The habit of tribals is to keep cooked rice for four to five days which actually gets spoilt. In recent cases the reports from doctors confirm that they kept the food for a longer period of time. We have directed the extension officer and the collector to propagate them about it in those areas,” said Patra. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, anything, Bacteria, Balsi, Collector, Dead, district, doctors, extension, Extension Officer, Food, Grand Daughters, habit, kernel, Koraput, Koratpur, mango, Medical Reports, minister, Narayanpatna, number, Officer, orissa, Patra, period, period of time, poisoning, propagate, relative, revenue, revenue minister, Rice, Sep, soup, spoilt, state, State Revenue, Suika, Surya Narayan, time, tribals, tribesmen, wife, Wild Leaves
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Written by Rahul on 22 August 2009
London, Aug 22 (ANI): A music video by makers of the cult internet soap The Guild has ripped apart the likes of Beyonce and Black Eyed Peas to capture the number one slot in the UK iTunes chart.
(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar was written to popularise the third series of the show, a tale of people playing an online role-playing game.
The lyrics have lines like: “You’ll never see my actual face. Our love will be in virtual space.”
Almost half a million people have accessed the video since its upload on Monday. The song itself occupies the second position in the Amazon US download chart.
Felicia Day, actress and writer of The Guild, was “a little bit surprised” by the phenomenal success of the track, and said the response by the audience had been “very cool”.
The BBC quoted Day as saying: “We beat the establishment and it fills me with glee.
“One of the things that drives me is to do things differently…. Most people would be working with a label and going through a lot of hoops.
“I think our success empowers everybody who feels like they can’t get their art out there.”
Day who plays Codex in the award-winning sitcom came up with the song when she was writing scripts for the new series, which is financed and distributed by Microsoft via Xbox Marketplace.
“We do 12 episodes per series, and we always owe an extra video for our Xbox order, and I thought ‘wouldn’t it be fun to do something musical? I was listening to really bad 1990s dance songs – C+C Music Factory, Stacey Q – and that was my inspiration,” she said.
TV scriptwriter Jed Whedon composed the music for the number.
The track also features an “intricate and clearly masterful” rap by The Guild co-stars Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 20 August 2009
Bangalore, Aug.19 (ANI): The total number of the confirmed swine flu affected cases risen to 211 in Karnataka on Wednesday with 17 individuals testing positive for H1NI virus.
According to sources in the health department, out of the 17 positive cases, 12 were reported in Bangalore while two each were reported in Davangere and Belgaum and one in Gadag.
118 cases are under treatment in various hospitals in the state, with Bangalore seeing most cases (106) and other districts (12) while remaining 93 patients have been discharged. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, Aug, Bangalore, belgaum, Davangere, Department, flu, Flue, Gadag, Health, health department, HINI, hospitals, Karnataka, number, state, Swine, swine flu, Test, testing, treatment, virus, Wednesday
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Written by Rahul on 20 August 2009
New Delhi, Aug 19 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Wednesday said that New Delhi wants to build its relationship with Kathmandu.
Krishna met Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who is on a five-day maiden goodwill visit to India, and said that the leaders had discussed the need for furthering economic ties between the two countries.
Krishna said the discussions would continue at the prime ministerial level.
“In the course of my talks with him, a number of issues concerning India and Nepal were discussed. I reiterated India’s desire that Nepal has a special relationship with India. We would like to give economic content to that relationship. The Prime Minister has broadly agreed to that proposition. The discussion will continue at the prime ministerial level later,” Krishna said.
Krishna also said that New Delhi would help Kathmandu consolidate democratically.
“The Prime Minister seems to be very confident of consolidating politically. I think he is trying to get all the political parties to come together so that a democratic process can be evolved. A constitution can be evolved. On the basis of new constitution, which the Constituent Assembly is going to write. India is supporting in all these initiatives,” Krishna added.
On Thursday, Nepal will meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
In the evening, he will address a meeting of intellectuals and academia at the India International Centre.
He will leave for a day-long visit to Mumbai on Friday and will return to Kathmandu on Saturday afternoon. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 20 August 2009
London, Aug 19 (ANI): A Brit dog’s home is said to be facing a crisis, for it is being overwhelmed by the growing number of cats arriving there.
Staff at Battersea dogs’ home in London are desperately appealing for would-be owners to come forward to help with a “cat emergency”.
Battersea is world-renowned as a dogs’ home, but it is less well known that it also has a cattery, which is nearly at full capacity because fewer and fewer people are choosing to adopt a cat.
The number of cats being found a new owner is nine percent down, compared with this time last year, with only 1,174 cats having been rehomed by Battersea this year, compared to 1,290 cats by July in 2008.
And there has been a summer influx of kittens. Of the 145 cat pens, 143 are in use and there are a further 173 cats waiting to be admitted.
“We are having a cat emergency at Battersea – we have more cats than there are in the entire cattery waiting to come in,” the Daily Star quoted a spokeswoman for the home as saying.
Ros Davies, “cat rehomer” at the rescue centre, the full name of which is Battersea Dogs And Cats Home, said there is a huge range of cats and kittens looking for new homes.
“Summer is traditionally a busy time of the year for us because the warm weather usually means there are more kittens brought in,” she said.
“But this summer’s nine per cent drop in rehoming figures has taken us all by surprise.
“People might think of Battersea as more of a home for dogs than cats, but cats are just as important and need loving new homes, too,” she stated.
A RSPCA spokesman said: “We have seen an increase over the past year in the number of abandoned pets. We put that partly down to the recession. What we don’t want is for people to volunteer if they can’t look after an animal. People should not come forward on a whim as it is quite a commitment to look after an animal,” he added. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 14 August 2009
London, August 14 (ANI): Farrah Fawcett’s best friend of 30 years, Alana Stewart, has slammed reports alleging that the late star’s long-time love Ryan O’Neal was with her because of her bank balance.
Stewart, who remained with the actress during her cancer battle, insisted Ryan is a “good guy”, adding he had more money than Fawcett.
“It’s almost like a joke frankly and anybody who knows them well knows that’s so not true,” The Daily Express quoted Stewart as saying.
“They were together over 30 years and frankly Ryan always had a lot more money than Farrah. He invested his money from day one very well.
“He was very loving with her those last few months and it was very clear that he was heartbroken. He was losing the love of his life. That’s the only reason he was there. I am a supporter of Ryan’s because I know how much he loved her and still does.
“Ryan is a complex guy but he’s a good guy and he’s got a good heart and he was very good to Farrah those last number of months.
As far as I’m concerned that’s really the end of the story,” she added. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 13 August 2009
Aurangabad, Aug.13 (ANI): Sugar mills in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region are on the verge of closure following a shortfall in sugarcane production.
Farmers blame the sharp downfall on scanty rainfall and low procurement prices.
Farmers have planted less sugarcane for the second successive year due to these factors.
The Chatrapati Sambhaji Raje Sakher Sugar Mill in the Adul area of Aurangabad district continues to remain closed for the last one year. And this year too, the management is unsure if the mill will reopen.
“The sugarcane output has reduced and it has led to the closure of many factories. They closed down last year. They will be closed this year too. The sugarcane yield will not be enough to meet the demand in India,” said Haribhao Kishanrao Bagre, owner of the Chatrapati Sambhaji Raje Sakher Sugar Mill, Adul,
Last year, 34 out of 57 sugar mills in the Marathwada region could continue their operation due to insufficient sugarcane produce. This year, the number might fall further.
“According to me, only 15 odd factories will continue operating while the rest will remain closed because of sugarcane shortage,” said Haribhao Kishanrao Bagre, the owner of the Chatrapati Sambhaji Raje Sakher Sugar Mill in the Adul area.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar last month said the country is expected to produce 15.0-15.5 million tonnes of sugar in the year till September, which is down from 26.3 million tonnes a year ago.
To maintain the supply of sugar and help control price and black marketing, India has contracted imports for about 2.5 million tonnes of raw sugar this year. Traders expect the country to buy another three million tonnes in 2009-10.
India has extended its scheme to allow duty-free raw sugar imports until March and white sugar imports up to November. By Abdul Hadi(ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 10 August 2009
Leh, Aug 10 (ANI): Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived on a 20-days visit to Leh in Kashmir on Sunday.
The Dalai Lama was welcomed by a number of dignitaries, including state Chief Ministermar Abdullah.
A large number of people lined the road leading to Jivetsal Choklamsar, a summer resort of the Dalai Lama.
“His holiness is again among us and has come to Ladakh after visiting Dharamsala and Delhi.
All people, especially Buddhists feel that they are very fortunate to see him again,” said Geshe Konchok Namgyal, a Buddhist scholar.
The convoy of vehicle was surrounded by a parallel chain of people, all dressed up in traditional attire and carrying Phogs (incenses), Khataks (traditional white stole) and flowers.
Numerous school children in tidy uniform held Khataks (traditional white stole) in their folded hands and welcomed the Dalai Lama.
“His Holiness represents peace for us. He comes here every year. We feel peace in the air after his arrival said Tashi Morup, a journalist.
The Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala with thousands of his followers ever since they fled from their homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
In 1950, the Chinese troops marched into Tibet and occupied it.
An estimated 134,000 Tibetans live in exile, a majority of them in India and Nepal. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 10 August 2009
Hindaun (Rajasthan), Aug.10 (ANI): A small town in Rajasthan has made a remarkable growth in the last one decade. It could be possible due to its sandstone industry, which has brought this place popularity not just across India but also in different parts of the world.
Today Hindaun town in Rajasthan’s Karauli district holds a prominent position on global map for processing fine quality sandstone. It is exported to foreign countries in a good quantity.
The town has also given employment to a large number of persons. There are over 30 Gang Saw units here where around 10,000 individuals have gained direct employment.
One of the main reasons why this industry has thrived over the years here is the availability of sandstones in abundance. Also, the reason behind this success is the availability of raw material and its connectivity with main Delhi-Mumbai rail network.
Rough sandstone is brought from the surrounding places like Badi, Basedi, Bharatpur and Dhaulpur and is processed in Hindaun
Processed sandstones are exported to countries like United Kingdom, the United States and the Middle East countries.
“Our sandstone industry is very big. There are 25 units (of sandstone processing) here. There is a huge potential in this industry. We export sandstones and also supply to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. A lot of people visit here with queries and place orders,” said Mahesh Singhal, a trader of processed sandstones, Hindaun, Rajasthan.
The granite industry here has provided ample employment opportunities to the local residents. Some people say it has grown five times over the years.
“The (sandstone industry) has grown five times over the past 15-20 years. Earlier, we were using small machines but since the work is on a large scale now, we have large units using bigger machines,” said Panna Lal Gupta, owner of a sandstone-processing unit.
Rajasthan is the biggest exporter of sandstone in the country and the majority of its part is contributed by Hindaun town.
Sandstone mined in the area of Bharatpur and Karauli district are in great demand and is giving close competition to white marble.
In world stone market, 27 percent production of stone is done by India alone which employs around 1.5 million people in our country.
Indian stones are also leading the global market and India has become the third largest exporter of stones.
The exporting countries of sand stones from Hindaun are Dubai, UK, USA, and Gulf, where in a year more than 200 crore rupees worth sand stone items are exported.
Sandstone reserves in Rajasthan, estimated at 900 million tons, are spread over in the districts of Bharatpur, Dholpur, Kota, Jodhpur, Sawai-Madhopur, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Bikaner, Jhalawar, Karauli, Nagaur and Jaisalmer.
Prominent clusters of sandstone activity in the state are Dholpur, Karauli, Hindaun City, Sikandra, Bijolia and Jodhpur.
Many major historical landmarks in India like the Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House, India Gate, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Fatehpur Sikri etc. are made of sandstone from Rajasthan. By Lokendra Singh (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 03 May 2009
Bollywood Trade News Network
Amitabh Bachchan has always been a trend-setter, but this time he goes a step further by adding a personal touch to his character.
While planning a shoot for a special number for his forthcoming film ALADIN, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, Mr. Bachchan suggested doing his own styling for the song’s picturisation.
Apparently Mr. Bachchan was extremely excited about the groovy track picturised on himself and Riteish Deshmukh and while planning the shoot for the peppy number, expressed his desire to contribute to the song in his very own way: by choosing his own outfit for it!
Of course, the director willingly agreed and Mr. Bachchan went on to chose a deep red velvet jacket which added that extra touch of grandeur to his already larger-than-life persona in the film.
Now that’s what we call flaunting your style with panache!
About ALADIN
Produced by Eros International and Boundscript, ALADIN is a contemporary look at the classic fairy tale. Packed with fun, music, masti, action and adventure ALADIN boasts of a visual scale never seen before on Indian screen and arrives in theatres on 24th July.
The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh and introduces Jacqueline Fernandez.
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Written by Rahul on 29 April 2009
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar who turned 81, last September will return to the recording studios after a long gap of five years. She was supposed to start with the recording of a solo number for Om Shri Arihant’s ‘Lifestyle In Generation Next’ two months ago but had to postpone the recording because of a series operation to replace both her knees. She has now completely recovered and will report for the recording for the same film at Swarlata Recording Studio on April 27. The song will be recorded by one of her favorite music director Raam Laxman.
‘I feel like a new singer facing for first test. It is a great feeling to sing for a film again but I am also a little nervous before the recording of any song and this time I am a little more nervous because of being out of touch. I have worked very hard on the song. And I hope I do justice to it,’ the always very humble Lataji says.
The film written, produced and directed by Santosh Kumar Jain who makes his debut after years of financing big filmmakers like Manmohan Desai, Dada Kondke and S. Raamnathan is planned to be made on an ambitious scale and talks are going on with a few leading stars both from India and Hollywood.
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Written by Rahul on 21 April 2009
Abid, Bollywood Trade News Network
UAE’s integrated telecom provider, du, announced the launch of its ‘Elite Plan’ for mobile users, and in order to promote the same appointed four brand ambassadors headed by our own, Bollywood’s Global superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Mohammad Saeed Hareb, the creator of the region’s beloved animated housewives, Freej, leading Emirati jewellery designer Azza Al Qubaisi and well known Lebanese TV presenter, George Kurdahi.
Immediately after appointing SRK as the brand ambassador, du went ahead and released an advertisement that listed Shah Rukh’s mobile number alongside the endorsement of its popular ‘Elite Plan’. And naturally that sent his fans on a dialing frenzy. More than 8000 calls with over 1000 personal voice messages were recorded.
Though initially fans expressed disbelief and questioned the validity of the number, yet they went ahead and left their messages. For those who dialed, they were mighty excited to hear Shah Rukh’s warm voice greeting them, ”Hi, This is Shah Rukh Khan. I cannot take your call right now. Please leave your message and love.”
There was such an overwhelming reaction to Shah Rukh Khan’s mobile number that by the end of the day no calls were going through, much to the disappointment of the fans. And the spokesman from du had to clarify that due to an overwhelming public reaction to SRK’s personal mobile number, they were experiencing some technical difficulties. This was sorted out later. However, the over expectant fans were a bit sad that they did not receive any call from Shah Rukh Khan, while others were just happy to hear his voice greeting them in his characteristic charming style, and this certainly made their day. A novel idea indeed!
All we in India can hope is for Airtel/Nokia (for which SRK is the brand ambassador) to emulate something as interesting as this and give SRK’s fans in India a chance to hear his personal taped message and make their day too!
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Written by Rahul on 21 April 2009
Mumbai, April 19 (IANS) Jiah Khan may be out of UTV Motion Pictures’ ‘Yahoo’, but the young actress has quite a few reasons to cheer. Not only has she been roped in for a separate two-film deal by the same production house, she has also signed a three-film contract with ‘Ghajini’ producer Madhu Mantena.
‘I think I owe her that,’ said Mantena. ‘Specially after the way she has been treated.’
Things didn’t work out between UTV and Jiah as it was felt that she didn’t suit the character in ‘Yahoo’ opposite Shahid Kapur.
‘God has a unique way of evening things out. I must admit I was very low after what happened. When Madhu’s call came it was like a sign from heaven,’ said Jiah.
The actress has met up with the producer and one of the films that she has apparently been signed on for is the much talked-about sequel to ‘Ghajini’, the action hit that had Aamir Khan in the lead.
But Jiah does not want to reveal much at this early stage.
‘It’s much too early to talk about what we’re doing together. But the important thing is Madhu came forward when he thought I was in a situation. UTV, whose film ‘Yahoo’ I lost, have also signed me for a two-film deal,’ the actress said.
Why sign Jiah for two films after the ‘Yahoo’ fiasco?
‘I’m too small, too new and too much of an outsider to comment on why UTV did what they did. I did work for almost two years on ‘Yahoo’. I performed a very difficult dance number with Shahid. And I was very proud of matching steps with Shahid. Like I said it’s not mine to question why.’
Jiah has also signed Sajid Khan’s ‘House Full’ where she has two other leading ladies – Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta – fighting for Akshay Kumar’s attention.
‘But I’ve my own track. And I get to do comedy for the first time. I was very good at comedy in acting school,’ the youngster quipped.
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Treviso, Italy – Food security and efforts to stabilize global food prices were set to dominate the first-ever meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) which began Saturday.
But the potentially divisive issue of protectionism was also likely to crop up in the talks which are being held near the northeastern Italian city of Treviso and are scheduled to run until April 20.
Setting some of the tone on the topic on Saturday, was Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia, whose country currently holds the G8 presidency.
Declaring himself a “believer in the (free) market,” Zaia however added that “if the alternative is closing hundreds or thousands of farms, then I don’t have doubts: I will fight to maintain (import) duties.”
But speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of the talks with his counterparts from the other G8 nations – US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and Russia – Zaia confirmed that food security remained the main issue.
A policy document, prepared by the Italian presidency ahead of the talks calls for “immediate interventions” aimed at doubling by 2050 global agriculture production to ensure that the world’s fast-growing population have enough to eat.
Zaia said provisions to boost food security would be contained in a final document prepared by the G8 agriculture ministers for the end of the three-day meeting.
However, with food security being about both “quantity and quality,” Zaia said he intended to put forward Italy’s case for the “defence of genuine products.”
“Out of 10 food products in the world billed as Italian, only one actually comes from Italy,” he said.
The need to fight counterfeit foods such as cheese “made in China but being sold as Italian mozzarella,” was linked to ensuring health standards and should be of major international concern he added.
Zaia said the measures contained in the document would also be fruit of consultation with agriculture ministers from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Australia and Egypt who have also been invited to attend several sessions of the meeting.
“I am confident the document we adopt here will be accepted by the G8 summit,” Zaia said, referring to the main meeting of G8 government leaders scheduled for July.
G8 agriculture ministers also plan to look at ways to stabilize prices, especially in the wake of the sharp increase for commodities such as wheat and rice in 2008 – a situation that triggered riots in dozens of nations.
While prices have since fallen by as much as 40-50 per cent, they are still well above their pre-crisis levels with global cereal prices for example, still some 70 per cent higher than in 2005.
The price hike has had a major impact in pushing the number of the world’s undernourished people to 963 million, as estimated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Monte Carlo – Stan Wawrinka has a score to settle with Novak Djokovic as the pair stage a re-run of last year’s Foro Italico final when they meet in in a semi-final Saturday at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Djokovic, seeded third to the 13th of Wawrinka, beat the Swiss for the Rome title last May. But Wawrinka is riding a wave of clay confidence a day after defeating good friend Roger Federer in the third round.
He followed up that achievement on Friday, putting out German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic, winner of all three matches against Wawrinka in 2008, booked his last-four spot as he beat Fernando Verdasco, the seventh seed, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Djokovic needed to play on Thursday night in heavy conditions to conclude a day of rain interruptions. He said that the challenge Friday was much the same.
“The courts were really wet, even today you could feel it. The balls were getting bald and really fast – tough to control. But today was a really good match for me. I hung in there and just waited for my chances.”
Djokovic will play in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semi-final after retiring with illness against Federer last year.
Four-time champion Rafael Nadal and Scottish fourth seed Andy Murray were due for two matches on the day after concluding their third-rounders earlier.
Nadal claimed his 24th straight victory at the principality, defeating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-0. The Spanish top seed was next to face Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Simone Bolelli 7-5 7-6 (7-2).
Murray has been on a roll this season, leading the ATP with three titles and now in a position to threaten both number 3 Djokovic as well as possibly number 2 Federer.
Murray will go against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 15 April 2009
New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) It’s a dry spell at the box office thanks to the ongoing tussle between the producers and multiplex owners. Movie buffs, deprived of their usual dose of entertainment, are looking for other options.
‘Every week I would end up watching a film with family and friends. But now that there aren’t any movies worth watching, I’m planning to go to an amusement park, something that was being delayed for quite some time now,’ averred 22-year-old Leena Hiranandani working with a chartered accountancy firm.
The producer-multiplex tussle is over revenue sharing.
While the producers and distributors forum decided last month not to push any new releases in multiplexes after April 4, the films released in single screen theatres have not been worth watching.
‘Ek se Bure Do’, ‘Coffee House’, ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Pass’ and ‘Royal Utsav’ – all received a cold shoulder from the audience.
‘People really need a good breather on weekends. And because of this fight between the producers and the multiplexes we are not getting what we really need – entertainment. Now I have no other option but to watch some classic movies at home,’ said Karan Sachdeva, a 24-year-old media professional.
Priyanka Anand, a housewife, said: ‘We love watching movies on weekends. But now that no new films are coming, I don’t know what to do. So finally we have decided to visit the monuments in Delhi.’
BPO professional Karma Saxena said: ‘I used to watch films with friends at weekends. Now when there are no films, I spend time with my family.’
Delhi-based post-graduation student Shweta Sharma is a Hindi film aficionado and going to the nearest multiplex with friends to catch a film was her idea of fun.
However, the present situation has left her weekend without any activity.
‘Watching movies is my passion. Every Friday I wait for new films. But it’s been long that I have gone to see one because of the multiplex tussle. It’s a sad situation for someone like me. Now I don’t have anything to do on the weekend,’ she said.
After a disastrous first quarter of 2009, this seems to be the industry’s worst dream coming true with hardly any films being confirmed for the next two months except ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’, releasing May 1 and ‘Kambakkth Ishq’, scheduled to open May 29.
According to filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, Bollywood is bleeding.
‘We (the film industry) are bleeding. This strike is affecting the industry and we are suffering colossal losses,’ Bhatt, chairman of the United Forum for Bollywood Producers and Distributors, told IANS.
On being asked about the approximate percentage of loss that the industry is expected to suffer, he said: ‘As of now, we are not doing any number crunching but we are sure the loss will ultimately be huge.’
With no definite date till when the strike is supposed to be on, moviegoers would miss their share of entertainment for quite some time.
‘It’s such a sad situation that I’m not getting my dose of entertainment. I’m just hoping that the dry spell gets over soon. However, till then I’ll explore markets that I haven’t done for some time now. I’m sure shopping is the only thing that I can pass my time with, if there are no films,’ said 30-year-old Niharika Dhar.
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Written by Rahul on 10 April 2009
A man has been arrested after explosives components were found during a police search in Lancashire. Skip related content
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Police made the discovery at a property in Penwortham, near Preston, shortly before 9am.
A police spokesperson said the arrest was not linked to Wednesday’s raids by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit.
In a statement, Lancashire Police said: “Officers attended a property in Woodville Road, Penwortham, shortly before 9am.
“A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal relating to an incident in Chorley on April 7.
“However, during searches of the property police discovered suspicious articles which included components which could be used to make explosive devices.”
Detective Inspector Steven Chard, who is leading the investigation, added: “The Army Bomb Disposal Unit has visited the scene and made the articles safe. A small number of people were evacuated in nearby properties however they have now been able to return to their homes.
“I would like to reassure residents living in the immediate area of the property that there is no threat to their safety and they are now able to come and go from their homes as usual.
“I would also like to stress that this arrest is not linked to the counter terrorism arrests made in the North West yesterday. The 37-year-old man has now been arrested in relation to explosives offences and the matter is being treated as a criminal investigation.
“Searches will be conducted at the address throughout the remainder of the day and we are in the process of further examining the articles.”
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Written by Rahul on 09 April 2009
Singapore – Child-care centres and kindergartens in Singapore are stepping up cleaning of classrooms as the number of children coming down with hand, foot and mouth disease nears the official “epidemic level,” a newspaper reported Thursday.
Last week, 653 people were affected by the disease, 12 short of the Health Ministry’s official epidemic level, the Straits Times said.
The number of cases was expected to rise from April to May, one of two traditional peak infection times for the disease with the other being August and October.
There were 4,926 hand, foot and mouth disease cases in the first 13 weeks of this year, compared with 4,423 for the same period last year when a 3-year-old boy died from an inflammation of the brain lining caused by the disease.
Seven Singapore children died from it during an outbreak from 2000 to 2001. Hand, foot and mouth disease usually hits children under 10.
The symptoms are usually mild and include ulcers and blisters in the mouth, rashes on the hands and feet, and fever.
The illness usually passes within a week without treatment, but a small minority of cases become life-threatening, mainly because of neurological complications – such as encephalitis, meningitis and paralysis – as well as lung haemorrhages.
The virus is highly infectious and transmitted through saliva, blister fluid and faeces. There is no vaccine.
For now, no child-care centres have been ordered to close because the cases have been spread out rather than clustered in any particular area. Authorities have closed them in the past several years during the worst outbreaks. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 09 April 2009
Hong Kong – The Hong Kong Jockey Club is planning to extend the race season by five extra races in a bid to compete with neighbouring Macau and illegal bookmakers, the club confirmed Thursday.
The club has submitted a proposal to the government outlining the arguments in support of a longer season that would see the extra races taking place in July.
The current 78-meeting season ends at the beginning of July.
In a briefing held Wednesday, Hong Kong Jockey Club chief Winifried Engelbrecht-Bresges said a longer season would create more than 4,000 jobs in Hong Kong and help the club maintain the donation of 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (129 million US dollars) it gives to charity every year.
He also said it would prevent potential revenue from leaking out of the former British colony and into the coffers of illegal bookmakers, offshore casinos and the casinos of neighbouring Macau, the so-called Vegas of the East.
According to an independent survey conducted for the Jockey Club, Hong Kong punters lost around 20 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.57 billion US dollars) at Macau’s casinos last year, double the amount of 2005.
Of this, 3.3 billion Hong Kong dollars in bets were lost in the summer months of July and August when the racing season in Hong Kong is closed.
The club’s plan also proposes introducing 20 more simulcasts of overseas race meetings, which are expected to produce 36 million Hong Kong dollar in tax revenue for the government.
The proposal has been submitted to the government and will now be considered by the Lotteries and Gambling Commission.
But it has already angered Christian and anti-gambling organizations who says it will push gamblers into a dead-end.
Joe Tang, a supervisor with the Caritas Addicted Gamblers Counselling Centre, said a longer season would leave gamblers no time to reflect on their behaviour.
He said the club had treated 1,500 pathological gamblers since it opened in 2003 and receives at least 550 calls for help every month.
However, the Jockey Club argued the extra meeting was only a minor increase in the season that would not increase the number of gamblers or create any social issues.
Betting on horse racing and soccer matches through the Hong Kong Jockey Club and a weekly government-run lottery are the only legal forms of gambling in Hong Kong.
However, the city of 6.9 million has a huge black market of underground bookmakers and syndicates, while thousands of Hong Kong gamblers take the one-hour ferry journey to Macau every week to gamble in casinos.
Gambling is still the most lucrative source of tax for the Hong Kong government with the Jockey Club paying around 13 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.67 billion US dollars) in tax and betting duty. (dpa)
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