It's a girl for Lara & Mahesh!

Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta became the proud parents of a healthy baby girl on January 20. The couple tied the knot on Feb 19 in Goa last year. We take a look at their love story.
Mahesh Bhupathi is an ace tennis player who has had famous partnerships with Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza.Lara Dutta is one of Bollywood's leading ladies whose last release was 'Don 2' alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra.
 
 Mahesh is active off the court too with his sports management company, Globosport, that manages the career of Sania Mirza, among other athletes.
 He was married to model Shvetha Jaishankar for nearly seven years but the relationship soured and the couple filed for divorce in 2010.
 Shvetha blamed Lara for the split between her and Mahesh but Lara flatly denied these allegations.
 Lara shot to limelight when she bagged the Miss India title in 2000. Here she's seen with runner-ups, Priyanka Chopra and Dia Mirza, who today are her contemporaries in Bollywood.
However Lara really made the world sit up and take notice of her when she won the prestigious Miss Universe title at the 2000 event that was held in Cyprus.
 Lara Dutta also was often in the news for her relationships, the longest being that with fellow model Kelly Dorjee who she dated for eight years.
After she split with Dorjee she also dated actor Dino Morea briefly who she knew from her modelling days for Gladrags magazine
 However it was her relationship with Mahesh that she decided was worth going the extra mile for. One of the couple's early public sightings was at the Filmfare Awards in 2010.
 Lara celebrated her bachelorette party in Dubai. She tweeted, '15 women..4 days..1 mission..PAAARRRTTY!! Here's hoping I survive my bachelorette!!'
Meanwhile Mahesh made his own new year resolutions on Twitter. He tweeted, 'My New year resolution for this decade is... Get married and stay married...'

The couple welcomed a baby girl on January 20. Bhupathi tweeted, 'ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @DuttaLara. I Love u....'. We wish them all the very best as they bring home their princess!
 

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PAK-MALIK 2LST

However, responding to a query, Malik said that he will However, responding to a query, Malik said that he will follow the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security if it directs him to put Ijaz's name on the Exit Control List as had happened in the past. "I cannot disobey the directives of the parliamentary committee," he said. The Interior Ministry's Exit Control List contains the names of persons barred from travelling out of Pakistan. Malik said Pakistan People's Party leader Raja Riaz wanted to question Ijaz about his alleged involvement in the ouster of the government of slain premier Benazir Bhutto and his articles criticising the Pakistan Army and ISI. Meanwhile, Ijaz's lawyer Sheikh contended the judicial commission had directed authorities to provide an army battalion to guard Ijaz but the government had nominated a Deputy Inspector General of police as the focal person for his security. He said he had raised the issue with the Attorney General and the army chief. Zahid Bokhari, the lawyer of former envoy to the US Husain Haqqani, who was forced to resign over the memo issue, dismissed Sheikh's claims and said Ijaz was acting like a spoilt child and setting new conditions every day for coming to Pakistan. He contended that Ijaz was delaying his trip to Pakistan as he had no evidence to back up his claims about the memo. "So much hype is being created over this person who caused infighting among state institutions. He is a foreigner who wrote against the army and ISI and yet he is being welcomed like a prince," Bokhari said. Meanwhile, the US Embassy reacted to Ijaz's claim that he had been assured of special security by the State Department by saying that the businessman would be treated like a common US national and will be entitled to the same facilities as other Americans in Pakistan. US has made no assurances to Ijaz about his security while in Pakistan, the US Embassy's spokesman said.

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Rahman surprised by controversy over Hosanna

Music Maestro A R Rahman today said he was surprised by the controversy over his latest composition 'Hosanna' for the forthcoming film, 'Ekk Deewana Tha' stating that he did extensive research before composing the song.
The composition has not gone down well with Christian Secular Forum (CSF), a religious organisation which has argued that Hosanna is a prayer in the Bible and the term is sacred to both Jews and Christians.

Rahman said, "as with any film project I work on, I spent several months researching before composing or writing all the songs for 'Ekk Deewaana Tha'. I had consulted my Christian friends about the use of the word 'Hosanna' in this song. The Tamil and Telugu version of the song upon its release were loved by all and bagged several music awards."

Directed by Gautham Menon, 'Ekk Deewana Tha' is a remake of his own Tamil film 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa' (2010).

Rahman, who also composed the music for the original film, said,"It (song) was a sensation when it was released in the south a couple of years ago. It went on to win all possible music awards and was well received by all communities. I am deeply concerned about the sentiments of all those who appear to be hurt by this song,".

Sharing similar sentiments, lyricist Javed Akhtar said, "When we write lyrics with great composers such as Mr Rahman, who is one of the most respectable human beings I have worked with, the intention is never to insult any religion. Why would we?" The film will release on February 17.  

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MoD pays out £75 million to civil servants hit by cuts

The Ministry of Defence has paid out £75 million to civil servants made redundant over the past three months. 

 

The 2,500 staff laid off during the autumn as part of the Government's cuts programme received pay-offs averaging £30,000, according to MoD figures.

The MoD said the reductions to the civilian workforce were necessary to help tackle the "black hole" defence budget.

A spokesman pointed out that, on average, civilian staff received "considerably less" than military personnel, who are also losing thousands of jobs as a result of the cuts programme.

"Where a sergeant receives an average payoff of around £65,000, a civilian receives around £30,000 on average," the spokesman said.

"The MoD civilian workforce is reducing by around 33% compared to a reduction of 17.5% in military manpower."

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Salman Rushdie in Mumbai underworld assassination threat

Sir Salman Rushdie has announced his withdrawal from a leading Indian literature festival after officials warned professional assassins were on their way to kill him.

Sir Salman Rushdie has been told he is the target of Mumbai assassins Photo: GETTY

 

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Rajinikanth site that runs without internet

If you are a Rajinikanth fan, there's some good news for you! You don't need an internet connection to browse the superstar's new website. What's more? The site will stop working if you switch on your internet connection, with a prompt that says - "Aiyyo.. That was unexpected...to keep browsing
switch off your internet."

The site, which is a new initiative by Desimartini.com, certainly is allergic to internet connection. The moment you log on to allaboutrajni.com, there's only one way you can enter the site -  by switching off the internet connection. The entire world of Rajinikanth - trivia, fun facts, quirky quotes etc await you, once you are off internet and logged on to 'Rajini power'.

The developers of the site inspired by the larger than life persona of Rajini, wanted to make it unique in every way possible. Amit Garg, Business Head, HT Internet said, "We wanted to give movie-lovers something interesting and new. Unlike an ordinary website, we are giving people something they've never seen before- a website that works ONLY without the internet- only a Rajini website holds the credibility to do the same!"

Rajinikanth's website works without internet

"The unbelievable spectacle of running a website without the internet is a tribute to Rajinikant's larger than life image," claimed Webchutney's creative director Gurbaksh Singh, who developed the site for Desimartini.com.

How the idea came about
Rajinikanth is someone who does the impossible. And to grab attention of the online audience, you need to show them something they’ve never seen before- a website that works without the internet- and only a Rajini website holds the credibility to do the same!

Response
According to desimartini.com, the website got 10,000 visits in just few hours after the launch. Users who have visited the website, have found this to be a very unique and a different concept. It’s already being talked about on Facebook and Twitter.

"The website has received a phenomenal response and has gone viral with several thousand hits and counting, along with innumerable shares and mentions across the web, especially on popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter," Singh said.

"After a few iterations and testing, we cracked the code required to build the world's first website that runs without the internet - a website that runs offline - which is as awesome and unbelievable as miracles and stunts associated or performed by Rajni himself," he said.

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Tennis tantrums: 10 angry players

Tennis player Marcos Baghdatis let loose his fury during the 2012 Australian Open where he broke 4 racquets in frustration during a match against Stanislas Warwinka. Here are other players who courted controversy with their loose tempers

Serena Williams

The world saw the ugly side of tennis champ Serena Williams in 2011, when she let loose a verbal tirade against the match umpire during the US Open final, calling her 'a hater' and 'unattractive'. Eventually, Serena went on to lose the match. She was also involved in a similar controversy in 2009.

 

Andy Roddick

Former US Open champion Andy Roddick did a 'John McEnroe' in the third round tie against Phillip Kohlschreiber in the 2008 Australian Open.

 

Roger Federer

It was the finals of the 2008 US Open when former world number one Roger Federer attacked the chair umpire for a challenge which was made by opponent Martin Del Potro. Federer was involved in a heated exchange with the umpire and hurled foul language at him.

John McEnroe

In the 1981 Wimbledon match, John McEnroe did the impossible as he was involved in a fiery conversation with the match umpire. His words, "You cannot be serious" went down in history as one of Wimbledon's most talked-about controversies.

 

David Ferrer

Tennis took an ugly turn when Spaniard David Ferrer directed a shot towards a crying infant during a match. Though the ball didn't hit the child, Ferrer played down the event and cited other reasons for his frustration during the match.

 

Victoria Azarenka

The 21-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka attacked a chair umpire during the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, saying that the umpire was ruining the match with bad decisions.

 

Marat Safin

Hothead Marat Safin was known for his on-court tantrums and one of the most famous was at Wimbledon during a semi-final defeat to Roger Federer. He threw his racket on the grass and then hurled it with all his strength against a chair. The act earned him a warning from the umpire.

 

Martina Hingis

It was the 1999 French Open final between Steffi Graff and Martina Hingis, and suddenly Martina lost her cool, and began yelling at the chair umpire. She then left the court crying, only to return back with her mother.

Andy Murray

Scot Andy Murray often lands himself in hot water and this time it was due to a heated argument with the chair umpire during a match against opponent Tomas Berdych. Murray was seen having an animated conversation with the umpire and also said 'bollocks' which earned him a warning.

 

David Nalbandian

This year's Australian Open has already had its fair share of controversy after Argentine David Nalbandian called a match umpire 'stupid'. The umpire refused a challenge from Nalbandian, saying that the latter had called it late. The result cost Nalbandian the match.

 

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Actress banned from Iran over nude photo

 

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2G: Court reserves order on Swamy plea to prosecute Chidambaram

A Delhi court on Saturday reserved its order for February 4 on Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking prosecution of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in the 2G scam case.

“Put up for orders on February 4,” Special CBI judge O.P. Saini said after Mr. Swamy concluded his arguments in support of his allegations against Mr. Chidambaram.

During the arguments, Mr. Swamy said the evidence he had brought on court’s record prima facie show that Mr. Chidambaram is equally culpable as former Telecom Minister A. Raja, who is facing trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

“A. Raja and P. Chidambaram had committed the offence together. Prima facie Chidambaram had conspired and colluded with Raja to commit offence of criminal misconduct,” he said.

He told the court that the evidence which he had bought before it was sufficient to show that Mr. Chidambaram, as the then finance minister, has prima facie committed offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and other criminal laws.

“It is clear that at this stage all I need to do is to show that evidence brought on record is sufficient to show that Chidambaram, at present not an accused in the case, has prima facie committed offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other criminal laws,” Mr. Swamy contended.

Referring to the court’s order of October 22 on framing of charges in the case, Mr. Swamy said that offloading of shares by Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless to foreign-based Etisalat and Telenor respectively was only a “trick”.

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Rushdie row: Mumbai police sources deny getting any inputs of life threat

Mumbai: Adding a new twist to the controversy over Salman Rushdie's participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival, sources in Mumbai Police denied giving any inputs about paid assassins.
The sources have countered the Booker-winning author's claim that paid assassins were out to get him. The sources told CNN-IBN there were no intelligence inputs about a threat to Rushdie and that they gave no inputs regarding paid assassins eyeing Rushdie.
BJP Leader Uma Bharti also reacted to the controversy on Saturday and said, "The Salman Rushdie controversy is being made an issue because of the UP elections. A person has the right to express himself till his expressions do not let down another person. The row over Rushdie is being guided by the UP elections."

Rushdie on Friday called off his Jaipur visit saying there were threats from the underworld.
Rushdie issued a statement through the organisers of the festival saying that he will not be coming to the event. "Very sad not to be at Jaipur. I was told Bombay mafia don issued weapons to 2 hitmen to "eliminate" me. Will do video link instead. Damn," Rushdie tweeted.
Jaipur Literature Festival organiser Sanjoy Roy had made the announcement saying that Rushdie decided not to attend as there is a threat to his life in India.
"There are intelligence inputs from Rajasthan and Maharashtra that paid assassins are on their way so he wants to be responsible to himself, people at the festival and everyone," said Roy.
Authors Hari Kunzru and Amitava Kumar also read out a passage from his banned book the 'Satanic Verses' on Friday to lodge their protest over Rushdie's absence before they were stopped by the organisers of the festival. An hour later, writer Ruchir Joshi and poet Jeet Thayil repeated the act of defiance. They, too, were stopped by the organisers.
Influential Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband had demanded that Rushdie should not be allowed into India over his book The Satanic Verses published more than 20 years ago. There was also a fatwa that anybody willing to hurl a shoe at Rushdie would be paid Rs 1 lakh.

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China through foreign lens

Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
  Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
  Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
 


 Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China. 
 
Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
  Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
 
Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.
 Photo taken by foreign photographers shows the beautiful scenery of China and it can serve as a bridge for foreign friends to know more about China.

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Six-party talks should not be shelved

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

Senior officials from the United States, South Korea, and Japan met in Washington on Jan. 17, their first meeting since the end of 2011, to exchange views on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, resumption of the six-party talks, and other issues.

It is worth noting that while trying to keep "open channels of communication," the three countries stressed again that the core goal of the six-party talks is the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The Korean Peninsula is facing a delicate situation. China attaches great importance to preserving peace and stability on the peninsula, and hopes that the United States, South Korea, and Japan can play an active and constructive role in this regard.

The three countries are major stakeholders in the Korean Peninsula denuclearization process and key members of the six-party talks. Maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula is their duty, and an effective way of protecting their interests.

Admittedly, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner is a major goal of the six-party talks. However, the September 19 Joint Statement, the most substantive outcome of the nuclear talks so far, shows that the main goals of the talks also include the normalization of the relations between concerned countries as well as establishment of a security mechanism for maintaining peace and stability in northeast Asia.

The statement is not outdated, and still has urgent practical significance. The six-party talks is a gradual process, and it is necessary to implement agreements reached at the talks in an all-round and balanced way. 
In the three years when the six-party talks was suspended, the situation of the Korean Peninsula became more acute and serious. The root cause of this situation is the trust crisis. It is the trust crisis that has intensified the actual crisis. Currently, the task of top priority is to rebuild an environment for recovering the trust.

Negotiation is the ultimate method for solving problems. Without negotiation, no progress will be made. Although various parties have expressed their wish of returning to the six-party talks, wish has not turned into reality yet. An important reason is that a relevant country has set a high barrier in front of the negotiation hall.

The big problem is that no one wants to start removing the barrier first. However, if all parties do nothing but wait for others to remove it, they will stay out of the negotiation hall forever.

In fact, all preconditions of restarting the six-party talks could be subjects of the six-party talks. After the six-party talks was suspended, the security situation of the Korean Peninsula has worsened. It is a strong proof showing the necessity of restarting the talks.

The six-party talks is an effective mechanism for realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding the peace and security of the peninsula and northeast Asia. Strengthening contacts, dialogues and mutual trust and laying the foundation for restarting the six-party talks as soon as possible are wise and responsible choices for all parties.

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Comedy Football

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Pranab, Khurshid meet over Vodafone tax ruling

New Delhi: Concerned over revenue implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the Vodafone case, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday held consultations with Law Minister Salman Khurshid and senior officials.
"Right now we only know that it is a unanimous judgement that has gone against the revenue authorities ... we have to examine. We obviously need revenue for government's important programmes and the other thing is the certainty in law - we have to examine both areas," Khurshid told reporters after the meeting here.
The overall revenue implication of the ruling could be Rs 11,000 crore at a time when government is facing resource crunch because of slowdown.

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court has set aside the Bombay High Court ruling and asked the Income Tax Department to return Rs 2,500 crore deposited by Vodafone International Holdings within two months along with 4 per cent interest.
The apex court also asked its registry to return within four weeks, the bank guarantee of Rs 8,500 crore given by the telecom major.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia held that the IT department has "no jurisdiction" to levy tax on overseas transaction between companies incorporated outside India.
Khurshid further said, "We will have to read the judgement, analyse it, and then only make a comment on it. Even the Finance Minister has not seen the judgement, it concerns his Ministry directly..."
"It is difficult to say what are the reasons and grounds now for reversing it. Unless we have the time to understand and reflect what exactly is the reason that they have given".
The ruling is important because it will have implications on various cross-border deals.

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Rich fare at the literary ‘Kumbh Mela'

If there is an air of apprehension, there is an air of expectancy too as the Jaipur Literature Festival, termed the “Kumbh Mela” of Indian and international writing, starts unfolding at Diggi Palace here this Friday. The apprehension is about the scheduled protests over Mr. Rushdie's proposed visit while expectation is on the rich fare at the five-day event—which has been getting better and merrier by year.

The list appeared both tempting and baffling for its variety and vividness. The subjects range from myth, religion, art, architecture, archaeology, music and gardening, to mention a few. There is a conscious attempt to mix and merge great Indian traditions of music and spirituality such as Bhakti and Sufi movements with modern day writing. Those in focus are also Kabir and Meera Bai and Rajasthan's own Dadu Dayal.

The festival is starting on Friday with a recital from Guru Granth Sahib which will be followed by a formal inauguration by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

The festival organisers proudly noted that two of the Indian authors—Malayalam poet K. Satchidanandan and Rajasthani story teller Viajy Dhan Dehta—who have been associated with the event from its inception, were in the race for last year's Nobel for Literature. There would be sessions reflecting the changes in the Hindi language over a period of time. The discussion on prison diaries -- memoirs of Iftekhar Gilani, Anjum Zamarud Habib and Sahil Maqbool -- would bring about the hidden and hideous world of jails in the stories on incarceration.

“This year we have one of the best programming,” said Namita Gokhale interacting with media persons on the eve of the opening of the festival. “It is Willie's -- William Dalrymple's – line-up of international names,” she said pointing out that when it came to the art of persuasion the author of White Mughals and City of Djinns is a master. “William knows how to charm and bully authors into coming,” she noted.

However, Mr. Dalrymple clarified that he did not need to make much effort to bring authors to the Jaipur festival which has become a big draw for authors the world over. “It has been easy. Not a single author I contacted said no. If anybody did not come that was because he or she was busy completing a book or a project,” he said.

“The word has spread. Jaipur is more fun than any other literature festival in the world,” he asserted. “This year we have a list which I thought we would never be able to manage…”

Mr. Dalrymple listed two playwrights, Tom Stoppard and David Hare, at the JLF as a big attraction. Considered among the greatest of living playwrights, they would be interacting with Indian legends like Girish Karnad and Asghar Wajahat. Though no Nobel winners this time, well-known novelists Annie Proulx, Ben Okri, Kiran Nagarkar, Lionel Shriver and Michael Ondaatje are bound to be a major draw.

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