Beauty malls: a new trend in the market

COURTESY : ONEINDIA for www.rishikapoormedia.blogspot.com


The beauty salon market in the country has been growing steadily over the last few years. To reap the benefits of the fast growing business, exclusive beauty malls are also coming up in the country. With one floor dedicated to beauty treatment and another for spa, the beauty malls are no less than a paradise for the customers.

Bhutto's body flown home, Pakistan in crisis

BREAKING NEWS
By Faisal Aziz



The body of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto arrived in her family village for burial on Friday, hours after her assassination plunged nuclear-armed Pakistan into one of the worst crises in its 60-year history.

Her killing on Thursday after an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi triggered a wave of violence, especially in her native Sindh province.

It stoked fears that a January 8 election meant to return Pakistan to civilian rule could be put off, although caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro said on Friday there was no change in timing for now.

World leaders urged Pakistan not to be deflected from a course toward democracy, as fears of instability in a region racked by Islamist militancy roiled markets on Friday and triggered a flight to less risky assets such as bonds and gold.

"Unrest in Pakistan is eroding the market sentiment dramatically as Pakistan, unlike North Korea or Iran, is known to really have nuclear weapons," said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

Thousands of mourners thronged Bhutto's ancestral home as the former prime minister's body arrived aboard a military aircraft, accompanied by husband Asif Ali Zardari and their three children.

People cried and wailed as Bhutto's coffin was taken by ambulance to her family home in Sindh's Larkana district.

Sex for favour: Actor gets bail, producer assaulted

BLOG BUREAU

Noted Marathi actor Ramesh Bhatkar secured bail on Wednesday hours after an aspiring actress accused him and film producer Ravi Naidu of attempted rape in a complaint filed with the Pune Police.

Bhatkar's co-accused Naidu was manhandled by activists of the Republican Party of India (RPI) when he reached the Pune sessions court in connection with the case. The girl's family had filed the complaint on Tuesday, naming Bhatkar, Naidu and a former city corporator in the case. The family alleged that the girl was raped repeatedly in the last year.

The uncle and aunt of the girl — Dilip and Jayashree — too have been named in the case as they were the ones who had allegedly introduced the aspiring actress to Naidu.

The court granted interim bail to all the five accused till January 6.

While Naidu is alleged to have repeatedly raped the 17-year-old victim over the past few months, Bhatkar has been accused of seeking sexual favours from her last August.

The girl, who was trying for a break in the Marathi film industry, claims in her complaint that Bhatkar sought sexual favours from her at various locations in August. The girl also claims that the actor had threatened her not to complain against him.

The girl has also accused him of physically assaulting her when she had resisted his sexual advances.

The Marathi Film Federation has, meanwhile, said it will launch an independent probe into the allegations.

According to the complaint, after the girl's SSE (10th Standard) examination, she was allegedly taken to Ravi Naidu's bungalow by her uncle and aunt with the assurance that Naidu would cast her in a Marathi movie. It was then that Naidu allegedly tried to rape her.

The police registered an FIR and have already detained three of the accused in the case. The girl has been sent for medical examination.

60 ft long cake palace costs Rs 10 lakh

SUBMITTED BY : DEEPA BALAKRISHNAN (CNN)

The annual cake show featured a cake that's 60 feet long. It is all edible, however, you might not want to eat this work of art.

About 25 men put this sugary palace model together in about three months. This is the center of attraction at the annual Nilgiris cake show where the Bangalore Palace stands 60 feet long and 20 feet wide, costing nearly Rs 10 lakh and, of course, is entirely edible. And the man who's behind it is Nilgiris director C Ramachandran.

“It started as a hobby from school days. I went to Europe and in Belgium I saw small models. I came back and tried to build the Eiffel tower and small exhibits we kept in our department store,” says C Ramachandran.

That passion with cake and batter started off this exhibition in 1969. And it draws the crowds in hordes, some here to see if the Santa Villa's for real, others to see the delicately-done floral arrangements and the classy Veena.

When the expo ends on 31st of December, these will be given away to winners of a lucky draw.

Some people present in the exhibition said that they liked the Bangalore palace the best and one person wanted to eat it all. Some said it was cute and some said that it was really huge and very difficult to have done it.

It's been Bangalore's most famous tradition for over 30 years to have a cake show every Christmas but we hadn't seen one over the last couple of years because of problems within the company Nilgiris.

School de-stresses students with laughter therapy

CONTRIBUTED BY: Satyarth Prakash Nayak
It is said that laughter is the best medicine and Delhi Public School, Greater Noida, is certainly believing in the adage.

Worried about problems of stress and aggression among students, the school organised a Laughter Session in which over 2000 students took part.

Says Laughter Guru Jiten Kohi, “Earlier kids laughed 300-400 times a day. Today, they have stopped laughing.”

DPS (Greater Noida) Principal Kamini Bhasin adds, “Because of ambitions, parents’ and teachers’ pressure, kids today face lot of stress and don’t know how to relieve it.0

But laughter can help cut down stress.

Jiten Kohi explains: “Laughter releases oxygen and soothes the mind.”

Last Tuesday's shooting in a Gurgaon school brought the issue of child aggression and bullying in schools into tragic focus. Students of DPS agreed that these are the realities they have to face on a daily basis.

“There is a lot of aggression today,” said one teenager, while another child added, “Seniors come and bully us, we have to call our parents.”

“Though techniques like this can help children deal with stress, they can't be stand-alone measures but can only a healthy system of communication. Parents would also need to step in and do their bit,” says psychiatrist Sameer Malhotra.

With the Gurgaon incident still fresh, schools are taking such initiatives for physical and mental well-being of kids to infuse them with some modicum of positive energy which is so crucial in present times.

US campus killings: Cops looking for 3 'black' men

BREAKING NEWS

New York: The New York police on Saturday morning said they were looking for three or four young “black” males in connection with the murder of two Indian doctoral students in Louisiana State University campus at Baton Rouge on Friday night.

Thirty-one-year-old Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and 33-year-old Kiran Kumar Allam were found shot dead in the latter’s apartment.

Sgt Don Kelly of Baton Rouge police department said the police were looking for clues on the three men who were seen hurriedly leaving the vicinity of the apartment where the murders took place.

"The men got into a small to mid-size four-door car, possibly occupied by a fourth person (driver)," he said.

The car, he said, was seen leaving the complex with its headlights turned out.

Meanwhile, a task force comprising University Police Department, the Baton Rouge Police Department and the East Baton Parish Sheriff's Office has been formed to carry out the investigations.

LSU records show both Allam and Komma hailed from Andhra Pradesh. While Allam, who was from Hyderabad was pursuing a doctoral degree in chemistry, Komma belonged to Kurnool and was studying biology.

The LSU Foundation also announced the setting up of Komma & Allam Support Fund to assist the students' families.

The double murder came to light when Allam's pregnant wife found the bodies and made a distress call to the university authorities, said Swati Badgi K Rao, Cultural Secretary of Indian Students' Association in the US. Allam was the son of noted Telugu author Allam Rajaiah.

Each was shot in the head once and while Komma’s body was found bound by a computer cable, Allam's body was found near the apartment door.

BLOG BUREAU

Hrithik off to Singapore for knee treatment

Bureau Report

Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, who had been neglecting his injured knee to complete work on Ashutosh Gowarikar's "Jodhaa-Akbar", is leaving for Singapore to recuperate.

The trouble began when he did some daring stunts in "Krrish" and "Dhoom 2". Hrithik had torn the ligament in his right knee and continued working despite the tremendous pain.

He completed the painstaking training, travelling and shooting required for "Jodhaa-Akbar", which releases next month.

To add to it, the "Jodhaa-Akbar" shoot got extended and treatment for his knee took a backseat again.

Now the pain cannot be wished away any longer. And it has become essential for the actor to put all work on the back burner and go abroad for complete treatment and rest.

"While working towards fulfilling my commitments to all my work - ads and film, I did not care much about my knee pain and have neglected my doctor's advice to not put any stress on it and take complete rest," said Hrithik in a press release.

He is off to Singapore to take a six-week break and recuperate fully.

"I am giving my health prior importance now, so that none of my further commitments suffer."

He could be back in time for the premiere of "Jodhaa-Akbar".

CASTING COUCH FOR MALE MODELS

BLOG BUREAU

Fashion designer Rohit Verma has been receiving threatening calls from model Amit Roy. According to Rohit, Amit Roy is threatening him with abusive messages because he did not give Rohit any work. On December 3, Rohit filed a NC (Non-Cognisable Offence) at the Oshiwara police station. Rohit met Amit five years ago. “Since then, he calls me about thrice a month and says that I should give him work. But I don't have any work for him. My driver looks better than him.” Explaining what drove him to the cops, Rohit says, “On Monday night, Amit lost it. He called me to say that I supplied gigolos. Then he abused me in a very derogatory manner. I hung up, but he kept calling. Finally, my sister Swati received the call. He called her a prostitute.” And then? “Then he told me that if I don't give him work, he will go public accusing me that I had asked him to 'compromise'. That was the limit. My sister and I decided to ask for police intervention,” Rohit further says. When contacted, Amit however had a different story to tell. He admitted that he asked Rohit for work. “But he kept dilly-dallying and never gave me any work. Then once he told me that I should become a gigolo and he will send me to some women looking for sex.” Amit admits that he sent threatening, abusive messages to Rohit. “But I was driven to the edge. This is simply because six months ago, Rohit forced me to have sex with him. I complied, because he then promised that he would help my career. However, when I realised that he had fooled me, I lost my patience.” Rohit shoots back, “I swear that I never had sex with Amit Roy. Amit mujhe badnam karna chahta hai.”

Turbulence for 72 airhostesses, put under probe

PROVIDED BY: KARAN KAWSHIK (CNN)

The Mumbai police is keeping a watch on 72 airhostesses of various airlines on suspicion that they are involved in human trafficking.

The police started a wider probe after arresting Aliya Abbas Rizvi, a 24-year-old airhostess with Jet Airways, for allegedly forging a marriage certificate and claiming in her visa application that businessman Rajesh Trivedi was her husband—a ploy to take him to the US.

The couple was caught before they could fly the coop, but Aliyah may just be the tip of an immigration iceberg. “We have have got a list of 72 airhostess and we are scrutinising their movements,” says Rakesh Maria, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime.

Three men who allegedly paid Trivedi Rs 20 lakh to Trivedi for taking them to the US have been arrested too. Rizvi allegedly got Rs 1.8 lakh as commission from this money. This incident follows a slew of other cases of human trafficking.

In November, an Army jawan Suresh Babu was caught forging official passports. He allegdly sold them for 50,000 rupees each. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing that case.In April, BJP MP Babubhai Katara was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on charges of illegally taking a woman to Canada on his wife's passport. Katara is currently in jail.

Kirsten hesitant to take up job

BLOG BUREAU

The Indian coach saga seems to be a never ending one and Gary Kirsten is threatening to add another chapter to it.

It is learnt that the former South African opener is not sure whether to take up the job offered to him because he wants to gauge whether senior Indian cricketers are happy with him taking over the job.

Kirsten, who was to confirm his acceptance by Monday, decided to delay his decision following reports that some senior players were disappointed with his appointment.

"I have heard rumours about some players expressing their concern about my appointment and I would rather prefer to have clarity on that before I commit myself to the job," Kirsten has been quoted as saying in the media.

Kirsten, who has played against most senior Indian players, is expected to get in touch with them to know their mind.

The BCCI has, however, denied that Kirsten was caught in two minds over taking up the job.

"It's all rubbish. Kirsten has written to Mr. Sharad Pawar seeking some clarifications. There is no question of him being apprehensive about the senior players," said Board vice-president Rajeev Shukla.

India presently have Lalchand Rajput as the cricket manager, with Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh as the bowling and fielding coaches, respectively.

After UP, Punjab lifts ban on ‘Aaja Nachle’

A day after banning the screening of Madhuri Dixit’s come back film ‘Aaja Nachle’, the Punjab Government today lifted the bar.

The Uttar Pradesh Government on Saturday lifted the ban after an apology from film producer Yash Chopra and chopping of lines from the title song, which certain section of Dalits felt was derogatory.

Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Sharmila Tagore also rendered an apology for giving a nod to the title track of the film with lines “Mohale mein kaisi maara-mar hai, bole mochi bhi khud ko sunar hai” that offended the Dalits.

The Haryana Government has also banned the screening of the film in the state.

On Friday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the film be banned all over the country.

Song row gets shriller, panel summons lyricists

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes will summon the people associated with the title song of the film Aaja Nachle for its “objectionable” lyrics.

"We will summon all the people who have performed, written and cleared the lyrics as well as the producer and director," Commission Chairperson Buta Singh told PTI. "The damage has already been done. The lyrics go against the two laws passed by Parliament and the Constitution itself."

The Commission would issue summons on Monday and demand written affidavits. The controversy relates to a line in the song which says: "Bazar mein machi hai maramar; bole mochi bhi khud ko sunhar" (There is so much chaos in the market that even a cobbler is calling himself a jeweller).

IANS reports trouble first erupted when Udit Raj, who heads the Indian Justice Party, on Friday led a demonstration in front of a movie hall in New Delhi where the film was being screened.

The controversy reached Parliament on Saturday when Lok Sabha MP Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India alleged the title song humiliated Dalits and demanded that the film be banned.

He was supported by CPI-M MP Mohd. Salim who said writers and poets, besides the government and the Censor Board, should be more sensitive.

Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told the House the Centre's role was limited to production and censoring while exhibition of films was under state govermments' jurisdiction.

"Government does not interfere in the functioning of the Censor Board which is headed by eminent film personality Sharmila Tagore. The appellate board, where anyone can appeal, is headed by senior judge Usha Mehra," he said adding no one had approached the appellate board so far.

Dasmunsi said the film’s producer had agreed to delete the lyrics from the song. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said protests were made and corrective actions carried out.