Seema Malhotra wins London bypoll

     London,- Britain's opposition Labour party
candidate Seema Malhotra, daughter of Indian immigrants,
won the bypoll to the Feltham and Heston constituency in
London with an increased majority over the Conservatives.
The byelection to the constituency, a stronghold of the
Labour, was caused by the death of former party MP, Alan Keen.
Delighted with her win, Malhotra said it was a "wake-up
call" for the David Cameron government. "This result shows
that this Tory-led government is totally out of touch."
    The result proved that the opposition Labour party, which
lost power in 2010, was changing, "listening harder, winning
back the trust of the people we seek to serve," she said.
  Seema increased Labour's majority from 4,658 to 6,203
when she won with 12,639 votes. Conservative candidate Mark
Bowen came second with 6,436 votes, while Roger Crouch, the
Liberal Democrat, held on to the third place with 1,364 votes.

Simran Mundi to becoming a
heroine with Sunny
Mumbai,- Model-turned-actress Simran Kaur Mundi was
keen to pursue a job in corporate world but destiny took her
to modelling and drove her to Bollywood.
After finishing Biotechnology from Indore, Simran Kaur had
dreams of landing up in a corporate job and never saw herself
being part of the glamour world. But then Miss India happened
when she was working in Mumbai. The newbie is now making her
debut in Bollywood with 'Jo Hum Chahein'.
"I had graduated in B-tech and wanted to do MBA. I was
keen to do a 9 to 5 job but destiny had something else in
store for me. It brought me to Mumbai and I got a job at Fame
Adlabs for selling tickets to celebrities. Make-up gurus
Bharat and Doris spotted me there and asked to participate in
Femina Miss India.

Tiger wounded in fight with
wild animals
    Udhagamandalam,- A 14-year-old male tiger,
believed to have been injured during a fight with wild
animals, is being treated at the Elephant camp near here,
forest department officials said here.
    The wounded tiger was noticed by some villagers near
Bokkapuram in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
    Three veterinarians staying at the Elephant camp in
Theppakkadu brought the animal to the camp.
    The tiger's condition is normal now, forest department
sources said.

Tondon taking lessons in Marathi for new movie

Mumbai,-Actress Raveena Tandon is taking
Marathi lessons for her forthcoming film 'Gin Liya Aasman'.
The movie, produced by Mudassar Aziz, Vishwajit Gaikwad
and Anil Bohra, is a story of a boy whose father, a naval
officer, goes missing after a plane crash.
In this bilingual film, Raveena essays the role of a
mother to a six-year-old boy and wife of the naval officer.
Considering she is not an alien to the language as she is
a complete Mumbai girl, still Raveena is trying to get the
nuances of the language right.
The 37-year-old mother of two, who was last seen in
Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap', is busy
learning the Marathi dialect spoken in the interiors of the
state.
"I am familiar with Marathi. But I realised that it is
tough to learn Marathi spoken in the interior villages of
Maharashtra,"She said.
The film directed by Rishi Deshpande will release next
year.

Woman dies in acid attack in Punjab
Hoshiarpur , A married woman today
died after two unidentified youths threw acid on her here,
police said.
The two youths yesterday threw acid at 21-year-old Neetu
near her house in Salwara area. She was rushed to civil
hospital in Jalandhar where she succumbed to her burn injuries
today, Hoshiarpur SSP Balkar Singh said.
The reason behind the youths throwing acid on Neetu is
not yet known, he said, adding that search is on to nab the
assailants.

Legal aid to jailed Indians in Sharjah
New Delhi,-Government has sanctioned Rs 17
lakh to arrange for legal help to 17 Indians, whose death
sentence for killing a Pakistani was revoked in September by a
Sharjah court but are still languishing in a jail there.
The 17 Indians, mostly from Punjab, were pardoned after
over Rs 4 crore was paid as blood money to the victim's
family but they could not walk free as two men, who claimed to
have been injured in the same incident, petitioned a court in
Sharjah for compensation of 1.5 million Dirhams (Rs 2.1
crore).
"The government of India is defending these cases through
Consulate General of India, Dubai and an amount of Rs 1.20
lakh Dirhams have been sanctioned," Overseas Indian Affairs
Minister Vayalar Ravi told the Raj Sabha while
replying to a question.
Ravi said the judgement by the court did not address the
charges of attempt to murder of two individuals who claimed to
have injured during the incident.
"The prosecution citing these technical lapses referred
the case to the Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi thereby putting on
hold the deportation of the 17 Indians," he said.
Their death sentence was commuted after 3.4 million
dirhams was paid as blood money to the family of Misri Nazir
Khan, who died during a turf war of bootleggers in Sharjah in
January 2009.

Over 7 lakh Malaria cases in India
 this year
New Delhi,-More than seven lakh Malaria cases
have been reported this year in the country exceeding all
other vector borne diseases while maximum deaths have been due
to Japanese Encephalitis, according to a report.
According to a data provided by the National Vector Borne
Disease Control Programme, the central nodal agency for the
prevention and control of vector borne diseases in India, a
total of 7,45,599 cases have been reported from different
hospitals across the country this year alone.
This is followed by 14,820 cases of Chikungunya, 14,047
dengue cases and 7,137 people have tested positive for
Japanese Encephalitis  this year till now.
However, this year maximum deaths have been reported due
to Japanese Encephalitis
The data showed that 1,064 deaths due to JE virus have
been reported till now. This is followed by 233 deaths due to
malaria and 93 due to dengue till now. No deaths due to
chikungunya have bee reported yet.
Malaria, is caused by the infective bite of Anopheles
mosquito while dengue and chikungunya are transmitted by Aedes
Aegypti mosquito and Japanese Encephalitis is spread by
female mosquitoes mainly belonging to Culex tritaeniorhynchus,
Culex vishnui and Culex pseudovishnui group.


Railway Board has sought time to resume
night train services
     Jamshedpur,-Jharkhand Vikas Morcha
(Prajatantrik) (JVM) claimed that senior railway board
officials has sought 10 days time to resume night running of
passenger trains, which remained suspended between Kharagpur -
Tata-Rourkela stations since the Jnaneswari express mishap
near Jhargram, West Bengal on May 28 last year.
     JVM Member of Parliament, Ajay Kumar has discussed the
issue with senior railway board officials in Delhi and they
sought 10 days time to resume night movement of passenger
trains on main Howrah-Mumbai railway route, said Abhay Singh,
Secretary of JVM,
     Kumar, who had also met the Railway Minister, Union Home
Secretary on the issue, has also taken up the issue with
senior railway board officials in Delhi, he said.
     The railway board officials urged for some time in view
of the recent incident in West Bengal, Singh said referring
the killing Maoist leader Kishanji in an encounter with the
security personnel.
     Addressing a press conference here, Singh said JVM had
postponed its proposed 48-hour Economic blockade agitation
scheduled for December 7-8 following the request by railway
board.

'Low levels of vitamin D may up diabetes risk in kids'

London,-Obese children with low levels of

vitamin D may be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes,
a new study has claimed.
Researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center in Dallas found that obese children with lower vitamin
D levels were more likely to have higher degrees of insulin
resistance, meaning they are no longer able to efficiently use
insulin to convert sugars from foods into energy.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body either does not
produce enough insulin or the cells become insulin resistant.
The findings suggest, though don't prove, that low levels
of vitamin D contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes,
said Micah Olson, who led the study.
"Future studies are needed to determine the clinical
significance of lower vitamin D levels in obese children, the
amount and duration of treatment necessary to replenish
vitamin D levels in these children and whether treatment with
vitamin D can improve primary clinical endpoints such as
insulin resistance," Olson was quoted as saying by Daily
Newspaper.
Vitamin D can be derived from certain foods, such as oily
fish, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals. Therefore, lack of
vitamin D could simply be a sign of a generally unhealthy
lifestyle: not getting out for enough exercise in the fresh
air, and not eating a good diet.


Lady teacher slapped by Political worker
Chandigarh, -A lady teacher was allegedly
slapped and roughed up by a sarpanch belonging to the ruling
Akali Dal during a function here.
The incident took place in Daula village of the district
 at a function attended by Bhatinda MP at Muktasar district.
A scuffle broke out between a delegation of teachers and
Akali workers when a team of teachers, who wanted to submit a
memorandum to Badal, refused the instructions of Akali workers
to leave the place.
The Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) teachers, who have
been on a protest demonstration demanding permanent jobs,
wanted to submit their demands to the MP when the incident
took place.
Following this, Balwinder Singh, sarpanch of Daula
allegedly caught hold of a woman teacher Varinder Kaur and
allegedly slapped her many times, EGS teachers President
Pritpal Singh said, adding that he also roughed her up and
pulled her hair.
"Balwinder Singh manhandled me and beat me up," Kaur
said alleging that EGS Jalandhar unit chief Jarnail Singh was
also slapped and picked up by police. The police also locked
up the teachers in a house to ensure a smooth ongoing of the
programme, sources said, adding that teachers have lodged a
complaint against Balwinder seeking his arrest.
Meanwhile, police has said it is probing into the matter
and a case has been registered against members of both the
parties. 

Bollywood remembers Dev Anand, who celebrated life

Mumbai,-Shock and disbelief gripped the Hindi

film world as the news spread about the death of Dev Anand

with Bollywood stars saying an era has come to an end with the

passing away of the "sadabhar hero".

Actor Wahida Rehman, who worked with him in the classic

"Guide" and several other films, said, "She was sad to hear

the news because he was her first hero and she did maximum

films with him. We had to learn so much from him because he

had so much energy in him. I used to tell him 'Dev you are

like an ever ready battery'".

Amitabh Bachchan wrote on twitter, "An era has

come to an end ...Dev Anand leaves a void never perhaps to be

filled again... his never give up belief, his joy of life!,"

"Had just met Dev Saheb at his premiere recently .. he

was weak but full of spirit ..the newspapers confirming his

passing away ..sad. Just reading news about Dev Saheb...

praying it is not true! He was such a positive person...never

associated death with him," he said.

Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar said, "He never looked back

and never regretted anything. He was a great personality".

"Dev Anand is dead". As the new dawn breaks over Mumbai I

salute the memory of this star who has left us with the glow

of his smile," veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said.

"So as a Tribute to Dev Saab let's only humm his songs

today. Songs which became such an integral part of our lives.

'Abhi na jao chor kar'. Dev Saab was kind, passionate,

courageous, forthright, charming, encouraging, contemporary,

always a leader and a great human. Will Miss him," Anupam Kher

wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Actress Madhuri Dixit said, "Sad to hear about Dev

Anand's demise. Another icon leaves the stage. My condolences

to his family. We will miss him."

"Shocked to read of the passing of Dev Saab. Such a

great man and actor. A symbol of positivity. Never believed I

would ever wake up to this news. Very sad!," tweeted actor

Abhishek Bachchan.

Madhur Bhandarkar said, "Still the news is not

sinking in, had celebrated his birthday with him, Devsaab was

full of energy and life then, just can't believe!." 

Born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand in Gurdaspur of

undivided Punjab to a  advocate Pishorimal Anand on

September 26, 1923, he graduated in English literature from

the Government Law College in Lahore.

He was the second of three brothers born to Kishorimal

Anand. Dev's younger sister is Sheela Kanta Kapur, who is

mother of Shekhar Kapur. His older brother was Chetan Anand

and younger one was Vijay Anand.

Love for acting made him leave his hometown and arrive

in  Bombay, where he began earning Rs 160 a month

at the military censor office at Churchgate reading letters

written by soldiers to their families.

His first breakthrough "Hum Ek Hain" in 1946, with

Pune's Prabhat studios, did little to boost his film career.

In 1949, Dev Anand turned producer and launched his

own company Nav ketan. As promised, he signed his friend Guru

Dutt to direct the crime thriller 'Baazi' (1951). This

creative collaboration was a success.

In the late forties Dev Anand got a few offers to star

opposite singer-actress Suraiya, an established actress of

that time.

While shooting these films, he became romantically

involved with Suraiya. The two of them were paired in seven

films together --"Vidya" (1948), "Jeet" (1949), "Shair"

(1949), "Afsar" (1950), "Nili" (1950) "Do Sitare" (1951) and

"Sanam" (1951), all successful at the box office.

In these films Suraiya was always first billed in credits

to imply she was a bigger star than Dev Anand.  She fell in

love with him during the shooting of the song "Kinare kinare

chale jayen ge" while shooting "Vidya", where during the

shooting, a boat capsized and Dev Anand saved Suraiya from

drowning. 

On the sets of the film "Jeet", Dev Anand finally

proposed to Suraiya but her maternal grandmother opposed the

relationship and so, Suraiya remained unmarried all her life.

He was offered his first big break by Ashok Kumar. He

spotted Dev hanging around in the studios and picked him as

the hero for the Bombay Talkies production, "Ziddi" in 1948,

which became an instant success.

Always the one to think ahead, Dev Anand decided to start

producing films after Zinddi's success. In 1949, Dev

Anand turned producer and launched his own company Nav ketan

which till 2011 has produced 31 films.

His trademark style of dialogue delivery, an array of

hats and a penchant for nodding while speaking became Dev

Anand's style in films like "Munimji", "CID" and "Paying

Guest".

His style was lapped by the audience and widely

imitated. "Taxi Driver" (1954) and "CID" (1956) saw him

portraying living in the urban underbelly.

He broke new grounds, playing a smuggler in "Jaal",

absconding gang member in "Dushman", blackmarketeer in

"Kalabazaar" and a murderer in "Bombay Ka Babu".

Still, critics accused him of being more style than

substance. But, Dev Anand proved his detractors wrong, first

with a class act in "Kala Paani" (1958).

Then came "Hum Dono" (1961) and he finally sealed all

doubts with a nuanced performance in "Guide" (1966).

In 1970s, his success story continued with "Johnny Mera

Naam". "Jewel Thief", directed by younger brother Vijay Anand,

was another feather in his cap.

Honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002, Dev

Anand had also been politically active. He led a group of film

personalities, who stood up against the 1975 Emergency imposed

by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

He actively campaigned against her with his supporters

in 1977 Parliamentary elections. He also floated a political

outfit, National Party of India, which he later disbanded. 

Huge rise in young alcoholics in UK

London,-There has been a huge increase in the

number of young alcoholics in Britain, figures have revealed.

According to the statistics, there has been an overall

rise of some 61 per cent young alcoholics in the UK. In fact,

hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease among the

early 30s age group in the northeast have increased by more

than 400 per cent since 2002.

The northeast also has the highest rate of 11 to 15-year

-olds who drink in England and the highest rate of under-18s

admitted to hospital because of alcohol.

Seven of family jailed for practising witchcraft

     Thane,-Seven members of a family including a

father, his two sons, two daughter-in-laws, and a son-in-law

who were found guilty on the charges of child sacrifice were

sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by the

Additional Sessions Judge in Vasai court R M Joshi today.

     All the accused have also been fined Rs 3,000 by the

judge while a convict who gave false information to the police

were sentenced to additional jail term of 1 year.

     The accused sentenced are Saccharam S Jaiswal,50,Sanjay S

Jaiswal,27, Dinesh S Jaiswal,29, Saitsh S Jaiswal, 22, Mrs.

Ritu Jaiswal, 30, Dolly Jaiswal, 25 and Vishal Jaiswal, 29.

     Vishal has been awarded additional jail term of one year

for misleading the police while a senior lady member of the

family Sunita S Jaiswal, 45, was set free for want of

sufficient evidence by the court.

     The family of Jaiswal living at Nalla Sopara resorted to

conduct witchcraft as one of the accused Dolly had no issue

and while doing so, ended up killing two children in October

2010. 

Roshan named the sexiest Asian man

 0f 2011

London,-Hrithik Roshan has

emerged as the sexiest Asian Man in the World of the year

2011.

  According to a survey conducted by the 

Weekly Newspaper, Hrithik, 37, beat off tough competition from high

profile stars to top the 50-strong list.

The popular A-list actor won by the biggest ever margin

in the history of the men's list to topple last year's winner

Ranbir Kapoor, who finished sixth.

     Hrithik, who was third last year, got votes from all

over the world from fans of different ages and cultures  via

social networking sites like Twitter.

     

Professor Siddhartha wins award in England

London,-Siddhartha Mukherjee, the Indian

origin American physician who won the Pulitzer Prize for

General Nonfiction, has added another literary accolade by

winning the Guardian First Book Award for his "biography"

of cancer, The Emperor of All Melodies.

The book, which traces the disease from the first

recorded mastectomy in 500BC to today's cutting edge research,

was the only non-fiction title on the shortlist, and beat four

novels for the award worth 10,000 pounds.

The chair of judges, Lisa Allardice, editor of Guardian

Review, said Mukherjee's "anthropomorphism of a disease" was a

"remarkable and unusual achievement".

Mukherjee is assistant professor of Medicine at Columbia

University.

Filmmakers have begun to look beyond my body : John Abraham

 Mumbai,-John Abraham's
body has been a central point for his filmmakers but the
actor feels, now directors no longer approach him for his
physique.
     "Films are a visual medium, From Shahrukh to Aamir,
everybody maintains a great body as they realize that it is a
visual medium, and that their body should be good. But that
was never my concentration. 'Body' will never be my central
point. But I know how my audience talks to me, they say what a
great body he has got, why should I loose that," John told in an interview.
     "People die to have this kind of physique and I worked so
hard for it. So why not play around with it, why not do
things, as it will only add to my characterisation," he said.
      But now 38-year-old actor feels Bollywood times are
changing and filmmakers are looking at the other side of John
Abraham.

Indian Sikh attacked in Australia
Melbourne, -A 22-year-old Indian taxi driver
in Australia was attacked by four men who ripped off his
turban and repeatedly punched him during the assault.
The men attacked Ravisher Singh yesterday in the city's
southeastern suburb after an argument with him.
Three men have been arrested on the charges of assault,
according to Local newspaper.
Singh said he had picked up the group from the Mentone
Hotel and was driving them to the Chelsea Heights Hotel.
An argument started with the men when they arrived at a
pub on the corner of Springvale and Wells roads and Singh got
out of his taxi.
The men ripped off his turban from his head and
repeatedly punched him, the report quoted Singh as saying.
He said the men knocked him to the ground and left his
face bloodied and bruised before fleeing.
"Indians have had this for five or six years and it
will happen again unless something is done to stop it," Singh
was quoted as saying by the report.
"We are just working hard trying to make a living. We
don't deserve this," he added.
       
Gas Tragedy: 27 years on, no consensus
on victims' number
     Bhopal,-Even after the passage of 27 years, a
consensus between the government and the NGOs on the
number of victims of Bhopal gas disaster is elusive.
     The leakage of methyl isocyanate gas from (since defunct)
Union Carbide pesticides plant in Bhopal on the night of
December 2 and 3 led to the worst industrial disaster in the
world, in which thousands perished and many more suffered
permanent ill-effects.
     The two prominent NGOs which are fighting for the rights
of the victims, namely, Bhopal Group for Information and
Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan,
claim that actual figure of casualties is much higher than the
official figure.
     "Madhya Pradesh Government has put the death toll at
5,295 in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court," said Rachna
of BGIA.
     But in another criminal petition filed in the apex court,
government put the death toll at 15,248, she said, adding that
it was for the government to tell which figure was correct.

Afghan rape victim freed from jail
but to marry attacker
Kabul,-Afghan President Hamid Karzai today
ordered the release of a woman who was jailed for adultery
after being raped but she now faces having to marry her
attacker, officials said.
The move came after some 5,000 people signed a petition
for the release of the woman, named Gulnaz, who has served two
years in prison after a relative raped her at her home. She
has been raising the child she had by her attacker in a prison
cell in Kabul.
The case again highlights the poor state of women's rights
in Afghanistan, 10 years after a US-led invasion ousted the
Taliban who were notorious for their harsh laws against women.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan today, it emerged that a teenage
girl and her family were sprayed with acid after apparently
rejecting a marriage proposal for her.

India's coffee exports up 22 pc
at 19,403 tonnes in November
     New Delhi,-India's coffee exports rebounded
in November after witnessing a fall in the first month of the
2011-12 coffee year, rising by 22 per cent to 19,403 tonnes.
     The country had shipped 15,927 tonnes of the brew
overseas in the same month of the 2010-11 coffee year
(October-September), according to Coffee Board data.
     Overseas shipments of the brew from India had declined by
20 per cent to 19,195 tonnes in October of the 2011-12 coffee
year from 24,119 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Social activist Medha Patekar chosen for Ktk govt's Basava award

Bangalore,-Social activist and Narmada Bachao

Andolan leader Medha Patkar has been chosen for the Basava

award for the year 2010, instituted by the Karnataka

government. Well known singers T V Raju from Tumkur and B K Sumitra

for Bangalore has been selected for the 'Santa Shishunala

Sharif' award, he said. The award, named after 19th century

saint-poet and philosopher Shishunala Sharif, also carries

Rs Three lakh cash and a citation.

   The government would hold a function to felicitate noted

writer S L Byrappa, who has won the Saraswathi Samman award,

Karjol said.  He also called for an end to practices like the

Devadasi system and "made snana", a ritual by devotees rolling

on plantain leaves left after partaking food, held at Kukke

Subramanya temple. 

Indian Lady killed after being hit by 

speeding car, Driver is teenager!  

     Jalandhar/Perth, - A 25-year-old Indian woman was

killed after being hit by an "out-of-control" car driven by a

teenager when she was pushing a pram carrying her baby boy

while walking through a Perth suburb in Australia along with

her husband.

     Manju was walking with her husband Gurdeep and

pushing the pram when she was hit by the speeding car in

Maylands on Tuesday night.

"A young man in his late teens was travelling in a

southerly direction when he lost control of his vehicle and

collided with the woman," police officer Sharon Leonard was

quoted by the media here as saying.

"The husband and the three-month-old baby survived.

Tragically the woman, who was taken to Royal Perth

Hospital, has since passed away," she said.

Gurdeep managed to push his baby's pram out of the way of

the vehicle but his wife was thrown several metres from the

car's bonnet.

"He was speeding. The recommended speed is 40. I'm a taxi

driver so I can imagine what the speed (was). There was no

reaction time.

The accident occurred on a sharp bend in a residential

road, between Fogerthorpe Crescent and Joseph Street, where

the road curves at an almost 90-degree angle. Manju was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital, but died of

her injuries several hours later. Singh will now arrange to

have her body flown to India for last rites.

Reagan shooter wants more time 

outside hospital

Washington,-The man who attempted to

assassinate President Ronald Reagan is asking to spend more

time outside a Washington mental hospital, but a government

lawyer says John Hinckley's request is premature and that he

recently lied to cover up the fact he looked at books on

Reagan and presidential assassinations.

A jury found Hinckley was insane when he shot and wounded

Reagan outside a Washington hotel in 1981, but doctors say his

mental illness has been in remission for years.

Yesterday, a federal judge began hearing arguments that

Hinckley should be allowed to visit his mother's Virginia home

for stretches of approximately three weeks and eventually

transition to living outside the mental hospital full-time.