Didn't use daughter's name to win 'Bigg Boss': Shweta Tiwari

Shweta Tiwari, the first woman to bag the 'Bigg Boss' title, says people feel she had got sympathy votes for being a single mother, but she never used her daughter to win the show.  

Many of Shweta's fellow contestants felt that she kept talking about her daughter on the show and that would have led her to win, but the popular television actress completely refutes such claims.

'I never said it, everyone in the house used to say that Shweta is a single mother and she needs this money. I'm not so weak that I will use my daughter to win. I am capable enough that even if I would have not won this, I would have been able to take good care of her,' the 30-year-old told IANS in an interview.

The actress has daughter Palak from her estranged husband Raja Choudhary who had also participated in the season two of 'Bigg Boss', which was won by Ashutosh Kaushik.

Shweta pipped other finalists - Dolly Bindra, Ashmit Patel and Khali - to bag the top honour and says the win was unexpected.

Ind vs SA T20: India beat South Africa by 21 runs

DURBAN: An injury-hit India produced a disciplined all-round performance to notch up an emphatic 21-run victory over South Africa in the only Twenty20 International on Sunday. 

Scorecard 

Playing without key openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, India rode on a brilliant half-century by Rohit Sharma (53 off 34 balls) and Suresh Raina's racy 23-ball 41 to post a competitive 168/6 after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. 

• India lost 1st wicket in 3rd over – 1-18 (Vijay, 2.4 ov)
• W Parnell to M Vijay, OUT! A terrific catch by van Wyk! Full ball, on off and Vijay goes for a big hit down the ground but only skies the ball. van Wyk has to run back and puts in the dive to get his hand to it. First breakthrough for the Proteas!
• India: 50 runs in 5.1 overs (31 balls), Extras 2
• India lost 2nd wicket in 8th over – 2-67 (Kohli, 7.3 ov)
• J Botha to V Kohli, OUT – Bowled! Botha has broken through his defenses and knocked his stumps over. India have lost their second wicket.
• India: 100 runs in 11.6 overs (72 balls), Extras 2
• RG Sharma: 50 off 32 balls (5 x 4, 2 x 6)
• India lost 3rd wicket in 13th over – 3-109 (Sharma, 12.5 ov)
• JP Duminy to R Sharma, OUT! What a catch! He’s picked that on the rope! Wide and full, Sharma looks to hit that for another six over long-on. It looks good until Ntini times a perfect jump and plucks that out of the air. He manages not to tread on the rope with his feet – it was that close!
• India lost 4th wicket in 14th over – 4-110 (Yuvraj Singh, 13.1 ov)
• R Peterson to Y Pathan, OUT! Run out! Mis-communication or no communication! Yuvraj is gone. Wide ball down Pathan’s leg stump, de Villiers doesn’t pick it up, and Yuvraj goes for the single. Pathan isn’t interested and Yuvraj has to sprint back. Fine leg whips the ball to the bowler and he’s well short of his ground.

Sourav Ganguly fans threaten to stall release of SRK’s Ra.One

Kolkata. After Sourav Ganguly went unsold in the IPL auctions, virtually finishing his on-field cricketing career, supporters of the former Indian captain have decided to take up the issue with Shah Rukh Khan. SRK owns IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, which had decided not to retain Ganguly for the fourth season, thus offloading Ganguly onto the auction floor.

Ganguly fans have decided not to let SRK’s upcoming movie Ra.One get released in West Bengal unless the Bollywood actor issues a public apology to Dada and all the Bengalis everywhere in the world for pushing Dada into such “ignominious” position.

SRK plays a robot called G.One in his upcoming movie Ra.One

“It’s a well thought of conspiracy,” claimed an angry Jatin Ganguly while burning an effigy of SRK, “why has Shohrukh Boka called himself G.One in the movie? Souravda is the one and the only G.”

In what turned out to be one of the major embarrassments in his chequered career, Sourav Ganguly was left red-faced as none of the 10 franchises put his name up in the wish list for the second time after the first round of auctions ended in Bangalore on Sunday. Similarly Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasurya were all rejected during the first round and never came up for a second discussion. Only Mohammed Kaif turned out to be real lucky as he was finally snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for $130,000 after being ignored twice.

One of the realistic reason could be his base price of $400,000. By the time the re-auctions of the unsold players were held, it became clear that his old team KKR who had a purse of $425,000 won't bid for him. Ditto for Chennai Super Kings who had almost exhausted their purse with only $385,000 remaining.

Onions becoming headache for India

India is trying to persuade Pakistan to resume full exports of onions, foreign minister S M Krishna said on Friday, as food inflation weighs on Asia's third-largest economy and fuels anger against the ruling coalition.Discontent over food inflation has been a major headache for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is struggling with a slew of corruption charges against his government, eroding its political capital from an impressive election victory in 2009. Last month, India abolished import taxes on onions after prices nearly tripled in a month.
"We have initiated talks and before not too long, we are hopeful we will find a solution to this, easing pressure within our country for onions," Mr Krishna told a press conference in Delhi

2G spectrum scam: CBI summons A Raja for questioning

New Delhi, Oct.26 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday reiterated its demand that Telecom Minister A.Raja be sacked for his controversial role in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
Addressing a news conference in the capital here this afternoon, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitely claimed that by allocating 2G spectrum at prices that were in existence in 2001 and not what was the prevailing rate in 2009, A.Raja had colluded in a fraud and loss of more than Rs.60,000 crores, making it the largest scam in independent India history.
"It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to comment on the innocence of the minister, even while the investigations are on. There was no occasion for the Prime Minister to send such a signal to the investigative agencies directly under him," Jaitely said.
"This country has been robbed of a large amount of money by this misdemeanour of the Telecom Department. The compulsions of the coalition politics should not come in the way of an honest investigation. Propriety requires that while the investigations are under way, the minister should cease to be in office. His continuation in that ministry is itself a deterrent to an honest and independent investigation," he added.
"The entire nation is closely watching this investigation. Let this investigation not result in holding civil servants guilty and the minister innocent. It was the minister who is the prime accused and the civil servants were only carrying out his dictates," Jaitely further said.
He said that with the Central Bureau of Investigation registering a regular case with regard to the allotment of spectrum for the 2-G license issued by the Department of Telecommunications in 2007; the offices of the Department of Telecommunications have been searched and various documents have been seized, there was serious ground to assume that an impropriety had been committed in the public domain.

"When spectrum was alloted in 2008, why was it done at 2001 prices?" he asked.

Even in a draw, India can rejoice

A tame draw was perhaps the worst climax this pulsating series could have had. Almost daily, the series threw up exciting and riveting action, but the last day of the high-octane contest turned out to be a rather damp squib. Could the series have finished anyway different from the way it did?

Perhaps it could, but it would have taken a very confident India to go for the target of 340 runs on the last day of the match. One could argue that being the No. 1 side, India could have at least tried and given a shot at it.

Probably, the visitors would have gone for it had there not been so much baggage from the past. They have never won a series in South Africa and slumping to another loss in pursuit of a highly unlikely victory must have deterred them from giving it a real shot.

Karan Johar returns to candyfloss cinema

Karan Johar is back with a bang with his upcoming directorial venture Student Of The Year starring three newcomers. The film will be produced by none other than Karan's best friend, Shah Rukh Khan.

The project was kept under wraps for a long time, but now Karan is promoting his new

 

film on Twitter.

Karan, who is known for promoting new talents, will be launching Mahesh Bhatt's daughter Alia Bhatt, David Dhawan's son Varun Dhawan and another newcomer Siddharth Malhotra. Varun and Siddharth are not new to this industry, as they have assisted various directors.

While KJo tried to dabble in serious stuff with My Name Is Khan, his directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai still remains the favourite among his fans. So is he now gearing up for another fun flick on college life like KKHH? Stay glued to this space.

Global CIO: The Case For Copying Apple's App Store

Manpower's IT team is adopting the App Store model internally, making it part of how technology runs in a global company. Should you?

Manpower CIO Denis Edwards is thankful for Apple's App Store. Three years ago, to do what he and his IT team want to do now, they would have had to explain a complicated concept about distributed development, a centralized software depository, shared services, and approval processes.

Tendulkar and Steyn go blow for blow

Sachin Tendulkar's 51st Test century helped India to a narrow first innings lead over South Africa. Photo: Reuters

CAPE TOWN: A titanic battle between Indian star Sachin Tendulkar and South African quick Dale Steyn mirrored the struggle for supremacy in the series deciding third Test at Newlands on Tuesday.
Tendulkar, Test cricket's all-time leading run-scorer, made 146 in an Indian total of 364, while Steyn, the world's No.1 fast bowler, took 5-75.
By the close on day three, South Africa had reached 2-52 for two in their second innings to be 50 runs ahead with eight wickets standing.

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South African captain Graeme Smith was trapped leg before wicket by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for 29 shortly before the close and was quickly followed by nightwatchman Paul Harris.
With the series between the world's two leading Test nations locked at one-all, it may take something special from one of the two sides to force a result during the remaining two days.
But something special was what Tendulkar and Steyn produced for 16,000 enthralled spectators.
"It was a great day for Test cricket," Harbhajan said.

England win Ashes for first time in 25 years on Australian soil

England won the fifth Ashes Test by an innings and 83 runs on Friday to claim a first series triumph in Australia in nearly a quarter of a century. The tourists, who had already ensured they would retain the famous urn, needed a little more than 17 overs to remove Australia's last three batsmen on

day five of the final test to win the series 3-1.

"We came over here desperately wanting to win the series. Obviously in Melbourne we retained the Ashes but we really wanted to finish with a bang over here in Sydney," an ecstatic Andrew Strauss said on the podium.
"All credit to the guys, they've been outstanding again, the way the bowlers bowled on day one, the batsmen dipped their bread in it again and we got another victory.

Match ends in draw, India level series for 1st time in SA

AP Gautam Gambhir cracked his 16th half-century on the final day of the third Test against South Africa on Thursday.

Set a daunting target of 340 for a win, India opted to play safe and bat their way to a draw in the third and final cricket Test against South Africa to end the high—profile series 1—1 here today.

The Indians never made an effort to chase down the stiff target and the batsmen played out time to crawl to 166 for three in their second innings before play was called off to mark the end of a fascinating three—match series.

Although the Indians could not achieve their dream of a maiden away series win over South Africa, it was a creditable achievement for the visitors as they drew a Test series for the first time on the African soil. The result also meant that India maintained their number one ranking.

The visitors lost the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 25 runs but showed great character to bounce back and win the second Test in Durban by 87 runs.

The Indians could have entertained hopes of going for the target had Virender Sehwag (11) fired but the dashing opener fell cheaply to end the series without too may runs to his credit.

Gautam Gambhir defied an elbow injury and played a resolute knock of 64 to be the highest scorer in the second innings. Sachin Tendulkar (14) and VVS Laxman (32) were at the crease when play was called off after 82 overs.

Women at higher genetic risk for MS

sis|Genetics

1. A new research has found that women who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have a gene associated with multiple sclerosis than men with the disease and it is this gene region where environment interacts with the genetics.
   
   The study has also shown that the number of people diagnosed with MS has been rising, and the rate has been rising faster for women than for men.
   
   The cause of MS is not known, but evidence suggests that it is triggered by environmental factors in people who are genetically susceptible to the disease.
   
   The main gene associated with MS is the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II gene, but most of the risk comes from interaction of both parental genes.
   
   The study examined the HLA genes of 1,055 families with more than one person with MS in the family. The genes of 7,093 people were tested, which included 2,127 people with MS.

Ivory Coast: Deadly ethnic clashes in Duekoue

The UN has some 10,000 troops in Ivory Coast to prevent renewed conflict

Ivory Coast crisis

• No rush for military intervention
• Guide to key players
• Ouattara's besieged hotel
• Q&A: Ivory Coast election crisis

At least 14 people have died in ethnic clashes in Ivory Coast between groups that support opposing sides in the crisis over the disputed election.

The UN says the unrest in Duekoue is not directly linked to the power struggle between incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.
But the UN peacekeeping chief in Ivory Coast Alan Le Roy warned it could be "the start of conflict in the west".
The town is close to the north-south ceasefire line that splits the country.
Mr Ouattara, who is popular in the north, is considered by the international community to be the winner of the November election intended to reunify the country which has been divided since a 2002 conflict.
He remains behind a blockade at a hotel in the main city Abidjan as Mr Gbagbo refuses to step aside despite pleas from West African leaders.
He has called on the West African regional grouping Ecowas to send in special forces to remove Mr Gbagbo from power.
The group, which is trying to mediate an end to the crisis, has already threatened to send in a force if Mr Gbagbo refuses to go.
"Legitimate force doesn't mean a force against Ivorians," Mr Ouattara told reporters on Thursday.
"It's a force to remove Laurent Gbagbo and that's been done elsewhere, in Africa and in Latin America, there are non-violent special operations which allow simply to take the unwanted person and take him elsewhere."
Armed militias

“Start Quote

We feel that what happened in Duekoue is a reflection of the tendency towards inter communal tension and violence”

End Quote Simon Munzu UN spokesman

The BBC's John James in Abidjan says the area around Duekoue, some 500km (300 miles) west of the commercial capital, is known as the Wild West.

It has long been one of the most unstable regions of Ivory Coast and saw clashes at the height of the civil war.
The area is home to various militia groups which have not been disarmed - some of whom are loyal to Mr Gbagbo.

Karnataka Governor shouted down in Assembly

Bangalore:  The Karnataka Assembly witnessed unprecedented scenes on Thursday with the Opposition not allowing the Governor, H R Bhardwaj to read his customary address to the joint session.

Congress and JD(S) MLAs shouted slogans against the BJP government and called for its dismissal over corruption charges.

The Governor tried unsuccessfully to get his voice heard in the din of sloganeering from an angry opposition. Bhardwaj who has faced considerable criticism from the state government could not deliver his address to the joint session of the state legislature and soon gave up the attempt.

Responding to questions on why the Governor was not allowed to speak, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said, "We have got all the respect for the Governor. We respect Constitution. But the ruling party has no respect for the Governor. They called Governor a Congress agent. It is not the speech of the Governor. It is the speech of the corrupt government

Kings XI Punjab players write about pending IPL dues

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara and Australian batsman Shaun Marsh have written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about non-payment of dues from Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) - the franchise they represented during the first three editions of Indian Premier League.

"Yes, Sangakkara had written to the BCCI about non-clearance of his dues. The matter came up for discussion during yesterday's governing council meeting," a senior official said on Thursday.

However, the Kings XI Punjab spokesperson in an e-mail to PTI claimed otherwise.

"We would like to confirm that all dues to players have already been paid," the release stated.

It has been learnt that the players have expressed their apprehensions about playing for Kings XI Punjab in case they happen to pick them from the upcoming auctions.

No One Killed Jessica

Trailer

Story: Based on the murder of model Jessica Lall (1999) in an uptown eatery in Delhi and her sister, Sabrina Lall's fight for justice, the film showcases contemporary India as it is. The mockery of the legal procedure, the loopholes in the policing system, the corruption in the power circles, the vulnerability of the common Indian: Sabrina's ( Vidya Balan) struggle -- powered by the feisty journalist, Meera Gaity's dogged investigation and the people's crusade -- brings life to newspaper headlines that still haven't been forgotten.

Movie Review: No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) is a film that unleashes a myriad emotions in you. The hard facts of modern India's most written about case are well known by almost everybody but the director Rajkumar Gupta's (he'd already displayed his talent in Aamir) dramatic handling of the crime, the criminals, the crusaders and the victim creates a storm, once again. The film makes you feel angry, sad, frustrated, bitter about the umpteen flaws in our administrative and legal machinery. But more than all this, it fills you with hope and confidence about your own self. NOKJ reaffirms the power and the efficacy of the ordinary man who can -- and must -- make the difference in a dismaying world. Unlike super hero sagas, the film doesn't just showcase two feisty women -- Sabrina and Meera -- who take on the might of the fecund Indian state. Instead, it throws light on the fact that the whole nation came together, joined the Justice for Jessica crusade and displayed how power actually resides in people rather than politicians and their puppets. That's the heartening message the film throws out loud and clear at a time when the state of the scam-tainted nation isn't too edifying.

TRS, other Telangana groups reject Srikrishna panel report

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: TRS and other political leaders from Telangana cutting across the spectrum rejected the Justice Srikrishna Committee report on the contentious statehood issue saying it "failed to come up with a clear solution".

Students agitating for the separate state hit the streets and set a bus on fire in Osmania University campus, the hotbed of Telangana movement, and clashed with security personnel who hit back by exploding teargas shells.

The students' joint action committee has called a Telangana bandh tomorrow in protest against the report.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, spearheading the Telangana statehood agitation, said "we are rejecting the options suggested by the Srikrishna Committee.

"We want nothing but a Telangana state that existed prior to November 1, 1956. The creation of an exclusive development board for the region, as suggested by the Committee and conversion of Hyderabad into a Union Territory are totally unacceptable for us," he said.

"We cannot lose our right on Hyderabad," the TRS chief said.

Telugu Desam Party's Telangana Forum convenor Nagam Janardhana Reddy demanded the Centre table a Bill in the Budget session of Parliament for creation of Telangana state irrespective of the recommendations of the Srikrishna Committee.

"The six recommendations made by the Committee have compounded the chaos. They are an insult to the sentiments of Telangana people. The government of India has no other option but to respect the people's sentiment and create Telangana state," Janardhana Reddy said.

Congress legislators from Telangana too echoed similar feelings saying the Centre should carve out a separate state in accordance with its statement made on December 9, 2009.

"We want Telangana state and nothing else. We hope the Centre will respect the wishes of people of the region and grant statehood", Congress MLAs from Telangana R Damodar Reddy, Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy, Rajaiah, MLC Yadav Reddy said.

PAC calls Service chiefs to explain 441cr loss to govt

NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented move, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has summoned all three Service chiefs to appear before it on January 12 to discuss the damning report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Canteen Stores Department (CSD).

Despite the ministry of defence instructing them, all the three arms of the military had failed to provide accounts of the unit run canteens to the federal auditor. This non-cooperation of the military is believed to be the reason behind PAC move to summon the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force.

CES: It's time to yank Microsoft off the keynote stage

I think it’s time for the Consumer Electronics Association to cut Microsoft loose and bring in a real innovator to deliver the opening keynote speech at CES.
Last night’s on-stage presentation by CEO Steve Ballmer and crew was, quite frankly, embarrassing. The company didn’t have any real news to share, aside from some talking avatars, Kinect technology in a Netflix app and an update to Microsoft Surface. And they insulted the intelligence of those in attendance by trying to mask a keynote speech with highlights from the past year.

Mary Jo Foley: CES: What Microsoft’s Ballmer didn’t say

I don’t mean to take away the company’s accomplishments around XBox and the new Kinect offering. Certainly, if there’s a bright spot in Redmond, it’s shining over the Xbox team. The device continues to deliver cutting edge technology and is growing beyond a gaming console and into a true living room entertainment hub.