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Showing posts from August, 2009

Japan's election: find new momentum

The ambitious climate policy of the winning Democratic Party will increase pressure on USA also other developed nations to raise their commitments. Japan is likely to join the European Union as global frontrunners on climate protection, thereby increasing the pressure on other industrialized countries ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen this December. During his campaign, Prime Minister-elect Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party has pledged for a 25 percent reduction in Japanese greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to the baseline year of the Kyoto Protocol, 1990. This is during line with the EU target of 20 percent – to be raised to 30 percent, if other developed nations follow. Earlier this year, the now defeated Liberal Democratic Party set a goal of eight percent reductions. According to the original Kyoto deal, Japan should cut its emissions by six percent by 2012 compared to 1990, but so far emissions have increased – by nine percent. Yukio Hatoyama is due to

Climate changes: Millions in Nepal facing hunger

Global climate change has disrupted weather patterns also slashed crop yields in the Himalayan nation, an international aid agency warned Friday. Changing weather patterns have dramatically affected crop production in Nepal, leaving farmers unable to properly feed themselves and pushing them into debt, Oxfam International said during a report released in Katmandu. The British aid agency described the situation as "deeply worrying." "Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years ... Last year many could only grow enough (food) for one month's consumption," said Oxfam's Wayne Gum, adding that less precipitation has been forecast this winter, which will make the situation worse. More extreme temperatures, drier winters also delays in summer monsoons have all compounded the situation, the report said. More than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, with food stocks in farming communities will last onl

Copenhagen: Final countdown

There are just 100 days to go until world leaders head to Copenhagen to draw up an international agreement to tackle climate change. Participants at the United Nations climate change conference, which begins on 7 December, aim to agree binding targets to cut carbon emissions which will come into force when the targets agreed under the Kyoto Protocol end in 2012 . Visit the website for the UN climate change conference More than 180 countries including the UK are expected to attend the two-week conference, which will continue the negotiations held in Bali in 2007 and in Poland in 2008. Earlier this year, the Government published its Roadmap to Copenhagen, outlining its ambitions for the meeting. These included cutting global emissions by at least 50% by 2050 and compared to 1990 levels, and providing a global fund of $100 billion a year by 2020 for climate mitigation work in the developing world.

Tanushree and Udita leave on the scary route

Both Tanushree Dutta and Udita Goswami are the sex kittens of our tinsel town and it is but obvious that stirs will be created when they appear together for the first time in a flick. The movie we are talking about is titled ‘Rokkk’ and is a horror movie that deals with supernatural element related incidents. The movie is produced by Icon Films also its producers are Krishn Chowdhary, Sumit Seghal and Vipin Jain. ‘Rokkk’ is directed by Rajesh Ransinghe (of ‘Sshh… Koi Hai’, ‘Aahat’ and ‘CID’ fame). Udita and Tanushree will be seen as sisters in the movie and both of very are quite excited as the project is very different from the roles they have done before. This film is actor Sumit Seghal’s debut production venture. He states that the movie is based on real-life supernatural incidents also he has undergone through similar experiences. Apart from Tanushree and Udita, the film stars Shaad Randhava, Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Kalsakar, Priti Sharma, Nishi Ghanda Wad, Murli Sharma and Ari

Bollywood Arjun Rampal invites biggies to his ‘Lap’

Delhi saw some of its favorite stars in the city as Arjun Rampal launched his new restaurant `Lap` on Friday. The guest list looked impressive as it included Shahrukh Khan with wife Gauri, Hrithik Roshan with wife Suzzane, Karan Johar, Abhay Deol, Koel Puri, Rohit Bal, Imran Khan, also many others. Shah Rukh Khan said, “Gauri has designed it with Arjun and Meher. I think it would be fabulous. I wish them all the best. I am from Delhi also wanting everyone to visit this place.” Arjun said that his restaurant, located inside Samrat Hotel would stand out from the crowd with as it will offer “privacy” to its members and be “exclusive”. “You have to become a member to know how incredible this place is. Its for people to enjoy. India can proudly say, we have a place to party. Its about privacy, a discovery of yourself,” Rampal said. “I was waiting for ‘Rock On’ to release. Tomorrow is its first anniversary. I was not coming to Delhi because I needed to make money and give back something to

Minissha Lamba has art during her blood

Minissha Lamba scorched the screens with her dare-bare act in ‘Kidnap’ and immediately after that she gave some hot clicks for Maxim. But little do her fans know that Minissha’s mother is an avid painter and has been into painting for over 2 years now. Minissha has some 25 paintings of her mother adorning her house. These paintings range from beautiful sceneries to psychedelics. Minissha adores these paintings so much that she recently turned down a lucrative offer made by a gentleman to buy one of these paintings. Minissha reveals, “Our entire house is packed with her work. A lot of my friends have asked her to hold an exhibition, but she doesn’t take them seriously. Recently, a man landed up at our doorstep expressing interest in one of mom’s painting titled Glorious Elements. Later, he revealed that he had seen the painting on a friend’s camera phone and he got the address from him with wanted to buy the painting.” After this incident, Minissha has now advised her mother to hold an

Aishwarya: launches Longines Conquest Ceramic series watches

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the brand ambassador of Swiss watch maker Longines. She is recently in Hyderabad to launch Conquest Ceramic series watches from the brand. She looked million dollars into the black female suit with a perfect business woman look. She cleared a lot of rumors about herself at the event saying that she wasn’t down with Swine Flu and that Abhishek Bachchan is not getting a tattoo of her name inked on his arm. Check out Aishwarya Rai at the event.

Priyanka Chopra in 12 different stylish

Priyanka Chopra has worked very hard for her forthcoming flick ‘Whats Your Raashee?’ and so it does not come as surprise as she waits with baited breath for the film to hit the screens. Fir the first time during Indian cinema a female star will be playing 12 different roles. Directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, the movie is an adaptation of the US based Gujarati writer Madhu Rye’s novel Kimball Ravenswood. The story of the film revolves round Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) who always wanted to have love marriage, but must find his life partner within ten days to save his family from a disaster. So, he decides to meet one girl from each raashee – sun sign, so that he will get twelve chances to fall into the love. He decides to meet 2 girls in a day. Thus getting him six days to meet them, three days to make a final decision and he can get married on the tenth day. Priyanka Chopra plays twelve different from twelve zodiac signs named Anjali, Vishakha, Kajal, Hansa, Mallika, Pooja, Rajni, Nand

Update JPL

Fire conditions around JPL have continued to improve throughout the day, and the Lab is no longer threatened by the Station Fire. However, there has been heavy smoke in the area. To ensure acceptable air quality for the safety of employees, the Laboratory will be closed on Monday except for mission-critical personnel. Mission-critical positions will be determined by JPL's Deputy Director. Those designated individuals will be contacted by their supervisors to report on Monday. JPL and the Woodbury complex will be closed on Monday to all other personnel. Public tours originally scheduled for Monday will be cancelled. A decision regarding reporting to work on Tuesday will be made by Monday afternoon. For updates, call (800) 303-4575 or (818) 354-8601, or visit this site. Updates will also be communicated to JPL personnel by JPL e-mail; through the State of the Lab call-in numbers; and the Emergency Communication System. JPL employees who have been evacuated from their homes are aske

What crafts Priyanka cry?

The usually bubbly and vivacious Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra broke down in tears more than once when she appeared as a celebrity guest on the recently launched popular chat show Tere Mere Beach Mein. She spoke at length about her journey from Bareilly to Bollywood and was accompanied by Olympic boxing champion, Vijender Singh in the theme, ‘Chhote Shehar, Bade Sapne’. This Saturday, the celebrity guests on this chat show that is hosted by Farah Khan has Priyanka along with Olympic boxing champion, Vijender Singh as the celebrity guests. They share their lives in the theme of the day, ‘Chhote Shehar, Bade Sapne’. Both spoke about their upbringing and the stark contrast between both of them evoked many a gasp and a tear among the audiences that watched the show. Yet, what shone through was their unfailing self-confidence in achieving their dreams and taking risks to succeed! Priyanka recollects memories of her younger days and is astonished to see a video of Vijender’s humble back

The Cricket Connection: Amrita Rao & Harbhajan Singh

Petite and delicate beauty Amrita Rao has had an old connection with cricket. She was seen opposite Harman Baweja into the cricket-based film, ‘Victory’ last year. Rumours have it that her forthcoming comedy ‘Hook Ya Crook’ will feature Indian cricket captain Mahnedra Singh Dhoni . In keeping with her association with this game, she was seen along with Harbhajan Singh at a promotional event for a sports channel. Amrita was seen in an all glam avatar in her last flick ‘Shortkut: The Con is On’. Though the film bombed at the box office, Amrita has kept with the glamorous image and looked worth a million dollars in her short shoulder less red dress. Check out the pics from the event.

Ash - Kat didn’t replace me

Once upon a time Aishwarya was a diamond queen who endorsed Nakshatra’s Diamon jewelery, but then Nakshatra found another princess much younger than Aishwarya and she became the new Diamond queen. So when Ash was asked about being replaced by Katrina, for the jewelry brand, Aishwarya says, “I would like to say this loud and clear; I chose not to renew my contract with the jewellery brand.” “I had a contract with another brand under which that particular jewellers came. Once they parted ways, I decided not to endorse them anymore.” “No one every dropped me. I chose not to renew certain contracts. Like the one with the cola brand. Post marriage I decided not to endorse them anymore as Pa and Abhishek were endorsing the rival cola brand. I didn’t want any confusion in the consumer’s mind.”

Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani picture

Veer New still: Salman Khan’s

Magazine: Bipasha Basu graces Harper’s Bazaar

Check out Bipasha Basu on the cover page is Harper’s Bazaar magazine September Issue. Like her?

Sachin Tendulkar : Fitness improvements please Kirsten

The recess is over. India's ODI team assembled in Bangalore today for a four-day conditioning camp, leading into the tri-series in Sri Lanka early next month, with then the Champions Trophy in South Africa following immediately. As they sat for the team meeting in the morning, it was the first time that all the players had come together in close to seven weeks - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina had been away for longer. The first day of the camp involved the meeting and a fitness assessment at the National Cricket Academy gym. Gary Kirsten, the India coach, had given the team impromptu fitness tests two weeks ago, and he liked what he saw today. "Based on what we saw two weeks ago, there have been significant improvements from every player, which means they are taking it seriously," Kirsten said. "That's all we wanted. The players have realised that this is a part of the game that they all want to improve on, and the players have taken on that re

Michael Clarke during no hurry to take over captaincy

Michael Clarke believes talk of splitting the Australian captaincy is premature and Ricky Ponting remains the best man to take the team forward from their Ashes defeat. Ponting landed in Sydney after his second consecutive series loss in England and indicated he would be open to the idea of playing during the side without leading it, although he has no plans to step down. Clarke, who is in charge as Ponting rests for the next two weeks, would not consider the idea as a realistic option. "No," he said firmly when asked whether the captaincy should be split. As the Test vice-captain, Clarke would be next into line, but he is not in a hurry for promotion. "At this stage, we only have one leader and, in my opinion, 'Punter' is my captain," Clarke said. "I've only have one captain in my career. Ricky is my leader." Ponting is back in Australia on a two-week break and has come under fire for his role during the 2-1 result. "It's very unfai

Launch: NASA Delays Space Shuttle Discovery

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers postponed Friday's 12:22 a.m. EDT launch of space shuttle Discovery to allow engineers more time to develop plans for resolving an issue with a valve in the shuttle's main propulsion system. Launch now is targeted for no earlier than 11:59 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During loading of the shuttle's external fuel tank for Wednesday's launch attempt, a liquid hydrogen fill and drain valve located in Discovery's aft compartment failed to provide the proper indication when it was commanded to close. Engineers cycled the valve five times Wednesday evening to collect data on the valve and its associated actuator and position indicator. NASA managers decided Thursday that more time is needed to analyze the test data and develop alternative procedures for confirming that the valve is closed if the valve fails to provide the proper closed indication during Discovery's next launch attempt. D

Tomorrow’s controlled burn at Mima Mounds delayed

Tomorrow’s controlled burn at Mima Mounds delayed Washington DNR and The Nature Conservancy to carry out burn later in summer OLYMPIA – Due to firefighter deployments fighting fires in other parts of Washington State, the controlled burn at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve has been postponed by Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). There was adequate support for carrying out the controlled burns, but not enough for unanticipated emergencies. The burn will be rescheduled as firefighters are available and wind and weather conditions are favorable. Fire is used to promote growth of native prairie plant species and reduce thatch and shrubs in this rare grassland ecosystem at Mima Mounds. The planned burns are part of regional efforts to restore native prairie grasslands in western Washington. One of the burn units also is part of a regional research project to assess techniques for restoring and maintaining native prairie habitat. The preserve will be closed on the day(s) th

Starting the Moon to Marine Measurements

This map shows changes in ocean bottom pressure measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace). JPL scientists have applied a gravity calculation method first used on Apollo moon missions to measure pressure at the ocean bottom, shedding new light on our ocean and climate. For more information about Nasa News, please visit http://climate.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=152

A Spirit of Dust Storm Passing Over

The amount of electricity generated by the solar panels on Spirit has been declining for the past several Martian days, or sols, as a regional dust storm moved southward and blocked some of the sunshine at Spirit's location. The team operating the rover has responsively trimmed Spirit's daily activities and is keeping an eye on weather reports from observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Spirit's solar panels generated 392 watt-hours during the mission's Sol 2006 (Aug. 24, 2009), down from 744 watt-hours five sols earlier, but still generous compared with the 240 watt-hours per sol that was typical before a series of panel-cleaning events about four months ago. "We expect that power will improve again as this storm passes, but we will continue to watch this vigilantly," said JPL's John Callas, project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity. "Spirit remains power positive with healthy energy margins and charged batteries. The wea

NASA's Mars Orbiter Safe Mode Again

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter put itself into a safe mode Wednesday morning, Aug. 26, for the fourth time this year, while maintaining spacecraft health and communications. While in safe mode, the spacecraft has limited activities pending further instructions from ground controllers. Engineers have begun the process of diagnosing the problem prior to restoring the orbiter to normal science operations, a process expected to take several days. They will watch for engineering data from the spacecraft that might aid in identifying the cause of event and possibly of previous ones. The orbiter spontaneously rebooted its computer Wednesday, as it did in February and June, but did not switch to a redundant computer, as it did in early August. To help in investigating a root cause of the three previous anomalies, engineers had programmed the spacecraft to frequently record engineering data onto non-volatile memory. That could give an improved record of spacecraft e

Cricket News: Black Caps build noise about excessive appealing

New Zealand renewed its plea for match officials to take a hard line on excessive appealing during their test cricket series with Sri Lanka after feeling the original request fell on deaf ears. New Zealand team manager Dave Currie sought more discussions with International Cricket Council match referee Andy Pycroft on the eve of today's second and final test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground. The New Zealanders thought they had secured an understanding with the Sri Lankans, match officials and Pycroft that a dim view would be taken if players went overboard pressurising the umpires. However, it seems they did not get their message across before last week's first test in Galle. Daniel Vettori's patience wore thin as his side were sliding to a 202-run defeat when left arm pace bowler Thilan Thushara made a leg before wicket appeal after the ball pitched outside leg stump before striking the New Zealand captain high on the thigh pad - two tell tale signs the lbw appeal is

Quick Gun Murugun the movie impressed Aamir Khan

It is not too often that Aamir Khan is impressed with a Bollywood movie . But Quick Gun Murugun seems to have already won the heart of the perfectionist actor. Aamir who stays away from screenings attended the special screening of the movie as he got interested with its trailer. The Ghajini star was so impressed with the movie that he mentioned about in his blog. In the latest post the actor said “Just saw Quick Gun Murugun. Really enjoyed it. I think fans of the Channel [V] character Quick Gun Murugan will love it. It's got so many rib-cracking moments. And a very well-pitched performance by lead actor Dr Rajendra Prasad, and all the other cast. It's releasing on 28th so don't miss it if you are a Quick Gun fan.... Mind it!” Director Shashanka Ghosh and lead actor Dr Rajendra Prasad could not have asked for a better testimonial for the movie just days ahead of its release.

Space shuttle Discovery : Readies for Station Resupply Flight

Space shuttle Discovery will carry the Leonardo supply module to the International Space Station during STS-128 , along with a new crew member for the station, Nicole Stott. Commanded by veteran astronaut Rick "C.J." Sturckow, the STS-128 mission crew will deliver refrigerator-sized racks full of equipment, including the COLBERT treadmill, an exercise device named after comedian Stephen Colbert. Stott will take the place of Tim Kopra, who moved into the station during STS-127. Pilot Kevin Ford and Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez , John "Danny" Olivas and Sweden's Christer Fuglesang round out the crew.

Terrorist attack in railway station, one killed

A suspected terrorist today opened fire at the railway station here, killing a vendor and injuring two GRP head constables when they tried to check his luggage, police said. The firing took place when the two Government Railway Police constables of the narcotics cell tried to check the bag of the suspected terrorist in Jammu-bound Jhelum Express which arrived here from Pune around 3.30 am at platform No 4 of the railway station, they said. The man identified as Balbir Singh Bhootna immediately got down and hid himself near a compartment of the Jhelum Express and opened fire at the police which retaliated from the platform. "Bhootna was arrested after an exchange of fire which lasted around one hour," Ludhiana Senior Superintendent of Police ( SSP ) Sukhchain Singh told PTI. A woman, who was accompanying the suspected terrorist , has also been taken into custody, Singh said. For more information about News view this site: www.ptinews.com

Swine Flu : Could Infect Half of U.S.

Presidential Panel's Estimate Is First To Gauge Possible Impact of Pandemic Swine flu could infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, hospitalizing up to 1.8 million people and causing as many as 90,000 deaths -- more than double the number that occur in an average flu season, according to an estimate from a presidential panel released Monday. The virus could cause symptoms in 60 million to 120 million people , more than half of whom might seek medical attention, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimated in an 86-page report to the White House assessing the government's response to the first influenza pandemic in 41 years. Although most of the cases probably would be mild, up to 300,000 people could require intensive care, which could tie up all those beds in some parts of the country at the peak of the outbreak, the council said. "This is going to be fairly serious," said Harold E. Varmus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cance

Bollywood : comes to town

Bollywood Thunder came rumbling into the John Paul Polish Centre last night, with performances influenced by South Asian cultures. More than 500 Mississauga residents were wined and dined with a buffet and complimentary wine for the cultural event . It also featured live music , a DJ, vendors, food and dance. Dominic Joseph, one of the organizers of Bollywood Thunder, said the event is an excuse for everyone to go out and immerse themselves in South Asian culture. "Everyone had fun and the music was really good," said the Meadowvale resident. "We had a live band and singers in all for lanaguages — Hindi, Tamil, Pujabi and Malayalam... people were on their feet dancing." He says it was also a chance for the children to learn about their roots and the the culture that "runs through their veins.

Welcomes Lord Ganesha - Bollywood

As the city once again gears up to celebrate the festive spirit of Ganpati, Indiatimes Movies recollects B-town stars who paid their homage to the Elephant God last year. B-town’s most popular Maharashtrian mulgi , Urmila Matondkar along with veteran singer Shankar Mahadevan went all out to express their religious gesture. Dressed in traditional attire, the duo displayed their hospitality at a Ganpati pandal at Worli in Mumbai. For more information about Bollywood news view this site: www.movies.indiatimes.com

Bollywood award shows: expose 'Awards' to Madhur Bhandarkar's

With his thriller Jail canned and awaiting release into October, Madhur Bhandarkar is ready with his next film - Awards - inspired by Bollywood award functions . Bhandarkar's inspiration for this film comes from Ashutosh Gowariker's comments at IIFA in Macau on Priyanka Chopra being awarded the Best Female Actor award for his directorial venture Fashion, instead of Aishwarya being honored for Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar. Interestingly, Priyanka Chopra will also play lead in Awards, to be produced by Percept Pictures at a budget of Rs 40 crore. Bhandarkar had publicly aired his disappointment at Gowariker's statement. "It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when someone challenges the entire honor that she (Priyanka) is getting internationally." he said. "The movie will reveal the behind-the-scenes drama and the inner workings of award functions," a source told Mid-Day. The movie will also show aspects of how certain award functions bear allegiance to ce

Virender Sehwag - Delhi selector joins hands

The crisis in the Delhi cricket fraternity is reaching a point of no return with more voices within the establishment speaking out in favour of Virender Sehwag who had alleged of nepotism in team selection. A number of senior players from Delhi, including Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma, had already joined hands with Virender Sehwag. DDCA Vice President Chetan Chauhan and former coach and Test star Madan Lal had also supported Sehwag on Tuesday, saying his allegations were correct. Bantoo Singh who is a selector with DDCA at the moment and played successfully till recently, said Wednesday that a player of Virender Sehwag's stature can not be ignored. There could be more trouble as Gambhir and Ishant skipped the opening day of the state's Ranji trophy conditioning camp at the Ferozshah Kotla ground on Wednesday. The absence of Gambhir, Ishant, Rajat Bhatia and Chetanya Nanda among others, is now being linked with the players' recent decision to speak out against the sel

Sophie's : winning streak

On a recent awards trip abroad Sophie decided to try her luck at gambling. While she just observed the first night, the second night she tried her hand at blackjack! Talk about beginners luck. While her friends were losing bundles of chips, Sophie's stack was getting higher and higher! Says Sophie, ''Oh please I play baby stakes just for fun. I can't bear to lose my hard earned money at the casino but I was on a winning streak and it was so much fun seeing all the guys around me lose!'' With Inder Kumar's LAUGH RIOT releasing next month followed by Sophie's long awaited album, looks like Sophie's winning streak has just begun! For more information about Bollywood news view this site: www.in.movies.yahoo.com

Saif Ali Khan Did not know Deepika

It seems actor Saif Ali Khan believes in candid talk. The first time producer is all excited about his forthcoming release LOVE AAJ KAL. But, more than the movie, it’s Deepika Padukone who is generating news for dozen reasons. Earlier, it was said that Kareena and Deepika cannot stand each other, and later that Saif is missing Deepika in the film. This Blah Blah got a fillip when Saif Ali Khan recently made a rather controversial comment. In one of his recent interviews, Saif Ali Khan admitted that he and Deepika only came together for the film. He said, ''I don't know Deepika very well in real life. I missed Kareena during the shoot but had to respect my director's call.'' Well, though there has been no reaction from Deepika on that, but Saif seems too smitten by his lady love that he sometimes forgets to tread a cautious path, giving rumour mongers a good chance to feast on such comments. For more information about Bollywood news view this site: www.in.mov

Daddy Cool - Audio launch

Daddy Cool music launch at Cinemax cinema in suburban Mumbai with the cast and crew of the film. \