Shahid and I get along fine: Priyanka Chopra

If reports are to be believed, her ‘friendship’ with Shah Rukh Khan has taken a toll on Priyanka Chopra’s ‘relationship’ with Shahid Kapoor. The once-good-friends refused to give joint bytes or even pose for pictures together during a recent shoot of a coffee commercial at Madh Island.

Ask Priyanka if what was reported was true and she replies with a “yes and no”. She points out that since they were rapidly losing natural light, it was the director of the ad film who suggested they interact with the media separately. “This way he could shoot with one of us, while the other gave interviews and not lose a day’s work,” she reasons. “Please, there are no issues, Shahid and I get along fine.”

Prod her on SRK who earlier this year had played peacemaker for the warring duo on a flight from South Africa, and Priyanka clams up. “I don’t want to speak about all these rumours. They’re upsetting and make me so angry.

Meanwhile, Shahid and Priyanka are returning to Madh Island to shoot a qawwali for Kunal Kohli’s epic love story at a lavish set designed to recreate pre-partition Punjab. Priyanka seems relaxed about the next encounter with Shahid though she’s quick to add that the film is not an epic love story and nor is it titled Teri Meri Kahani.

And though the qawwali is from the ’20s, they have already shot a ‘Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche…’-like Brahmachari number from the sizzling ’60s with Shahid looking like a young, suave Shammi Kapoor in a tux and Priyanka making a perfect modern-day Mumtaz.

"Old man" Sehwag surpasses mentor Tendulkar

INDORE, India: Sachin Tendulkar stepped on a plane on Thursday as the proud owner of the highest individual score in 50-over cricket but will land on Australain soil to find that he has been robbed of the record by his one-time protege Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag has come a long way since his early days when he was called a "Tendulkar-clone" and the 33-year-old struck a blazing 219 against West Indies to surpass his mentor in his 240th one-day international.

Tendulkar, who hit 200 not out against South Africa in Gwalior in February 2010, was among the first batch of Indian cricketers to leave for the team's Australia tour.

Sehwag fiercely cut an Andre Russell delivery for the most memorable of the 25 fours he hit on Thursday as Indore's Holkar Cricket Stadium went into a delirium.

One of the few batsmen considered capable of hitting 200 in one-dayers, Sehwag punched air before hugging batting partner Rohit Sharma. He then took the helmet off to acknowledge the cheers from the hollering fans.

One male supporter even managed to sprint on to the ground with a bouquet and tried to present it to a bemused Sehwag before being escorted out.

Everybody was expecting me to score a double hundred and I think I lived (up to the) expectation,' a visibly tired Sehwag said at the innings break, happy to have made the most of the perfect batting conditions.

'Whenever I wanted to hit a ball, I hit into the gaps and it went for four. Whenever I wanted to hit a six, I just tried to hit it with a straight bat,' said the opener with perhaps the most uncomplicated batting philosophy.

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'I was telling myself and Gautam Gambhir that if we batted with a little patience, we could score a big one here.'

Sehwag survived a run-out chance when he was on 20 and could have been dismissed on 170 as well but his opposite number Darren Sammy, running from extra cover, dropped an easy catch off Ravi Rampaul.

'When Sammy dropped my catch, I thought God is with me and God is telling me 'just bat until 45th-46th over and you will achieve your 200',' said Sehwag, one of the most devastating batsman in contemporary cricket.

His 150 came off 112 balls and by the time Kieron Pollard ended his 149-ball batting pyrotechnics studded with seven sixes, Sehwag had entered the record book after a breath-taking knock that left him drained.

'I'm very tired because I'm a 33-year-old. I'm an old man and my back and glutes are tight,' Sehwag said.

Argentina's Cristina Fernandez begins second term of presidency

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez took the oath of office for the second time Saturday, the only female leader in Latin America to ever be re-elected, in an inauguration marked by a tearful tribute to her late husband and political partner.

Fernandez, 58, held back tears as she pledged before Congress and a gathering of foreign dignitaries to honor the constitution and the memory of the late President Nestor Kirchner.

"I swear to God, the country and the blessed saints to carry out the office of the president and to honor ... the Argentine constitution," said Fernandez, who wore a black dress with a wide belt and sleeves of transparent lace — mourning garb of the kind she has used since Kirchner's death in October 2010.

"If I don't, then let God, the country and him take me to task for it," the president added, her voice cracking with emotion as she referred to Kirchner.

After accepting the wooden presidential baton decorated with a gold-and-silver version of Argentina's national shield, Fernandez remarked, "This is not an easy day. ...

The president entered the House of Deputies accompanied by her children, Maximo and Florencia, and received the baton from Florencia.

Fernandez summarized a litany of accomplishments during her first term, including policies that have led to the resumption of trials for former officials accused of rights violations during the country's last military dictatorship, which lasted from 1976 to 1983.

The bulk of her support comes from the working classes, who have received pay and pension increases as well as more public aid under her government.

She's also continued evoking the legacy of her late husband, whose death sparked enormous public sympathy at a time when her presidency had been losing support.

At the same time, Argentina's 40 million people are facing economic uncertainty, and the big question for Fernandez is whether to continue the government spending and price controls that worked so well in her first term.

Cutting public spending to prepare Argentina for a dicier economic climate could bring political harm, so the president is expected to try to strengthen the economy without cutting social programs dear to her base.

Fernandez and outgoing Economy Minister Amado Boudou, who assumed the office of vice president, took their oaths before outgoing Vice President Julio Cobos, who has distanced himself from Fernandez over the past two years.

Foreign dignitaries attending the inauguration included female Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Uruguay; U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and President Barack Obama's senior adviser on Latin America, Daniel Restrepo.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had planned to attend, but canceled at the last minute, citing the need to attend to the needs of citizens in his own country who had been affected by heavy rains that led to flooding and mudslides and claimed the lives of at least eight people.

The 57-year-old president had a cancerous tumor removed from his pelvic region in June and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy. He has said that he is now cancer-free. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro attended the inauguration in his place.

Gingrich assailed by rivals, fires back at Romney

Attacked as a lifelong Washington insider, newly minted Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich parried criticism from Mitt Romney in campaign debate Saturday night, telling the former Massachusetts governor, "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994."

Gingrich also defended against attacks from Texas Rep. Michele Bachmann in the first debate since he soared to the lead in polls nationally and in Iowa. Caucuses on Jan. 3 in this state will kick off the competition for Republican National Convention delegates who will pick an opponent to President Barack Obama.

Under questioning from Paul, Gingrich said he had never lobbied for Freddie Mac, a quasi-government agency that paid him at least $1.6 million to provide strategic advice. Paul shot back, "It's the taxpayers' money, though. We were bailing them out."

The tone was respectful, at least in the early moments of the debate, the stakes ever higher as six rivals met on a stage in the Iowa capital city. The debate was the 12th since the long campaign began, and the first since Herman Cain's candidacy imploded after allegations of sexual harassment and an extra-marital affair.

Romney, Gingrich and Paul said they favored it. Bachmann, Texas Gov., Rick Perry and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said they opposed the measure.

Whatever the impact of their differences on the presidential race, the internal disagreement could well portend difficulties for legislation that Obama has proposed and Republican leaders in Congress view as essential if the party is to avoid being tagged for raising taxes.


Paul has been airing television commercials in Iowa attacking the former House speaker, and Romney's campaign has become increasingly critical of him, bolstered by a multimillion-dollar television ad campaign that is financed by allies.

Bachmann criticized Gingrich for first supporting a requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance in 1993. She folded Romney into her attack, saying he had pushed successfully for a state health care law as Massachusetts governor that contained an individual mandate.


Gingrich's decision to invoke Kennedy, the late senator from Massachusetts, served as a dual reminder — that Romney has been running for office since the mid-1990s and also that he lost to the man whose politics conservatives detested above all others.

As for the question of whether he would have become a career politician if he'd beaten Kennedy, Romney replied with a smile that if he'd been good enough to play in the National Football League, as he had hoped, "I would have been a football star all my life, too."

He then tried to turn the tables, saying his defeat in 1994 "was probably the best thing I could have done for preparing me for the job I am seeking, because it put me back in the private sector."

Kolkata: 73 dead in AMRI Hospital fire, owners surrender

Kolkata: The owners of AMRI Hospital, RS Goenka and SK Todi, have surrendered before the Kolkata police at Lal Bazar Police Headquarters on Friday after a major fire at the hospital in South Kolkata left 73 dead. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that at least 73 people are dead in the major fire that broke out at AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria in south Kolkata on Friday.

Out of the 73 dead, 70 were patients and 3 were the hospital staff. Reports said that the hospital authorities fled from the spot. Meanwhile, the registration of the hospital has also been cancelled the West Bengal government.

As angry relatives gathered at the hospital to look for their loved ones, they vent their ire at the lack of relief and rescue efforts by the hospital authorities by damaging AMRI's properties.

AMRI Hospital is jointly promoted by the RS Goenka-led Emami Group and the SK Todi-led Shrachi Group of companies. Emami shares were down by 1.71 per cent when the news last came in on Friday ( Sensex fell by 1.8 per cent).

Mamata rushed to the spot on Friday morning to take stock of the situation and also ordered an FIR against the hospital authorities.

West Bengal Health Minister Sudip Bandhyopadhyay said that the West Bengal Government was shocked to know that the fire safety measures were not in place in the hospital.


The angry relatives of the patients who died alleged that the hospital staff abandoned patients and did not help them rush out. They said that this resulted in suffocation, and therefore, deaths of the patients.


"Isn't it strange that in such a fire only patients lose their lives and not a single casualty from the hospital. They left the patients to choke to death," said an angry relative of a patient.


Upset and angry relatives destroyed hospital property shouting slogans against authorities for not having enough fire safety measures. The fire had also engulfed the ICU and relatives claim that they were the ones who rescued most patients and that help arrived much later. A few of them also heckled officials at the spot
.

Reports said many bodies were moved to SSKM hospital. The identification of bodies was on but sources said some of the bodies may not be identified as they were charred.


"The fire engulfed four floors of one of the buildings of the AMRI hospital in Dhakuria," an officer manning the city police control room told IANS over phone.


The 161-bed hospital is located in Dhakuria in Kolkata.
Firemen using ladders smashed window panes in the facade to rescue patients trapped inside the ICU, ICCU, ITU and Critical Care units.



The hospital also did not have proper fire-fighting equipment, he said.

Fire brigade sources said that firemen were trying to locate oxygen cylinders stocked on the floors, as the fire could make them explode.

Angelina Jolie Explains Choosing 'Blood and Honey' for Directorial Debut (Video)

While many people would probably have taken on a lighter topic for their first stab at directing, Jolie said that this topic was important to her.

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“This is our generation's war,” Jolie said in interview with Christiane Amanpour that will air on both Good Morning America and Nightline. “This was, you know, the worst genocide since World War II in Europe.”

The film, which is set to open in theaters on Dec. 23, stars Zana Marjanovic (Snow), Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija (In the Rain). Jolie worked with a completely local cast.

"We did it because we felt this is a war that isn't talked about enough," Jolie said. "I know it's a hard film to sit through, but it's two hours to sit through something that's very hard, and these people lived through it for many, many years, and it was many, many times worse than any reenactment could possibly be.

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Set during the Bosnian War, the film follows Danijel (Kostic), a soldier fighting for the Serbs who re-encounters Ajla (Marjanovic), a Bosnian who's now a captive in his camp he oversees.

Jolie also talked about raising a family with Brad Pitt. She said they homeschool their brood “especially when it comes to history, to make sure it’s not one country’s point-of-view of their country.”

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Amanpour also asked the actress if she and Pitt have plans to get married. 

"The kids asked me the other day and I asked them if it was just because they wanted to have a 'big cake,'" Jolie said. "They see movies that have the people getting married in the movies or somebody's, you know, the happily ever after. Shrek and Fiona are married."

"We've explained to them that our commitment when we decided to start a family was the greatest commitment you could possibly have.

Angelina Jolie: My Children Won't See 'In The Land Of Blood And Honey'

Angelina Jolie has called the experience of writing and directing her first film the "greatest experience of [her] life." But when "In the Land of Blood and Honey" hits theaters, she won't be sharing the joy with some very important people.


"They won't see this movie," Angelina Jolie told The Hollywood Reporter, speaking of her brood of six children. "They know that mommy, on occasion, goes off to Libya or other places.


Given the young ages of her children, it makes sense; the film is about the brutal Yugoslav War of the 1990s, featuring the story of a Bosnian woman sent to a Serbian rape camp.


But while the children won't be watching this film, it doesn't mean they didn't get some of their own stories from Jolie.


"I wrote whenever I could, when the kids were asleep or in their classes," she remembered. "Halfway through some of the most horrific scenes, I'd hear, 'Mommy, I need another story, I can't go to sleep,' and so I'd pause what I was doing and go tell happy stories about bunny villages."

Army Navy Game: Navy Wins Eighth Straight Against Army, 17-3

PHILADELPHIA — Navy has made sports' most patriotic rivalry a lopsided one.


The Mids beat Army 17-3 on Saturday for their eighth straight win in the series. The loss eliminated the Black Knights' shot at playing in their first bowl game since 1996.

The Mids (9-4) already have a postseason date against Missouri in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31.


Ricky Dobbs ran for a score to set an NCAA single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 24, and threw for a TD to help Navy improve to 54-49-7 overall against Army for its biggest lead in a series that began in 1890.

Navy won the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in games between the three service academies, for a school-record seventh straight year.

Army (5-7) would have played in the EagleBank Bowl with a win. That matchup is now Temple vs. UCLA at RFK Stadium in Washington on Dec. 29.

For the first time in a long while, there was more on the line in an Army-Navy game than bragging rights.


Army blew its chance of marching into a late-December bowl with a series of turnovers and missed field goals.



Dobbs threw a 25-yard TD pass to Marcus Curry in the third quarter to give Navy a 7-3 lead. Dobbs' 1-yard scoring run late in the fourth made it 17-3 and gave him a whopping 24 rushing scores this season.

Dobbs was tied for rushing TDs by a quarterback with Air Force's Chance Harridge (2002) and Florida's Tim Tebow (2007).


Navy has won a service academy-record 15 consecutive games against Army and Air Force. Navy's last loss to a service academy was against Air Force in 2002.


But this one wasn't a rout like so many of Navy's wins in the series this decade. The Mids outscored the Black Knights 78-3 the last two years, including a 34-0 victory last season.

In front of 69,541 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in the 110th meeting between the two service academies, Army scored the only points of the first half on Alex Carlton's 23-yard field goal.


The 3-0 halftime lead may not have seen like much to an Army program looking for respectability under first-year coach Rich Ellerson, but it marked:


_the first time Army led at halftime in the series since 2001.


_the first time Navy was shutout in the first half of the series since 1993.


_the first time Army led against Navy since the first quarter of the 2006 game.

The Black Knights should have put more points on the scoreboard. Carlton missed an earlier field-goal attempt, and they had to settle for three after getting just 6 yards following an interception return to the Navy 12.


The Mids took advantage of the opening. Dobbs went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the third and became only the third Navy QB to reach that milestone. He found a wide-open Curry for the Mids' first lead, and Joe Buckley tacked on a 36-yard field goal.

NASA’s Swift satellite spots ‘dormant’ black hole devouring a star

London, Aug 25 : NASA's Swift satellite have spotted a truly extraordinary event, the awakening of a distant galaxy's dormant black hole as it shredded and consumed a star.

Two new studies provide new insights into a cosmic accident that has been streaming X-rays toward Earth since late March.

NASA's Swift satellite first alerted astronomers to intense and unusual high-energy flares from the new source in the constellation Draco.

"Incredibly, this source is still producing X-rays and may remain bright enough for Swift to observe into next year," said David Burrows, professor of astronomy at Penn State University and lead scientist for the mission's X-Ray Telescope instrument.

"It behaves unlike anything we've seen before," he stated,

The galaxy is so far away that it took the light from the event approximately

3.9 billion years to reach Earth.

The second study was led by Ashley Zauderer, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.

It examines the unprecedented outburst through observations from numerous ground-based radio observatories, including the National Radio

Astronomy Observatory's Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) near Socorro, N. M.

According to the new studies, the black hole in the galaxy hosting Swift J1644+57 may be twice the mass of the four-million-solar-mass black hole in the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

Soon, computers to tell your intensity of pain

Washington, Sept 14 : The need for a better way to objectively measure the presence or absence of pain instead of relying on patient self-reporting has long been an elusive goal in medicine.

But now, using advances in neuroimaging techniques, researchers including one of Indian-origin from the Stanford University School of Medicine trained a computer algorithm to interpret magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of the brain and determine whether someone is in pain.

Researchers took eight subjects, and put them in the brain-scanning machine. A heat probe was then applied to their forearms, causing moderate pain. The process was repeated with a second group of eight subjects.

The idea was to train a linear support vector machine - a computer algorithm invented in 1995 - on one set of individuals, and then use that computer model to accurately classify pain in a completely new set of individuals.

"We asked the computer to come up with what it thinks pain looks like," said Neil Chatterjee, currently a MD/PhD student at Northwestern University.

"Then we could measure how well the computer did." And it did amazingly well. The computer was successful 81 percent of the time.

Now, ‘robot legs’ that improve movement in stroke patients

London, Sept 24 : Dutch engineers have developed exoskeleton `robotic legs,' to help improve the movement of stroke patients.

The prototype device, called the Lower-extremity Powered ExoSkeleton, or LOPES, works by training the body and mind of a patient to recover a more natural step.

The machine, created by engineers at the University of Twente in Enschede in the Netherlands over several years, is also being tested on spinal injury patients who have recovered some restricted movement in their legs.


It can do all the walking for the patient, or it can offer targeted support in either one leg or with one element of the walking process. The machine can also detect what the patient is doing wrong.

"For instance, some people cannot lift their foot up appropriately. What this device does is it senses that the foot is not lifting properly," the BBC quoted Dr Edwin van Asseldonk, who is working on the project, as saying.

"It then compares it with a reference pattern and then exerts a force or torque to assist that subject in doing it," he explained.

Dr van Assledonk believes that by physically showing patients how to walk properly, the machine can help them develop the brain signals required to drive improved movement.

HP donates WebOS system code to open source developers

The code behind the mobile operating system, WebOS, is being released to open source software developers by Hewlett Packard.

The tech company acquired the software when it bought the smartphone maker Palm for $1.2bn (£767m) last year.

The firm said it would continue investing in the project to help third parties add enhancements.

"By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices," said the firm's president and chief executive, Meg Whitman.

Investment

A statement from the company said it would make the underlying code behind WebOS available under an open source licence. It said third-party developers, partners and HP's own engineers could then "deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace".

'U-turn'

Analysts said the decision secured the platform's future, at least in the short to medium term.

"Given how successful HP was in selling off their tablet computers cheaply when they scrapped the platform we always suspected there would be some sort of u-turn," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe.

"However we still don't think it will become a major platform to rival Google's Android and Apple's iOS. It will appeal to many generic tablet makers out there - but its long term future will probably be to power HP printers, and other peripheral devices."

Colin Gillis, senior tech analyst at BGC Partners, said HP had ultimately missed an opportunity to disrupt the market with a line of mobile computers powered by its own software.

"It no longer has to contend with what would have been another viable operating system as it prepares to launch its Windows 8 tablets."

Osborne says EU treaty veto helps protect UK interests

services and manufacturers had been protected from "eurozone integration spilling over" and affecting non-euro members.

He said the government was not prepared to allow the "full force" of European institutions to undermine UK interests.

The prime minister blocked changes to the EU's Lisbon Treaty at an EU summit that ended in Brussels on Friday.

It now looks likely that all 26 other members of the European Union will agree to a new "accord" setting out tougher budget rules.

Labour said the UK would be left out of key European Union decisioChancellor George Osborne says David Cameron's decision to veto changes to the European Union treaty has "helped protect Britain's economic interests".

He said Britain's financial ns affecting the country's future.

But Mr Osborne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Mr Cameron made a tough decision that was "the right one for Britain".

"We have protected Britain's financial services, and manufacturing companies that need to be able to trade their businesses, their products, into Europe. We've protected all these industries from the development of eurozone integration spilling over and affecting the non-euro members of the European Union."
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Robin Brant Robin Brant Political Correspondent, BBC News

Andrew Rosindell, who was one of the 30 or so whom he invited for dinner at his official country home on Friday night, described the prime minister as "very relaxed, very happy and very confident". The event had been arranged last week, apparently.

It was a mixture of people in attendance. All Tory MPs, but not all of the Eurosceptic persuasion. Mr Rosindell, who earlier in the week had urged Mr Cameron to show some "bulldog spirit", described the event on his phone just as he was leaving. "We had a wonderful evening," he said, adding "the mood was extremely positive".

He refused to say if there had been any backslapping or cheering for the prime minister, or any jokes or jeers at the expense of the French president.

Mr Osborne said Mr Cameron's veto was not "some sort of secret negotiating position" and that he had done "exactly what he said he was going to do".

"If we had signed this treaty - if David Cameron had broken his word to parliament and the public, gone there and caved in without getting the safeguards he was looking for - then we would have found the full force of the European treaties, the European court, the European Commission, all these institutions enforcing those treaties, using that opportunity to undermine Britain's interests, undermine the single market.

Mr Cameron is facing intense scrutiny over his veto, with some Lib Dem critics saying he is appeasing the Tory right.

However, Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes denied any rift between his party and the Conservatives, telling the BBC News Channel that the coalition had agreed on the negotiating position.

He said he "regretted" that an agreement had not been reached that would allow all 27 EU countries "to be together on all issues", but he "accepted" Mr Cameron's judgement that the offer was not acceptable.

"It's always a matter of judgement as to whether we would be able to make a deal or not - and the PM formed the judgement that the offer was not acceptable.

"So, yes, I accept that, but I don't agree it puts us outside of the European Union. We're clearly absolutely there."

Michael Fallon, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said Britain did not want its tax and spending decisions to be made in Brussels and it wanted to stay out of decisions on the euro currency.

He said the UK would "still play a full part at all the major EU meetings that look at the internal market, and how the market works for business - that's important for British jobs".

'Floating into Atlantic'

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Heseltine earlier told the Today programme that the political situation meant it would have been impossible for Mr Cameron to have agreed to treaty changes.

"He didn't sign and he couldn't have signed because he hasn't got a parliamentary majority today to take us down that road," he said.

But the Conservative peer, one of his party's most pro-European figures, said Mr Cameron's move had not safeguarded the City, which was his stated priority.

"They (the Europeans) could theoretically create rules for the eurozone which would make it difficult to trade outside it in financial service activities and that's the fear," Lord Heseltine said.

"In saying that he wanted to protect the interests of the City he was agreeing that there were interests to protect, and there's no way you can protect those interests by floating off into the Atlantic."

Labour leader Ed Miliband said the UK would now be excluded from key economic decisions and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said the outcome was "the worst of all worlds" for the UK, leaving the country in Europe but without power.

Mr Cameron met about 30 Conservative backbenchers at his official country residence on Friday night.

One Eurosceptic MP - Andrew Rosindell - said the mood had been "extremely positive".

Bollywood wakes up to women-centric themes

New Delhi: There was a time when women-centric films were bound by the `parallel cinema` tag. But now they seem to be treading a successful path as commercial cinema, a point proven by the huge reception to Ekta Kapoor`s ‘The Dirty Picture’, which saw Vidya Balan carrying the entire film, boldly, on her shoulders.

Women have played several roles on screen - helpless mother, submissive wife, devoted girlfriend and ignored sister. But over a decade, filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shyam Benegal, Vishal Bhardwaj have tried to break the stereotype and present them in a more realistic way, and successfully too.

‘The Dirty Picture’ (2011) - Vidya Balan`s itsy bitsy clothes, cleavage-showing blouses and raunchy dance numbers swept the audience off their feet even before the film hit the silver screen, but her powerful and crisp dialogue delivery and easy portrayal of the character took the attention away. The film is an unofficial biopic of southern sex symbol Silk Smitha, her rise to fame and downfall.

‘No One Killed Jessica’ (2011) - Based on the real-life murder of model Jessica Lall in 1999, this film kickstarted the year on a positive note. While Vidya Balan triumphed with her non-glamorous and distraught portrayal of Jessica`s sister Sabrina, Rani Mukerji`s unprecedented use of abuses as a journalist raised quite a few eyebrows but brought critical acclaim for her.

‘Fashion’ (2008) - Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, ‘Fashion’ gave a sneak peak into the dark reality of the glamour world. Priyanka stole the show with her powerful and intense performance as a girl who goes from aspiring model to supermodel before her descent. The actress played a bubbly girl, who connected with the darkest of human emotions while pursuing her dream. Her performance also won her a national award.

‘Dor’ (2006) - A Nagesh Kuknoor film, ‘Dor’ was the poigant tale of two women and how their fate brings them together. Relatively new to the world of cinema, both Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag proved their mettle as actors with their distinctive performances.

‘Black’ (2005) - Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, ‘Black’ was one of the best films of Rani Mukerji`s career. Her portrayal of a deaf and blind girl and how she forms a strong bond with her teacher played by Amitabh Bachchan won her accolades from all over the world. The film brought out the untapped potential of the actress.

‘Chameli’ (2003) – ‘Chameli’ was a brave attempt by Kareena Kapoor, where she played a sex worker. With her over-the-top makeup, bright coloured saris and intense portrayal, Kareena proved that she is much more than just glamorous.

‘Zubeidaa’ (2001) - A Shyam Benegal film, ‘Zubeidaa’ starred Karisma Kapoor and Rekha in prominent roles. It was the story of a girl who gets married into a royal family and frets about the restrictions on her as princess and often vents her frustrations at not having her husband to herself. The film saw Karisma in a completely different avatar.

‘Lajja’ (2001) - Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, ‘Lajja’ satirized the status of women in society and the restrictions on them. The film chronicled the story of four women with the names Maithali, Janaki, Ramdulhari and Vaidehi that are considered to be the versions of Sita. The film starred Manisha Koirala, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit and Mahima Chaudhry.

Sacha Baron Cohen Joins ‘Les Miserables’

Currently starring in Martin Scorcese’s HUGO, Sacha Baron Cohen is another big name to join Tom Hooper’s all-star musical LES MISERABLES. The BORAT star is going the appear as Monsieur Thenardier opposite Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway in Victor Hugo’s classic tale.

Director Tom Hooper recently announced his expected 3D shot film will stick to the traditional 2D method of filmmaking to avoid alienating fans of the famous musical. Sacha Baron Cohen is no stranger to the musical genre after featuring in Tim Burton’s

Gaga gives a naughty and nice concert in NYC

Lady Gaga was in the Christmas spirit at Z100's annual Jingle Ball concert, but her version of "White Christmas" would have made Bing Crosby blush.

Gaga performed a slightly naughty rendition of the holiday classic Friday night as part of her mini-concert at the radio station's event at Madison Square Garden. Gaga - sporting tight studded leather pants, matching top and a bare midriff - gyrated on a set that included antlers, Christmas trees and holiday lights as she performed "White Christmas."

"So I recently added a couple of lyrics to this song because I think it's too short. It's like when you really start to enjoy it it stops. It's like a really bad orgasm. Merry Christmas New York!" she shouted. Later, she made a suggestive pose as she gave a come hither coo to Santa.
Z100 Jingle Ball 2011 NY
AP Photo - Singer Pitbull performs at Z100's Jingle Ball concert at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011 in New York.

But her performance wasn't all saucy. She was nostalgic and appreciative as she thanked the radio station for allowing her to be the headliner of this year's show, which included performances from Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, LMFAO, Pitbull, David Guetta, Foster the People, Hot Chelle Rae and more.

Gaga said her first concert as a young girl growing up in New York City was the Z100 Jingle Ball.

"I worked so hard and when I was 11 ... my mom got me tickets to Jingle Bell Ball," she said.

The singer, recently nominated for three Grammys, proved to be otherwise, and sang a few of her best-known songs, including "Telephone," "Just Dance" and "Edge of Glory."

She opened her performance by singing between several Christmas trees; later, she performed on a keytar shaped like a Christmas tree, and she ended the night dressed in a hospital gown, re-enacting the theme of her latest video, "Marry the Night."

A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to "STOMP Out Bullying," a program designed to reduce and prevent bullying, a cause close to Gaga's heart. Earlier this week, she went to the White House to meet with officials about the matter.

"It's important to keep everybody safe in school," Gaga told the audience before launching into her inspirational anthem "Born This Way."

She also told her fans that she was happy to be in New York City during the holidays.

Manatee Hurricanes win thriller, head to state final for 2nd time in 3 years

BRADENTON -- Somehow, someway, Manatee’s football team shielded itself from the joyful madness that had enveloped Hawkins Stadium on Friday night.

Huddled together in silence, the Hurricanes looked toward their coach, Joe Kinnan.

“Now,” said Kinnan, soaked from a water-cooler shower, “there’s two!”
TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE/ttompkins@bradenton.com Manatee's Leon Allen tries to outrun the defense during Friday night's game against Dwyer on Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium.
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Next stop: The Florida Citrus Bowl, where Manatee (12-2) meets Jacksonville First Coast (13-0) for the state championship at 7 p.m. next Friday.

“This is my first state,” said junior defensive back Willie Smith. “I can’t even tell you how it feels.”

This is Manatee’s seventh trip to the finals and second overall, and it wasn’t sealed until the game’s waning minutes.

So much for the silence.

The players screamed in unison, and after a few minutes, broke up to dish out and take hugs from just about all of the 6,000 fans who witnessed another state semifinal win.

Manatee outlasted Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 19-14 during Friday’s Class 7A state semifinal, winning a game that was as close as it was dramatic.
The Panthers (12-2) took a 14-13 lead on a 10-yard run by quarterback Faton Bauta, a Georgia-bound senior who chugged for 151 yards and two touchdowns. The Canes had a hard time corralling Bauta, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound converted linebacker who nearly lugged Dwyer to the final on his own.

But on Dwyer’s second-to-last play of the night, and with Manatee leading 19-14, Bauta came up lame after losing two yards. Their offensive star on the sideline, the Panthers faced a fourth-and-5 from Manatee’s 27 with 1:07 left to play and put Bobby Puyol, their kicker and backup quarterback, under center.

Puyol uncorked a low throw that sophomore receiver Johnnie Dixon was unable to handle, allowing the Canes to melt the clock.

“We knew if we got in the end zone,” said Manatee quarterback Cord Sandberg, “our defense wasn’t going to let us down.”

Aiding the drive was a personal foul penalty called on Dwyer, which moved the ball 15 yards to the 27.

“That same play that I scored on, earlier, we ran,” Sandberg said. “It was the same exact cut up, except I slipped. ... We came back to it, luckily it was open, and I kept my footing.”

The first half was the defensive battle everyone anticipated, as the Panthers took a 7-6 lead into the locker room. In fact, it was Manatee’s defense that got the Canes on the board when Smith recovered a fumble by Dwyer’s Malik Brown and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown with 2:11 remaining in the second quarter.

It was a heads-up play by Smith, especially because most of the Panthers, assuming the ground had caused the fumble, stopped running.

“I don’t stop until the whistle blows,” Smith said.

The two quarterbacks traded touchdowns before Manatee’s defense sealed the win -- and another trip to Orlando.

“You saw two heavyweights,” Kinnan said, “slugging it out out there.”

UK alone as EU agrees fiscal deal

David Cameron has defended his decision to block an EU-wide treaty change to tackle the eurozone crisis, despite warnings it will leave the UK isolated.

It looks likely that all 26 other members of the European Union will instead agree to a new "accord" setting out tougher budget rules.

Labour said the UK would be left out of key decisions affecting its future.

But the PM said the UK remained a "full and very influential member" of Europe on the issues that mattered to it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she "regretted" that the UK was "not able to go along the same path" as the rest of Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Mr Cameron had made "unacceptable" demands for exemptions from EU financial regulation for the City of London.

National budgets

Having failed to reach an agreement of all 27 EU members, the 17 eurozone countries and the other EU states apart from the UK are expected to sign up to the new deal, which includes:
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    a commitment to "balanced budgets" for eurozone countries - defined as a structural deficit no greater than 0.5% of gross domestic product - to be written into national constitutions
    automatic sanctions for any eurozone country whose deficit exceeds 3% of GDP
    a requirement to submit their national budgets to the European Commission, which will have the power to request that they be revised
    eurozone and other EU countries to consider, within the next 10 days, providing up to 200bn euros to the International Monetary Fund to help debt-stricken eurozone members

Mr Cameron said the abandoned treaty change involving all 27 members had been in danger of "distorting the single market".

"I think I did the right thing for Britain," he said. "We were offered a treaty that didn't have proper safeguards for Britain and I decided it was not right to sign that treaty."

'Powerful player'


He added: "This does represent a change in our relationship with Europe, but the core of our relationship - the single market, the trade, the investment, the growth, the jobs that we want to see - that remains as it was."

He said the UK was a leading European player in Nato and an important member of the single market - but was not in the eurozone or the Schengen agreement on open borders.

"I think it's right for Britain to say: 'Well, which bits of Europe most benefit us as a nation?' and to focus on those things and I'm not frightened of the fact sometimes you might not be included in some things."

He said on the "key decisions" that mattered - such as the single market and trade, Britain remained a "full and very influential member" of Europe.

The decision was welcomed by some of Mr Cameron's MPs. Mark Reckless said the PM had been "as good as his word" while Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson said Mr Cameron had "played a blinder".

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said the prime minister had "mishandled these negotiations spectacularly".

"It's a terrible outcome for Britain because we are going to be now excluded from key economic decisions that will affect our country in the future," he said.

Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron had not "put in the hard yards of negotiation" that were necessary to build alliances and strengthen his position.

"What I find incredible is that he simply ended the negotiations yesterday and said that was it. He could have carried on negotiating today to get a better outcome for Britain."

'Tough rules'

Mr Sarkozy said Mr Cameron's insistence on a protocol allowing London to opt out of proposed changes to the rules governing financial services was "unacceptable", because a lack of regulation was behind much of the debt crisis.
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German Chancellor Mrs Merkel said: "I didn't think David Cameron sat with us at the table.

"We had to get some sort of agreement and we couldn't make compromises, we had to meet tough rules."

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said the outcome was "the worst of all worlds" for the UK, leaving the country in Europe but without power.

'Absolutely nothing'

Labour and UKIP both warned that Mr Cameron had actually secured no new safeguards for the City of London - despite stating that that was a priority.

Mr Farage said: "We finish this summit with Cameron having gained absolutely nothing, with the prospect of us repatriating powers having disappeared completely and with the City of London, that he sought to protect, now more vulnerable than it has ever been."
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    I think any eurosceptic who might be rubbing their hands in glee about the outcome of the summit last night should be careful what they wish for”

Foreign Secretary William Hague said earlier that signing up to the amended EU treaty would have led to the UK handing over more national sovereignty to Brussels.

But German MEP Elmar Brok said the rules would have had "no impact" on Britain because they only applied to eurozone countries and said Britain was now "isolated and marginalised".

UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg - whose Liberal Democrat party is more pro-European than their coalition partners - said he regretted the failure to reach an agreement with all 27 EU states but said Mr Cameron had simply been seeking a "level playing field" across Europe.

But he warned eurosceptics against "rubbing their hands in glee": "Clearly there is potentially an increased risk of a two-speed Europe in which Britain's position becomes more marginalised, and in the long-run that would be bad for growth and jobs in this country."

He said Britain would now "redouble our efforts" to ensure the single market was "properly guaranteed".

However others in his party were more critical. Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott said: "It is a black day for Britain and Europe. We are now in the waiting room while critical decisions are being taken."

Aamir Khan encourages couples to opt for IVF surrogacy

Actor Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao recently welcomed their first baby through IVF Surrogacy. The Bollywood star couple's decision has now encouraged a large number of couples, who have been facing difficulty in conceiving. Doctors opine that many families will come forward and accept this procedure.

The IVF surrogacy is a social stigma in India and many couple, who have problems in conceiving, are scared to opt for this procedure. Doctors say that Aamir has done a great job bringing the procedure into the mainstream. Since a big celeb like him has opted for it, many couples will be encouraged to go for it.

However, there are several star couple in Hollywood, who have gone for IVF Surrogacy. But very less number of celebs in India have used this procedure for children.

Hollywood conjures up Harry Potter park

Harry Potter is going Hollywood with a new theme park based at Universal Studios that will feature a Hogwarts castle as its centerpiece alongside rollercoasters and other rides.

NBCUniversal and film studio Warner Bros on Tuesday unveiled "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," which
will be built at the Universal Studios Hollywood site with attractions that are similar to the money-spinning Potter theme park opened in June 2010 at Universal's resort in Orlando, Florida.

The new theme park could take 3-4 years to construct and is likely to cost several hundred million dollars but will create more than 1,000 jobs and is expected to boost tourism to the Los Angeles area, officials said.

Toasting Tuesday's announcement with mugs of "Butterbeer", officials said the Hollywood park will be centered around a huge Hogwarts castle and feature rides and other attractions based on the adventures of the popular British boy wizard and his friends who use sorcery to battle evil.

Author JK Rowling's Harry Potter book series have sold some 450 million copies worldwide and the eight movies from the Warner Bros. studios have taken more than $7.7 billion at global box-offices, making the films the largest-grossing franchise in history.

With its Dragon's Challenge rollercoaster and life-size model of the Hogwarts Express train, the 20-acre "Wizarding World" park in Orlando has proved a huge success with fans. It drew more than 7 million visitors in its first year and boosted NBCUniversal's theme park revenue by 33 % to $1.5 billion for the first nine months of 2011, according to company results.

Officials did not say how many of the Florida rides would make their way to the Hollywood park, nor did they say if any new rides were envisaged. But they did say the new attraction would be created with the same commitment to authenticity with the books and movies as the one in Florida.

"Everyone involved with these projects is committed to continuing the enchantment of JK Rowling's masterful books as they were brought to life on screen in our eight films and dedicated to extending the magic of the experience for generations of fans to come," Meyer said.

Metallica review: Band turns 30 at the Fillmore

James Hetfield thrusts one leg forward, pulls back one of his tattoo-covered biceps and holds his guitar dangerously close to his chest - the universal pose for a guy who is ready to kick butt. But something is clearly wrong with this picture.

It takes a few minutes to figure it out because it's late, kind of smoky and, well, it just doesn't look right. But the front man for Metallica - once regarded as the fiercest heavy metal band on the planet - is smiling.

It's not one of those satanic smirks, either, but the kind of full-on Invisalign grin you see in the waiting room at the dentist's office. If you want to get technical about it, it might even be an actual grin. What has the world come to?

It's Monday night and Metallica is celebrating its 30th anniversary in the relatively intimate environs of its favorite hometown venue, the Fillmore. Just a few weeks ago, the group was playing enormous shows in such exotic locales as Rio de Janeiro, Abu Dhabi and Bangalore.

But to mark this occasion, the black-clad quartet has rented the venue for the week and is playing exclusively for members of its fan club who were lucky enough to score $6 tickets - or $19.81 for all four nights (the sold-out shows continue tonight, Friday and Saturday).

Opens at 7

The doors open at 7 p.m., but the band doesn't actually take the stage until four hours later, giving fans the opportunity to watch comedian Jim Breuer and not one but two novelty Metallica tribute acts - the Soul Rebels brass band and Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica.

Some fans use the long wait to get so wasted they are escorted from the venue before Metallica plays a note - their $125 orange and black baseball jerseys acting as bitter souvenirs draped on their backs.

Three hours of music

They have vowed not to play the same song twice during the residency, which is bad news for anyone who misses the show and is hoping to hear chug-chug-chugging classics like "Leper Messiah," "Damage, Inc." (with former bassist Jason Newsted) or "One" (with accompaniment by Apocalyptica). Each one is awesome beyond words.

The whole thing doesn't feel so much like a casual rehearsal as a hang session - which is wonderful for the fans. There is a bit with stools and acoustic guitars. One lucky guy gets pulled onstage to play guitar on "Wherever I May Roam." The group plays a previously unreleased - and frankly dreadful - song, "Hate Train," from the "Death Magnetic" sessions and then hilariously turns it into the running joke of the night.

At one point, Hetfield barks to no one in particular, "Hey, we're onstage. ... Get with it!" But he clearly doesn't mean it. They're having too much fun.

Guests are promised and they eventually arrive - John Marshall of Metal Church ("Sad But True"), Biff Byford of Saxon ("Motorcycle Man") and four songs with Diamond Head's Brian Tatler and Sean Harris. Then they all come out at the end for "Seek and Destroy."

It's not exactly Green Day or Lou Reed - not tonight. But it's obvious these relics from 1986 clearly mean a lot to the four guys onstage. Maybe it's OK, just once, that Metallica cuts loose and has a blast. And if they want to cap the night off with a burst of confetti and balloons, well, we won't tell anyone.

Technology: Will Google Wallet ever open on Verizon phones?

The statement also insisted that "Verizon does not block applications." Nevertheless, it hasn't provided a good explanation for why it asked Google to remove the Wallet app from Galaxy Nexus phones that were built to support it.

Here's the part of the blog post where irony comes in. The Net neutrality rules the FCC adopted last December bar broadband Internet service providers from blocking legal applications or services. But the rules provide a sweeping exemption for wireless carriers; the only legal apps they can't block are voice and video calling services that compete with the carriers' offerings. So if Verizon wanted to hold off Google Wallet until its Isis service was ready to go, it wouldn't face any obstacles from the FCC.

That provision was a compromise promoted by Google and Verizon in a framework for Net neutrality released in August 2010. "We both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly," their joint proposal declared. "In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline [neutrality] principles to wireless," except for the one requiring ISPs to disclose their network-management practices.

David Sohn, senior policy counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, said it's in the public interest to maintain a competitively neutral environment in broadband that's open to new innovators. That innovation shouldn't be confined to wired networks, Sohn said. Proponents of the neutrality rules, he said, "certainly wanted to achieve a world where even in the wireless space, new entrants can come up with products and make them available without having to worry about competitively based discrimination from the carriers."

Harold Feld, legal director for Public Knowledge, said it's impossible to determine whether Verizon is stiff-arming Google for competitive reasons or just trying to work out some kinks in Google Wallet before rolling it out. That's because the FCC's permissive rules don't give Google -- or anyone else -- the opportunity to challenge the wireless company's decision. "Verizon is never going to come out and say, we're never going to let a rival payment service on our phone," Feld said, adding, "The disadvantage of not having a process [at the FCC] is, you never know."

FHM India threatens to sue Veena Malik for Rs 250 mn

Islamabad: The Indian magazine that Pakistani actress Veena Malik had accused of morphing her pictures for a nude photo shoot has sent her a legal reply threatening to sue her for 250 million rupees.

In their 11 page legal reply to her notice, FHM India categorically denied that her photo had been morphed, and said that Malik was the one who had initially pursued the magazine for a shoot.

“Your client permitted our clients for her photo as well as video shoots which were carried out by our clients with the consent and authority of your client,” Express Tribune quoted FHM India as saying in their legal notice.
“Your client wanted to do a sexy, bold and in-your-face shoot and to express intent for the same she also sent… pictures of her in Bikinis etc to show that she was in good shape for a shoot for FHM,” it said.

Earlier, Malik had slapped a claim of 100 million rupees on FHM India and followed it up by filing a police report in Mumbai and a complaint with the cyber crime wing against the magazine’s editor and photographer.

Wary US uncertain of Israel’s Iran plans

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration does not know Israel’s intentions regarding potential military action against Iran, and the uncertainty is stoking concern in Washington, where the preferred course for now is sanctions and diplomatic pressure.
Although Israel remains one of the United States’ closest allies and the two countries’ officials are in regular contact, US officials have a “sense of opacity” regarding what might prompt an Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear sites, and about when such an attack might occur, according to a senior US national security official.

Two key US senators acknowledged on Tuesday that there are gaps in US knowledge about Israeli leaders’ thinking and intentions.

“I don’t think the administration knows what Israel is going to do. I’m not sure Israel knows what Israel is going to do…That’s why they want to keep the other guys guessing. Keep the bad guys guessing,” said Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senator John McCain, the senior Republican on the committee, echoed Levin’s view: “I’m sure (administration officials) don’t know what the Israelis are going to do. They didn’t know when the Israelis hit the reactor in Syria. But the Israelis usually know what we’re going to do.”

In one way, the ambiguity is an advantage for the United States, because Washington could claim it had no foreknowledge of any Israeli attack, which would almost certainly increase anti-American sentiment among many Muslims in the Middle East.

Israeli leaders have not suggested an attack on Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons sites is imminent. But neither have they — or US President Barack Obama, for that matter — ruled it out.
Israel, widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, says a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten its existence. Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies Western accusations it is seeking an atomic bomb.

‘Unintended consequences’

The uncertainty comes amid extraordinarily sharp public warnings in the last few weeks by US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta about the potential “unintended consequences” of military action against Iran.
Panetta told a forum in Washington last week that an attack on Iran would risk “an escalation” that could “consume the Middle East in confrontation and conflict that we would regret.”

It could disrupt the fragile economies of the United States and Europe, spark a popular backlash in Iran bolstering its rulers and put US forces in the region in the firing line, he said. “The United States would obviously be blamed and we could possibly be the target of retaliation from Iran, striking our ships, striking our military bases,” Panetta said.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Reuters in an interview he did not know whether the Jewish state would give the United States notice ahead of time if it decided to act.
An Israeli government official said, “Israel and the United States are in close and continuous communication on the threat posed to world security by the Iranian nuclear program. We appreciate President Obama’s determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.” The official declined to comment further.
At the same time, however, Obama’s relations with Israeli leaders have not been particularly warm. He has not visited the country as president.

A former US government official said: “There are plenty of instances when the Israelis have undertaken action without informing the United States first. So not always should we assume a level of coordination (between Washington and Israel) in advance on all issues.”

Repeat performance?

Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA expert on the Middle East who has advised Obama, said, “Israel has a long history of conducting military operations from Baghdad to Tunis without giving Washington advance notice.”

Riedel said the White House wants to send Israel a strong message that the United States does not expect to be blindsided by its ally. “Obama wants Bibi to understand unequivocally he does not want a repeat performance in Iran,” he said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname.
The Obama administration suspects that Israeli leaders have marked out for themselves certain “red lines” related to Iranian nuclear progress which could trigger Israeli military action if they are crossed, one US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But Obama administration policymakers are plagued by a “sense of opacity” in their understanding of where the Israeli red lines are drawn, the official added.
 
Two other US officials, also speaking on condition they not be named, said Washington is deeply concerned Israel, unconvinced sanctions and diplomatic pressure will halt Iran’s nuclear program, could eventually decide to take action on its own.

By the same token, one of the US officials said, speeches and statements by Israeli leaders, like an address by Netanyahu on Sunday in which he talked about making “the right decision at the right moment” even if allies object, could be politically motivated.

Under this interpretation, Netanyahu and other Israeli officials may be playing to domestic audiences or trying to put pressure on the international community to do more on Iran.

Afghan victims buried as fingers point to Pakistan

Investigators are poring over who was behind the coordinated attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul and northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif that the Taliban, the main faction leading a 10-year insurgency, have denied carrying out.

An Afghan official claimed Wednesday that the bomber who attacked a shrine in Kabul was a Pakistani, affiliated to the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi group, which has been blamed for killing thousands of Pakistani Shias.

Experts suggest that if Lashkar-i-Jhangvi or indeed any other Pakistani militants orchestrated the attacks, then elements in the Afghan Taliban may have played some part, possibly in facilitating the strikes.

The twin blasts have prompted fears of a slide into sectarian violence in Afghanistan, which until now has avoided the kind of attacks that have pitched Shia against Sunni Muslims in Iraq and Pakistan.

The victims were buried Wednesday in emotional scenes. Several hundred people marched through west Kabul with two of the bodies on the way to a burial ground, an AFP photographer said.

The US embassy confirmed that an American citizen was among the 55 people killed in the Kabul attack but gave no further details.

President Hamid Karzai scrapped a planned trip to Britain, flying back to Afghanistan for an emergency meeting with security chiefs after attending Monday’s Bonn conference on his country’s future.

Lutfullah Mashal, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence agency, confirmed that an investigation into the tragedy was now under way.

Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, said the attack was the work of “the Taliban and their associates”, adding no-one else carried out such suicide attacks in Afghanistan.

An Afghan security official speaking on condition of anonymity said the bomber was from the Kurram agency in Pakistan’s border region and was connected to Sipah-i-Sahaba, a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi offshoot.

Lashkar-i-Jhangvi was one of the groups involved in the kidnap and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002.

The Afghan source added the attack aimed to “inflame sectarian violence in Afghanistan” but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.

The official added: “This is not the work of the Taliban or if there is any Taliban involvement, it is very minimal.”

A Western security official speaking anonymously also suggested Pakistani involvement though stressed it was not clear whether this was “institutional”.

There are reported links between Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Pakistani intelligence.

“We’re particularly looking at TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban) although at the moment we don’t have any proof,” he said. The source added he believed the attack “aimed to weaken Afghan society”.

A Pakistani security official speaking anonymously said Lashkar-i-Jhangvi was closely associated with the Pakistani Taliban.

But he added: “This group is on the run and doesn’t have the capacity to carry out attacks inside Afghanistan, particularly in Kabul.”

Pakistani security analyst Hasan Askari emphasised that there was no clear evidence at this stage of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s involvement.

“Lashkar people have ideological affinity with other militant groups operating in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, and they support each other but they (Lashkar) have to establish that their strength is increasing,” he said.

Some analysts have raised fears of more sectarian violence in Afghanistan following the attacks but Shia leaders have urged calm in the aftermath

Martz: Bears will be more aggressive with Hanie

Coming off a brutal loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when the Bears scored only three points and failed miserably in the red zone, the natural instinct might be to pull back with quarterback Caleb Hanie.

That would fly in the face of what offensive coordinator Mike Martz believes in. He’s ready to give Hanie more with Jay Cutler’s fill-in preparing for this third career start on Sunday at Denver.

“I think we tried to mix all that in there with different protections and based on what we’ve seen out of the defense we tried to really adjust to what we’re seeing so they don’t zero on a protection,” Martz said. “We were in empty with five and six, eight, those kinds of numbers in the protection. What it comes down to, we just didn’t coach real good. We did not play as well as we should have in that game.

“To say it’s one thing or the other, it’s a combination of a lot of things. Some of the three- and five-step drop stuff, we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. We want to make sure we are very careful with how many seven steps we do have in there but against a man team like that you want to let your guys shake free too, so there is a time for it too.”

“He did a lot of good things in that game,” Martz said. “We all – and coaches – all of us participated in that thing. I don’t think he is any different than any of our coaches on offense or players so he did some really good things in there and he’s making progress and I am encouraged by a lot of things in there. When you go back and look at that, there’s reasons for everything that happened. He’s not making mental errors, he’s sharp with everything so he’s learning under the gun so to speak.

“We’ve got to get him into the game a little bit earlier, probably a little bit still too conservative with him. He’s capable of probably more than what we’re doing with him. So, we’ll be a little bit more aggressive with him.”

Concern over Tiger's rise

Tiger Woods' first victory in two years raised consternation in some circles that he could go from No.52 to No.21 in golf's world rankings after winning against an 18-man field.

While it doesn't count as official on any tour, the Chevron World Challenge has received rankings points for three straight years under the provision it has a qualifying standard and the two sponsor exemptions are in the top 50 in the world.

What caused his swift ranking rise had as much to do with only playing 27 times in the last two years, giving him the minimum 40 divisor when points are calculated.

There will be some slight changes next year for Woods' event and for the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, which Lee Westwood won and received 38 ranking points.

The Official World Golf Ranking board, at its annual meeting in July, approved a modification for tournaments that have fewer than 30 players.

Those events will no longer get the "home tour" rating component - essentially bonus points that depend on how many players from the host tour are in the event.

Without the home tour component at Chevron, the winner would have received 40 points, instead of the 44 that Woods received. Woods would have gone to No. 25 instead of No. 21.

GreenEDGE to break new ground with women

SPRUIKING the lofty aim of setting an example in the historically neglected world of women's road cycling, GreenEDGE has launched its foundation female team.

The 10-rider squad - the first Australian professional outfit of its kind - is headlined by a German world champion, Judith Arndt.

Unlike its male GreenEDGE equivalent, which this week won a top division racing licence that grants a start in the Tour de France, the team is light on established Australian female talent. Yet while GreenEDGE's masculine arm will begin as a minnow on the elite European circuit, the female unit believes it can instantly set new standards in the sport's less-supported domain.

Australia's most established female road cyclists - the likes of Rochelle Gilmore, Chloe Hosking and Bridie O'Donnell - do not feature on the foundation roster.

Joining her is Shara Gillow, Melissa Hoskins and Amanda Spratt, who all recorded breakout results in Europe this year, Rowena Fry, who comes from mountain bike, and sprinter Jessie MacLean.

The impressive international recruits include Arndt, the reigning time trial world champion and 2004 road world champion who has left HTC-Highroad, New Zealander Linda Villumsen, Loes Gunnewijk from the Netherlands and another German, Claudia Hausler.

Villumsen was the silver medallist in the time trial at this year's world road championship, while Hausler is a former winner of the Giro Donne, the female version of the Giro d'Italia.

Their combined successes mean GreenEDGE's women are ranked third in the world in teams classification before they have started an event.

''We consider this team an authentic Australian venture,'' GreenEDGE general manager Shayne Bannan said yesterday.

''We have contracted some of the top international riders to ensure the team has sufficient points to guarantee starts in the world's major events.

''We will look to our international riders to provide the leadership and experience necessary to create a culture of success. It's our hope this culture will flow down through the domestic women's development programs.''

The team is a joint venture of GreenEDGE, which is owned and underwritten for three years by successful Australian businessman Gerry Ryan, the Australian Institute of Sport and Cycling Australia. It will race as GreenEDGE-AIS and the management will be shared by high performance program staff from the three interested parties.

Jimmy goes it alone for HK Mile

NEW Zealand trainer John Bary jetted into Hong Kong concerned that Jimmy Choux was struggling to settle in to his solitary life in quarantine, but his fears were quickly allayed after watching the Cox Plate runner-up work at Sha Tin yesterday.

''It's not ideal and he had lost weight on the trip over,'' Bary said yesterday. ''It's unfortunate that there is not another horse with him but that's the way it is and you just get on with it.''

The four-year-old, who has a mirror in his stall for ''company'', has bulked up and is within two kilograms of his weight before the trip from Australia.

Yesterday, in his last serious piece of work before the group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600 metres) on Sunday, Jimmy Choux worked over 1400 metres, finishing off his last 200 in 11.5 seconds under race jockey Jonathan Riddell.

''I told Jonathan just to stretch his legs and he's probably gone a bit quicker than we thought,'' Bary said.

''He's done it well and pulled up fantastically. I don't know whether I'm more relieved or excited.''

■Melbourne Cup casualty Jukebox Jury is making a good recovery from a leg fracture and could leave Australia by the end of January.

He could yet get back to England in time to enter training for the Ascot Gold Cup in June. ''All is going really well,'' part-owner Colleen Bamford said yesterday.

Jukebox Jury was the second-highest-rated stayer among a record number of internationals in last month's Melbourne Cup but faltered in the last 350 metres and finished 20th.

Junior champion takes big scalp

THE future of Australian women's tennis became the present yesterday, with 15-year-old junior Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty upsetting top seed and former world No. 39 Casey Dellacqua in the group stage of the Australian Open wildcard play-off at Melbourne Park.

Barty insisted she did not expect it, but the 6-3, 6-3 result emphasised her status as the nation's most exciting prospect since fellow Queensland prodigy Bernard Tomic. Both Barty and Dellacqua seem certain to feature in the main draw of next month's grand slam - if not through the wildcard on offer this week, then via the discretionary handouts that will follow.

''I was just coming in here to get a few more matches; I'm not really too fussed where I get into the tournament, I'm just out here having fun,'' she said. ''We didn't really have a game plan, so I was just out there seeing what would work and seeing what didn't, and I was just having a ball.''

''I know she has a lot of respect for Casey, she likes her as a person and respects her game, and she was in a situation where she probably didn't feel like she had a lot of pressure, and she could just go out and go for her shots. For her to go out and really believe that she could win was impressive, and then to back it up and do it was great, but she's young, and still learning.''

While Dellacqua was one of several seeded losers in the women's draw, from which only the top player in each round-robin group will advance to the semi-finals, the top eight in the knockout men's competition received byes into today's second round. Wimbledon boys' champion Luke Saville eliminated Chris O'Connell in three sets and next plays fifth seed James Duckworth, while No. 2 Marinko Matosevic meets Sam Groth, who is back from injury.

Shipperd gives short shrift to claims on Pattinson

CRAIG McDermott's advice to James Pattinson, that he should abandon the shorter length practised by Victoria's bowlers, worked like a charm for the Test debutant, but Bushrangers' coach Greg Shipperd has rejected the assertion his quicks are taught to bowl the wrong lengths for Test cricket.

''I think that is rubbish,'' Shipperd said yesterday. ''If you look at the bowleds and lbws for Victoria over the last six or seven years, you will probably find that we lead the competition in terms of hitting those particular spots.

''Our mantra is not to bowl back of a length, it is certainly to hit the wicket aggressively, but the length [is] knee roll and top of off stump. If you look at the statistics those comments would be proved incorrect.
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''Then if you actually look at the people we have had coaching our bowlers in Damien Wright, swing bowler, David Saker, swing bowler, [the bowling coaches for New Zealand and England, respectively] they are not the type of people who are going to say just bash it back of a length, they were teaching bowlers to move it in the air, present the seam correctly and bowl the right length for that to occur. Probably the only bowler who would have bowled at a different length was our attack dog, Shane Harwood, who wasn't a swinger of the ball, but his go was pace and targeting bodies.''

Pattinson learnt to ''smash'' a fuller length under the guidance of McDermott as a squad member in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa and was unleashed with stunning results at the Gabba, where he captured 5-27 in the second innings with fast, late away swing.

''He [McDermott] has said to me the length that I bowl with Victoria, that back of a length, doesn't work in Test cricket, it's hard to get wickets with that, you've got more chance of getting wickets if you pitch the ball up there and give [yourself] a chance to get some caught behindPattinson said on Fox Sports' Inside Cricket this week.

''I had to get a lot fuller with my lengths and all that work I have done in Sri Lanka and South Africa has proved really good for me.''

Peter Siddle has also been urged to bowl fuller by McDermott and captain Michael Clarke.

Shipperd supports the ''pitch it up and swing it'' mantra, which is likely to be promoted around the country in a consistent approach to coaching, but does not accept that Victorian quicks bowl too short to thrive at Test level.


''I don't know whose interpretation of our bowling plan was to bash back of a length. Whoever has been saying that has not been watching closely enough.''