Sri Lanka focuses on early childhood development

The Sri Lankan government paying special attention to early childhood development has declared the National Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Week to create awareness among public on the importance of the early years of a child's life.


Ministry of Child Development an Women's Affairs along with the UNICEF has launched the ECCD Week from December 14 - 21 with the 'importance of investing in early childhood' as the main theme.

In a special message to mark the event President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that his government is committed to give special attention to early childhood development through establishing a separate ministry for this work.

He has commended the Children's Secretariat of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs for declaring a National Week to create awareness among the young and old on Early Childhood Care and Development.

The UNICEF says the period of early childhood years starting from conception till the age of eight is when the crucial physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of a child takes place and essential support is required during this period to ensure that a child survives and thrives.

UNICEF Representative, Reza Hossaini has noted that the earliest years of a child's life has a great impact on his or her immediate well-being and future.

"Improving early childhood practices is of fundamental importance as we strive to ensure children become healthy, happy, and productive members of society," he has said. [...]

Sri Lanka's ex-rebel leader says Tamils yearning for peace, calls for diaspora to help

A former senior commander of Sri Lanka's vanquished terrorist outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) turned deputy minister said the LTTE could not be revived and the former LTTE cadres would never want to join a terrorist outfit again as they have suffered enough due to the war.

Giving evidence before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Monday (13) Deputy Minister of Resettlement Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan known as Karuna Amman while in LTTE said the Tamil diaspora backed by the Norwegians and international organizations funded the rebel group's arms purchases.

"The LTTE basically used foreign money to buy weapons. Through the TRO they earned a lot of money. Those countries knew clearly that the LTTE used the money for purchasing weapons," he said.

He told the Commission that some sections of the Tamil diaspora are not aware of the current situation in the country.

"Rather than shouting slogans, they can collect money and help IDPs in the country," he said.

"People in the Wanni were yearning for peace and would not want to have another war as they had gone through untold suffering," he said.

Muralitharan pointed out that the government has launched many developments projects including vocational training and rehabilitation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the rehabilitated LTTE cadres are living in peace.

Economic and educational development along with equal rights to the people could bring harmony among all communities, he said.

Muralitharan [...]

Manmohan: aware of corporates' nervousness

Cabinet Secretary will look into issues related to phone tapping
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday acknowledged that the government was aware of the "nervousness" of India Inc on tapping of phones by the authorities and assured the corporate sector that the government would tighten the monitoring system and ensure that such procedures and mechanisms were not misused.

Dr. Singh said he had asked Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar to look into the issues related to phone tapping and report back to the Cabinet within the next one month.

"I am aware of the nervousness in some sections of the corporate sector arising out of the powers conferred upon governmental authorities to tap phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money laundering," he said.

Dr. Singh, who was delivering the inaugural address at the "India Corporate Week 2010," said: "While these powers are needed in the world that we live in, they have to be exercised with utmost care and under well-defined rules, procedures and mechanisms so that they are not misused. We must also look for solutions through technology to prevent access of telephone conversation to systems outside the institutional framework of government. Legal mechanisms already exist and they are in place. They need to be strengthened for more effective enforcement."

The government would provide "a level-playing field for private businesses, free from fear or favour." It was committed to " [...]

Dozens Killed in Bangladesh Fire

A fire at a garment factory north of Dhaka killed 24 people and injured dozens more on Monday, in the latest blow to the country's largest industry.

The fire at a 10-story factory in the Ashulia industrial area, about 16 miles from the capital, started on the ninth floor around lunch time when most of the workers were outside. Local reporters who had canvassed area hospitals said that at least 24 people were killed. Factory officials said they knew of about 20 deaths.

About 5,000 people worked in the building, producing pants for customers in the United States and Europe, said Delwar Hussain, a deputy managing director at the Ha-Meem Group, which owns the factory. Fire officials were still fighting the fire, which also spread to the top-most floor, into the evening as family members gathered at the compound to look for their relatives.

It was not immediately clear which specific Western retailers were supplied by the factory. Garment factories employ about 3 million Bangladeshis, most of them women, to make clothes for stores like Wal-Mart, H&M, and J.C. Penney.

The fire comes days after three people were killed in labor protests. Workers have said they were protesting because some factories had not implemented a government-mandated 80 percent increase in the minimum wage, to 3,000 taka or about $43. The government passed an increase minimum wage in August, the first hike since 2006.

It was unclear what caused the fire at the Ha-Meem fact [...]

Sri Lanka to arrest 50,000 Army deserters

Sri Lanka Ministry of Defense says that operations will be commenced soon to arrest 50,000 Army deserters.

The Ministry has decided to arrest all of them without providing amnesty to surrender and resign in future.

The Ministry has come to this stern decision since police investigations reveal that these deserters are linked to number of crimes in the country.

Sri Lanka police this week killed seven robbers who attacked and killed two police officers and injured several more when police charged the gang fleeing after looting a jewelry shop in Warakapola. Six of the seven robbers were identified as Army deserters.

Sri Lanka President presents medals to war heroes

President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Commander-in-Chief of Sri Lanka armed forces presented medals in a special ceremony at Temple Trees Tuesday morning to a representative group of one thousand war heroes of the tri services and police who contributed to the humanitarian operation in the North and East.
At the ceremony Tri service Commanders, the Inspector General of Police, 680 Army personnel, 170 members of the Navy and 85 members of the Air Force as well as 65 police personnel received medals for their service to the country. Prime Minister D.M Jayarathne, Secretary to President, Lalith Weerathunge, Ministers Keheliya Rambukwella, Rauf Hakeem, Secretary Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Senior Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senior Tri-Service and Police officers and their spouses attended the occasion.

[...]

Senior Sri Lankan minister accuses trade unions of not working in the best interest of the workers and public

A senior Sri Lankan minister has said that trade unions in the country were not keen to serve their membership or the people, but were trying to attain political objectives.


Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has told the media that some 100,000 health sector employees are involved in 104 trade unions and that only 54 of the trade unions are active.

Sirisena has added that a few health sector trade unions with a handful of members were trying to disrupt the healthcare system in state healthcare institutions.

According to the Minister, the government would not be in a position to provide a 100 percent successful health service to its people as long as the health sector employees have a negative mentality.

Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke passes away

Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, 69, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died after undergoing surgery after suffering a torn aorta, US media reported on Monday.

President Barack Obama had told members of Holbrooke's family at a diplomatic holiday reception at the State Department just hours earlier: "America is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.
Earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Canada that Holbrooke, who brokered the Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian war, remained in stable but "very critical condition."

After a career spanning nearly 50 years at the pinnacle of US diplomacy, Holbrooke fell ill on Friday, during a meeting at the State Department.

A hard-nosed trouble shooter, Holbrooke is perhaps best known for brokering the 1995 peace agreement that ended three years of war in Bosnia.

As a special US envoy in the current Afghan conflict, he has had the daunting task of pushing Kabul and Islamabad to work together against resurgent Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Obama called him "a towering figure in American foreign policy, a critical member of my Afghanistan and Pakistan team, and a tireless public servant who has won the admiration of the American people and people around the world."

His health problems come at a critical time for US policy in the region, with the administration due to conduct a review of its troop surge in Afghanistan and campaign against the [...]

Sri Lankan government opens four power plants for public viewing

The Sri Lankan government has opened four major power plants in the country for public viewing.

A government media announcement citing the Media Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy said the public will be offered the opportunity to view the Kelanitissa thermal plant, Victoria, Samanalawewa and Wimalasurendra hydropower plants from today.

According to the statement the Ceylon Electricity Board has appointed Coordinating Officers to facilitate the visitors who turn up to view the power plants.

The Ministry officials said people who are interested in visiting these power plants need to reserve a date and a time.

For Information and reservations the visitors could contact the Deputy General Managers of the Power Plants.

Swiss hospitality chain to open hotel in Sri Lanka capital

The Swiss hospitality chain M'venpick Hotels and Resorts has finalized a management deal to operate an upscale hotel in Kollupitiya area of the capital Colombo, a press release by the hotel chain said.

The Swiss chain said it has secured a management deal to operate a 180-room upscale M'venpick Hotel in a half an acre property next to Liberty Plaza in Colombo. The hotel owned by SoftLogic Holdings is expected to open by mid 2013.

The 19-floor hotel ' being designed with sustainable build and operating requirements ' will feature contemporary architecture and room sizes vary from 36 sq m for standard rooms up to 70 sq m for a suite.

Alongside one specialty restaurant will be an all-day dining venue, rooftop bar and nightclub, and guests will be able to unwind in the fitness centre, spa and pool and receive 24-hour room service, while executives will be able to avail of the Boardroom and Business Centre, the release noted.

Andreas Mattm'ller, chief operating officer of M'venpick Hotels & Resorts, Middle East and Asia, said the company is very excited about opening in Colombo, which is in line with its development strategy to secure projects in key Asian markets.

He added that M'venpick Hotels and Resorts look forward to working with owners SoftLogic Holdings in establishing and growing the business.

"It's a great opportunity to expand our presence in such an emerging travel destination," he said. 'It dovetails perfectly with our commitment to international expansion a [...]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange seeks bail

Julian Assange still committed to publishing secret documents.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told his mother from his prison cell in London that he remained committed to publishing secret U.S. cables, despite condemnation from Washington and elsewhere, Australian television reported on Tuesday.

Australia's Network Seven asked Christine Assange to ask her 39-year-old son one question during a visit to his London jail: Was it worth it?

"My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them," said Assange, according to his mother who supplied the network with a written statement of her son's answer.

"If anything this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct."

WikiLeaks has provoked fury in Washington with its publications of secret U.S. cables and has vowed to make public

the 250,000 embassy documents it had obtained.

Assange is under arrest in Britain over sexual assault charges in Sweden.

Assange was also critical of the major finance companies who suspended payments to his WikiLeaks site.

"We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are instruments of U.S. foreign policy. It's not something we knew before [...]

Agathe Bauer Songs – Songverhörer (NEU 2009)

Songverhörer Zeitraum: 25.08.2008 – 21.01.2009 Diesmal mit dabei: 1. Prince 2. Rihanna 3. Aventura 4. ACDC 5. OMC 6. Phil Collins 7. Michael Jackson 8. Sugababes 9. 10CC Interessiert an einem “die schlechtesten Agathe Bauer Songs” Video? Das wäre definitiv einfacher… Für mehr Songverhörer: www.104.6rtl.com

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Former child soldiers and IDP children of Sri Lanka sit for national exam

Children of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and former child soldiers of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are sitting for the GCE Ordinary Level Examination commenced Monday (13) in Sri Lanka.

Northern Province Education Ministry Secretary L. Ilangowan said 2,598 internally displaced students in the Northern Province and 173 rehabilitated ex-combatants are due to take the examination.

The former child soldiers who were forcibly taken by the LTTE to fight have been rehabilitated by the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation. They have been provided the opportunity to further their education by the government.

Meanwhile, 65 former LTTE cadres, who sat GCE Advanced Level examination last August, would qualify for university entrance according to their Z-scores, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe has said.

According to the Commissioner General two of them will be selected to the medical faculty of the universities.

A total of 360 ex-LTTE cadres took the Advanced Level exam and 210 have passed.

wakf board filed a petition in supreme court | sunni waqf board case

The Sunni Central Waqf Board has filed a petition in the Supreme Court today challenging the Allahabad High Court judgment in the Babri Masjid title suit.

Advocate Zafaryab Jilani, who is appearing for the board, said the petition argues that the High Court verdict is based on faith rather than documentary evidence on where Lord Ram was born.

The petition also argues that the verdict violates Articles 25 and 26 which gives equal rights to all faith. The appeal has the endorsement of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The Waqf Board is one of the original litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits.

for more details click here

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Isi Life Mein 2010 – Watch Online Hindi Movie

Release Date
December 24, 2010

Language
Hindi

Genre
Drama

Shooting Studios
Filmcity

Producer
Kamal Kumar Barjatya
Rajkumar Barjatya
Ajit Kumar Barjatya

Executive Producer / Co-Producer
Sooraj Barjatya
Rajat Barjatya

Director
Vidhi Kasliwal

Star Cast
Akshay Oberoi…… Vivaan
Sandeepa Dhar…… Rajnandini
Salman Khan…… Cameo
Mohnish Behl…… Ravimohan (Rajnandini’s father)
Prachi Shah…… Pratibha (Rajnandini’s mother)
Aditya Raj Kapoor…… Prashant (Vivaan’s father)
Shagu [...]

Justin Bieber Most “Failiest” Person of the Year

FAIL Blog has just come out with its annual list of the Top FAIL people, moments, and videos/pictures, all voted on by its community. The highlight of the list? Justin Bieber nabbing the honor of “Failiest Person” with 44% of the vote.Yes, he may have the most-viewed YouTube video of all time (and his own perfume), but Bieber is obviously persona non grata with the FAIL Blog community. Other… 0 comments Source from : TweetMeme

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The Beatles – Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End / Her Majesty

The Beatles – Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End / Her Majesty. All from the album “Abbey Road”. A fantastic album, I must say.

Source from : Sabale

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Prajavani is a leading Kannada-language newspaper in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a sister publication of the Deccan Herald. As of 2006, it had a circulation of 364,000, making it the second-largest-circulation newspaper in Karnataka (after The Hindu), and the largest-circulation Kannada-language newspaper in the state.

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WikiLeaks drug corruption report hits Peru general

A leaked US diplomatic message reporting speculation that the new head of Peru’s military was involved in drug corruption has shaken the nation’s armed forces, with the general angrily denying any drug ties and saying he may take legal action against the former US ambassador. Source from : Top Headlines – The Times of India

Source from : Sabale

Rajinikanth turns 61, fans celebrate

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth quietly ringed in his 61st birthday today while his fans marked the occasion with boisterous celebrations here, including sweets, crackers and special prayers for their idol.

The actor chose to remain low profile, though the past year brought him highs, both professional and personal.

His mega-budget film 'Enthiran', which was released as 'Robot' in Hindi, turned out to be one of the biggest hits in 2010 and his younger daughter Soundarya, also a film producer, got married to Chennai-based entrepreneur Ashwin this year.

Fans offered sweets to one another and posters of Rajinikanth adorned the walls in Chennai and other cities in the state with followers organising pujas in temples for the cinestar.

Born as Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, Rajinikanth's climb to stardom is no different than a movie screenplay.

Rajinikanth, who has acted in over 150 films in a three decade long career, gives credit to his mentor and ace director K Balachander, who first featured him in his critically-acclaimed 'Apoorva Ragangal', co-starring another Tamil icon, Kamal Haasan, for his superstardom.

From a bus conductor in Bangalore to being one of the biggest names in Indian cinema, 'Rajini', as his fans call him, has come a long way in his career spanning more than 30 years.

After proving his mettle with negative characters, Rajinikanth later went on to play characters with superhero attributes.

Some of his unique mannerisms, like tossing up the cigarette to his [...]

Sonia rejects demand for JPC probe in 2G scam

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the deadlock in Parliament over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam and criticised the "corruption in BJP-ruled states".

Addressing a meeting of the Congress parliamentary party on the last day of the winter session of Parliament, Gandhi asked: "Who are they to lecture us on corruption?"

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, while briefing the media on the meeting, quoted Gandhi as saying that BJP governments in Karnataka and several other states were corrupt.

Gandhi said several Congress leaders had resigned when allegations were raised against them, while BJP leaders facing corruption charges were clinging to their chairs.

Referring to the opposition protests that practically paralysed the winter session, Gandhi said that the "BJP should not denigrate the Parliament", Singhvi said.

Gandhi said the country would not tolerate the wastage of Parliament time and loss to the public exchequer caused by the opposition protests, Singhvi added.

The entire opposition, including the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Left parties and others has been noisily demanding a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum allocation in 2008, which according to the CAG report, caused huge notional losses to the public exchequer.

This led to the adjournment of parliament on all days of the winter session except the inaugural day Nov 9.
[...]

ind vs sa 2010 schedule | ind vs sa 2010 dates | ind vs sa 2010 cricket match

India Vs South Africa 2010 Schedule

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Yamla Pagla Deewana 2010 – Watch Online Hindi Movie

Release Date
January 14, 2011

Language
Hindi

Genre
Comedy  /  Drama

Shooting Locations (City & Country)
Banaras (India)
Canada

Shooting Studios
Filmcity
Filmistan

Producer
Samir Karnik
Nitin Manmohan

Executive Producer / Co-Producer
Leo Max Fernandes
Amit Sharma
Sanjay Punamiya

Director
Samir Karnik

Star Cast
Dharmendra…… Dharam Singh
Sunny Deol…… Paramveer Singh Dhillon
Bobby Deol…… Gajodhar Singh
Kulraj Randhawa…… Saheba
Nafisa Ali…… [...]

पति का महापाप, कत्‍ल का खोलेगा राज

अक्सर आपने कहानी और किस्सों में राक्षस के बारे में पढ़ा और सुना होगा कि वो लोगों के शरीर के… Source from : आजतक

Source from : Sabale

New constitution of Sri Lanka's major opposition passed, Premadasa to lead party with Ranil

Sri Lanka's major opposition United National Party (UNP) passed its new constitution at the general convention held today in party headquarters Sirikotha with the participation of large number of party members.

The General Secretary of the party, Tissa Attanayake presented the set of proposals and MP Wijedasa Rajapaksa explained the proposals to the party membership.

All party members sans one person voted for the new constitution, UNP sources said.

The chairman of the party constitution reform committee MP Joseph Michel Perera explained the future programme of the party and invited Sajith Premadasa to lead the party jointly with the present leader Ranil Wickremasinghe.

Sajith Premadasa, the charismatic UNP MP from Hambanthota district who is gaining popularity among the party members as an effective leader said the change has come to the party. "Let's begin a new era," he said.

Premadasa said his ambition is to lead the party towards victory with everyone's support and urged the members to commit themselves to break free from the defeated mentality and direct the party towards victory.

UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said that the party would be taken forward safeguarding party discipline.

The party had been plagued with internal disputes over Wickremasinghe's leadership and the grand old party has failed to secure a victory in any of the polls, provincial or general, held within the last 9 years.

In October a group of 25 UNP parliamentari [...]

Sri Lanka takes measures to alleviate shortage of English teachers

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education has focused on the dearth of English teachers in the country's schools and taken measures to launch a special programme to train more English teachers.

Deputy Minister of Education Vijith Wijayamuni Soyza said that the aim of the programme is to eradicate the dearth of English language teachers in government schools. Teacher training centers will be set up island wide in this regard, he said.

Many schools in remote areas including the Mathugama education zone of the Western Province where high standard of education is available, lack teachers for English language teaching.

The government schools are also in short of teachers to teach other subjects in English medium. The problem seriously affects the teaching in science stream of GCE Advanced Level.

The Ministry of Education has planned to recruit 1,200 English medium teachers to teach science and commerce subjects in English medium.

Sri Lanka Ministry of Education recently announced that 160 newly appointed teachers have not assumed duty so far. These teachers are a part of 554 English medium teachers recruited to teach science subjects in English medium for the students in government schools. They were recruited through a competitive examination for the science graduates.

The Sri Lankan government plans to increase English language skills among the school students as an effort to promote better communication among different ethnic groups and to stay at the front of rapidly advancing technology. [...]

Sri Lanka's Marxist alliance wants government to release the names of Tamil detainees

Sri Lanka's Democratic National Alliance (DNA) today called on the government to release the names of Tamil persons who are either detained in custody or in rehabilitation centers.

DNA Secretary and parliamentarian Vijitha Herath told a press conference that several gangs operating in the North were swindling money from parents promising to trace their children who have disappeared during the period of the war.

According to Herath, in some instances, these groups have extorted up to Rs. 500,000 from helpless parents.

He said that the government should therefore release the names of all the Tamil persons now held in custody or rehabilitation centers.

He added that there were around 8,000 such persons.

During the final stages of war last year over 11,000 LTTE cadres surrendered to the security forces. The military had identified 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres for rehabilitation.

Nearly 6200 ex-LTTE cadres are remaining in the rehabilitation centers undergoing rehabilitation and the government says it is planning to introduce them to the society in batches.

Sri Lanka's main opposition leader calls on senior and youth leaders to join forces to defeat the government

Sri Lanka's Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe addressing the United National Party (UNP) convention held at the party headquarters, Sirikotha, called on party supporters to rally around to defeat President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he completes his second term.

He urged the senior members and youth leaders of the party to join forces to defeat the current regime.

The UNP convention concluded without any major incidents. However, there was a minor distraction earlier in the day, when some UNP supporters who had not received invitations scaled over the walls and gates of the party headquarters and entered the area, but they were not able to get into the main hall.

UNP MP for Hambantota District, Sajith Premadasa, who is hopeful of taking over the party leadership, was cheered by his supporters on arrival.

Meanwhile, UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya also addressing the gathering said the party hoped to bring millions of its supporters to Colombo for a massive protest, a Janabala Meheyuma procession, on January 26 to mark the first anniversary of the Presidential elections.

RIPFILMS Comedy – “Try Not To Laugh” Kid’s Funny Reaction to 2 Girls going down a Water Slide

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Actor Ramarajan injured in accident

Former AIADMK MP and actor Ramarajan suffered multiple injuries in a road accident at Nallamanayakanpatti near Kalligudi in the early hours of Sunday. The car driver died on the spot.

Madurai Rural Police said that Mr. Ramarajan was proceeding to Tiruchendur after addressing a public meeting in Dindigul district when the car dashed against a road-side bus stop shelter. The driver, identified as Rajarathinam (46) of T. Nagar, Chennai, died on the spot.

Mr. Ramarajan suffered injuries on the head, right hand and forehead. The actor's assistant was also injured and admitted to a hospital.

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The Deccan Chronicle is a daily newspaper published through the Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu states of India. It is published in English, and is the largest circulation English-language newspaper in the south of India.[1][2] The newspaper’s name derives from the originating place Deccan regions of India. Other supplements by it are “TV Guide”, “Sunday Chronicle”, “Chennai Chronicle”, and “Bengaluru Chronicle”. It also supplies other weekly features like “School Chronicle” and “Teen Chronicle”

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No One Killed Jessica 2010 – Watch Online Hindi Movie

Release Date
January 7, 2011

Language
Hindi

Genre
Thriller  /  Social

Shooting Locations (City & Country)
India

Producer
Ronnie Screwvala

Executive Producer / Co-Producer
Deven Khote
Zarine Mehta
Rucha Pathak
Siddharth Roy Kapur

Director
Rajkumar Gupta

Star Cast
Rani Mukherjee
Vidya Balan

Cassettes and CD’s on
Saregama-HMV

Lyricist
Amitabh Bhattacharya

Music Director
Amit Trivedi

Background Music
Amit Trivedi

Cinematography[...]

Another India envoy patted down at US airport: Report

Indian envoy to UN Hardeep Puri's turban was patted down at the Texas airport, Times Now reported on Monday.

India has lodged an official protest with the US authorities. Foreign minister S M Krishna will address the media on the incident at 2:30pm in New Delhi.

According to TV reports, airport officials asked Hardeep Puri to remove his turban during a security check, but Puri refused. Thereafter, Puri was made to wait for over half-an-hour in a 'holding room'.

This is the second instance of an Indian envoy being patted down at a US airport.

On December 4, Indian ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, was pulled from an airport security line and patted down by an American security agent in Mississippi despite being told of her diplomatic status.

Shankar was subjected to an enhanced security pat-down at the Jackson-Evers International Airport in Mississippi, ostensibly because she was dressed in sari — India's national female attire and her stock-in-trade.

Sex accusers' have hidden agendas: Assange's lawyer

In an exclusive interview , the lawyer of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said that he had seen secret police documents that prove his client is innocent of accusations of non-use of condom during sex made against him by two Swedish women.

Bjorn Hurtig, who is representing Assange in Sweden, said the papers, which form part of the official Swedish investigation, reveal both women had 'hidden agendas' and lied about being coerced into having sex with his client, reports the Daily Mail. "From what I have read, it is clear that the women are lying and that they had an agenda when they went to the police, which had nothing to do with a crime having taken place," said Hurtig from his Stockholm office.

"It was, I believe, more about jealousy and disappointment on their part. I can prove that at least one of them had very big expectations for something to happen with Julian," he added.

Assange is currently lodged in a London jail while fighting extradition to face the accusations, which his defenders say are part of a plot to stop him releasing more embarrassing information on his website about governments worldwide.