Govt withdraws recent hike in POL prices

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday announced to withdraw recent hike in POL prices.
Addressing to National Assembly prime minister said that POL prices have been restored as which were on 31st December 2010.
Earlier the issue of recent increase in POL prices was discussed at meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad.

SC directs payment of 700 Riyals to each affected pilgrim

The Supreme Court, expressing its intention to go to every extent for maintaining a transparent system in the country, directed Secretary Religious Affairs on Thursday to return 700 Riyals to each affected pilgrim within one week.
The seven-member special bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Tassadq Hussain Jillani, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday issued the directive for payment of the amount to about 26,000 affected Hajis and

Wasim Akram in all-time ODI dream team

Pakistan’s feared left arm fast bowler Wasim Akram was picked among the all-time One-Day International (ODIs) dream team announced by International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.
Australia, India, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan represented as 40th anniversary of ODI cricket is marked.
To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first One-Day International, cricket fans around the world have cast their votes on the ICC website for what they

US newspapers pay tributes to Taseer

Leading American newspapers Wednesday paid tributes to the assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer for his courage in standing up for the rights of Pakistani women and minorities.
“Mr. Taseer was a brave man who had called for the repeal of Pakistan outrageous anti-blasphemy law,” The New York Times said in an editorial.
“Whoever killed Mr. Taseer must be condemned and repudiated, not extolled. Otherwise, Pakistan will certainly continue on a downward spiral in which

Cooks flown down from Lucknow for Imran’s wedding

Bollywood actor Imran Khan’s wedding is the first high profile wedding of the year and he is making sure that it is nothing less than perfect, so much so that even the cooks are being flown from Lucknow to prepare traditional non-vegetarian dishes.
“For the wedding, cooks are being specially flying down from Lucknow. These are specialists and have been cooking for the family (Nassir Hussain’s) for more than five decades. This is a traditional family of cooks having a more than 200 year-old lineage,” said a source close to the

Shah Rukh, Shahid and Priyanka set to rock Durban

Durban is in for some real Bollywood flavour when stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra will groove to their hit numbers Sunday at an event to celebrate 150 years of India-South Africa friendship.
The concert, which promises to bring together the world of cricket and entertainment on a common platform, will be hosted by actor Anil Kapoor.
This friendship concert is an initiative by AAMEDIA, a South African corporate, and Cricket South Africa. It is being directed and executed by Wizcraft

Qadri appears before ATC

Malik Mumtaz Qadri, accused of Salman Taseer’s assassination, was brought before the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Thursday as the ATC was moved to the federal capital for security reasons.
Chief Commissioner Islamabad issued notification for moving the ATC to the sector G-7 of the federal capital.
Earlier, Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday had handed over Mumtaz Qadri to police for one-day transit remand.
Mumataz Qadri was brought before court of Magistrate Malik Naeem Shaukat.

Sreesanth fined for kicking boundary rope

Indias pace bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has been fined 10 percent of his match fee for kicking the boundary rope in frustration during the third and final test against South Africa, the International Cricket Council said on Thursday.
The temperamental bowler pleaded guilty to a charge that related to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings”, the ICC said in a statement.
“As Sreesanth accepted the decision without contest, there was no need for a hearing.”
A frustrated Sreesanth kicked the

Australia make chaotic Ashes innings start

Australia suffered a chaotic run-out and were 77 for two in their second innings Thursday as they struggled to avoid a huge defeat in the final Ashes Test against a rampant England.
Shane Watson became the third Australian opener run out in the series in a dreadful breakdown in communication with Phillip Hughes in the 13th over as Australia were confronted with a massive 364-run innings deficit.
England have already retained the Ashes at last week’s fourth Melbourne Test and are chasing their first series victory in Australia for 24 years.
At tea, Australia were 77 for two, with

Rani Mukherjee hurt with talk about end of her career

She maybe hurt following talk about the end of her career, but Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee says such predictions will not break her.

"I feel bad when people say that Rani Mukerjee is finished. My career is already made. Nobody can make or break my career," the actress says.

"It is my fans who decided to make me a star. The only thing that will break me is when the love of my audience won't be there with me and the fact that they don't want to see me in films," she adds.

The 32-year-old Bengali beauty says being an

Imran, Avantika to have a sunset wedding

Imran Khan and Avantika Malik's dream wedding just got even more romantic. According to reports, the two have opted to say 'I Do' just as the sun sets.

The long-time childhood sweethearts are doing everything to make this occasion a special one, with friends and family. The beach-side wedding will take place in Phuket, Thailand on January 10. To make it even dreamier the bride plans to look like a million bucks in a scarlet gown designed by Shantanu and Nikhil to complement the sunset colours.

A mehendi cum pre-wedding bash will be organised for the friends of the couple at the Malik's farmhouse in Karjat, Mumbai. This will be

Katrina Tops Best Actress Poll

Katrina Kaif, who's been on a roll lately, has yet another feather in her cap: Best Actress for Raajneeti.

The gorgeous actress, who's Sheila act took the country by storm, was voted Best Actress on popular TV show Movie Masala. Kat swept the votes, leaving the other nominees way behind. This the latest of a string of wins for India's very own Barbie Doll.

She was voted World's Sexiest Woman of 2010 by Eastern Eye, for the third time. She was also Yahoo's Newsmaker of 2010. The pretty actress plans to continue her winning streak in Bollywood with more movies in the Raajneeti vein, that showcase her talent and not just her looks.

'Aishwarya', a sweeter variety, to adorn your basket

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is all set to get sweeter soon. An advanced variety of guava named after the actress is being developed by grafting expert and Padmashree horticulturist Haji Kaleemullah Khan.

'Aishwarya' will now adorn your fruit basket. The new variety of guava resembles an apple in texture and is more sweet smelling and pulpier. "The new variety of guava is very different in taste, smell and look from the traditional and normal varieties grown in the country," said Kaleemullah.

According to Kaleemullah, the biggest advantage of this variety is that it has soft seeds.

"It took almost eight years to develop this unique variety of guava and no chemical fertiliser or pesticide was used in developing the same," he said.

Aamir to wear Karan Johar's designs at Imran's wedding

It is a known fact that filmmaker Karan Johar is interested in costume designing and the latest to take his services is Aamir Khan. The star will be wearing a KJo-designed outfit for his nephew Imran Khan's wedding with Avantika Malik.

"Karan has designed clothes for Aamir and his son Junaid. He has designed a traditional as well as a formal suit for the wedding functions," said a source.

Not just Aamir, the filmmaker has also been acting as a mentor to the bride-to-be, Avantika Malik.

Karan has helped Avantika plan the entire wedding from clothes, jewellery, make-up to card designs.

However, for the mehandi celebrations Saturday, Imran and

Cooks flown down from Lucknow for Imran's wedding

Bollywood actor Imran Khan's wedding is the first high profile wedding of the year and he is making sure that it is nothing less than perfect, so much so that even the cooks are being flown from Lucknow to prepare traditional non-vegetarian dishes.

"For the wedding, cooks are being specially flying down from Lucknow. These are specialists and have been cooking for the family (Nassir Hussain's) for more than five decades. This is a traditional family of cooks having a more than 200 year-old lineage," said a source close to the family.

"They are even bringing the ingredients from Lucknow. All spices, vessels and other ingredients are being flown as they are very particular," added the source.

Khyber, a North West frontier specialty restaurant, will be

Band Baaja success gets Anushka in Patiala House poster

Anushka Sharma couldn't have asked for more. The petite actress, who was missing from the first poster of her next outing Patiala House, has now managed to get into a new one, thanks to the success of her last outing Band Baaja Baaraat.

A movie about father-son relationship, Patiala House stars Akhsay Kumar in the male lead with Rishi Kapoor in a pivotal role. The movie has been inspired by England cricket team's first Sikh player Monty Panesar, where Akshay has been shown as a British citizen who sacrifices his dream of being a pace bowler for his autocratic father's ideals.

"The filmmakers wanted to portray the same in their first key art poster for their audiences. So they finalized that the poster will

A record number of new Directors in 2010

By Subhash K Jha

There were a whopping 35 debutant directors in 2010, namely Mudassar Aziz (Dulha Mil Gayaa), Jugal Hansraj (Pyaar Impossible), Amit Rai (Road To Sangam), Abhishek Choubey (Ishqiya), Kendar Shindre (To Baat Pakki), Vijay Lalvani (Kartik Calling Kartik), Irrfan Kamal (Thanks, Maa), Raja Unnithan (Hello Zindagi), Shawn Arranha (Hide N Seek), Neeraj Pathak (Right Ya Wrong), Sanjay Puran Singh (Lahore), Milap Jhaveri (Jaane Kahan Se Aayee Hai), Kookie Gulati (Prince It's Showtime), Milind Gadgkar (Phoonk2), Milin Ukey (Paathshala), Parmeet Sethi (Badmaash Company), Punit Malhotra (I Hate Luv Storys), Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan), Abhishek Sharma (Tere Bin Laden), Rajshree Ojha (Aisha), Anusha Rizvi (Peepli Live), Antardwand (Sushil Rajpal), Jai Tank (Madholal…Keep Walking), Akshay Shere (Emotional Atyaachaar), Siddharth Malhotra (We Are Family), Abhinav Kashyap (Dabangg), Sona Jain (For Real), Aaatish Kapadia (Khichdi), Habib Faizal (Do Dooni Char), Bela Nagi (Dayen Ya Bayen), Sanjay Sharma (Dunno Y…Na Jaane Kyon), Faruk Kabir (Allah Kay Banday), Danish Aslam (Break Ke Baad), Maneesh Sharma (Band Baaja Baaraati), Subhash Kapoor (Phans Gaye Re Obama) and Kireet Khurana (Tunpoor Ka Superhero)

Bollywood Stars Who Smoke: Bad Habits Die Hard

Bollywood movies are known to show some of their top actors smoking like a chimney, to make a distinct mark of a man. 

However with a ban on such scenes some time back, there had been almost no show of the sinful stick in movies recently. With the ban reportedly lifted, now it seems more movies would show their actors smoking.

But that is for the reel life of our stars and for the real life stars who are prone to this habit, there are certainly quite long lists. 

But the top five names that come to mind are certainly the popular Khans. There is the famous Khan brigade - Shahrukh, Aamir, Salman, Saif Ali and Fardeen who are all known for their fascination for the sinful stick. 

Even though some are bold enough to go public with this habit and don’t bat an eyelid in taking a puff on and off, there are others who still find it a little embarrassing to get caught puffing in public and stick to making themselves comfortable with the stick only in their personal hangouts. 

Celina not hitched yet, only engaged

Celina Jaitley is not married yet, says her publicist who, however, confirmed that the beauty queen is engaged to her long time beau, Dubai-based hotelier Peter Haag.

"Celina Jaitley and Peter Haag are very much together. They exchanged rings in a small ceremony in Mumbai during Durga Puja with their first families present. The official wedding date is yet to be announced, " said a statement from her publicist. 

The 29-year-old's representatives were compelled to come out with an official statement on her marital status after rumour mills were abuzz that the blue-eyed beauty clandestinely tied the knot with Haag recently.

Farah Khan turns 44 years old

Farah will bring in birthday later this week with close friends and family at Aamby Valley

Farah Khan will bring in her 44th birthday on January 7 with friends, family, husband Shirish Kunder and babies in Aamby Valley.

Says a source close to Farah, "Apart from Shrish, her triplets and their nannies, Farah is taking her mother, a few relatives from London and her best friend, Vivek Thakur along to Aamby Valley in a couple of days.

Vivek is an investment banker from New York and FK has known him for more than 20 years. She is really looking forward to spending some time with him and his family. 

She has booked two beautiful villas near a lake and will spend the weekend there bringing in her birthday with her loved ones." 

Rani, Vidya nail director asking for sexual favours

Ever since Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan launched the Thappad Maar helpline (5059995) as part of the promotions for No One Killed Jessica, a lot of victims of injustice have been coming forward. 

According to producers UTV, the helpline has been receiving 5,000 calls a day.

One such caller was an aspiring actress who called for help against a director-producer who had been giving not so subtle hints for sexual favours in return for a role. 

Rani and Vidya were enraged and asked the newcomer to trap the producer by using a hidden camera. Armed with the footage, the stars confronted him.

SRK to celebrate 150 years of arrival of Indians in SA

Anil Kapoor, SRK and others to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the arrival of Indians in South Africa with a special show

Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapur will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in South Africa on January 9 in Durban at a special show held there.

While Kapoor has been invited as a special guest to represent India and South Africa, Shah Rukh, Priyanka and Shahid will be performing at the friendship concert an initiative by AAMEDIA and Cricket South Africa and directed and executed by Wizcraft International Entertainment and Cineyug Productions. 

Says a source close to the 24 actor, "Anil is the brand ambassador of South Africa and he will be attending the event in Durban as a special guest of the government. 

It's a very prestigious event as it marks 150 years since the arrival of the first Indian labourers (in 1860) to work on the sugar cane plantations in the then Natal province of

Deepika in Copenhagen with Sidhartha Mallya for B'day

Deepika Padukone is having a whale of a time lately. First she brought in the New Year with rumored beau Sidhartha Mallya in London and reports in the media claim that the actress will party in Copenhagen today with Sidhartha Mallya in tow. 

No, this is not an extension of the New Year vacations, but her birthday celebrations that the actress is hosting in the city of her birth. 

Deepika Padukone was born in the capital city of Denmark 25 years ago and though she stayed for only 11 months in Copenhagen, the actress would love to take a look at the places that she saw as a newborn.

According to reports in the media, papa Prakash Padukone will also accompany his daughter on her birthday trip to Copenhagen.

While it is natural for her father to be present when Deepika Padukone is catching up on old friends and places, we wonder what Sidhartha Mallya is doing with the actress in Copenhagen! Well, we forget it is Deepika Padukone’s birthday today and

Vivek cancels honeymoon with Priyanka for Tennis match

Vivek Oberoi postpones planned vacation for exhibition match

Vivek Oberoi cancelled his Red Sea honeymoon with wife Priyanka as he was asked to play a tennis match with Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes and Tamil star Suriya.

Says a source close to VO, "Vivek and Priyanka decided to postpone their honeymoon to the Red Sea because he was invited to kickstart an opening exhibition match at the Chennai Open with Bhupathi, Paes and Suriya yesterday. 

The actor is fond of Bhupathi and immediately jumped at the chance. Also he has been nominated for the Screen awards and is hosting the Apsara awards and he will be going on his honeymoon a bit later in the month."

The actor was excited about the match as it's an international sporting event. "Playing with the tennis stars and his buddy Suriya was exciting for Vivek. 

Also, VO is doing many shows, appearances and

umati koi nahin – Javed Chaudhry