The Indian Panorama

Month: December 2012

  • Race 2 wins over Deepika

    Race 2 wins over Deepika

    She has taken a break from Ye Jawaani… and Ram Leela to promote the Abbas-Mustan thriller Deepika Padukone, who had famously walked out of Abbas-Mustan’s Race 2 citing date issues, is now using the film as a reason to take a break from both Ayaan Mukerji’s Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela.

    It is learnt the two projects she is shooting for simultaneously, will have to be put on hold because she is taking time off in January to promote Abbas-Mustan’s film.

    Next month, she will travel to different parts of the world to promote the multi-starrer. A source close to Deepika confirmed the news and said, “She will be occupied for the most part of January promoting Race 2. That is why she requested Ayaan and Bhansali to let her go for some time. Ayaan and Bhansali were not too amused but they relented.” Seems that the makers of Race 2 have happily left the past behind

  • China Omits India, Pak from 72-Hour Visa Free Travel

    China Omits India, Pak from 72-Hour Visa Free Travel

    The list mostly includes US and European countries but China’s neighbours in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka are missing
    BEIJING (TIP): China announced a 72-hour visa free stay in Beijing for travelers from 42 countries but India, Pakistan and the rest of South Asian nations were conspicuously missing from the list. Beijing will start a 72-hour visa-free stay policy for citizens of 45 countries from January 1 next year in a bid to increase the inflow of tourists to the Chinese capital, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Tourists holding third country visas and plane tickets can apply for a transit without visa (TWOV) in the capital city at Beijing Capital International Airport. The list mostly includes US, European countries as well as Japan and Russia.

    All most all of China’s neighbours in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka did not figure in the list. The 45 countries were listed in accordance with the numbers of inbound overnight visitors in Beijing from 2009 to 2011, the Xinhua report said. ‘The policy may enhance the status of Beijing Capital International Airport as an international air hub, said Gao Lijia,’ a general deputy manager with the airport. The airport has seen about 7.6 million inbound and outbound foreign passengers during the first nine months in 2012 and 521,600 out of them are transit passengers, Gao said. He predicted that the policy will bring 600,000 to 800,000 transit visitors to China in 2013. To help with the transit visitors, the airport will improve service facilities in the airport including special visa-free channels, said Li Chunfang, manager with the planning and development department of the airport.

    ‘We will set up a special service zone for transit visitors in our terminals, offering drinking water and reading materials. Moreover, services including foreign currency exchange, mobile phone rental service, and left-luggage office will be provided for the convenience of tourists,’ he said. Foreign visitors are not permitted to leave Beijing to other Chinese cities during the 72 hours, and have to depart from Beijing. Visitors have to register at a police station with their visas within 24 hours of their arrival, according to the government. The 72 hours will be calculated starting from the moment visitors get their transit stay permits, said Gao Dahua, deputy director of the exit and entry administrative corps of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Beijing Capital International Airport is the only entry-exit port applicable for the policy, Gao stressed.

  • Priyanka is keen to do a film with Salman

    Priyanka is keen to do a film with Salman

    Priyanka Chopra seems to be making no effort to hide her growing fondness for Salman Khan. Reportedly, the two continued to bond big time in Dubai, where they performed for a show the other night.

    Interestingly, Priyanka is very keen to do a film with Salman. And according to industry sources, the actress is not only giving an open date diary to do a movie with her current favorite star, but it’s also believed that she’s even willing to negotiate her market fee for the movie. Of late, all Salman films have had at least a couple of hit songs
    .
    So, that’s an added advantage for Priyanka as she can use them to perform at award shows the following year. And that will surely bring her more moolah than what she foregoes to work in a film with Salman.

  • Russian Prison Dubbed ‘hell’ by Top Official

    Russian Prison Dubbed ‘hell’ by Top Official

    With more than 700,000 Russians behind bars, there have been frequent complaints of sub-standard living conditions, torture, and disease in the prisons
    MOSCOW (TIP): A prison in Russia’s Urals region where inmates rioted last month against alleged abuse and extortion has been compared to a “concentration camp” by a member of the Kremlin’s human rights council. “We saw a splendid park and a beautiful church, marble – but behind the facade there was hell,” Maxim Shevchenko said at a news conference. “One of the inmates had been spread out on bars, a helmet with speakers was put on his head, and a siren turned on,” he said after a visit by council members to the prison. Around 500 inmates at Prison No.6 in Kopeisk, in Chelyabinsk region, rioted November 25-26 over alleged widespread abuse by prison guards.

    Eight police officers were injured in the disturbances, during which inmates climbed onto the prison roof and held up a make-shift banner reading “People, help us”. Riot officers were also reported to have clashed with hundreds of relatives of inmates who had gathered outside the prison. Kremlin human rights council chief Mikhail Fedotov said Thursday a number of inmates had been held in isolation cells for ‘months or even years’. ‘There was one man who could only crawl. His legs didn’t work anymore after being kept in a punishment isolation cell for months.’ The disturbances made headlines across Russia and were the subject of intense online debate by the country’s increasingly politicized internet community.

    Police also made 12 arrests at a Nov 26 protest against torture in the Russian prison system outside the Moscow headquarters of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Investigators have since filed assault charges against five inmates. One prison guard has also been charged with extortion. ‘People who complained (about extortion) were beaten,’ council member Igor Kalyapin said, adding that ‘a stream’ of complaints to local officials about the alleged abuse had been ignored. Chelyabinsk Governor Mikhail Yurevich said the riot was sparked by a ‘corrupt’ system. More than 700,000 Russians are currently behind bars. Human rights activists frequently complain of substandard living conditions, torture, and disease in the country’s prisons.

  • White House Refutes Iranian Claim on Drone

    White House Refutes Iranian Claim on Drone

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The United States has refuted the Iranian claim that it has captured an American drone after it entered its airspace. “We have no evidence that the Iranian claims are true,” the White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters at his daily news conference. Carney was responding to questions on the latest Iranian claim that Revolutionary Guards Corps naval forces has captured an American drone after it entered its airspace in the Persian Gulf. “I’m not going to comment on something about which we have no evidence in its truthfulness,” Carney added.

  • Movie Review:Talaash

    Movie Review:Talaash

    Cast: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor,
    Nawazuddin Siddiqui
    Direction: Reema Kagti
    Genre: Thriller
    Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes

    STORY: Surjan Singh Shekhawat who has been entrusted the task of solving a high-profile murder case of a film star is up against a dead-end. Will he, won’t he be able to take the case to a natural conclusion?

    MOVIE REVIEW: Talaash belongs to the genre of cinema noir of which there are few examples in recent times. This film is a good attempt at revisiting suspense flicks that were a huge craze in the 50-60s. To bring Gen- Now up to speed, back then movies like CID, Mera Saya, Woh Kaun Thi weaved magic on celluloid for patrons back then. But, make no mistake here. Though, Talaash has the mystique of the cinema Raj Khosla; it is modern in its approach and the setting is contemporary. The plot revolves around a bizarre high profile death of a movie star Armaan Kapoor (Vivaan Bhatena). Aamir Khan (Surjan Singh Shekhawat) is the cop in charge of the case.

    The clues lead him to Mumbai’s red-light area where he jostles between pimps and prostitutes looking for answers. It’s also revealed that Surjan is married to Roshni (Rani Mukerji).

    But he is like a man possessed on the job because of a sensitive incident in his life. In a bid to bury his head in the sand and escape his personal demons, he directs all his energies into his khaki uniform. Coming to the Armaan Kapoor case, vital clues keep taking him to a working girl called Rosie (Kareena Kapoor).

    Between piecing the mystery together, the cop and the call-girl, develop a relationship that goes slightly beyond the regular. In the performance department, Aamir Khan should pat himself on his back for a superlative act; he’s a powerhouse, flawless from frame one to 10. This superstar-actor should also be lauded for raising the bar in his choice of films and roles, unlike many of his contemporaries who neither have the inclination nor the capacity to move away from the ‘mould’ they have been typecast in.

    Rani Mukerji is one of the finest actresses of this generation. In Talaash she is effortless in her part of a wife in a strife ridden marriage and a mother who has faced a tragedy. Kareena Kapoor looks lovely and sits pretty in her hooker act, going from coy to brazen like a pro. Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Taimur) has an interesting role as a street-savvy chai-serving sidekick in the flesh bazaar.

    Again, this is one actor, whose potential Bollywood is discovering slowly but surely. Ram Sampath’s music haunts-especially Muskaanein jhooti hai and Jiya lage na . Farhan Akhtar’s dialogue has fire.

    But the story written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti oscillates between real and implausible; making it hard for the screenplay to bridge the gap, especially in some key portions in the second half. At time the pace also numbs you making you shift in your seat. But if you average it out, Talaash is well-worth the price of a ticket.

  • Bosworth new face of Topshop

    Bosworth new face of Topshop

    Actress Kate Bosworth has been unveiled as the new face of women’s clothing brand Topshop.

    The 29-year-old teamed up with her filmmaker fiancé Michael Polish to work on the promotional film for the brand. “This project brings together two important aspects of my life: cinema and fashion.

    I have always been a fan of the Topshop brand and it has been an honor to work with Sir Phillip and the team. I hope everyone enjoys watching it as much as we did making it,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted Bosworth as saying.

  • 475 Dead, Many Homeless in Philippines Typhoon

    475 Dead, Many Homeless in Philippines Typhoon

    Rescuers are still looking for at least 377 missing people and seeking help for more than 1,79,000 others who are sheltered in schools, gyms and other buildings
    PHILIPPINES (TIP): Nearly 2,00,000 people were homeless and 475 confirmed dead after the Philippines’ worst typhoon this year, officials said today, as the government appealed for international help. Typhoon Bopha ploughed across Mindanao island on Tuesday, flattening whole towns in its path as hurricane-force winds brought torrential rain that triggered a deadly combination of floods and landslides. Erinea Cantilla and her family of six walked barefoot for two days in a vain search of food and shelter through a muddy wasteland near the mountainous town of New Bataan after the deluge destroyed their house and banana and cocoa farm. “Everything we had is gone.

    The only ones left are dead people,” Cantilla told AFP as her husband, three children and a granddaughter reached the outskirts of the town, which itself had been nearly totally obliterated. The army said it was looking for at least 377 missing people while seeking help for more than 1,79,000 others who sheltered in schools, gyms and other buildings after losing everything. Officials said many victims were poor migrants who flocked to landslide-prone sites like New Bataan and the nearby town of Monkayo to farm the lower slopes of mountains or work at unregulated mines in the gold rush area. Of the dead, 258 were found on the east coast of Mindanao while 191 were recovered in and around New Bataan and Monkayo, said Major-General Ariel Bernardo, head of an army division involved in the search. The civil defence office in Manila said 17 people were killed elsewhere in Mindanao along with nine in the central Visayan islands.

  • Aniston buys 10-Foot Christmas Tree

    Aniston buys 10-Foot Christmas Tree

    Actress Jennifer Aniston bought a 10-foot Christmas tree for a weekend bash that she threw for her and fiancé Justin Theroux’s close friends.

    “She likes (her trees) really full and fluffy!” usmagazine.com quoted a source at Beverly Hills’ Mr. Greentrees store as saying.

    According to X17, stars like Demi Moore, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi, Tobey Maguire and Ben Stiller were spotted arriving at Aniston and Theroux’s house.

    The source said Aniston “was merely celebrating the start of the holiday season by hosting her annual tree trimming party”.

  • India Fighting to Salvage Equity in Doha Climate Talks

    India Fighting to Salvage Equity in Doha Climate Talks

    DOHA (TIP): India is fighting an increasingly difficult battle to prevent the principle of equity from being junked from the platform of negotiations at the crucial climate change talks here, as certain powerful blocs seek to erase the baggage of history from the story of global warming. The principle of equity in deciding who does what and how much in dealing with climate change was a founding principle of the UN convention for climate change but over the years there has been unwillingness on the part of rich nations to adopt it into actions.

    Larger developing countries like India and China, who are among today’s major polluters but have minimal historical role in taking the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to its present level, are coming under increasing pressure to share the burden of emission reduction. While they have stated clearly that the principles of equity and historic responsibility are non-negotiable for them, it is to be seen how they continue to resist the mounting pressure as stances change and new axes emerge in the polarised world of climate change talks. “When the framework of the UN convention on climate change was developed, equity was established as a principle but unfortunately we see today an unwillingness to accept this principle as a basis for actions,” said Joint Secretary of Environment Affairs and Indian negotiator R.R. Rashmi.

    When an agreement was arrived at last year in Durban that envisaged a post 2020 climate deal, the principle of equity was not mentioned clearly in the ambivalent text, a point that many observers called a big loss for India. “I have heard (from negotiators) that equity is not relevant as it does not figure in the Durban platform, but we have been trying to draw people’s attention to the fact that the Durban platform makes it clear that anything under it automatically comes under the convention,” Rashmi said while stating India’s stance on the issue.

    “We want to see a political acceptance of equity as a principle but we don’t see this happening. The element of equity is not opposed to ambition but is the benchmark to consider the adequacy of actions,” Rashmi said.While G-77 and China have more or less stuck to the principle, cracks have started appearing in the common positions of poor and poorer countries. As the US and the EU push for a regime that brings all major polluters including from the developing countries under obligations for reducing greenhouse gases, the negotiators from the world’s poorer nations too appeared to take this line yesterday in demanding that the debate on equity must not be used to “derail” the climate talks.

    The chair of the group of 48 Least Developed Countries said while equity was an important element, it was equally important to look at the future of things, a position that is closer to that of the EU and the US than the G-77. The US on its part was trying to turn the concept of equity over its head as the EU saw no reason to allow some countries some more years before their emissions peaked, notwithstanding the fact that the global warming the world is looking at is because of past emissions, not the present ones. “We see equity as a matter of fairness and engagement.One aspect of this is that whether or not something is being demanded of a country that it cannot do and this too is inequitable,” said US negotiator Jonathan Pershing calling it “quite a complicated issue’’. The US, which has never been part of the Kyoto Protocol, has never agreed to the regime, while the EU which was party to the first commitment period has been refusing to increase its reduction targets for a second commitment period.

  • Guatemala Detains Software Guru McAfee

    Guatemala Detains Software Guru McAfee

    GUATEMALA CITY (TIP): Guatemalan police arrested U.S. software guru John McAfee for illegally entering the country and said it would expel him to neighboring Belize, which he fled after being sought for questioning over his neighbor’s murder. McAfee, 67, who had been in hiding for three weeks, crossed into Guatemala with his 20-year-old girlfriend to evade authorities in Belize who wanted to quiz him as “a person of interest” about the killing of fellow American Gregory Faull. “He entered the country illegally and we are going to seek his expulsion for this crime,”Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said. McAfee was detained by Guatemalan police and a member of Interpol at the upscale Intercontinental hotel in Guatemala City.

    Government spokesman Francisco Cuevas said McAfee would be expelled to Belize and he expected the process to be completed by early Thursday morning. McAfee’s lawyer Telesforo Guerra said he would seek an injunction to have him released. There is no international arrest warrant for McAfee. Police in Belize say he is not a prime suspect. McAfee was taken to a residence belonging to the immigration department guarded by a small group of police. He had been seeking political asylum in Guatemala, which has been embroiled in a long-running territorial dispute with Belize. One of Silicon Valley’s first entrepreneurs to build an Internet fortune, McAfee made millions of dollars through the Internet antivirus that now carries his name.

    His behavior has been increasingly erratic in recent years. Residents and neighbors on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, where McAfee has lived in Belize for about four years, say he is eccentric, impulsive, volatile and at times unstable, citing his love of guns and young women. McAfee has sa id he believes authorities in Belize will kill him if he turns himself in for questioning. Belize’s prime minister has denied this and called hi m pa ranoid and ‘bonkers.’ ‘It’s a wild, wild country,’McAfee told Reuters in an interview in his hotel room just hours before his detention. ‘Everyone sees one part of Belize ,’ he said. ‘They think it’s a wonderful, peaceful, lovely place, blue waters, so McAfee has got to be crazy. May be I am crazy. If I were, I wouldn’t k now.’ In Belize, he was often seen with armed bodyguards dressed in camouflage, pistols tucked into his belt.

    McAfee’s slain neighbor had complained about the loud barking of dogs that guarded his exclusive beachside compound. His run-in with authorities in Belize is a world away from a successful life in the United States, where the former Lockheed systems consultant started McAfee Associates in the late 1980s. McAfee has no relationship now with the company, which was sold to Intel Corp. There was already a case against McAfee in Belize for possession of illegal firearms, and police had previously raided his property on suspicion he was running a lab to make illegal synthetic narcotics. He says he has not taken drugs since 1983. ‘(Before then) I took drugs constantly, 24 hours of the day, I took them for years and years. I was the worst drug abuser on the planet,’ McAfee said. ‘Then I finally went to Alcoholics Anonymous, and that was the end of it.’

  • Bar Rafaeli tweets topless pic of herself

    Bar Rafaeli tweets topless pic of herself

    Supermodel Bar Refaeli – one of the most indemand bikini models – posted a topless photo of herself on her Twitter account on Monday. Leonardo DiCaprio’s former girlfriend had last posted a candid snap of herself during a painfullooking dental examination.

    The photograph features the former Sports Illustrated model topless, while submerged in water, with the caption, “Watch your back!” In the black and white image, Rafaeli can be seen from behind wearing nothing but a checkered string bikini bottom – with visible tan lines – as she coyly holds her triangle top, the Daily Mail reported.

    She also posted a mysterious picture of herself with five small children, and wrote: “Can u think of a better day to start the day?”

  • South China Sea: India Backs Access to Resources

    South China Sea: India Backs Access to Resources

    India says it is aware that the sovereignty of many parts of South China Sea is disputed, but it supports freedom of navigation, right of passage and access to resources
    NEW DELHI/BEIJING (TIP): Unfazed by China’s fresh assertion in South China Sea and its stern warning to Vietnam to stop unilateral oil exploration in the disputed waters, India on Thursday underlined its support for freedom of navigation and access to resources. “We have made our position clear several times.We are aware that the sovereignty of many parts of South China Sea is disputed. India is not a party to the dispute,” Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, told reporters to queries about China’s renewed assertion in its claims over the South China Sea.

    “We support freedom of navigation, right of passage and access to resources,” he said in New Delhi. The stress on “access to resources” is important as India, in the face of Chinese objections, has stuck to its position that its three oil exploration deals with Vietnam adhere to international norms. China Thursday upped the ante and asked Vietnam to immediately stop ‘unilateral’ oil exploration in the disputed waters in the South China Sea. ‘Vietnam should immediately stop unilateral oil exploration in that part of the (disputed) sea and stop interrupting Chinese fishing boats so as to create conducive atmosphere for relevant negotiations,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing.

    In a stern message to India, China has reacted sharply to Navy chief, Admiral DK Joshi’s remarks that the Indian Navy was prepared to protect its interests and deploy its forces in the contested waters. Asked about Admiral Joshi’s comments, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said China ‘hopes relevant countries respect China’s sovereignty and national interests’. ‘China opposes any unilateral energy exploration and development activities in the disputed areas in the South China Sea,’ Hong was quoted as saying by the communist Party-run Global Times newspaper

  • Kovalam

    Kovalam

    Kovalam is famous for its beaches, among the most pristine in India. Kovalam is extremely popular among westerners due to shallow waters and low tidal waves. It is also one of the oldest tourist enclave in India, which known among tourist circuit right in 1930s. Kovalam shot into limelight in the early seventies with arrivals of the masses of hippies. That started the transformation of a casual fishing village of Kerala into one of the most important tourist destinations in all India- the Kovalam beach.

    Kovalam was brought to the public eye by Her Highness The Queen of Travancore Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bai decided to build a palace for herself at a rock top near the beach, as her private residence better known as Haylcon Castle. Later, in 1936, the next Queen, HH Karthika Thirunal choose this palace for her honeymoon with her newly wed husband, 1st Prince GV Raja. It was Prince G.V Raja who found immense tourist potentiality of the region and decided promote the region among state guests, by inviting Thomas Cook & Sons- UK to develop the region. The Maharaja of Travancore soon started hosting regular state banquets and accommodation of his European guests in Kovalam Haylcon Palace. This made the beach popular among European families living in nearby Madras and Bombay Presidencies as well as elite Travancore families to spend their holidays. Thus, the move helped to lay foundations of modern tourism industry in South India. Post independent India, the beach was popular among Indians and few tourists. It was 1970s, the hippie culture helped to revive the beach, with vast influx of tourists, spending their wild holidays here. When Kerala government thought of making tourism as a major industry, towards 1990s, Kovalam was the first tourist destination to be highlighted and promoted. Today its an intentionally renowned beach.

    Kovalam has 3 major beaches in its 17 km coastline. The southernmost, known as the Lighthouse Beach is the most popular of the three. Many hotels, restaurants, lodges and shops are located here.

    It is frequented by outsiders who stay and enjoy Kovalam. The Northern most crescent, (with the different names Main Beach/Leela Beach/Samudra Beach) – is crowded on weekends, is very popular with the locals, day-travelers, and passing-by tourist buses.

    During the week it’s quiet. Hawa Beach inbetween is among one of the beaches in India where top-less sunbathing is tolerated and well appreciated by the locals.

    The tourism department provides a vigilant life guard service on both Lighthouse and Hawa beach. Note that many tourists in Kovalam are between the ages of 40 and 60 years young. Those expecting a replica of Goa will be pleasantly surprised by the more relaxed atmosphere, a bit more laid back, the food a touch softer and lighter. Kovalam is about 16 km (20 minutes in a taxi) from Trivandrum.

    Taxis can charge around 400-500 rupees to get to Kovalam. When asked where you want to go, say Hawa Beach, Leela Beach/Main Beach or Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam.

    In an auto-rickshaw 150 – 170 rupees is a fair price, avoid going above 170 rupees. If in doubt ask to use the meter, but in reality they really don’t work at all. Advice being if they are trying to rip you off go to leave for another rickshaw and they will often back down and offer you a fair price, if not, get in a different rickshaw. Even if India is a cheap country, the prices for gasoline are international standard, so don’t expect super cheap private transportation.

    If you go by public bus from Trivandrum-East Fort to Kovalam Beach you only pay 8 Rps. for the half hour trip. Buses to Trivandrum can also be caught from Kovalum Junction as well as Ambassador taxis and Autos to pretty much anywhere. Be very careful walking around the junction, especially at night, as there are no traffic lights and the street lighting is very minimal. The intersection can be busy.

    Get around
    Tourist taxis are the most convenient way to travel around attractions, especially while travelling in a group. Most airports and railway stations have tourist taxi services that would take you anywhere you would want to go. The rate should be around 15Rs per kilometer on auto rickshaw but some drivers may try to overcharge up to 100Rs for 1km. A more adventurous option is to get a bike on hire.

    The highway is a pleasure to drive on, with the cool breeze and coconut palms lined along the way. Once on the highway, drive north for the plains, drive south for the hills. Avoid driving through Thiruvananthapuram city, it’s congested. The old highway, also called MC road, is also good to drive on. The MC road can take you deep into the hills. Try out the throaty Enfield 350 CC bikes for a truly vintage experience, check your fuel levels before you leave.

    Two wheelers do not have to pay the highway toll, simply ride through the side lane. The beaches are the star attractions here. Kovalam has three crescent shaped beaches separated by rocky outcroppings. The larger of the beaches is called Lighthouse Beachknown for its 35 metre high lighthouse which towers over it atop Kurumkal hillock. Most of the foreigner’s stay on Lighthouse Beach, which is more developed. There are some vendors on the beach, but they are not too pushy.

    It takes less than five minutes to walk from Lighthouse Beach to the second largest beach, Hawah Beach. This beach is named thus for the topless European women who used to throng there.

    It was the first topless beach in India. However topless bathing is banned now. The northern part of the beach is known as Samudra Beach.

    A large promontory separates this part from the southern side. Samudra Beach doesn’t have tourists thronging there or hectic business. The local fishermen ply their trade on this part.

    What to do
    Surfing – Some fine waves from time to time (0.5 – 2 meters). You can hire surf boards and body boards on the beach from $6USD a day. During peak season they will try and charge more unreasonable amounts but just say no. Body boarding can be enjoyed by anyone. Surfing takes a bit more skill.

    It is wise to follow the life-guards’ instructions as there are some strong currents that can suddenly whisk the unwary out to sea. Wooden Boat Ride – At Kovalam’s Main Beach/Leela Beach you can go out on the ocean with a traditional Catamaran. These ancient boats are rowed with a bamboo paddle and maneuvered by experienced local fishermen.

    There are 11 registered boats available. Rides last from about 15 to 120 minutes and cost between Rps. 300 to 600 p.p. .The best time for going snorkeling from the boat is in the early morning. Most romantic are the “sunset cruises”. No advance booking necessary. First come – first served.

    Motor Boat Ride – In 2009 local fishermen/catamaran people added a few motor boats to their fleet, destroying the peace and serenity of the coves. They hope to make some extra money from Indian tourists, but are not aware of the impact on the environment and Western tourism.

  • Marijuana Legal in Washington State

    Marijuana Legal in Washington State

    SEATTLE (TIP): Legal marijuana possession becomes a reality under Washington state law on Thursday, and some people planned to celebrate the new law by breaking it. Voters in Washington and Colorado last month made those the first states to decriminalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. Washington’s law takes effect on Thursday and allows adults to have up to an ounce of pot — but it bans public use of marijuana, which is punishable by a fine, just like drinking in public.

    Nevertheless, some people planned to gather at 12 am on Thursday to smoke up in public beneath Seattle’s Space Needle. Others planned a midnight party outside the Seattle headquarters of Hempfest, the 21- year-old festival that attracts tens of thousands of pot fans every summer. “This is a big day because all our lives we’ve been living under the iron curtain of prohibition,” said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. “The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow.” Seattle police spokesman Sgt Sean Whitcomb said he doesn’t expect officers to write many tickets to the celebrants.

    Thanks to a 2003 law, marijuana enforcement remains the department’s lowest priority. Even before Initiative 502 was passed on November 6, police rarely busted people at Hempfest, despite widespread pot use, and the city attorney doesn’t prosecute people for having small amounts of marijuana. Washington’s new law doesn’t decriminalise selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25% at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

    But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it’s banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks. The justice department has not said if it will sue to try to block regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

  • Bollywood Biggies Wax Eloquent in Washington

    Bollywood Biggies Wax Eloquent in Washington

    WASHINGTON (TIP): India’s growing soft power has got a brief toehold in the world’s hardball capital. Madame Tussauds, the famed wax gallery, unveiled on Tuesday the moulded likeness of Bollywood’s best in an intensely political city that is more into power than entertainment. For the next few weeks, a cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Hritik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor will rub shoulders with 43 US Presidents and dozens of American celebrity journalists and sportsmen at the popular gallery, among the newest of 14 Madame Tussaud’s museums around the world. They will then go to New York, Las Vegas, and Hollywood.

    It’s the first time that Bollywood stars have made a waxy entry into the US, although they come here often enough in flesh and blood. America is now the second largest Bollywood market outside India, and gallery officials explained that Indian visitors to their attraction had voted through visitor logs and guest feedback a desire to see their favourite desi movie stars. An in-house panel chose the five most popular stars through such feedback. The Indian movie industry, commonly arrogated to Bollywood, is at the centre of India’s much-ballyhooed soft power, a term coined by US political scientist Joseph Nye to describe persuasive diplomacy through the arts, culture, entertainment and other “soft” elements rather than hard military power projection. Although Bollywood’s revenues of around $2 billion annual is a fraction of the nearly $70 billion Hollywood rakes in, its footprint is as large as its American counterpart because it sells more tickets worldwide even if revenue per capita is lower.

    At the surreal Madame Tussauds, a few blocks from the White House, workers wheeled in the Indian stars shipped here after similar appearances in Sydney and Vienna. Two performers from a local dance studio called Rhythmaya swayed to popular Bollywood songs. Attesting to the impact of Bollywood’s outreach, the hack pack from the Afghan press was as large as the Indian media contingent. Such is the devotion Bollywood inspires that Madame Tussauds’ spokespersons delightedly relate how fans have a meltdown even with the wax models. Apparently, a young lass in Bradford, UK, travelled down to the gallery in London shortly after Shahrukh Khan’s cast was unveiled in April 2007 to propose marriage and present a diamond engagement ring. She is still said to be waiting for a reply. Indeed, the gallery is one of the spookier ones in a city of museums that is Washington DC, as your correspondent found out.

  • Wax Indica: India’s Soft Power in World’s Hardball Capital

    Wax Indica: India’s Soft Power in World’s Hardball Capital

    WASHINGTON (TIP): India’s growing soft power has got a brief toehold in the world’s hardball capital. Madame Tussauds, the famed wax gallery, unveiled on Tuesday the molded likeness of Bollywood’s best in an intensely political city that is more into power than entertainment. For the next few weeks, a cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Hritik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor will rub shoulders with 43 US presidents and dozens of American celebrity journalists and sportsmen at the popular gallery, among the newest of 14 Madame Tussaud’s museums around the world. They will then go to New York, Las Vegas, and Hollywood.

    It’s the first time that Bollywood stars have made a waxy entry into the US, although they come here often enough in flesh and blood. America is now the second largest Bollywood market outside India, and gallery officials explained that Indian visitors to their attraction had voted through visitor logs and guest feedback a desire to see their favorite desi movie stars. An in-house panel chose the five most popular stars through such feedback. The Indian movie industry, commonly arrogated to Bollywood, is at the center of India’s muchballyhooed soft power, a term coined by US political scientist Joseph Nye to describe persuasive diplomacy through the arts, culture, entertainment and other “soft” elements rather than hard military power projection.

    Although Bollywood’s revenues of around $2 billion annual is a fraction of the nearly $ 70 billion Hollywood rakes in, its footprint is as large as its American counterpart because it sells more tickets worldwide even if revenue per capita is lower. At the surreal Madame Tussauds, a few blocks from the White House, workers wheeled in the Indian stars shipped here after similar appearances in Sydney and Vienna. Two performers from a local dance studio called Rhythmaya swayed to popular Bollywood songs. Attesting to the impact of Bollywood’s outreach, the hack pack from the Afghan press was as large as the Indian media contingent.

    Such is the devotion Bollywood inspires that Madame Tussauds’ spokespersons delightedly relate how fans have a meltdown even with the wax models. Apparently, a young lass in Bradford, UK, traveled down to the gallery in London shortly after Shahrukh Khan’s cast was unveiled in April 2007 to propose marriage and present a diamond engagement ring. She is still said to be waiting for a reply. Indeed, the gallery is one of the spookier ones in a city of museums that is Washington DC, as your correspondent found out much to everyone’s mirth. He waited patiently for several seconds to allow a young lady to finish taking a picture of a celebrity so as to not cross her line of vision, before realizing that the photographer was also a wax model.

    When the museum opened at noon (entry fee is a steep $21 for adults and $17 for children), visitors milled around posing for photos with their arms around celebrities. “That’s what makes Madam Tussauds unique,” General Manager Dan Rogoski said. “There are no barriers and velvet ropes. Visitors can be all over their idols.” A maintenance team works round the clock to keep the waxy celebrities spiffy, with every hair in place. It’s an expensive and tedious proposition which probably explains the high entry fee. At the aesthetic level, each wax clone — costing around $ 300,000 apiece — involves six months of painstaking work by 12-15 artists. This includes a two-hour sitdown session with the celebrity during which hundreds of photographs and detailed measurements are taken to make an exact replica primarily using fiber glass and bees wax. Just doing the hair and dentures takes weeks, considering they get the exact color and tone down to the last shade. The final product has to meet the approval of the celebrity being cast.

  • Workout at Home

    Workout at Home

    While a common complaint of most people is that they don’t find time to go to the gym, there is always the option of utilising a small space in your home for working out. Depending on your exercising routine, you may require a small to a large space and little equipment. Just make sure the area you choose is a cool well-ventilated space and has an air conditioner or fans.

    Get equipped

    When putting you home gym space together, it’s important to purchase the right equipment. If you’re just starting training, it’s best to keep the machines to the minimal. A good exercising mat is needed for push-ups, other stretching exercises and yoga. It’s also easy to store and doesn’t require much space. Buying a small treadmill or a stepper can be good to get some cardio. A fitness ball and dumbbells are some other items you may need.

    Designed to fit
    You don’t need to spend much on the interiors of your personal gym but adding mirrors can help. It will not only make the space appear larger than it actually is, but also enable you to see what you’re doing right or wrong. Mirrors also contribute in making the room appear brighter as they reflect light. A music system can also help to keep your mood upbeat.

  • Woman, 116, Listed as ‘World’s Oldest’ Dies in US

    Woman, 116, Listed as ‘World’s Oldest’ Dies in US

    MONROE, GEORGIA (TIP): The woman who was listed as the world’s oldest person died Tuesday in a Georgia nursing home at age 116. Besse Cooper died peacefully on Tuesday afternoon in Monroe, according to her son Sidney Cooper. Monroe is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Atlanta. Cooper said his mother had been ill recently with a stomach virus, then felt better on Monday.

    On Tuesday he said she had her hair set and watched a Christmas video, but later had trouble breathing. She was put on oxygen in her room and died there about 2pm, Cooper said. “With her hair fixed it looked like she was ready to go,” he said. Besse Cooper was declared the world’s oldest person in January 2011. In May 2011, Guinness World Records learned that Maria Gomes Valentin of Brazil was 48 days older. Valentin died the next month. “It’s a sad day for me,” said Robert Young, Guinness senior consultant for gerontology.

    He recalls meeting Cooper when she was 111 and took note of her mental agility. “At that age she was doing really well, she was able to read books,” Young said. Last year on Cooper’s 115th birthday, she celebrated with friends and relatives, enjoyed two small slivers of birthday cake and was serenaded by a musician from Nashville who sang “Tennessee Waltz.” Sidney Cooper said his family will likely hold a funeral for his mother later this week. Besse Cooper was the first Georgian to hold the world record.

    She was born in Tennessee and moved to Georgia during World War I to look for work as a teacher. The title of world’s oldest person now belongs to 115- year-old Dina Manfredini, of Johnston, Iowa, Young said. The oldest known person of all time was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to be 122 years old and died in 1997.

  • French Court Orders Sipa News Agency Closed

    French Court Orders Sipa News Agency Closed

    PARIS (TIP): A French court has ordered the liquidation of the text service of the Sipa news agency, and bankruptcy protection for its photo service. Sipa announced the decision Thursday by the Paris commercial court. It came after Sipa’s owners, Germany-based dapd Media Holding, declared bankruptcy for some of its subsidiaries in Germany in October and ceased financing Sipa’s operations.

    The French court ordered the liquidation of the two companies that made up the Sipa text service, created after dapd bought the French language service of The Associated Press earlier this year. The Sipa text operation employs 50 staff journalists plus about a dozen stringers. A bankruptcy administrator will be assigned to the Sipa photo service, created in 1973 and currently France’s No. 2 photo agency, to try to find new investors.

  • Debit Cards Come to the Aid of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    Debit Cards Come to the Aid of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

    ONCUPINAR, TURKEY (TIP): Syrian refugees wait in line for food at a Turkish refugee camp — not crowding around an aid truck but queuing at an ordinary supermarket to pay for goods using electronic debit cards. Under the experimental project launched by the UN World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent, thousands of refugees who have fled the conflict raging in their homeland now receive cards charged with aid credits rather than boxes of basic supplies. “We started to use this smart card system because it respects human dignity and offers Syrian people aid, in a less blatant way,” said Ahmet Lutfi Akar, head of the Turkish Red Crescent.

  • India Appoints New High Commissioner to Maldives

    India Appoints New High Commissioner to Maldives

    NEW DELHI (TIP): India has appointed Rajeev Shahare as the new High Commissioner to Maldives replacing incumbent D M Mulay. The appointment comes at a time when bilateral ties between India and Maldives are at an all-time low over various issues with the foremost being the termination of the contract given to GMR for the modernisation of the Male International Airport. Shahare is currently a Joint Secretary in the West Asia North Africa division in the Ministry of External Affairs.

    Mulay has been appointed as India’s Consul General in New York. He will be assuming charge in March 2013, sources said. The bilateral ties between India and Maldives received a blow after Maldives unilaterally terminated the $ 500 million Male airport project, awarded to GMR by previous Nasheed government, a decision inviting India’s displeasure over the issue. India also conveyed to Maldives that it expected no arbitrary and coercive action should be taken pending the outcome of legal proceedings on the GMR contract issue, warning that recourse to any such action would have adverse consequences for bilateral relations.

  • Child Abuse Case: Indian Couple in Norway File Appeal

    Child Abuse Case: Indian Couple in Norway File Appeal

    OSLO (TIP): An Indian software professional and his wife, who were convicted for “serious child abuse” of their seven-year-old son, have filed an appeal in a higher court in Norway. Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni and his wife Anupama, who were arrested by police last month, were sentenced by Oslo District Court to jail terms for 18 months and 15 months respectively on Tuesday for gross or repeated maltreatment of their child/children by threats, violence or other wrong. They have now filed an appeal in a higher court, sources said.

    The defence hearing in the case is scheduled for today, the sources said. In the view of the Oslo District Court, the couple had “deliberately burned their son’s leg with a hot spoon or similar object with the result that the child had burn marks measuring approximately 3 x 5 centimetres.” The court had said it had been proven that on one occasion the parents had even threatened to brand their son’s tongue with a hot spoon. The jail terms of 18 months for the father and 15 months for the mother were proposed by the prosecution.

  • Things Women Notice about men right away

    Things Women Notice about men right away

    First impressions may be made in moments, but they predict the course your relationships follow. So if you know what exactly about you draws in the votes, you can perfect it — and do better with the opposite sex. So what do women notice immediately?

    According to Dr Gordon Patzer, author of Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined, and one of the world’s leading authorities on physical attractiveness, a lot of what women notice in the first few minutes is appearancebased. “A substantial portion of the six features of a man are apparent, in terms of height, weight and overall physical attractiveness,” he says. And when appearances don’t make the cut, the door slams shut on further interactions. Here’s a list of things to keep that door open.

    Physical stature
    Yep, you knew this already: size matters. Height and weight are right on top of the list of things women notice. “Too much or too little of either immediately classifies the man as unattractive to women, and closes the door before less physically obviously features (such as confidence) can be determined,” says Dr Patzer. Take heart though, the acceptable range is influenced by the woman’s own height and weight.

    Appearances and attractiveness
    Yes, beauty is skin deep, but it’s going to get women to explore what lies beneath. Attractiveness does include what you were born with, but your genes alone can’t scuttle your chances. What really counts is what you do with your hair, clothes, grooming and basic hygiene. If you can’t make the effort, women certainly are not going to work hard to learn more about you!

    Smile
    Once women are done assessing your overall build, women will look at your smile. “The ability to smile, particularly within the first few minutes of meeting, sends a welcoming, non-hostile signal to women,” says Dr Patzer. There is one proviso though — the smile must show off reasonably goodlooking teeth. It’s never too late to fix an appointment with the dentist!

    Humor
    Another reason to show off those pearly whites! Women like men who have the ability to laugh. Even better, make the woman laugh. That instantly nets you bonus points!

    Confidence
    Women find confident men attractive. According to Dr Sameer Malhotra, head of psychiatry and psychotherapy department at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, within the first few minutes of meeting, women will not only suss out your level of confidence, they will also interpret the vibes you give out and how you think. “Women notice how clear or decisive you are and whether you approach things positively.” Just remember, cockiness and arrogance are not the same as confidence!

    Conversation
    Men have successfully given womankind the impression of being strong and silent. So women aren’t expecting you to have mad talking skills. All you’ve got to do hold her attention. “We know (scientifically) that the more or longer that a woman gets to know a man, the more physically attractive he becomes in her mind,” says Dr Patzer. Women are looking for someone to keep up the conversation — so forget the one-liners, just be yourself !

  • Emboldened Hamas Leader to Visit Gaza for First Time in 45 Years

    Emboldened Hamas Leader to Visit Gaza for First Time in 45 Years

    GAZA (TIP): Hamas’s exiled leader will step onto Palestinian land for the first time in 45 years on Friday for a “victory rally” in the Gaza Strip, displaying his newfound confidence after last month’s conflict with Israel. The Islamist group’s leader, Khaled Meshaal, who has not visited the Palestinian Territories since leaving the West Bank at age 11, emerged emboldened from the eight day conflict which ended in a truce he negotiated under Egypt’s auspices. He has since spoken of reaching out to other Palestinian factions.

    “There is a new mood that allows us to achieve reconciliation,” Meshaal told Reuters in an interview last Friday from Qatar, where he has set up home since leaving Syria earlier this year. He will stay for a little more than 48 hours in the coastal enclave, which Hamas has ruled since a 2007 war with Fatah that rules the West Bank. Hamas plans an open-air rally on Saturday to promote what it says was last month’s victory against Israel, and at the same time commemorate the 25th anniversary of the group’s founding. The Arab Spring revolts of the last two years have brought friends of Hamas to power across the region, above all Egypt’s new President Mohamed Mursi, whose long-banned Muslim Brotherhood is spiritual mentor to Hamas. Some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis, mostly civilians on both sides, died in last month’s fighting. Israel denies that the conflict was a victory for Hamas, saying its air strikes severely weakened Hamas by taking out its missiles.

    But the fighting clearly boosted Hamas’s standing in the region, winning it the support of Arab neighbours while leaving its Fatah rivals on the side lines. And Meshaal’s role in negotiating the truce raised his own personal standing within the group, although he says he plans to stand down soon. Saturday’s rally is not being held on the exact date of Hamas’s founding, but on the 25th anniversary of the start of the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, against Israel. That is being seen as an overture to other factions and a hint of a new willingness to seek reconciliation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West Bank. The Arab Spring has seen Hamas, long supported by Shi’ite Iran, grow closer to neighbouring Sunni Arab states.

    Although Israel steadfastly refuses to talk to a group which calls for its destruction and rockets its towns, Meshaal, who has survived poisoning by Israeli assassins, could yet emerge as an important figure in the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Workers have festooned Gaza with the green flag of Hamas ahead of Meshaal’s arrival via neighbouring Egypt. A large stage has been set up in the strip’s main city, complete with a huge model of the homemade M75 rocket, which was fired at both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in last month’s conflict.

    LEAVING SYRIA
    Meshaal, 56, ran the group from exile in Damascus from 2004 until January this year when he quit the Syrian capital because of Iranian-backed President Bashar al- Assad’s war against Sunni Muslim rebels. He now divides his time between Qatar and Cairo. His abrupt departure from Syria initially weakened his position within Hamas: ties with Damascus and Tehran had made him important, but with those links damaged or broken, rivals based within Gaza had started to assert their authority.

    However, the exiled leader regained the initiative during the November fighting, working closely with Egypt and its new Muslim Brotherhood rulers to secure the ceasefire. His newfound confidence was evident when he appeared alongside Mursi after the deal with Israel. Nevertheless, he told Reuters he plans to step down as Hamas leader, despite calls on him “internally and externally” to carry on. Many Gazans doubt he will actually leave his post. It has not been made clear whether his visit will mark the end of a secretive leadership election ongoing for six months.