The Indian Panorama

Month: June 2014

  • TWO KEY UPA DECISIONS IN NDA’S 100-DAY AGENDA

    TWO KEY UPA DECISIONS IN NDA’S 100-DAY AGENDA

    NEW DELHI: The labour ministry proposes to implement two crucial decisions by the previous UPA-2 Cabinet in the next 100 days. At the top of the ministry’s 100-day action plan is to notify Rs 1,000 monthly pension and raise the monthly wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 from the existing Rs 6,500 under the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme. This was a long-standing demand of the central trade unions.

    The UPA Cabinet had cleared the proposals on February 28. “They could not be implemented as elections were announced on March 5,” said an official. The Rs 1,000 monthly pension will benefit about 28 lakh pensioners, including five lakh widows. According to an estimate, the government needs to provide an additional amount of about Rs 1,217 crore to ensure the minimum Rs 1,000 pension starting 2014-15. Besides, the ministry plans to launch Universal Account Number (UAN) for contributing members of the EPFO in the next 100 days.

    Other proposals include facility for establishments to electronically remit statutory dues from any bank account. Steps would be taken to enable online registration for establishments and generation of PF code number. Currently, about 94% PF payments are made electronically. The ministry aims to achieve 100% e-payment.

    According to a ministry note, it proposed depositing EPF funds in special deposit account and public account in government securities for improving yields on these amounts. As part of its 100-day agenda, the ministry also plans to set up a central analysis and intelligence unit to ensure “transparency and accountability of all stakeholders in compliance and coverage”.

  • NO WORD FROM SONIA ON LEADER OF OPPOSITION, SAYS SUMITRA MAHAJAN

    NO WORD FROM SONIA ON LEADER OF OPPOSITION, SAYS SUMITRA MAHAJAN

    INDORE (TIP): Rubbishing reports of having received any communication from Congress president Sonia Gandhi over her role as leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Thursday said the opportune time for deciding on the LOP is ahead of the budget session. “I read in a section of media that Sonia Gandhi has sent me a letter regarding her position as leader of opposition. But the fact is I have not received any such communication form her,” Mahajan said while interacting with media in Indore.

    She said it is customary for political parties with sizeable numbers in the House to stake claim for the position of the LOP. Therefore, she said that Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi wrote her a letter in which it was conveyed that Mallikarjun Kharge would head the Congress party in the lower House. Talking about her priority in the House, Mahajan said the first and foremost task is to ensure that the House runs smoothly. “There are rules to take against those who try to disrupt the House.

    Firstly, I will name the member of the House who will disrupt Lok Sabha in the next day bulletin of the house and if need arises the members will be suspended for disrupting the proceedings of the House,” said Mahajan adding that running the house as per rule will be her focus. For first time MPs, the Speaker has decided to hold a training session. “It is important for MPs to ensure meaningful discussion and debate in the House as they are responsible not just for their constituencies but for the country as well,” said Mahajan adding that the training will be imparted on a regular basis over rules and functioning of the House.

    The members will be encouraged to use library of Parliament which is one of the best in the world, she said. Mahajan also promised to ensure that MPs ask more questions and make better use of question hour. “Questions asked in Parliament make ministers responsible and it is important that MPs ask questions and ministers answer them,” said Mahajan.

  • RAJNATH TO SIT NEXT TO PM IN LOK SABHA

    RAJNATH TO SIT NEXT TO PM IN LOK SABHA

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Home minister Rajnath Singh will sit next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, occupying the seat left conspicuously vacant, when Parliament meets for the budget session on July 7. The seat allocation seems in keeping with the home portfolio being seen as next in seniority to the PM though there is no hard and fast rule to the effect. Singh’s seating does not necessarily reflect the “number 2” slot which many believe is largely irrelevant with Modi leading a BJP group that commands a clear majority in Lok Sabha.

    The seat next to Modi was occupied by BJP veteran L K Advani on the day the 16th Lok Sabha met on June 4 but remained vacant thereafter. In the UPA regimes, Pranab Mukherjee as defence, and later finance minister, was seen as number 2 before he became President. Thereafter, the slot informally went to former defence minister A K Antony. It was only in 2012 that a cabinet secretariat order said the cabinet committee on political affairs – under the senior-most minister – would consider any emergent situation in the PM’s absence.

    In fact, when former PM Manmohan Singh went for a cardiac bypass in 2009 just ahead of Republic Day, ceremonial duties were divided between Mukherjee and Antony. As per indications, with Rajnath Singh being allotted the seat, other seats on the NDA front bench will be allotted to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Advani. The front row in the second segment of seats on the treasury side can accommodate one more minister. It could be former BJP president and transport minister Nitin Gadkari.

  • Spain’s new King Felipe aims to inspire his people

    Spain’s new King Felipe aims to inspire his people

    MADRID (TIP): Taking the Spanish throne on June 19, King Felipe VI sought to inspire his beleaguered countrymen amid troubled economic times and lift patriotic spirits a day after the national team’s humbling exit from the World Cup. “We are a great nation. Let us believe and trust in ourselves,” Felipe said at his swearing-in ceremony. Felipe, 46, became monarch after his father Juan Carlos announced his surprise decision to abdicate. The 76- year-old said he was stepping aside after a four-decade reign so younger royal blood could energize the country. Felipe, and Spain, face plenty of problems.

    The country is struggling to shrug off a double-dip recession and drive down its 26 per cent jobless rate. Scandals have tarnished the royal family and fuelled campaigns to abolish the monarchy, while influential groups in some Spanish regions continue to push hard for independence. Appearing self-assured in a dark military dress uniform, Felipe sought to draw a line under Spain’s recent past, promising “a reinvigorated monarchy for new times.”. Felipe made clear that he intends to restore public trust in the monarchy.

    “Today, more than ever, the people rightly demand our public lives be guided by … moral and ethical principles,” he told lawmakers, who shouted “Viva el Rey (Long live the king)!” Saying that he felt the suffering of those whose living standards were hurt by the economic crisis, Felipe urged Spaniards to shun resignation and unleash their ambitions.

    He said finding jobs for the unemployed was “a priority for society and the government”. In an oblique reference to separatist groups, Felipe insisted, “We all have our place in this diverse Spain.” He ended his speech by saying “thank you” in three regional Spanish languages — Catalan, Basque and Galician — where independence movements are strongest.

    Thousands of people lined the streets of Madrid streets as Felipe and Queen Letizia drove from parliament to the royal palace in an open-topped Rolls- Royce, waving to the crowds. The royal couple’s daughters, Princesses Leonor, 8, and Sofia, 7, accompanied them for most of the day. Authorities prohibited a demonstration by groups seeking to abolish the monarchy. The cheering crowds and pageantry provided a welcome distraction as Spaniards reeled from the embarrassment of the national team’s shock defeat by Chile in the World Cup, which ended Spanish hopes of winning a second consecutive title.

    Felipe’s inaugural speech came at a ceremony in the country’s parliament, where the 18th-century Spanish crown and 17th-century sceptre were on display. Later, a reception for 2,000 guests at the royal place featured finger foods instead of an elaborate banquet, a deliberately modest touch that acknowledged the financial hardships being endured by many Spaniards.

    Juan Carlos, who for most of his reign was held in high esteem for helping steer Spain from a military dictatorship to democracy, drew fierce criticism when he went on a luxurious elephant-hunting safari in Africa two years ago while many Spaniards were losing their jobs. In another scandal, Juan Carlos’ youngest daughter, Princess Cristina, testified this year in the fraud and money-laundering case engulfing her husband, Inaki Urdangarin.

  • Will sign EU pact this month: Ukraine President

    Will sign EU pact this month: Ukraine President

    KIEV (TIP): Ukraine’s new pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko said on June 19 he would sign the crucial trade and economic relations portion of an historic EU pact in Brussels on June 27. The old Kremlin-backed leadership’s rejection of the EU Association Agreement in November sparked months of deadly protests that led to the February ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych.

    The interim government headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk signed the political relations portion of the deal in Brussels on March 21. But Kiev delayed signing the economic section because it demanded that Ukraine lift import barriers aimed at protecting its farmers and steel mills in the east from direct EU competition.

    The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Poroshenko was considering pushing back the trade agreement’s signature until he stabilised the recession-hit economy and resolved the pro-Russian separatist insurgency gripping the industrial east.

    The complete pact’s signing will effectively cut Ukraine off from a Moscow-led economic alliance of a few former Soviet nations championed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia on Thursday once again threatened to impose trade restrictions against Ukraine should it sign the full EU deal.

  • Expansion not in Chinese DNA, says premier Li

    Expansion not in Chinese DNA, says premier Li

    BEIJING: Seeking to allay fears over China’s expansionist agenda, Premier Li Keqiang said territorial expansion is not part of the Chinese DNA and the country will never indulge in it. “Expansion is not in the Chinese DNA, nor can we accept the logic that a strong country is bound to become hegemonic,” Li said in London on Wednesday amid Vietnam’s move to obtain international arbitration over its South China Sea dispute with China. China will “have to take resolute measures to stop acts that provoke incidents and damage peace,” Li said.

    China is determined to prevent the regional situation from getting out of control, to uphold order and stability and bring the issue of South China Sea back on track. Beijing wants to make sure Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan do not receive Western support in their territorial quarrels with China. “China’s development over the past three decades has been achieved in a peaceful and stable environment,” he said.

    “We have benefited from this environment. Why should we give up this benefit and environment?” Li also dismissed the possibility of a “hard landing” for the Chinese economy. “I can promise everyone honestly and solemnly there won’t be a hard landing,” he said, adding the Chinese economy will move within a “reasonable range”. This means economic growth of around 7% and inflation of less than 3.5% — through “targeted regulation”, instead of large stimulus packages.

  • Primary school building collapses in China; 4 missing

    Primary school building collapses in China; 4 missing

    BEIJING (TIP): Four persons, including two children, are missing after a two-story building of a village primary school collapsed early today in China’s eastern Jiangxi Province. The building of the primary school in Dangkou Village, Yihuang County, collapsed due to rainstorm-triggered mud flow, local government said.

    Two children – aged five and seven – are among the missing. The rescue operation is under way, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. More than 2,700 people were evacuated after downpours battered Fuzhou City, Jiangxi yesterday and early today, the report said.

  • WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange marks 2nd year in Ecuador’s embassy

    WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange marks 2nd year in Ecuador’s embassy

    LONDON (TIP): The gathering at the Ecuadorean embassy in London has the feel of something which may become an annual fixture. For the second time in as many years, journalists were invited on Thursday to the embassy to mark the anniversary of WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange’s stay there a bid to escape extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted over allegations of sexual misconduct, and to the United States, where an investigation into WikiLeaks’ dissemination of hundreds of thousands of classified US documents remains live.

    Supporters including one with a figure of Assange on a crucifix chanted slogans outside the embassy. Inside, Assange said he has no intention of going to Sweden because he has no guarantee he wouldn’t subsequently be sent to the US. Dressed in a suit and sneakers and appearing relaxed, he traded pleasantries with Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Patino as reporters crowded around to listen in on the banter. “I can see that your beard is longer now,” Patino joked via videolink from Ecuador, referring to Assange’s wispy white stubble.

    Assange in turn paid tribute to Ecuador’s “robust resistance” to pressure from outside powers which he said is why “I have a liberty to work today.” Assange had been under a form of supervised release in the UK, but shortly after losing his battle in Britain’s highest court he jumped bail and applied for asylum at the Ecuadorean Embassy on June 19, 2012.

    British police on guard outside the embassy have orders to arrest him should he ever step out. That doesn’t seem likely. Patino told journalists that negotiations with Britain over Assange’s fate were at an impasse and that there would be no attempt to force him back to Sweden. “We will protect Julian Assange for as long as necessary,” he said.

  • China oil giants prepare Iraq evacuation plans: REPORT

    China oil giants prepare Iraq evacuation plans: REPORT

    BEIJING (TIP): Major Chinese oil firms have prepared evacuation plans in case spreading violence in Iraq — a key energy provider to the Asian giant — threatens their operations, state media reported June 19. China has more than 10,000 workers on a wide range of projects in the Middle Eastern country, officials say, although most are in the south, far from the current fighting.

    Militants from the jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have captured vast amounts of territory in a lightning offensive that is entering its second week. “As of today, most Chinese workers have gone to work as usual. But if insurgents begin to attack Baghdad, we will pull out of the country immediately,” an employee of Chinese state-owned energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) told the Global Times newspaper. Resources are a key interest for China, the world’s second-largest economy, and Iraq is its fifth-largest source of crude oil imports, while China is the largest foreign investor in Iraq’s oil sector.

    Production at the four oil fields of PetroChina, the listed arm of China’s largest oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), has not been affected, a company representative told the paper. All of them are in central or southern Iraq, but the representative added: “Some Chinese nationals in the north were evacuated. We have prepared some contingency plans.” The Global Times also reported that more than 1,000 Chinese employees of state-run firm China Machinery Engineering Corp were “stranded” in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, although a company representative disputed the description.

    In recent days, some Western embassies have begun withdrawing staff from Baghdad, and on Tuesday Turkey said that it had evacuated its consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. A CNPC employee was kidnapped last week from an oil field project in southern Iraq, but has since been released, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday. The ministry has issued security warnings and guidance to firms operating in Iraq, and Hua said: “We don’t want to see that the situation will come to what it was like in Libya when we had to carry a large-scale evacuation” in 2011.

    “We have over 10,000 Chinese employees working in Iraq. It is to my knowledge that most of them are in relatively safe areas, instead of the conflict zones.” Beijing will “take all necessary measures to safeguard the security of Chinese citizens in Iraq”, she added, depending on how the situation evolves.

  • Man rescued from cave after 11 days

    Man rescued from cave after 11 days

    BERLIN (TIP): German rescuers on June 19 brought to safety an injured caver, ending his 11-day ordeal and a massive recovery operation deep below the Bavarian Alps. “The victim has been brought to the surface and is receiving emergency medical care,” said a mountain rescue official after the team reached the mouth of the cave, where a helicopter was waiting. Explorer Johann Westhauser, 52, suffered serious head injuries in the accident about 1,000m below ground in the Riesending cave complex, Germany’s longest and deepest cavern. Since then, a multi-national team of hundreds of emergency personnel battled around the clock in a complex and costly operation to bring him to the surface.

    “It was one of the most difficult rescue operations in the history of the mountain rescue service,” said Klemens Reindl, who runs the service and who supervised the operation. He added in a statement, that 728 people from five countries took part in the rescue operation. Rescuers placed Westhauser on a fibreglass stretcher and negotiated a treacherous and labyrinth-like network of tunnels and chambers, underground lakes and ice-cold waterfalls.

    The rescue operation involved rest periods in five bivouac stops, followed by a major final hoist up a 180-metre vertical shaft near the entrance to the cave, officials said. The rescue effort, in the mountains near the Austrian border, involved professional cavers, medical personnel and helicopter crews, from Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Croatia. German Red Cross president Rudolf Seiters praised the effort and said that “the conditions under which the helpers had to rescue the seriously injured explorer Westhauserfrom the more than a 1,000m deep cave were extremely difficult.

  • Stamp sold for $9,480,000

    Stamp sold for $9,480,000

    LONDON (TIP): An inch wide, dirty and heavily postmarked stamp has set a new world auction record by getting sold for $9,480,000. The British Guiana one-cent black on magenta sold for nearly 1 billion times more than its original face value. The previous auction record for a single stamp approximately $2.2 million set by the Treskilling Yellow in 1996. No stamp is rarer than the sole-surviving example of the British Guiana, a unique penny issue from 1856, which has been heralded as the pinnacle of stamp collecting for more than a century.

    The auction made it the most expensive object by weight and size ever sold. The stamp was rediscovered by a 12-year-old Scottish boy living in South America in 1873 and from there passed through some of the most important stamp collections ever assembled. Until Sotheby’s international exhibitions in London earlier this year, the British Guiana had been out of public view since the 1986. Most recently, it owned by the estate of murderer John du Pont. On March 17 the expert committee at the Royal Philatelic Society London convened a special meeting with the singular purpose of reauthenticating the unique British Guiana One- Cent Magenta.

    After close examination by each of the committee’s six experts including spectrometer analysis, it certified the British Guiana as genuine. In 1852, British Guiana began receiving regular postage stamps manufactured in England by Waterlow & Sons. But in 1856, a shipment of stamps was delayed which threatened a disruption of postal service throughout British Guiana. The postmaster turned to the printers of the local Royal Gazette newspaper and commissioned a contingency supply of postage stamps: a one-cent magenta, a four- cent magenta, and a four-cent blue.

    The sole-surviving example of the one-cent magenta was first rediscovered not far from where it was initially purchased. In 1873, 12-year-old Scottish schoolboy L Vernon Vaughan living with his family in British Guiana found the stamp among a group of family papers bearing many British Guiana issues. He later sold the stamp to another local collector in British Guiana for several shillings. From then on it has periodically been in circulation.

  • Predictions for Pisces

    Predictions for Pisces

    There are many emotional moments this phase. You look back at life, at all that you have missed out, and are filled with regret and sadness. You feel that you could have done a much better job of life with better planning. But there is no use crying over spilt milk and living with regrets you can do nothing about. Ganesha suggests that you ensure that mistakes are not repeated. Everyone makes mistakes. Even I have; it is the way of all life. You can’t do much in the mood you are in.

  • Predictions for Aquarius

    Predictions for Aquarius

    There is relentless work in this phase. There is also kudos from all quarters for your phenomenal efforts. Your prestige is at an all time high. You may also be spending recklessly and may have to tighten your purse strings. Keep modest and treat everyone, the big and the small, equally. You want to redefine goals and priorities, think and plan for the future, as you re-assess the manner in which your life is shaping. The pace is hectic and there are many expenses. You are kept on your toes.

  • Predictions for Capricorn

    Predictions for Capricorn

    There is a lot of movement, communications and contact. You are networking furiously and are in touch with everyone that matters. You are at the vanguard of some social movement and will have a large following. You also manage to meet up with long lost family and friends. There are many inspired activities this month. The entire gamut of home, family, parents and pets, dependents, work, colleagues, social life, the arts and creative pursuits follow you like a dog following its master. You need phenomenal energy to handle all this.

  • Predictions for Sagittarius

    Predictions for Sagittarius

    You manage to steady the boat and fold your sleeves and get down to hard work. If you are the boss, you will lead by example. You will earn the respect of your peers. There are many items on your plate. It is like a giant thali -there are relationships, new projects and initiatives, renovations to home and office and several fiscal instruments to deal with. Your interactions with friends and lovers have a new edge thanks to a change in your behavior, attitude and handling of situations.

  • Predictions for Virgo

    Predictions for Virgo

    There is a new intensity in all your endeavors. There is love, passion, new assignments and a lot of contacts and correspondence. You are keen on worldly success and take your career / business to the next rung of success. You have stupendous inter-personal skills and are a great success in whatever you do. There may be a need to temper your activities as you could be grossly overindulgent. Ganesha likes to reward genuine effort and he makes this phase a truly pleasing one. There is power, position and pelf.

  • Predictions for Leo

    Predictions for Leo

    You make many flamboyant career moves. You take risks without caring too much for the consequences. Finances continue to occupy your attention and you make shrewd calculations resulting in massive profits. There will be domestic happiness and deep bonding with those you care for. There are many influences; work and family occupy your time. From your strong, even single-minded focus on work, you now shift your concentration to your immediate and extended family.

  • Predictions for Cancer

    Predictions for Cancer

    There is some stability now and you make sustained progress. This is also a great time to be with loved ones. There may be a new relationship and you will be spending steamy times with your beloved. You will display the fun-loving, generous and passionate side of your personality. There will be improved ties at home and family life will give you great joy and harmony. You will also show interest in community activities and even volunteer to help. There could be international collaborations, promotions and a hike in your perks.

  • Predictions for Gemini

    Predictions for Gemini

    Your mind continues to play games. You have to get a grip on it before it overpowers you. As we all know, the mind is a monkey on a stick. Imagine what happens if hundred monkeys danced on the stick! You are in that frame of mind. But there are many professional and personal obligations that need your attention now and you slog away and make your dreams a reality. Thanks to this enforced discipline, your self-belief and confidence have increased and you now feel a surge of power.

  • Prediction for Taurus

    Prediction for Taurus

    There is new love in your life. You will be lost in the throes of passion. There will also be many expenses as you indulge in hectic shopping and travel. You will be splurging on the latest brands as though a scarcity loomed large. But you will also feel restless and indecisive. You may look for an escape in the usual indulgences. Ganesha asks you to slow down and take care. You may look at spirituality with new eyes and may go guru shopping.

  • Predictions for Aries

    Predictions for Aries

    Ganesha says, there are many moments spent with the family and you will feel blessed. Ariens are generally restless and are forever on the lookout for action. Those in the media will do exceptionally well. Your creative outbursts will meet with monetary success. Of course, money doesn’t stay long with you, as friends will ask for treat and you find it very difficult to refuse earnest entreaties for money. You have also lost a lot of money in the past by lending to friends and this may happen again; money always manages to slip out of your fingers. There will be travel and you meet up with old flames.

  • F*ugly

    F*ugly

    STORY: Four fun-loving friends find themselves in the grip of a vicious, blackmailing cop – how f*ugly will this get? REVIEW: There’s a line in F*ugly which mirrors the movie beautifully – “Apne aap ko bara James Bond samajhta hai.” All through its tight run-time, F*ugly struts around with the awareness of being edgy – but falls off the edge. F*ugly had sharp potential – a dramatic story, a fresh cast, a velveteen character actor and gritty city Delhi. But instead of weaving a tightlyknit drama, these become loose threads.

    Dev (Marwah), Devi (Advani), Gaurav (Singh) and Aditya (Lamba) are fast friends living life, as Dev says, “on speed and loving it”. Foot-loose and fancy-free, the Delhi foursome drives around town, drinking, partying and cussing. They pop across to Leh where Dev starts a tourist camp, then return home where Devi helps her mother (Kunika) sell papads to the lecherous Nannu (Pravin Singh Sisodia in a strikingly creepy role), Gaurav trains as a boxer under the indulgent eye of his Haryanvi politician father and Aditya learns the family sanitary-ware trade.

    Life rolls along in a swill of swearwords and vodka until the four collide with corrupt cop Chautala (Shergill) and a crime occurs. Can the friends survive? F*ugly’s determination to be off-the-wall makes it fall flat. The film gets overburdened trying to capture every Delhi cliche, from Parliament to Paharganj, and show how deep the city’s ugliness has seeped.

    The story has its moments – Shergill’s menacing Chautala is etched in iron while Vijender Singh is funny and bright. Marwah’s Dev has soulful presence while Advani’s Devi alternates well between fiery and fragile. However, in trying to present an uber-cool tale, the acting is overlooked and inconsistent.

    Similarly, there are striking side-stories here – Gaurav’s family’s internal politics – but the direction fails to fuse together a powerful, coherent film, the distracted screen efforts unaided by forgettable music. The result is like a soggy Delhi chaat where potentially spicy ingredients make a sorry mess. As F*ugly would phrase it, quite a f*waste.

  • IS SHRADDH A KAPOOR THE VILLAIN IN EK VILLAIN?

    IS SHRADDH A KAPOOR THE VILLAIN IN EK VILLAIN?

    For some time now, speculation has been rife about who the real villain of upcoming film Ek Villain is — Sidharth Malhotra or Riteish Deshmukh? And now, there’s a new twist in the tale. It recently emerged on a blog that Shraddha Kapoor is the culprit. An online video featuring Shradda in a hoodie has triggered the speculation. Says director Mohit Suri, “Little did I know that the hoodie would become such a rage.

    I’ve been wearing one ever since we started shooting. People have even asked me if the hoodies are for sale. I guess the intrigue level is soaring.” Tanuj Garg, CEO, Balaji Motion Pictures, which is producing the movie, says, “We’re enjoying the theories around the villain’s identity.

  • DEEPIKA PADUKONE TO GET A NEW TATTOO?

    DEEPIKA PADUKONE TO GET A NEW TATTOO?

    Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone, who got the famous RK tattoo on her nape and DP on her ankle, is planning to get another tattoo on her beautiful body. A Filmfare report says that the actress is keen on getting herself inked again and has been discussing the idea with her friend Homi Adajania.

    Will she now get initials of her alleged current beau Ranveer Singh or will she get herself an interesting design? That is something time will tell. Stay tuned for more details

  • Bang Bang: Katrina Kaif throws starry tantrums

    Bang Bang: Katrina Kaif throws starry tantrums

    Katrina Kaif is an A-list actress. However with the tag, it seems that she has earned the attitude too. While Katrina was shooting for Bang Bang, the team witnessed one of those starry tantrums coming from her. Bang Bang is being made on a mega budget and the team was in Greece for an exclusive photo shoot with the actress. The team was already stationed there shooting for their high octane action sequences.

    According to reports, it was a regular photo shoot, with a local professional photographer coming in for the work. However being the high profile Bollywood babe, Katrina Kaif reportedly asked for her favourite photographer to be summoned for the shoot. Further to reports, the actress had her way, with her favourite photographer but with nature not on their side, the pictures clicked could hardly be used. And apparently the team ended up with video grabs from the shooting footage, while Kat’s tantrums were satisfied with the unit incurring heavy expenses.