Kamal Haasan's 'Uttama Villain' to release on April 2

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A still from the movie

Chennai: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan-starrer Tamil drama "Uttama Villain" will hit the theatres on April 2. Eros International has bagged the theatrical rights of the film along with its Telugu dubbed version.
"We are extremely proud to associate with Eros, the most powerful and successful name in contemporary Indian cinema to co-produce our prestigious 'Uttama Villain', starring Kamal Hassan. It will be released worldwide April 2," producer N. Lingusamy said in a statement.
Produced by Thirupathi Brothers, "Uttama Villain", which is directed by actor Ramesh Aravind, features Haasan in dual roles that of an eighth century artist and a modern-day superstar.
The film also features Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Parvathy Menon, Parvathy Nair, Urvashi, Jayaraman, M.S Bhaskar, K. Balachander and K. Vishwanath.
Eros will also release Thirupathi Brothers-produced Tamil comedy "Rajini Murugan" in May

Truck drivers at Chelari IOC plant call strike

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Representative image: LPG transportation

Kochi: Truck drivers at Chelari IOC plant will go on strike as their talks with the district collector failed to produce any results. The Collector had called the meeting with the workers in the face of complaints that continuous labour strikes in the plant has thrown normal life out gear.
The strike by contract workers over conditions set with regard to service and wages are affecting the drivers too, the complaint said. Though the plant started functioning the other day a majority of the drivers refused to transport LPG cylinders to different locations.
No breakthrough was achieved in the meetings called by the Manager of the IOC plant and also by the Collector. The supply of LPG cylinders from the plant to domestic users will be hit if the truck drivers go on strike.

Breast milk transfers good microbes to babies

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London: Babies get microbes from mother's milk that makes them 'more ready' to digest solid food later in life, says a new study.

Babies who miss out on breast feed are more likely to develop stomach aches and colic.

The team found that a baby's diet during the first few months has a tremendous impact on the composition, diversity and stability of the gut microbiome.

'We found that babies who are fed only breast milk have microbial communities that seem more ready for the introduction of solid foods,' said Andrea Azcarate-Peril from the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study.

For this study, the team collected stool samples and information about the diets and health of nine babies as they grew from two weeks to 14 months.

Applying genomic sequencing techniques to the stool samples, they deduced the types and functions of the bacteria in the babies' gut microbiomes.

The analysis revealed that during the first few months of life, there were clear differences between the microbiomes of babies that were exclusively breastfed as compared to those fed both formula and breast milk, Daily Mail reported.

'This study provides yet more support for recommendations by the World Health Organisation and others to breastfeed exclusively during the first six months of life,' added lead author Amanda Thompson.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

Chili pepper ingredient could prevent weight gain

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Washington: There is good news for those who find it hard to resist fatty foods. An ingredient found in chili peppers could help you prevent weight gain after eating a high-fat diet, a study involving an Indian-origin researcher has found.

As capsaicin -- the chief ingredient in chili peppers - stimulates energy burning, a dietary supplement could be developed to do away with restriction in calorie intake, the findings suggest.

'Our group's laboratory data revealed that dietary capsaicin suppresses high-fat-diet-induced obesity,' explained Vivek Krishnan, a graduate student from the University of Wyoming in the US.

'In our bodies, white fat cells store energy and brown fat cells serve as thermogenic (heat produced by burning fat) machinery to burn stored fat. Eating calorie-rich food and a lack of physical activity cause an imbalance in metabolism that leads to obesity,' Krishnan explained.

The researchers found that dietary capsaicin -- 0.01 percent of capsaicin in the total high fat diet -- prevented high-fat-diet-induced weight gain in trials with wild type mice.

Dietary capsaicin may induce browning of white adipose tissue and stimulates thermogenesis to counteract obesity, the researchers noted.

Developing a natural dietary supplement as a strategy to combat obesity can be easily advanced to human clinical trials.

'We envision a nanoparticle-based sustained-release formulation of capsaicin, which is currently under development in our laboratory,' the researchers added.

'In turn, this will advance a novel dietary supplement-based approach to prevent and treat one of the life-threatening diseases, obesity and its associated complications -- in humans,' they noted.

The findings were presented at Biophysical Society's 59th annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
 

HC rejects PIL on intervening in Sunanda death probe

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New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to entertain a PIL seeking its intervention in the probe into the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

A division bench of Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S Endlaw, after taking note of the submissions of the centre and the Delhi Police, and that an FIR has been registered, said it will not entertain the plea as the necessary steps have already been taken.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain told the court that a five-member SIT team is investigating the case.

ASG said: 'A five member SIT has been formed, they are investigating the matter. At this stage the investigation can't be interfered with. The issue can't be raised in a PIL.'

The bench also questioned the locus standi of petitioner, saying: 'It seems Publicity Interest Litigation.'

'We are not entertaining this PIL. An FIR has been registered, and an investigation is going on....' said the bench.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by NGO Anti Corruption Front, saying the investigating agency was biased in probing the case and there was no positive and constructive development in the case.

The NGO'a counsel argued that police had registered an FIR almost a year after the incident despite clear guidelines by the Supreme Court and high courts that on receiving information disclosing commission of a cognizable offence, the police should register an FIR without any delay.

'In the present matter, police registered an FIR almost after 342 days of the occurrence of the crime,' he contended.

'Even the investigating agency found it is a clear case of murder but till date it is in dark. Even a long one year passed after the incident occurred in a five star hotel of the capital, no convincing conclusion has come out with regard to the accused persons who planned and executed the murder,' the PIL stated.

Delhi Police have constituted a special investigative team to probe the death of Pushkar after registering an FIR in the case Jan 1 following Pushkar's third autopsy report by the AIIMS medical board.

Tharoor, a former UN diplomat and union minister in the previous Manmohan Singh-led government, has also been called for questioning by the probe agency.

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel here Jan 17, 2014. Police have said she was poisoned.

Beyonce bags three Grammy Awards

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LOS ANGELES: Singer Beyonce Knowles dominated the R&B categories by winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "Drunk in love" at the 57th Grammy Awards ceremony held at the Staples Center here Sunday night.   On winning the Grammy for Best R&B Performance, Beyonce said it was an "incredible year" and she thanked her husband Jay Z and their daughter.   Her self-titled album also won the Best Surround Sound Album.   Beyonce was also one of the performers.   Hosted by rapper LL Cool J, the ceremony has been attended by stars like Taylor Swift, Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman and Paul McCartney.

National Games: Kerala wins 19th gold

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the National Games, Kerala got the 19th gold when in athletics, O P Jaisha came first in the 5000 metre race. Her victory is a National Games record.

Eight arrested in Rohtak murder-cum-rape case

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ROHTAK: Under attack over handling of the rape-cum-murder case of a mentally challenged woman from Nepal, Haryana police Monday arrested eight youths here and promised action in case of any lapse by its personnel. The opposition Congress latched on to the incident, which came to light on February 4, to target the BJP government in the state on the law and order situation, saying it was “yet to wake up from the slumber”, and demanded reconstitution of SIT under an IG level officer to go into the horrific incident. DGP Yashpal Singhal, who visited the crime spot, said that the arrested accused are in their twenties and appear to be criminals. “The case has been cracked and eight youths out of total nine have been arrested from Gaddikhera village, some 9 km from Rohtak,” he said. In a grim reminder of the December 16 gang-rape in Delhi, a 28-year-old mentally-challenged woman from Nepal was brutally raped and murdered and her body dumped in a field at a village on the Rohtak-Hisar Highway. The woman had been brutally assaulted as the post-mortem report mentions several injuries on her private parts. Stones and blades were found in her stomach. The victim had been residing with her sister for the past three months and was undergoing treatment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak. The victim’s sister had lodged a complaint with police on February 1 and on February 4, the woman’s body was found from the fields in Akbarpur village with several injury marks on it, Rohtak Superintendent of Police Shashank Anand had said. On the issue of alleged police apathy, the DGP said they swung into action the moment the complaint was lodged and a DSP rank officer is himself working on it. “If, however, any lapse on the part of police officials is found, action will be taken as per law against them,” the DGP said. After the details of the crime surfaced, opposition Congress, including former chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, CLP leader Kiran Choudhary and AICC spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala had strongly deplored the incident and accused the Manohar Lal Khattar dispensation of lawlessness in the state. The Congress also demanded a special investigation team (SIT) under an IG-level officer to probe the case. Describing the Rohtak incident as eerily similar to the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, Congress spokesperson Surjewala hit out at the BJP government in Haryana saying that it was “yet to wake up from its slumber”. Surjewala alleged that while Haryana BJP government had spent lakhs of rupees on ‘Beti Bachao Yojana’, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his ministers had not found time to even visit the victim’s family so far.

AAP heads for landslide victory in Delhi

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NEW DELHI: Halting the Narendra Modi juggernaut, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was Tuesday headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly elections in a sweep that pulverised the BJP and decimated the Congress. The AAP was leading in a staggering 66 seats in the 70-member assembly with its nearest rival BJP far behind at a paltry three seats. Congress, which ruled the national capital for 15 years till December 2013, may not even open its account while the INLD was ahead in one seat. In an election that was billed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi but rejected by BJP as such, the AAP wave spearheaded by its chief Arvind Kejriwal knocked the two major parties and their veterans from their citadels. In all the assembly elections that followed the spectacular victory in the May Lok Sabha polls, the BJP formed governments in Maharastra, Haryana, Jharkhand and emerged the second largest party in Jammu and Kashmir with highest vote share. AAP chief Kejriwal was leading in the prestigious New Delhi constituency while BJP's Chief Ministerial nominee Kiran Bedi was leading by 800 votes in Krishna Nagar seat, considered a traditional stronghold of the party. Congress' Chief Ministerial candidate Ajay Maken was trailing in Sadar Bazar seat. As the voting trends trickled in showing a massive landslide for AAP, Modi called Kejriwal over phone to congratulate him on the victory. He assured Kejriwal of Centre's complete support in the development of Delhi. Bedi also congratulated Kejriwal saying "full marks to Arvind." Maken, whose party has been decimated in the elections, resigned as Congress General Secretary taking full responsibility for the debacle. In 2013 polls, AAP had got 28 seats, BJP 31 and Congress in eight seats. Kejriwal had formed a short-lived government with Congress support and resigned after 49 days on the issue of Lokpal Bill. The defeat for BJP was all the more bitter because it had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the last year's general elections. The party's gamble of making Bedi its Chief Ministerial candidate back fired. Kejriwal thanked Modi for his greetings and said he would like to meet him soon to discuss issues related to Delhi. He told the Prime Minister that he will need the Centre's help. Expressing happiness over the party's performance, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said, "it was not just under class, but the middle class also voted for AAP. The (Narendra Modi) juggernaut seems to have halted at least for now." Reacting to the election trends, BJP said the polls were a referendum on Kejriwal and it should not be linked to the performance of Narendra Modi government. "I do not see in this way," BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said when asked whether the elections were a referendum on Modi's performance. "In this election it was a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal. That's how people of Delhi saw it. I think people have certainly voted for Kejriwal. It was a referdum of AAP's 49 days in office and its performance. People felt they should be given a chance," he said. Hailing AAP's performance, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Baneerjee called the election result a turning point in the country's political situation. "Delhi election is a turning point of the present political situation. Shows political vendetta has no place in a democracy. Country needed this change," she said in a tweet. "This is a victory for the people and a big defeat for the arrogant and those who are doing political vendetta & spreading hate among people," Banerjee said in another tweet. As trends showed AAP's thumping victory, Bedi said she will take responsibility if BJP was defeated in the polls. Bedi was trailing after two rounds round of counting in the Krishna Nagar constituency. AAP candidate and former Minister Rakhi Birla was leading in Mangolpuri constituency in North West Delhi against her Congress rival Raj Kumar Chouhan. Another former AAP Minister Somnath Bharti was ahead in Malviya Nagar constituency in South Delhi over his Congress opponent Yoganand Shastri. AAP leader and former Minister Manish Sisodia was leading in Patparganj seat in East Delhi against ex-AAP MLA and BJP candidate Vinod Kumar Binny. BJP's Jagdish Mukhi was ahead in Janakpuri. Former AAP Minister Sourav Bhardwaj was leading from Greater Kailash where Congress' had fielded President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee. AAP's Sharad Chauhan was leading in Narela. AAP was also leading in Mehrauli, Kasturba Nagar and Jangpur. With early leads giving the party a considerable lead, hundreds of AAP supporters broke into celebrations and raised slogans 'paanch saal Kejriwal' (5 years for Kejriwal). Every lead projected on the massive LCD screen set up at AAP's East Patel Nagar office was being cheered by supporters. Kejriwal reached the office early in the morning and is expected to address supporters after the final results are declared. Senior party leaders Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas, Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Singh were also present at the three-storey office and monitoring the results from there.

Nuns, priests in govt service have to pay income tax: Kerala HC

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KOCHI: Kerala high court on Thursday held that nuns and priests employed in government service are liable to pay income tax.

The court passed the order dismissing 49 petitions by nuns and members of congregations, who are employed in aided educational institutions in the state.

Justice AK Jayshankar Nambiar upheld the stand of income tax authorities that tax was required to be deducted at source from payments by way of salaries, pensions from persons, who are members of religious congregations.

The court held that right to receive payments by way of salary or pension accrues to them as individuals and not to the congregations.

The petitioners contended that they have to handover their salaries to congregations and hence, it cannot be considered as their own income.

The court held that remuneration in the nature of salary and pension has to be treated as income.