24.12.09 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Although a Canadian land-preservation group tried to stop Akshay Kumar’s Olympian sprint in Toronto on Thursday evening, no power on earth could take away the exhilaration of the moment from Akshay.
His joy at representing the country with such a singular honour has now multiplied. After Akshay carried the torch at one of the most well-attended street events in Toronto, the Olympics committee in all their wisdom, decided to gift the Olympian torch to the Khiladi star.
Unable to contain his excitement at the honour, Akshay on his return to Mumbai on Sunday morning said, “Carrying the torch across the longest street in the world was the greatest honour I could hope for. But when after the event the Olympics committee gifted me the torch, I almost broke down. My first thought was for my son Aarav who would now be able to keep that precious torch with him for a few days. My second thought was, ‘will I carry it back to Mumbai safe and sound?’”
At the Toronto airport, the authorities were excited by the very unusual cabin luggage that Akshay had brought with him. “They didn’t even check the torch! I was just asked to proceed with it.”
Throughout the long trip from Toronto to Mumbai, Akshay clutched the torch in his hands as he sat thinking of what to do with the precious possession.
“It was during the long flight that I decided what to do with the torch. I’ll be auctioning it and use the money to help the children who participate in the Special Olympics.”
Reliving the golden moments when he carried the torch in Toronto on Thursday evening, Akshay says, “About 7000 to 8000 Indians including those who had come from other cities like Montreal and Vancouver lined up on both the sides of Yonge Street which at 15,00 miles is the longest street in the world. I started at 7.30 pm. But people had already gathered by 5 pm. I covered about ½ a mile in 20 minutes. I can only tell you, it was the most exciting and magical moment of my existence.”
Akshay’s spirits were not dampened by a group calling itself the Torch Extinguishing Committee.
Says Akshay, “I don’t know whose torch they came to extinguish. It was certainly not mine. I heard they were around somewhere on that street. Like I told you,s it’s the longest street in the world. I completed my sprint without obstruction. I could hear people shouting, ‘Spoil-sports, spoil-sports!’ against these protestors. I’m sure they were protesting for a worthy cause. But why dilute sports by bringing politics into it?”
24.12.09 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
They say that ‘Time, tide and age wait for none’. Well, it seems that three factors have made an exception for the man whose smile simply lights up the whole of Bollywood. He is none other than Bollywood’s ageless wonder Anil Kapoor, who also happens to be our Birthday boy for the day!
Born in a very middle class family, this man has got his feet firm on the ground, even when he has not just touched the stars, but also become a star himself! No wonder that they aptly say that these are the stuff that superstars are made of. Not many know that Anil Kapoor made his celluloid debut with ‘Pallavi Anu Pallavi’, a Kannada film that was directed by the ace Mani Ratnam. While in Bollywood, Anil Kapoor was first seen in Umesh Mehra’s Hamare Tumhare in a supporting role. But the films that made him an overnight star and a household name included Woh Saat Din, Hum Paanch, Shakti… to name a few. Then came the iconic Mr. India, a film that created records…only to break it. This was followed by an array of hits, superhits and mega hits like Meri Jung, Jaanbaaz, Karma, Vijay, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Parinda, Kishen Kanhaiya, 1942: A Love Story… and the much recent Slumdog Millionaire.
Please join Bollywood Hungama as we wish Anil Kapoor, the original Superstar a very happy Birthday, by posting your wishes below:
24.12.09 / Cricket / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
NEW DELHI: A day after Times Now
reported of a possibly security breach by Sri Lankan players in Kolkata before
the 4th ODI against India, Tillakaratne Dilshan was caught misbehaving and
manhandling a photographer in the city. (
Watch Video
)
This shameful behaviour by the star Sri Lankan batsman took place
outside a night club joint on Wednesday.
Pictures taken by a local
newspaper in Kolkata suggest that both Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya were
present in the night club, on the eve of their crucial encounter against India
at the Eden Gardens. After these pictures were clicked by the photographer,
Dilshan reportedly chased him and caught him by the collar demanding the
journalist to delete the picture.
On Wednesday, Jayasuriya and
Dilshan reportedly breached security, after stepping out of the team hotel
giving security officials a miss. However, rubbishing these rumours the team
manager Brendon Kuruppu had said that both the players left only after informing
the security control room.
Kuruppu had said, “Both of them informed
me and the security control room before going out of the team hotel. They also
informed the security manager of the hotel. They were accompanied by police
officials wherever they went. All the players keep me updated about their moves.
There was no such breach of security.”
At the Eden Gardens on
Thursday, the Sri Lankan players will be driven straight to dressing room during
practice as part of heightened security following reports of Taliban-trained
terrorists sneaking into the city.
A senior city police officer said
that in a departure from the past, the players would not alight from the team
buses at the main gate and then walk into the dressing room.
“The
bus will head straight to the dressing room area. We have asked the Cricket
Association of Bengal (CAB) to pull down portions of the outer wall to make
space for the two buses to get in,” he said.
23.12.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Iranian security forces have clashed with crowds of opposition supporters in the city of Isfahan, according to opposition website reports.
Activists said police used tear gas and batons to disperse people gathering to commemorate Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, who died at the weekend.
The cleric was one of the country’s most influential dissidents.
On Monday, tens of thousands attended his funeral in the holy city of Qom – many shouting anti-government slogans.
‘Fiercely confronted’
The funeral saw reports of clashes between security forces and mourners – with confrontations continuing in Qom on Tuesday.
State television reported that government supporters staged counter-demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday in Qom.
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DEFIANT CLERIC
Born into provincial family in 1922 and educated at a seminary
Arrested and tortured for leading protests against Iran monarchy
Designated successor to Islamic Republic’s founder, Khomeini
Fell out with Khomeini in 1989 over Iran’s human rights record
House arrest in 1997 for criticising current Supreme Leader
Issues a fatwa against President Ahmadinejad after 2009′s election
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Reformists say there has also been unrest in the ayatollah’s home city of Najafabad over the past two days.
BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says the confrontations are all part of a build-up to a big series of demonstrations expected at the weekend.
The authorities have not yet confirmed the unrest in Isfahan, but the country’s police chief warned on Wednesday that opposition protests would not be tolerated.
“We advise this movement to end their activities,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam as saying.
“Otherwise those who violate the order will be fiercely confronted, based on the law.”
Witnesses told the BBC that people had gathered at Isfahan’s main mosque for a memorial service, but when they arrived the doors were closed and security forces told them to leave.
“Little by little some clashes broke out and security used tear gas and pepper gas,” one witness said.
“They took people in the shops and beat them up mostly out of public vision although some beatings happened outside on the streets.”
Another witness, who gave his name as Soheil, said security officers “beat people savagely” and did not care if the people were “women, men, old or young”.
It had taken about two hours to disperse the crowd, he said.
The Rahesabz website said hundreds of police and plain-clothes security officers were involved.
Another reformist website, Parlemannews, said more than 50 people had been detained.
Reports are difficult to verify independently as foreign journalists have been restricted since the unrest that followed June’s disputed presidential election.
The ayatollah’s funeral in Qom was attended by several leading opposition figures, including Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Mr Mousavi, who came second in the presidential election, has been an outspoken critic of the current government and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
On Tuesday, Mr Mousavi was dismissed as head of the Council for Cultural Revolution, an arts institution affiliated to the president’s office.
In recent days, hardliners have urged Iran’s judiciary to put Mr Mousavi on trial for instigating unrest.
23.12.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
A Dutch court is considering whether to remove 14-year-old Laura Dekker from the care of her father, who backs her plan to sail solo round the world.
A decision is expected later on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the court in Utrecht told the BBC.
Miss Dekker returned from the Dutch Caribbean island of St Maarten on Tuesday. She had turned up there after the court had blocked her sailing trip.
She is in court with her parents, who separated when she was six.
One possibility is for her to go and live with her mother, the spokesperson said, declining to be named.
Alternatively the court might transfer her to the child protection service.
Secret flight
She was discovered on St Maarten after disappearing last week. It is still unclear how she managed to make the journey unaccompanied.
Miss Dekker has been under state supervision since October, when the Utrecht court blocked her bid to become the youngest person to sail the globe solo.
The order remains valid until the end of her school year in July 2010.
A seasoned sailor, Miss Dekker was born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year world trip. She had her own yacht by the age of six and began sailing solo when she was 10.
While her father, Dick Dekker, supports her attempt at the record, her mother has expressed some concerns.
Miss Dekker had planned to spend about two years aboard her 8m (26ft) boat, Guppy, to break the record set in August by a 17-year-old British boy.
