Typhoon Mirinae kills at least 30 in Vietnam

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: AsiaTags:

Hanoi, Nov 4 – Typhoon Mirinae killed at least 30 people and left eight missing in the central Vietnamese provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa, a media report said Wednesday.

An official committee for flood, storm prevention and control of Phu Yen province said that at least 21 people died, two went missing and 13 others were left injured by the typhoon, Xinhua reported.

Over 9,000 houses were damaged in the storm and thousands of people rendered homeless in the province of Phu Yen and Binh Dinh. A large area of Phu Yen province was under the flood water, the report added.

The National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said that the typhoon has now downgraded into a tropical low pressure hovering around the central Vietnamese provinces.

Shanghai Disneyland project approved

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: AsiaTags:

Shanghai, Nov 4 – The Shanghai Disneyland project has been approved by the Chinese central government, authorities said Wednesday.

The disneyland is planned to come up in the Pudong new district of Shanghai, a Xinhua report said.

Disney President and CEO Robert Iger said that China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks ‘a very significant milestone’ for the Walt Disney Company in China’s mainland.

The foreign investment department officials said that several big state-owned firms in Shanghai would be forming a joint venture with the Walt Disney Co. to fund the project.

The Shanghai municipal government and the Walt Disney Co. reached an agreement on building China’s first Disneyland, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng had said in January.

The multi-billion dollar project is expected to benefit industries, including property development, hotels, transport and entertainment, said Hou Zhigang, an associate professor with the Fudan University, Shanghai.

Republican victories in first election test for Obama

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: AmericaTags:

Washington, Nov 4 (DPA) Republicans appeared headed for victory Tuesday in two US state elections that were being viewed as an early measure of President Barack Obama’s popularity.

Bob McDonnell was elected governor of Virginia in a landslide, winning 59 percent to 41 percent for Democrat Creigh Deeds and recapturing a state that voted for Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

In New Jersey, usually a reliably left-leaning state, Republican Chris Christie was winning 50 to 44 percent over Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine with more than 80 percent of the votes counted.

The elections in Virginia and New Jersey are the first major polls since Obama was elected in November 2008. The November 2010 congressional elections will be the bigger test, when the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate is up for grabs.

The country’s struggling economy was a dominant issue in both states. Republicans tapped into anger over still-rising unemployment and what some voters perceive as reckless spending by centre-left Democrats to revive the economy.

Both elections garnered national attention as Republicans looked to reverse their fortunes of the last few years. Democrats hoped to maintain the momentum of the election a year ago but struggled to harness the excitement that was generated by Obama’s candidacy.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, called the Virginia victory a ‘blow’ to Obama’s Democrats and ‘a clear signal that voters have had enough of the president’s liberal agenda’.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had played down the day’s elections, warning against drawing too many inferences for the Democrats’ electoral future.

A majority of Virginia voted for Obama a year ago, marking the first time the state sided with a Democrat for president in more than four decades. Republicans had lost the state’s last two elections for governor before Tuesday.

McDonnell campaigned on a promise of reviving job growth and smaller government in Virginia, mirroring the national campaign themes of centre-right Republicans.

Christie, a former prosecutor, campaigned heavily on curbing corruption in New Jersey, a state that has been dogged by political scandals.

The elections attracted some major political star power. Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former president Bill Clinton all returned to the campaign trail over the last month. Top Republicans including former presidential candidates John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee also campaigned.

Voters were also choosing mayors Tuesday in several major cities, including New York, Atlanta and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In New York, billionaire Michael Bloomberg was widely expected to win an unprecedented third four-year term as mayor. But early results showed him locked in a surprisingly close race against Democratic challenger William Thompson. Bloomberg led 49-48 percent with about half of the votes counted.

A special election for Congress in upstate New York was also being watched closely. Initial results gave Democrat Bill Owens the lead in a district that has been a Republican stronghold for more than a century.

Owens benefited from a split among Republicans. Republican Party candidate Dede Scozzafava, a moderate with left-leaning views on social issues, quit the race Saturday after many of her party’s national figures threw their support behind a conservative third-party candidate, Doug Hoffman.

Orissa boat tragedy: five bodies recovered

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Bhubaneswar, Nov 4 – Bodies of all the five pilgrims who went missing after an overloaded boat capsized Monday in the Mahanadi river in Orissa’s Cuttack district have been recovered, an official said Wednesday.

Two bodies were recovered during the day Tuesday while three others were recovered late in the night.

‘All the bodies missing since the boat mishap have been recovered. The search operation continued late in the night. Three bodies were recovered at about 2.30 a.m.,’ said Arbind Agrawal, the sub-collector of Athagarh in Cuttack district, about 25 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Post mortem examinations will be conducted and then the bodies will be handed over to relatives.

The boat capsized at Mancheswar Ghat while ferrying pilgrims to the Dhabaleswar temple, where there was a heavy rush because it was Kartika Purnima (full moon of Kartika in the Hindu calendar). More than 20 people were rescued Monday.

Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: America, HollywoodTags:

Los Angeles, Nov 4 (DPA) Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are to jointly host the Oscars awards ceremony, producers of the prestigious film prize have announced.

Martin 64, has hosted the event twice before, but Baldwin, 51, has never before helmed the Academy Awards.

The co-hosts will take over their duties from Hugh Jackman, who pulled out of the running for the high profile gig last week.

The choice of the Hollywood veterans marks the first time since 1987 that the Oscars will have multiple hosts. It comes at a time when the awards show is struggling to maintain its relevance amid continuing viewer apathy and a lack of popular films deemed worthy of the prize.

Martin is best known as a standup comedian, comic actor and recently author, and Baldwin has a diverse Hollywood resume, most recently reviving his career as a venal TV executive on the sit-com ’30 Rock’.

The duo recently worked together on the film ‘It’s Complicated’, which hits screens late this year. In the movie, Martin and Baldwin play rivals competing for the affections of a character played by Meryl Streep.

Qantas pilots suspended after forgetting to lower landing gear

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: AustraliaTags:

Sydney, Nov 4 (DPA) Two Qantas pilots were suspended Wednesday after forgetting to lower landing gear as they came in to land at busy Sydney airport.

The Boeing 767 was just 700 feet above the ground when alarms went off alerting the pilots the landing gear had not been deployed.

The undercarriage is normally lowered at between 2,000 and 1,500 feet.

The pilots immediately boosted power to the engines to regain altitude and flew around the busy airport before coming in to land safely.

The airline today issued a statement saying the events around Monday’s flight from Melbourne constituted a ‘serious incident’ and would be subject to a full investigation by Qantas and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

‘This is an extremely rare event but one we have taken seriously,’ the Qantas statement said.

‘The flight crew knew all required procedures, but there was a brief communications breakdown. They responded quickly to the situation and instigated a go-around. The cockpit alert coincided with their actions.’

The cockpit alert was an audible warning from the ground proximity warning system.

Qantas said there was no issue of flight safety, and the airline was fully cooperating with the investigation.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating an incident on a Jetstar Airbus A330-200 flight Saturday from Tokyo to the Gold Coast, which experienced a speed-sensing problem similar to one linked to the June crash of an Air France jet in the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil.

The autopilot on the Jetstar plane disconnected after a sensor measuring airspeed may have iced up, causing a false speed reading as the plane flew through a storm.

The pilots took control and the 200 passengers were unaware of the problem as the plane landed without incident.

Chief minister violating election code: Himachal Congress

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags:

Shimla, Nov 4 – The Congress has filed a complaint with the election commission alleging violation of the poll code by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Himachal Pradesh, a party official said here Wednesday.

‘Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is violating the election code by making announcements to lure the voters and using official machinery during the canvassing. A complaint in this regard has been filed with the state election department,’ state Congress chief Kaul Singh Thakur told IANS.

He said Dhumal’s announcement Sunday that five news polytechnics would be opened in the state is a violation of the election code.

‘The chief minister has also been accused of using official machinery for canvassing in Rohru and Jawali seats,’ he said.

However, BJP state chief Khimi Ram has refuted all the allegations by the Congress.

‘The Congress is an issueless party. They have the habit of making baseless allegations to gain the public’s sympathy,’ he said.

Himachal Pradesh will go to the by-polls for Rohru and Jawali Saturday.

The Congress has fielded former minister Sujan Singh Pathania against BJP’s Baldev Raj Chaudhary from Jawali in Kangra district.

The BJP has pitted Khushi Ram Balnatah against Congress’ Manjit Singh from Rohru in Shimla district.

There should be no film censorship: Anurag Kashyap

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

Mumbai, Nov 4 – Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap feels there should be no film censorship at all. Even as he tries to push the boundaries, he says in India it’s not easy to make films criticising real life politicians or to even use the term ‘sex’.

‘There shouldn’t be any censorship on making a film. We are still very conservative about the term sex,’ Kashyap, known for experimental films like ‘Dev D’, told IANS on the sidelines of the 11th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF).

‘I am trying to push my boundaries so that everything in the film looks real.’

Kashyap, who has always framed real life incidents through his film like ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Gulaal’, wonders if he could make a film like Gabriel Range’s ‘Death of A President’.

”Death of A President’ was made with President George Bush still alive, but we can’t introduce a scene where four people are chatting over tea and cursing politician Raj Thackeray,’ says Kashyap.

The 37-year-old director believes recession has been good for Bollywood.

‘Recession has cut Bollywood into shape. Miscellaneous expenses were more than the actual cost of the film. Recession helped in cutting down the fat,’ says Kashyap.

He believes there are fewer producers for bold or out-of-the-box movies.

‘There is a scarcity of producers who can risk new ideas. Most of the producers are businessmen and they look for recovery. So they invest only if they are convinced that the story will sell,’ says Kashyap.

‘I always make a film on a tight budget, so UTV has signed me for nine films,’ said Kashyap. When asked about his forthcoming project, ‘Udaan’, he says, ‘I have finished shooting the film.’

Talking about the ongoing Mumbai festival, where he is planning to see a couple of movies, he regretted that movies were getting only one screening there.

‘At any other film festival there is at least two to three screenings of every film. MFF is the first place where there is only one screening. People should complain about it,’ says Kashyap.

(Dibyojyoti Baksi can be contacted at dibyojyoti.b@ians.in)

I’m scared of doing comedies: Mahie Gill

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 4 – ‘Dev D’ actress Mahie Gill, whose kitty is full, with five films for the coming year, says she feels incapable of doing a comedy.

‘I am very scared of doing comedies. I always wonder: will I ever be able to do it or not. But I still want to try it some day. I want to come out of my comfort zone and try to do something I don’t find easy,’ said Mahie.

The actress will be exploring various genres in upcoming films like ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, ‘Dabang’, ‘Bhaang’, ‘Surmai Shaam’ and ‘Gulaab Gang’ among others.

My son gives me tips: David Dhawan

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 4 – Even though director David Dhawan has spent more than two decades in the Hindi film industry, he has no qualms admitting that his 25-year-old son, an aspiring director, gives him tips for his movies.

‘I don’t give any tips to my son; he is the one who gives me tips for my films. His vision and imagination is something different and out of the box. I’m sure he will make a very polished film that has everything, good story, entertainment and emotions,’ Dhawan told IANS.

The filmmaker’s son, Rohit, is in the process of making his directorial debut in the coming year.

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