New Delhi, Nov. 27 : Former Defense Minister George Fernandes and Rajya Sabha member has appreciated the 5th Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet which was held in Rome between November 18 to 19 this year.

Writing in the latest issue of ‘the OtherSide’, Fernandes that it pleased him to notice the 5th Convention being underway since he had established the first such group in India.

Bhubaneswar, Nov 20 - Orissa has verified to Goa the identity of 14 people, who had gone missing last week in Cyclone Phyan that hit the Arabian sea, an official said Friday. They were working as fishermen in Goa.

"On Wednesday, Goa's fishery department asked us to verify details of 16 people and if any of them have returned home," Sundergarh sub-collector Bimalendu Ray told IANS.

"We have collected information about 14 of them. They belong to different villages under Subdega and Balisankara block," he said.

Washington, Nov 18 : A new study has shown that sea stars a. k. a starfish absorb cold seawater into their bodies to endure rapid changes in temperature during high and low tides.

The study published in The American Naturalist showed that sea stars soak up cold water into their bodies during high tide as buffer against potentially damaging temperatures brought about by direct sunlight at low tide.

"Sea stars were assumed to be at the mercy of the sun during low tide," said the study''s lead author, Sylvain Pincebourde of François Rabelais University in Tours, France.

Event:Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ashton Kutcher and Malaria No More Host the Annual White Party
Venue & Location:Beverly Hills Private Residence / Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Event Date:07/04/2009
Photographer:Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

Zagreb - China President Hu Jintao and Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Saturday signed several agreements on economic cooperation in Zagreb.

Hu, in his first visit to Croatia since the Balkan country's independence in 1991, was accompanied by 220 leading Chinese businesspeople, who participated in a economic forum with Croatian partners.

The forum was setup to allow opportunities for cooperation in the fields of investment, health and aviation and tourism.

The visit took place under strict security.

Event:Sara Watkins in Concert at The Abbeypub - May 8, 2009
Venue & Location:The Abbeypub / Chicago, IL, USA
Event Date:5/8/2009
Photographer:Daniel Locke / PR Photos

Event:Bravo's 2nd Annual A-List Awards - Arrivals
Venue & Location:Orpheum Theatre / Los Angeles, CA, USA
Event Date:4/5/2009
Photographer:David Gabber / PR Photos

London Dreams is surely regarded as most anticipated film of Asin after the success of Ghajini. Here in London Dreams, Asin is love interest of both Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan.

We spoke to close source from the movie about her role and more,

Bollywood divas are known to act in South Indian Films and vice-versa, but hot babe Bipasha Basu denies working in South Indian films. Even though the damsel has earlier worked in Tamil and Telugu films but now she doesn’t want to anymore work in South Cinema. Bipasha had earlier paired with Vijay has now refused to act with Vishal.

The actress feels that the language problem is the main reason behind her denial. Bipasha faces difficulty to get the hook of South Indian languages. She instead wants to act in Hollywood but feels unfortunate of not getting any offer from there.

Event:WonderCon - Day 3
Venue & Location:Moscone Center South / San Francisco, CA, USA
Event Date:3/1/2009
Photographer:Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos 

Event:2nd Annual "Camper by Camper" Benefit - Arrivals
Venue & Location:The Four Seasons Hotel / Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Event Date:2/28/2009
Photographer:Andy Mechammil / PR Photos

Event:Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2009 - MCM (Mode Creation Munich) Unveils Assouline Campaign
Venue & Location:W Hotels VIP Lounge - Bryant Park Tents / New York City, NY, USA
Event Date:2/18/2009
Photographer:Janet Mayer / PR Photos

New Delhi, Feb 23 : Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma today congratulated the `Slumdog Millionaire' and `Smile Pinky' team for winning prestigious Oscar Awards.

In his message, Sharma said, " This is the finest hour of Indian cinema in the global scenario."

The Slumdog Millionaire took the best picture Academy Award and seven other Oscars. The movie won Oscar for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Officiating finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's Interim Budget for 2009-10 has provided for a six-month extension of the interest subsidy scheme, for exporters' loans taken in the labor-intensive sectors.

The announced extension of the 2 percent interest subsidy scheme - for small and medium enterprises as well as long-established export areas, like leather, textiles, marine products, gems and jewellery - will be costing the exchequer nearly Rs 500 crore in 2009-10.

Karachi, Jan 30 : Pakistan''s chief selector Abdul Qadir has hinted that some of the under-performing senior players could be rested for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka that begins in Karachi next month.

Qadir said Pakistani cricketers showed a lack of spirit and commitment in their shocking 234-run defeat in the in the last match of the one-day series against Sri Lanka in Lahore last week.

Jerusalem  - Israel is interested in continuing the peace process with the Palestinians, caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told freshly sworn-in US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday, according to his office.

Israel would also make every effort to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the people of the Gaza Strip following Israel's military offensive there, Olmert told Clinton in a telephone call.

Olmert's office said he had congratulated Clinton on her appointment, and praised her "ability, talent and rich experience." (dpa)

Washington, Jan 22 : The popular Tom and Jerry cartoon is heading to the big screen.

Warner Bros are planning to bring the warring cat and mouse to life as computer graphic characters, who would be running around in live-action settings.

The film will track the story of how Tom and Jerry first meet and form their rivalry before getting lost in Chicago and reluctantly working together during an arduous journey home, reports Variety.

London  - Manchester City's hopes of signing Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers suffered a major blow on Monday as Rovers manager Sam Allardyce insisted he had no intention of selling.

City boss Mark Hughes, who left Blackburn last season, has made no secret of his admiration for the player, but Allardyce said he would consider an offer only if it was equal to the cost of relegation - estimated by him to be 40 million pounds (58.1 million dollars).

Hong Kong - Hong Kong welcomed a record 29.5 million visitors in 2008 but fell short of its target of 30 million for the year, officials announced Wednesday.

The figure represents a 4.7 per cent increase on the previous record set in 2007 but will disappoint tourism board leaders who in early 2008 predicted the city would welcome 30 million visitors.

London, Jan 7 : Scientists have observed asteroid dust in and around a handful of dead stars, that is made up of similar materials as the Earth, which suggests Earth-like planets may be common in the Universe.

According to a report in New Scientist, six white dwarfs, the burned-out embers of Sun-like stars, showed heavy elements, or metals, in their atmospheres.

London, Jan. 7 : With three out of four al-Qaida and Islamist-related terrorist attacks in Britain having a Pakistan link, the head of Britain's MI5 intelligence service, Jonathan Evans has warned that while the threat of this terror network has diminished, it would be naive to think that it is over.

In a report, The Telegraph quotes Evans as saying that potential jihadists have in the recent past made their way to Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia) by circuitous routes to receive training from Islamic militant outfits.

Bangkok - China will not attend the upcoming 14th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) if it is held on February 27 to March 1, as tentatively planned, officials said Wednesday.

Thailand was initially scheduled to host the 14th ASEAN Summit in mid-December 2008, but had to postpone the regional meeting indefinitely because of political chaos at home that had led to the closure of Bangkok's two airports from November 26 to December 3.

Bangkok has proposed several new dates for the summit, with the latest being set for February 27 to March 1.

Tel Aviv  -  Palestinian militants fired mortar shells from the UN school in northern Gaza which was shelled by Israel and which killed more than 46 civilians, a military spokesman in Tel Aviv charged.

He said Israeli ground troops stationed on the outskirts of the Jabaliya refugee camp responded by firing mortar shells in the direction of the militants.

"This is not the first time that Palestinian militants have fired from within UN schools," he said.

Event:"The Spirit" Los Angeles Premiere - Arrivals
Venue & Location:Grauman's Chinese Theater / Hollywood, CA, USA
Event Date:12/17/2008
Photographer:Glenn Harris / PR Photos

New York  - The world's largest cruise line company Carnival Corporation on Thursday cut its profit outlook for the year as the economic downturn cuts into the budgets of holiday travellers.

For the 2008-09 business year, the company lowered its outlook to 2.25 to 2.75 dollars per share from an early 2.50-to-3-dollar prediction.

London, Nov 28 : Hip-hop star Kid Rock, 37, says that his divorce with Pamela Anderson has helped him reassess his life.

The singer admitted that his marriage to the former Baywatch babe was a “nightmare”.

He said that the divorce had helped him look at his life again, and determine what he cared about.

“My divorce made me look at my life and think of what I cared about,” the Mirror quoted him as saying.

“Well, I love music and rather than go off the deep end with girls and drugs, I locked myself in the studio and made the best record I could.

London - The next meeting of G20 nations to discuss the state of the global economy will be held in London on April 2 next year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday.

Future US President Barack Obama would attend the meeting of leaders of top industrial nations and emerging economies. (dpa)

Washington - The United States issued more visas in 2008 for students and other academic and cultural exchanges than any other year in history, the US State Department said Tuesday.

Citizens from China and nations in the Middle East accounted for the largest increases during the 2008 fiscal year, which ended September 30, the State Department said.

Event:Rock on the Range 2008 - Day 2
Venue & Location:Columbus Crew Stadium / Columbus, OH, USA
Event Date:5/18/2008
Photographer:© Daniel Locke / PR Photos

Event:43rd Academy Of Country Music Awards - Arrivals
Venue & Location:MGM Grand Garden Arena / Las Vegas, NV. USA
Event Date:5/18/2008
Photographer:© Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Event:Rock on the Range 2008 - Day 1
Venue & Location:Columbus Crew Stadium / Columbus, OH, USA
Event Date:5/17/2008
Photographer:© Chris Schwegler / PR Photos

Event:New Leash On Life Presents 2008 'Nuts For Mutts" 7th Annual Dog Show
Venue & Location:Pierce College / Woodland Hills, CA. USA
Event Date:6/1/2008
Photographer:© Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Event:Fidelity FutureStage "The Future of Broadway is Now" - Arrivals
Venue & Location:New World Stages / New York City, NY, USA
Event Date:6/2/2008
Photographer:© Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

Hyderabad-based, Suryachakra Power Corporation Limited has informed that company’s board has approved the opening of an EPC, Consultancy and Contracts division.

The company is setting up projects through subsidiaries — Lahari Power and Steels Ltd (2x35MW), a coal-based group captive power plant, Sri Panchajanya Power 5-6 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant and South Asian Agro Industries Ltd, a 5-6 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant with support from Man Solar Millennium, Germany.

Suryachakra Power Corporation Limited engages in the generation and trading of electricity in India. It operates a power plant with generation capacity of 20 megawatts in Port Blair, Andaman Islands.