Times top 50 Most Desirable Women of 2012

India has voted and chosen the Times 50 Most Desirable Women of 2012 presented by Peri Peri Skinwear. The 7.01 lakh votes received online on www.itimes. com/polls along with our vote decided the winners. ​ Deepika Padukone tops the list. (Also Read: DeepikaPadukone: 2012 & apos Most Desirable Woman)

Here is the list of :

Times top 50 Most Desirable Women of 2012

Rank 2012	HOTTIES	GAINERS/LOSERS	Rank 2011	Rank 2010
1	Deepika Padukone	Up	3	4
2	Katrina Kaif	Same as last year	2	1
3	Kareena Kapoor	Down	1	5
4	Chitrangda Singh	Up	11	23
5	Sunny Leone	Up	21	-
6	Priyanka Chopra	Down	4	3
7	Bipasha Basu	Up	13	8
8	Jacqueline Fernandez	Down	7	14
9	Nargis Fakhri	Down	8	-
10	Sonakshi Sinha	Up	22	12
11	Aishwarya Rai Bachchan	Down	10	2
12	Yaami Gautam	New entrant in 2012	-	-
13	Esha Gupta	New entrant in 2012	-	-
14	Kangana Ranaut	Down	9	9
15	Neha Sharma	Up	26	31
16	Asin Thottumkal	Up	17	11
17	Aditi Rao Hydari	Up	35	-
18	Shriya Saran	Down	15	13
19	Alia Bhatt	New entrant in 2012	-	-
20	Malaika Arora Khan	Up	28	15
21	Sonal Chauhan	Up	38	43
22	Amy Jackson	Down	18	-
23	Tena Desae	New entrant in 2012	-	-
24	Mallika Haydon	New entrant in 2012	-	-
25	Diana Penty	New entrant in 2012	-	-
26	Anushka Sharma	Down	5	21
27	Shraddha Kapoor	Re-entry	-	-
28	Sonam Kapoor	Down	14	7
29	Illeana D'cruz	Down	20	-
30	Tamannaah	New entrant in 2012	-	-
31	Sherlyn Chopra	Re-entry	-	-
32	Ameesha Patel	Up	47	32
33	Richa Chadda	New entrant in 2012	-	-
34	Nathalia Kaur	New entrant in 2012	-	-
35	Dia Mirza	Down	25	24
36	Mallika Sherawat	Down	34	30
37	Ankita Shorey	Down	30	-
38	Angela Jonsson	Down	33	-
39	Nicole Faria	Up	42	10
40	Lisa Haydon	Down	31	-
41	Evelyn Sharma	New entrant in 2012	-	-
42	Nidhi Subbaiah	Re-entry	-	-
43	Salome Polaki	New entrant in 2012	-	-
44	Rochelle Maria Rao	New entrant in 2012	-	-
45	Anushka Shetty	New entrant in 2012	-	-
46	Vanya Mishra	New entrant in 2012	-	-
47	Pooja Chopra	New entrant in 2012	-	-
48	Prachi Mishra	New entrant in 2012	-	-
49	Simran Kaur Mundi	Down	48	-
50	Poonam Pandey	Down	36	-

​Times 50 Most Desirable Women 2012 is presented by Peri Peri Skinwear

Queens of Desire
They have the looks and the curves that do the talking. And that &rsquo s precisely why these confident and stunning ladies have made it to the list of India's most desirable women:

2. Katrina Kaif
Claim to fame:This Chikni Chameli charmed people with her moves in Agneepath&rsquo s item number, along with her roles with the two big Khans &mdash Salman in Ek Tha Tiger and Shah Rukh in Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Relationship Status:Rumoured to be seeing Ranbir Kapoor
Desirability Quotient:This Sheila&rsquo s jawaani is just one of the many things that make her desirable. Add to that her exotic looks, her firangi accent, and her mashallahmoves on the dance floor can make anyone deewana!

3. Kareena Kapoor
Claim to fame:Bebo became the Begum of Pataudi in 2012, but becoming a Mrs had no impact on her desirability. She had a packed year with Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Agent Vinod, Heroine and Talaash, and also her item number Fevicol Se in Dabangg 2
Relationship Status:Married to Saif Ali Khan
Desirability Quotient:With her oomph, her killer looks and a body that spells sexy, she can patent the word bebolicious

4. Chitrangda Singh
Claim to fame:This sultry beauty sizzled in Joker&rsquo s item number Kafirana, and her films Inkaarand I, Me Aur Main
Relationship Status:Married to golfer Jyoti Randhawa
Desirability Quotient:This brazen beauty oozes sex appeal both off and on-screen

5. Sunny Leone
Claim to fame:Bigg Boss made Sunny a household name in India, and she quickly followed it up with a sensuous debut in Jism 2. Currently, she is busy with Ragini MMS 2 and playing Laila in the item number from Shootout At WadalaRelationship Status:Married to Daniel Weber
Desirability Quotient:When her ample assets and curves do the talking, there is little need for anything else

6. Priyanka Chopra
Claim to fame:The year started for PC with Agneepath and Teri Meri Kahaani, and ended with Barfi!, which got her many accolades and Best Actress awards. She also made an impressive international singing debut, topping many music charts Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient:Acclaimed actor, international singer and daddy&rsquo s little girl. Add to that a perfect figure and her charm, and this Punjabi kudi is as desirable as it gets

7. Bipasha Basu Claim to fame:This beautiful actress put her broken relationship behind her in 2012 and bounced back with her releases Raaz 3, Players, Singularity and Aatma Relationship Status: Single Desirability Quotient: With one of the hottest bodies in show business and killer legs, this Bong bombshell doesn&rsquo t need to worry about much else

8. Jacqueline Fernandez Claim to fame:Her earnest performance in Housefull 2and her hit Latt Lag Gayisong from Race 2 Relationship Status: Dating Sajid Khan Desirability Quotient: Her pretty face, her porcelain skin and her enticing looks

9. Nargis Fakhri Claim to fame:Post her debut with Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar, she is currently shooting for Shoojit Sircar&rsquo s Madras Cafewith the hot John Abraham Relationship Status:Rumoured to be seeing Uday Chopra Desirability Quotient:A hot pout and a hot bod that makes her a stunner

10. Sonakshi Sinha Claim to fame:With her 2012 releases Dabangg 2, Rowdy Rathoreand Son Of Sardaar, and her upcoming films Lootera, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, Bullet Raja and Rambo Rajkumar, all the big stars seem to be vying for her attention, be it Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: Her voluptuous figure and Indian looks

New Entrants
12. Yaami Gautam Claim to fame:Her impressive debut in Vicky Donor Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient:Her girl-next-door charm

13. Esha Gupta Claim to fame:Three releases &ndash Jannat 2, Chakravyuh and Raaz 3&ndash in her debut year Relationship Status: Rumoured to be dating Feroze Gujral &rsquo s son Armaan Desirability Quotient: Her dusky looks and her Angelina Jolie mould
23. Tena Desae Claim to fame:Her Hollywood film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Table No 21 Relationship Status: Single Desirability Quotient: She can turn the tables with her pretty eyes

24. Mallika Haydon Claim to fame:Her item song I Will Do The Talking Tonight in Agent Vinod Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: Her super-toned body

25. Diana Penty Claim to fame:A once-in-a-lifetime debut in Cocktail with Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: This coy girl wins hearts with her endearing smile

27. Shraddha Kapoor Claim to fame:Shakti Kapoor& rsquo s daughter is all set to become a big star with Aashiqui 2 Relationship Status: Single Desirability Quotient:Her peaches and cream complexion can make anyone an aashiq
30. Tamannaah Claim to fame:This Telugu and Tamil superhit actress turned out to be a Himmatwali with Ajay Devgn Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: Her milky-white complexion and her sorted nature make her desirable

31. Sherlyn Chopra Claim to fame:Becoming the first Indian woman to feature on the cover of Playboy magazine Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: Her skills with seduction

33. Richa Chadda Claim to fame:An award winning debut in Gangs Of Wasseypur Relationship Status: Single Desirability Quotient:Package of beauty with brains

34. Nathalia Kaur Claim to fame:A Kingfisher calendar model, she became famous after her item song in RGV's Department Relationship Status:Reportedly dating Ashish Raheja Desirability Quotient: Her mixed ethnicity, her super hot body and her seductive looks, all add to her appeal

41. Evelyn Sharma Claim to fame:This half Indian-half German actress went Dhak Dhak in Nautanki Saala!

Relationship Status:Single

Desirability Quotient: Her international looks

42. Nidhi Subbaiah

Claim to fame:This Kannada star made her Bollywood debut in Ajab Gazabb Love along with Jackky Bhagnani

Relationship Status: Dating Jackky Bhagnani

Desirability Quotient:Her pretty face

43. Salome Polaki
Claim to fame:This Kingfisher Calendar 2013 girl is an international model who has graced campaigns and magazines in Milan, LA and Miami. She graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, which Ranbir Kapoor is an alumnus of

Relationship Status:Single

Desirability Quotient:This supermodel has full filmi looks

44. Rochelle Maria Rao Claim to fame:This Miss India International 2012 is the face of the current IPL Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient:The gift of the gab and her eyes

45. Anushka Shetty Claim to fame:Tamil and Telugu superstar with hits like Singham under her belt, Anushka will soon be seen in the magnum opus Irandam Ulagam and Singam II opposite Suriya Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: This south siren's ample curves

45. Anushka Shetty Claim to fame:Tamil and Telugu superstar with hits like Singham under her belt, Anushka will soon be seen in the magnum opus Irandam Ulagam and Singam II opposite Suriya Relationship Status:Single Desirability Quotient: This south siren's ample curves

46. Vanya Mishra Claim to fame:This Miss India World 2012 is a top model

Relationship Status: Single

Desirability Quotient:Her dream figure

47. Pooja Chopra

Claim to fame:Her debut film Commando with Vidyut Jammwal

Relationship Status:Single

Desirability Quotient:Her smile and her bubbly looks

48. Prachi Mishra Claim to fame:The Miss India Earth 2012 is now shooting for her first Bollywood film Zaalim Dilli

Relationship Status:Single

Desirability Quotient: Her sassy looks and a body that is to-kill-fo

22.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kings stare at the Gilly question

MUMBAI: On the eve of a tough encounter against the Mumbai Indians, the Kings XI Punjab are grappling with a dilemma. It's a question that concerns their biggest name on paper, their inspirational skipper, who perhaps forgot to carry his form into his kit bag when he left for India for the T20 tournament.

Adam Gilchrist, one of the most explosive wicket-keeper batsmen the game has ever seen, has managed merely 94 runs in the eight games that the team has played so far. His shoddy performances have given critics food for thought that perhaps this class act is finally feeling the after-effects of ageing.

Gilchrist himself dropped out of the playing XI last season, almost at the same stage, after scoring 172 runs in seven games last year.
Will he do it again? There is a ready replacement for him in the young Shaun Marsh, who has always done well for Kings XI Coach Darren Lehmann wasn't willing to give an answer. "We've just got to see how he pulls up after this session," he clarified on the possibility of Marsh being there in the playing XI on Monday. On his close buddy Gilchrist, he said: "Yes, we would like to see him get some runs, like everyone else would. So we will have to just wait and see when we all sit down. He is part of the selection panel so we will work that out for Monday's game."

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They will caste their vote: Karnataka still remains extremely caste-conscious

BANGALORE: The ToI-Daksh survey examines the importance of caste as an influence on voting behaviour and comes up with some surprising findings about voter attitudes in Karnataka.

The tie is caste. For all its tech-savvy and progressivism, Karnataka still remains extremely caste-conscious when it comes to the ballot box. According to the ToI-Daksh survey of 10,772 voters across the state, 41% of respondents believe caste is very important in deciding who to vote for. The candidate comes a poor second: around 20% of prospective voters cite that the person they are voting for matters most.

The survey found Dharwad, Gadag, Chitradurga and Haveri districts much more caste-conscious than the coastal or Hyderabad-Karnatak regions. Fully, 97% of the survey's respondents from Dharwad pronounce caste as the most important factor when it comes to choosing a candidate. Nearly 88% of respondents from Gadag, 76% from Chitradurga and 70% from Haveri are caste-conscious. On the other side of the spectrum, Udupi, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts show fewer than 1% of respondents believing caste is important.

When asked about the range of opinions uncovered by the poll, political analyst and pro-vice-chancellor of Jain University Sandeep Shastri explains: "Normally, if the values are 0% or more than 90%, it's a bit surprising. However, there is indeed a higher level of caste consciousness in Dharwad, Gadag and Chitradurga districts, the stronghold of the Lingayats. There is always a strong caste-based mobilization in these districts. As far as Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu are concerned... the caste factor in polls is indeed less."

The survey also shows increased caste-based voting among older voters. Half the respondents over the age of 61 say caste matters to them. Unsurprisingly, younger voters are more progressive; 46% of voters below the age of 45 gave minimal importance to caste.

The real shocker is that the highest educated demographic also shows the most caste sensitivity; 47% of respondents with postgraduate education say they are influenced by caste. On the other hand, only 39% of uneducated voters say caste matters to them.

"It is not surprising," says R Indira, a sociologist at Mysore University. "A person's first identity factor is caste. It was believed that the influence of caste would diminish with education. But education does not necessarily mean a change of heart. Now caste polarization is taking place in new ways. Up till the 1980s, people felt embarrassed to openly speak about caste. Now, it is being discussed in the open. The proliferation of caste- and subcaste-based organizations and the increase in the number of caste-based mutts have played a major role in making people aware of caste."

Nearly 43% of rural voters are likely to vote by caste, as opposed to 38% of urban voters. Men seem more caste-conscious, with 43% rating caste highly, as against 37% of women.

In terms of income, the segment with annual incomes between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh are the most likely to vote on the basis of caste. Those with incomes between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 are the least likely to take caste into consideration when voting.

Political parties are all too aware of this. Caste calculus underlies seat allocation and candidate selection. The dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities have the lion's share of party tickets. Lingayat strongman BSY has allocated 71 tickets to fellow Lingayats. Close behind is the BJP which has given 60 tickets to Lingayats. The JD(S) plays for the Vokkaliga vote, with 56 tickets allocated to the community. The Congress targets the backwards communities, with 48 tickets given to members of the backward castes. Clearly, caste makes political sense.

(Story by ND Shiva Kumar & Narayanan Krishnaswami; Survey by Harish Narasappa & Kishore Mandyam)

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December 16 gang-rape victim died in India, not Singapore: Accused

NEW DELHI: The doctors, who were part of the medical team attending to the December 16 gang rape victim, told a fast-track court here on Friday that the girl was shifted to a Singapore hospital to provide her with best possible treatment and not because she had died as alleged by the accused.

The doctors' response came on the allegation by defence counsel of two accused in the case that the victim was not shifted to Singapore for organ organ transplant or best possible medical care but because she had died and the government did not want the public to know it.

Counsel for accused Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur made this suggestion while cross-examining two prosecution witnesses, who were part of the medical team of Safdarjung Hospital where the 23-year-old girl was initially treated.

The girl was allegedly gang-raped by the two accused and four others in a moving bus here. She had later died in a Singapore hospital on December 29, last year.

Advocates Vivek Sharma and A P Singh alleged that the girl had died here in India due to the medical negligence of the doctors who were attending to her.

The witnesses, however, denied the allegations and said the girl was moved to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore to provide her with the best possible treatment as the same was not possible here in India.

"It is wrong to suggest that the victim had allegedly died in India due to the alleged negligence of the team of doctors treating her. It is wrong to suggest that the victim's dead body was transported outside India, because of public agitation and pressure...," the witnesses told the court of additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna.

The defence lawyers contended there was no reason to shift the girl outside India, "especially for best possible treatment", as such a specialised treatment was available in various Indian hospitals, including AIIMS, Medanta and Sir Ganga Ram.

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India ranks 8th among 27 most powerful nations in world

NEW DELHI: India is among the top 10 most powerful countries in the world. In a first-of-its-kind study of "national power" a group of eminent strategic experts and scholars have placed India at the eighth position among a group of 27 most powerful countries in the world.

The study, conducted by the New Delhi-based Foundation for National Security Research (FSNR), judged "national power" by various indices, including energy security, population, technological capability etc. An interesting index of national power was judged by "foreign affairs capability", which includes self-reliance in defence, membership of multilateral groupings, role in global rule-making and soft power. Interestingly, though China comes out as the second most powerful nation in the world after the US, Chinese foreign affairs' capability is comparable to India's, even though in terms of total power New Delhi comes way below Beijing.

Professor Satish Kumar, introducing the study, said, "The Group of Experts evolved a criterion consisting of the following elements for the selection of countries which could be regarded as actually or potentially the most powerful: (i) Population above 50 million; (ii) GDP above US$ 500 billion; and (iii) defence expenditure above US$ 5 billion." The effort, he said, was to have an Indian assessment of indices of power.

The US is by far the world's most powerful nation, several notches ahead of its nearest competitor, China. The study observes, "China is still much lower than the US in energy security, technological capability and foreign affairs capability. Even in economic and military fields, the indexed value of China's capabilities is much lower than that of US. Therefore, any notion that China will pose a threat to the supremacy of the US in the near future has to be tempered with caution."

How powerful is India as a state? And how does India stack up against the most powerful states in the world?

According to the study, "India's economic capability stands at the eighth position and military capability at the seventh position. In technological capability, it ranks low, at the 17th position, and in energy security still lower at 20th position." Despite boasting a formidable array of foreign policy experts, the study found that in foreign affairs capability, India holds the 11th position and has a long way to go "(to) be able to discharge responsibilities commensurate with its large size and geopolitical importance."

India ranks very low in "military equipment, power projection, cyber and space security, as well as in its capability pertaining to doctrinal issues. Again, with regard to technological capability, particularly in the area of control over critical technology, India ranks extremely low."

The study gives India high marks for population capabilities, but does not specify that the nation's so-called "demographic dividend" could turn out to be a liability if India does not invest in its people. In the "manpower index" China scores much higher than India — 100 to India's 87.5 — while on the equipment index, India scores a pathetic 50. China scores a full 100 on being able to create an educated labour force, while India stands at 16. Certainly by this measure, India's position as one of the more powerful countries can be contested.

On deterrence and power projection, China scores 75, while India stands way behind at 60. China also invests a lot more than India on "strategic and doctrinal orientation", lending credence to the general criticism against India for a lack of strategic culture.

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After skipping Harvard talk, miffed Akhilesh Yadav cancels New York consulate reception

NEW YORK: UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has cancelled a reception to be hosted in his honour by the Indian consul general here on Saturday, even as the mission said it would strongly take up with the US authorities the issue of his minister Azam Khan's detention at the Boston airport.

A communique from the Indian consulate in New York merely stated, "that due to unavoidable circumstances, the reception scheduled to be held in honour of Akhilesh Kumar Yadav, hon'ble chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on April 27 at the Consulate General of India, New York, has been cancelled".

Neither, consul general ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay, who took charge on Wednesday after his assignment as ambassador of Maldives, nor minister (press and information) M Rajaram were available for any comments to the media on the reason for cancellation of the reception.

This was to be the first official function of the consulate after Mulay took charge.

Yadav, yesterday had also boycotted the Harvard lecture he was due to deliver in protest against Khan's detention.

Invitation to the reception were sent out to all the prominent Indian-Americans, community leaders, elected officials, friends of India in New York and the media two days ago after the consulate got the confirmation from the office of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

Meanwhile, Mulay told last night on the sidelines of a community reception in his honour at the Asia Society in New York that it was unfortunate that a minister in the state government was treated with disrespect on arrival at Boston Logan International Airport.

He said that his mission, under whom Boston Logan International Airport falls, would raise the matter at the appropriate level to prevent its recurrence in the future.

Refusing to comment on the cancellation of a reception accorded to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister at the consulate general of India in New York, he said his mission would lodge its strongest protest with the state department and the homeland security on the question of disrespect to the minister as per the guidance of the government of India.

"I am meeting the chief minister who has come to New York on Friday night to get first hand information from him and devise a strategy," he said.

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UP minister Azam Khan 'humiliated' in US, to cut short visit in protest

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh (UP) minority welfare minister and senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan was allegedly subjected to humiliation at Boston's Logan Airport in America. In protest, Khan, who had gone to US along with chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to deliver a lecture in Harvard University on Mahakumbh, has decided to come back after a 'short stay'.

According to the press release issued by Khurshid Ahmed, minister's information officer, late on Thursday night, Khan is deeply hurt by the humiliation and would come back after delivering a short lecture. Khan has also decided to cancel all other engagements scheduled during his stay in US. Khan was reportedly questioned and harassed at Boston airport by the officials despite the fact that he had a diplomatic passport. Khan claimed that he was insulted and harassed only because he is a Muslim.

Khan, the press release stated, said that he had gone to America not for a pleasure trip but on the invitation of Harvard University to deliver lecture on how the state government organised Mahakumbh mela in Allahabad earlier this year, The Mahakumbh is the largest religion congregation lasting for three months. It saw participation of over 10 crore people from across the world. Khan said that the behaviour of the US officials was highly deplorable.

It is not the first time that an Indian has been subjected to harassment in US. Earlier, people like former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan have also been subjected to similar humiliation. Even former defence minister George Fernandes was strip-searched twice in Dulles Airport in the US during an official visit to Washington. In 2010, India's envoy to Washington, Meera Shankar was also humiliated in the name of search at an airport in US.

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IBM CEO reprimands staff, asks them to act faster

Reuters Apr 25, 2013, 11.52AM IST

(IBM's chief executive Virginia…)

IBM's chief executive Virginia Rometty told employees the company had become too sluggish and unresponsive, after it posted weak first-quarter results, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing IBM's internal video message addressed to its employees.

The technology services company posted a rare quarterly earnings miss as a sliding yen hurt earnings from Japan and it failed to close a number of major deals, especially in Europe and the United States.

Rometty set a new rule. If a client has a request or question, IBM must respond within 24 hours, the newspaper reported she said in that call. She addressed the call to over 434,000 employees worldwide.

"Where we haven't transformed rapidly enough, we struggled," Rometty said in the video published on IBM's internal website, reviewed by the newspaper. "We have to step up with that and deal with that, and that is on all levels."

IBM was not immediately reachable for comment on the report.

IBM blamed a poor performance by its sales force for some of the shortfall for the poor quarterly results. But analysts said it was not just one quarter - the company's sales have been weakening consistently, dragging down results with or without the changes in the yen.

Rometty said IBM needs to speed its shift to new computing models to get back on track, the Journal reported citing the video.

IBM also reassigned one of its most senior executives, the head of its computer hardware business, following a sharp drop in first-quarter sales at the unit, the Journal reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

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Aashiqui 2

Story: A fading singing sensation finds new purpose in life when he falls in love with a talented singing aspirant. But the blitzkrieg of stardom makes, breaks and shakes their love story.

Movie Review: He sings. She sings. He, for his stardom. She, for her supper. And the twain meet. In a restrobar, where she croons and he swoons. And Aashiqui is born. Again! Retelling the celebrity story that stardom ain't an easy ride. It sometimes vrooms and then goes sputter, the fuel of celebdom often running out. Like Rahul Jaykar (Aditya) discovers; once basking in a 'rockstar' like status, but soon losing it to alcohol, addiction and self-deprecation. But when he meets budding singer Aarohi (Shraddha), his heart finds a new beat and his crumbling life finds a cause. He trains her to become the Nightingale of India; she shines while he stays her shadow; sometimes sober, mostly stoned. The real lyric of this story is their romance, pulsating with passion and intensity - on high notes and 'higher spirits'.

Suri's musical love story doesn't bear much semblance to the original 'Aashiqui'; instead it finds its own rhythm. He pitches the story with old-world romance, high-drama and well-crafted heart-breaking moments. Aarohi's character is endearing and Rahul stays 'bottled' (like 'Devdas' with a cause), with sudden outbursts. The story slows down in parts and the climax might seem unreal to many, but maybe a 'fix' for die-hard aashiqs.

Aditya is likeable in mushy moments, he shows intensity in flashes but sometimes loses grip. A mature role like this demands a lot, nonetheless, it's a good effort. Shraddha looks innocently beautiful. Letting her emotions play out brilliantly in high-strung scenes with supreme confidence. This is a talent to look out for. The jodi's palpable chemistry heightens the drama. The music is the strongest supporting cast, with captivating tunes like Tum Hi Ho (Arijit Singh), Sunn Raha Hai (Ankit Tiwari) and Bhula Dena (Mustafa Zahid) pouring more passion in to the story.

This could be good soup for the lovers' soul - with a dash of old-world flavour.

Note: You will not like this if die-hard romantic films don't leave you enthused or entertained.

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China sore with Indian bid to build infrastructure along LAC

NEW DELHI: Even though the current standoff with the Chinese troops in Ladakh may eventually blow over, the signal is clear that India's decision to strengthen infrastructure and deployment near the China-India border — though delayed — has irked Beijing. By taking the unprecedented step of pitching Army tents several km inside of what India perceives as its side of Line of Actual Control (LAC), China appears to have underlined its unhappiness with the heightened Indian activity "far too close" to the border, be it the troop movement, erection of new border outposts (BOPs), re-operationalization of airstrips such as Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), and laying of border roads for better connectivity.

In fact, the Chinese side made it a point to flag the "increased Indian activity in border areas over the past several months" during the two flag meetings held between the Indian and Chinese local commanders to resolve the latest incursion by PLA troops in the Depsang area. Sources in the security establishment said though the Chinese drew attention to the new Indian fortifications and infrastructure that have come up close to the Sino-Indian border, they stopped short of overtly demanding dismantling of the same as a pre-condition for retreat of their troops from Raki Nala.

Sources said the latest Chinese transgression, which is unusual as the troops this time have erected a tented post and stayed put there since April 15, may have been consciously timed just ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India. "The Chinese have been flagging the border issue, either subtly or overtly, through statements by its leaders or even speeches at multilateral forums, for over a year now...these were hints that the border irritants could no longer be brushed aside as "a case of differing perceptions of the LAC" and need to be addressed," a senior intelligence official pointed out, adding that the latest incursion in Depsang is part of Beijing's strategy to forcefully make the same point ahead of Li's visit.

China is also said to be pointed out that the Indian infrastructure has come up much closer to the border, unlike the extensive construction activity it had undertaken on its side. Incidentally, India's decision to strengthen infrastructure and connectivity near the border followed much after China had built a vast network of border roads and tunnels on its side.

Security analysts are of the opinion that new Chinese political leadership may be keen to dispel the notion of its being more reform-oriented and not prone to tough positions on foreign policy issues. Analysts say the latest faceoff in Ladakh may also be aimed as a morale-booster for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers.

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Shah Rukh Khan didn't tell me Bobby was replaced: Juhi Chawla

Juhi talks about her changing equation with Shah Rukh and rivalry with Madhuri

We caught up with Juhi Chawla on the sets of Gulab Gang and the actress was looking leaner than her usual self. "I have been under the weather for the past three days," she said looking anything but. Apart from the new and improved look, what was conspicuous was the absence of her omnipresent secretary Sanjay KS. And this got us curious...

Seems, we are seeing a new Juhi. What happened to Sanjay KS, your secretary of over two decades?
Things have changed and I have decided to let go of the old ways of doing things. Now, I have an agency, which looks into my endorsements and films. Importantly, I am not competing with anybody. Filmmakers know my acting capabilities and I am just a phone call away.

After so many years, you and Madhuri are finally working together. How did it happen?
When you are flying too high, many a times, you let your ego take the decisions. In my case, I ended up making Karisma Kapoor a star in the process (laughs). I was the first choice for Raja Hindustani. Also, she went on to do Dil To Pagal Hai, which was offered to me first. Coming to Gulab Gang, I was bowled over when I learnt that they wanted me to play a negative role. Madhuri is the hero and I am the villain. We tried to modify few lines for the role, which wasn't written with me in mind, but realised the changes would take away the punch. So we went ahead with it in its original form.

What is the equation between you two on the sets?
Now, it is nice (smiles).

QSQT is turning 25 this year. Are you attending the reunion organised by Aamir to celebrate the occasion on April 29?
I am looking forward to it. It would be great fun to meet the cast and crew. I have met Aamir and Imran at functions, but we haven't ever sat down and chatted.

Over to SRK. It seems your friendship with him isn't the same as before...
(Shakes her head) Why would I fall out with anybody? I still treat everyone the same. But yes I don't reach out to people as often as I used to—be it with Shah Rukh or any one else. Today, nobody has time for friendships.

Buzz is, the friction between SRK and you started when he replaced your brother Bobby with Venky Mysore as the CEO of Red Chillies, without informing you. Your comments.
I don't know if I was informed before or after Venky assumed office, but it was Venky who called me and told me about the development.

SRK didn't inform you?
No.

Did you feel bad?
Yes. But not because SRK didn't inform me. In fact, I told Venky 'please go ahead and take up your new assignment'. But suddenly I started feeling bad because it struck me that the job, which my brother did so efficiently for the longest time, will now be done by someone else.

How is Bobby now? Heard you shifted him to Jaslok?
Yes, he is in Jaslok now. As for the first part of your question... (suddenly she looks up and tries hard to control her emotions).

Now that your kids have grown up a little, would we see you doing more films?
Jhanvi is 12. Arjun is just 10. I am still spending a lot of time with them. I love to teach them Hindi and Mathematics--the two subjects I am very comfortable with. Jhanvi wants to be a writer. Arjun is an all rounder who is yet to make up his mind about his future. But they aren't idolising any actor. They don't even watch my films.

Why haven't you worked with Salman till date?
(Laughs) Sometimes Salman will be nice but sometimes I can't fathom what is going on in his head.

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Google reveals salaries of top execs

SAN FRANCISCO: Google CEO Larry Page and his longtime partner Sergey Brin limited their salaries to $1 apiece last year, while four other top executives received combined compensation packages totaling more than $124 million.

The breakdown disclosed in a regulatory filing consisted mostly of stock awards that could ultimately be worth more or less money, depending on how Google's stock price fares in the future. Google also paid all four of the executives besides Page and Brin their maximum bonuses to reward them for their accomplishments during a year that saw the Internet search leader's stock price and earnings rise by 10 per cent from 2011.

Page and Brin, who co-founded Google in 1998, have capped their salaries to $1 since the company went public in 2004. It's a symbolic gesture that other top Silicon Valley executives such as Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs, and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang have made after amassing fortunes through the stock that they held in their respective companies.

Page, 40, and Brin, 39, are Google's two biggest stockholders, with stakes that are each currently worth about $20 billion.

Meanwhile, other Google executives are still looking to build their fortunes.

Last year's biggest windfall went to Nikesh Arora, who oversees the advertising sales that generated most of Google's $50 billion in revenue last year.

Arora's compensation package was valued at $46.7 million, including $10.8 million cash bonus to supplement his $650,000 salary. The bonus included an $8 million discretionary payment that was boosted by a decision to cancel some of Arora's stock awards in exchange for $4.7 million in cash, according to the Google proxy statement inviting shareholders to the company's June 6 annual meeting at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.

Arora's pay last year more than doubled from $23.2 million in 2011.

Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer, and David Drummond, the company's top lawyer, both received hefty raises, too. Pichette's compensation package was valued at $38.7 million, more than doubling from $18.3 million in the previous year. Drummond's pay climbed 71 per cent to $31.3 million last year.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt's compensation plunged last year after the company gave him stock valued at nearly $94 million in 2011 in appreciation of his decade-long stint as CEO.

When Page took over as CEO two years ago, Schmidt accepted the company's offer to raise his salary from $1 to $1.25 million. Including a $6 million bonus and other perquisites, Schmidt's compensation last year was valued at $7.6 million. That was a 92 per cent decline from his $101 million package in 2011.

Schmidt is in the process of selling up to 3.2 million shares of Google stock this year. As of April 8, he owned about 6.9 million shares of Google stock, down from 7.6 million shares at the end of last year. His remaining stake in Google is worth about $5.6 billion, based on Wednesday's closing price of $813.45 for the company's stock.

The Associated Press formula calculates an executive's total compensation by adding salary, bonuses, perks, above-market interest that the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year.

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Records fall to Chris Gayle as RCB swamp PWI to go top

BANGALORE: No force in the world could stop Chris Gayle from exploding on a hapless Pune Warriors India. The Jamaican entertainer was ruthless, unstoppable and blemishless as he cut a deep, unforgettable swathe through the Aaron Finch-led side with a whirlwind 66-ball unbeaten 175.

Scorecard | Match in Pics | Gayle's fastest ton

The records that fell by the wayside overshadowed the whopping 130-run victory that Royal Challengers Bangalore scored at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Tuesday.

Thanks to the opener's power-hitting, RCB rolled to a record-breaking total too - 263 for 5, beating CSK's 2010 total of 246/5 against Rajasthan Royals. No bowler - from Ashok Dinda to Mitchell Marsh - was spared as Gayle first figured in a 84-ball, 167-run first-wicket partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan before winging ahead with a fruitful association with AB De Villiers.

That Dilshan contributed a mere 33 runs in that defining partnership tells a story in itself. Chasing an insurmountable total, Pune finished at 133/9 with Steve Smith (41) and Marsh (25) chipping in with their bits.

A rain interruption during the second over of the day that halted the game for 22 minutes proved to be an early dampener but once the RCB openers stepped out, the Gayle mantra was on everybody's lips at the Chinnaswamy.

Every delivery that Gayle singled out for special treatment either beat the fielder near the fence or disappeared into the stands. He smashed Ranji Trophy's highest wicket-taker Ishwar Pandey for three straight boundaries.

Then came Australian pacer Marsh only to have his pride severely dented when Gayle sent him for two back-to-back sixes to long-on and extra cover before following it up with a boundary over point. He then lifted two straight sixes over the sightscreen to reap 28 runs in the over.

After surviving a leg-before appeal by Ali Murtaza, Gayle was a lot more aggressive. He swatted Finch for 29 runs as RCB scampered to 100 runs in just 7.5 overs.

Soon he sent Dinda soaring over long-off to set an all-time record of fastest 100 in T20, needing just 30 balls to achieve it. Yusuf Pathan's 37-ball effort was history. Prior to that, Gayle had raced to 50 in 17 balls, equaling Adam Gilchrist's mark.

Eventually, when he carried the bat for an utterly entertaining 175, Gayle had the record of the highest individual score in the history of T20 also in his clasp.

The knock contained 17 towering sixes - one of them forcing the umpires to pick a new ball - and 13 boundaries, putting to shade the previous best of 158 by KKR's Brendon McCullum in Bangalore in 2008. McCullum needed 73 balls to reach 150 while Gayle just took 53 balls.

De Villiers too joined the fun with a cameo of 31 (3x6, 3x4) from just eight balls to light up the end overs.
Gayle was in the thick of action in the PWI's innings too, bagging two wickets in the space of three balls in the last over and thrilling the near-capacity crowd with his Gangnam-style jig for each wicket he claimed.

He even poked fun at his former KKR team-mate Ashok Dinda, making a throat slashing gesture as the batsman walked up to the striker's end to open his account. RCB pace duo of Ravi Rampaul and Jaydev Unadkat chipped in with two wicket each.

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No policeman can even sit without my orders, UP minister says

LUCKNOW: In remarks that would cause embarrassment to UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, his ministers have ruffled feathers with one saying that officials and policemen cannot even take their seat without his orders and if they do so, they will be sacked within 24 hours.

Addressing a mass contact programme in Etah, textile minister Shiv Kumar Beria said government officials and policemen have no guts and cannot even take the chair without his orders, let alone work.

"I am challenging that go to my constituency ...I am the MLA for the fifth time. No SDM or policeman has the guts to sit down without my order, let alone work. We are not in the opposition we are in the government," Beria said on Tuesday.

"How come they won't listen...if they won't listen then they have no right to remain on the seat for a single second. Within 24 hours they would be stripped of their uniform," he added.

While Beria was daring the government officials, his colleague minister of state for dairy development Ram Murti Verma in Fathepur said that minor incidents take place and they cannot be stopped whosoever was in power.

"Minor incidents have been happening, are taking place and will happen...no one can stop it completely," Murti said.

In Mathura, tourism minister Om Prakash Singh lost his cool when asked about the law and order situation.

"The defect is in your mind and not with the law and order situation," Singh shot back at a reporter.

In what could cause discomfort to SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, his sibling Rajpal Yadav said in Etawah that the leadership in Uttar Pradesh was not being able to take correct decision giving a chance to the opposition to launch attacks.

He said that forming committees and disbanding them was demoralising to party cadres.

Rajpal said that not taking clear decision on various occasions gives a chance to the opposition to attack the government.

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Earthquake shakes buildings in Delhi, J&K

NEW DELHI: Tremors were felt in north India, including the national capital and adjoining satellite townships, on Wednesday afternoon, the second such occurrence in nine days.

The quake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale at 2:51pm, was epicentred in southern Afghanistan, the MeT Department said. The quake took place 6.6km down the surface.

The tremors were felt in the capital, Gurgaon and Noida. There were no immediate reports of any casualty or injury.

Tremors were also felt in Srinagar and adjoining areas but there was no report of any casualty, officials said.

In Srinagar, the tremor lasted a few seconds, prompting people to rush out of buildings for safety.

On April 16, tremors were felt in north India following a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale on Pakistan-Iran border.

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Two men tie up cow, rape, stab it

Rohit, INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK Dec 8, 2004, 03.28pm IST

NEW DELHI: In a bizarre incident that smacks of sheer desperation and sadism, two men in south Delhi's Tughlaqabad area allegedly raped a cow early on Tuesday morning.

If that wasn't enough, the two also repeatedly stabbed the cow - an animal considered holy in the country - after the assault.

One of the accused has been arrested, says Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Praveer Ranjan, while the other is absconding.

"The one who has been arrested owned an STD phone booth in the area and the other was his employee," Ranjan told Timesofindia.com.

The incident occurred at about 4 am on Tuesday, when the two accused, in inebriated state, were walking back home.

The two reportedly tied the cow's legs to a tractor. They also tied up its snout and after sexually assaulting the animal, stabbed it repeatedly.

About an hour later, Amar Singh, the owner of the cow, saw the animal tied up and bleeding profusely. He immediately raised an alarm.

The whole neighbourhood awoke to the shocking scene, and in anger began disrupting traffic on the highway nearby.

Singh went to the police station, but he says the police were hesitant initially to lodge a complaint. It was only when the crowd turned violent they registered a complaint.

The cow was rushed to a veterinary hospital and is said to be in a "critical condition".

The police fear an "outburst among the people" and aren't disclosing the names of the offenders.

In 2002, angry mob lynched 5 dalit youth in Haryana after they tried to skin a dead cow for its hide.

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RCB vs PWI: Gayle's fastest ton helps Bangalore crush Pune by 130 runs

BANGALORE: Chris Gayle smashed the most breathtaking knock in the history of Twenty20 cricket, blasting an incredible 175 off a mere 66 balls, as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed a hapless Pune Warriors by a record 130 runs in the Pepsi Indian Premier League on Tuesday.

Scorecard

Gayle hit the fastest century, off just 30 balls, and the highest-ever individual score in a T20 game, surpassing Kolkata Knight Riders' Brendon McCullum, who hit 158 off 73 balls against RCB at this very Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Incidentally, RCB's total of 263 for five was also the highest-ever total in any T20 game.

Chasing a T20 world record target of 264, Pune could not manage more than 133 for nine in the allotted 20 overs, paving the way for Bangalore to post the biggest IPL victory in terms of runs.

Put into bat, it was the 'Gayle Force' that blew away the Pune Warriors as the big-bodied Jamaican once again showed his power-hitting ability, striking a staggering 13 fours and 17 sixes en-route to the fastest and highest-ever T20 score.

154 out of his total runs came in boundaries and off only 30 scoring strokes.

Typically, he brought up his century with a six off Ashoke Dinda, which sailed over the stadium and in the process also damaged the roof.

The carnage started from the second over, bowled by rookie paceman Ishwar Pandey. Playing his first IPL match, Pandey found out what top-level cricket was all about as Gayle hit him for five boundaries taking 21 runs of that over.

Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch got even worse treatments as they went for 28 and 29 runs in their respective overs as both were clobbered for four sixes each.

There was minimum fuss as usual in Gayle's batting as he barely had any footwork. It was just stand and deliver as the ball kept on sailing into the stands and there was little that skipper Finch could have done.

Intimidated by this mayhem, the Pune bowlers could only go through the motion. All the three changes made by Pune backfired as Pandey gave away 33 in two overs while left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza conceded 45 from his two overs.

It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returned unscathed with figures of none for 23 from four overs.

Marsh, who came back in place Ajantha Mendis, was hammered for 56 in three overs, while the profligate Dinda went for 48 off four overs.

Gayle and Dilshan added 167 runs for the opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan (33).

Such was the ferocity of Gayle's onslaught that Dilshan didn't even cross 20 when Gayle reached three-figure mark in front of the jam-packed stadium.

AB de Villiers also played his part to perfection with a cameo, scoring 31 off just eight balls (3x4, 3x6).

Chasing a daunting target, Pune were reeling at 42 for four by the sixth over.

With their main batsmen -- Robin Uthappa, Aaron Finch, Luke Wright and Yuvraj Singh -- warming the bench, it was always going to be difficult for the others to make a match out of it.

Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh added 58 runs partnership for fifth wicket, but the rest could not contribute and fell while trying to accelerate.

Smith was the top-scorer for Pune with 41 off 31 balls. He hit six boundaries.

For Bangalore Gayle, Ravi Rampaul and Jaydev Unadkat bagged two wickets each, while Murali Kartik and Vinay Kumar took one apiece.

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Pakistan blacks out Shah Rukh, Akshay Kumar

Distributors and exhibitors in Pakistan have abandoned Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Chennai Express' and Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai - 2'. Both were slated to release on the day of Eid, August 8, in the country. The reason being cited is that Pakistani filmmakers want four of their films- 'Josh', 'Ishq Khuda', 'War' and 'Mera Naam Afridi' - to get more visibility than the Indian films.

Leading distributor Abdul Rashid, who controls a large section of the distribution chain across the border, and has been in touch with the producers of Chennai Express and Once Upon..., UTV and Balaji, respectively, communicated the decision to the two production houses.

Expressing disappointment with the developments, a source said, "Theatres in Pakistan generate maximum revenue from Hindi films. So it is really sad that this time, they did a volteface. UTV and Balaji tried reasoning with the filmmakers, but to no avail."

According to trade sources, Pakistan's blackout of these two films will lead to an estimated loss to the tune of Rs 20 crore. When contacted, Abdul Rashid told TOI, "Yes, we are not releasing Chennai Express and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai - 2 in Pakistan. Our government wants to protect the interests of the Pakistan film fraternity."

He also added,"We don't mind rescheduling the two films to August 15. But piracy would have reduced the business prospects of the two films by then." Admitting that exhibitors would stand to gain by accommodating the two big-ticket films, Rashid however said, "We cannot overrule our government's decision."

Neither UTV nor Balaji were willing to comment on the development.

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Rapes happen all over India: Sushilkumar Shinde

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday made a statement in both the Houses of Parliament giving details of the rape of a five-year-old girl as well as the police response to it. However, he sought to underline that rapes were happening not only in the national capital, but elsewhere in the country too.

Making a suo motu statement in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Shinde apprised the MPs of the arrest of two accused in the child rape case from Bihar. Manoj, the main accused, was arrested on Saturday, followed by the arrest of Pradeep, a second accused, on Sunday night.

He said the Station House Officer (SHO) of the concerned police station in Gandhinagar and the Investigating Officer (IO) have been placed under suspension, taking note of lapses in the investigation.

"The Joint CP (Vigilance) has been asked to conduct an inquiry. The Jt CP (Vigilance) shall also enquire into the allegation that the local police paid some money to the father of the victim to hush up the case," Shinde said amidst uproar in both the Houses over the horrific rape incident.

However, in what may agitate the anti-rape protestors even more, Shinde said incidents of rape happen not only in Delhi, but elsewhere in the country too. The fact that the statement was silent on action against the errant police officers may also do little to quell the protests in the Capital.

Shinde said two accused have been arrested in connection with the case.

Pradeep, the second suspect, was apprehended from Bihar in a joint operation by Delhi and Bihar Police.

Medical examination of the first accused, arrested from Muzaffarpur district of Bihar on April 19, has been conducted for DNA, he said.

The accused is presently under judicial custody. Speaking against the backdrop of major uproar and street protests, Shinde told the House that the five-year-old girl was reported missing on April 15 and an FIR was registered at 10 pm.

"The police started searching and conducting raids in the East Delhi area," the home minister said.

In the early hours of April 17, 2013, the mother of the girl heard a weeping sound of the child from the ground floor of the same house where her parents lived on the first floor, Shinde said.

The ground floor was found locked from outside and the police, when informed, broke open the door and recovered the child, he said.

The girl was rushed to Swami Dayanand Hospital, which is the nearest, and preliminary medico-legal case confirmed "sexual assault of brutal kind", Shinde said.

Her condition was reported to be stable after an operation conducted on April 18. She was later shifted to AIIMS on April 19 for better treatment and presently her condition is reported to be stable, he said.

In the meantime, on April 19, some protesters were holding a demonstration at the Dayanand Hospital where the concerned minister of the Delhi government was visiting to enquire about the health of the child along with the local MP, Shinde said.

Some protesters tried to break through the police cordon around the hospital in order to enter the premises, he said.

An ACP was seen on camera slapping one of the lady protesters, the hime minister said, adding the officer BS Ahlawat has been placed under suspension with immediate effect. (ENDS)

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Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar probably killed his elder brother: Police

BOSTON: DzhokharTsarnaev, the younger of the two Chechen brothers suspected of the Boston Marathon blasts, probably killed his elder brother Tamerlan by running over his SUV over him while fleeing, police said.

Dzhokhar, 19, who was arrested on Friday after days of manhunt, is in serious condition in a Boston hospital. His elder brother, Tamerlan, 26, the alleged mastermind of the Boston marathon bombing died a day earlier during a police exchange fire.

In an interview to the Boston Globe, Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau claimed that Dzhokhar ran over his brother on his stolen SUV when the police was about to handcuff and arrest him on Thursday night after exchange of fire. His autopsy report has not come in yet.

Describing the chain of events, Deveau said after days of manhunt, a local police spotted the two brothers driving in two cars - Honda sedan and a stolen Mercedes SUV. Soon the two brothers jumped out of their vehicles and started firing on the police, while more police were rushed to the scene.

"Quickly we had six Watertown police officers and two bad guys in a gunfight," said Deveau. At least 200 shots were fired, maybe as many as 300, he told the Boston Globe.

The shots, around 12:50 AM, woke resident Jennings Aske, at 66 Laurel Ave. When he looked out his window he saw a green Honda Civic sedan stopped in the street, with its lights on and the driver's side windows blown out. A husky man - apparently Tamerlan Tsarnaev -- stood nearby firing a gun, the daily reported.

I saw him standing there shooting at police. When he fired, there was a little flash of light. I could hear the gun firing. It was terrifying," he told the daily.

According to Deveau, the Tsarnaev brothers hurled something at the officers - apparently a pressure cooker bomb -- and there was a tremendous explosion. Police later found the lid to a pressure cooker.

"We believe it was an exact duplicate of the Boston Marathon bombs," he said adding that the two suspects also threw five "crude grenades" at officers, three of which exploded.

After several minutes of exchange of fire, Deveau said Tamerlan apparently ran out of bullets. Police officers tackled him and were trying to get him handcuffed. It is at this point of time Dzhokhar came driving on the stolen Mercedes SUV, as a result of which the officers scattered and the SUV plowed over Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was dragged briefly under the car.

Dzhokhar abandoned the SUV almost immediately on a nearby street and fled on foot, triggering an all-day manhunt, Deveau said.

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Why should I resign? Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar asks

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Monday ruled out his resignation in the wake of alleged police insensitivity in dealing with the child rape case but promised exemplary action against policemen found lax in handling it.

"If my resigning will prevent such depraved action of the society, then I am ready to resign a thousand times. But that is not going to address the problem," he said at a press conference, the first media interaction after the case of a five-year-old child being raped and brutally assaulted by a neighbour in East Delhi came to light four days ago.

"But that is not going to solve the problem. The problem is one of mental depravity, one of psychopathy, the problem is one of mental sickness and that is not going to be sorted out by anyone resigning," he said.

When a reporter asked him whether he would resign following demands made in the context of the rape case, Kumar asked a counter question, "If you do some wrong reporting does your editor resign?"

The Police Commissioner had come under severe scrutiny and demands were made for his removal even during the agitations in protest against police inaction at the time of gang-rape of a girl in a moving bus on December 16 last year.

Asked whether he feels that Delhi Police was doing a bad job, he said "not at all".

"Absolutely," replied Kumar, who is set to retire in July, when asked if he was satisfied with his tenure as Delhi Police Chief.

Kumar said police personnel who allegedly offered Rs 2,000 to parents of the child to hush up the case are yet to be identified. He admitted that the police personnel did not act the way they should have done.

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Indian woman raped, enslaved in Britain for years

IANS Apr 20, 2013, 05.28PM IST

(Three people â€" an…)

LONDON: A 40-year-old woman, said to be an "illiterate" Indian, was beaten, raped and given out-of-date food and passed between three middle-class families as a slave for many years in Britain, a daily reported.

The woman made desperate pleas for help to Hertfordshire police as well as charities and other state agencies. But when police officers spoke to her, one of her "powerful and well-connected abusers" was used as an interpreter, the paper Independent said.

The woman was handed back to her "slave master", and she was again attacked and threatened that she would be buried in the back garden of the man's luxury home for ruining his family name.

Three people â€" an optician, a butcher and a secretary â€" were convicted of her abuse that spanned more than three years.

The woman was passed between the families, kept like a prisoner, given virtually no money and had her passport confiscated, the report said.

However, when she fled, her pleas went ignored by police and other organisations on at least 12 occasions, according to court documents.

The woman's ordeal ended only after she was taken in by a migrant workers' charity and human rights' group Liberty took up her case.

"Various state agencies failed her, ignoring her repeated pleas for help, not adhering to their own investigative practice and it could be said ignoring the obvious," Caroline Haughey, counsel for the prosecution, told the Croydon crown court.

The woman came to Britain in 2005 to try to make a better life and to send money to her family in India's Hyderabad city.

When she sought help, she was threatened by her keepers. In one case, a professional interpreter told police that the woman was "telling a lot of lies â€" it's common in her country", the court heard.

She was first taken to hospital in 2006 with a gashed foot after her "employer" named Shamina Yousuf, 33, hurled a cup at her.

However, no action was taken after she was bullied her into not pursuing matters, the report said.

The woman fled after more than two years but returned to work for other relatives of the family to try to secure the return of her passport.

The court heard that the woman stayed in a one-room flat in St John's Wood, and was raped by a butcher, Enkarta Balapovi, on several occasions.

The woman finally moved to the home of an acquaintance, Shashi Obhrai and her IT consultant husband Balram, who lived in Middlesex. She was forced to work seven days a week, 17-hours-a-day, cooking and cleaning for eight family members.

She escaped and her case was passed to Scotland Yard's trafficking unit.

Obhrai, 54, of Moor Park, Middlesex and Yousuf, 33, of Edgware, north London, have been convicted of assault. Obhrai, an optician, was additionally convicted of threats to kill.

Balapovi, 54, of St John's Wood, northwest London, was convicted of rape.

They will be sentenced next month. Two other defendants were acquitted.

The victim, who was not named for legal reasons, has been left in a wheelchair in part because of the injuries sustained at the hands of her abusers.

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He left girl for dead, hid at in-laws’ residence

NEW DELHI: An early morning dramatic raid at a nondescript Chiknauta village in Muzzafarpur district of Bihar, 70 km from state capital Patna by a posse of policemen - from Delhi Police, local cops and the Bihar STF - finally led to the arrest of Manoj Kumar Sah (22), the man who allegedly brutalized a five-year-old girl in east Delhi leading to a groundswell of protests in Delhi in the past two days.

Manoj, who was in his pyjamas and hiding at his in-laws' residence since April 17, was apparently scared and told his wife that he might be arrested though he didn't reveal the reason for this fear. He had returned from a yagna that was part of a village fair when the village chowkidar led the raiding party to the house around 2 am. The accused was flown to Delhi later in the day after being produced at a duty magistrate's court in Muzaffarpur after obtaining a transit remand for 72 hours.

The police got the accused medically examined in Muzaffarpur's Sadar hospital and he was found to be mentally and physically fit. Workers of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party staged a protest at Patna airport where the accused was taken en route to Delhi on transit remand.

Police investigations so far have revealed that Manoj had come to Delhi with his father 15 years ago. While his father opened a juice shop and later took to street-vending at Seelampur, the accused worked as a casual labour in garment factories in the trans-Yamuna region. The Bihar police might ask his counterparts in Delhi to question him on the rape and murder of one of his sister-in-laws to ascertain if he was involved in that crime.

DCP (east) Prabhakar said that Manoj told police during his initial interrogation that he fled the house in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar around 7 pm on April 15 to catch the 8.30 pm Swatantrata Senani Express for his hometown taking the girl to be dead. He reached Chapra on April 16 and then went to his native village of Bharthua for the night before moving to his in-laws' residence the next morning.

After piecing together the sequence, the investigators now believe that the girl might have been kidnapped around 6 pm and raped and brutally assaulted allegedly by Kumar, who then left the place around 7 pm. It is however, not clear whether the girl had gone missing on April 14 itself, a claim the police denied.

"Manoj told us that he left the house thinking that the girl was dead...The girl was inside the house for 40 hours," Prabhakar said. The girl's mother had told the police that the victim, who was playing outside their home, went missing around 6 pm and if the versions of both the mother and Kumar are to be believed, the abduction and the brutal rape of the victim took place within the span of just one hour.

Though sources in Bihar police claimed that Manoj had blamed another man - who reportedly helped him get a house at Gandhi Nagar - for the rape, the police said so far they have no evidence to investigate on those lines though they are not ruling out the possibility of another person being involved in the crime. "We will have to interrogate him in custody to ascertain the facts," Prabhakar said.

Manoj had married just a year ago. Cops say it was a love marriage. He has two brothers and four sisters who are staying in Bihar. The accused had been earlier arrested in Delhi for trespassing for which he spent a month and seven days in jail. It was a case of trespassing registered at Gandhi Nagar. His father had cut him out of his property and a case had been registered in this regard.

There is confusion on the exact date that Manoj moved to this house. However, Prabhakar said that they will be confronting the house owner with Manoj to extract the truth. A case against the owner has already been registered at the Gandhi Nagar police station for failing to initiate the verification process of Manoj.

(With inputs from Priti Nath Jha in Muzzafarpur)

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Stem cell donor ditches Stanford University professor

MUMBAI: Healthy stem cells from a person of the same genetic make can mean life for Stanford University professor Nalini Ambady, or death if she doesn't find a donor in a month's time. A matching donor, recently found in Mumbai after an almost six-month-long search across India, backed out after initially consenting to stem-cell donation.

When her eight-year-old leukemia made a comeback last year, doctors in the US suggested she look for an Indian donor for a greater match probability, given ethnic similarities. After failing to find a match in the US' National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) that boasts of a database of 10 million registered donors, Ambady's family finally directed their search towards India last November. Yet, two prominent stem cell donor registries in India with a combined pool of 50,000 donors could not find a match until recently.

Beating the odds of one in over 20,000, the unexpected happened last week when city-based Marrow Donor Registry of India (MDRI) found the Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs) match in a software engineer. HLA match refers to immunological compatibility, and doctors look for a match in at least 10 counts of crucial antigens to go ahead with a transplant. Coincidentally, not only did the donor hail from Ambady's hometown in Kerala, six out of 10 HLA parameters also matched. But Ambady's hopes crashed when after initially giving consent and registering as a donor, the engineer refused to go ahead with the donation citing health and later family problems.

Several rounds of counselling by members of MDRI, including founder head Sunil Parekh, did not cut much ice. Parekh said this was the sixth instance where the registry failed to convert a match into a transplant. Ambady's family and students have started a massive campaign across social media websites to hunt for a donor in time.

"Since we started the registry in 2010, there have been 55 requests for a match and we have managed to find six matches so far. But barring one instance, the donors backed out in all cases," he said, adding donor attrition has emerged as the biggest problem in the way of unrelated stem-cell transplants in the country.

While over 500 related stem cell transplants are carried out to cure leukemia, lymphoma and several other life-threatening cancers in the country annually, the numbers drop to almost one-tenth when it comes to transplants through unrelated donors. Also, in most of the unrelated stem cell transplants, the cells have to be imported from the US. "Just because the cells are imported, the cost of transplant could go up to around Rs 50 lakh and therefore remains out of bounds for the majority," said Dr Navin Khattry of Tata Memorial Hospital's Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, which is the only one to carry out unrelated transplants in Mumbai. "The solution to this is obviously having a larger database of Indian donors," he said.

In global registries too, ethnic groups, particularly Asians, are not too well represented, which majorly reduces their chances of finding a match. According to Parekh, the problem of donor attrition only aggravates it and adds to the higher mortality rate. Donor attrition is usually due to apprehensions about the process and its long-term outcome. However, Parekh said stem cell donation, like blood donation, has no long-term effects on the donor and cells are replenished in six to eight weeks.

However, Raghu Rajagopal, the co-founder and CEO of Datri, which has the biggest database of 36,000 registered stem cell donors, said even global registries face an attrition of about 50%. "But in their case, if one donor backs out, there would be three more willing to come forward," he said.

Datri has also been holding camps for Ambady in Kochi. Ambady's family and friends, however, have appealed that only those who are serious about donating should come forward.

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Nation shocked by rape and brutalization of five-year-old in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The plight of a five-year-old girl who was brutally raped and tortured in east Delhi and could be rescued only three days later, as reported in TOI, because of police callousness and insensitivity, led to widespread public outrage on Friday. The child is now battling for her life at AIIMS where she was shifted from Swami Dayanand Hospital in Dilshad Garden when public anger boiled over leading to heckling of Delhi health minister A K Walia and the slapping of a 17-year-old girl protester by a senior cop. A string of protests has been scheduled for Saturday.

Reading the mood early, a government that had faced a lot of flak over the Nirbhaya incident barely four months ago, moved into damage control mode with a string of high-level meetings, culminating in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing deep regret over the incident. Within hours, the SHO of Gandhi Nagar police station, the first investigating officer of the case and the ACP who had slapped the girl had been suspended.

What fuelled public anger were allegations by the family of the victim that not only did the cops first delay filing the FIR and then failed to search their house, wasting precious time, they also tried to fend them off with an amount of Rs 2,000 after the child was rescued. They were told to be happy that she was alive, the family has alleged. A vigilance inquiry has been ordered and the report is to be submitted within 24 hours.

The brutality, bordering on the bestial, has shocked the conscience of the city. "We found a 200ml bottle and two-three pieces of candle inserted into her private parts. This is the first time I have seen such barbarism," said R.K. Bansal, medical superintendent of Swami Dayanand Hospital. "There were injuries on her lips, cheeks, arms and anus area. Her neck had bruise marks suggesting that attempts were made to strangle her. Her blood pressure was way below normal." The police said there were efforts to even slit her throat.

The accused has been identified as one Manoj, 22. Late at night, the police arrested the accused from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

The accused had rented the ground floor of the house where the victim stayed just eight days ago. He had probably lured the child into the room on the evening of April 14 when she went missing. After brutalizing her and leaving her locked up, he escaped sometime on April 15 even as her family was looking for her desperately. On the morning of April 17, the mother and their neighbours heard someone crying in the room and called the cops, only to find their child. The accused has a previous case of trespassing registered against him and he was yet to be verified.

An attempt to murder case has been slapped on him, along with sections on wrongful confinement, procuring women for sexual matters, rape and the stringent POCSO Act that is meant for the protection of children.

By late evening, DCP (East) Prabhakar confirmed that both the SHO of Gandhi Nagar police station, Dharampal Singh, and the first investigating officer of the case, Mahavir Singh, had been suspended and would be facing a vigilance inquiry. "The allegations of police inaction and bribery will be covered by the same inquiry. The home ministry too has evaluated the entire investigation process,'' he said.

Earlier in the day, the Union home ministry sought a report from Delhi Police on the incident even as the home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, was asked to attend an emergency meeting at 7 RCR. Home secretary R K Singh had set the tone by announcing that he had spoken to police commissioner Neeraj Kumar and that "strict action must be taken against policemen concerned if any dereliction of duty is established.''

Anger against Delhi Police mounted after the girl's father, a mason, said they failed to even register his complaint when his daughter went missing. Angry protesters - including neighbours and activists of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - had soon gathered at Swami Dayanand Hospital. They raised slogans against chief minister Sheila Dikshit and the police, demanding immediate arrest of the accused. Delhi's health minister, A K Walia, and East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit were heckled by them when they visited the victim at the hospital.

An assistant commissioner of police was suspended for slapping one of the protesters, a 17-year-old girl and a Class XII student, Beenu Rawat, who was enquiring about the condition of the victim at the hospital. ACP Bani Singh Ahlawat, posted in the Khajuri Khas area of east Delhi, was suspended for slapping and pushing her, said a senior police officer.

Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said it was an unfortunate incident but an aberration. "Delhi Police is not known for such high-handedness and we have taken prompt and strict action by suspending the ACP,'' he said. Beenu, a resident of east Delhi's Shahdara, was trying to enter the emergency ward of Swami Dayanand Hospital when a scuffle ensued.

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Dhoni continues with 'Sir Ravindra Jadeja' jokes

PTI Apr 19, 2013, 04.10PM IST

(This was the third time in…)

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday once again tickled his fans' funny bones by cracking few more jokes on his IPL teammate 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja.

"If ever Rajni sir had to face sir jadeja's bowling, the battle would be known as CLASH OF THE TITANS," Dhoni wrote on his twitter handle.

Dhoni cracked another joke at his teammate, tweeting, "On 17.4.13 no planes landed at delhi airport from 7.30pm till 8.30 as sir jadeja was playing badminton In a nearby farm house."

This was the third time in less than two weeks that Dhoni was tweeting on Jadeja.

Chennai on Thursday defeated Delhi Daredevils by 86 runs in their away tie to post their third win in the IPL.

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Five-year-old girl's rape case: Accused arrested in Bihar

MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR: Manoj Sah, accused of raping five-year-old in Delhi, was nabbed from Chiknauta village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district at 2.30am on Saturday by a joint team of Delhi and Muzaffarpur policemen.

The accused, who had come here by a train from Delhi, was traced after tracking his mobile phone location, police sources said.

He was produced in a local court and will be brought on transit remand to Delhi.

Kumar had married recently and his wife had come to her parent's place two days back.

The accused, working as labourer in Delhi, is a native of Bharphua village of the district.

Kumar allegedly raped five-year-old girl at his rented accommodation in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar. The girl and her family stayed in the same building where Kumar lived.

Delhi police have registered a case and slapped charges of attempt to murder and rape among other things on Kumar, who allegedly confined the girl in his room for at least two days.

The girl, who was reported missing from April 15 evening, was rescued on April 17 morning from the ground floor of the building.

The girl is battling for life in AIIMS hospital in the national capital after she contracted infection from foreign objects inserted into her body.

(With inputs from PTI)

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One captured Boston Marathon bombing suspect dies

BOSTON: A Boston Marathon bombing suspect captured by police died in hospital, local television channels reported early Friday.

Police have told residents of the town of Watertown near Boston to stay indoors and "stay away from windows" as they hunt a second suspect wanted for the attacks in which three people died and about 180 were injured.

Earlier, police captured one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects and were chasing a second in a wild, deadly manhunt near the US city early Friday, local media reported.

One police officer was shot dead and a second wounded in the dramatic nighttime operation, authorities said.

One suspect was caught in Watertown near Boston after a chase in which explosives and gunfire were heard, the Boston Globe reported.

Special police forces sealed off much of the town as they hunted the second man, the newspaper and other media said.

The authorities made no comment on whether there was a link between the manhunt and Monday's bombing in which three people were killed and about 180 injured.

But the operation came only hours after the Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of the suspects they believe planted the bombs.

A robbery at a gas station was followed by the killing of a police officer on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a car chase to Watertown, media reports said.

A second police officer was wounded in a gunfight in the town, they added.

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Ek Thi Daayan

A young boy is obsessed with the occult. As he grows up, he takes his obsession to giddy lengths—often letting the lines between reality and fiction blur.

When you meet the unassuming, bespectacled Kannan Iyer in person, you will never guess that he's the man who has served up one of Indian cinema's taut supernatural thriller's Ek Thi Daayan. It's piping hot (it's got Emraan Hashmi--who calls himself a tiger in bed), terribly scary and yet it's aesthetically garnished.

Set in contemporary Mumbai; the film tells you a believable story of Bobo(Emraan) the magician, who is a master in his craft. But when you scratch the surface, scars from his growing up years come to light.

Cut to Bobo's childhood. He's a curly-haired, cute moppet(Vishesh; he plays the young Emraan) who grows up reading about witch-craft and is inexplicably drawn to magic. He doesn't realise that his fascination is fast becoming an obsession. Things reach a head, when his widower father (Pawan Malhotra) brings home a new bride Diana ( Konkana Sen Sharma). The boy equates a step-mother to a daayan(witch) and his young mind plays tricks with him.

You find yourself biting your nails in nervousness and digging your heels hard into the carpet in the cinema hall as this spook-fest unfolds.

Woven beautifully between the world of magic, occult and suspense, Ek Thi Daayan, makes for compulsive viewing, providing some spine-chilling thrills at short gaps. The narrative in the first half is almost faultless. There are some nice romantic moments between the lead pair Emraan and Huma and a couple of songs too. But just when you start to relax and flow with the emotions, along comes a scary twist that jolts you back to the edge of your seat. The climax is a bit stereotype of horror/supernatural thrillers but that's a minor hiccup in an otherwise cleverly done film of this genre.

Vishal Bharadwal's music and Gulzar's lyrics—especially kaali kaali, yaaram and lautungi main are outstanding. Of the performers—Konkana Sen Sharma and Emraan Hashmi are in top form. Huma Qureshi, Kalki Koechlin, Pawan Malhotra and the child actor, Vishesh are very competent.

Kannan Iyer makes an impressive debut...and kudos to Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bharadwaj for allowing him to bring his daayan to life without compromises. This film doesn't play to the galleries nor is it one of those brain-dead movies that Bollywood churns out as assembly line.

Note: You may not like the film if transcendental stuff doesn't move you.

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Boston bomb suspects are brothers of Chechen origin, 1 killed

BOSTON/WATERTOWN (MASSACHUSETTS): The two suspects in the deadly Boston marathon bombings, one of whom was killed in a shootout with police overnight, are brothers of Chechen origin, NBC News reported on Friday.

The suspect still at large has been identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the US network said, adding the two men were legal permanent residents of the United States.

Earlier, thousands of heavily armed police went door-to-door through a Massachusetts town on Friday in an unprecedented massive hunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Authorities halted all public bus and train services in the Boston region and told hundreds of thousands of people in several towns around Watertown to stay home in a bid to isolate the suspect.

Fleets of buses were sent to Watertown to ferry out nervous inhabitants. Those who stay were ordered to remain in their homes and only answer the door if they were sure it was a police officer.

More than 9,000 police, many armed with shotguns and automatic rifles, were sent to the town to find Suspect Two, one of two young men suspected of having carried out the bomb attack on Monday in which three people died and 180 were injured.

The hunt was concentrated on about 1.5 square miles (3.8 square kilometers) of Watertown, a quiet suburb of 35,000 people.

Earlier, police killed one of the Boston marathon bombing suspects in a shootout and pursued a chaotic street-to-street manhunt for his accomplice, officials said.

Several Boston suburbs were put under effective lockdown and public transport was suspended throughout the region as police chased an "armed and dangerous ... terrorist ... who has come here to kill people."

The two men — who were dubbed "Suspect One" and "Suspect Two" by the FBI — led police special forces on a violent cavalcade that left inhabitants of towns around Boston cowering in their homes as gunfire and explosions erupted through the night.

One police officer was killed and another wounded in the operation, Boston police commissioner Ed Davis said. Davis also confirmed that Suspect One had been killed.

The man, whose identity has not been released, died in the hospital after being hit with bullets and injured by an explosion, a doctor at Beth Israel hospital told reporters.

Police told inhabitants of Watertown and nearby towns to stay home.

The governor also suspended all public transit services through the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The surviving fugitive was "armed and dangerous," Davis said. "We believe this to be a terrorist, we believe this to be a man who has come here to kill people," the police chief told reporters.

Police said the first suspect had explosives on his body, and there were fears the second suspect still at large was also strapped with bombs.

The suspects first tried to rob a convenience store in Cambridge, across the river from Boston, Davis said.

They then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where one campus police officer was shot several times and died, the commissioner added. The pair then hijacked a Mercedes car and eventually let the driver out in Watertown, which is close to MIT, Davis added.

The chase went on through Watertown where the two were seen throwing explosives out of the car, local media said, citing police reports. Blasts and gunfire were heard in several districts.

During a shooutout, one wanted man was hit and died later in hospital, Davis said. Another police officer was also wounded. The second suspect, who has been shown in pictures wearing a white baseball cap, escaped.

MIT students were kept in a lockdown for three hours after the shooting on campus. Police with rifles flooded the streets, and search helicopters patrolled the skies.

MIT, one of the world's top universities, is in Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston where the double bomb attack was staged on Monday in the worst militant attack on the United States since the September 11 atrocities in 2001. Authorities cancelled classes on Friday, in the wake of the incident.

Hours before the manhunt, the FBI released pictures and video of the two suspects, appealing for help to identify the pair who were carrying large backpacks.

Both appeared to be young men, one dressed in a white baseball cap and the other in a black cap. The FBI gave no details of their identities or origin, naming them only as Suspect One and Suspect Two.

Two bombs were placed around the marathon finish line on Monday, spraying nails, ball bearings and other metal fragments into massed spectators, many of whom suffered horrific injuries.

The men are seen in the video walking calmly, one a few paces behind the other, weaving between crowds on Boston's Boylston Street where the race finished.

President Barack Obama vowed to the people of Boston Thursday that the "evil" bombers would be brought to justice.

At a special service at Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Obama vowed: "Yes, we will find you, and yes, you will face justice."

"We will find you, we will hold you accountable," he told a congregation of 2,000, including relatives of the dead, survivors of the blasts, rescuers and city leaders.

"If they sought to intimidate us, to terrorize us," Obama said, then "it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it."

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Musharraf flees from court premises after arrest order

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Thursday ordered to be arrested immediately by a court here over the sacking of 60 judges during emergency rule in 2007, but amid high drama he fled from the premises despite thick security blanket.

Musharraf, 69, who appeared in the Islamabad high court on Thursday morning to seek extension of his interim bail, was whisked away by his bodyguards, all commandos, before the police could take him into custody following the court order.

Rejecting his plea seeking extension of bail, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui ordered police to arrest him immediately.

Even as police tried to reach the former president, his bodyguards rushed him out of the courtroom to his black SUV. Musharraf's motorcade then drove out of the court complex before police could act.

A large contingent of police and paramilitary personnel deployed at the complex to provide security to Musharraf also did not act as the former dictator's security team of army commandos escorted him out of the courtroom.

Musharraf's convoy drove from the court to his farmhouse at Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad, television channels reported.

As the former military ruler's arrest appeared imminent, Mohammad Amjad, a senior leader of his All Pakistan Muslim League party, said a team of legal experts was examining the court's order.

Amjad said Musharraf will act according to the law and if the legal experts deemed it necessary, he would surrender to the authorities.

Soon after Musharraf returned to his farmhouse, a contingent of Pakistan Rangers personnel deployed to protect him left the residence. Some analysts contended this was a sign that the security establishment would not back Musharraf.

Sources told PTI that the government was considering a proposal to declare Musharraf's farmhouse a "sub-jail" so that he could be detained at his residence. Authorities believe it would be better to hold Musharraf at his farmhouse in view of serious threats to his life, the sources said.

Musharraf could also approach the Supreme Court to seek pre-arrest bail, sources said.

Last week, Musharraf was granted interim bail for six days after he surrendered to the Islamabad high court in connection with the case over the detention of judges in 2007. The same court had earlier declared him a "proclaimed offender" or fugitive in the case.

During today's hearing, deputy attorney general Tariq Mehmood Jahangir told the court that Musharraf had been granted interim bail on the condition that he would cooperate with police officials investigating the case.

Justice Siddiqui remarked that Musharraf had been accused of destroying the judicial system and he was bound to cooperate in the investigation. The judge was then told by the investigating officer that Musharraf had not come to the police station or cooperated with the probe.

The investigating officer further said Musharraf had sent a message that he would say whatever he had to say in court.

The case against Musharraf is based on an FIR filed in August 2009 by a lawyer named Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman.

Ghumman had asked police to initiate proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, after imposing emergency on November 3, 2007.

Since Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years in self-exile, he has been in and out of court several times to get his bail extended over the 2007 killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the death of a Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation and for imposing emergency rule in 2007.

The Taliban have also threatened to target him. Earlier this week, Musharraf was disqualified from contesting next month's general election, effectively ending his ambitions for a political comeback.

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