Former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear shot dead in highway robbery

CARACAS, Venezuela: A former Miss Venezuela and her ex-husband were shot and killed and their 5-year-old daughter wounded when they resisted robbers by locking themselves inside their car after tire punctures disabled it on an isolated stretch of highway, police said on Tuesday.

The slaying of Monica Spear, 29, a popular soap-opera actress, and Thomas Henry Berry, a 39-year-old British citizen, was the latest high-profile crime in a country where killings are common in armed robberies and where rampant kidnapping has ensnared even foreign ambassadors and professional baseball players.

Monday's killings followed a pattern in Venezuela of late-night assaults carried out by disabling cars with obstacles placed on roadways or by removing sewer covers.

Spear and Berry were slain at about 10:30 pm between Puerto Cabello, the country's main port, and the provincial capital of Valencia. They were returning from vacation to Caracas on a badly maintained stretch of highway that is lightly traveled at that hour.

Their four-door sedan hit "a sharp object that had been placed on the highway" that punctured at least two of its tires, the director of the country's investigative police, Jose Gregorio Sierralta, told reporters.

Two tow trucks arrived almost immediately afterward, said Sierralta, and the attack occurred after the car had been lifted onto one of the trucks.

Seeing the assailants coming, the travelers locked themselves inside and the assailants fired at least six shots, he said.

"They fired with viciousness," President Nicolas Maduro said of the attackers in comments to state TV.

Police in Puerto Cabello arrested five suspects, some under age 18, Sierralta added. It could not immediately be determined if Spear and Berry had called the tow trucks, or if any of the drivers were among those arrested for suspected involvement in the killings.

The daughter, Maya, was in stable condition after treatment for a leg wound and was with relatives in Caracas, said Sierralta.

The family had spent New Year's in the mountains of the western state of Merida then traveled to the plains, said Luis Carlos Dominguez, a longtime friend and former business associate of Berry, who he said was raised in Venezuela and ran a travel agency.

"He knew Venezuela a lot better than many Venezuelans," said Dominguez, describing the slain couple as people "who really loved the country," had a good relationship despite their divorce and made it a point to vacation together.

"They weren't together," he said. "But they were very attached for the benefit of their daughter."

He said Venezuelans can only hope that their deaths bring "a bit more strength to the fight against crime."

Violent crime soared during the 14-year rule of Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer last March. Venezuelans list crime as their most pressing worry.

The country has one of the world's highest murder rates - the United Nations has ranked it 5th globally - and violent crime is so rampant that Venezuelans tend to stay home after dark.

Spear's death triggered a wave of anger on social media directed at the government's poor record on crime.

Maduro lamented "the loss of a very spiritual young woman" actively involved in various charities.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles called on Maduro to put aside political differences and unite "to win the fight against insecurity" that claimed nearly 25,000 lives last year. "It's an emergency."

In response to the killings, Maduro announced that he would convene a security meeting on Wednesday that had originally been scheduled for the end of January. The meeting will bring together state governors and mayors of Venezuela's 79 most dangerous cities.

According to the nonprofit Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, the oil-rich South American country's murder rate was 79 per 100,000 inhabitants last year. Government statistics put the rate lower. The nonprofit group says 95% of murders go unsolved.

Spear was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2004, was 5th runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant the following year and had acted in numerous soap operas, most recently in "Pasion Prohibida" for the US-based Telemundo network.

She split her time between Caracas and south Florida, said Dominguez, while the England-born Berry lived in Caracas.

Spear had more than 355,000 followers on Twitter and her feed over the last week included brief videos of vacation scenes sent on the popular Instagram service.

In one video, posted on Sunday and described as being taken on the plains of Apure state, Spear looks at the camera while riding a horse, turns away and then looks back, blowing a kiss.

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Devyani Khobragade row set to go all the way to the White House

WASHINGTON: The row between India and the United States over the Devyani Khobragade episode is set to go all the way up to the White House. Secretary of state John Kerry is due to meet President Obama on Wednesday evening, even as bureaucracies on both sides have dug in their heels, leading to an impasse in the bitter face-off that has become more toxic with each passing day.

It is clear that political intervention at the highest level will be needed to break the deadlock. The opening comes on Wednesday when the President and the secretary have their first meeting after they repaired for holidays before Christmas. President Obama returned from Hawaii on Monday by which time Kerry had left for the Middle East.

Although no agenda is set for the 4.20pm meeting, Kerry will call on Obama soon after the swearing of Gregg Starr, assistant secretary for diplomatic security, who is one of the principals of the ongoing row.

It was at the instance of the bureau of diplomatic security, primed by the US embassy in New Delhi, that the case was initiated against Devyani Khobragade, ignoring the diplomat's own legal initiative through courts in India to bring her housekeeper Sangeeta Richard, who was on the lam with an official Indian passport, to book.

The US insists that the diplomat broke its laws with false declarations in securing a visa for the housekeeper and underpaying her in New York and its laws should apply because as a consular official, she does not have full diplomatic immunity.

India maintains that the housekeeper is in effect an India government employee, under the charge of the diplomat. The wage dispute between the two is not a matter for the US to intervene since she is not taxed under US laws. Besides, New Delhi has argued belatedly, the diplomat had full diplomatic immunity at the arrest.

The case has now become incredibly complex, with questions not only over diplomatic immunity, jurisdiction, precedence etc, but also on social and cultural norms and differences between the two countries. The spat has virtually brought bilateral ties to a standstill with key visits, including that of US assistant secretary of state Nisha Desai Biswal and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, both due in New Delhi in January, now on hold.

President Obama has not spoken to the issue directly even once, although the White House has made some anodyne remarks about the importance of the relationship etc. The battle has now been joined in editorial columns of newspapers amid reports from New Delhi about punitive reprisals against the US embassy and missions in India, which India maintains are withdrawal of unilateral concessions that have not been reciprocated by Washington. This includes shutting down commercial activity by the US embassy in New Delhi.

The US media has been scathing about New Delhi's response. "India is responding with investigations and administrative actions directed by the government for political ends — a tactic common in authoritarian states such as Russia or China but unworthy of a democracy," Washington Post said in an editorial on Wednesday.

"Its bullying measures have ranged from the petty — withdrawing the US embassy's permit to import alcohol — to the irresponsible — removing security barricades from the street in front of the facility," it further said.

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44% of voters in India's top metropolises say they will vote AAP for Lok Sabha: TOI poll

NEW DELHI: India's biggest metropolises are eagerly looking forward to the Aam Aadmi Party going national and expect it to make a big splash in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, but a majority still view Narendra Modi as a better prime ministerial prospect than Arvind Kejriwal with Rahul Gandhi a distant third.

That's the message from an opinion poll across the country's eight most populous cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad — conducted exclusively for TOI by market research agency IPSOS.

The survey found that a third of the respondents thought AAP would win between 26 and 50 seats, another 26% felt it could win 51-100 seats, 11% said it would bag more than 100 and 5% even predicted a majority for the party. Put together, that means three-fourths of all those polled believe AAP will win more seats in 2014 than any party, barring what Congress and BJP won in 2009.

Given that 44% of those polled said they would vote for an AAP candidate if there was one in their constituency, and another 27% said they might, depending on the candidate, it is not difficult to see why the respondents rate AAP's electoral prospects so high.

As for prime ministerial preferences, 58% picked Modi, 25% were for Kejriwal — despite AAP making it clear he is not in the running — and only 14% thought Rahul Gandhi would make the best PM. In Chennai and Mumbai, Kejriwal was preferred over Modi, and even in Modi's home turf, Ahmedabad, 31% thought Kejriwal was the best choice.

Respondents were divided on which party would be worst hit by AAP doing well. A little less than a third said BJP would be worst hit, about a quarter said Congress would bear the brunt and a similar proportion said both the national parties would suffer equally. Interestingly, in Chennai, where politics is dominated by two regional parties, 44% felt regional parties would be worst hit.

What's driving this bullish reading of AAP's prospects? The answers to two questions in the survey give us the answer. The first of these shows that 50% feel AAP is not only very different from other parties, it will stay that way and another 24% feel it is forcing others too to modify their politics. A sizeable 26%, however, felt that AAP is different now, but it might find it difficult to sustain this.

Asked what they find most appealing about the new party, 40% cited its "sincere efforts" at addressing issues of ordinary people, another 35% said it is full of honest people who would root out corruption and 24% said the fact that it was involving people in decision making was its best aspect.

That 44% said AAP would help in at least reducing corruption and another 29% felt it would be able to completely eliminate it, says a lot about how positively the party is currently being viewed in India's biggest cities.

Clearly, the perception about whatever the Delhi government under AAP has done in its brief tenure so far has helped buttress the party's image. As much as 70% of those polled said they were impressed by its performance so far. That figure was understandably highest, at 83%, in Delhi, but nowhere was it lower than 60%.

Asked if the Delhi government's moves on free water supply and subsidised power tariffs were economically irresponsible, a majority said they weren't, though 60% in Mumbai did feel these 'populist' decisions were irresponsible. Not surprising in that context was the fact that 61% see AAP as good for economic growth while only 27% say it would be bad for growth.

If the respondents are so gung-ho about AAP, would they be willing to contribute financially to the party and would they be willing to take out time to campaign for it? The two questions threw up interestingly divergent responses. While 47% said they wouldn't donate to the party and only 41% said they would, the response to giving time was almost an exact mirror image — 47% said they would give time while 42% said they wouldn't.

The survey has obvious limitations, like any such exercise. It is restricted to a sample of 2,015 people across the eight biggest cities and hence may not reflect the larger national mood accurately. Also, it was restricted to those aged 18 to 45 and older people may perhaps be less bullish on AAP, if earlier surveys in Delhi are anything to go by. Also, this survey was restricted to those in the top layers of society, SEC A and SEC B1. Delhi has shown that AAP's appeal is much stronger among the relatively less well-off.

All these caveats notwithstanding, what's clear from the poll is that AAP's performance in Delhi is serving as a springboard to a larger national presence in a timeframe few would have anticipated even a few weeks ago. Just how much larger, remains an open question.

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‘Missing’ Thane actress found in Chennai with boyfriend half her age

Alka Punewar had been missing since December 27 and the cops feared she had been kidnapped or killed. No one was prepared for a twist in the tale

The 10-day search for Marathi actress Alka Punewar ended on Tuesday, with the Crime Branch tracing her to a Chennai hotel where she had been hiding with her boyfriend. The 48-year-old, twice-married Thane-based actress' disappearance on December 27, and the subsequent search that revealed she had eloped with a man half her age, is a story straight out of a Bollywood thriller.

While the Mumbai Police, whose initial probe was based on the assumption that Punewar was murdered, didn't manage to speak to her and her boyfriend Alok Paliwal, 24, a resident of Bangalore, the actress on Tuesday kicked up a row with the staff at the Chennai Police Commissionerate after she was refused a meeting with the commissioner.

Inspector Mary Anandi from an all-women police station in Chennai said, "Punewar visited the Police Commissioner's Office early on Tuesday, but the staff directed her to a local police station. She was extremely aggressive, and kept screaming that she didn't want to go back to her husband in Mumbai."

The Chennai cops called up their counterparts in Mumbai, and were told that a team was on its waytotakecustodyofPunewarandherboyfriend. "She insisted on staying in a hotel, and threatened to harm herself if we questioned her.We have sent her to a shelter, and will hand her over to the Mumbai Police as soon as they arrive," Inspector Anandi said. The Mumbai Police sources said the cops were not likely to pursue the case, and a closure report could be filed.

THE DISAPPEARANCE Punewar,who has played small roles in a few Hindi movies and TV serials, left her house on December 27 saying she and her troupe had a stage performance scheduled in Pune via Uran. Her husband Sanjay Punewar dropped her to Thane Railway Station,from where she was to drive to Pune in her car. The actress' family approached police two days later, saying they weren't able to contact her. Meanwhile, the Khopoli Police found the mangled remains of her car and her mobile phone in the valley off Palaspe Phata on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, raising suspicions that she had met with an accident or had been murdered.

The murder/kidnap theory grew stronger after Sanjay told the cops that he had received an SMS from Punewar at 4.30 am on December 28, which listed an email ID with instructions to forward their son's resume.

THE LOVE AFFAIR Punewar,who has a 25-year-old daughter from her first marriage and 17-year-old twins (a son and a daughter) from her second marriage, came into contact with Alok Paliwal through a social networking site four years ago, when he was studying engineering. The two, however, met only two years ago.

The police sources said the two grew closer after Paliwal completed his studies, and visited Punewar in Mumbai before landing a job in Bangalore. He even introduced her to his parents,telling them her name was Nikita Mishra. A Crime Branch officer said, "They met frequently... Punewar would travel to Bangalore, but tell her family that she was travelling to Thailand for shows."

THE PLAN Punewar and Paliwal told the latter's friend, Navi Mumbai resident Sanjay Sonkar, of their intention to elope, and the three drew up a plan. Paliwal and Sonkar were batch-mates at the engineering college, and the latter worked for a telecom firm in Mumbai.

A couple of weeks before eloping, the couple purchased a used car online for Rs 28,000. On December 27, after Punewar's husband dropped her off at Thane Railway Station, Paliwal and Sonkar met up with her and the three drove to Kopar Khairane in Navi Mumbai, then to CST where they told Punewar to take a bus or a train to Pune.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Niket Kaushik said,"They had planned to push the car off the road and feared the spot they had chosen was not secluded enough. They feared getting arrested if Punewar was around."

Paliwal and Sonkar reached the spot off Palaspe Phata, from where they pushed the car into the gorge."They stopped the trucks on the Expressway and said a car had fallen off the road. They even convinced one of the drivers to inform police. Later, they sneaked out after getting a lift from a biker," a police officer said.

Paliwal then went to Pune to join his lover, while Sonkar returned home to Panvel.

THE BREAKTHROUGH Punewar's call details revealed that she had sent three SMSes to a number that had been disconnected since July last year. The number belonged to a Bangalore-based man (Alok Paliwal).

The Property Cell of the Crime Branch, however, managed to access the mobile phone number that Paliwal was currently using, and found that he was in Chennai since December 29.

The cops also found that Paliwal was in touch with Sanjay Sonkar, who was detained yesterday. He revealed the couple's whereabouts, and the game was up.

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Ranveer-Deepika married now

After steaming up the screen with their last film, 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela', Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone will now be playing husband and wife in Homi Adajania's English/Konkani film, 'Finding Fanny Fernandes'. The film also stars Arjun Kapoor.

READ: My love life is rocking: Ranveer Singh

A source close to the film told TOI, "Ranveer has shot with Arjun, but most of his scenes are with Deepika. Their crackling chemistry has to be seen to be believed. He was in Goa for just three days and the trio spent a lot of time shopping and sightseeing."

Roping in Ranveer as Deepika's husband was Homi's brainwave. And the unit of the film was really excited when he revealed the twosome he had in mind to play the reel life couple. The duo, as reported by TOI, brought in the New Year together in New York and though they have denied a relationship,buzz suggests otherwise. Dinesh Vijan, who is producing the film, chose not to respond to our calls and text messages.

READ: Deepika spends birthday with Ranveer in New York

Homi too remained unavailable for comment.

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Bipasha-Harman to tie the knot

After John Abraham's New Year wedding to girlfriend Priya Runchal, his ex-flame Bipasha Basu too has decided to tie the knot this year with steady date Harman Baweja. Sources close to the couple however tell TOI that the actress' decision was made before John announced his marriage on Twitter.

But Bipasha and Harman will make their plans official only after his film 'Dhishkiyaon', produced by Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra, hits theatres. The film is slated to release in August.

READ: Bipasha, Harman hide their faces

Bipasha's parents, HK and Mamta Basu, had their first formal meeting with Harman's parents, producer Harry Baweja and wife Pammi, at the Bawejas' residence in Lokhandwala Complex.

A close friend of the actress told this newspaper, "After that meeting, their respective parents have met quite a few times." Added the friend, "Bipasha and Harman are really serious about each other. I am sure that they want to tie the knot this year."

READ: Harman takes his film on the write track

The two were first spotted together when the actress arrived at Jackyy Bhagnani's birthday party in Harman's car in December 2012. While the tongues were still wagging, the two were again spotted at a North Goa resort, ushering in Bipasha's birthday at a pool party.

They soon started stepping out together in public and it was clear that this relationship was for keeps when the 33-year-old actor flew to London in October 2013, to keep Bipasha company while she was shooting for Sajid Khan's 'Humshakals'.

On Monday night, Bipasha ushered in her 35th birthday with Harman at a party at her Khar pad, and guests included her parents and younger sister, R Madhavan, Rocky S, Dipannita Sharma, Sophie Chaudhary, Shamita Shetty, Shilpa and Raj.

Says a friend present at the party, "The theme of the evening was pink and white and hats were mandatory. The fare on offer was all-Bengali and the party continued till the wee hours of Tuesday, first on her terrace and then in the apartment."

READ: Bollywood celebs who should confess their love

While Bipasha and Harman chose not to comment on the story, Harry Baweja told us, "I am in a narration. I will speak to you later." Repeated efforts to get in touch with him failed to evoke a response. Probably the narration was too long.

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French restaurant in Islamabad shut down for 'no Pakistanis allowed' policy

ISLAMABAD: A French restaurant, running in a posh locality here, was raided and shut down by police following a public outcry over its policy of not allowing Pakistanis in.

'La Maison', running out of Islamabad's F7-1, was not allowing Pakistanis in, citing the French style of cooking that uses wine.

Also, the food was not halal and even pork was served.

The controversial policy had led to a storm on various social media networks, with many comparing the policy to apartheid and the infamous colonial boards outside clubs in India during British rule.

The momentum against the restaurant was started by Cyril Almeida, senior journalist working with a leading Pakistani daily, who launched a Twitter war against the restaurant.

The restaurant-owner Philippe Lafforgue wrote to him, claiming he is changing his policy.

Lafforgue, however, continued to bar Pakistanis.

"What can I do? I am just trying to respect the local culture. Pakistanis with dual nationality are allowed," Lafforgue had said prior to the raid.

"But after consulting the authorities, my advisor and my partner, I am telling you it is impossible to open a place to the public when we serve non-halal food. I cannot change the recipes of French food," he had said in a letter.

"So we will stand by our policies. Everybody is welcome, even Pakistani people with a dual nationality. I don't want to hurt the sensitivities of Muslim people."

He said he had "just opened this place to give to the people an authentic French cuisine... And it is not compatible with the faith of the people here. So it will remain private".

This is not the first such incident in Islamabad. In 2009, another French restaurant 'The Cordon Rouge' hung a "foreigners only" sign, which was later removed after protests.

According to police sources, they recovered huge quantity of illegal liquor from 'La Maison'. The raid was carried out by the police with TV camera crews in tow.

The small restaurant running out of Lafforgue's house, was a hit with the expats. One had to make prior booking, giving international passport details.

'La Maison' was similar to the New York-style "secret restaurants" that operate in the federal capital.

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In this heartless world, Ariana has been my selfless friend: Adhayayan Suman

Adhayayan Suman, 25, is emotional, sensitive and incapable of manipulation. Much like his father, he can't forgive and forget and can be blunt at times. The struggle to make Heartless a reality, has taught him patience. He is aware that Heartless must work, but also believes somewhere deep in his heart that it will work, as he feels God has a plan for him given the impediments in the film over the past three years. Over an hour-long conversation with TOI, he talks about his unrelenting father, his selfless friend Ariana and what he secretly prays to his dead older brother Ayush every night. Excerpts:

You debuted at 20 and then went missing. What happened?
I was born and brought up in Mumbai, but sent to London to study at Millfield school when I was in Class 8.This was 2000 when I would have to go with a gunman to the classroom as my dad was under severe threats from the underworld. In London, I took to doing theatre and Shakespeare in a big way. It is one of the finest schools in the world. I had the most amazing experience of my life. After London, I went to the New York Film Academy and did my diploma in direction. From the time I remember, I wanted to be a star but I loved food, as a result of which I was 5'11'' and 125 kgs. I could eat two pizzas and six packets of chips at one time. I was an obese Indian who was always bullied in New York till one day I saw myself in the mirror and decided that I would lose weight and I lost 50 kgs and returned to India. Mr Ajay Devgn saw me at Perry's and I got my first break in Haal-e-Dil. I had gone on trust, but came to know only later that I actually had two lines and one song in it. I knew that my launch was ruined. I remember crying to my dad on the phone. I was lucky that the Bhatts were so kind that despite Haal-e-Dil, they cast me in Raaz 2 that did well and then Jashnn, which was a flop. Post that, calls stopped and I sat at home for the last four years.

Last four years must have been tough for you?
Yes, it was very tough. Right from the age of 15, I have wanted to do well for my parents. I do realise what my parents have done for me. It was not easy for my father to send me to Millfield paying 40 lakh every year as just the tuition fee. It's not that he is a billionaire. He worked really hard to send me there and gave me whatever I wanted in life. Today, after being in the industry, the thought of not doing well is not about not being a star or not owning a bigger car. It troubles me as I have been at home for four years, not made money and have not done well in my life. My parents are selfless and will never tell me but I want to do well for them. They feel sad that I have not got my due till date and was written off after one flop. My mother had this dream of me doing good films, looking good on screen and being presented really well. But that did not happen. It was very frustrating for her seeing me sit at home. From a time after Raaz 2, when my phone would continuously ring, it stopped ringing. I stopped meeting people and partying. I had only two friends. One my gym trainer Sonu Chaurasia and the second, Ariana Ayam from New York. She has come for the film and will go back after that. There were many times when I felt it was a dead end for me in my life but my dad never gave up. My mother always wanted to see my father as this movie star. Of course he became this big television star but she has always dreamt of me being a big star. Even though he became a big television celebrity, I feel given his talent, he did not get his due as an actor. As an actor, I am an extension of my father. If Heartless does well for me as an actor, I feel even my father will get his due as an actor apart from being the director of the film.

Your affair with Kangana Ranaut got you more eyeballs than your work.
I started dating her two months after shooting for Raaz 2 and we dated for exactly one year from April 1, 2009 to April 1, 2010. We broke up just before the release of Jashnn. Though our relationship was that of a normal young couple, it was written about as being a relationship where I was riding on her celebrity status which in reality was completely untrue. Being written about as the girl in the relationship made me angry. Nobody gives you a film because you are someone's boyfriend or a big father's son. You get films basis your talent. We broke up as we decided that we both needed to focus on our careers. She is the man in her house and is bold and upfront. She has come from Himachal Pradesh, knows nobody and has done so well for herself. I too felt that love and things like that can happen later in life but at that time I needed to focus. I was only 22. We did not break up all of a sudden but it was a concerted decision taken by the both of us over two months. A breakup is always tough as you get used to a person over a year but we were both clear about focussing on our lives and have never met after that. I had lot of expectations from Jashnn, but it did not do well. My father gifted me a 7-series on my birthday just before the release of Jashnn as he was so overwhelmed seeing the film but I was branded a spoilt brat. It hurt me so badly, that I sold my car at a throwaway price. It was my first car and my prized possession given to me by my father from his heart and I cherished that. I still remember that day when that guy came and took it away. I thought to myself, 'Maybe it is time for me to buy a car for my dad.'

What made you apologise to your father after your breakup?
I said sorry to him as I had been defiant and had not listened to him. My dad had told me, 'Even if she is the nicest person in the world, you are lucky to get a break in the film industry. Don't ruin it for yourself. Do whatever you want to do but after building your base, you will be on autopilot. But if you mess up while taking off, you will take a long time to take a flight again.' And that's what happened. I sat at home. Being transparent in my relationship sent the wrong signals, Jashnn did not do well and it affected my career.

READ: My father is everything for me: Adhyayan Suman

Talk about your relationship with your father?
He is my friend and I am most attached to him in the world. He has always been very cool with me as a father and so, I have shared details of my life with him. I have not seen someone as strong as him. I had given up but he never gave up. He always knows what I am feeling without my having to say it. He will say things that will cheer you. For instance he would tell me, 'Jab Heartless succeeds, you have to gift me a car.' That would just boost my confidence at a time when I would be just sitting at home. There was a time when we felt even Heartless would not be made as production houses wanted to either change the director or the actor, even though they liked the script. I'm scared of what after Heartless if it doesn't work, but I genuinely feel God has a plan, otherwise it would not have turned out to be the film it has and that too, after struggling for three years. While I still have some money out of what I made initially, I feel so ashamed swiping my father's credit card or buying something with his money. The journey of Heartless has made me patient in life.

Your brother Ayush's memory is alive for your parents. What about you?
As a kid, I remember eating with him, playing his video games, but I don't remember my parents telling me that he was ill. When he died, I was sent to my nani's best friend Narayan aunty's house and called back after two days. Of course I was shown his body and never realised what it meant, until one day, due to my habit of opening drawers, I found pictures of that night when they were all sitting around his body. I could not deal with that and still sometimes get flashes of it. I eventually came to terms with it when I was 10. I do remember Ayush bhaiya getting angry with me when I played with his games and shouting 'Adhyayan'. But I never felt neglected even though there were times when I would be sent to my cousin chacha's place or to Patna so that my parents could look after Ayush bhaiya. There was too much love always. He is the angel in my life too like he is for my parents. Every night I will fold my hands and pray to him in my bed. If I am in trouble I will always ask him, 'Ayush bhaiya, please get this done'. I have been doing this since I was a kid. There are nights when I just ask him, 'Please take care of the health of my parents.' I know it is part of nature that everyone needs to go one day, but I can't imagine that.

Talk about your friend and co-star Ariana?
She studied with me in New York. She is an Afghani who is a New Yorker. In this heartless world, she is selfless and she is a friend who has been there for me and my father and has helped us at a time when we were unable to find a girl of our choice for the film. I had directed a short film with her in it and showed it to my father who loved her. She has come to India leaving her life in the US to be in the film and is brilliant in it.

ALSO: I don't have friends in Bollywood: Adhyayan Suman

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US cities shut down by life-threatening temperatures of -52°C

The coldest weather conditions for two decades show little sign of relenting in parts of America, as forecasters predict freezing temperatures could make Tuesday the coldest on record in the 21st century.

It sounds like a plot device from a bad disaster movie, but for vast swathes of North America, the weather phenomenon known as a "polar vortex" has become all too real, bringing misery to millions across the US and Canada, along with the lowest temperatures seen in almost twenty years.

More than 3,000 flights had been cancelled across the region by 10am on Monday. A further 3,700 had already been cancelled during the weekend. Schools were closed in major cities such as Chicago and St Louis, and residents advised to remain indoors.

Matt Rogers, president of Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Maryland, told Bloomberg could beat January 16, 2009, the coldest day of the century.

The governor of Minnesota closed all the schools in his state, while the mayor of Indianapolis, Greg Ballard, banned driving except in emergencies — the first time the city has issued such a strict travel warning since 1978. Mr Ballard said: "This extreme cold poses a serious health and safety risk and for that reason the city is asking people to proactively prepare."

In many areas, particularly in the Midwest and Northern Plains, the cold was considered life-threatening. Hypothermia is a major risk at temperatures of below -25°C, while frostbite can take hold in less than 10 minutes at -37°C. At -45°C, uncovered skin could freeze within five minutes. The windchill in Comertown, Montana, close to the border with Canada, is expected make temperatures feel as low as -52°C.

Chicago's National Weather Service office reported that Monday's low of -26°C at O'Hare International Airport beat a record set in 1884 and equalled in 1988. In Fargo, the largest city in North Dakota, temperatures sank below -35°C. Motorists were advised in that state and its neighbour South Dakota to carry survival kits and a charged mobile phone in case they found themselves stranded in the perilous weather.

At least 13 people are thought to have died as a result of the extreme conditions already, including several road accidents, a man who succumbed to hypothermia in Wisconsin, and a worker crushed by a massive pile of road salt at a storage facility in Philadelphia. An elderly Alzheimer's sufferer from rural New York state wandered out into the snow; she was later found dead from the cold, around 100 yards from her home.

The arctic freeze only exacerbated the problems caused by a weekend of heavy snowfall that had covered parts of Canada and the northern US in up to 60cm. In Detroit, where 25cm fell, the heavy snow was thought to have caused a roof to collapse, though no one was killed in the incident.

Meanwhile in St Louis, shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants and several major tourist sites were shuttered, including the zoo and the city's famous Gateway Arch. Even a nearby ski resort, Hidden Valley, was forced to close its slopes.

In Newfoundland, Canada, a power outage on Sunday left 90,000 homes without electricity, a pattern repeated in several locations across the US. Though northern states were the worst affected, record-breaking low temperatures were also expected as far south as Atlanta. While farmers in South Dakota worried about keeping their cattle alive through the dangerous chill, down in Florida, citrus farmers were reported to be equally concerned about the effect of a prolonged freeze on their crops.

There was at least one good news story to emerge from the bad weather, however. The family of a missing New York man, 20-year-old Nicholas Simmons, found him sleeping rough on the streets of Washington, DC, thanks to a newspaper gallery illustrating the effects of the polar vortex.

Simmons reportedly left his home in upstate New York last on Wednesday evening. His family reported him missing and set up a Facebook page to plead for help in finding him. Then, on Sunday, a photograph of a young homeless man warming himself on a Washington steam grate, taken by the Associated Press photographer Jacquelyn Martin, appeared in a photo-spread in USA Today.

The young homeless man was Simmons, whose mother spotted the image and contacted Ms Martin and Washington DC police, who found the young man still in the area where he had been photographed. He was taken to hospital and later reunited with his parents.

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Vishwas apologized for Muharram comments: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday tried to put an end to the controversy over Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas's remarks on Muharram, saying he has apologized for it.

"This is an old issue, at one of the poetry conventions, he ( Kumar Vishwas) had said something in a satire..." said Kejriwal.

"Kumar said later it was not his intention to hurt anyone. He also tendered an apology," he said.

Kejriwal's clarification came after Janata Dal-United legislator Shoaib Iqbal, who supported the AAP in the confidence vote in the Delhi assembly, threatened to withdraw support.

"Whatever he said about Hazrat Imam Hussain is objectionable, I am getting calls from all across the country, people are hurt," Iqbal said, citing a video where Vishwas has allegedly joked about Muharram during one of his performances.

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