NEW DELHI: Bengali film 'Antaheen' by director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury was chosen as the Best Film while Tamil filmmaker Bala won the honour of Best Director for his film 'Naan Kadavul' at the 56th National Film Awards announced here on Saturday.
'Antaheen', starring Sharmila Tagore, Rahul Bose, Aparna Sen and Radhika Apte, is a relationship drama.
The award for Best Actor went to Upendra Limaye for Marathi film 'Jogwa', which also fetched the trophy for the Best film on social issues. Hindi film 'Oye Lucky Lucky Oye' by Dibakar Banerjee was adjudged as the Best Popular Film.
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra bagged the Best Actress award for her role of a aspiring model in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion' which also bagged the Best Supporting Actress Award for Kangana Ranaut who played the role of a troubled model.
Actor Arjun Rampal won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of a failed rocker in 'Rock On'.
Shreya Ghoshal won the Best Female Playback award for 'Antaheen' and 'Jogwa', which also brought the Best Male Playback Singer award to Hariharan.
Kannada film 'Gubbachigalu' was adjudged the Best Children's film. The award for Best Special Effects went to 'Mumbai Meri Jaan'.
Malayalam film 'Bioscope' won the Best Jury Award while the trophy for Best Child Actor (rpt) Best Child Actor went to Shams Patel for Hindi film 'Thanks Maa'.
Krishna's remarks on terror attacks 'immature': Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Doing away with diplomatic niceties, Pakistan has dubbed as "immature" external affairs minister S M Krishna's reported remarks that any future terror attack on India could impact bilateral ties.
Pakistan foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit claimed that the Mumbai attacks would not have happened without local support and that Krishna should "understand the realities" and avoid such statements.
It is "an immature statement", Basit said while reacting to Krishna's remarks carried by a magazine that "any repeat of such (26/11 type of) attacks will have serious repercussions on bilateral ties."
Krishna's reported remarks came in response to Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's statement that his country could not guarantee that there would be no further attacks in India.
Earlier, US defence secretary Robert Gates had said India's patience would be "limited" if a 26/11-type attack was repeated.
Basit insisted that no country has been "as sincere as Pakistan" in the fight against terrorism as it was a "real victim" of the menace.
Pakistan would not be scared by any threat, the spokesman was quoted as saying by state-run APP news agency.
He claimed that Pakistan had extended all cooperation but India's response has been "lethargic" and "not positive".
The "deadlock between the two countries would only be beneficial for non-state actors," he said, adding both countries are nuclear powers and "to think about war is equal to suicide".
Pachauri admits mistake in IPCC report, rules out resignation
NEW DELHI: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman R K Pachauri on Saturday termed as a "human error" the findings in its report about melting of Himalayan glaciers, but ruled out his resignation on the issue.
Pachauri, who is under attack from various quarters over the IPCC's 2007 report that said the glaciers in the Himalayas will disappear by 2035 due to global warming, said the mistake was "unfortunate".
"I have no intention to of resigning from my position. I have a task. I am going to complete the Fifth Assessment Report," he told reporters here.
Pachauri said the IPCC is a body of hundreds of eminent scientists selected and nominated by different governments.
"There are huge problems on climate change. Climate change is not limited to Himalayan glaciers. Rational people will continue to repose faith in IPCC," he said.
The IPCC chief said the Fourth Assessment Report of the Panel was a "robust report" but the error with regard to the conclusion on Himalayan glaciers was "unfortunate".
"This was a human error. We will do everything to see that such mistakes are not repeated," he said.
Pachauri said the IPCC will not take action against any of the authors of the report.
"We have no right to take any action against any author. They are not employees of IPCC," he said.
The IPCC is under fire for having included in its 2007 report -- without proper peer review -- an assertion that glaciers in the Himalayas will disappear by 2035 due to global warming. It had retracted the statement just three days back.
Researcher Murari Lal was in-charge of editing the chapter on glaciers in the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC and had based the controversial finding on a media interview of glaciologist S I Hasnain.
Pachauri said IPCC is utilising the Noble Peace Prize money for starting a cadre of scientists in different developing countries who would assess the problem of climate change in their respective regions.
Telangana agitation at AP Secretariat; 50 activists held
Hyderabad: Fifty activists of Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) were arrested on Saturday when they tried to storm into the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat here, raising slogans demanding creation of a separate Telangana state, police said.
The activists, including PDSU President Ashok Kumar and Secretary Gautam Prasad were taken into custody after they squatted in front of the Secretariat main gate preventing people from entering in.
There was jostling between the protestors and the police when the latter tried to evict them following which cops canecharged to dispel the mob.
The police then closed the entrance gates of the Secretariat even as additional police forces rushed in to control the situation. The arrested activists have been taken to the Nampally police station.
Remote control of politics remains with me: Thackeray
Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Saturday turned 84 and used the occasion to make it clear that he remains at the helm of the saffron party's affairs.
Five years ago, Thackeray had announced his retirement from active politics, making way for son Uddhav to take over reins of the party.
"The sapling (Sena) I planted 45 years ago has grown into a vine, which reached the power centre in Delhi," he said.
He emphasised that the 'Marathi manoos' was the centre of "our thoughts and will remain so".
In a letter to Shiv Sainiks, also published in Saamana, Thackeray said, "I don't have the energy I had earlier due to old age. I have just come back from illness, so won't be able to meet you at Matoshree....but I am close to you from my heart. You have Uddhav. He will greet you at Matoshree".
Matoshree is Thackeray's residence in suburban Bandra and Sena workers throng his house on his birthday every year. In an article in the newspaper, film actor Nana Patekar described Thackeray as a "steel personality".
"He calls me regularly.I have not seen such a person who is so sentimental despite being in politics," the actor said.
4 killed, 8 injured in Orissa landmine blast
Koraput, Orissa: Four civilians, including two women, were killed and eight security personnel injured when their trekker was blown up by a landmine triggered by Maoists in Koraput district on Saturday.
"Four civilians were killed and eight members of the Special Operation Group (SOG) injured in the landmine blast this morning," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Southern Range), Sanjeev Panda said.
The blast took place at Jogipalur area when ten personnel of the elite anti-naxalite force were returning to their barracks in the trekker.
The owner of the trekker, Uday Taringi, his wife Kausalya Kulusika, driver Totir Mahanandi and Narayanpatna area local Kumudini Sunamudi were killed in the incident.
The eight personnel were rushed to the hospital where they were found to be not seriously injured, Panda said, adding police have launched a combing operation in the area. Maoists also blew up a mobile phone tower in Machhkund area of the district and ransacked the tehsil office before setting ablaze official records and documents, Koraput Superintendent of Police Anup Kumar Sahu said.
Traffic between Machhkund and Lamptapur was disrupted as the rebels had blocked the connecting road by felling trees, he added.
Indian Business News
Maruti Q3 Net jumps 3-fold to Rs 687 cr
New Delhi: Boosted by robust sales, India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India reported over three-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 687.53 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
The company will also invest Rs 1,700 crore to expand its capacity by 2.5 lakh units annually.
"In the October-December quarter 2009 favourable conditions in the domestic markets supported by the government's stimulus package and ease of automobile finance helped (the company) achieve good sales," it said.
The company sold 2.58 lakh units in the Q3, up 48.72 per cent from 1.73 lakh units it sold in the same quarter ended December 2008.
During the quarter exports led by the A-star continued to be strong.
On its expansion plan the company said it will invest Rs 1,700 crore to expand its capacity and the additional capacity will begin commercial production by 2012.
The company currently has a capacity to produce a million units annually from its existing facilities seven lakh at Gurgoan and three lakh at Manesar.
Gold prices recover; silver slides further
Mumbai: Gold prices recovered by Rs 50 to Rs16,485 per ten grams at the bullion market on fresh buying by stockists and jewellers despite weak trend in overseas markets.
On the other hand, silver dropped further on lack of demand from industrial users.
"Stockists grabbed the opportunity to buy the yellow metal at current level, which moved the prices moderately up on the domestic front," traders said.
"They are expecting further fall in gold prices internationally, seeing overall bearish global trend," they added.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) recovered by Rs 50 per ten grams to end at Rs 16,485 from yesterday's closing level of Rs 16,435.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) moved up by a similar margin to close at Rs 16,570 from Rs 16,520 yesterday.
However, silver ready (.999 fineness) declined further by Rs 355 per kilo to finish at Rs 27,415 as against Rs 27,770 previously.
In New York, gold for February delivery finished down by USD 13.50, or 1.2 per cent, to USD 1,089.70 an ounce on the Comex division of NYMEX.
Silver for March delivery fell by 40 cents to USD 16.93 an ounce.
Godrej Consumer Products Q3 net jumps 2 fold
Mumbai: FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products reported a jump of over two fold in its consolidated net profit at Rs 85 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period last year.
Total income rose to Rs 528.6 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, against Rs 353.9 crore in the same period previous fiscal, Godrej Consumer Products said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
On standalone basis, the company has posted a net profit at Rs 56 crore in the December quarter, up 43.95 per cent over the year-ago period.
The board of the company has proposed a third interim dividend for the year 2009-10 at the rate of Re one per share.
Obama wants answers from China over Google cyberattacks
Aboard Air Force One: US President Barack Obama is troubled by cyber attacks on Google and wants China to provide answers to charges of security breaches, his spokesman said on Saturday. The comment came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to conduct a thorough probe into cyber attacks on Google and other US companies, and lamented what she said was Beijing's increasing efforts to control what its 384 million web users can see.
"As the president has said, he continues to be troubled by the cyber security breach that Google attributes to China,"White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling to Ohio.
"As Secretary Clinton said yesterday, all we are looking for from China are some answers," Burton said. China has rejected the Internet censorship criticism by Clinton, saying it harmed relations. "We firmly oppose such words and deeds, which go against the facts and are harmful to China-US relations," Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Friday, in China's strongest comments since the Google dispute erupted last week.
Indian Sports News
India go down to Pak, crash out of U-19 WC
Lincoln, New Zealand: Defending champions India crumbled under pressure in the battle of sub-continental rivals as Pakistan sent them packing with a two-wicket triumph in a thrilling rain-hit Super League quarterfinal of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup here on Saturday.
Pakistan opted to bowl first in the match, which became a 23-overs-a-side affair due to overnight rain, and skittled out India for a paltry 114 for nine. In reply, Pakistan huffed and puffed their way to the target in 22.3 overs thanks to some valuable late order contributions to keep their unbeaten run at the event intact.
The Pakistani top order collapsed and the team score read 16 for three in just under seven overs.
However, Ahsan Ali brought them back into the match with a 45-ball 30 before being run out by Jaydev Unadkat. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals but Pakistan kept themselves in the hunt with some brisk scoring.
Rameez Aziz (28) and Hammad Azam (21 not out) turned out to be the heroes for Pakistan as they found the boundaries and sixes when it mattered the most in a cliffhanger of a match.
Azam hit Sandeep Sharma for a massive six in the 20th over to reduce the runs-required and balls-available margin. Needing 12 off 16 balls, Azam ensured a Pakistani victory with a couple of fours and some swift running between the wickets even as wickets fell around him.
Earlier, put in to bat, Indian innings was off to a disastrous start as they lost Rahul Kannaur off the very first ball of the match when Pakistan's wrecker-in-chief Fayyaz Butt castled him. Mayank Aggarwal didn't last long either and after contributing just two runs to the total, he followed his fellow opener back to the pavillion, edging one from Butt to wicket-keeper Mohammad Waqas.
Dhoni refuses to take Bangladesh lightly
Mirpur: After Virender Sehwag's deriding statement against the host side, regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday switched to damage control mode saying they will not take Bangladesh lightly in the second Test, beginning tomorrow.
Asked whether Bangladesh can beat India in second Test, Dhoni said, "That is why they are playing. You should not take any side lightly in international cricket. At the end of the day it was the 10 balls that matters. There is no good reason why they (Bangladesh) should not take 20 wickets."
"If any side does not think that they can win, what is the point of playing. We don't think of losing and we always want to win. But we have lost matches against some good sides. So, anything can happen in cricket," he said at the pre-match press conference.
Dhoni however, said his side dominated the first Test match till the end after their batting collapse in their first innings.
"After the fourth day, frankly speaking everybody knew Bangladesh cannot win. Either We would win or the match could be a draw. Their bowlers did reasonably well in the first Test but they were supposed to that as an international side," he said.
Dhoni also said that Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were gradually growing into world's best opening pair.
"There can be arguments on this but I feel that Viru (Sehwag) and Guati (Gambhir) are shaping up as the best opening pair in the world. They have given strong starts many a times. That is very important in Test matches in sub-continental pitches," he said.
Federer leads victory charge for top seeds in Melbourne
Melbourne: Normal service resumed at the Australian Open on Saturday as Roger Federer and Serena Williams booked their places in the second week of the championship.
Nadia Petrova had given hope to the would-be giantkillers still left in the tournament when she upset Kim Clijsters on Friday but everything went according to the script in Saturday's third round clashes.
Federer, his confidence growing with each match, provided a masterful display against Spain's Albert Montanes, winning 6-3 6-4 6-4 to extend his incredible record of making it to the last 16 of every grand slam since the 2004 French Open.
Williams also turned in her best performance of the week, trouncing Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0 6-3 to remain on track to defend the title she won the fourth time last year.
Her older sister Venus had a tougher time but still managed to carve out a 6-1 7-6 win over Australia's Casey Dellacqua.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic showed that he was buiLding the kind of momentum that carried him to the 2008 title, giving up just four games in a 6-1 6-1 6-2 demolition of Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
Nikolay Davydenko is also continuing to impress those who tipped the Russian as a dark horse for the title after he eased to a routine 6-0 6-3 6-4 victory over Spain's Juan Monaco.
Yet to dropp a set this week, Davydenko will play Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round after the Spaniard was gifted a place in the last 16 when his exhausted Austrian opponent Stefan Koubek retired from the effects of a mystery virus.
Poland's Lukasz Kubot was also given a free ride into the next stage against Djokovic when a wrist injury forced Russia's Mikhail Youzhny to withdraw from their match.
Federer made a shaky start in his opening round match against Russian Igor Andreev but has gradually improved with each match. He plays either Lleyton Hewitt or Marcos Baghdatis next.
"I don't want to say I'm playing the best tennis of my life, because I haven't had to so far," the world number one said.
"I'm happy I survived a scare against Andreev. After that, I was able to come through comfortably in the next two rounds into week two.
"I feel like I'm obviously fresh and ready to take on the bigger names."
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