"Jurassic Park" May Be Impossible Say Experts

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  An artist's rendition of an eagle attacking two extinct New Zealand moa. (John Megahan)

In "Jurassic Park," scientists extract 80-million-year-old dino DNA from the bellies of mosquitoes trapped in amber. Researchers may never be able to extract genetic material that old and bring a T. rex back to life, but a new study suggests DNA can survive in fossils longer than previously believed.

The oldest DNA samples ever recovered are from insects and plants in ice cores in Greenland up to 800,000 years old. 

But researchers had not been able to determine the oldest possible DNA they could get from the fossil record because DNA's rate of decay had remained a mystery.

Now scientists in Australia report they've been able to estimate this rate based on a comparison of DNA from 158 fossilized leg bones from three species of the moa, an extinct group of flightless birds that once lived in New Zealand. The bones date between 600 and 8,000 years old and importantly all come from the same region.

Temperatures, oxygenation and other environmental factors make it difficult to detect a basic rate of degradation, researcher Mike Bunce, from Murdoch University's Ancient DNA lab in Perth, explained in a statement.

"The moa bones however have allowed us to study the comparative DNA degradation because they come from different ages from a region where they have all experienced the same environmental conditions," Bunce said.

Century Fox Reports: Specimen of Miniature Dinosaur found

Based on this study, Bunce and his team put DNA's half-life at 521 years, meaning half of the DNA bonds would be broken down 521 years after death, and half of the remaining bonds would be decayed another 521 years after that, and so on. This rate is 400 times slower than simulation experiments predicted, the researchers said, and it would mean that under ideal conditions, all the DNA bonds would be completely destroyed in bone after about 6.8 million years.

"If the decay rate is accurate then we predict that DNA fragments of sufficient length will preserve in frozen fossil bone of around one million years in age," Bunce said.

But he cautioned that more research is needed to examine the other variables in the breakdown of DNA.

"Other factors that impact on DNA preservation include storage time following excavation, soil chemistry and even the time of year when the animal died," Bunce said in a statement. "We hope to refine predictions of DNA survival by more accurately mapping how DNA fragments decay across the globe."

The study was published Oct. 10 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

EXPLORE: World News     U.S     Global Warming     Wildfires        Miniature Dinosaur
Aztec Skulls

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Skulls From Aztec Sacrificial Ritual Discovered

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  Five skulls recently discovered in Mexico City have holes on both sides, indicating they were hung on a rack.

  
  
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  The 50 skulls and over 250 jaw bones unearthed at the Aztecs's most sacred temple represent the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering. 

  (INAH)

  
  

  
  
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  The sacrificial stone and a depiction of a tzompantli taken from the 16th century Aztec manuscript, Codex Duran.

Archaeologists have unearthed gruesome evidence of brutal Aztec rituals by uncovering 50 skulls and over 250 jaw bones at the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City).

Found at one sacrificial stone below a ceremonial platform called the "cuauhxicalco," the human remains date back more than 500 years and represent the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering.

Used in rituals associated with the worship of Mictlantecuhtli, god of death, the skulls were unearthed in different locations: 45 appeared to have just been dumped on top of the stone, while the remaining five were buried under it.

Each of the five skulls had holes on both sides, suggesting they belonged to a tzompantli. This was a skull rack on which the crania of sacrificed people were hung and displayed near temples or at other locations.

"Some of the 45 skulls found on the sacrificial stone were manipulated with the intention of preparing skull-masks that were never finished," archaeologist Raul Barrera of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said.

According to the archaeologist, the skulls belonged to women and men between 20 and 35 years old. Some could have been dug up from other sites and reburied.

Looking like a gray headstone, the 18-inch-high, 14 to 17-inch-long and 3-inch-thick sacrificial rock revealed new ways that the Aztecs used skulls in their rituals.

Indeed, sacrificial stones were rarely associated with decapitation.

"Usually people were killed on those stones by cutting open the chest and pulling out the heart," Barrera said.

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Obama Is Even Losing Hollywood

President Obama’s star is fading, even in Hollywood. With less than four weeks until the election, polls are moving in Mitt Romney’s direction. So Mr. Obama has had to spend valuable time courting a part of his base that he hasn’t had to worry about before: rich celebrities.

After a disastrous showing in the debate, Mr. Obama saw the need to swing through Tinseltown to buck up his supporters. The first stop Sunday was an unusual closed-door, off-the-record meeting for a dozen donors who had maxed out their contributions. Joined by celebrity President Clinton, Mr. Obama spent two hours soothing jagged nerves at DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg’s house.

Mr. Obama repeated his second-term pitch to 150 people, who paid $25,000 to eat at a chi-chi Wolfgang Puck restaurant with movie star George Clooney, film studio honcho Harvey Weinstein and Oscar host Seth MacFarlane.

The president then apologized for last week’s performance at a star-filled fundraising concert for 6,000 supporters who paid $250 a ticket to see performances by singers Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder and Jon Bon Jovi. Mr. Obama said the rock stars “are such great friends, and they just perform flawlessly night after night. I can’t always say the same.”

The next day in San Francisco, he changed his excuse to being just too genuine and decent: “After the debate, I had a bunch of folks come to me — ‘Don’t be so polite, don’t be so nice,’” Mr. Obama said at a $200-per-ticket concert where John Legend and Michael Franti sang.

Century Fox Report: Will Obama apply 'Rope-A-Dope' Debate strategy?

While the president granted a White House interview to the Nickelodeon show “Kids Pick the President,” which airs Oct. 15, Mr. Romney declined, citing a scheduling conflict. The Obama campaign seems to think it’s a dereliction of duty for the GOP candidate to turn down a television show in which children ask the candidates questions and then pick their winner.

Obama for America spokesman Adam Fetcher told the entertainment site TMZ that Mr. Romney was playing “hookey” to avoid taking detailed questions from kids, adding, “‘The dog ate my homework’ just doesn’t cut it when you’re running for president.” It’s not likely Mr. Romney, grandfather of 18, is afraid to face youngsters. His time is better spent with voters who are of legal age.

A few celebrities have come out to back the Republican. Actress Stacey Dash made her endorsement Monday by tweeting, “Vote for Romney. The only choice for your future,” to her 284,000 followers. The left went berserk, sending her an onslaught of hate on Twitter, attacking her race, career and intelligence. The star of “Clueless,” was undeterred, as was “Full House” actress Candace Cameron Bure, who backed Mr. Romney on Tuesday.

This late in the race, wasting time courting celebrities in a solid blue state demonstrates the lack of enthusiasm for Mr. Obama’s candidacy. Perhaps he should have asked for a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame to cement his place in La-La Land.

EXPLORE: World News     Romney         Obama    Todd Akin     Top 10 Presidential Debates
     Sarah Palin     Madonna   

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Is Obama Employing ‘Rope-A-Dope’ Debate Strategy?

Two debates, three weeks. There’s not a whole lot of time or opportunity for the presidential candidates to reach undecided voters, adding weight to tomorrow’s debate.

And as we’ve seen in the last two debates, it’s not so much what is being said as how the message is being delivered. That’s why President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney have a crucial meeting tomorrow night and experts at Washington University in St. Louis are ready to comment.

Century Fox Reports: How things changed after the Presidential debate

Henry I. Schvey, PhD, a noted author and expert on theater, says the nonverbal has become more important than what is being said. Schvey likens the debates to a heavyweight bout; he looks for Romney to become even more assertive in tone — and thinks Obama will let him.

“Obama’s strategy is almost Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope,” Schvey says. “I think he’s going to allow Romney to be so aggressive in the next debates that (Romney) may end up hurting himself. That’s one possible direction that this could take.”

Schvey also says to check the camera angles, the ones that allow for split screens that show reactions and open the door for judgments about the candidates’ composure. “The way the debate is being filmed has become extremely important,” he says.

EXPLORE: World News     Romney     Ann Romney      Paul Ryan       Obama        Joe Biden       Top 10 Presidential Debates

  

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'Taken 2' Is Top Movie For 2nd Weekend

“Taken 2,” a sequel to the 2009 Liam Neeson action film, was the top-grossing movie at U.S. and Canadian cinemas for a second weekend, collecting $22.5 million in sales forNews Corp. (NWSA)’s Twentieth Century Fox.

“Taken 2” held off five new releases, including Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” based on the true story of a CIA plan to rescue U.S. diplomats trapped in Iran during the 1979 revolution. “Argo,” from Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s Warner Bros., had sales of $20.1 million, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

With the industry’s awards season approaching, studios are beginning to release movies such as “Argo” that have been touted by critics as possible Oscar contenders. This coming weekend, Fox will begin a limited release of the drama “The Sessions” and Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” opens on Nov. 9.

“Hollywood is starting to get into Oscar mode,” Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com, said in a telephone interview. Once “the summer is over, the studios start rolling out their Oscar hopefuls.”

Century fox News: Trailor of 'Skyfall'

In “Argo,” Affleck plays Tony Mendez, a real-life CIA operative who entered Iran at the height of the anti-American revolution to rescue six diplomats who escaped the takeover of the U.S. Embassy. With the help of the Canadian government, Mendez disguised the diplomats as members of a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a sci-fi film called “Argo.”

Oscar Buzz

The ruse included setting up a fake movie production company and taking out ads for the film in Hollywood trade publications. Alan Arkin and John Goodman co-star as the makeup director and producer who helped make the scheme work.

Affleck directed and co-produced “Argo,” which has been mentioned by critics as a possible nominee for Oscars, including best picture, best actor and best director. It was expected to have opening-weekend sales of $15.3 million, the forecast of researcher Boxoffice.com.

“There’s a lot of potential business still piled up waiting to come in,” said Pandya. “This one has the potential to possibly get to that $100 million mark by the end of its run.”

“Taken 2” stars Neeson as a retired CIA agent who uses his deadly skills to rescue his wife after she is kidnapped. The original film, released in 2009, generated $226.8 million in worldwide ticket sales. Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace reprise their roles in the new picture, which was expected to register sales of $23 million, according to Boxoffice.com.

‘Here Comes the Boom’

“Sinister,” Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF)’s tale about supernatural terror, was third in its debut with $18.3 million. Ethan Hawke plays a crime writer who uncovers the secret behind the deaths of his home’s previous inhabitants. Vincent D’Onofrio and James Ransone co-star.

Sony Corp. (SNE)’s “Hotel Transylvania” fell to fourth from second with $17.3 million. The animated film features the voice of Adam Sandler as Dracula, who invites famous monsters to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. The gathering is complicated by the arrival of a human who falls for the vampire’s daughter.

“Here Comes the Boom,” also from Sony, opened in fifth with $12 million. Kevin James plays a middle-age, former college wrestler who moonlights as a mixed-martial-arts fighter. Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler also star.

Two other new films finished in the Top 12.

The crime comedy “Seven Psychopaths” took in $4.3 million for CBS Corp. (CBS)’s film unit, finishing ninth, while “Atlas Shrugged: Part II” finished 12th with $1.7 million.

Weekend revenue for the top 12 films climbed 59 percent to $122.7 million from the year-earlier period, Hollywood.com said, registering a third-straight gain.

Domestic film sales this year have risen 4 percent to $8.42 billion, with attendance up 3 percent.

EXPLORE:  Lifestyle    2016:Obama's America     The Dark Knight Rises       Raaz 3       Possession    Skyfall

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Felix Baumgartner Breaks Sound Barrier(Video)

Washington: The world looked on in fear and awe as Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of outer space on Sunday, breaking a slew of records and winning millions of instant fans.

The video feed -- broadcast on a 20-second delay intended to give news stations time to cut away in case tragedy struck -- was viewed by more than seven million people on YouTube alone.

The death-defying jump riveted audiences hungry for a genuinely extraordinary feat in an age when NASA is mothballing human spaceflight and many other supposed thrill-seekers simply perform elaborate stunts.

Reactions poured in on Facebook and Twitter from people around the globe who had followed every step of the drama-packed mission, their lingering cynicism quickly turning to disbelief bordering on reverence.

First Baumgartner ascended in a small capsule attached to a massive helium-filled balloon, rising for more than two hours to reach a dizzying altitude more than 24 miles (39 kilometers) above the Earth.

There was unexpected drama and minutes of uncertainty after it emerged that the heating mechanism on his visor wasn't working.

Maybe this would be just like all the other PR exercises, but No! he shifted forward to the edge of the capsule, the Earth but a distant blue haze below, and launched himself into freefall.

The biggest risk Baumgartner faced was spinning out of control, which could have exerted excessive G-force and made him lose consciousness. A controlled dive from the capsule was essential, putting him in a head-down position to increase speed.

Transfixed viewers around the world looked on in agony as the Austrian started tumbling chaotically for what seemed like an eternity before finally achieving the correct position.

"Who else saw Felix Baumgartner jump?? Damn what a legend!" Gregor Bates, watching in the British city of Bristol, wrote on Twitter.

Adam Polselli, in US city of San Francisco, tweeted "More than anything, I'm impressed by Felix Baumgartner's courage. May we all be that brave when we step into the unknown."

Austrians were particularly proud.

President Heinz Fischer posted on his Facebook page: "I warmly congratulate Felix Baumgartner on this great success, which was achieved with courage and perseverance and is finding worldwide attention."

Jesus Diaz, who covered the event live for technology website Gizmodo, wrote that he "teared up" watching the successful conclusion of the jump.

"He did it, people. He jumped from the edge of space, broke some records, and survived," Diaz wrote.

"Kudos to you, Felix. As you were falling faster than any man in history, you made our collective hearts stop, then swell."

Some drew parallels to Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, saying Baumgartner would inspire the next generation of space pioneers.

Andrew Kavanagh of Ireland suggested that future adventurers may have been paying attention: "My son has spent the past half hour doing Felix Baumgartner impersonations..."

Some had a less reverent take on the daredevil feat.

"Just watched a dude jump from near space. Humans are really dumb and really awesome," wrote Geoff G, in the southeastern US state of Louisiana, on Twitter.

All for a feat whose scientific significance was not clear, some argued.

"Felix Baumgartner has made a giant leap for a man but an infinitesimally small step for mankind," tweeted Peter Bradshaw, whose location was not specified.

Baumgartner broke at least three records: the highest freefall leap, the fastest speed ever achieved by a human and the first person to break the sound barrier of around 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) per hour in freefall.

He said before the attempt that "part of this entire experience will help make the next pressure suit safer for space tourists and aviators."

Former NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao, speaking on the US news channel CNN after the dive, concurred, saying "the technologies that they have developed, pressure suit technologies, I think you are going to see these things incorporated into future pressure suits that are used in spacecraft."

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Bizarre Ways To Lose Weight

Living off baby food and eating with kiddie cutlery are just some of the ridiculous practices women are following to get thin. 

If you think Lady Gaga's fashion sense is bizarre, her diet habit takes the cake. The Born This Way singer reportedly, lives off just jars of baby food in a bid to feel full but still shed the kilos. The "goo" diet reportedly gives you daily intake of only 600 calories, certainly not enough for the grown 25-year-old woman Gaga is.

A UK newspaper reported that ever since this news was out, sales of baby food has rocketed 100 per cent in America, thanks to Gaga fans who want to copy the singer's diet. Hollywood actresses Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston have also gone on the diet, which requires having one main meal a day, then snacking on 100 gm jars of baby food. But babies and adult women have different nutrient and calorie needs.

Century Fox Lifestyle: Tips to slow down Ageing.

Although low in fat, sugar and salt, baby food lacks essential fibre, calcium and vitamin D. Kiddie cutlery trick It's no surprise that Shane Warne's girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley once said, "I'd kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe." Hurley goes the extra mile to keep thin by "eating off a small plate and using tiny cutlery." She has even been spotted carrying doll-like kiddie cutlery to the restaurant she's dining at. The actress believes it's a great psychological trick to cheat her mind into thinking she's eating more than she really is.

The Cotton Ball Diet
This diet is all the rage in the US, and requires eating a few cotton balls before a meal to give a feeling of fullness. But sceptics say that if your body doesn't receive the nutrients it needs, it spells trouble. The body will crave them anyway.

Le Forking Launched in France, Le Forking centres around food you can eat with a fork. The Le Forking diet or The Fork It! Method, was brought to life by entrepreneur Ivan Gavriloff, who discovered this way of eating helped him lose weight and thereafter keep it stable. Using this method means you don't eat anything that won't fit on a fork. At dinner, you can only eat with a fork — no knives, spoons or fingers are allowed. So, fish, certain vegetables and grains are in; pasta, cereals and pulses are out. Gavriloff claims 'fork-only' eating can help slow down the speed you eat, helping you feel fuller sooner, and eat less.

The Toothpaste Diet
This fad involves brushing your teeth frequently throughout the day. The taste of mint curbs the desire to stuff yourself with food. The added advantage — clean teeth, but watch out for over-cleansing!

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Makeup Tips For Women Wearing Spectacles

Remember the time when you dreaded wearing glasses for the simple reason that you were endlessly ragged by bullies at school? Times have changed and wearing glasses is no more taboo. 

Century Fox Lifestyle: Tips to prevent Hairfall naturally.

In fact, a spectacled look in the corporate world makes you look smarter and gives you the I-mean-business vibe. However, wearing glasses can seriously leave you in a quandary in the make up department. Wondering how to deck up your eyes without going in the sexy-librarian territory or leaving them bare? We get some experts to tell you how to work it.

Clint Fernandes: For girls who wear glasses, the focus should be on the lips. Do not restrict yourself to certain colours. While applying eye make up, stick to clean, defined lines. Instead of opting for a thin line, go for a more visible, strong eyeliner. Do not apply too much mascara. It might smudge the lenses if you have long lashes.
 While applying eyeshadow, do not go beyond the frame of the glasses. Keep it minimal. You can play around with colours as long as it is age-appropriate. Avoid using too much blush, especially cream blush, as your spectacles might rub against your cheeks causing it to smudge. Keep hair away from the face, as it looks messy.

Marvie Beck: I am a fan of coloured pencils for the eyes. Girls who wear glasses simply must wear coloured eyeliner. If the frames are light or rimless, it gives you more scope to experiment with your make up. A very simple yet sexy way to amp up your look would be to apply black kajal on the upper and lower waterline and line the lower lids with a steel gray pencil with a hint of shimmer.
 Apply mascara only on the upper lashes. It is a killer look. While applying eye make up go for a strong, defined look, but keep your eyeshadow minimal since eyes tend to look magnified in spectacles. Apply a beige shadow all over the lid with just a little brown in the crease and line the eyes neatly using gel liner.

Kapil Bhalla: When wearing glasses, eyes should definitely be highlighted. The look should be a statement look like an extended eyeliner in black or brown. Choosing the frame is also an important factor if you are wear glasses regularly. 
You can choose a sunglass frame with your special numbered lens or take tinted glasses that will make you look glamourous. In case you want to use an eye colour, I suggest you go for metallic shades like silver and copper because they will stand out more than matte colours. On a daily basis, you can either use lots of kohl and mascara or go in for a slight smoky look with mascara.

EXPLORE:  Lifestyle       Flat Tummy      Power Nap        Dress Colour     Your Walk      Beauty Blunders    Tips For Dry Hair      Vitamin A         Prevent Hairfall        Jogging         Stretch Marks      Working Mothers   

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'Aiyyaa' : Movie Review

Cast:Rani Mukherji, Prithviraj
Director: Sachin Kundalkar

The Deshpandes are no ordinary brood. And Aiyyaa is no ordinary film. Wildly wakda (read twisted) in more ways than one, it is a film that defies definition.

It careens from the dreamy to the delirious, the realistic to the raucous, and the perfectly logical to the utterly nonsensical as it turns many a time-honoured convention of Hindi commercial cinema on its head.

Many might find its loud, outré storytelling style somewhat difficult to comprehend and digest, especially in the context of the film’s slice-of-life love story predicated on a willing suspension of disbelief.

Aiyyaa, Sachin Kundalkar’s first Hindi film on the back of three critically applauded Marathi-language features, revels in flying against expectations with complete abandon.

It falls back on principles of the theatre of the absurd as well as the norms of the tamasha folk form to comment on the skewed dynamics of arranged matrimony and the politics of gender equations viewed exclusively from the distaff side.

Despite mounting societal pressures on her, it is the mulgi who calls the shots. She follows her heart – and nose – all the way through to try and get the man she wants. 

Century Fox Lifestyle: Movie Review of 'English Vinglish'

Aiyyaa blends a dash of magic realism, liberal dollops of wacky humour, broad burlesque sweeps, robust social satire and a mélange of elaborately staged coital dance routines, all brought together by a delightfully freewheeling imagination.

Not all of it works though. In fact, portions of the film go askew. That makes Aiyyaa a bit of a mixed bag. But Kundalkar gets enough of the madcap tropes right to ensure that his film stays on course for the most part.

The most striking aspect of Aiyyaa is that its focus is squarely on the female gaze. The hero is the object of desire and it is the girl who does most of the sniffing, drooling and panting.

Indeed, sniffing plays a key role in this love story. Meenaxi Deshpande (Rani Mukerji) is a plucky middle class Maharashtrian girl who seeks escape from her humdrum life by frequently retreating into a nebulous dreamscape inspired by her favourite Bollywood divas.

Madhuri, Sridevi, Juhi – everybody is fair game in Meenaxi’s liberating fantasies and she plays a fiercely lone hand in the often strangely desolate settings that she conjures up in her mind.

In real life, of course, she is hard pressed to get her point across to a family that is completely off its trolley: a chain-smoking dad (Satish Alekar), an overzealous mom (Nirmiti Sawant), a dog-loving bro (Ameya Wagh) who trusts canines more than humans and, last but not the least, a wheelchair-bound grandma (Jyoti Subhash) with a set of golden teeth, shrill vocal chords and a grey head on the ragged, rebellious edge.


Meenaxi is under constant pressure from her parents, particularly her mother, to find a suitable life partner.

Thwarting the steady stream of suitors that come and go talking of chaha and poha, she is attracted by the smell that emanates from the Tamil-speaking art student Surya (Prithviraj) she encounters every day in the college library.

Meenaxi’s love is a one-way street because the tall, dark, handsome and aloof Surya is unaware of her feelings, but she follows him around like a smitten stalker, drawn by the sweet fragrance that surrounds him.

Aiyyaa is an extension of the first episode of Kundalkar’s Gandha (2008), a cinematic triptych of evocative stories that were bound by the theme of smell.

Aiyyaa follows the same narrative trajectory. But it is interspersed with situations involving the fringe characters of the Gandha episode in question, Lagnachya Vayacha Mulgi (A Bride To Be).

Also factored into the Aiyyaa fold is the added layer of the language divide between the hero and the heroine. The latter strives to learn Tamil in order to communicate with the man she is in love with.

But words fail Meenaxi when they matter the most. Musical fantasies with no heaves and thrusts barred come to her aid at such moments.

Among those who get a larger play is Meenaxi’s maniacal colleague and confidante, Maina (Anita Date), a Lady Gaga wannabe referred to by one character as Gaga-bai.

Maina lusts for John Abraham and her desktop and living room walls are plastered with pictures of the actor in various stages of undress.

We also meet the overly decorous Madhav Rajadhyaksha (Subodh Bhave), the boy Meenaxi’s
family choses for her. His idea of romance is stuck in the discreet Farooque Shaikh-Deepti Naval era.

Madhav briefly transports Meenaxi from the aggressively erotic and miasmic universe of Dreamum wakeupum and Aga bai to the touch-me-not world of Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya.

Amid the cacophonous and the crazy are moments of striking cinematic beauty that emphasize the power of colour, sound and, of course, smell to evoke human emotions.

Rani Mukerji plunges headlong into the character without the slightest hint of inhibition. Prithviraj, with his strong, silent screen presence, provides the perfect foil. Members of the supporting cast, notably Ameya Wagh and Anita Date, turn in performances that stay in line with the all-round air of zaniness.

Aiyyaa takes time to warm up, slips into dull patches at times and occasionally teeters on the edge of a certain dissonance. But the subversive spirit that drives the absurd core of Aiyyaa is well worth embracing.

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Over 100 Militants Attack Pakistani Police Station

Islamabad: A Pakistani official says over 100 militants have attacked a police station in the northwest, killing six policemen. Two of the killed policemen were beheaded.

Police officer Ishrat Yar says the attack near the main northwest city of Peshawar started late on Sunday night and triggered a gunbattle that lasted for several hours. The militants were armed with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and assault rifles.

Mr Yar also says 12 policemen were wounded in the attack in the small town of Matni, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Peshawar.

One of the beheaded policemen was a senior official who commanded several police stations in the area.

Yar says the militants burned the police station and four police vehicles before they escaped.

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Three Killed In Navy Chopper Crash In Goa

Panaji,(IANS) Three people were killed when an Indian Navy helicopter crashed while landing at Goa's Dabolim airport Monday, an official said.

The dead included the pilot, co-pilot and a passenger, a naval officer said in New Delhi.

The helicopter, a Chetak, crashed around 10 a.m., the officer said.

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Syria-Turkey Tensions Rise, UN Urge For Peace

The joint special representative of the United Nations and the Arab League (AL) to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi attend a joint press conference in Tehran, Iran.

DAMASCUS-- Tensions between Turkey and Syria hit a new high as Ankara announced Sunday its decision to bar Syrian civilian flights from passing over its airspace.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the decision was made based on Syria's "abusing" of civilian flights by transporting military equipment.

He added that the Syrian government had been notified on Saturday of the decision, which followed a Syrian ban that prohibited Turkish civilian flights to fly over its territories.

The tit-for-tat flight bans came after the Turkish side forcefully grounded a Syrian civilian plane last week, claiming that it carried "non-civilian cargo." Damascus denounced the move as air piracy.

The two Middle East neighbors have seen their relations fathom new lows since a shell fired from inside Syria killed five Turkish civilians early this month and prompted Turkish retaliation.

Davutoglu warned Saturday that his country, whose parliament has adopted a motion authorizing the government to send troops to foreign soil, would retaliate again if its border with Syria was violated.

Also on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi met in Tehran with Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League (AL) joint special envoy on Syria, and the two called for a peaceful settlement of the Syria issue.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Salehi said Iran was fully prepared to help achieve a peaceful closure of the Syria issue, and the Syrian people should enjoy election freedom, a parliament and a constitution based on the will of people.

"Mr. Brahimi and we share the point that, prior to any measure (to be implemented in Syria), violence and killings should be stopped," Salehi said.

For his part, Brahimi said the UN and the AL recognized the sensitivity of the Syria crisis and emphasized an urgent solution to the current situation in the country.

The UN calls for an end to the violence in Syria and asks the opposition groups to respond positively to this initiative, Brahimi said.

Meanwhile, the security situation in Syria continued to worsen, as the country was rocked by a spate of explosions within 12 hours on Sunday.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed car before dawn in front of a residential building at the upscale district of al-Mazzeh in Damascus. No casualties were reported.

Hours later, an explosive device affixed under a civilian car went off in another part of al-Mazzeh, severely injuring a Syrian journalist. A roadside bomb went off on the southern highway of Damascus, injuring a passing-by lawyer.

The Syrian troops were preparing for a major operation to regain control over the time-honored Umayyad Mosque in the old quarter of the northern city of Aleppo, which has been under the control of armed rebels since last month, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said.

On the same day, the private Dogan news agency reported that three Turkish soldiers were wounded in clashes with smugglers on the border with Syria.

The clashes started Saturday night when smugglers carrying tea and cigarettes fired at Turkish soldiers on duty at a border post, and escaped into Syrian territory after the Turkish side fought back.

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BCCI Invites Bid For IPL Team

(Century Fox Post) :The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Sunday, invited bids for a new team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to replace the terminated Deccan Chargers.

The Hyderabad-based franchise was shown the door last month for several reasons, including non-payment of players’ dues, had challenged the decision in the Bombay high court to get temporary relief. The termination, though, was confirmed on Saturday.

The BCCI wasted not time and put out an advertisement in the newspapers. “Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to own and operate a new team which will compete in the IPL from 2013 onwards,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in the advertisement. The advert says the team can choose from 12 Indian cities.

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Law Student Gang raped Inside Bangalore University Campus

A 21-year-old student of National Law School of India University here was allegedly raped by a eight-member gang inside the adjacent Jnanabharathi campus of Bangalore University, police said on Monday.

The second-year student, staying in the university hostel, in her police complaint said the incident took place when she had went out with her boy-friend, who works with an IT firm here, on Saturday night.

When they were walking in the wooded area of the campus, the group of inebriated men attacked them and forcibly took them into deep forest, she alleged in her complaint.

The victim said the gang then demanded money from her boyfriend, who told them that he had kept his wallet in his car. After sending him to bring the wallet along with one of its members, the gang sexually assaulted her.

The victim’s boy-friend sighted a beat constable as he was nearing the car and approached him for help following which the gang member accompanying him fled from the scene. Though he along with police searched for the girl in the area, they could not find her.

Around midnight the boyfriend got a call from the girl saying the gang had dropped her back near the hostel after raping her.

The complainant was sent to a hospital where she was medically examined, police said, adding that the medical result is awaited. The victim is in stable condition.

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Microsoft Launches Xbox Music Service

(Century Fox Post): Microsoft Corp on Monday announced that Xbox Music, a digital music service to vie with Apple Inc's iTunes and Amazon.com Inc's Cloud Player, will be available for its Xbox game consoles on Tuesday. 

The service will be expanded to Windows software-based computers and tablets, including the upcoming Surface tablet, from Oct. 26, when Microsoft launches Windows 8. It will be expanded to phones shortly after that. 

The world's largest software maker has been trying for years to make the household living room an entertainment hub with its Xbox. More than 67 million units have been sold since 2005. 

About 18 months ago, the company realized that Xbox users were spending half to 60 percent of their time on entertainment services rather than video gaming, Xbox Music general manager Jerry Johnson said. 

The market-leading video game console already streams Netflix, ESPN and other channels and is bolstering its service with music and other video content. 

"We also realize, as an entertainment company, that music is an important ingredient on its own and as a part of different user experiences," Johnson said. 

Xbox Music replaces Microsoft's digital media brand Zune that struggled to compete with iTunes. 

Microsoft will offer a free ad-supported music streaming service, and a premium $9.99 subscription service for unlimited, ad-free streaming. 

The service includes a download-to-own music store with over 30 million songs in its global catalog, more than iTunes' library of over 26 million songs. It also carries over 70,000 music videos, available only on the Xbox console. 

It has cloud-storage features similar to iTunes and Amazon Cloud Player and an artist-based radio function like music streaming services Pandora and Spotify. 

Xbox Music will be available in 22 countries. Microsoft hopes to take the service to Apple iOS and Google Inc Android devices next year.

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Bihar Bandh Today; Schools, Commercial Establishments Shut

Patna: Life in Bihar seems to have been crippled after the Left parties along with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) called for a state-wide bandh today. 

"Several long route trains as well as passenger trains were stopped by bandh supporters and the road traffic was badly hit across the state," a police official said.

Trains were forcibly stopped at major railway stations like Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad and Darbhanga, police said.

According to East Central Railway zone officials in Hajipur, about 20 km from here, thousands of passengers were stranded at various railway stations.

Workers of opposition parties blocked railway tracks in Nalanda, Gaya, Jehanabad, Darbhanga, Hajipur, Bhagalpur and Saharsa districts, disrupting train services, an official said.

Besides, traffic was disrupted on national and state highways at various places. In Patna, busy roads like Ashok Rajpath, Exhibition Road, Bailey Road and Fraser Road were blocked by the shutdown supporters, police said.

All private schools and colleges in the city remained closed in view of the strike.

The call for the bandh was taken to protest against the police firing in Madhubani on Friday in which two persons were killed. 12 persons, including a DSP were also injured that day and dozens of vehicles torched by stone- pelting students demanding CBI probe into the mysterious disappearance of a student. 

The town had been simmering since a headless body was found almost a fortnight ago. The family members of a missing youth, Prashant Kumar, claimed that the body was his and demanded that it be handed over to them -- but the police remained unrelenting.

Following that incident, the Inspector General (IG) of the Darbhanga zone, the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police (SP) were transferred. 

Today, although Madhubani town, the epicentre of the violence remained peaceful, several small other parts of the state witnessed protests, mainly against the police.

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Coal-gate: FIRs Against 2 Companies; Crackdown in Several Cities

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed First Information Reports or FIRs against two private firms for alleged forgery and cheating in connection with its probe in the coal block allocation controversy.  Searches are also being conducted at 16 premises belonging to these companies in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Satna, Jaipur, Rourkela and New Delhi. 

The fresh FIRs have been filed against Athena Infrastructure (earlier known as Green Infrastructure) and Kamal Sponge & Steel on charges which also include misrepresentation of net worth. The CBI had earlier registered seven FIRs in connection with the probe.

Century Fox Reports: Mining companies funding politicians in India.

The CBI is investigating whether companies misreported their financial or technical qualifications to be granted valuable coal fields in possible collusion with government officials.
 
The CBI's inquiry is rooted in a complaint filed by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar with the government's anti-graft department or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

In August, the government auditor or CAG had said that 142 coal fields allocated between 2004 and 2009 had allowed private firms to get windfall benefits of upto Rs. 1.86 lakh crore because the coal mines were sold at highly undervalued rates, instead of being auctioned. That had led to a huge political crisis with the opposition BJP demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and disrupting Parliament every day of the Monsoon session.

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