Diamonds of Rs. 1 crore found in Tirupati hundi

World’s richest temple became richer after an unidentified devotee made an offering of 162 diamonds to Lord Venkateshwara.

The diamonds, methodically packed in a velvet bag, were found in a ‘hundi’ (donation box) in the temple.

As per reports, the diamonds are worth a little over Rs one crore. Interestingly, certificate of genuineness was also found along with the diamonds.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is widely recognised as the richest temple body in the world with annual earnings being to the tune of Rs 700 crore.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister banned on movie 'Dam 999'

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Thursday, ordered a ban on the screening of the controversial film titled ‘Dam 999’ in the state. A work of fiction, the film shows the massive loss of lives and destruction of property that occurs due to the sudden collapse of a dam.

The state government and many other Tamil parties allege that the movie has been made to create panic among the people of Kerala in view of the fears being raised in that state over the strength of the Mullaperiyar dam.

The two states have been fighting over the dam for long – the dam is in Iddukki district of Kerala but is operated by the Tamil Nadu government by way of a lease agreement. While the government of Tamil Nadu wants to increase the storage level of the dam, the Kerala government opposes it citing safety concern - a breach could put lives of lakhs of people living downstream in peril.

Kerala wants a new dam built to replace the 116-year old dam but Tamil Nadu is not open to the idea and terms concerns about the safety of the dam as unfounded. The Mullaperiyar dam is important for Tamil Nadu as it meets the irrigation needs of farmers in southern districts.

Citing that the film’s release may cause law and order problems and because it is against the interests of the state, the TN government asked theatre owners not to release the movie.

Apart from the ruling AIADMK, leaders of prominent Tamil political parties including DMK, MDMK and PMK have raised the pitch against its release, expressing fears that its release would disrupt the peaceful co-existence of Tamils and Malayalees in both states.

In a statement issued by DMK, party chief M Karunanidhi said, “At a time when the case on the Mullaperiyar dam was pending in the Supreme Court, some people had produced a film on the likely outcome of the breach of the dam. The title of the film had been selected with ulterior motives.”

The DMK chief also sought to know why the Jayalalithaa government failed to express objections to the film when the controversy had come up for discussion in Parliament.

MDMK chief Vaiko has said the film, financed by Keralites, starring Indian and Hollywood actors and directed by Sohan Roy has been named 'Dam 999', referring to the legal rights held by Tamil Nadu over the dam for 999 years.

On the other hand, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said a new dam has to be built - pointing to cracks in the structure after nearly 22 minor tremors. Chandy made another demand later - that the water level in the dam be reduced 120 feet, as a temporary solution.

"We are asking the Central government to intervene and tell the Tamil Nadu government to do it. We also request the SC empowered committee to look into it. In context of the frequent tremors it is an immediate necessity," Kerala Water Resources Minister PJ Joseph said.

Meanwhile, Congress’ Lok Sabha MP from Trivendrum Shashi Tharoor has jumped in support of the movie saying, “There is no logic in blocking the release of the movie.”

Sensex crashes over 350 pts; Nifty at 20-month low

Indian equity benchmarks crashed 2% as selling continued across the board. The Nifty has decisively breached the 4,700 mark reacting to European credit crisis and choppiness in the rupee. Banks, metals, technology, oil & gas, auto (barring Maruti) and public sector undertaking stocks were butchered. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 385 points to 15,679 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 114 points to 4699.

The Indian rupee has been quite volatile today; it was hovering around the 52 to the dollar, though it appreciated from the yesterday's closing level of 52.30.
 Head of Forex & Rates Strategy for Asia, Citigroup warned that the rupee is likely to remain under pressure.  Perretgreen is expecting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open dollar window for oil marketing companies (OMCs) to ease the pressure.

All sectoral indices were in the red. The BSE Bankex crashed 2.5%. IT, Oil & Gas, Auto and Metal indices were down 2%.

Top losers - HDFC Bank, Jaiprakash Associates, M&M, Jindal Steel, Reliance Industries, IDFC and Sesa Goa were down 3-5%.

SKS Microfinance plunged 5% on reports that Vikram Akula may resign.

DB Realty (up 20%), Reliance Communications (up 2.5%) and Unitech (up ) rallied sharply after the Supreme Court granted bail to five corporates accused in 2G case.

On the global front, Asian markets extended losses. Taiwan, Kospi and Hang Seng lost 2.8%, 2.4% and 2%, respectively. Straits Times fell 1.5%. Nikkei was down 0.4% and Shanghai down 0.6%.

At 10:37 hours IST : Nifty below 4750; banks, oil & gas, tech tumble

Bears remained in power as they became more greedy day by day due to failure of European Unions to solve their debt crisis. Volatility in the rupee was another cause of concern for the market - it recovered to 51.88 in the opening trade from yesterday's closing price of 52.30 to the dollar but again slipped to 52.11. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 225 points to 15,840.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 67 points to 4,745.55.

"The rupee free fall has caught market by surprise," said Suresh Mahadevan, managing director and head of Indian equities at UBS Securities. With the currency vulnerability adding to the fears over the global volatility, Mahadevan says the instability in the market is most likely to stay for over the next few months.

"The Indian market is the worst performing, globally. The market is moving towards a final leg of capitulation and on a worst case scenario there could be a 20% downside from current levels," Mahadevan cautioned.

Major largecaps like Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti, SBI and BHEL were down between 2% and 3%.

HDFC, TCS, Wipro, Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Hero Motocorp lost 1-1.5%. However, Cipla and HUL were only gainers on the Sensex.

The market breadth was in favour of declines; about two shares slipped for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST : Sensex falls 200 pts on eurozone fears, Re recovers

Indian equity benchmark Sensex gave up all of yesterday's gains to slip below 16,000 in the opening trade. Nifty, on its part, broke the 4750 level. Endless eurozone fears, including selling of 3-month bills at a premium yield of 5.11% by Spain, made investors worried. With US revising its third quarter GDP downward yesterday, the sentiment has only worsened.

Republicans 2012: National security focus at TV debate

The eight Republican presidential hopefuls have traded blows on national security at a wide-ranging debate in Washington DC.

Before an audience of foreign policy experts, candidates were probed on domestic and foreign issues including defence cuts, Iran and border security.

The latest debate put former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the spotlight after a recent surge in opinion polls.

The first Republican nominating contest will be on 3 January 2012 in Iowa.

Mr Gingrich is the latest in a series of Republican contenders to join former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at the top of the polls.

Analysts say the conservative Republican base is dissatisfied with the prospect of Mitt Romney as their nominee, and has been searching instead for a known conservative candidate capable of taking on Barack Obama in November 2012.

With few of the candidates boasting significant foreign policy experience, the latest debate offered a new challenge for the leading contenders.

Mr Romney criticised the defence cuts triggered by the failure to reach a deficit-reduction deal and mounted a strong defence of Israel, while Mr Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry both spoke out on the emotive issue of immigration.

Mr Huntsman found more speaking opportunities than usual, but Herman Cain, a confident voice on domestic economic issues, was less prominent than in recent debates.

The likelihood of almost $1tn of defence and domestic spending cuts, now in prospect after Congress' failure to reach a deficit deal, was roundly criticised by most candidates.

Mr Romney said the potential costs of Mr Obama's healthcare bill matched the level of cuts to the Pentagon budget.

"We need to protect America and protect our troops and our military and stop the idea of Obamacare," he declared.

Mr Perry, once seen as Mr Romney's chief rival but whose campaign gaffes have seen him lose support, said Defence Secretary Leon Panetta should resign in protest at the cuts his department could face.

Mr Gingrich, though, took a contrasting view. "It's clear that there are some things you can do to defence that are less expensive," he said.

On Pakistan, Mr Perry and Michele Bachmann sparred over US involvement with Islamabad.

Mr Perry said he would "not send them a penny" as the country has shown the US "time after time they can't be trusted".

Ms Bachmann cautiously said she would continue sending aid to Pakistan, because they were still sharing intelligence. Pakistan, Ms Bachmann said, was "too nuclear to fail".

But Mr Romney described Pakistan as being in need of urgent development. "We need to bring Pakistan into the 21st Century - heck, into the 20th Century."

There were few sharp exchanges between candidates in the debate, which was staged and moderated by CNN.

In a rare back and forth, Mr Huntsman and Mr Romney argued about the planned US troop drawdown in Afghanistan.
Mr Huntsman said US troops should come home sooner than planned, with some acting as trainers to the Afghan army and a "drone presence" maintained in the country.

Mr Romney disagreed, arguing that leaving Afghanistan early would leave it open to more violence. The two former governors also argued over the president's role as commander-in-chief.

On Iran, Mr Gingrich said Tehran's leaders could be gone within a year if fuel supply to the government was restricted. A peaceful change of government in Iran would be vastly preferable to a war or military strikes, he said.

Mr Romney also said that his first international trip as president would be to Israel, to show US support for its long-term Middle Eastern ally.

On the question of the Arab Spring, Mr Huntsman said the US "did itself a dis-service" by acting too soon in Libya.

"Our interests in the Middle East is Israel and preventing from Iran from going nuclear," he said.

Mr Perry, who declared support for a no-fly zone over Syria earlier in the day, appeared to soften his line somewhat, saying it was just one of several actions that could be taken against the Assad regim

Egypt unrest: Cairo protests continue despite military concessions

Thousands of Egyptians have continued to occupy Cairo's Tahrir Square despite an offer from the military for a speedier handover to civilian rule.

After four days of violent clashes, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said presidential elections would be held by July 2012.

But many protesters in the square said the concession was not enough and have demanded the field marshal step down.

Clashes continued after dark between riot police and protesters in Cairo.

Television pictures from Tahrir Square showed ambulances arriving to pick up injured people.

According to Egypt's ministry of health, at least 30 people have been killed since Saturday and hundreds injured.

Police have been using tear gas, rubber bullets and birdshot against protesters who have been throwing stones.

Some protesters said live bullets had been fired.

Clashes have also been reported in several other Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and Aswan.

Egypt's ruling military council had previously said presidential elections might not happen until late 2012 or 2013. That move, coupled with a draft constitution produced earlier in the month that would exempt the military and its budget from civilian oversight, prompted a mass demonstration in Tahrir Square on Friday.
Events turned violent when security forces attempted to remove the protesters from the square on Saturday.

Many Egyptians have become frustrated with the slow pace of political reforms since Hosni Mubarak was overthrown as president in February after a wave of mass demonstrations.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (or Scaf) took charge after his ouster, promising to implement the transition to civilian rule.

Those polls, taking place over three months, are due to set in train the transition to democracy.

The military's original timetable called for the new parliament to then choose a 100-member constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution within six months.
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Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi: "We do not seek power"

A referendum would then approve the document before a presidential election was held. That would mean the military remaining in power until late 2012 or early 2013.

Protesters, however, had demanded the presidential vote take place after the parliamentary elections.

'The Dirty Picture' required me to be unapologetic: Vidya

Vidya Balan's dare bare act in her upcoming film " The Dirty Picture" is the talk of the town. The actress confesses that in the beginning, it was not easy for her to play the ultra-sensuous role.

"There was a certain amount of mental preparation about being uninhibited and being unapologetic about being uninhibited...But I have enjoyed it," said Vidya here during the promotion of her film, which depicts the rise and fall of a sex-siren in the 1980s and 1990s.

Known for her poise and grace in "Parineeta" and "Paa", she is eagerly waiting for the Milan Luthria directed film, which also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor and Emran Hashmi.

"Everyone knows about 'Dirty Picture' and are excited about the film. I feel very happy about this. I cannot wait for it to release. I just hope everyone reaches the theatre," Vidya said about the movie releasing Dec 2.

Vidya starrer "No One Killed Jessica", based on ramp model Jessica Lall's murder, started the year on a positive note as the film earned both commercial success and critical acclaim. She also made guest appearances in "Thank You" and " Dum Maaro Dum".

Now, expectations are high from "The Dirty Picture", and people are hoping when the film comes out next month, it sets the cash registers ringing and spells good business for the industry.

Bachchans give huge fillip to the `girl child` in India

Son preference is a well-documented phenomenon in India, with a report saying an estimated 500,000 female foetuses are aborted in the country every year. So when Bollywood`s first family, the Bachchans, welcomed the birth of a daughter with open arms, they may have given a huge fillip to the girl child.

Nearly a week after the event, the Bachchan family was still gushing about the newborn Tuesday when they finally brought her home from hospital.

"Goddess Lakshmi has come to our home and we have brought home Lakshmi ratan," said Amitabh Bachchan about his granddaughter, born to son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya.

The message could be lost to none.

Celebrities are often used as brand ambassadors by NGOs to drive home a point. And there can be no better example of that in India than Amitabh Bachchan, who was once successfully roped in for the polio vaccination drive.

What`s more, the birth of a girl child in his family has been hailed by other celebrities too, promising a larger impact on Bollywood fans.

Both Abhishek and his mother, Jaya Bachchan, were keen on a girl child.

"I wish for a healthy baby, hopefully, a daughter who looks just like Ash," Abhishek said in an interview, while his mom expressed her desire to welcome a "poti" (granddaughter).

Naysayers had once wagged their tongues against Amitabh and accused him of being biased towards the male child when at a gathering in Varanasi in 2006 he said he wanted his son to get married and produce a son.

But they were proved wrong when an excited Big B tweeted after his granddaughter`s birth: "I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl, A dada ji ... Ecstatic."

The 69-year-old`s mega success on the big screen turned him into an icon and his celebrity status worked wonders when he was roped in to campaign for polio eradication in 2002.

The country has recorded a worst decadal child sex ratio since independence as per the Census of India 2011. According to a report, since 1991, 80 percent of districts in India have recorded a declining sex ratio with the state of Punjab being the worst.

The decline in the child sex ratio in India is evident in the census figures. In 2001, the figure was 927 girls to 1,000 boys. Ten years later it has fallen to 914 girls against 1,000 boys.

Haryana is said to be the worst affected state - grooms have to travel thousands of kilometers in search of a bride as there are not enough girls there.

"Most of the time when celebrities of high stature like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan or Shabana Azmi promote a social campaign, it becomes the movement of new India as people start following them. Let`s hope that Abhishek and Ash`s baby girl creates the positive influence on all those families who are against the birth of the girl child," said Meghna Rao who runs an NGO called Breakthrough.

"It might change the way people welcome the baby girl in India and I am hopeful that she will also change the rude attitude of people," she added.

A study commissioned by the Health Ministry and Unicef and conducted by the Social and Rural Research Institute found that 73.6 percent guardians with children under the age of five in lower socio-economic categories could recall the television advertisement featuring Big B.

"The Bachchan family has always been responsible citizens, starting from the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan to Amitabh Bachchan and this is not only because of their status in society but because of their social responsibility towards society," said designer Anu P.D., who is associated with NGO The Earth Foundation, which contributes to different healthcare segments.

"Aishwarya and Abhishek are blessed with a baby girl and I am sure this will increase awareness among the masses," she said.