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HC refuses bail to salon employee accused of killing colleague

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HC 2The Bombay High Court Friday rejected the bail plea of Khushi Shajwani, an employee of a salon, arrested for allegedly killing her colleague Kirti Vyas.

Justice P D Naik, while rejecting Shajwani’s bail plea, observed there was prima facie evidence against her.

Shajwani, 42, and her partner Siddhesh Tamhankar, 28, also employed with B Blunt salon, were arrested in May last year, nearly two months after Vyas went missing on March 16 last year.

According to the prosecution, the duo was unhappy with Vyas after she admonished Tamhankar for not working properly.

The duo had claimed that they had met Vyas on the day she went missing near her house and offered her a lift till office. However, Vyas asked them to drop her at the Grant Road railway station in south Mumbai.

The prosecution, however, alleged that Tamhankar had strangulated Vyas in Shajwani’s car and the duo disposed of the body later in a creek off suburban Wadala area. The body has still not been recovered.

In August last year, a sessions court had rejected Shajwani’s bail plea following which she moved the high court.

Special public prosecutor Raja Thakare, while opposing the bail application, submitted that though the body has not been found, there is circumstantial evidence that shows Shajwani’s involvement, including call records and CCTV footage of the day when Vyas went missing.

 

 

Heartbreak and disbelief as Murray announces retirement

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heartbreakTennis ace Andy Murray’s tearful announcement on Friday that he’ll be forced to retire this year prompted a volley of tributes to the man, fond recollections of a historic career and encouragement to serve up a fitting farewell.

American star Andy Roddick led the tributes to the former world number one, describing his 11-time opponent as an “absolute legend” who is on the “short list of best tacticians” in the history of the sport.

“Unreal results in a brutal era. Nothing but respect here. I hope he can finish strong and healthy,” he said.

Murray’s failure to recover from a long-term hip injury has put his dream to win next week’s Australian Open almost beyond reach.

Such is the level of pain that there is speculation he may not be able to go the distance, much less set up a dream farewell at Wimbledon this July.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro — who fell short against Murray in a memorable 2016 Olympic gold medal game — urged him not to throw in the towel.

“Andy, just watched your conference. Please don’t stop trying. Keep fighting,” he wrote.

“I can imagine your pain and sadness. I hope you can overcome this. You deserve to retire on your own terms, whenever that happens. We love you @andy_murray and we want to see you happy and doing well.”

The sentiment was echoed by tennis’ women stars, who Murray championed — famously rebuking a journalist for glossing over American greats like Serena Williams arguing for equal billing on the centre courts.

Indian star Sania Mirza dubbed him her “foreverfavourite” and a “#foreverachampion”.

Legend Billie Jean King declared him a “champion on and off the court”.

 

 

Pandya, Rahul suspended pending inquiry; to be issued fresh show cause notices

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hardikIndian cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul were on Friday suspended pending an inquiry into their outrage-evoking comments on women during a TV show, ruling them out of the ODI series against Australia starting Saturday.

The cricketers, who have been in the eye of a storm following their sexist remarks on ‘Koffee with Karan’, were omitted from the line-up for the opening match in Sydney.

“Both Pandya and Rahul have been suspended pending an inquiry,” the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai told PTI.

A source in the BCCI said the two will be issued fresh show cause notices before a formal enquiry begins.

“Whether it will be an internal committee of the BCCI or an ad hoc ombudsman who will conduct an inquiry, is yet to be ascertained,” the official said.

“The Indian team management will take a call on whether they would want to keep the two with the team or send them back. There is a school of thought that they be kept with the team as the backlash back home could be severe but majority in BCCI brass is against the decision,” he added.

In case the two are brought back from Australia, the likes of Rishabh Pant and Manish Pandey will be in contention to be their replacements.

The decision to hand them suspensions came after Rai’s CoA colleague Diana Edulji recommended suspension till further action against the two. This was after the BCCI’s legal team refused to declare the duo’s comments a violation of the code of conduct.

Edulji had initially suggested a two-match suspension for the duo but referred the matter to the legal cell after Vinod Rai agreed with her and recommended the same.

 

Lady Gaga apologises for working with R Kelly

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Web Team
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kellySinger-actor Lady Gaga has apologised for her past collaboration with R&B artiste R Kelly, who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.

Gaga, who worked with Kelly on 2013’s “Do What U Want (With My Body)”, posted a lengthy statement on Twitter, saying she stands by the victims who have come forward with their stories of harassment.

“I stand behind these women 1000%, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously,” the singer said.

She said her collaboration with Kelly happened at a “dark time in my life.”

“My intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. The song is called ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’, I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time,” she said.

“If I could go back and have a talk with my younger self I’d tell her to go through the therapy I have since then, so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in – or if therapy was not available to me or anyone in my situation – to seek help, and speak as openly and honestly as possible about what we’ve been through,” she added.

She vowed not to work with Kelly again and said she intends to “remove this song off of iTunes and other streaming platforms”.

Gaga concluded the statement by apologising once again for her “poor judgment” and for “not speaking out sooner”.

In 2013, Gaga had defended working with Kelly.

“R. Kelly and I have sometimes very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us. That we were able to say, the public, they can have our bodies, but they cannot have our mind or our heart. It was a really natural collaboration,” she had said.

The renewed discussion about Kelly and his predatory behaviour stems from a recent documentary, “Surviving R Kelly”, which chronicles the accusations of abuse and pedophilia against the singer. He has denied all the allegations.

Brianna Hildebrand joins John Cena in comedy ‘Playing With Fire’

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Web Team
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fire 2“Deadpool” star Brianna Hildebrand is set to star alongside John Cena in Paramount Pictures’ new comedy “Playing With Fire”.

The film will be helmed by Andy Fickman, whose directorial credits includes comedies such as “She’s the Man”, “The Game Plan” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”.

Todd Garner and Sean Robins will produce the project through their banner Broken Road Productions, according to an online portal.

The studio had roped in Matt Lieberman last year to rewrite the spec script it bought from Dan Ewen.

The story follows a group of rugged wildfire fighters who meet their match when they rescue a trio of rambunctious children.

Hildebrand, 22, is best known for playing Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Ryan Reynolds-starrer “Deadpool” series.

Cena, 41, most recently featured Paramount’s “Transformers” spin-off, “Bumblebee”, opposite Hailee Steinfeld.

Julia Roberts tried playing matchmaker for Connie Britton

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Web Team
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match 1Taking on the title of “matchmaker,” Julia Roberts tried to set Connie Britton up on some dates.

During a talk show on Wednesday (local time), Busy Tonight, 51-year-old Britton revealed that the Oscar winner has tried to set her up on dates in the past, confirmed an leading magazine.

“I’ve gotten to be friends with Julia Roberts. She tried to set me up with somebody . It hasn’t worked out yet, but at least mama tried, you know what I’m saying,” she said.

She also gushed about meeting Roberts as she explained that once when she came to meet her, she touched her face and said, “I love you.”

“I was like, ‘I’m never washing my face again.’ Can you tell? It’s not really a functional relationship,” she said. “Like it’s not really, it’s not really a healthy friendship. It’s more like I idolize her, and she’s nice to me.”

Interestingly, Britton and Roberts were both nominated for best actress Golden Globes for their roles in TV series ‘Dirty John’ and ‘Homecoming’ respectively. However, neither of them ended up taking home the award.

Here’s why Kate Hudson is fit for Weight Watchers

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Web Team
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kate hudsonKate Hudson thinks she’s a great fit for WW (Weight Watchers), even if others have questioned her new role as an ambassador for the wellness company.

Earlier in December, the ‘Almost famous’ star has experienced criticism after collaboration with WW with some people saying that she isn’t the perfect fit for the wellness company, an online portal reported.

Responding to them, she said WW is more than a diet or weight loss company, “My struggle is not in weight loss.”

“Mine is about staying healthy, trying to stay focused and balanced,” the 39-year-old star said.

“One of the things about this new re-imagining of WW is it’s not just about weight, it’s about wellness, To me, it’s all about support, you always need a support system, whether it be a trainer, a best friend, an app. Everyone’s looking at how do you get motivated, how do you stay motivated? That’s the number one thing people always ask me, exactly why I’m here,” she added.

Moreover, the ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ star admires fit and healthy people and how they follow their diet.

The intent of the star for joining WW was to show how she is getting into shape after giving birth to the daughter, Rani Rose, in October.

Also, Hudson announced her partnership with WW to PEOPLE in December.

 

Hollywood scriptwriter ‘Nick Vallelonga’ apologies for his anti-Muslim tweets

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Web Team
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nick vallelonga

“Green Book” screenwriter Nick Vallelonga has apologised for his past anti-Muslim comments that he posted on Twitter during the 2016 US Presidential Elections.

The 59 years old writer, who recently won a Golden Globe for the film has found himself in a controversy after his old tweets resurfaced in which he claimed to have witnessed thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrate the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The tweets were in response to US President Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric where he had said that he saw Muslims celebrating with his own eyes, something that was debunked later.

“@realDonaldTrump 100% correct. Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on local CBS news,” Vallelonga wrote. Soon after the tweet resurfaced, Vallelonga’s entire Twitter profile was deleted.

In a statement, Vallelonga apologised for the comments, especially to actor Mahershala Ali, who plays one of the leads in the Peter Farrelly-directed film.

I want to apologise. I spent my life trying to bring this story of overcoming differences and finding common ground to the screen and I am incredibly sorry to everyone associated with ‘Green Book’, I especially deeply apologize to the incredibly brilliant and kind Mahershala Ali and all members of the Muslim faith for the hurt I have caused,” he said.

The film is about a black concert pianist Don Shirley and his Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga, who served as Shirley’s chauffeur on a series of concert tours in the largely segregated South.

I am also sorry to my late father who changed so much from Dr. Shirley’s friendship and I promise this lesson is not lost on me. Green Book is a story about love, acceptance and overcoming barriers, and I will do better, Vallelonga said.

Vallelonga is the son of Tony Vallelonga who is portrayed in “Green Book” by the actor Viggo Mortensen.

 

SP-BSP alliance will get its math right, BJP will be defeated in LS polls: Akhilesh

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akhilesh yadav

A day before his joint press conference with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said that the alliance will get the math right in the upcoming Lok Sabha election and the BJP will face defeat.

The two parties have agreed to an in-principle alliance ahead of the parliamentary elections, SP’s national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary had said last week.

“Last time we had come together in the Lok Sabha by-elections and BJP had lost the seats (earlier held by) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. This time too our math will be right and the BJP will face defeat,” Yadav said at a chaupal.

A formal announcement on the alliance between the two Uttar Pradesh-based parties will be made at Saturday’s joint press conference with BSP, he said.

Responding to a question, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the BJP had strengthened because it joined hands with regional parties and his party was also gaining strength by forming a coalition.

“Our (BSP and SP) coming together has not only created fear in the BJP but also in the Congress,” Yadav added.

The BSP and SP alliance has virtually shut its doors to Congress in the state.

However, Chaudhary had said the alliance will not field candidates in Amethi and Raebareli, leaving the two Lok Sabha constituencies for Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progress Alliance chief Sonia Gandhi.

Yadav gave a slogan for the upcoming polls: “Humara kaam bolta hai, BJP ka dhokha bolta hai” (Our work speaks for itself, BJP’s betrayal speaks).

He also took a dig at the BJP-led state government’s decision to levy an additional 0.5 per cent cess on excise items to fund cow shelters, saying people will have to drink more liquor now for cow safety.

Modi govt fulfilled dreams of crores of youths with 10% quota for gen category poor: Shah

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amit shah

BJP president Amit Shah Friday said the Modi government has “fulfilled” the dreams of crores of youths with 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the general category poor, and described the constitution amendment bill as one of the most important legislations passed by Parliament.

Shad hailed the legislation in his inaugural address at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national convention, which started on Friday at Ramlila Maidan.

This is one of the most important legislations Parliament has passed, he said.

With top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, present at the dais and close to 12,000 delegates present, Shah also hailed the GST Council’s decision to double the limit for exemption from payment of goods and services tax (GST) to Rs 40 lakh.

The Modi government has taken two big decisions in a week, Shah said.

In a “massive relief” to small businesses, the GST Council Thursday doubled the limit for exemption from payment of GST to Rs 40 lakh and announced that the higher turnover cap of Rs 1.5 crore for availing composition scheme of paying 1 per cent tax will be effective from April 1.

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