Deven Bhojani dons director's hat for 'Pukaar'

Mumbai, Oct 31 ( IANS) He directed the entertaining and comical “Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai” back in 2005. Now after nine years, actor Deven Bhojani has gone behind the cameras once again – but this time, for an action-packed show titled “Pukaar – Call For The Hero”.

Famous for his comic roles and unabashed humour, Deven is excited about directing the mini-series for Life OK as it is different from what he has tried before.

“Excited! Busy directing (along with Vipul Shah) a Mini Series “PUKAAR – Call For The Hero” (telecast begins from 8th Nov on LIFE OK),” Deven tweeted recently.

An action-based show, starring Rannvijay Singh and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, will see Deven moving away from his favourite genre, comedy.

The show aims to have larger than life, power-packed action sequences, resembling an action movie, said a source.

Life OK’s new action show Pukaar produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah is scheduled to air mid November. The show will see actor Rannvijay Singh essay the role of a soldier.

Deven Bhojani dons director's hat for 'Pukaar'

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Nestle to introduce robots as sales clerks

Tokyo, Oct 31 (IANS/EFE) Nestle will use robots as sales clerks at its outlets selling coffee makers in Japan, an initiative that will later spread worldwide, a Nestle spokesperson confirmed to EFE news agency.

Humanoid robot “Pepper” has been jointly developed by Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Mobile Corp and France’s Aldebaran Robotics, to serve customers in a dozen stores from December onwards.

This will be the first time that Nestle would employ androids as sales clerks, Nestle spokesperson in Japan, Miki Kanoh, told EFE Thursday, adding that the company hoped to take this innovative idea to the rest of the world.

Japan constitutes the largest market in the world for the Nescafe coffee machines and Nestle plans to use the robots in about 1,000 stores worldwide by the end of 2015.

“Pepper” is the first robot that is able to read emotions and communicate with people, according to SoftBank, which already has androids in some of its stores in Japan.

The robot will be marketed in February 2015 for domestic use, at a price of $1,816.67.

“Pepper” is 47.24 inches tall, weighs 28 pounds and is equipped with an interface for pro-active reaction that allows it to recognise human voice, analyse its tone and interpret facial gestures or body language.

It can also dance and make jokes among other entertainment qualities that the robot can learn by itself from interacting with people.

–IANS/EFE

ab/pr/rd

Nestle to introduce robots as sales clerks

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India would've been different if Patel was PM: Naidu

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Friday said that if Sardar Vallabhbahi Patel had become the first prime minister of India, the fate of the “country would have been different”.

Speaking at the function at Vijay Chowk to mark Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary as National Unity Day, Naidu said Sardar Patel was foremost among leaders who had made sacrifices for country’s freedom.

Naidu said millions of people in the country have a feeling that history has not done justice to Sardar Patel, the first home minister of India.

Naidu also made a veiled attack on previous Congress governments, saying that both Nehru and Patel were like eyes and ears of Mahatma Gandhi but Patel had not got his due.

“Sardar and Nehru were like two eyes and ears of Mahatma Gandhi. But where does Patel lie in the scheme of things after his death (in 1950),” Naidu said.

He said Patel single-handedly unified India after Independence at a time of trial and tribulation.

“Such a great person. People used to think and I was also one among them that had Sardar Patel been the first prime minister of India, the fate of India would have been different, the situation would have been different. That was feeling of millions of people across the country. What has happened has happened,” Naidu said.

He said history had often proved that “every crisis has found its man”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that rulers of some provinces were toying with the idea of separation and ruler of Hyderabad was keen to join Pakistan but Sardar Patel brought about integration of the country with total resoluteness.

“Do our history books, school curriculum present a fair and balanced account of such legacies?…Should we not give a balanced account of history to our post-Independence generation? This is the objective of our government’s decision to observer Sardar Patel’s anniversary as Rashtriya Ekta Divas,” Naidu said.

He said freedom came about due to hard efforts and sacrifices of many great leaders and Sardar Patel was “foremost of such leaders both during and after Independence”.

Naidu said observance of Patel’s anniversary as National Unity Day was not intended to belittle any other legacies or contribution of great leaders.

“Pure and simple, our intention is to do justice to words and deeds of Sardar Patel,” he said.

India would've been different if Patel was PM: Naidu

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Healthy diet for infants prevents obesity later

New York, Oct 31 (IANS) If you do not want your baby to grow up into an overweight adult, make sure you feed him or her healthy diet from the very first year, a study suggests.

Babies who eat diets high in sugar, fat, protein and dairy products show faster gain in body mass index scores from ages six to 12 months, the findings showed.

“Dietary patterns are harder to change later if you ignore the first year, a critical period for the development of taste preferences and the establishment of eating habits,” said lead author Xiaozhong Wen, assistant professor at University at Buffalo in the US.

The researchers also found that babies whose diets consisted mainly of high fat/sugar/protein foods were associated with slower gain in length-for-age scores from six to 12 months.

Some of the unhealthy “adult foods” consumed by six- and 12-month-old babies in the study included items inappropriate for infants, such as candy, ice cream, sweet drinks and French fries.

“There is substantial research to suggest that if you consistently offer foods with a particular taste to infants, they will show a preference for these foods later in life,” Wen pointed out.

“So if you tend to offer healthy foods, even those with a somewhat bitter taste to infants, such as pureed vegetables, they will develop a liking for them,” he added.

But if you always offer sweet or fatty foods, infants will develop a stronger preference for them or even an addiction to them, Wen stressed.

The researchers based their analysis on a subsample covering more than 1,500 infants from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II conducted from 2005 to 2007.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

Healthy diet for infants prevents obesity later

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When Modi strode down Rajpath

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday flagged off an enthusiasm-filled Run for Unity and himself briskly walked down Rajpath after paying rich tributes to free India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Modi led the nation in paying tributes to Sardar Patel on his 139th birth anniversary, being commemorated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day, and recalled his key role in unifying a newly independent India.

The prime minister first paid floral tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel at Patel Chowk in the heart of New Delhi at 7.30 a.m.

He later addressed thousands of people, including school children, college students, sports persons and government officials, gathered to participate in the ‘Run for Unity’ at Vijay Chowk.

The prime minister, dressed in a white kurta-churidar with a red ‘angvastra’ draped across his shoulder, said that a country which forgets its history can never create history and that “we should not divide historical legacy on the basis of ideologies”.

Modi referred to Patel’s role in integrating princely states after India gained independence.

He said Mahatma Gandhi seems incomplete without Sardar Patel and they formed an “unbreakable pair”.

He also referred to late prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination on this day in 1984, and in reference to the anti-Sikh riots that followed, he said the incident 30 years ago “had hurt the unity of the country” for which Patel had striven.

Modi also made the people take a pledge to work for the country’s unity and integrity.

Modi enthused the crowd with some catchy slogans on India’s unity among diversity – “Bhasha anek, bhav ek; rajya anek, desh ek; path anek, lakshya ek; boli anek, swar ek; rang anek, tiranga ek; samaj anek, Bharat ek; riwaj anek, sanskar ek; karya anek, sankalp ek; rah anek, manzil ek; chehre anek, muskan ek”.

The people cheered, clapped, and chanted “Modi, Modi” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

The prime minister then flagged off the run, with a sea of enthusiastic supporters crowding around him with their mobiles held aloft trying to capture the moment as the he walked down Rajpath for some distance.

Earlier, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, while addressing the crowd, said as a child he was very inspired by Sardar Patel and, in a reference to the previous Congress governments, added that the country has not done justice by Patel by ignoring his contribution to the country’s unification.

Attired in a white T-shirt, white track pants and sports shoes, Naidu later went jogging down Rajpath, joined by ministerial colleagues and aides.

Hundreds of people, who were waiting in the Central Vista grounds flanking Rajpath, then swarmed on the road to join in the run, many wearing T-shirts with the slogan Run for Unity inscribed on it.

Wellknown sports people, including Gautam Gambhir and Vijender Singh, were also among the crowd and attracted a lot of attention.

Hundreds of senior school children, enthusiastic college students, security forces personnel, including from the National Security Guard attired in black, the Sashastra Seema Bal, and government officials all took part in the short run that culminated at India Gate.

When Modi strode down Rajpath

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Rio launches Olympic stadium tender

Rio de Janeiro, Oct 31 (IANS) Rio de Janeiro has launched a tender for a 52 million-real (about $21.8 million) revamp of the city’s 2016 Olympic athletics stadium.

The winning bidder will be announced Dec 2, with work due to be finished by November 2015, according to government documents, reports Xinhua.

Planned works on the Joao Havelange Stadium include the installation of additional spectator seats, a new athletics track, telecommunication cables, security cameras, an external ramp, a medium-tension electric power system, new LED screens and improved lighting.

The redevelopment will increase the venue’s spectator capacity from 45,000 to 60,000.

Built for the 2007 Pan American Games, the stadium was closed in March 2013 after an appraisal by an independent engineering firm showed its roof could collapse due to structural faults.

According to Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, the venue is due to reopen this year.

It is expected to remain available for local football matches during the redevelopment period.

Known locally as the Engenhao, the stadium will host track and field events at the 2016 Olympics.

In addition to the venue’s redevelopment, work has begun to urbanise the surrounding area. The project includes a new public square, a bicycle track and drainage systems.

Rio launches Olympic stadium tender

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Norway to send troops to Iraq

Oslo, Oct 31 (IANS) Norway announced that it will send 120 soldiers to Iraq.

The soldiers will not “be in direct combat with the forces of the Islamic State (IS). They shall, instead, assist with capacity building of Iraqi security forces”, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said Thursday.

Norwegian soldiers will be stationed in Erbil and provide counselling and support for Iraqi security forces in areas near Baghdad, Solberg said.

Norwegian Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said that the purpose of the contribution is to strengthen Iraq’s ability to protect its own security.

Norway to send troops to Iraq

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