Nude Female TV Chef to Entice Men To Cook

A Hong Kong adult channel is set to debut a cooking show headlined by a nude host who will prepare Cantonese dishes wearing a transparent apron an apparent bid to encourage more men to cook.

Host Flora Cheung will start each 30-minute show shopping for fresh ingredients in the city's famous wet markets, undressing once she is back in the privacy of her studio kitchen, the local media reported.


Cheng believes the risque format of the show will draw more men into the kitchen
Cheung, who admits she has never worked in a restaurant kitchen, said she hopes the risque show will draw more men into the kitchen. The first episode is set to air later this month.

Spreading joy

"I have always liked cooking and I thought I should share (the) enjoyment with more people,"  said the 26-year-old.

"Most men don't like to cook, but I want to get them interested... From shopping to cooking it's the whole shebang," Cheung added.

The host promised that her tailor-made, transparent apron won't leave much to the imagination. "It covers pretty much everything but hides nothing," she was quoted as saying.
Producer Jesse Au told the paper that the show may spawn similar offerings with nude hosts cooking up a range of Asian cuisines: "This could be an endless series if it proves popular."

2004
The year when programme-maker Jessie Au, brought naked news reading to Hong Kong television

How CBI Tricked Talwar

By Mohit Sharma

The CBI played an intelligent role in nailing Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar in connection with the murder case of their daughter. 

Sources in the CBI said they had sought opinions of four labs for the DNA samples, including one in the UK.

"Three labs said it is not possible as samples are contaminated, while one UK-based lab with which the Talwars were in touch said they could do it but it was found through Interpol that it was not registered there," the sources said.

"After failing to get circumstantial evidence against the Talwars, we tried other ways and in the process found out that the UK lab which we considered for the DNA test of Talwar -- and discussed it in front of the Talwars also --- was in constant touch with Rajesh," sources said.

"If Talwar was innocent, why did he need to contact the UK-based doctor, who was supposed to conduct his DNA test?

The CBI has established that Talwar was in touch with the UK based doctor through email," added the source.

Sources also said that certain leads had emerged in the narco-analysis test of domestic helps which were not pursued. He said the CBI made certain observations related to the private parts of the deceased which have not been mentioned in the post-mortem report.

14-year-old Aarushi was found murdered with her throat slit in her parents' home at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida on May 16, 2008. The body of the family's domestic help Hemraj was found on the terrace the following day.

Bryan Adams Too Costly For Fans?

By Debarati Palit

Only 13,000 tickets sold as young people say show prohibitively expensive; after making arrangements for 30,000 fans, organisers now say they will be happy if 20,000 turn up

A rock star too dear: Bryan Adams is to perform in the city tomorrow. Tickets are priced between
Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000. Getty images

The Bryan Adams rock show tomorrow has been dubbed the city's biggest concert, but the organisers have been able to sell less than 50 per cent of the total number of tickets.

On Sunday, concert venue Amanora said it was looking at a crowd of 30,000, but yesterday the expected figure had come down to 20,000 as ticket sales did not pick up substantially.
Amanora Managing Director Anirudha Deshpande said they had sold around 13,000 tickets and given away 2,000 passes.

On Sunday, he had been confident that demand for tickets would shoot up in the last few days leading up to the Bryan Adams concert.

"We have kept space for a 30,000 crowd and so far sold around 10,000 tickets," he had said on Sunday. "I am sure in the last few days we will able to sell more."

Yesterday, he denied quoting the 30,000 figure.

"We were never looking at 30,000. In fact, it was 25,000, and we are expecting 20,000," he said. "I am sure we will cross the mark in the next two days."

Pinching the pocket
Students and working professionals said the high ticket prices were a deterrent for them.
But Amanora countered this by saying that it was the tickets priced at Rs 6,000 and 10,000 that had sold the most.

"Interestingly, we haven't sold so much of the low-cost tickets, but sold more of the high-cost ones," Deshpande said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a musician involved with the concert said that looking at the prices it was hard to draw in the young crowd, which is the biggest market for such concerts.

"Students usually get pocket money that is in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000, how can they pay that much money for the tickets?" said the musician. "This is being pointed out by many young musicians I know."

It is not just the students but even the working professional who feel the high prices of the tickets are playing spoilsport.

Akash Murthy, a technical support professional, said he could not afford the show.

"Well, I want to go but the ticket rates are quite unaffordable," he said. "Earlier I was quite excited but the ticket rates have dampened my spirits."

Swapnaj Gadbail, a senior executive, said he had an inkling that the ticket rates would be high.

"It is acting as a deterrent for me, so I guess I will give the event a miss," Gadbail said.

Pooja Dattu, who works with BNY Mellon, said she would not be going to the show even though she would have liked to.

"I feel that the tickets should have been a bit cheaper. True, we are working professionals, but the amount they are asking for constitutes quite a bit of my salary," she said.

ULFA, Centre Talks Begin

New Delhi, Feb 10 : For the first time in its 31- year-long struggle, the banned ULFA will hold face-to-face unconditional talks with the Centre on Thursday in an attempt to usher in peace in insurgency-hit Assam.

An eight-member ULFA delegation led by its 'chairman'  Arabinda Rajkhowa will sit for negotiations with Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.

"It's a preliminary meeting, more so a familiarisation exercise," a senior Home Ministry official said.

Before meeting Pillai, the ULFA leaders will have an introductory meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram.

They are also likely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 13th February after his return from Kerala.

The group will begin formal dialogue with Centre's interlocutor P C Haldar after Thursday's meeting.

On 5th February, the ULFA announced that it will sit for unconditional talks with the Centre "respecting the wishes of the people of Assam".

It also apologised for the violent acts it committed. Apart from Rajkhowa, 'vice-chairman' Pradip Gogoi, 'political advisor' Bhimakanta Buragohain, 'foreign secretary' Sasha Choudhury, 'finance secretary' Chitrabon Hazarika, 'cultural secretary' Pranati Deka, 'publicity secretary' Mithinga Daimary and 'deputy commander-in-chief' Raju Barua will participate in the talks.

They arrived in New Delhi in the evening and were whisked away by armed security men.

Before leaving for the national capital, the ULFA leaders met Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and sought his cooperation to take forward the peace process with the Centre.

"I hope talks with the Centre is successful and they discussed with me how to take the peace process forward", Gogoi hoped.

Rajkhowa said the modalities for the talks have not been worked out so far and will come later.

The ULFA leaders released from jail recently have decided to hold unconditional talks with the government but the faction led by the group's 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua is opposed to it.

PCG members saying ULFA declaration against PCG self contradictory

The ULFA leadership's recent declaration that the Peoples Consultative Group (PCG) which was constituted by it was against the outfit's constitution was "insulting to the prime minister and self-contradictory," PCG members said in Guwahati.

"The ULFA's declaration of the PCG as being against its constitution was not only insulting to us but the Prime Minister, Home minister and National Security Advisor (NSA) with whom we had three rounds of discussions since 2005 when we were formed for laying the foundation of the peace talks between the Centre and ULFA," PCG member Arup Borbora told reporters on the eve of the ULFA-Centre peace talks in Delhi.

ULFA publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary at a press meet last week had declared that the PCG was against the ULFA constitution as it was not formed with the consent of its central executive committee and ratified by its decision taking General Council as their meetings could not be held for several years due to the prevailing situation then.

Wishing the talks were successful, Borbora said, "the PCG was constituted by the ULFA on September four, 2005 for working out the modalities for the talks. We did not ask to be included in the Group. Whether they had their meetings or not is their internal matter and not our concern."

"After they announced the PCG and formally gave each one of us a letter appointing us as its members, (ULFA chairman) Arabinda Rajkhowa and (commander-in-chief) Paresh Baruah were in constant touch with us on what we should say in the meetings. Even they mentioned the PCG in their mouthpiece 'Freedom'," Borbora pointed out.

"Now they (ULFA leadership) after their recent CEC and GC declare that a resolution was adopted that the PCG was against its constitution. This is insulting to the prime minister who sat across the discussion table with us for two hours. It is also insulting to the then Home minister, NSA and peace interlocutor P C Haldhar who was present in those meetings and will be in tomorrow's meeting," another PCG member Ajit Bhuyan said.

"We were bound by the wishes of the people. Whether constitutional or not is their internal matter. To not acknowledge the foundation we laid for establishing peace in the interest of Assam and its people is to go against the state," said another PCG member Hyder Hussain.

"Prisoner Rajkhowa after his release on bail and Arabinda Rajkhowa before that are two different persons today. The ULFA is responsible for compelling us to call this press conference today," Bhuyan said.

"After the Centre had failed to fulfill some of the declarations we had made in our joint press release, we had decided a few years ago that the PCG had lost its relevance and, had therefore, requested the ULFA that it be dissolved. The ULFA could have done that instead of saying now it was formed unconstitutionally," he said.Bhuyan also asserted that the ULFA was split "as is evident to all."

And The Grammy Nominees Are…

The nominations for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards have been announced. Check out the Grammy nominations in top categories.

Record of the Year

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

• "Nothin' on You," B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars
• "Love the Way You Lie," Eminem featuring Rihanna
• "F*** You," Cee Lo Green
• "Empire State of Mind," Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
• "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum.

Album of the Year

Eminem

• "The Suburbs," Arcade Fire
• "Recovery," Eminem
• "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
• "The Fame Monster," Lady GaGa
• "Teenage Dream," Katy Perry

Song of the Year

Cee Lo Green

• "Beg Steal or Borrow," Ray LaMontagne, songwriter (performed by Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs)
• "F*** You," Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence and Bruno Mars, songwriters (Cee Lo Green)
• "The House That Built Me," Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
• "Love the Way You Lie," Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman and Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem featuring Rihanna)
• "Need You Now," Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)

New Artist

Justin Bieber

• Justin Bieber
• Drake
• Florence & The Machine
• Mumford & Sons
• Esperanza Spalding

Pop Vocal Album

Katy Perry

• "My World 2.0," Justin Bieber
• "I Dreamed a Dream," Susan Boyle
• "The Fame Monster," Lady GaGa
• "Battle Studies, John Mayer
• "Teenage Dream," Katy Perry

Rock Album

Jeff Beck

• "Emotion and Commotion," Jeff Beck
• "The Resistance," Muse
• "Backspacer," Pearl Jam
• "Mojo," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• "Le Noise," Neil Young

R&B Album

Fantasia

• "The Love and War Masterpeace," Raheem DeVaughn
• "Back To Me," Fantasia
• "Another Round," Jaheim
• "Wake Up!" John Legend and The Roots
• "Still Standing," Monica

Rap Album

B.o.B

• "The Adventures of Bobby Ray," B.o.B
• "Thank Me Later," Drake
• "Recovery," Eminem
• "The Blueprint 3," Jay-Z
• "How I Got Over," The Roots

Country Album

Lady Antebellum

• "Up On The Ridge," Dierks Bentley
• "You Get What You Give," Zac Brown Band
• "The Guitar Song," Jamey Johnson
• "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
• "Revolution," Miranda Lambert

Latin Pop Album

Ricardo Arjona

• "Poquita Ropa," Ricardo Arjona
• "Alex Cuba," Alex Cuba
• "Boleto De Entrada," Kany Garcia
• "Paraiso Express," Alejandro Sanz
• "Otra Cosa," Julieta Venegas

Contemporary Jazz Album

John McLaughlin

• "The Stanley Clarke Band," The Stanley Clarke Band
• "Never Can Say Goodbye," Joey DeFrancesco
• "Now Is The Time," Jeff Lorber Fusion
• "To The One," John McLaughlin
• "Backatown," Trombone Shorty

Classical Album

Riccardo Muti

• "Bruckner: Symphonies No. 3 and 4," Mariss Jansons, conductor (performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
• "Daugherty: Metropolis Symphony; Deus Ex Machina," Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Terrence Wilson; Nashville Symphony Orchestra)
• "Steven Mackey: Dreamhouse," Gil Rose, conductor (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Synergy Vocals)
• "Sacrificium," Giovanni Antonini, conductor (Il Giardino Armonico)
• "Verdi: Requiem," Riccardo Muti, conductor (Ildar Abdrazakov, Olga Borodina, Barbara Frittoli and Mario Zeffiri; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Chicago Symphony Chorus).

Move Over Marx, Twitter is Here

By Dipankar Paul

Revolution is no longer the long-drawn process it once was. If the events that took place in what is the most backward region on Earth last month are any indicator, we have just seen the birth of a new hero in the fight for justice: Social Networking.

Opposition supporters talk near graffiti referring to the social networking site "Twitter" in Tahrir Square in Cairo

Consider this: One slap to one vendor in some forgotten alley in Tunis, his resulting suicide, a Tweet, and one page on Facebook, sparked off a movement on a scale never seen in modern times. Some call it the 'Butterfly Effect' - about how the fluttering wings of a butterfly can set off a tsunami half a world away - but for the Africans, cause and effect were very much in the same country, city and square. Egypt, Jordan and Yemen are on the verge of collapse, indeed, civil war.

The agent of change: Social networking.

There are reports that spending too much time on Facebook, Twitter and the likes lead to people getting prone to eating disorders and often ruin their social life: How Hosni Mubarak, Samir Rafai and Ali Abdullah Saleh would wish this were true of the Arab world.

In the UK, the Britain Police inspection body is only too aware of the efficiency of social networking sites in organising protests. Authorities will have to move faster to help contain the increasing number of protests, an Inspectorate of the Constabulary report said.

"Large numbers of protesters can be organised in hours and change their focus in minutes through the use of social media and mobile phones," the report said. "Those responsible for commanding events must plan with this adaptability in mind."

An opposition supporter lifts a placard at the front line near Tahrir Square in Cairo.

The report singled out UK Uncut, a protest group organised literally overnight by Twitter users upset at the government's plans to slash public spending and perceived tax avoidance by major British companies. The group has used social networking sites to help coordinate their actions, including a live mapping service intended to help protesters dodge police cordons.

The report said that police forces -- many of whom have long been working to expand their online presence -- would have to consider how best to communicate with tech-savvy protesters.

All said, police forces the world over have been reduced to playing the catch up game with a people determined to not remain quiet anymore. Voices, hitherto lacking confidence and hence considered unimportant, have begun to be heard, and the internet is the loudspeaker.

How?

Social networking sites, if nothing else, are accessible, and, above all, affordable. There is no cost of printing pamphlets, no problems about 'reaching the people' and thousands can be mobilised with one click of the mouse. They are a far cry from the European and Marxist traditions of organising demonstrations that are prevalent in the subcontinent.

A Trinamul Congress rally at Esplanade in Kolkata.

In India, protests take days to organise: First, posters sprout up all over the city; next, an autorickshaw/handcart/Maruti 800 passes by in the narrow lanes blaring propaganda through rustic loudspeakers, making sure to mention the date and venue of said protest. And sure enough, on D-day, thousands turn up by the truckloads; rallies and flags would throng the streets; and by 6pm, after much sloganeering, everyone one dusts off, packs up, goes home and ponders over a day well spent.

In Egypt, it was Google executive Wael Ghonim's Twitter post, the day before he was whisked away by Cairo's police, that launched the Egypt uprising. One hundred and forty characters summed up three decades of angst: Pray for #Egypt. Very worried as it seems that government is planning a war crime tomorrow against people. We are all ready to die #Jan25.

January 25, 2011. The day the internet ceased to be just a cache of information, and became the platform for the oppressed. A sign of better times.

And for India, such a movement might just be waiting in the wings.

Source: India Syndicate

Join Social Networking Sites And Live Longer

Would people still do drugs, get depressed and commit suicide if they had a strong friends' network? Ever wondered what keeps some people happy all the time?

An underlining factor in every happy person's life is that they tend to have supportive relationships. American author Lois Wyse said, "A good friend is a connection to life -- a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."

Social networking sites are one of the best ways to stay connected with friends and family. They have changed the way people socialise. Rahul Kulkarni, product manager, Google India says, "Being socially connected has a definite positive effect on your well-being." Namrata Aswani, PR consultant, says, "I feel connected to the world -- it's so far, yet so near. You can share photos and videos with a click. Chat with your old friends and the happiness just flows. It is a relief from a boring day."

A recent study shows that social media is now our favourite online pastime, beating e-mail by a wide margin. According to research, if you have a supportive social network, you may add years to your life. Says Dr Harish Shetty, Mumbai-based psychiatrist, "Friends provide emotional nourishment and tangible social support. The feeling of having access to someone during those dark hours accelerates hope. Hopelessness leads to loss of confidence."

Many who blame the world for not having friends are those who don't trust anyone with their feelings or confidences. Good emotional contact causes networks to be built. Even studies suggest that we need close relationships that involve understanding and caring.

Prahasitha, senior faculty at One World Academy, Chennai, feels, "Our work and the way we live is so structured that it isolates people from each other. Social networking sites fulfil a primal need in all of us."

Social networks seem to be the same as conventional networks but bigger and more casual. They may not match up to the physical presence of a friend, but are reliable during those dark, depressing times.

Source: Circle2Corner.com

Mizoram is Not Afraid of Census

Aizawl, Feb 10 : Mizoram had made interesting headlines when more than 1000 religious fanatics refused to get enrolled in the National Population Registry that came along with the first phase of the Census 2011 last year.

''So far as our knowledge is concerned, no one is afraid to enroll in the census. What those people actually feared was the National Population Registry conducted last year that required one's biometric details,'' Mizoram director of census operations H P Sahu said at a press conference here today, ahead of the second phase of Census 2011 that begins from February 9 across the country.

According to Mr Sahu, the census operations will last till February 28 and there will be revision rounds from March 1 to 5.

About 2,250 enumerators and 450 supervisors mostly drawn from school teachers throughout the state have been appointed and have been imparted a training by 50 master trainers, three master trainer facilitators, one gender master trainer facilitator and one national trainer.

All these enumerators and supervisors are supervised by 50 census charge officers under the guidance of the principal census officers, who are deputy commissioners.

Census 2011, which is the 15th national census in India will be the third census for Mizoram after it became a Union Territory in 1972. Before 1972, Mizoram (then Mizo Hills) was a district council under Assam.

The population of Mizoram in 2001 Census was 888,573. Of them, 839,310 are Scheduled Tribes (STs) constituting 94.5 per cent of the total population of the state.

Mizoram Governor Lt Gen (rtd) M M Lakhera has made an appeal to the people of Mizoram to actively cooperate with the enumerators to ensure accurate registration and to complete the operations on time.

The fear of the 'Beast' or the Devil mentioned in the Bible's Book of Revelation had caused almost 1,000 families in the Christian-dominated state of Mizoram to refuse to enroll their names in the National Population Register (NPR) taken up along with the first phase of Census 2011 last year.

The dread stems from Chapter 13 Verse 17 of the Book of Revelations in the Bible which says ''... and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark or the name of the Beast or the number of his name.'' The problem has stemmed from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) stipulating that none could buy or sell property without the Unique ID card.