Obama to attend Krishna reception; will visit India in Nov -- Courtesy: Indian Express

Fri, Jun 4 04:42 AM

US President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he has accepted an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit India in November this year.

"I am delighted to announce tonight that I plan to visit India in early November," Obama said in a speech at the reception for the US-India Strategic Dialogue held in Washington.

In a special gesture, US President Barack Obama will also be attending a reception to be hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her Indian counterpart S M Krishna here. Obama will highlight opportunities for increased bilateral cooperation in areas like defence, trade, energy and climate change.

Setting aside protocol, Obama will drive down from the White House to the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department to attend the reception to be hosted for the External Affairs Minister and other members of his delegation, who are here for the first Indo-US Strategic Dialogue.

The President will be going to the State Department, where the Strategic Dialogue is to be held, "given his personal interest in further strengthening our bilateral partnership," US National Security Council spokesman, Mike Hammer, said.

Obama's gesture to attend the reception tonight for the External Affairs Minister is being considered as rare on the part of the US President. US officials say Obama, despite having to spend much of his time on pressing issues like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East and Korean peninsula, has shown personal interest in building strategic relationship with India.

Besides the President, Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts and sci-fi Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg would be among chosen few to grace a gala reception. Also present in the reception would be some popular tennis stars. Knowing that Krishna is an avid tennis player, Clinton has made it a point to invite some top tennis stars, sources said.

10 romance tips for men, by Miranda Kerr - Courtesy: ANI

Fri, May 21 05:40 PM

Sydney, May 21 (ANI): Australian model Miranda Kerr has offered men ten tips on how they can have romantic harmony with their partners and continue doing so.

Kerr, 27, told men's lifestyle website AskMen.com that usually it is the little things that count, and that no matter what, they should at all times be themselves and pay attention to their partner's needs.he also said that staying healthy, showing affection and a willingness to pamper are also attractive qualities in the eyes of the fairer sex.

"In my experience, it is the random small gestures that I find the most romantic," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted her as telling the website.

"It could be something as simple as making me a cup of tea or being given a foot massage while we are watching a movie at home after a long day at work.

"If more men made an effort to do these little things for their partner throughout their everyday life they would be guaranteed to have a more romantic relationship," she added.

Kerr's 10 romance tips:

1. Treat her like a goddess

2. Pamper her

3. Be healthy

4. Get a baby sitter

5. Tell her she is beautiful and romance her

6. Don't be afraid to show her love

7. Know what you want

8. Connect with her

9. Listen to her

10. Buy the right size (ANI)

Fashion goes the zodiac way - Courtesy: Indiatimes.com

Wed, Jun 2 09:30 AM

New Delhi, June 1 -- Ever thought you could wear clothes and shoes that not just look stylish but also bring peace, prosperity and harmony in your life? Yes you can, if your clothes and shoes have been specially designed according to your zodiac sign. Colours play a major role in this genre.

"They can have a negative effect, if they don't match your personality," says Kappil Kishor, the only professional designer in India for zodiac dresses. Kishor has been in this business for the past five years under the label Fortune Designing.

"Before getting a dress designed there is a thorough study of the person's kundli," he adds. After colours, next in line are the fabrics and textures.

"There are two kinds of fabrics - natural (extracted from plants and animals) and man made (chemical based). Fabrics are made keeping the elements like air, water, fire and earth in mind.

For example, people with fire sign are given natural fibre as this cools their body temperature and gives them positive vibes. But people with water sign can go in for man made fibre," explains Kishor.

"Lot of people come to get their bridal lehngas designed as it's considered very auspicious. People also come in for day-to-day clothing like ladies' suits, corporate suits and dresses for vacations," he added.

The prices for these pieces range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs 2.5 lakhs.

The zodiac shoes, too, are based on two important elements - colour and wood. The shoes are developed on the basis of chromopathy - healing with colour.

"The shoes are done in synthetic and the sole is made of astrological wood instead of leather. Leather is considered inauspicious according to Indian beliefs," says Swati Modo, the owner of Serendipty that specialises in zodiac and horoscopic shoes.

ATMs to be tuned for more cash flow - Courtesy: India Today

Wed, Jun 2 12:26 PM

With private sector banks like HDFC Bank increasing the withdrawal limit for their premium clients, the currency storage capacity of automated teller machines (ATMs) would need to be increased besides hiking the number of higher- denomination notes stored in these machines.

According to independent banking sector analyst Ramesh Bhojwani, a similar facility is offered by most foreign banks for its premium customers.

"These customers are basically account holders with deposits anywhere in the range of Rs 3 crore and above. For such preferred customers the banks have special titanium and gold cards through which they can withdraw and transact with very high upper limits," he said.

Such initiatives would naturally mean banks having to stack more currency notes of higher denomination in the ATMs.

"They would have to increase the capacity by adding more Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes or add more machines as the transactions would have an impact on the money supply in the ATMs," he added.

An HDFC Bank spokesperson said debit cards usage at ATMs and POS (point of sales) has been rapidly increasing over the past couple of years. "Many of our customers wanted higher limits, too. We believe it as a convenience that customers will find useful," he said.

He added that to cater to the increase in demand, the bank will be using a mix of more cassettes and more machines per room or get the machines to dispense a larger number of Rs 1,000 notes.

Earlier, banks used to deploy the two cassette ATMs, which had a storage capacity of around Rs 12 lakh. The four cassette ATMs now being used by banks have a storage capacity of around Rs 25 lakh.

Going forward, if the denomination of the currency notes is increased to add more of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the capacity could go up to Rs 40 lakh.

While HDFC Bank has increased the withdrawal and shopping limits of its HDFC Bank Imperia Gold Cards to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh, respectively, from the earlier limit of Rs 50,000 a day, ICICI Bank has set the withdrawal and transaction limits at Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, respectively, on its Titanium, Platinum and Signature assortment of debit cards per day. Other private sector banks have a limit of Rs 50,000 a day.

Jaivinder Singh Gill, managing director of NCR India, a leading ATM manufacturer and service provider, said that a typical ATM with four cassette holders can store anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 notes with the number of transactions per day varying from 200 to 600.

Recently, NCR launched the NCR SelfServ 32, India's first 'No Envelope' Multi Function Intelligent Deposit ATM, which has a storage capacity of around 10,000 notes besides being able to recycle the notes deposited by the customers, Gill added.

"The new ATMs offer a diverse range of intelligent 'no envelope' cash deposit and recycling options, including deposit and validation of up to 200 notes per transaction and up to four dispense/recycle cassettes with a total capacity of over 10,000 notes with a single dispenser," he said.

Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

Facebook cited as evidence in most divorces -- Courtesy: ANI

Thu, Jun 3 02:41 PM

Washington, June 3 (ANI): A new survey has found that social networking site Facebook is being cited in most divorce cases as the main provider of evidence of spouses cheating.

The survey was conducted on some of the nation's top divorce lawyers, and they revealed that their clients come to court armed with evidence they got from the website.

"More and more I have clients coming in and I say, 'What are you here today?' And they say, 'Facebook'," Fox News quoted divorce attorney Mary Cay Trace as saying.

"You can now search beyond your neighbours and your co-workers if you're trying to find somebody to replace what you think is missing in your marriage," she stated.

A mother of two showed via Skype Internet love notes posted between her husband and an old grade-school flame he reconnected with on Facebook.

Within months, the 13-year marriage was over, with her husband's new woman also ending her own marriage. The families had two children each.

But it is not always the betrayed spouse who stumbles across the Internet evidence. Even worse, it's friends, neighbours and sometimes the children who bust their parent. (ANI)