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take chances with his upcoming venture. To get an honest opinion about his film, the actor has invited hundred people to watch the first half of 3 Idiots. So would the story plot be leaked? We don't think so, for the people who are getting this rare opportunity are bound by a Non Disclosure Agreement. It will prevent people from discussing the movie or passing any opinion or judgment on it. Needless to say, the 'lucky' people were more than thrilled and even took part in a film-discussion with the lead actor Aamir Khan after watching it, where Aamir encouraged them to speak their minds. The practice of signing an NDA is quite common in Hollywood studios that hold screenings for a discerning public across the board nearly six months before a movie makes it to the screens. This is the first time it has happened in Bollywood. That's surely not an idiotic strategy Aamir!

LAHORE: Iqbal Day marking the 132nd birthday of national poet Dr Allama Mohammad Iqbal is being celebrated on Monday (today) across the country with national fervour and enthusiasm. The government has declared holiday in the schools, colleges and universities, while there will be local holiday in the courts. Change of Guard took place at the Mazar-e-Iqbal followed by floral wreath laying ceremony in the morning. Various literary, social and religious organisations laid floral wreaths at the mazaar while Iqbal Day functions were held at a number of places. Allama Iqbal was born in Sialkot, Punjab, India ; the eldest of five siblings. Iqbal's father Shaikh Nur Muhammad was a prosperous tailor, well-known for his devotion to Islam, and the family raised their children with deep religious grounding. Iqbal was educated initially by tutors in languages and writing, history, poetry and religion. His potential as a poet and writer was recognised by one of his tutors, Sayyid Mir Hassan, an

NEW DELHI: The first day of Maharashtra Assembly after the government formation in the state witnessed noisy scenes as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers snatched away Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi's mike. MNS may have just 13 MLAs in the 288-member state assembly, but it could not prevent them from creating pandemonium in the house on their maiden appearance on Monday. The newly elected MLAs resorted to unparliamentary method to prevent Samjawadi Party (SP) legislator Abu Azmi from taking oath in Hindi. Azmi termed the MNS action an insult to the national language. "Raj Thackeray has insulted our national language. I think he follows some other Constitution. He should go and live in England if he does not respect India's national language," said Azmi.Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav too strongly supported Azmi. Mulayam said Azmi was only showing his respect for the national language by taking his oath in Hindi. Remote controlled by their party chief Raj Th

Monday, November 09, 2009 BERLIN: U.S. President Barack Obama's national security adviser, James Jones, has said there is no guarantee that sending extra troops to Afghanistan would solve NATO's problems, and that they could just be "swallowed up".In an interview published on Saturday, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel asked Jones whether he agreed with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, that an increase of about 40,000 troops was needed."Generals always ask for more troops," Jones said."I believe we will not solve the problem with troops alone. The minimum number is important, of course. But there is no maximum number, however."You can keep on putting troops in, and you could have 200,000 troops there and Afghanistan will swallow them up as it has done in the past," he said, according to comments published by the magazine's website in English and German.After weeks of internal deliberations, O

Monday, November 09, 2009 BERLIN: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Europeans and Americans on Sunday to see the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a call to action against new global threats.On the eve of celebrations marking 20 years since the collapse of the wall that divided East and West Berlin, Clinton said the hard work that went into ending the Cold War must be channeled to meet fresh challenges, including the fights against extremism and climate change.As the Obama administration looks to often reluctant European allies to bolster their NATO forces in Afghanistan, Clinton said Monday's commemoration of Nov. 9, 1989, the night "when history pierced the concrete and concertina wire," must look forward and not back."Our history did not end the night the wall came down, it began anew," she told a group of U.S. and European dignitaries while accepting a Freedom Award on behalf of the American people from The Atlantic Council, a

Monday, November 09, 2009 SAN SALVADOR: A late-season hurricane ravaged parts of Central America on Sunday as floods and landslides killed at least 124 in El Salvador, where the president declared a state of emergency, and thousands were left homeless in Nicaragua.Hurricane Ida, which grew to a category two storm Sunday, was moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico but local officials said it had caused no casualties or damage to infrastructure in the popular tourist resort city of Cancun.Forecasters at the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said Ida had strengthened packing top wind speeds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour as it moved over Mexico's Caribbean coast.The tail-end of Ida coupled with a low pressure system in the Pacific caused heavy flooding in El Salvador that left 124 people dead, civil defense officials said. President Mauricio Funes declared a state of emergency.Civil Defense chief Jorge Melendez added that "there could be more fatalities" in t

Monday, November 09, 2009 ISTANBUL: Turkish officials say Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will not attend a summit of Islamic leaders in Istanbul Monday.Turkey said last week that Bashir would be present for the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit, despite the international warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.However, Turkish government officials now say they have learned President Bashir will not be coming.The European Union had raised objections to the Sudanese president attending the summit. The International Criminal Court has indicted President Bashir on charges of masterminding a campaign of rape, murder, and other crimes in Sudan's Darfur region.Bashir has repeatedly defied the ICC by travelling abroad but only to countries that are not parties to the ICC and can guarantee his safety.

Monday, November 09, 2009 RABA, INDONESIA: A strong earthquake struck Indonesia’s Sumbawa region on Monday morning, according to seismologists.The earthquake happened around 3.42 a.m. local time, about 5 miles from Raba, a small town in the eastern part of Sumbawa Island. The country’s seismological agency reported the earthquake as a 6.7-magnitude, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported a magnitude of 6.9. Earthquakes of that size are capable of causing serious damage. The earthquake was located about 11 miles deep, making it a shallow earthquake.Both the country’s seismological agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning following the earthquake, but warned of local tsunamis. “A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data,” a statement from the tsunami warning centre read. “However - there is a very small possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more

Sunday, November 08, 2009 WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has approved the broadest US health care overhaul in a half-century, handing President Barack Obama a major victory on his top domestic priority.Obama hailed the "historic vote" and said he was sure of signing the ambitious overhaul in 2009."Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people," Obama said in a statement savoring the political triumph."The United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year," he said.After hours of bitter debate and an appeal from Obama to "answer the call of history," lawmakers voted late Saturday 220-215 for a 10-year, trillion-dollar plan to extend health coverage

Monday, November 09, 2009 BASEL: Novak Djokovic overcame Roger Federer on the world number one's home ground Sunday, carving out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory to win the Swiss Indoors title.It was a Basel debut to remember for the 22-year-old world number three as he turned the momentum in his direction in a 24-minute game of the opening set which featured five break points for Federer and required six set points for the Serb to take the early lead.Federer, the winner of the last three titles here, got back in harness in the second set through an early break on the way to levelling the final.But when Djokovic got up a double break in the third, the Swiss top seed was unable to turn the tide."It's disappointing to lose a final at home," said Federer. "I tried hard, I was just outplayed."I was always down in the score and every time I got a momentum shift he would break me again. I could never get any momentum. Things did not go my way at all today."It was not

Sunday, November 08, 2009 VALENCIA: Australia's Casey Stoner of Ducati on Saturday secured pole position ahead of Spaniards Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in qualifying for Sunday's season-ending MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix.Stoner, who won on the Ricardo Tormo circuit here last year, will start from the front for the 22nd time in his career and the 18th time in MotoGP.The Australian led from the eighth minute of the session and only Lorenzo looked capable of trumping him.Valentino Rossi, who has already been crowned 2009 MotoGP champion, was fourth fastest ahead of the American Colin Edwards."I’m really happy, everything’s gone really well and we’ve been quickest in every session," said Stoner, who is bidding for a third successive win after missing three rounds with fatigue."We’ve made small improvements to the bike each day. The only problem we’ve got now is the pretty windy conditions, which is making it very difficult to ride and understand where the limit is.

Sunday, November 08, 2009 VALENCIA: Top seed Andy Murray battled past Fernando Verdasco in the semi-finals of the Valencia Open on Saturday, beating the fourth-seeded Spaniard 6-3 2-6 6-3 to set up a final against Mikhail Youzhny.World number four Murray, who before this week had not played on the ATP tour since September's U.S. Open due to a wrist injury, cruised through the first set but lost his way in the second as Verdasco unleashed some powerful winners.The Scot rallied to grab a crucial break of serve in the sixth game of the deciding set and converted his first match point when Verdasco miscued a shot that flew wide."It was very difficult in the first set but I managed to stay strong," Murray said in a television interview."I started to feel more comfortable as the game went on and was reading his game a bit better."The 22-year-old will be bidding for a sixth title of the year against Russian Youzhny in Sunday's final after second seed Nikolay Davyd

Sunday, November 08, 2009 BERLIN: Briton David Haye lifted the WBA heavyweight championship after defeating Russian giant Nikolai Valuev by a majority decision on Saturday. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion won over the judges with two scores of 116-112, while a third called it 114-114. Haye improved to 23-1 with 21 KOs while Valuev's record dropped to 50-2 with 34 KOs. Haye's first defense of the WBA belt will be against former titleholder John Ruiz, who earlier beat German Adnan Serin in the seventh round by TKO.

Sunday, November 08, 2009 LILLE: Pakistan beat Japan 3-1 in Hockey World Cup 2010 Qualifiers to book its place in the next year’s world cup championship.Suhail Abbas scored stunning 2 goals and Hasim Khan contributed one goal to steer Pakistan to an outstanding win.The hockey World Cup 2010 is scheduled to be played in New Delhi, India Feb 28-March 13.

Sunday, November 08, 2009 LILLE: Pakistan beat Japan 3-1 in Hockey World Cup 2010 Qualifiers to book its place in the next year’s world cup championship.Suhail Abbas scored stunning 2 goals and Hasim Khan contributed one goal to steer Pakistan to an outstanding win.The hockey World Cup 2010 is scheduled to be played in New Delhi, India Feb 28-March 13.