MUMBAI, Sept 5: Actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn’s upcoming production, “Parched”, starring Radhika Apte in the role, will hit theatres on September 23.
The film, directed by Leena Yadav, is set in the heart of parched rural landscape of Gujarat, India. It traces the bittersweet tale of four ordinary women Rani, Lajjo, Bijli and Janaki.
“Presenting PARCHED… 18Awards, 24 International film festivals across continents. Releasing 23rd Sep Trailer on 9th September,” Ajay tweeted.
Besides Radhika, “Parched” also stars Adil Hussain, Surveen Chawla, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sayani Gupta.
It has been to Indian Film Festival of Melborune and Toronto International Film Festival. (agencies)
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DOGS
First identical twin puppies confirmed in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 5:
For the first time, scientists have confirmed the birth of rare identical twin puppies born to an Irish wolfhound in South Africa.
The puppies were first suspected to be twins when, during their birth last year, veterinarian Kurt De Cramer at the Rant en Dal Animal Hospital in South Africa observed that the two puppies had shared a single placenta.
The puppies’ mother had been straining to give birth for several hours and was taken to De Cramer, who performed a Cesarean section.
He delivered the mother’s other five puppies, each with its own placenta.
De Cramer thought it possible that the placenta-sharing puppies were monozygotic twins. When the puppies were two weeks old, researchers drew blood samples and sent them for genetic testing.
“I wasn’t sure that they were going to be monozygotic at that time,” Carolynne Joone, a veterinarian and lecturer at James Cook University in Australia told the ‘Live Science’.
“They did look very alike, but they weren’t completely identical. There were slight differences in the puppies’ white markings,” she said.
The DNA showed that the puppies had identical genes on 40 different markers that are commonly used in such testing.
A second DNA analysis, done with samples taken from cheek swabs, confirmed that the dogs were identical. The differences in white marking patterns are likely due to differences in gene expression between the two puppies, Joone said.
Since this is the first documented case, researchers think that monozygotic twins in canines are rare, she said.
However, it is also possible that such twins are born more frequently than thought, but go undetected, she added.
The research appears in the journal Reproduction in Domestic Animals. (agencies)
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OBAMA-CHINA
A rising China needs to restrain itself: Obama
WASHINGTON, Sept 5:
A rising China, which has been worrying its neighbours with its aggressive behaviour on economic policies and in the disputed South China Sea, needs to restrain itself and behave responsibly at the world stage, US President Barack Obama has said.
“Part of what I’ve talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself,” Obama told CNN.
“You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it’s not because we have to, it’s because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China’s interests, as well,” Obama said in an interview recorded before he left for China.
“So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we’ve been very firm. And we’ve indicated to them that there will be consequences,” Obama said.
What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted.
“There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries,” Obama said.
Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been “much more anti-Western” in the past.
“We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the ’90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves,” Obama said.
“But, you know, you’ve got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it’s to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we’ve said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of Chin, consistent with international norms. That’s good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody,” Obama said. (agencies)
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ENT-DIPIKA
Shoaib has not yet proposed me: Dipika Kakar
NEW DELHI, Sept 5:
Fans might be waiting for much in love couple Dipika Kakar and Shoaib Ibrahim to tie the knot but the actress says they don’t have a date as her boyfriend is yet to formally propose her.
The two fell in love three years ago after working on TV show “Sasural Simar Ka”, where they played each other’s love interest.
The couple made their relationship public earlier this year and the 30-year-old actress says she is happy that they have finally admitted their feelings for each other but is clueless about Shoaib’s proposal.
“No, the proposal has still not happened. We know that people must be curious but I don’t have any idea of when he is going to propose me. I have to warn him for that,” Dipika said.
While Dipika continues to be part of “Sasural Simar Ka”, which made her a household name, Shoaib, 29, quit the show in 2013 after working for two years. The pair’s on screen chemistry was loved by the fans.
The actress, who earlier revealed she fell for Shoaib after he left the drama, says says she is not sure how will they work together now as they are a real-life couple and things have changed between them.
“I’m not sure if Shoaib and I would be able to do a scene together in the present time because we just can’t stop laughing whenever we are together. Even when we make videos or dubsmash we are just not able to control our laughter. But I would love to share the screen with him again,” she said. (agencies)
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