Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Prasoon Joshi on Tuesday refuted a report that the “modifications” demanded by the censor board in the historical drama, has resulted in 300 cuts.

“The makers have submitted the final film with agreed five modifications which has already been communicated and a U/A certificate has been been given to the film. CBFC’s process is complete and any further news about cuts is absolutely untrue. Let’s refrain from utilising CBFC’s name unnecessarily,” Joshi told IANS.

A report by a daily reported that to suit the demands of the CBFC, “one of Bollywood’s leading directors was sitting in the editing suite at Rajkamal Studio at Parel, turning the specific locations of his magnum opus into la la land”.

The report further read that “Padmavat” director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been instructed to delete all references to Delhi, Chittorgarh and Mewar from the film and that “buzz is that they (the modifications) have resulted in as many as 300 cuts”.

“Padmavat”, which was to earlier release as “Padmavati” on December 1 last year, has been embroiled in a controversy over alleged distortion of historical facts.

CBFC, in consultation with a special advisory panel, saw the movie last month and decided to grant the film a U/A certificate with five modifications, including title change and two disclaimers.

The movie, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, is slated to release on January 25, but the Rajasthan government has said they won’t allow it to be exhibited in the state.

A fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s office building here on Tuesday, police said.

The fire broke out inside the computer server room of the high-security office of Yogi Adityanath at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan.

The fire sent the security personnel into a tizzy as the cavalcade of the Chief Minister was to arrive.

Fire tenders were rushed to the building, which also houses offices of senior officials.

Some electronic property has been damaged in the fire and the prima facie reason was said to be a short circuit, officials told IANS.

Food regulator FSSAI has urged the states and Union territories to advise their school education boards to use the ‘Yellow Book’, aimed at children detailing how to eat right, in school curriculum.

The book was brought out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in September last year, and has been launched in three categories for children in the age group of 4-7 years, 8-12 years and 13-17 years.

It covers a range of topics — from food safety practices, personal hygiene and cleanliness habits and eating a balanced diet, to packing a wholesome lunch-box. It also lays emphasis on preventing nutritional deficiencies and making healthy choices.

The book includes useful tips and interesting activities for school children. It can be used independently as a guide, as well as an activity book in conjunction with the existing curriculum in schools.

“State governments and Union territory administrations are requested to advise the school education boards to use the Yellow Books in their curriculum while delivering inputs related to safe and wholesome food,” the FSSAI said in a letter to the states and UTs.

“The existing curriculum maybe reviewed based on FSSAI’s content, gaps identified and a holistic review undertaken to ensure messaging is not fragmented and is appropriate and correct,” it said.

The book has been developed after discussions with various education boards such as CBSE, NCERT, state education boards, nutrition and education experts.

Besides, the FSSAI has also launched ‘Pink’, ‘Purple’ and ‘Orange’ Books which consists of information on food safety and nutrition for Indian households, restaurants and employees in organisations.

“The Pink Book has practical tips and information about food safety and nutrition that Indian households need on a daily basis. In India, most people still eat food that is cooked at home. Thus, behavioural changes about food safety and healthy nutrition should ideally begin at home,” a senior official said.

“Most people do not have access to food safety experts and nutritionists. Thus, most of the homemakers are at the mercy of multiple and often conflicting sources of information on safe food and nutrition. This initiative of FSSAI is aimed at filling in this gap,” he said.

The Orange Book is all about safe and nutritious food for employees while the Purple Book contains food standards and practices to be followed by restaurants.

After years of delay, former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal will finally face trial from February in an alleged rape case involving a now former junior colleague, a Goa court said on Tuesday.

Additional District and Sessions judge Vijaya Pol ruled that the in-camera trial will commence on February 26 and hearings will continue for four days on the trot during which the victim will depose and will be examined.

In 2013, when he was editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, Tejpal was accused of rape by a female colleague, who in her complaint to the police alleged that she raped by the journalist in the elevator of a five-star resort in Goa where the magazine was hosting an international conclave organised by Tehelka.

Following the registration of FIR, Tejpal was arrested and remained in police and judicial custody for nearly a year, before being released on bail. Tejpal subsequently resigned as the magazine’s head.

Expanding its laptop line-up, Taiwanese hardware and electronics brand Acer on Monday launched four new devices at the ongoing “Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018” here.

At 8.98-mm thickness, “Swift 7” is the world’s thinnest laptop that runs Windows 10. It is powered by Intel Core i7 processor and features an all-day battery life and 4G LTE connection, the company said in a statement.

“Building on the engineering breakthroughs from the previous generation, the new ‘Swift 7’ steps up the game with an even slimmer chassis, powerful performance and always-on 4G LTE connectivity for professionals on the go,” said Jerry Kao, President of IT Products Business of Acer Inc.

The Acer “Swift 7” will be available in North America in March with prices starting at $1,699 and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in April with prices starting at 1,699 euros.

The company also announced “Spin 3” (SP314-51) laptop which features a 360-degree dual-torque hinge that makes it easy to convert into a laptop, tablet, display and even provides a space-saving tent mode. It sports the 8th-Gen Intel Core processor and provides 12 hours of battery life.

The Acer “Spin 3” will be available in North America in February with prices starting at $599 and in EMEA in January with prices starting at 649 euros.

Featuring Windows 10 OS, the 15-inch “Nitro 5” gaming laptop is targeted towards mainstream users.

“With performance to effortlessly power mainstream titles, the Acer ‘Nitro 5’ houses essential technologies that casual gamers value most,” said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc.

The device features the latest-generation “AMD Radeon RX560” graphics. The Acer Nitro 5 will be available in North America in April with prices starting at $799 and in EMEA in April at 1,099 euros.

Acer “Chromebook 11” offers a 11.6-inch display.

“The new Acer ‘Chromebook 11’ will deliver strong performance with all the benefits of Chrome OS at an excellent value,” said James Lin, General Manager, Commercial and Detachable Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc.

Models in the Acer Chromebook 11 line (CB311-8HT/ CB311-8H) will be available in North America in April with prices starting at $249 and in EMEA in March at 249 euros.

The company is yet to announce the availability of the devices in India.

Jailed BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who was lodged in Banda jail in connection with various criminal cases against him, on Tuesday suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the district hospital in Banda.

“I have talked to the SSP, Banda, and he told me about it (heart attack). I have sought a report from both the SP and the DM, Banda. The legislator will be provided the best treatment,” Principal Secretary Home Arvind Kumar said here.

About reports in a section of media that Ansari’s wife too suffered a heart attack, Kumar said he cannot confirm it immediately.

“I can confirm it only after I get a report from there,” he said, adding that directives have been issued to provide best possible treatment to the legislator.

The gangster-turned-legislator from Mau constituency had been in various jails in the state since 2015 under various sections of the IPC.

The Karni Sena, a Rajput outfit, on Tuesday once again threatened the makers of the controversial film ‘Padmavat’ of dire consequences if it was released on January 25.

The film, cleared by the CBFC after a few cuts and renamed from ‘Padmavati’ to ‘Padmavat’, is scheduled to release on January 25 across India. The film will, however, not be released in Rajasthan.

Addressing reporters, National Convenor of the Karni Sena, Lokendra Singh Kalvi said they will financially harm the producer of the film Sanjay Leela Bhansali and said their demand now was a ban on the film.

He also urged the Prime Minister and the Censor Board to understand the “sentiments behind” their protests and also the “seriousness of the issue”.

There will be curfew if this film is released, he threatened.

Adding that the film was made during the demonetisation days, the Karni Sena convenor also called for a probe into the financing of the film which stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in main roles.

Kalvi also alleged that he had been threatened on phone from Pakistan, a location “somewhere near Lahore” for protesting against the release of the film. “Why is Pakistan so interested in the matter,” he asked.

Before the press conference at the Press Club here, Kalvi, along with some office bearers of his outfit, called on Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and sought a ban on screening of the film in the hill state.

The outfit said Kalvi was right in demanding the film-ban which was aimed at protecting the honour of the Rajputs as he was the 24th descendant of Maharana Pratap and 37th generation descendant of Rani Padmavati.

First week of the new year has passed and most of us still have no idea what to do to make this a better one. We make so many new year resolutions and goals but end up feeling guilty for not fulfilling even a single one. Well, if same is the case with you then here’s not a manual guide for 2018 but the simple things to make yourself feel a little better this year…

Review and Analyse your last year: The first thing you need to do is to take time out for yourself (not months or days, just a few hours would be sufficient), sit in a corner with a pen and paper and think of all those things that you wanted to do but actually ended up not doing any of them, now make a list of all of them no matter how small they are or how tough they will be.

Goal Segmentation: It is hard to achieve bigger goals in one try and this cause most of us to give up on them. Why? Obviously because we are lazy and have many other ‘important’ things to do in life, right. But hello …ain’t these things that you once wanted to do not important? As a solution  just try to divide your big goals into small tasks that you’d be able to do on daily basis.

Do not ever prioritise goals: A goal is a goal and it is meant to be achieved, prioritising it may make you lose interest in doing the last mentioned stuff or you may yourself feel that it is of less importance as it comes naturally to us. What you can do to avoid this is that you can write your tasks on small chits and fill a bowl of it for the whole year. Now randomly pick one chit daily and try to accomplish the task on the same day. This will give you a sense of completion. At least at the end of the day, you’d have something to count up as your achievement, possibly not a bigger one, but it will surely leave you with contentment.

Maximum efforts on execution: The most important step is the execution so you can ask for help from other people just to make sure your excuses and laziness do not overcome your desire to achieve your goals and you don’t get deviated from your plans. One interesting thing you can do is — make one social group of friends or family, share your goals with them and ask them to remind you and motivate you from time to time, make this an interesting task for them as well and you are ready to go. After all friends and family are the strongest support in the world.

Reward is the key: Ever wondered how we were able to perform so well in our school and college festivals…”Reward” …yes this is the answer. It has been observed that we, the homo sapiens, do our best where there is any kind of reward system, this gives us a sense of competition and we take things more seriously. So, never forget to reward yourself whenever you finish one task and that should be daily. This will keep you motivated.

Do not go for the reward part before the completion of the task — a polite reminder. Now, get set go!

A young woman died here while sleeping in a shed as a result of the Hindu practice of “Chhaupadi”, prevalent in western parts of Nepal, in which menstruating women are forbidden from sleeping in their own houses and are exiled to isolated huts.

The lifeless body of 23-year-old Gauri Bayak Budha was found on Monday in a shed near the family home in Achham district, 750 km west of Kathmandu, district police chief Dadhiram Neupane told Efe news on Tuesday.

“Her relatives said that on Sunday night she went to sleep in the shed after dinner and on Monday morning they found her dead,” Neupane said.

According to the police chief, the young woman lit a small fire inside the hut to stay warm so she might have died from smoke inhalation.

“But we can only be sure of the cause when we have the autopsy report,” Neupane said.

This is the fourth death by “Chhaupadi” in Nepal in just over a year, after two young women of 15 and 21 years of age died of hypothermia and an 18-year-old died after she was bitten by a snake while sleeping in the hut.

Nepal’s Parliament passed a law last August stipulating that people who force a woman to leave their home for “Chhaupadi” will face a three-month prison sentence and a fine of 3,000 rupees (about $30).

The tradition had also been banned by the Supreme Court in 2005.

“Twelve years ago the verdict ordered the end of the practice but the necessary steps were not taken to implement it,” lawyer and activist Meera Dhungana said, adding that she fears that “the new law will suffer the same fate”.

“There must be awareness campaigns and the parties should include it in their political agenda to put an end to this malpractice,” Dhungana said.

The Matunga suburban station on the Central Railway (CR) has found its way into the Limca Book of Records for having an all-woman staff, an official said on Tuesday.

The achievement comes six months after Matunga became the first railway station in the country to be run by an all- woman staff.

“We are happy to inform that six months after the CR appointed an all-woman staff at Matunga, this station has figured in the Limca Book of Records 2018,” said the Railway official.

“The credit for this goes to CR General Manager D K Sharma, who started this initiative of empowering women,” he said.

The station is being manned exclusively by women staffers since July 2017, a first on the Indian Railways, he said.

A team of 41 women staffers at the station includes personnel from the RPF, commercial and operating departments.

These staffers work under the supervision of station manager Mamta Kulkarni.

Chief PRO of CR Sunil Udasi said, “The staff has been handling all operations of the station round-the-clock for the last six months and results are positive and encouraging.

“The idea is to create an environment where women are encouraged to take decision about their own personal and professional well being,” he said.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has targeted BJP MP and actor Shatrughan Sinha by razing several alleged illegal constructions inside his eight-storey residential bungalow ‘Ramayan’ in Juhu.

A civic official said the demolition work on Monday was incomplete and the actor had been asked to shift an illegal prayer (pooja) room, failing which it would be razed.

Sinha will now be booked under BMC laws for the unauthorized constructions and the civic body will also recover the demolition costs from him.

The Sinhas have been living since 2012 in this redeveloped residence in the fashionable Juhu area of western suburbs.

The civic officials found in Sinha’s home an illegal toilet on the terrace, two more toilets and a small pantry in the refuge area, an office and a prayer room in the stilt area – which the actor has described as “minor alterations” but did not protest at their removal.

The BMC had earlier slapped Sinha with notices under the Maharashtra Region & Town Planning Act (MRTP) for the illegal constructions on December 6 but they were ignored, though the actor claimed he was awaiting permission for additional construction rights for the same.

The BMC notices, including a final one on Saturday, followed complaints last year that Sinha had used excess floor space index to make several illegal additions to his residence, redeveloped from a bungalow to a building in 2012.

The BMC’s approved plans for the structure included stilts, a double-floor podium and an eight-storey building above, but the alleged illegalities are believed to have come up after the family shifted in the redeveloped premises five years ago.

Besides Sinha, several other Bollywood personalities, including Shah Rukh Khan and Kapil Sharma, have faced the BMC demolition squads.

Others like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajkumar Hirani were served notices for alleged violations at their Goregaon bungalows in October 2017.

Facing a controversy over the presence of two security flaws in its chips, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich for the first time came out in the open here to allay fears of any data breach. The two vulnerabilities – “Meltdown” and “Spectre” – have affected the Intel, AMD and ARM chips used in the last two decades.

Google revealed “Meltdown” and “Spectre” security bugs in chips that can make it possible for hackers to access sensitive information.

Addressing the gathering at his keynote address at the “CES 2018” here on Monday, Krzanich said: “I want to take a moment to thank the industry for addressing the recent security findings. The collaboration among so many companies to address this industry-wide issue has been truly remarkable.”

“Our primary goal has been to keep our customers safe. We have not received any information that these exploits have been used to obtain customers’ data,” Intel CEO told the audience.

He urged everyone to patch their systems as soon as these are available.

Intel last week said it is rapidly issuing updates for all types of Intel-based computer systems – including personal computers and servers – that render those systems immune from both exploits.

“Intel has already issued updates for the majority of processor products introduced within the past five years. By the end of next week, Intel expects to have issued updates for more than 90 percent of processor products introduced within the past five years,” the company said.

Apple too admitted that all Mac systems and iOS devices were affected but are safe at the moment.

All the big tech giants – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others – have pushed out updates for their devices to fix the two vulnerabilities.

The Naga Hoho, an apex Naga tribal body, has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help in postponing the forthcoming Nagaland Assembly elections, saying that the vexed insurgency problem should be resolved first.

In a memorandum, the Naga Hoho said an exceptional situation has been prevailing in the north eastern state as a result of the ongoing negotiations for a peace accord with the militant group NSCN-IM.

“It is the unanimous view of the Naga people that the political solution or Naga peace accord is more important than elections and therefore, it has become imperative that the elections to the legislative assembly of Nagaland be deferred for peace and tranquillity,” the tribal body said.

Assembly elections in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura are due in March and an announcement in this regard is expected early next month.

The expectations for a lasting peace have soared in Nagaland, which had been hit by insurgency for decades, after the Centre and the NSCN-IM signed a framework agreement in 2015.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM) has been engaged with peace talks with the interlocutor of the central government since 1997, when it announced a ceasefire agreement after a bloody insurgency movement which started in Nagaland soon after the country’s independence.

Reminding the prime minister about his statement, soon after assuming office in 2014, that the Naga issue would be resolved in 18 months, the Naga Hoho said almost three years have gone “without finding any tangible solution”.

It also said more than 20 years have gone by since the signing of the Naga ceasefire and the beginning of the political dialogue.

The Naga Hoho said it has come to know that the Naga peace accord was at its final stage and likely to culminate in a very short period of time as the Centre’s interlocutor and the NSCN-IM had earlier issued a joint statement that they were closer than “ever before to the final settlement and hope to conclude it sooner than later”.

“We sincerely hope that your competent authority shall exhibit its political will and bring out a logical conclusion to this predicament. In the event of failure to defer the election process and ignite unwanted situation, the government of India shall be held responsible,” the tribal body told Modi in its memorandum.

During a visit to Nagaland in November last, President Ram Nath Kovind had said the state was at the threshold of making history as the final agreement on the Naga political issue would soon be arrived at and a lasting peace achieved.

On September 19, Nagaland Governor P B Acharya had said the vexed Naga issue would be solved within a few months.

Seeking to allay concerns of three north eastern states, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said on November 8 that the territorial integrity of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur would not be compromised while inking the final Naga peace accord.

The insurgent group NSCN-IM’s key demand is to integrate Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, which has been strongly opposed by the BJP-ruled states.

We have known Farhan Akhtar as a Jack of all trades, yet he has mastered many skills. From being a dynamic actor, a songwriter, director, producer and a performer we cannot deny that he can do it all and quite well. The actor has already proved himself as a craftsman through his film but other than that he has also established himself as an influential director. Here are the 5 films to prove that.

Dil Chahta Hai

Farhan Akhtar made his directorial debut with the movie Dil Chahta Hai which released in 2001. A story based on the life of three friends who live in Mumbai, each of them has a different perception of life. The characters were played by Amir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna. A critically acclaimed film, which is referred to as the turning point of Farhan Akhtar’s career. The film won the National Film Award for the Best feature film in 2002.

Lakshya

Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta starrer movie released in 2004, was based on the story of a boy who is struggling to find himself. The plot revolves around the character played by Hrithik Roshan as he joins the army, Farhan has narrated the journey in the most simple manner. Though it was marked as a commercial failure, the movie proves that Farhan is one of the finest directors.

Don

Farhan Akhtar directed the remake of the classic movie Don (1978) featuring Amitabh Bachchan. Though the storyline was same as the original one he did justice to it as a director. Don released in 2006 and was declared a hit as it entered the 100 crore club.

Positive

Farhan is a director who brings a new wave to the cinemas. In this short film, he narrated the story of a person who is suffering from AIDS and his family’s attitude towards it. It released in 2007 and was a part of AIDS jaago, a series of four films.

Don 2

Farhan made a comeback as a director with this movie after 5 years. It was an action packed movie which was loved by the audience. The film was majorly successful in India and it went on to be the highest grossing Bollywood film.

China launched a pair of 0.5-metre high-resolution remote sensing satellites on Tuesday.

The satellites, SuperView-1 03/04, blasted off at 11.24 a.m., on the back of a Long March 2D rocket, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The satellites, which are able to provide commercial images at 0.5-metre resolution, are expected to offer remote sensing data to customers worldwide and provide services to land and resource surveys, mapping, environmental monitoring, finance and insurance as well as the internet industry, according to authorities.

“The mission aims to promote the country’s commercial use of high-resolution remote sensing satellites. The satellites, which are able to provide commercial images at 0.5-meter resolution, are expected to offer remote sensing data to customers worldwide and provide services to land and resource surveys, mapping, environmental monitoring, finance and insurance as well as the Internet industry” added report.

The satellites were developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

It is the second launch of the corporation’s commercial remote sensing satellites, followed by the launch of SuperView-1 01/02 in December 2016.

(Written with inputs from IANS)