Actor Shahid Kapoor, who was recently seen on screen in Rangoon, says any kind of addiction is not good for anybody's health.

Shahid on Thursday treated his fans and followers to a question and answer session, where a user asked him if he had any addiction other than coffee. 

"Nope. Even working on coffee. Cut it down loads. No addiction is good for you," Shahid replied. 

Another user asked if he tried any sort of drugs while he was prepping for his role Tommy in Udta Punjab.

"Nope. Just like when someone plays a killer, they don't actually kill," he said.

The 36-year-old actor also said a sequel to the 2009 film Kaminey will not happen.

Shahid welcomed daughter Misha with wife Mira Rajput, a Delhi girl, last year. He says the thing he loves the most after stepping into fatherhood is seeing the baby smile. 

The actor's next movie is filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming historical Padmavati, which also stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. Shahid will be seen essaying the role of Raja Rawal Ratan Singh. 

Asked about his character, Shahid said: "Noble, heroic, fearless. Above all, a true lover."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that a decision regarding holding open auction of the luxury Taj Mansingh Hotel has been taken in a meeting with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

Announcing this in a tweet, Kejriwal also said they have also taken a decision to cancel Le Meridian Hotel's licence.

"Important decisions in today's NDMC meeting – Open auction of Taj Mansingh, cancel Le Meridian Hotel license.." Kejriwal tweeted.

The Delhi High Court on October 27 dismissed an appeal of Tata group-run Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs the luxury Taj Mansingh Hotel, challenging auctioning of the property by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence tool that can predict whether someone will attempt suicide as far off as two years into the future with up to 80 per cent accuracy.

Researchers including those from Florida State University in the US accessed a massive data repository containing the electronic health records of about two million patients.

The team then combed through the electronic health records, which were anonymous, and identified more than 3,200 people who had attempted suicide.

Using machine learning to examine all of those details, the algorithms were able to 'learn' which combination of factors in the records could most accurately predict future suicide attempts.

"The machine learns the optimal combination of risk factors. What really matters is how this algorithm and these variables interact with one another as a whole," said Jessica Ribeiro of Florida State University.

"This kind of work lets us apply algorithms that can consider hundreds of data points in someone's medical record and potentially reduce them to clinically meaningful information," said Ribeiro.

The study offers a fascinating finding that machine learning – a future frontier for artificial intelligence can predict with 80-90 per cent accuracy of whether someone will attempt suicide as far off as two years into the future.

The algorithms become even more accurate as a person's suicide attempt gets closer, researchers said.

For example, the accuracy climbs to 92 per cent one week before a suicide attempt when artificial intelligence focuses on general hospital patients.

"This study provides evidence that we can predict suicide attempts accurately. We can predict them accurately over time, but we are best at predicting them closer to the event.

"We also know, based on this study, that risk factors like how they work and how important they are also change over time." Ribeiro said.

The study appears in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.

Disney's upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast will feature an openly gay character.

Director Bill Condon said Josh Gad's character, LeFou, who plays the sidekick to the story's villain Gaston, will have an "exclusively gay moment" in the movie, reported Attitude.

"LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He's confused about what he wants," Condon said.

"It's somebody who's just realising that he has these feelings. Josh (Gad) makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that's what has its pay-off at the end, which I don't want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie," he added.

Beauty and the Beast will release on March 17.

Salaries of 17,000 "guest teachers" in Delhi government schools have been hiked significantly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Thursday.

Sisodia told the media that Lt Governor Anil Baijal had given his approval to the 70-80 per cent increase in the salaries of the 'guest teachers' in all three categories.

The salaries would go up from Rs.21,000 to Rs.34,000, from Rs.18,000 to Rs.33,000 and from Rs.16,000 to Rs 32,000 a month, Sisodia said.

"Now 'guest teachers' will be able to lead a dignified life," he said. "It is a move towards providing quality education."

The 'guest teachers' are on contractual jobs and have been demanding for years that their salaries needed to be hiked.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "We really struggled hard to get this (through). I am glad it has finally happened."

Salaries of 17,000 "guest teachers" in Delhi government schools have been hiked significantly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Thursday.

Sisodia told the media that Lt Governor Anil Baijal had given his approval to the 70-80 per cent increase in the salaries of the 'guest teachers' in all three categories.

The salaries would go up from Rs.21,000 to Rs.34,000, from Rs.18,000 to Rs.33,000 and from Rs.16,000 to Rs 32,000 a month, Sisodia said.

"Now 'guest teachers' will be able to lead a dignified life," he said. "It is a move towards providing quality education."

The 'guest teachers' are on contractual jobs and have been demanding for years that their salaries needed to be hiked.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "We really struggled hard to get this (through). I am glad it has finally happened."

Countering the rapidly-growing Jio network in the country, Bharti Airtel has joined hands with technology giant Nokia to work on 5G network connectivity and management of connected devices.

The companies have made a strategy to bring 5G services in six new circles and are planning to introduce the Internet-of-Things (IoT) in India.

“The 5G and IoT applications have tremendous potential to transform lives and we are pleased to partner with Nokia to enable these future technologies for our customers,” Airtel said in a statement.

“Having already launched the high-speed 4G services across four circles of India, we are now looking at extending this enriching high-speed broadband experience to new circles on 1800 MHz band,” it added.

Meanwhile, Nokia statement said: “We are happy to expand our TD-LTE footprint with Bharti and partner with them to deploy India’s first FDD-LTE in six new circles”.

“Our rich experience gained in deploying FDD-LTE and TD-LTE to operators around the globe will ensure a fast and smooth network rollout,” it added.

Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on February 21 said that “Reliance Jio has crossed the 100 million customer mark since its launch on September 5”.

“By the end of 2017, 99 per cent of the country's population will be covered by the network with its presence in nearly all cities, towns and villages,” he added.

Countering the rapidly-growing Jio network in the country, Bharti Airtel has joined hands with technology giant Nokia to work on 5G network connectivity and management of connected devices.

The companies have made a strategy to bring 5G services in six new circles and are planning to introduce the Internet-of-Things (IoT) in India.

“The 5G and IoT applications have tremendous potential to transform lives and we are pleased to partner with Nokia to enable these future technologies for our customers,” Airtel said in a statement.

“Having already launched the high-speed 4G services across four circles of India, we are now looking at extending this enriching high-speed broadband experience to new circles on 1800 MHz band,” it added.

Meanwhile, Nokia statement said: “We are happy to expand our TD-LTE footprint with Bharti and partner with them to deploy India’s first FDD-LTE in six new circles”.

“Our rich experience gained in deploying FDD-LTE and TD-LTE to operators around the globe will ensure a fast and smooth network rollout,” it added.

Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on February 21 said that “Reliance Jio has crossed the 100 million customer mark since its launch on September 5”.

“By the end of 2017, 99 per cent of the country's population will be covered by the network with its presence in nearly all cities, towns and villages,” he added.

Oscar winning movies based on books: Oscars 2017 created a buzz in the social circles for more than just the awards. The gaffe around the best film put social media on a tizzy after Moonlight grabbed the best film award from the highly nominated La La Land. But, what might not have grabbed the eyeballs are the lesser known facts about the movies up there on the stage. Did you know, perhaps, that Hidden Figures starring Taraji P Henson, is actually, based on a non- fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly? Or that Moonlight is based on a play titled, unpublished play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney. Not just Oscar 2017, some of the epic and best film frontrunners over the years have been inspired by books.

For the book nerd in you, here’s a look at some of classics inspired by books:

The Godfather: Consider talking about best films and not mentioning the crime-drama, Godfather, is a crime in itself. Nominated for 11 Oscars, the Godfather is, perhaps, one of the most popular Oscar winning movies based on books. Touted as one of the greatest films in American cinema, the movie is inspired by celebrated writer, Mario Puzo’s best selling crime novel of the same name.

The Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins and Jadie Foster shine in this 1991 thriller around a cannibalistic psychiatrist and an FBI trainee. The film went on to be nominated for seven academy awards, winning five out of them. Interestingly, the movie is actually an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ 1981 novel, The Silence of the Lambs.

The Lord of the Rings: One cannot talk about blockbusters without the mention of The Lord of the Rings. The massively popular fantasy adventure film is, in fact, one of the Oscar winning movies based on books. The fantasy series is an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s book series of the same name. The series won a huge number of awards at the Oscars and is particularly remembered for the third film – The Return of the King – which won all the 11 awards it was nominated for.

Forest Gump:  Another film made famous by Tom Hanks, Forest Gump is an adaptation of Winston Groom’s 1986 novel of the same name and is perhaps one of the better known Oscar winning movies based on books. The film went on to win six major awards at the Oscars, including best picture and a best actor awards for Hanks.

Oscar winning movies based on books: Oscars 2017 created a buzz in the social circles for more than just the awards. The gaffe around the best film put social media on a tizzy after Moonlight grabbed the best film award from the highly nominated La La Land. But, what might not have grabbed the eyeballs are the lesser known facts about the movies up there on the stage. Did you know, perhaps, that Hidden Figures starring Taraji P Henson, is actually, based on a non- fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly? Or that Moonlight is based on a play titled, unpublished play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney. Not just Oscar 2017, some of the epic and best film frontrunners over the years have been inspired by books.

For the book nerd in you, here’s a look at some of classics inspired by books:

The Godfather: Consider talking about best films and not mentioning the crime-drama, Godfather, is a crime in itself. Nominated for 11 Oscars, the Godfather is, perhaps, one of the most popular Oscar winning movies based on books. Touted as one of the greatest films in American cinema, the movie is inspired by celebrated writer, Mario Puzo’s best selling crime novel of the same name.

The Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins and Jadie Foster shine in this 1991 thriller around a cannibalistic psychiatrist and an FBI trainee. The film went on to be nominated for seven academy awards, winning five out of them. Interestingly, the movie is actually an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ 1981 novel, The Silence of the Lambs.

The Lord of the Rings: One cannot talk about blockbusters without the mention of The Lord of the Rings. The massively popular fantasy adventure film is, in fact, one of the Oscar winning movies based on books. The fantasy series is an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s book series of the same name. The series won a huge number of awards at the Oscars and is particularly remembered for the third film – The Return of the King – which won all the 11 awards it was nominated for.

Forest Gump:  Another film made famous by Tom Hanks, Forest Gump is an adaptation of Winston Groom’s 1986 novel of the same name and is perhaps one of the better known Oscar winning movies based on books. The film went on to win six major awards at the Oscars, including best picture and a best actor awards for Hanks.

The three-week budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly will begin here on Friday.

Speaker Abu Taher Mondal said the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly had finalised nine working days for the government and six days for private members business. The session will conclude on March 24.

Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who holds additional charge of Meghalaya, would deliver his customary address to the legislature on the opening day of the session, Mondal said.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma will present on March 15 the budget for 2017-18, which will also be the last budget of the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government as the state goes to polls, Mondal said.

The opposition United Democratic Party, Hill State People's Democratic Party and National People's Party said they would raise several issues, including the crime against women and children.

Independent legislator Julius Kitbok Dorphang, who supports the Mukul Sangma-led government, was arrested on January 6 on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl.

The minor was also allegedly sexually exploited at Marvelene's Inn, owned by the family members of Home Minister Horju Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh.

Lyngdoh has refused to step down despite demands for his resignation in the wake of the sex racket in his family-owned guest house.

Meghalaya Police have chargesheeted Dorphang and five others in connection with the case of human trafficking and sexual abuse.

The three-week budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly will begin here on Friday.

Speaker Abu Taher Mondal said the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly had finalised nine working days for the government and six days for private members business. The session will conclude on March 24.

Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who holds additional charge of Meghalaya, would deliver his customary address to the legislature on the opening day of the session, Mondal said.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma will present on March 15 the budget for 2017-18, which will also be the last budget of the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government as the state goes to polls, Mondal said.

The opposition United Democratic Party, Hill State People's Democratic Party and National People's Party said they would raise several issues, including the crime against women and children.

Independent legislator Julius Kitbok Dorphang, who supports the Mukul Sangma-led government, was arrested on January 6 on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl.

The minor was also allegedly sexually exploited at Marvelene's Inn, owned by the family members of Home Minister Horju Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh.

Lyngdoh has refused to step down despite demands for his resignation in the wake of the sex racket in his family-owned guest house.

Meghalaya Police have chargesheeted Dorphang and five others in connection with the case of human trafficking and sexual abuse.

Silver recaptured the Rs.44,000-mark with prices rising by Rs.200 on increased offtake by domestic industries while gold held steady at the bullion market on Thursday.

Gold remained flat at Rs.30,000 per 10 grams in scattered deals even as it weakened overseas while silver rose to Rs.44,050 per kg.

Traders attributed the rise in silver prices to pick up in demand from industrial units at the domestic spot market.

Globally, gold fell 0.24 per cent to USD 1,246 an ounce and silver 0.05 per cent to USD 18.38 in Singapore.

In the national capital, silver ready shot up by Rs.200 to Rs.44,050 per kg while weekly-based delivery rose by Rs.170 to Rs.43,320 per kg.

Silver coins, however, continued to be at the previous level of Rs.74,000 for buying and Rs.75,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

On the other hand, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity held steady at Rs.30,000 and Rs.29,850 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs.150 on Wednesday.

Sovereign, however, remained unchanged at Rs.24,500 per piece of eight grams.

Silver recaptured the Rs.44,000-mark with prices rising by Rs.200 on increased offtake by domestic industries while gold held steady at the bullion market on Thursday.

Gold remained flat at Rs.30,000 per 10 grams in scattered deals even as it weakened overseas while silver rose to Rs.44,050 per kg.

Traders attributed the rise in silver prices to pick up in demand from industrial units at the domestic spot market.

Globally, gold fell 0.24 per cent to USD 1,246 an ounce and silver 0.05 per cent to USD 18.38 in Singapore.

In the national capital, silver ready shot up by Rs.200 to Rs.44,050 per kg while weekly-based delivery rose by Rs.170 to Rs.43,320 per kg.

Silver coins, however, continued to be at the previous level of Rs.74,000 for buying and Rs.75,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

On the other hand, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity held steady at Rs.30,000 and Rs.29,850 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs.150 on Wednesday.

Sovereign, however, remained unchanged at Rs.24,500 per piece of eight grams.

With battle of ballots for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly entering the last phase, the focus of all political parties has shifted to the holy city of Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constitunecy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The saffron party which has a lot at stake in the last two phases of polling scheduled for March 4 and 8 has moved its war room to Varanasi, entrusting union ministers and senior leaders with the task of strengthening the campaign with the prime minister in the vanguard.

The BJP also faced with the target of quelling resentment in certain quarters over senior leaders being denied party ticket in these elections.

The importance of the area comprising 89 constituencies, which go to polls in 14 districts of on March 4 and 8, is strengthened by the fact that the prime minister is scheduled to address public meetings in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi on March 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Following in the footsteps of the BJP is the SP-Congress combine which has also shifted its focus to Varanasi and its campaign strategist Prashant Kishor and his team members are busy crafting Varanasi area-specific strategy.

Taking the BJP and PM head on, the SP-Congress has launched a "Dard-e-Banaras" campaign highlighting the disillusionment among the electorate over Modi's "false promises and no delivery".

Team PK has launched three videos of less than two-minute each which are played from the campaign raths or video vans around Varanasi.

Kishor claims that till date they have reached about 2,00,000 Facebook and Whatsapp users around Varanasi within a span of just a couple of days.

The volunteers of the team are also holding door-to-door campaign armed with publicity materials and personal letters from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and street plays.

Central leaders are holding press conferences to keep the pot boiling till the D-day.

With battle of ballots for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly entering the last phase, the focus of all political parties has shifted to the holy city of Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constitunecy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The saffron party which has a lot at stake in the last two phases of polling scheduled for March 4 and 8 has moved its war room to Varanasi, entrusting union ministers and senior leaders with the task of strengthening the campaign with the prime minister in the vanguard.

The BJP also faced with the target of quelling resentment in certain quarters over senior leaders being denied party ticket in these elections.

The importance of the area comprising 89 constituencies, which go to polls in 14 districts of on March 4 and 8, is strengthened by the fact that the prime minister is scheduled to address public meetings in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi on March 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Following in the footsteps of the BJP is the SP-Congress combine which has also shifted its focus to Varanasi and its campaign strategist Prashant Kishor and his team members are busy crafting Varanasi area-specific strategy.

Taking the BJP and PM head on, the SP-Congress has launched a "Dard-e-Banaras" campaign highlighting the disillusionment among the electorate over Modi's "false promises and no delivery".

Team PK has launched three videos of less than two-minute each which are played from the campaign raths or video vans around Varanasi.

Kishor claims that till date they have reached about 2,00,000 Facebook and Whatsapp users around Varanasi within a span of just a couple of days.

The volunteers of the team are also holding door-to-door campaign armed with publicity materials and personal letters from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and street plays.

Central leaders are holding press conferences to keep the pot boiling till the D-day.

Picking up roads less taken for an adventurous trip is a smart decision for any travel enthusiast willing to take up risk and discover unexplored destinations. One such destination less travelled lies in the queen of hills – Himachal Pradesh. Chitkul is the place. You might have been to many beautiful and fun-filled destinations in the majestic Himachal Pradesh, but without a visit to Chitkul village that exists peacefully on the Indo-China border, your trip to Himachal is definitely incomplete.

Aptly called the ‘last village of India’, Chitkul exists in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh and is home to around 600 habitants. In fact, this is the only destination where one can travel to without a permit unlike other places with international boundaries. Anyone planning to go beyond the village requires prior permission due to stringent border security regulations.

Words cannot define the beauty of Chitkul. The Indo-Tibet trade route is definitely an attraction for avid explorers. Also, the crystal clear Baspa river flowing by the village is really breathtaking. One can also camp at the river bank of Baspa. The immense natural beauty, the magnificent surrounding of snow-peaked Himalayan mountains, meadows, small wooden cottages, houses with slate or wooden plank roof, a Buddhist monastery and a small bus stand give a picturesque sight of Chitkul. Not to miss the hindustan ka akhri dhaba (India's last food joint) located in the akhri village (last village), Chitkul. The village gives different shades of beauty with each changing seasons.
 

When to travel:

The place is usually cold and windy during the summer or mid-winter time and spine-chilling cold during the winters. To catch up with the awestruck panoramic views it is better to plan your trip between April to October.

The roads to Chitkul are usually closed between November to March as the snowfall makes the road difficult to drive on. Travelling to Chitkul is no less than a daredevil act as one has to pass through one of the world’s dangerous roads of Kinnaur district, which are dreadfully steep, narrow and bumpy.

While going to Chitkul you can also enjoy some of the captivating views of Reckong Peo, Sangla valley, Charang Pass, Kalpa and Kinnaur Kailash mountains, forested slopes of tall green pine trees.

Distance and routes:

Chitkul is almost 600 km from New Delhi. No direct bus connectivity is there to this destination, so one has to switch from Reckong Peo to Kalpa and from Kalpa to Chitkul. Anyone travelling in a cab will take the same 13 hours tiring journey without any halt. Best is to take halt at Sangla valley and Kalpa and then move to Chitkul so that you don’t miss out an inch of beauty and joy of Kinnaur district in Himachal.

Important tips:

There are some important things that you should bear in mind while planning your trip to Chitkul. This is undoubtedly a ‘Must Visit’ place for everyone, however the village prefers nature loving and peace seeking people. One who has time for himself/herself and for the nature. You won’t get mobile network on your arrival but the long gone PCO booth still ticking. No ATM booths. So carry cash. If you are interested in going to the Indo-Tibet border, there are some local people who can assist you on getting the permit.