IPL clash gets bigger as Bollywood enters the picture

Finally, the big Bollywood is ready to face off with the IPL. A slew of exciting movies by prominent production houses, with an estimated Rs 175-200 crore riding on them, will be released between April 4 and May 27 when the IPL's fifth edition takes place.

The big and medium budget movies slated for release during this period include Sajid Nadiadwala's " Housefull 2", Priyadarshan's " Tezz" starring Ajay Devgan, Mukesh Bhatt's "Jannat 2", Vikram Bhatt's 3D film "Dangerous Ishhq", Yash Raj Films's "Ishaqzaade" and Viacom 18 Motion Picture's action-thriller "Department". Besides, some small-budget films will also hit theaters the same time.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta says that while the IPL was a novel concept in the first few years, now the feeling is that the real excitement is only during the last few days of the finals. "Hence, filmmakers are confident of releasing their films during this period," says Nahta.

Moreover, the film industry has grown confident in the last two years with quite a few movies crossing the Rs 100 crore mark, says Rakesh Jariwala of Ernst & Young's entertainment division. In fact, Bollywood now believes it can even use the IPL as a platform to market its films, he adds.

During the first three IPL seasons, multiplex capacity utilization dipped. The event was dubbed as "a black window" where few big distributors dared release their films. Some exhibitors, in fact, preferred to project the IPL games rather than show a movie. The tide turned with IPL 4 when the T20 league's TAM ratings showed a dip. Last year, over 20 films were released during the period, including low-budget hits like "Stanley Ka Dabba".

Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt says, "We locked horns with IPL 1 with the release of Jannat in 2008. There's no change now as Jannat 2 releases as per schedule. Let's see who entertains better."

Oil higher in Asia trade on Chinese demand hopes

Oil was higher in Asian trade today after figures showing a rise in manufacturing activity in China, the world's largest energy user, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May, gained 33 cents to USD 103.35 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for May settlement was up 44 cents at USD 123.32.

Official data released yesterday showed China's manufacturing activity rose to the highest level in a year in March, energising oil prices, analysts said.

"China's manufacturing data helped edge up oil prices with hopes of strengthening demand (from the world's second biggest economy), said Justin Harper, market strategist at IG Markets Singapore.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Sunday the official purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 53.1 from 51 in February, helped by an increase in new orders.

It marked the fourth consecutive month of expansion for manufacturing activity. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction.

Tensions between the West and major crude producer Iran continue to lend support to oil prices as investors fret over possible supply disruptions from the Islamic republic.

The two sides are at odds over Iran's nuclear programme which Tehran has said is for civilian purposes but the United States and its allies believe the country is working towards nuclear weapons capability.

Iran has previously threatened to shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz -- a conduit for a fifth of global oil supply -- if it is hit by further sanctions from the West.

Jagan defends land allotments done by YSR Govt

 Maintaining that Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's regime made land allotments for employment generation purposes, Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy has asked why the CBI did not look into the allotment of lands made during the previous TDP rule.

Reacting to the CBI chargesheet filed in the illegal assets case involving him, Jagan, while speaking at his 'Odarpu Yatra' here last night, defended the land allotments during his late father's regime.

"The lands were allotted to private companies in backward Mahaboobnagar and Medak districts to generate large scale employment," he said.

"Why the CBI cannot see the land allocation in the heart of Hyderabad made by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu at throw away prices and also during the present Congress government," he asked.

Meanwhile, unfazed by the developments in the case involving him, Jagan is going ahead with campaign in Assembly segments where bypolls will be held.

He is scheduled to tour Narsapuram and Polavaram constituencies in West Godavari district from today. These two assembly seats are among the 17 constituencies where the by-elections are due.

The bypolls in 16 of the 17 seats are necessitated by the disqualification of Congress MLAs who switched loyalty to Jagan and voted against the Congress government in a floor test held in December last year, while another MLA quit in support of Kadapa MP.

32 people killed in Russian plane crashes in Siberia

At least 32 people were killed and 11 survivors have been taken to hospital, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on Monday. 

The ATR 72, a twin-engine, turbo-prop plane, with 43 people aboard, crashed some 30-35 km (18-22 miles) from the western Siberian city of Tyumen, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said. 

The mid-range plane belonging to Russian airline UTair crashed after taking off from Tyumen on a flight to Surgut, an oil town further north in Siberia. 

There were 39 passengers and four crew on board, according to preliminary information, Andrianova said.

Injured survivors were flown to hospital by helicopter after the plane caught fire following the crash, the cause of which was not immediately known, Russian news agencies reported. 

UTair has three ATR-72 craft made by the French-Italian manufacturer ATR, according to the airline's website. 

ATR is an equal partnership between two major European aeronautics players, Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, and EADS. 

The crash was the deadliest air disaster in Russia since a Yak-42 plane crashed into a riverbank near the city of Yaroslavl after takeoff on September 07, 2011, killing 44 people and wiping out the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team. 

President Dmitry Medvedev called for a reduction in the number of Russian airlines and improvements in crew training after that crash, which followed a June crash that killed 47 people including a navigator who had been drinking. 

Poonam Pandey upset over morphed nude image

The girl who thrives on shooting from the mouth statements, and uploading her bedroom antics videos seems to have turned a new leaf.

Post the morphed picture brouhaha in Kolkata that brought the city of Joy to a standstill, strip queen Poonam says she doesn't want unwanted controversies in her life. Poonam recently posted on Twitter saying, "I am really shocked and hurt over the incident in Kolkata, a fan made stupid morphed pic of mine was published by mistake on a News Paper.

Tweet Hearts and all my Fans round d World I do appreciate ur Love towards me but such edited/Morphed pix really hurt me. Please keep me away from any such unwanted controversies which could hurt one's sentiments."

The model's nude morphed picture is circulating on web, made by one of her fans, which showed a morphed image of a Pakistani cricketer bowing before the portrait of a Sachin Tendulkar and a nude Poonam. But this didn't go well with Kolkata citizens when an English daily published the morphed picture.

Suu Kyi says: she hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era

 Aung San Suu Kyi claimed victory on Monday in Myanmar's historic by-election, saying she hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era for the long-repressed country.

Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of cheering supporters who gathered outside her opposition party headquarters a day after her party claimed she had won a Parliamentary seat in the closely watched vote.

"The success we are having is the success of the people," Suu Kyi said. "It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country."

"We hope this will be the beginning of a new era," she said, as supporters chanted her name and thrust their hands into the air to flash "V'' for victory signs.

The election sets the stage for the former political prisoner to take public office for the first time and lead a small bloc of opposition lawmakers in Myanmar's military-dominated Parliament.

Official results are expected within the next few days.

If confirmed, the victory would mark a major milestone in the Southeast Asian nation that is emerging from a ruthless era of military rule and also an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world's most prominent prisoners of conscience.

The former junta had kept Suu Kyi imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a general election that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would so quickly make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official — opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.

Tatra trucks deal: CBI is set to grill Vectra chief today

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to grill Vectra Group chief Ravi Rishi once again on Monday in connection with the alleged bribery allegations made by Army Chief General VK Singh.

The central probe agency has questioned Vectra chief earlier in connection with the case.

The CBI has also issued a lookout notice against the British citizen to bar him from leaving the country. The probe agency has also confiscated his passport and alerted all airports and exit points to ensure that he does not leave the country.

The CBI in its First Information Report (FIR), registered earlier this week, had named Rishi, a London-based businessman who along with the Vectra Group also has majority stake in Tatra trucks, a Czech manufacturer.

The defence deal related to the sale of 7000 trucks to the Army came under scanner after Army chief General VK Singh had alleged that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe to clear a file related to purchase of trucks.

The CBI had on Friday raided Tatra offices in Bangalore and Delhi in search of evidence.

Public sector unit BEML buys Tatra parts from Vectra and assembles trucks in Bangalore that were then sold to the Army.

General VK Singh on Saturday named retired Lt General Tejinder Singh in his complaint to the CBI. He had earlier claimed that a lobbyist, who had "just" retired, offered him a bribe for clearing "sub-standard" vehicles and he had informed the Defence Minister about it. The Ministry had then recommended a CBI probe into the allegation made by the Army chief.

In view of the claims made by the Army Chief, the CBI may also question retired Lt General Tejinder Singh in connection with the case.

However, retired Lt General Tejinder Singh has refuted the allegations and filed a defamation suit against the Army Chief and four other officers.