Mallika Sherawat’s Cannes appearance: highly innovative

Seems like the babe is in love with French designer Ali Mahdavi’s work, which is why we get to see her in the stylist’s creation, once again! Gone are the days when Mallika Sherawat obsessed over a bold and beautiful style. The babe is fixated on the idea of flaunting an unconventional look lately. Ms Sherawat’s first appearance at Cannes, in a dress which was stitched by Ali on the spot for her was quite appreciated by fashion critics. But looks like the babe is greedy for more compliments, and as she raises the ante when it comes to her fashion statements at this prestigious film festival, we are starting to expect more from the actor in terms of style. We loved Mallika’s light brown body-hugging gown that she chose to wear on the red carpet yesterday. The hood attached to the dress and the drape effect on the bottom of the gown get an enthusiastic thumbs-up from us. The feline style eye make-up and the classic hairdo complement her bizarre gown. Although the prominent sweat patch disappoints us, Mallika makes up for that faux pas by carrying herself amazingly. The hood lends a very sinister feel to the elegant dress, and we can’t help but wonder if this is the actor’s way of bringing her alter ego to the fore! Do tell us, what do you think about her unusual dress? Source: BollywoodLife

Arjun Rampal’s Cannes look: Ethnic and stylish

A princely looking Arjun Rampal sashayed down the red carpet at Cannes in a Rohit Bal creation, leaving us awestruck Till a few days ago, Arjun Rampal was extremely confused about what to wear at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival. And after a lot of hemming and hawing, he chose to don close friend’s Rohit Bal’s creation. We are mighty impressed with Arjun’s fashion statement at the festival and we think he looks hot in Jodhpur pants, which he teamed up with a stylish bandhgala jacket. His moustache and those pointy shoes complement his cool royal look, and with beautiful Mehr by his side, the actor looks no less than a handsome prince strutting around with his princess. Mehr looks gorgeous in an orange floor-length gown. Arjun has come a long way – from walking the ramp to walking the red carpet. A successful model at one time, Rampal couldn’t resist the temptation of tinsel town. He decided to take the plunge and started his acting career with Ashok Mehta’s Moksh. Trashed by critics for his wooden expressions and substandard thespian skills, Rampal continued his struggle and nothing could alter his determination to make it in Bollywood; not even all the criticism. Over the years there hasn’t been any significant improvement in the way the actor expresses himself onscreen, but he still remains one of the most sought-after faces. And as he makes an appearance at this prestigious film festival as the brand ambassador of a liquor brand, wethinks it’s his charm and determination that has brought him to this coveted platform today. What do you think? Source: BollywoodLife

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan finds a supporter in Kajol!

The yummy mummy is furious about the continuous criticism faced by Ash for her post-pregnancy weight gain After Sonali Bendre and Lara Dutta, Kajol, who has managed to get back into great shape after two kids, recently defended Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the ho-haa over her post-pregnancy weight-gain. During an interview, the outspoken actor, Kads snapped at a journo for asking her to comment on Ash’s fuller figure. “It’s stupid to have this conversation. Everyone has the right to their lives and to look the way they want to!” she said. Mrs Devgn didn’t stop at that. “Tomorrow I can put on 25 kilos… it’s my choice, my body! She’s (Aishwarya) at home, taking care of her baby. As long as it doesn’t affect her work, I don’t understand why it should be under discussion,” said the gorgeous mommy. Meanwhile, the former beauty queen isn’t affected by the constant media censure on her weight gain. At the 65th Cannes International Film Festival Ash said, “An actor is in the public eye so there will be opinions. And yes there is negativity, but I am blessed – the positivity is so much more that the negativity is just a drop. It slides right off. It doesn’t stick.” We like the fact that all the yummy mummies of B-town are standing up for Mrs Bachchan, and we hope Ash derives some inspiration from their support. Source: BollywoodLife

Suspected Chinese spy met with vice farm minister

A senior vice minister at the farm ministry admitted Wednesday he had met the Chinese diplomat suspected of spying, among other unlawful activities, a revelation the opposition plans to press the government about in the Diet.

Nobutaka Tsutsui, senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told reporters they met at his office while leading a project to promote Japanese agricultural exports to China, but denied any "close ties" to the diplomat or that he had ever given him classified material. The 45-year-old diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo left Japan after rejecting a request by Tokyo police to submit to questioning in mid-May over allegations he opened bank accounts using fraudulent documents and engaged in commercial activities in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano said Wednesday he has ordered a team headed by the ministry's senior vice minister, Tsukasa Iwamoto, to investigate whether any classified information was leaked to the diplomat. The team is set to question Tsutsui and complete a midterm report by early June. "As there have been media reports (suggesting a leak), it is important that we investigate appropriately," Kano said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a press conference that the government would make sure the investigative team "gets the facts straight." The diplomat was involved in a project, launched in December 2010 by Tsutsui and a Chinese state-owned firm, to introduce agricultural products at a fair in Beijing to promote Japanese firms in the Chinese market, according to ministry sources. A secretary of a Lower House member close to Kano pushed for the project as an adviser to the farm ministry. The secretary later became the representative of the council behind the project and was actively involved in raising funds from member companies and in negotiations with the Chinese. The fair, scheduled for last summer, was put off due to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis triggered by the March 11 megaquake and tsunami. Meanwhile, negotiations between China and Japan on the subsequent quarantine have not progressed. According to the sources, the Chinese diplomat met repeatedly with Tsutsui and the secretary, and he also accompanied a ministry official on an inspection trip to Hokkaido. The Liberal Democratic Party and its ally, New Komeito, agreed Wednesday to raise questions in the Diet regarding any involvement between Tsutsui, or other senior ranking government officials, and the Chinese diplomat. At their meeting Wednesday, LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara and his New Komeito counterpart, Yoshihisa Inoue, said their parties will take up the issue "with grave concern" in view of the fact that the diplomat had extensive contact with members of Japan's political and business circles. In another development, the Contemporary Asian Economy Research Institute and Hamamatsu University said Wednesday the diplomat had falsified his resume to say he had been a visiting researcher at the private university in Shizuoka Prefecture between 2002 and 2004. The resume was submitted to the Tokyo research institute, to which he belongs as a researcher. The institute said it did not verify his record when it uploaded his resume onto its home page, while the university said the diplomat only participated in a Japan-China joint seminar in 2001 and was not employed as a visiting researcher. The Chinese side asked the university if the diplomat could be employed but the talks were never concluded, the university said. The diplomat, whose name was not provided, was fluent in Japanese and received a master's degree in local administration from Fukushima University in 1997, reports said Tuesday. Source: JapanTimes

Vatican shows rare public anger over leak

The Vatican expressed rare public anger Wednesday in blasting the leaking of private papers from the pope's apartment, a scandal that observers say lifts the lid on a secret power struggle going on behind the closed doors of the Catholic Church. A top Roman Catholic Church official called the theft of the documents "an immoral act of unprecedented gravity" and "despicable abuse of the relationship of trust that exists between Benedict XVI and those who turn to him." Archbishop Angelo Becciu made the remarks to the Vatican's official newspaper six days after the pope's butler was arrested for leaking the papers. Paolo Gabriele, 46, was arrested Wednesday on accusations of illegal possession of confidential documents, the Vatican said in a statement issued three days after the arrest. With the leaks, the pope's very ministry "has come under attack," Becciu said. The pope himself referred briefly to the scandal at the end of his regular Wednesday audience, his first public remarks on the matter. He criticized reports about the affair as "entirely gratuitous" and presenting "a completely unrealistic image of the Holy See." But experts say that exactly the opposite may be the truth, and that the arrest, alongside the firing of the head of the Vatican Bank a day later, may reveal the battle going on behind the scenes at the Vatican. The two events are bad PR for the top hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, but they may be more than that, experts say. They could affect who becomes the next pope. The effect of each one is the same: to weaken the authority of Pope Benedict XVI's second in command. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, is involved in a power struggle with his predecessor, experts say. "The reason for this fight is that the secretary of state will have a strong influence over the next conclave which will choose the next pope," said Giacomo Galeazzi, a journalist at the Italian daily La Stampa. The late John Paul II's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, is trying to sideline Bertone and put one of his own proeteges in place before Benedict dies, Galeazzi said. "The leaks will end when Bertone is out as secretary of state," he predicted. He said he expects that Bertone, who will be 78 in December, would be replaced at the end of the year, but not by the cardinal Sodano wants. Sodano, who is now the dean of the College of Cardinals, isn't the only one who doesn't like Bertone, said the Rev. Thomas Reese, author of "Inside the Vatican." When he became Vatican Secretary of State, Bertone "did what normally happens. He brought in his team, the people he likes, the people he trusts, and he put them in key positions in the Vatican," Reese said. "There are people who had hitched their star to the previous secretary of state who thought by now they would become an archbishop or a cardinal, and they didn't," Reese said. "These people are unhappy and don't like Bertone." Part of the reason for the butler and bank scandals is that the Vatican hasn't been run well in decades, Reese said. "Clerics don't go to Harvard Business School. Bertone is a theologian. He doesn't have an MBA," he said. And Benedict is no better, he said. "He is a German professor. He's a person who is into ideas, not a manager, and yet he is running a 1.2-billion member organization," Reese said. There's a faction within the Vatican that wants the next pope to be "a better manger who can get the shop in order," Reese said. "A lot of people think that would be an Italian, of course," after two popes from outside of Italy, John Paul II from Poland and Benedict from Germany, he said. But the undermining of Bertone may work against that faction, he said. "Bertone is from the Vatican and is Italian," Reese pointed out. "People may say we need somebody from outside who can come in and knock heads together and make it work." Reese isn't taking a position on where the next pope should be from, but he has strong views on what Benedict's successor should do: "The place really needs to be restructured and reorganized. It still operates in many ways like a 19th century European court." Source: CNN

Death toll from Italy earthquake rises

Medolla, Italy (CNN) -- The death toll from a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Italy rose to 17 after the discovery of another body, officials said Wednesday, as questions were asked about why factory buildings collapsed. The latest body was found in the rubble of the collapsed factory in the area of Medolla, Italy's civil protection agency said. The prosecutor's office in the province of Modena, where the quake was centered, opened an investigation Wednesday into the cause of death of the quake victims, many of whom were factory workers. Investigators will examine how the factories were built and why they couldn't withstand an earthquake of Tuesday's magnitude. Modena's chief prosecutor, Vito Zincani, told CNN that as modern buildings, they should have remained standing. Most of the modern structures in the area were not damaged, he said, so the fact that some factories collapsed "shows an anomaly that needs investigation." Look at high-resolution images of the disaster The earthquake, which forced thousands of people from their homes, came nine days after a 6.0-magnitude quake struck the same region, killing seven people. Tuesday's quake, which struck at about 9 a .m. local when many people had begun work, was followed by dozens of aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded one of 5.6 magnitude. Italian ministers met Wednesday morning and decided on several measures to be taken in the aftermath of the quake. The government declared a state of emergency in the quake area and set June 4 as a national day of mourning, according to a press statement. An extra two-cent tax will also be added to gasoline to help finance the recovery effort, it said. Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano, Prime Minister Mario Monti and the speakers of both Italian houses of parliament on the earthquake met later Wednesday at the presidential palace in Rome to discuss the disaster. The towns of Mirandola and Cavezzo, northwest of the city of Bologna, were closest to the epicenter, civil protection authorities said. Witnesses reported on Twitter that Cavezzo was about 70% destroyed. Pictures purportedly from the town, as well as a video stream from Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, show damaged and destroyed buildings. Churches and historic structures were among the affected buildings. In the small town of Novi di Modena, a 65-year-old priest died inside his church as he tried to save its statue of the Madonna. Construction workers who were out surveying the damage in Medolla were emotional as they spoke of their experiences a day earlier. Mohmammed Mouhalhal told CNN he was at work when the earthquake struck. He and his fellow construction workers now fear for their jobs and their safety, he said. He said no one could sleep Tuesday night and they stayed outside for fear of further quakes. Some 50 tremors were felt in the area overnight. Italian authorities are still assessing the economic impact of the earthquakes on the region, which lies in northern Italy, the heartland of the country's manufacturing industry. Leaders of agricultural and industrial organizations, speaking to Italian media, have estimated the cost of the disaster at nearly one billion euros. The Italian daily newspaper Repubblica puts the damage to the biomedical industry in Medolla alone at about €600 million ($751 million). Many cheese makers are also among those affected. Stefano Berni, president of the consortium that makes Grana Padano, a hard cheese similar to Parmesan, told CNN that some 350,000 whole cheeses, each weighing 40 kilograms (88 pounds), had been shaken to the ground. No more than 40% of those are likely to be salvageable, he said, leading to estimated losses of €70 million ($88 million). About 600 cheese producers located in the area north of the earthquake epicenter have suffered damage to their production centers and warehouses, he said. About 50,000 families, including the milk producers and cheese makers, work for the industry. Other factories and warehouses that have not been damaged by the quake will still suffer losses because they have had to halt production for safety checks. Geophysicist Antonio Piersanti, of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, told Corriere della Sera that it was possible more earthquakes could follow in the coming weeks. The last significant earthquake in this area was in 1571. It was followed by about four years of aftershocks.

North Korea proclaims itself a nuclear state in new constitution

North Korea proclaimed itself a "nuclear state" this week following a revision of its constitution earlier this year. Kim Jong-Il has "transferred the country into an undefeated country with strong political ideology, a nuclear power state, and invincible military power," according to the updated constitution posted on its portal website Naenara. The website posted the revised constitution on Wednesday, according to Yonhap, the South Korean state affiliated news agency.

The statement looks all too familiar. North Korea previously announced its nuclear capability through its state-run broadcaster and newspapers, "but no expression can be stronger than including it in their constitution," Professor Choi Jong Kun of Yonsei University told CNN. "It is an announcement of confirmation," he added, "and it appears to be directed to the U.S. and other relevant nations." The communist state carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Pyongyang recently announced that it will press on with its nuclear program in response to what it calls "hostility from the United States." A defense publication, IHS Janes, also said it detected signs of activities ramping up at North Korea's nuclear test site, raising speculation Pyongyang may be preparing for a third nuclear test. Source: CNN