Race 2 Update

Race 2 is a 2013 Bollywood action thriller film directed by Abbas-Mustan and produced under the Tips Music Films banner and is the first major release of the year. It is the sequel to the 2008 hit film, Race, and stars an ensemble cast that includes Anil Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan reprising their roles as Robert D'Costa and Ranveer Singh from the previous film while Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ameesha Patel are new additions to the cast. Bipasha Basu reprised her role of Sonia in a special appearance.[4] Made on a budget of INR60 crore (US$10.92 million),[3]Race 2 was released on 25 January 2013,[1] and opened with positive response at the box office.

Beating Retreat' brings curtains down on 2013 Republic Day celebrations

In New Delhi Lilting martial tunes and massed pipes and drum bands reverberated the air, while the majestic Raisina Hills was lit up as part of the ''Beating the Retreat'' ceremony here on Tuesday, bringing the curtains down on the 2013 Republic Day celebrations. 

Indian tunes were the flavour of ''Beating the Retreat'' ceremony this year also. 

As many as 18 of the 23 performances were composed by Indian musicians; just five popular tunes by foreign musicians were retained, interspersed four times with ''Fanfare'', a collage by Buglers, and the ''Drummers'' Call'', a traditional performance by only the drummers. 

President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, came from Rashtrapati Bhawan led by the President's BodyGuards (PBG), the oldest regiment of the Indian Army, to Vijay Chowk. 

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and their spouses also attended the ceremony that saw military bands, pipes and drums bands and bands of Navy and Air Force enchanting the audience. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister AK Antony, BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among the others present on the occasion. 

Army Chief General Bikram Singh, Navy Chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi and Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne were also present. 

Fourteen Military Bands, Six Pipes and Drums Bands from regimental centres and eleven Pipes and Drums Bands from battalions, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments performed during the ceremony. Besides, there were two Bands from the Navy and Air Force. 

Most of the tunes played by the Army's Military Bands were based on Indian tunes. Two new compositions, - ''Dhola Re Dhola'' by Maj. Gen. K.N. Bhatt and Maj. N. Hussain and ''Jitesh'' by Maj. Khem Chand, were also played. 

Other tunes which were played included ''Incredible India'', ''Independence March'', "Young India'' and ''Scipio''. Navy and Air Force band performed the tune of ''Man of War'', ''The Admiral Insignia'', ''Evening Breeze'' and ''Through the Great Ocean'' composed by Lt. Cdr. S.K. Champion, and other tunes were ''Astronaut'' and ''Sound Barrier'' composed by MWO JA George. 

The principal conductor of the Beating the Retreat ceremony was Lt. Cdr. S.K. Champion, while the military bands conductor was Sub. Maj. Inder Singh (Musician) and the Navy and Air Force bands commander was MCPO (Musician) Ramesh Chand. The Buglers performed under the leadership of Naib Subedar (Musician) Daya Ram Joshi and pipes and drum band were played under the instructions of Naib Subedar (Musician) Surinder Kumar. 

''Beating the Retreat'' has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded. The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands. 

''Beating Retreat'' marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates a nostalgia for the times gone by. 

JENNIFER LAWRENCE Award

JENNIFER LAWRENCE has addressed the supposed dress "malfunction" that made headlines at the 2013 SAG Awards. The Vogue cover girl confirmed what many of us already understood, that her Christian Dior Couture gown did not rip - despite what was reported in the tabloids.

"It's the way the dress was structured," the actress explained. "It's a tiered dress, which I didn't understand until I sat down and saw my thighs through sheer material and thought, 'What's going on?!' So yes, that was a surprise, but not a malfunction".

The moment in question occurred when the 22-year-old made her way to collect the award for Best Actress, for her turn in Silver Linings Playbook. Lawrence stumbled as she left her table and pulled up the top layer of the skirt as she walked, exposing the sheer panel underneath - which many assumed was a rip in the fabric.

"It was supposed to do that, though. I planned it," she joked. "I was concerned people would start talking about the award that I won, and my acting, so I thought I'd pull a stunt just to get things back to where they need to be."

Lawrence has been nominated in the Best Actress category at the 2013 Oscars, due to take place on February 24. 

Frank Ocean & Problem

Background information
Birth name Christopher Breaux
Born October 28, 1987 (age 25)
Long Beach, California
Origin New Orleans, Louisiana
Genres R&B[1][2][3]
Occupations Singer-songwriter[3]
Instruments Vocals, keyboards
Years active 2007–present
Labels Odd Future Records, Def Jam, The Island Def Jam Music Group
Associated acts Odd Future, Kanye West, Jay-Z
Website frankocean.com

Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Breaux; October 28, 1987), better known by his stage name Frank Ocean, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Ocean's early career was as a ghostwriter for artists such as Brandy, Justin Bieber, and John Legend. In 2010, he became a member of alternative hip hop collective OFWGKTA, and his debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, was released the following year to critical acclaim. He released two singles: "Novacane" and 'Swim Good", which both achieved chart success. The mixtape gained the interest of recording artists such as Kanye West, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z, and he consequently appeared on West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne album.

In 2012, the BBC announced that Ocean finished second place in its Sound of 2012 poll.[4] Ocean appeared at the Coachella Festival as well as at Lollapalooza at the end of his 2012 summer tour.[5]

His debut studio album, Channel Orange, was released in July 2012. The album was promoted with three charting singles: "Thinkin Bout You", "Pyramids", and "Sweet Life". Ocean wrote an open letter, intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange, that would preemptively address "speculation about his same-sex attraction;"[6] he instead blogged it on Tumblr.[7][8] Ocean became one of the first major African-American music artists to announce that he had fallen in love with someone of the same sex, notable because the industry is known for homophobia

Biotech Firms, Billions at Risk, Lobby States to Limit Generics

The complex drugs, made in living cells instead of chemical factories, account for roughly one-quarter of the nation’s $320 billion in spending on drugs, according to IMS Health. And that percentage is growing. They include some of the world’s best-selling drugs, like the rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis drugs Humira and Enbrel and the cancer treatments Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan. The drugs now cost patients — or their insurers — tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Two companies, Amgen and Genentech, are proposing bills that would restrict the ability of pharmacists to substitute generic versions of biological drugs for brand name products.

Bills have been introduced in at least eight states since the new legislative sessions began this month. Others are pending.

The Virginia House of Delegates already passed one such bill last week, by a 91-to-6 vote.

The companies and other proponents say such measures are needed to protect patient safety because the generic versions of biological drugs are not identical to the originals. For that reason, they are usually called biosimilars rather than generics.

Generic drug companies and insurers are taking their own steps to oppose or amend the state bills, which they characterize as pre-emptive moves to deter the use of biosimilars, even before any get to market.

Syria crisis: 'Bodies of executed men' found in Aleppo

The bodies of dozens of young men, all apparently summarily executed, have been found in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and activists say.

At least 65 bodies were found on the banks of the Quwaiq river in the western district of Bustan al-Qasr, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

Most had their hands tied behind their backs and gunshot wounds to the head.

Video footage of the gruesome discovery was posted by activists on YouTube.

It showed a large number of bodies strewn in and around the banks of the Quwaiq, which skirts the western side of Aleppo.

The bodies were caked in grey mud and showed signs of rigor mortis. There were also signs of blood having poured from many of the heads.

Rigor mortis, a stiffening of the limbs of a corpse, begins around three hours after death, peaks at around 12 hours and is completely dissipated some two days later.

Hotly contested

A captain in the rebel Free Syrian Army said some of those who had been killed were just teenagers.

He told the AFP news agency that many bodies were still in the water and the death toll might rise to 100.

One volunteer helping to load bodies on to a lorry said there was no identification on the bodies.

People were gathering at the bank to see if they could find their missing relatives, AFP reported.

"My brother disappeared weeks ago when he was crossing [through] the regime-held zone, and we don't know where he is or what has become of him," said Mohammed Abdul Aziz.

Activists say the victims had been killed after being arrested by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

A Syrian government source said that many of the victims had been kidnapped but accused "terrorists" - the term officials use to describe the rebels - of carrying out the kidnappings and killings.

"They were kidnapped by terrorist groups... and executed last night in a park in Bustan al-Qasr under their control," the source told AFP.

"Now these terrorist groups are creating a media campaign, showing the bodies being recovered from the Quwaiq river in an area under their control."

The river's source is in Turkey, but it flows through both government- and rebel-held territory in Syria.

The district of Bustan al-Qasr has been hotly contested since fighting broke out in Aleppo last July, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Beirut.

Aleppo had largely been spared the conflict until that point.

13 BJP MLAs loyal to BS Yeddyurappa resign

BANGALORE: As many as 13 BJP MLAs owing allegiance to former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa resigned from the assembly membership here on Tuesday, but Karnataka legislative assembly speaker KG Bopaiah declined to immediately accept their resignation letters with the exception of one member.

Even as he commenced a one-on-one discussions with the members who had resigned to find out whether it was on their violition or under duress, Bopaiah said he had sought opinion from Lok Sabha speaker's office. This because BJP MLA Belur Goplakrishna has petitioned the speaker to disqualify these rebel MLAs with the exception of Challakere (Chitradurga district) constituency MLA Thippeswamy for anti-party activities. The 13 MLAs who resigned included two former ministers Shobha Karandlaje and CM Udasi.

It was a day of developments with Bopaiah , who had come under fire by the rebel MLAs for not being available to them last week to resign, being present in his office in Vidhana soudha at 11 am. The 13 MLAs after holding a meeting in Udasi's residence came to the speaker's office and handed over their resignation letters. An hour later, Gopalakrishna petitioned the speaker to disqualify 12 MLAs for anti-party activities such as issuing statements against Shettar in the last couple of days.

Apart from the 12 MLAs, a petition to seek disqualification of MLCs B J Puttaswamy, Mumtaz Ali Khan, Mohan Limbikayi, Bharathi Shetty and Shivaraj Sajjan was also submitted to council secretary. Similar petitions against Yeddyurappa's son who is an MP from Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency BY Raghavendra, Shivakumar C Udasi and G S Basavaraj would be submitted to Lok Sabha speaker in a week's time, Gopalakrishna said.