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      Deepika Padukone Gone are the times when the actresses used to be mere arm-candies, props, or the hero's squeeze. 2013 marked a watershed moment for Indian cinema and several Bollywood actresses became a name to reckon with. A special mention for Deepika Padukone here; the actress has acquired a Salman Khan-like superstar status. Read on. Bollywood is a man's world, they say. But female screen scorchers like Deepika Padukone and Sonakshi Sinha surprised the audiences and critics with their performances this year, while others like Nimrat Kaur and Huma Qureshi impressed with their finesse in non-commercial outings. IANS takes a look (in alphabetical order of name) at the women who impressed with their choice of roles in tinsel town in 2013: Deepika Padukone - In 2013, Deepika scored what's a rarity for an actress in the Hindi film industry - four back-to-back hits. The success of " Race 2 ", " Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ", "

Statins are a group of cholesterol lowering drugs, prescribed to prevent heart disease. But, now there is an increasing awareness of the side effects of long term use of these drugs, with many looking to switch to natural alternatives. This is useful for people with high cholesterol due to dietary absorption. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating certain foods can lower your cholesterol levels just as well as drugs do, sometimes proving to be more effective. Cholesterol lowering food components include dietary fibres, good fats, phytosterols and some vitamins. In this particular study, researchers found that foods such as soy protein, tofu, various other soy products, nuts and cereal fiber, as well as plant sterols, can lower total cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), better than statin drugs. Other less commonly known compounds and nutrients with cholesterol lowering benefits include probiotics like l

    India is checking the tax statuses of Americans working at schools in the country, after the arrest this month of an Indian diplomat in New York. Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed and strip-searched while in custody. Her detention on charges of visa fraud and underpayment of her housekeeper sparked outrage in India. India would no longer turn a blind eye to tax violations by diplomats' spouses taking up work in the country, Reuters cited an unnamed official as saying. Delhi has also withdrawn some privileges enjoyed by American diplomats and their families in the country, added the official. "Spouses and children have no more immunity. So if there is a parking offence or... something else happening in Bangalore etcetera, they would be held liable." The US embassy declined to comment on the latest steps. While US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed his "regret" over Ms Khobragade's arrest, t

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet of six ministers, sworn in on Saturday, comprises of two former journalists, a legal campaigner, an architect, a software engineer and a social worker -- all under 50 years age, the youngest cabinet that Delhi has had. Arvind Kejriwal, 45: Activist-turned-politician is Delhi's seventh and youngest chief minister. A graduate in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, Kejriwal left his government job as an Indian Revenue Service officer to become an activist. A Magsaysay award winner for his campaign for transparent government and people's right to information, Kejriwal shot into prominence after he joined Gandhian Anna Hazare's anti-corruption crusade. He formed the Aam Admi Party (AAP) a year back. He is from Siwani village in Haryana's Bhiwani district. He has kept the portfolios of home, finance, planning, power and vigilance with him. Manish Sisodia, 41: Former jo

Google is wishing its users happy holidays with this year's Christmas Eve doodle. Unlike most of Google's recent doodles, this one is not interactive, and has a plain image depicting two people riding a horse-driven sled in a barren winter landscape. The latest Google doodle features a message from the company when users roll their cursors over it, saying "Happy Holidays from Google!" The doodle first appeared early December 24th morning, or Christmas Eve, for regions near the international dateline, such as New Zealand. It is now visible in India as well, at the google.co.in page. On clicking the image, users are redirected to a Google search page, with results for the search term 'Happy Holidays' being shown. Unfortunately, the results page doesn't show too much cheer, with news results, followed by images and videos, and a relatively irrelevant Wikipedia entry for the song, "Happy Holiday", written by Irving Berlin in

‘Dhoom 3’ is one of the most anticipated sequels in the year 2013, and the reason is that for the first time Aamir Khan plays a negative lead. The director, Vijay Krishna Acharya makes it work in wonderful ways for the movie. It’s an Aamir fiesta all the way! Iqbal (Jackie Shroff), a magician and modern circus owner, has a huge debt from a popular American bank, Western Chicago Bank, in the 1990s. After his only dream – ‘The Great Indian Circus’- is broken, Iqbal commits suicide. Aamir Khan, who plays his son Sahir, decides to avenge his father’s death by making sure that the bank closes down due to repeated robberies. What leaves the police perplexed is how the robber manages to escape every single time pulling off fantastic bike stunts and appearing out of nowhere. The only clue he leaves is a note in Hindi on the walls of the bank he has looted. Then come, two cops (Jai and Ali) from India to solve this series of robberies in Chicago. To reveal any more would

आज म्हटल आयुष्य विणायला घेउया जमतंय का ते बघुया वाटलं अगदी सोप्पं असेल रंगसंगती जमून आली की आयुष्यही सुंदर दिसेल प्रश्न पडला धागे कोणकोणते घ्यायचे एक दोनच की सगळेच वापरायचे मग ठरवलं फक्त छान छानच धागे घेऊ एक काय दोन काय सगळेच एकमेकांत वीणू सुरुवात केली वात्सल्याच्या धाग्याने धागा होता फार उबदार आणि मुलायम म्हटलं छान आहे हा धागा धाग्याने ह्या विण राहील कायम मग घेतला मैत्रीचा धागा म्हणता म्हणता ब-याच भरल्या जागा थोड थोड आयुष्य आकार घेऊ लागलेलं पण अजुनही बरचसं विणायच बाकी राहिलेलं एक एक धागा आशेचा, सुखाचा आणि आनंदाचा घेतला प्रत्येक धाग्यात तो आपसुकच गुंफत गेला हळू हळू विण घट्ट होत होती तरीदेखील कसली तरी कमी मात्र होती मग घेतला एक नाजुक प्रेमाचा धागा धागा होता सुंदर आणि रेशमी धाग्याने त्या आयुष्याला अर्थ आला लागुनी एक एक घेतला धागा यशाचा, कीर्तीचा आणि अस्तित्वाचा आयुष्याला त्यामुळे एक नवा उद्देश्य मिळाला सगळेच धागे छान, सुंदर आणि प्रसन्न होते तरीदेखील त्यांच्यातल्या एकसारखीपणाने मन मात्र खिन्न होते थोडेे धागे पडले होते निवांत बसून असेच म्हटल बघुया

Security experts have uncovered a trove of some 2 million stolen passwords   to websites including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yahoo from internet users across the globe. Researchers with Trustwave's SpiderLabs said they discovered the credentials while investigating a server in the Netherlands that cybercriminals use to control a massive network of compromised computers known as the "Pony botnet." The company said that it has reported its findings to the largest of more than 90,000 websites and internet service providers whose customers' credentials it had found on the server. The data includes more than 3,26,000 Facebook accounts, some 60,000 Google accounts, more than 59,000 Yahoo accounts and nearly 22,000 Twitter accounts, according to SpiderLabs. Victims' were from the United States, Germany, Singapore and Thailand, among other countries. Representatives for Facebook and Twitter said the companies have reset the passwords of aff

We're excited to share Prime Air — something the team has been working on in our next generation R&D lab. The goal of this new delivery system is to get packages into customers' hands in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles. Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take some number of years as we advance the technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations. Check out this footage from a recent test flight.  Is this science fiction or is this real? A: It looks like science fiction, but it's real. From a technology point of view, we'll be ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is actively working on rules for unmanned aerial vehicles. Q: When will I be able to choose Prime Air as a delivery option? A: We hope the FAA's rules will be in place as early as sometime in 2015. We will be ready at that time. Q: How are you going to ensu