LOS ANGELES, Apr 25: Television producer Dick Clark had routine prostate surgery the day before he died last week of a massive heart attack, according to his death certificate. Clark, who created long-running music show “American Bandstand” and produced the American Music Awards and the Golden Globes, died at a Santa Monica, California hospital on April 18, at the age of 82. (agencies)
Kimmel to “feast on stupid comments” at White House dinner
WASHINGTON, Apr 25: Late-night TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel admits he is anxious about headlining his first White House Correspondents Dinner this coming Saturday, and his self-confessed lack of insight into Washington doesn’t help calm his nerves. The star of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” told Reuters his interest in politics is roughly equal to his interest in sports—and in reality TV star Kim Kardashian. (agencies)
“Dancing With the Stars” says goodbye to Gladys Knight
NEW YORK, Apr 25: Motown week proved the ironic undoing of singer Gladys Knight on Tuesday’s “Dancing With the Stars,” but her final “dance duel” against the other bottom-finisher, Roshon Fegen, brought a split decision from the three judges as to who should go home. In the end, it was the singer who was escorted off the ballroom floor for the final time. She had started off rocky in the first weeks of season 14 on the hit TV dance competition, but had shown recent improvement and was never in the bottom two until this week. Yet her rumba to “My Girl” on Monday’s performance show earned the lowest score, 21, from the judges. (agencies)
Beach Boys go retro on first new single in 20 years
LOS ANGELES, Apr 25: Reunited 1960s pop band The Beach Boys have released a teaser track of their first new single in two decades – a dreamy, five part-harmony throwback to their southern California surf sound called “That’s Why God Made the Radio.” The song will be the first single off an album of new material on which the band has been working ahead of their 50th anniversary tour, which kicks off on Tuesday. (agencies)
Mathai and Cheesa sent home from “The Voice”
NEW YORK, Apr 25: Mathai of Team Adam and Cheesa of Team Cee Lo were sent packing from “The Voice” last night as the popular TV singing contest narrows its competitors ahead of next month’s finals. Mathai, who sang Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova,” thanked the show and her fans across the United States for making her realize she wants to sing for the rest of her life. (agencies)
Serial killer drama leads British BAFTA TV awards
LONDON, Apr 25: A British mini-series based on the life of serial killer Fred West led the BAFTA TV nominations yesterday with four, including best actor and actress for the two central characters. “Appropriate Adult” features Dominic West as Fred West, charged with the murder of 12 girls and young women but who was found hanging in his cell in 1995 in an apparent suicide before he stood trial. (agencies)
Bavaria to support student edition of Mein Kampf
BERLIN, Apr 25: The German state of Bavaria said today that it is preparing for the expiration in 2015 of the copyright on Adolf Hitler’s infamous memoir “Mein Kampf” by supporting the preparation of new editions with critical commentary, including one for students.
While “Mein Kampf” isn’t actually banned in Germany, Bavaria has over the years used its ownership of the copyright to block publication. But it acknowledges it won’t be able to once the copyright expires, 70 years after the author’s death.
Bavaria’s finance minister, Markus Soeder, said the idea of a version aimed at students—financed by the state government—was a reaction to concerns that the book will then be freely available and could circulate without commentary among young people, German news agency dapd reported.
“The book will contain commentary by experts that are clearly understandable for young people and interpret the dangerous body of thought,” Soeder said. He added that the aim is to show “what a worldwide catastrophe” Hitler’s thought led to.
Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf”—”My Struggle” in English—after he was jailed in Bavaria in the aftermath of the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, a rambling and anti-Semitic book outlining his ideology. After World War II, the Allies agreed to hand the rights to “Mein Kampf” over to the Bavarian state government.
Bavaria also is supporting preparation of a more comprehensive version with academic commentary by the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich.
The state’s minister for science, Wolfgang Heubisch, said that without such editions “there is the danger that charlatans and neo-Nazis could take possession of this infamous work” after the copyright expires. (Agencies)
Egypt comedian found guilty of offending Islam
CAIRO, Apr 25: An Egyptian court today upheld a conviction against one of the Arab world’s most famous comedians, sentencing him to jail for offending Islam in some of his most popular films.
The case against Adel Imam and others like it have raised concerns among some Egyptians that ultraconservative Muslims who made gains in recent elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster last year are trying to foist their religious views on the entire country. Critics say the trend threatens to curb Egypt’s vibrant film industry and freedom of speech.
Imam was sentenced to three months in jail and fined around USD 170 for insulting Islam in roles he played in movies such as “The Terrorist”, in which he acted the role of a wanted terrorist who found refuge with a middle class, moderate family, and the film “Terrorism and Kabab”.
The actor was also found guilty for his 2007 role in “Morgan Ahmed Morgan,” in which Imam played a corrupt businessman who tries to buy a university diploma. The film included a scene parodying bearded Muslim men wearing traditional Islamic clothing.
The case is one of many brought by conservative lawyers in recent months seeking to punish individuals they deem as having offended Islam. Earlier this year, two courts rejected blasphemy cases against Christian media mogul, Naguib Sawiris, after he relayed a cartoon online of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie in a face veil.
The cases highlight the newfound sense of empowerment among followers of the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam in Egypt after Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising. Their newly formed Al-Nour party won 25 per cent of seats in parliament, emerging as the second most powerful group in Egypt after the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood.
The mere filing of such blasphemy cases by Salafi lawyers has raised concern among rights groups and liberals about attempts to curb freedom of speech.
Egyptian entertainment reporter Tarek el-Shinnawi said the case against Imam is a setback for Cairo’s famed film industry, which has produced the region’s most popular films.
“It will make any writer, director or actor think before considering the role of a Muslim figure,” el-Shinnawi said. (Agencies)
Tribhovandas Zaveri IPO subscribed 10%
MUMBAI, Apr 25: Jewellery retailer Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri’s (TBZ) initial public offer was subscribed 10 per cent till 1400 hrs on the second day of the issue today.
The IPO, which closes tomorrow, attracted bids for over 14 lakh shares against 1.41 crore shares on offer.
The issue created demands worth Rs 17.73 crore.
The company has fixed the price band at Rs 120-126 per share for its Rs 210-crore IPO.
The issue size is 1.66 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each (including anchor portion of 24.99 lakh equity shares).
TBZ plans to open nine new large format high street showrooms in eight cities during the 2012-13 fiscal. It already has 14 showrooms in 10 cities across five states.
As part of its strategy, the company plans to open nine showrooms, one each in Aurangabad, Gandhidham, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Vadodara, Valsad, Visakhapatnam and two in Kolkata, for which it intends to deploy Rs 19.19 crore in this fiscal.
That apart, it requires additional working capital for financing the inventory in the new showrooms, for which it plans to deploy Rs 1,60.44 crore.
IDFC Capital and Avendus are book running lead managers for the issue.
The company manufactures and retails gold, diamond and platinum jewellery. (PTI)
Indian Govt single biggest factor weighing on outlook: Moody’s
NEW DELHI, Apr 25: Moody’s Analytics today said India is growing but below its potential as politics is weighing on the economy and termed the national government as the “single biggest drag” on business activity.
India’s outlook is still underachieving and poor management has dragged economic growth to below potential, Moody’s Analytics Senior Economist Glenn Levine said.
“The single biggest factor weighing on the outlook is the Indian government. In all economies it is impossible to separate the economic from the political outlook, and that is particularly the case in India,” Levine said.
The report further noted that there is broad-based weakness in the economy as all sectors are vulnerable.
“Softer global conditions, weak investor and business confidence, government paralysis, and tight monetary conditions are all weighing on demand. Almost all sectors have slowed, with particular weakness in manufacturing and mining, alongside a worrying contraction in private investment,” the report said.
GDP growth slowed to 6.1 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2011, the slowest pace since 2008, and is growing at around 6 per cent through the first half of 2012. However, a steady upturn in activity is likely to lift the second-half GDP growth to 6.5 per cent.
This puts 2012 growth substantially below India’s potential of around 7.5 per cent.
“Risks are still tilted to the downside because of the dire political situation, though there are some reasons for optimism. We see growth accelerating through 2012, but it won’t hit potential until the second half of 2013,” Moody’s Analytics said.
The report further said that the national government weighed down by corruption and funding scandals, has passed no notable bills.
“The government has lost all momentum, and progress is unlikely on existing bills like land reform, fuel subsidies, labour rights, and the much-discussed supermarket reforms between now and the next national election in 2014,” it said.
The report termed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an “ageing technocrat who now appears tired of the rough and tumble of Indian politics” and added that the UPA didn’t have the numbers or the leaders to push through tough-minded reforms needed to drive the next wave of growth.
Some of the other political risks include possible tensions with China, as highlighted by India’s recent missile launch, and Maoist insurgency spread across nine states.
However, the Reserve Bank of India’s bigger than expected 50 basis points interest rates cut in April is a positive move and it will lift demand from the second half of 2012. Besides, preliminary numbers indicating average monsoon rains in 2012 is another piece of good news, the report said. (PTI)