Corinthians have confirmed they have engaged in early talks with Carlos Tevez's agent with a view to bringing the Manchester City striker back to Brazil

Corinthians have confirmed they have engaged in early talks with Carlos Tevez's agent with a view to bringing the Manchester City striker back to Brazil in a sensational loan deal.

The Argentina international has publicly voiced his will to quit City after spending the last five years of his career in England.

Tevez has declared he wishes to be closer to his family in Buenos Aires and Corinthians - where the striker played from 2004 to 2006 - are prepared to offer him a way back to South America.

Given the player's €56 million [£49.5m] valuation, Corinthians know they will not be able to land him on a permanent basis, and are looking to sign him on a one-year temporary contract.

"It would have to be a loan. We cannot buy him, that is an absurd figure, unviable for the Brazilian football market," said Corinthians' vice-director of football Duilio Alves to Lancenet.

Furthermore, the director has stated that Tevez, having previously spoken of his desire to play for Corinthians once more, could potentially be tempted by such a move.

"His intention exists. If one day it is possible, Corinthians are interested," Alves continued.

"It is not impossible. We are going to try to discover all the details. It is a dream we are trying to make true. I do not want to give false hope to the fans. We will try. That is what all can say.

"He is interested in returning, everybody knows that. He has said several times he would play for Corinthians or Boca Juniors again.

"With that interest on his part, we are interested in his coming. For that to come true, it is distant. But we are going after him and we have initiated talks."

Media Sports Investment, a company in which Tevez's agent plays an important role, controlled Corinthians from 2004 to 2006, and it is believed the representative's good relationship with the Brazilian club could help to facilitate the deal.

However, time is not on Corinthians' side: the club know they have until 20 July to wrap up a deal for the player, as the Brazilian transfer window closes on that day.

Tevez, who netted 46 times in his 76 appearances for Corinthians, has also been linked with a move to Real Madrid, who have offered Gonzalo Higuain or Karim Benzema to Manchester City in a player-plus cash bid for the Argentine.

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Harry Redknapp yesterday reiterated his desire to keep Luka Modric at Tottenham Hotspur despite the midfielder's outspoken

Harry Redknapp yesterday reiterated his desire to keep Luka Modric at Tottenham Hotspur despite the midfielder's outspoken attack on chairman Daniel Levy this week.

Redknapp said that Modric trained as usual with the rest of the Spurs squad yesterday and has not raised the issue of his desire to join Chelsea with his manager. Redknapp also said that he expected Modric, 25, to be on the flight to South Africa tomorrow when the team go on their pre-season tour.Redknapp yesterday reiterated his desire to keep Luka Modric at Tottenham Hotspur despite the midfielder's outspoken Modric has turned up the heat dramatically in his battle to leave Spurs, describing Levy as "cold" and "arrogant" in an interview with a Croatian newspaper and claiming that Levy had reneged on a gentleman's agreement made last summer to sell him if a bigger club made an offer. Spurs deny any such agreement existed.

On the player's relationship with Levy, who has been surprised at the ferocity of the attack, Redknapp admitted that there were bridges to build. "That's for him [Modric] to sort out, it's a difficult one," he said but added that he had no personal problems with the player.

Redknapp told The Independent: "To start with, the Chelsea offer at the moment is a ridiculous offer – and we don't want to sell him. But if you are going to make an offer, make an offer. Don't offer £22m for a player that is worth nearer to £50m. I don't want to sell him. He has been training as normal. He is not a boy who would cause problems, I have never had a minute's problem with him. He's trained hard today. He has got on with it. You wouldn't meet a nicer boy. The problem is that someone has come in and offered to double his wages."

Modric is earning £45,000-a-week with the implicit offer from Chelsea, who had a bid of £22m for him turned down last month, understood to be around £120,000-a-week. Spurs had planned to give him an improved deal later in the season but are now fearful just how far he could go in forcing a move. Having announced yesterday that midfielder Michael Essien will miss six months of action having undergone surgery to repair a cruciate knee ligament, Chelsea are preparing a second offer of £27m for Modric.

Redknapp said: "We want to keep him, I need to keep him. He is ambitious and he wants to play in a team and win something and he's been offered fantastic wages. But at the end of the day we want to keep him. If we sell him and sign no-one where are we going? Mid-table again.

"We have to show some ambition and keep hold of them as well as signing players. Liverpool are looking to sign Stewart Downing. They are getting in players to go above us so even hanging on to sixth place will be difficult. He [Levy] will make the decision. We obviously want to keep him and that will be up to the chairman."

Essien broke down in training on Thursday when he twisted his right knee. The joint was so swollen that doctors were unable to fully judge the extent of the injury for a couple of days. Essien, who has already suffered torn ligaments to both his knees in the past three years, faces another long fight to regain fitness again.

The injury also raises doubts about whether he will ever recover the power and drive that typified his performances for Chelsea before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 2008.

Chelsea are also considering buying another midfielder. Joao Moutinho at Porto is a candidate, but Porto are insisting on the full £35m buy-out clause in his contract. There were reports last night they were considering making a £6m bid for former player Scott Parker.

Chelsea defender Alex da Costa is one player who could be leaving the club before the start of the season, with Bayern Munich keen to tie up a deal worth £12m for the 29-year-old Brazilian who has two years left on his contract. Chelsea are also happy to listen to offers for Nicolas Anelka, whose form fell apart at the end of last season following the £50m arrival of Fernando Torres. Anelka, 32, has one year left on his contract and Paris St Germain are reported to be interested.

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Sir Alex Ferguson exerted subtle pressure on Arsène Wenger over the attempted purchase of Samir Nasri late last nigh

Sir Alex Ferguson exerted subtle pressure on Arsène Wenger over the attempted purchase of Samir Nasri late last night in what appeared to be one last attempt to revive his fading hopes of signing the player.

When it was put to Ferguson at a brief press conference in Boston that Wenger had declared he could convince Nasri to stay, spurning a £20m United bid, the United manager said: "That's a decision [Wenger] has made. He is the manager. If he stands by that decision it's a brave one. I'm not sure the [Arsenal] directors will enjoy that one, but it's possible. Maybe he will have to stay."

Privately, there has been a feeling at United that the narrow ownership structure at Arsenal could actually be an impediment to United's attempts to buy Nasri, with Alisher Usmanov and Stan Kroenke both unlikely to stand in Wenger's way if he wanted to keep the player. But in a classic piece of reverse Ferguson psychology, the manager applied pressure on both the player and his club, while seemingly ruling out buying a player he badly wants. "I don't think he's coming to United. That's all I can tell you," Ferguson added. "I think he's agreed to go somewhere else. Maybe he has to stay at Arsenal, also. That's a possibility." Nasri does not appear to have agreed to sign for Manchester City, despite Ferguson's inference.
Nasri, 24, has one year left on his contract and has refused to sign a new five-year extension that Arsenal are offering. Arsenal, who would only consider letting Nasri leave to a direct Premier League rival for £25m, are content to risk losing Nasri for nothing in 12 months as it is understood the player is leaning towards playing out the final year of his contract. Wenger, speaking in Kuala Lumpur on the first day of Arsenal's pre-season trip to Malaysia, said: "Will he [Nasri] be at the club next season? I say yes. The second part [of the question] – will he sign a new contract? I hope yes, but I am not the only one to decide. Samir Nasri is very happy at the club and is committed to staying at the club."

Wenger expressed optimism about retaining his captain Cesc Fabregas.

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the devastating size of the death toll from Sunday's cruise boat sinking gradually became apparent

Rescue divers spent yesterday pulling corpses out of Russia's Volga river, as the devastating size of the death toll from Sunday's cruise boat sinking gradually became apparent.

More than 100 people, many of them children, are feared dead after the Bulgaria sank in stormy weather while on a two-day cruise from the city of Kazan. Around 80 people were rescued by a passing boat in the immediate aftermath, but hopes have faded for the remaining missing.

The number of confirmed dead rose throughout the day, as divers undertook the grim task of searching for bodies inside the sunken ship itself, lodged on the riverbed. By the afternoon, the confirmed death toll was at 53, but rescuers admitted they had little hope of finding anyone still missing alive and that the final toll was likely to top 100.

There were reports that shortly before disaster struck, dozens of children gathered in a playroom with an onboard entertainer, to give their parents some quiet time. It is not known how many of the children, if any, survived.

Evidence suggested that a number of safety violations could have caused or compounded the disaster. One survivor told the website LifeNews that emergency exit doors on the boat had been sealed or locked shut. Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said yesterday that 208 people were believed to be aboard the Bulgaria at the time it sank, while the boat was intended to hold only 120. Investigators also suggested that the boat set sail with a palpable right-hand tilt, and with one of its engines not properly functioning.

Some survivors told Russian news agencies that they begged the captain to turn round because of the tilt, but were ignored. The boat was made in 1955 and had not undergone any serious modernisation work. There were conflicting reports about whether it was properly licensed for passenger cruises.

Cruises on Russia's rivers are a popular summer holiday option for Russians who are not able to afford international travel, and every summer hundreds of boats ply the Volga, Europe's longest river. Survivors say that during the cruise, the Bulgaria got caught up in stormy weather, and tilted sharply to the right. This was apparently compounded by the captain trying to turn the boat round, and soon water was rushing into the vessel through portholes that had been opened because the ship had no air conditioning. The boat sank within a matter of minutes, plunging down nearly 20 metres to the river bed, in a spot around two miles from the nearest bank.

Gruesome video footage showed that some of the bodies dragged to the surface were wearing life jackets, but even this failed to save them. Some witnesses suggested that two other boats in the vicinity at the time of the tragedy simply sailed past without stopping to offer help.

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Jason Bay's recent performance at the plate, along with impressive starting pitching

Jason Bay's recent performance at the plate, along with impressive starting pitching, has likely made coping with Jose Reyes' absence all the more easy on the New York Mets.

With Reyes unlikely to be available, the Mets look for a fourth consecutive victory Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who in contrast hope to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the year.

Reyes, who leads the majors with a .354 average, is expected to miss his fourth straight game as he continues to deal with a strained left hamstring suffered during Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Yankees.

"It's better than (Monday), but it's still not quite what it needs to be," he said Tuesday.

Reyes' injury creates a big hole atop the Mets' lineup, but New York (44-42) doesn't seem to have missed a beat thanks in large part to Bay's production.

Bay, who drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 10th inning Sunday, helped extend the club's winning streak to three by hitting two home runs and driving in a season best-tying four in a 6-0 win Tuesday.

"I try not to get too high or too low," said Bay, batting .367 with three homers and 12 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak. "At times, it's easier said than done, but I'm happy lately with the way things have been going. A lot of it is a confidence thing and a preparedness thing."

While Bay has carried the offense, the starters have gone 2-0 and compiled a 1.59 ERA during the winning streak. Mike Pelfrey followed up Chris Capuano's solid effort in Monday's 5-2 victory with six strong innings Tuesday, a trend Jonathon Niese (7-7, 3.72) will try to continue.

Niese, who surrendered three runs and a season-high nine hits over six innings of Friday's 5-1 defeat to the Yankees, is likely looking forward to getting back on the road, where he's won three straight starts with a 2.29 ERA.

The left-hander gave up three runs in 5 2-3 innings and didn't receive a decision in his only career appearance against Los Angeles, a 6-3 win May 6. Niese, however, could put up better numbers this time around against a Dodgers offense which hasn't done much of late.

Los Angeles, loser of 14 of 20, finds itself in the midst of a four-game skid during which its been outscored 21-4 while batting .195. The Dodgers (37-50) went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and dropped to 13 games under .500 for the first time since finishing 71-91 in 2005.

"If we're not able to plate a couple, we're going to have trouble winning," manager Don Mattingly said. "That's kind of been our story. We've been able to get guys out there, but we're having trouble getting that hit - or a number of hits - to put runs on the board."

Scheduled starter Hiroki Kuroda (6-9, 2.90) was 0-6 despite a solid 3.54 ERA over his previous seven starts before holding the Angels to three hits in seven innings during Friday's 5-0 victory.

The right-hander recorded a similar line during his last outing against the Mets, giving up five hits over eight innings of a 2-0 win July 22, 2010. Bay is 2 for 9 with a home run against Kuroda.

The Mets, winners of six of seven on the road, have taken four of five from the Dodgers this season. New York hasn't won three straight at Chavez Ravine in the same season since sweeping a three-game set Aug. 28-30, 1989.

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Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial

Paleontologists in Queensland say they have uncovered the world's biggest marsupial, a wombat-like creature that weighed about three tons and roamed the earth some 2.5 million years ago.


The Australian scientists have labeled him "the beast."  One of the researchers, Dr. Sue Hand, told the Telegraph, "It was the biggest of them all--the biggest marsupial that ever lived on any continent." The creature, which became extinct about 55,000 years ago, resembled a wombat, but looked more like a rhinoceros, with a tiny brain and massive tusks.

The virtually complete skeleton of the plant-eating diprotodon was found on a remote cattle station in Australia, in an area rich in the remains of prehistoric mega-fauna. The discovery of the 14-foot fossil makes it one of Australia's most significant prehistoric discoveries

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Red-top outrage,Stop Rupert Murdoch now

We already know how unethical and sleazy Murdoch-owned media are — and now, if you're in the UK, you should be aware that he's making a grab to take control of an even larger slice of the media pie.

Murdoch already controls more of our media than is legal in many countries - and is notorious for using his power to skew our politics. The official consultation ends this Friday -- let's tell the government we don't want his media empire to control our largest commercial broadcaster. Send a message now -- using your own words to make it stand out -- calling on Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron to refuse Murdoch's BSkyB deal until there's a full Competition Commission review and a full public inquiry into phone hacking.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation already owns 40% of British newspapers and 40% of BSkyB, the UK's largest commercial broadcaster. In the US, Australia and elsewhere this degree of media dominance would not be allowed. News Corporation has admitted responsibility for hacking the phones of politicians and celebrities, and now stands accused of listening to messages of a murdered 13 year old girl. But our government wants to give Murdoch power over half of our media, allowing him to then squeeze out his rivals one by one.

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the tiny island nation of Bahamas has banned catching the killer fish in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.

(RTTNews) - As a measure to protect sharks, the tiny island nation of Bahamas has banned catching the killer fish in its waters and prohibited the sale, import and export of shark products.


The ban came into force on Tuesday after it was approved by Agriculture Minister Larry Cartwright.


Under a new law, those who venture out in the 630,000 square kilometer-wide national territorial waters for fishing shark will be fined $5,000.


The Atlantic Ocean archipelago is the fourth country to ban shark fishing after Honduras, the Maldives and Palau. Environmentalists estimate that about 73 million sharks are killed each year to cater to high demand for its fins in Chinese cuisine.


Neil McKinney, President of the Bahamas National Trust, told reporters that sharks played an "extremely important" role in balancing the ecosystem. Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette said the ban would not affect the country's relations with China, especially in trade.


Shark-diving adds $80 million a year in revenue to the country famous for its location of shooting for the epic movie series, Jaws.


by RTT Staff Writer

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Luxury prizes on offer with Celebrity Cruises’ new brochure promotion

Celebrity Cruises is offering agents the chance to win a luxury goody bag containing designer sunglasses, iTunes vouchers, a bottle of champagne and delicious Hotel Chocolat confectionary every day from now until 30 June. in addition, every week throughout June one lucky winner will also win an iPad 2, a designer watch and a digital camera. Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises, the luxury prize draw is in conjunction with the 2012 – 2013 worldwide brochure launch.

Summer 2012 will see five Celebrity Cruises ships in Europe, including the brand new Celebrity Silhouette, based in Rome from July, and Celebrity Eclipse based from Southampton for the third consecutive year. new itineraries include:

12-night Eastern Mediterranean & Greek Isles, Adriatic and Italy and Croatia sailings onboard Celebrity Silhouette14-night Canaries & Azores and Iceland & Fjords and 8 night Norwegian Fjords sailings onboard Celebrity Eclipse

Summer 2012 also sees the launch of the fifth Solstice class ship Celebrity Reflection, which will be operating two 14-night itineraries in the Mediterranean before sailing to Miami in November 2012 to operate seven-night Eastern Caribbean itineraries.

The 2012-2013 season will also see eight Celebrity Cruises ships deployed in the Caribbean with new itineraries including:

Seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises from Miami onboard Celebrity ReflectionSeven-night Eastern Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale onboard Celebrity Silhouette featuring calls at Cozumel (Mexico) and Falmouth (Jamaica)

Three ships will be operating itineraries in Alaska with a new seven-night Alaska roundtrip cruise onboard Celebrity Infinity available.

For a chance to win one of the luxury goody bags on offer, agents must create and confirm any new Celebrity Cruises 2012 booking between now and 30 June 2011.

Michael English, Head of Sales, Celebrity Cruises, explains:

“We’re excited to not only be adding fantastic new itineraries but also by the end of 2012 we’ll have two new ships in the fleet. Celebrity Cruises has grown significantly in the last few years to become one of the most loved cruise options for UK holiday makers. With free onboard credit and free parking at Southampton early booking offers, we’re seeking to continue this trend and reward agents who drive this growth.”

Key offers for 2012 – 2013 include:

Eight-night Norwegian Fjords cruise from Southampton cruise only onboard Celebrity Eclipse from £839.00 per person14-night Mediterranean Renaissance fly/cruise onboard Celebrity Reflection from £1,789.00 per person14-night Canaries & Azores cruise from Southampton cruise only onboard Celebrity Eclipse from £1,319.00 per person

For more information on the incentive travel professionals should visit www.cruisingpower.co.uk. to win, the new booking must be made by automation tools and include pre-paid gratuities. each new booking counts as one entry, so the more bookings made the more chances there are to win. Cruising for Excellence Online brand captains get two incentive entries for every booking made.

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Celebrity Silhouette squeezes out of tiny Dutch canals

This £500m, 319-metre luxury cruise liner was not built to navigate narrow canals - and that is the reason why it took 12 hours to complete a 26-mile journey.

At times there was manoeuvring room of only 5 feet as it slowly made its way from Meyer-Werft port in Papenburg to Eemshaven in Holland, but it was the first time Celebrity Silhouette - which weighs 122,400 tons, can sleep 2,886 passengers and is longer than three football pitches - has been seen on the water.

Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis earned his money for expertly guiding the huge, multi-million pound ship on tiny waterways on the Ems River yesterday, which will probably be the narrowest the liner will have to negotiate in its career.

There were plenty of tight squeezes and locks to edge through - in places the 36.88 metre wide ship passed though gaps of only 38.09 metres - and the huge vessel even had to travel on an aqueduct over an autobahn.

In order for Celebrity Silhouette - helped by tugboats and travelling at just 4mph - to complete the perilous journey, German and Dutch authorities had to remove a number of power lines and railway tracks en route.

The timing of the trip was important, too, as it had to take place at high tide in order that the hull would not scrape along the river bottom.

The Celebrity Silhouette, which took two years to make, is the fourth of a fleet of five Solstice Class ships to be built by Celebrity Cruises and will remain in the port at Eemshaven, bar some test trips in the North Sea, until it heads back to Germany, when it will be formally named, in Hamburg, on July 21.

The cruise liner boasts a number of exclusive new features, including the Lawn Club Grill - the industry's first outdoor, interactive grill.

On board there is also The Hideaway, a high-tech location reminiscent of a childhood treehouse for guests to relax inside, as well as The Alcoves - a luxurious, private cabanas overlooking the ship's lush lawn on the top deck amid immense views of the sea.

In addition there is and the Art Studio - a space where experienced and aspiring artists can participate in hands-on instruction from experts in drawing, beading, sculpting and painting.

The ship also features top-tier designer boutiques, exclusive restaurants and the hip Celebrity iLounge, offering guests classes on the use of iPads and iPhones, among other products, which also are available for sale through Celebrity's industry-first Authorised Apple Reseller status.

Celebrity Silhouette's official maiden voyage will be on July 23 when it will set sail from Hamburg to Rome (Civitavecchia).
The ship will be based in Rome, and conduct her journeys from there.

On offer will be 12-night round trip cruises to the Holy Land through the summer, which will set you back a cool £1,349 per person.

And, later in the year, there are 12-night Caribbean cruise round trips from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, beginning in November.

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Despicable Me' tonight's Dana Point Movie in the Park

Dana Point's "Movies in the Park" series continues at 8 p.m. Friday with "Despicable Me" at Lantern Bay Park, 25111 Park Lantern Road. Admission is free for the animated PG-rated film from 2010.
Candy, soda, bottled water, hot chocolate and coffee are available for purchase. All proceeds from concession sales will benefit a local school or nonprofit organization. The Dana Point Youth Board will be selling glow necklaces for $1 each as a fundraiser for its annual Adopt-A-Family program.

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Coke Zero 400: NASCAR fans beat summer heat

DAYTONA BEACH — The blazing sun, heat and humidity at Daytona International Speedway had NASCAR fans turning to their tried and true ways to stay cool.

Beer at a NASCAR event is a given, but one group from Brevard County found their own unique way to consume beer.

They call them "noodle bongs," a variation on a frat-boy's favorite accessory, the beer bong.
Bryan Schmidt of Cocoa Beach configured the bongs using the top half of leftover plastic soda liter bottles as the funnels and pool noodles as the tubes.

"Cheap. Easy. All you need to do is make sure it fits together and you're money," he said. "Could Albert Einstein have invented something like this?!"
The lineup of five bongs was getting plenty of use as several other infield fans stopped by for a chug over the last two days.

Doug Lambert and Joey Noble, two 21-year-old best friends from Merritt Island, were happy to demonstrate how well they work. "Everybody who comes by wants a hit from the noodle bong," Lambert said, who admitted to having about eight chugs that day.

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Penny Elliott of St. Cloud had the perfect place to stay cool, sitting in a lawn chair inside a kiddie pool under a tent.

It even had a shower. Her fiancé, Jon Chartley, forgot to bring a showerhead but they made it work by wrapping the end of a hose with duct tape, and poking a few holes, as their own homemade nozzle.

Chartley, also from St. Cloud, was prouder of their new viewing platform, situated 12 feet high and just inches from the fence near Turn 3, giving them a front-row view of the race.

It was decorated with their collection of NASCAR flags but the finishing touch, designed especially for the July 4th holiday, was an American flag made up of Christmas lights.

He and buddy John Bartosek nailed the string of lights to the platform and painstakingly re-arranged the red, white and blue bulbs into the flag design.

"It's so high up that you can see it from throughout the infield," said Bartosek. "Looks really great at night."

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It's hard to pass by the campsite for the Becker and Hunt boys without getting wet.

That's because the trio — 9-year-old T.J. Becker, his brother 6-year-old Matthew Becker and their stepbrother, 13-year-old Jakob Hunt — were engaged in an intense Super Soaker fight. Passersby were likely to get sprayed in the crossfire.

But the seemingly endless hours of water gun fighting in their pool kept the boys cool in the intense heat before the race start.

All worked well except for a few moments of roughhousing, like when T.J. tried to wrestle his little brother and Matthew became submerged.

"Don't drown him," was the stern warning from the adults, watching from a tent nearby.

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Brandy Irving spent hours on her hands and knees on the infield pavement but didn't mind the heat.

It's what the 15-year-old DeBary girl was willing to endure for her art.

The Mainland High School student had spent hours drawing with chalk on the black pavement. She sketched the NASCAR logo and the Rolling Stones lips logo. She also added two of her own designs — a pair of Japanese-anime-styled girl faces, complete with electric blue and neon pink hair.

"My hands hurt but I don't mind since I'm doing this," she said, kneeling as she added a palm tree to her design.

Already skilled with pencil drawings and computer graphics, Irving said she planned to enter a chalk-drawing contest soon and figured she'd have time to practice while she was at the track.

Her family has been camping at every July race and every Daytona 500 at the Speedway since she was a baby.

"Next time, I want to bring five boxes of chalk because I'm running out," she said.

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IIFA 2011 Awards: Shah Rukh Khan's 5 best moments

The International Indian Film Academy Awards or IIFA Awards which took place in Toronto, Canada last weekend, are neither the Indian Oscars nor a complete representation of Indian cinema.

They are simply the best of what Bollywood has to offer and the ones which have helped attract foreign funds into the industry.

IIFA overrides the critically acclaimed National Awards for acting and panders to Bollywood's best, but also worst values like sycophancy, nepotism and actors' delusions of eternal youth.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan, IIFA brand ambassador until recently when hero Salman Khan replaced him, didn't attend at all and therefore, presumably, neither could his entire immediate family of actors including wife, son and daughter-in-law.

More on CNNGo: Aishwarya pregnant, India goes gaga

Meanwhile actor Shah Rukh Khan's seeming single-minded desire to dominate an entire industry forever, took front and center stage.

King Khan's presence was all-consuming the night of June 25. He was on stage for much of the night, bagged the best actor award for a film nobody liked and performed in the grand finale too.

Khan had his picture taken while bowing and kissing Hilary Swank's hand, touching Dharmendra's feet and even had a weird encounter with a fan who scrambled up on stage.

The 45-year-old actor used the global platform to remind the world that he's the biggest, best and perhaps even the 'youngest' member of Bollywood today.

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Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is as busy as ever, signing new projects and promoting home productions

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is as busy as ever, signing new projects and promoting home productions. In fact, he hasn’t been getting much sleep due to the intense work being put in on his pet project Ra.One. Thankfully, his other productions are being taken care of, such as how Roshan Abbas has held the reigns for Always Kabhi Kabhi. This most recent SRK production release is about high school kids, sending SRK back to his own school day memories. His schooling at St. Columba’s in Delhi was a very strict one, unlike the carefree filmi portrayals. “When I see Aryan and Suhana, I realize schools have become easier now. You couldn’t be a badmaash (truant) in my school.”

Shah Rukh has also signed on for Yash Chopra’s next directorial venture. The film will be a romance co-starring both Katrina Kaif – her first time opposite SRK – and Anushka Sharma. Leave it to Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan to bring love and romance back into Indian cinema. But would you believe it that SRK feels strange these days enacting romantic scenes? “Nowadays, I sometimes feel strange doing certain things I have done well in the past. I have to convince myself that I can still do this and pull it off.”

If Yash Chopra’s next isn’t enough to get fans excited, there are several other projects in the works. Shah Rukh has been looking into the script of Xtrme City to be helmed by none other than Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese. “Yes, I met Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in Berlin. They, including Paul Schrader, are very happy with the script. A few days ago, I sent them a mail saying that I’m going to read it, and we hope everything turns out well.”

The other project that SRK is keen to sign – once work on Ra.One has finished – is Vishal Bharadwaj’s Two States. At this point he is unsure who will be cast opposite him in the film, though names such as Asin and Priyanka Chopra have been making the rounds.

Of course the Baadshah’s fans have a lot to look forward to at the end of this year with the release of both Ra.One and Don 2. “While Ra.One is very technically slick, Don 2 will be very tough, and I call it a macho film.” And what about rumours about Ra.One’s skyrocketing budget? “There might be a year when my big films don’t do well, so I won’t have money to produce smaller films. But if a big one like Om Shanti Om does well, I can produce Billu, which in a way did well for us in terms of money too. As long as I have that freedom, I will continue this way.” SRK fans surely have no complaints to make with that!

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It’s a November baby: Abhishek Bachchan

A day after Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, “Aishwarya is expecting”, HT Café had consulted medical practitioners on the due date going by recent pictures of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The experts believed that Baby B would make an appearance close to mother Aishwarya’s birthday, November 1.
Paa-to-be, Abhishek Bachchan confirms the news: “We’ve not been given a date yet, but yes, it is a November baby. That will take the number of November borns in the Bachchan family to six, starting with my grandfather Harivansh Rai Bachchan, my father-in-law Krishnakant Rai, Aishwarya, my nephew Agastya and my pet dog Shanook.”

Abhishek will not be taking any paternity leave from the shoot of Bol Bachchan, but since he will be filming in the city, he’s not unduly
perturbed. “I will be with Aishwarya when she delivers. I can’t wait to hold our baby,” he beams, admitting that he’d like a daughter first, and another baby later.

“I believe in the concept of ‘Hum do hamare do’ (two for the two of us). Like my parents, I too want two kids. Right now, I’m praying for a healthy baby and if it’s a daughter, I hope she looks like her mother.” Explaining why he chose to let his father make the big announcement, Abhishek points out that it’s a family tradition, “When my mother was expecting my sister, Shweta, it was my grandfather who made the news official. So I couldn’t have taken that right away from my father.”

But now that the news is out, Abhishek says that like a tyrant producer he has sent his 68-year-old hero off to promote their movie, Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap. “Once this is over, I’ll pester him to guide me on how to become as good a father as he is,” says the actor. “Maa (Jaya Bachchan) and Aishwarya get along like a house on fire.” “She had tears in her eyes when the doctors confirmed the news. In a few weeks, I’m sure she will get cracking on what Aishwarya needs to be fed.”

Will Ash continue to work after the baby? Or will she take a sabbatical like Jaya did? “Maa didn’t stop working after Shweta was born, but after I came along, she cut down on films. Aishwarya has that choice too. No one is ever going to force her to work or quit. Penelope Cruz worked on Pirates Of The Carribean with a baby in her womb. Hundreds of women work when they are expecting and lactating. It’s my wife’s call. For now, she’s pregnant and happy,” he smiles.

He also refutes rumours that Rajkumar Santoshi was replacing Aishwarya with Preity Zinta in Ladies And Gentleman, saying that the filmmaker has decided to start the film only when Aishwarya is ready to resume. “Ladies And Gentleman will feature Aishwarya and me,” he adds.

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Aamir Khan Productions, which flagged off with Lagaan (2001), has completed a decade

Aamir Khan Productions, which  flagged off with Lagaan (2001), has completed a decade. And its last three films — Peepli Live (2010), Dhobi Ghat (2011) and now Delhi Belly — have come with an ‘A’ certificate, sparking off speculation that actor-producer Aamir, known for his ‘clean family
entertainers’, has switched tracks.
He denies it, arguing that a creative person should have the freedom to make the kind of films he believes in. “And I’m a responsible producer. If a film is meant for adults, it should be censored accordingly. Dhobi Ghat was passed with a ‘U/A’ certificate despite a few expletives, but I didn’t want parents to come with their eight year olds for it. So I got it re-censored with an ‘A’ certificate knowing that I was reducing my audience by half, perhaps a first in Hindi cinema,” Aamir informs.
On Delhi Belly, both the censors and he amicably agreed on an ‘A’ certificate, with both parties not comfortable with kids under 18 viewing it. “My son Junaid can see it but my daughter Ira will have to wait till she’s 18,” he says, pointing out that while other producers tuck away the ‘A’ in a corner, the Delhi Belly print ads have ‘Adults Only’ written prominently across.

The film has ‘potty’ humour, explicit sex scenes, cuss words and a controversial chartbuster, ‘Bhaag DK Bose…’, supposedly inspired by Dolly Bindra’s gaalis on Bigg Boss. “Yeah it does,” agrees Aamir, “but there’s not that much of ‘potty’, no skin show, some expletives and definitely no Dolly. I’m told she was on some show but I don’t watch much TV.”

Imran, one of the lead actors, endorses that and says that within minutes of hearing the song, he knew it would be a “huge hit” and spark off a “huge controversy” too. He reasons, “Anything associated with youth culture that is cool and new-wave has ignited protests, whether it was Elvis and his pelvic thrusts or rock music and its free-love mantra. I wasn’t surprised by the attacks on Aamir and the film, but our youthful target audience has connected with the song and the film.”

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Hydrocodone Demand Spurs Increase in Robberies

Pharmacies are seeing a “growing problem” with individuals willing to resort to violent means to gain access to painkillers like hydrocodone.

There are a few causes behind the spate of frightening crimes like the recent incident on Long Island in which the perpetrator shot four people dead during a theft of 10,000 hydrocodone pills. One is a growing number of uninsured Americans, many of whom have chronic pain or painkiller dependencies. Another is an FDA crackdown on online pharmacies.

Pharmacist Greg Hamby described a recent hydrocodone theft incident:

“…The gentleman walked in and proceeded to walk behind the counter and held one of the clerks at knife point and demanded that he give him some hydrocodone… Many times of course people can lose jobs and with certain things with health care we see lack of insurance now,” adds Hamby.
But Hamby says he does not see an end to the problem’s reach:

“It seems to me the situation is becoming worse. It’s becoming more focused people less able to afford less money in the family budget.”
Pharmacies are beginning to implement zombie apocalypse-type security measures like metal shutters to keep workers safe from violent theft of painkillers like hydrocodone.

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