NEW YORK: With four months to go until the Academy Awards, Eddie Murphy is already feeling the pressure about hosting the ceremony. At the premiere of his new comedy film "Tower Heist" he said he's "excited" about the job but "hoping not to drop the ball." The film's director, Brett Ratner, is also producing the Academy Awards and approached Murphy with the idea of hosting. On the comic's to-do list between now and then is to watch some movies. "What's the front-runner? Who knows?" he asked on the red carpet. Murphy was nominated for a Best Supporti...
Published On: 2011-10-25

JOHANNESBURG: An 18-year-old South African woman was in a coma Monday after being doused in petrol and burned alive by friends in a Johannesburg park, in what police suspect was a satanic ritual, local media said. Kirsty Theologo suffered burns over three quarters of her body, damaging her lungs and throat, when she was set alight in a park in southern Johannesburg, her sister Samantha told The Star newspaper. While she was burning, one boy cut her hand and held it over a Bible so that the blood could soak it, according to one of the girls who was in the group, the paper said. A 16-year-old...
Published On: 2011-10-25

ERCIS: Oguz Isler was trapped for eight hours beneath the rubble of his home, which collapsed in a powerful earthquake that hit eastern Turkey. The 9-year-old on Tuesday is waiting at the foot of the same pile of debris for news of his parents and other relatives who are still buried inside. Officials say the death toll in the powerful earthquake that hit eastern Turkey is now 366. The prime minister's office on Tuesday also says more than 2,000 buildings collapsed in Sunday's 7.2-magnitude quake. Thousands of people have spent a second night outdoors in cars or tents in near-freezing cond...
Published On: 2011-10-25

HANOI: Vietnam has lost its fight to save its rare Javan rhinoceros population after poachers apparently killed the country's last animal for its horn, pushing one of the world's most endangered species closer to extinction, a conservation group said Tuesday. Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park has had no sightings, footprints or dung from live rhinos since the last known animal living there was found dead last April, shot through the leg with its horn chopped off, the WWF said. Genetic analysis of rhino feces had confirmed in 2004 that at least two rhinos were living in the park, raising hopes ...
Published On: 2011-10-25

LONDON: "Paranormal Activity 3" had a supernatural hold on moviegoers, luring them in with a record-setting $52.6 million opening. Monday's final figure was slightly lower than the $54 million Sunday estimate from Paramount Pictures, but it's still the biggest debut for a horror movie and the biggest October opening ever. The third film in the low-budget fright franchise is a prequel featuring found home-movie footage from 1988. The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipt...
Published On: 2011-10-25

CAPE CANAVERAL: Astronomers finally know why the first documented supernova was super-sized. The exploded star was observed by the ancient Chinese in the year 185, and visible for eight months. It was later found to be a bigger-than-expected supernova remnant, 8,000 light years away. Each light year is about 6 trillion miles. New observations in the infrared show the explosion took place in a cavity in space. The cavity allowed the stellar shrapnel to shoot faster and farther out into the universe. The star — similar to our sun — died peacefully and turned into a dense white dwa...
Published On: 2011-10-25

KATHMANDU: You may have heard or may have informed others, ‘S/He was admitted in the hospital immediately, but fate and accident took his/her life in his youth.’ In most of the cases, it may not be technical malfunction, rather a result of drink-driving. One of the major causes of road accidents is drink-driving. Vehicle drivers and bike riders under the influence go through mental and motor skills imparity. This can be fatal while many suffer from serious injuries. How alcohol impairs your senses? Almost all people feel nauseous, go through visual disturbances, seizures, me...
Published On: 2011-10-24

KATHMANDU: By the end, everyone was up and dancing. Some were showing their salsa steps while some were busy showing off their freestyle dancing steps to the beats of jazz blended with Afro, Latin and Caribbean music as the artistes of Surya Nepal Jazzmandu 2011 jammed up on October 23 at Hotel Shangri La. According to Navin Chettri, one of the founders and members of the band, Cadenza Collective, the energy of this year’s Jazzmandu has been ‘unique’ because the musicians are different. And the day dedicated to Afro-Latin music where musicians jammed to the tunes of Afro, La...
Published On: 2011-10-24

Kathmandu: On the slightly cold evening of October 23, the courtyard of Patan Museum was full of theatre enthusiasts, who had gathered to watch, Charandas Chor: The Honest Thief, a play by Indian playwright Habib Tanvir. The social satire, which intends to teach the value of promises and truth, is a production of Mandala Theatre-Nepal, and the audience present greatly enjoyed the show. The play is about a middle-aged thief Charandas (Rajan Khatiwada), who does tricks to fool people. He is able to rob a Hawaldar (Buddhi Tamang), Sonpapadiwalla (Som Nath Khanal), a rich woman (Srijana Adhikari)...
Published On: 2011-10-24

RALEIGH: The North Carolina Museum of Art has curated an exhibit of 30 works by Rembrandt from American collectors, which is especially appropriate considering that the museum's first director was partly responsible for authenticating many works as painted by the Dutch artist that turned out not to be actual Rembrandts. "Rembrandt in America" opens Oct. 30 at the museum, then travels next year to Cleveland and Minneapolis. The 30 paintings are from private collections and more than two dozen American art museums. The exhibit also includes works no longer attributed to Rembrandt, inc...
Published On: 2011-10-24