Mrinal Kulkarni - Marathi Mulgi of The Day Dec 13, 2007

Blue Beauties

Blue Beauties

Snigdha Akolkar - Marathi Mulgi of The Day Dec 12, 2007

Man Trapped in a Lavatory for 100 hours

LONDON (Reuters) - A retired Scottish school teacher was recovering on Monday after spending nearly four days trapped inside a men's toilet with no food or mobile phone.

David Leggat was locked inside the bathroom at a lawn bowling club near the Scottish city of Aberdeen after the door jammed and the handle on the outside fell off. The 55-year-old kept warm by dipping his feet in hot water but only managed to get about three hours' sleep a night in the freezing temperatures, the local Evening Express newspaper reported.

He was rescued when the cleaner at the club, which is little used in winter, turned up to collect her cleaning equipment. Leggat said a survival course he had once done had helped him endure his captivity. The cleaning lady said he looked shaken and grey when he emerged. Leggat was stoical.

"At least there was a toilet to use," he said. "The only thing I regret is not getting trapped behind the bar."

Source: Reuters

John Darwin - The case continues

LONDON (Reuters) - A British man, who is facing fraud charges after he "returned from the dead" five years after going missing, had grown a beard and used an assumed name to hide the fact he was still alive, police said Monday.

John Darwin, 57, walked into a London police station last week claiming amnesia after apparently drowning at sea in a canoeing accident five years ago, sparking days of international media coverage.

Cleveland Police in northeast England issued a photo of Darwin with a straggly beard and appealed for information from anyone who might have known him under the name John Jones.
Earlier Monday Darwin was remanded in custody until December 14 at Hartlepool Magistrates Court charged with obtaining money by deception and making a false declaration to get a passport.

Police said they had also started questioning his wife Anne, 55, who they arrested on suspicion of fraud Sunday following her return from Panama, where she had recently moved. Detective Superintendent Tony Hutchinson told reporters that Mrs Darwin was cooperating with police. "She's not saying 'no comment' to every question," he said.

Hutchinson said there was nothing to suggest that couple's sons were anything other than victims of the suspected deception, adding that he felt "dreadfully sorry" for them. "They have believed for the past five years their father is dead," said Hutchinson. "Now they find out that not only is he alive, but he has been arrested. And they now find out from the newspapers that their mother knew that their father was alive."

The sons said last week they wanted no further contact with their parents after their mother told newspapers a photo of her and her husband taken together in Panama last year was genuine. Hutchinson said the motive for Darwin's reappearance and earlier disappearance remained unknown.

He said Darwin's sons could not identify any event which could have triggered the disappearance, but said police would investigate whether there were financial issues.

International coverage of the case had resulted in "countless calls" to police with information about the couple as well as emails from Spain and the Caribbean, Hutchinson said. He appealed for the flow of information to continue.

"We need to know where Mr and Mrs Darwin have been both in Europe and North and South America. We need to know who they have been with and we need to know what they have been doing."

Anne Darwin had had reported her husband missing in 2002 when he failed to return home after canoeing in the North Sea near their home in Hartlepool, northeast England.
A few weeks later the shattered remains of his red kayak were discovered. A coroner declared Darwin dead in 2003 after a police inquiry.

Source: Reuters

Shahrukh Khan - The King

When Shah Rukh sent an impromptu message asking all his associates to come to a suburban five-star hotel on Monday afternoon, they were quite surprised as no one knew the reason behind the get-together.

SRK not only sent a message to Red Chillies's SFX team and top officials but also to all his cooks, drivers, and clerks inviting them all to the do. When all the members gathered at the hall, booked by Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri, they were in for a pleasant surprise.

What followed was a huge celebration to celebrate the success of SRK's production company, Red Chillies. SRK, Gauri, Farah Khan, and other friends of SRK made it a point to celebrate and thank all those who have been associated with the actor's company and films. Apart from the champagne, wine and a lavish spread of food personally selected by Shah Rukh and Gauri, bonus cheques were handed over to each and every member present there. (Incidentally, Vidhu Vinod Chopra usually follows this custom too, of distributing bonus to his employees, from the profits of hit films.)

Says a source present at the do, "Everyone was quiet surprised by SRK's gracious gesture. Initially, no one had a clue about the reason behind the party. But SRK is great. He decided to share the profits made by his company with everyone rather than enjoy it just by himself. This obviously is a kind gesture as it was not a part of any deal or contract that he'd pay a bonus to all his employees. He simply wants all the people working with him to enjoy and be a part of his success. Everyone was very surprised."

Adds another employee from Red Chillies Studio, "This is quite difficult to digest especially in an industry where we have to stand outside the producer's office to get our dues. Getting a share of the company's excess profits is really unheard of in this industry."

While the hall was packed and everyone was cheering and celebrating, SRK and Gauri personally thanked each employee for their services.

Source: Mumbai Mirror