Hungary’s Debrecen beat Levski Sofia 2-0 to advance 4-1 overall. Zurich scored during injury time to defeat Moldova’s Ventspils 2-1 for a 5-1 total. Maccabi downed Salzburg 3-0 for a 5-1 aggregate victory.

In Wednesday’s games, Arsenal, Olympiakos and Stuttgart all lead 2-0 and have home advantage. Arsenal plays Celtic, Olympiakos faces Sheriff Tiraspol and Stuttgart takes on Politehnica Timisoara.

Apoel Nicosia must overturn FC Copenhagen’s 1-0 advantage, and Fiorentina and Sporting Lisbon are even at 2-2.

Atletico, already up 3-2 from the away leg in Athens, controlled play in Madrid and was given a gift goal after three minutes. The Panathinaikos defenders failed to deal with a cross from Johnny Heitinga and the ball dropped to Diego Forlan. His pass struck Loukas Vyntra and deflected into his own net.

After Panathinaikos striker Djibril Cisse was sent off in the 70th, Sergio Aguero added the second goal for Atletico in the 82nd.

Lisandro scored three times in 15 minutes, beginning in the 26th minute. Anderlecht scored on a 51st-minute penalty kick by Mathias Suarez.

Up 2-1 from the away leg in Sofia, Debrecen made it easily to the next phase with goals by Jozsef Varga in the 13th minute and Gergely Rudolf in the 35th. It is the first Hungarian club since Ferencvaros in 1995 to reach the group stage.

Leading 3-0 from the first leg in Moldova, Zurich went further in front through Johan Vonlanthen’s goal in the sixth minute only for Igor Tigirlas to reply in the eighth. Almen Abdi scored in injury time to make it two wins for the Swiss team, which reached the group phase for the first time.

Maccabi Haifa was already 2-1 up before the home leg against Salzburg and second-leg goals by Vladimir Dvalishvili, Eyal Golasa and Mohammad Ghadir completed a one-sided victory.

Source: AP

“We are pursuing with the Swiss authorities and after our persuasion they have agreed to discuss and begin the negotiations on the amendment of the avoidance of double taxation agreement in respect of the exchange of information.

“That first round of talks will take place sometime in December,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a panel discussion organised by ET-Now news channel.

The Swiss Banks Association had said Swiss law and even OECD’s Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions, in other words, the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.

“This means that India cannot simply throw its telephone book at Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank account here,” SBA Head of International Communications James Nason had told PTI.

“We are fully aware of and we have no intention of having any roving enquiry,” Mukherjee said, adding that it would pursue the matter on the basis of specific information to help the tax authorities nail the defaulters.

Switzerland had last week reached an agreement with the US to give that country’s Internal Revenue Service details of 4,450 clients who Washington suspected of evading taxes.

Source: PTI

“If (commander) Hakeemullah Mehsud has become the chief terrorist then he should come forward and say that he has become the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Malik told state-run television.

“It is all speculation till he himself comes forward and says that he has become the chief of TTP,” he said.

The Taliban had lost the sympathy of the Pakistani people and were now fighting among themselves over choosing a successor to Mehsud, Malik said.

There is no safe haven for the Taliban and the military operation against them will continue, he added.

Source: PTI

Horse riding and getting close to horses is known to work as a therapy for differently abled people. This therapy is being recommended to improve the cognitive, emotional, physical and social skills of people, especially kids with cognitive disability.
This new ability of horses was demonstrated recently in Bangalore by Pushpa Bopaiah, a qualified instructress who has been training many kids with special needs since 2000. About 450 kids have benefited from this facility, she says.
Horseback riding gently and rhythmically moves the rider’s body in a manner similar to human gait. While riders with physical disabilities often show improvement in flexibility, balance and muscle strength, those with emotional disabilities display increased confidence, patience and self-esteem which is a result of the unique relationship with the horse” she added.

Among the cases that are treatable are autism, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, visual impairments, and even cardiovascular cases.

Source: India Syndicate

On Wednesday Singh made it clear once more to the CBI that there is a perception that “big fish” often escape punishment. This must change and the CBI should act swiftly and without fear, he told the CBI and State anti-corruption official. “Aggressively pursue high level corruption,” he told the senior officials.

Opening a conference of CBI and State anti-corruption bureaux here, he said there was no single remedy for fighting corruption which has to be combated at many levels, one of which was making existing systems less discretionary.

“High-level corruption should be pursued aggressively. There is a pervasive feeling that while petty cases get tackled quickly, the big fish escape punishment. This has to change,” Singh said.

The Prime Minister said while quick investigation was important and necessary, it was not sufficient to bring the guilty to book.

“Trials should be conducted expeditiously and judgements delivered quickly. To begin with the aim should be to conclude the trial in two years so that punishment could be given to the offenders within a period of three years or so,” he said.

Singh said the government has recently decided to set up 71 new CBI courts and expected them to function as model courts, hold day-to-day proceedings and avoid unnecessary adjournments.

“But pervasive corruption in our country tarnishes our image. It also discourages investors, who expect fair treatment and transparent dealings. As the country grows and integrates with the world economy, corruption continues to be an impediment to harnessing the best technology and resources,” he said.

Source: PTI

“Is it the way you provide free treatment to the patients falling under the economically backward section”? a Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan told the counsel for the hospital.

After perusal of the details furnished by the hospital following the court’s previous order relating to the procedure for treatment of the poor, the Bench slammed the hospital for its attitude towards the poor and asked the Delhi government to verify the details.

According to the hospital counsel, the hospital did not charge for the doctors’ fee and the room rent from the poor patients but for other tests like MRI they charge Rs 6000, for X-ray Rs 120 and for liver transplant the hospital charges Rs 12 lakh.

The Bench was hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Delhi government to take action against the hospital as it allegedly violated the Leese deed condition while obtaining the land at a throw-away price to provide free treatment to the poor.

According to the lease deed between the hospital and the government, the Apollo would provide free treatment to the poor.

Source: PTI

Rajni also remembered the day he was denied permission to enter the premises of Nadigar Sangam. “In 1979, I was denied entry on the Nadigar Sangam premises when I came on my scooter to watch the play ‘Ashok Chakravarthi’ featuring Sivaji Ganesan,” he said.

Rajnikanth praised the contributions of MGR, Sivaji, Manorama, Vijaykanth, Sarath Kumar and Radha Ravi towards Nadigar Sangam.

Anjali Devi, M N Rajam, Manorama, Sarathkumar, Radha Ravi, Radhika and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar were among the attendees.

A play featuring Sarath Kumar, Radharavi and Swathi was staged at the function.

Source: www.filmysouth.com

Vikram, very happy with the success of his mega release ‘Kanthaswamy’ will also be acting in the next film by Selvaraghavan.

Source: www.filmysouth.com

Rare photographs of Kamal Haasan, including one from his debut film ‘Kalathoor Kannamma’ (1960), are exhibited inside the bus. Two such buses will tour the entire Tamil Nadu. Cinegoers can get in and see this pictures and documentaries when these buses halt at pre-determined places.

Source: www.filmysouth.com

In ‘Vinayakudu’, Krishnudu played a fat youngman who fell in love with a slim college girl. In the sequel, he will be essaying a similar role. The film is set in the backdropp of Godavari, in the village.

Rao Ramesh, Joginaidu and Yandamuri Virendranath are among the cast. Mahi pens the story and screenplay is by Ramana Salva and Saikiran Adavi.

Source: www.filmysouth.com