Legendary singer Andy Williams, whose recording of Moon River launched him to stardom, has died after a year-long cancer battle.

The king of easy listening – who was tonight acclaimed as having “the most beautiful male voice ever” – was 84.

It was revealed that the father of three told his children in a heartbreaking farewell on his death bed at home in Branson, Missouri, last night: “Don’t be sad, just remember the way we were” – a reference to one of his songs.

The American crooner announced last November he was battling bladder cancer, while on stage at the Moon River Theatre he had built for the town in 1992.

He told fans the disease was no longer a death sentence and vowed to beat it.

Williams went on to perform two shows a night on six days of the week for nine months of the year at his theatre.


The star, who enjoyed 75 years in show-business, had 18 gold and three platinum records plus five Grammy nominations.

Former US President Ronald Reagan called his voice “a national treasure”.

Williams achieved his first hit in the early 1960s with Can’t Get Used To Losing You – but it was his celebrated reworking of Moon River in 1961 that finally set him on the path to global fame.

He notched yet further successes decades later when his songs – including Music To Watch Girls By and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – were used in TV shows and adverts.

Worldwide tributes poured in yesterday from fans and celebrities alike. They included singer Robbie Williams, who posted online: “God bless Andy Williams. RW x.”

Actress Liz Hurley said: “Thanks for the wonderful songs you gave the world.”

BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell acclaimed his “sublime voice”, while Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball said: “May his star always shine bright.”

Singer and US chat show host Kathie Lee Gifford said: “He had perhaps the most beautiful male voice ever. Perfect pitch.”

Williams was born at Wall Lake, Iowa, on December 3, 1927. His singing career began at the age of eight in church with his three older brothers.

They formed the Williams Brothers quartet and built their name on local radio stations.

“I loved singing with my brothers,” Williams once said. “We had a wonderful family life. I just didn’t have any childhood.”

In 1952 he launched a solo career. New York club slots and appearances on TV led to a record contract.

The success of Moon River led to The Andy Williams Show, which ran on TV from 1962 to 1971 and for years as a Christmas special.

He won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety programme.

There was a uncharacteristic scandal in the mid-1970s when his former wife, French dancer Claudine Longet, was tried for shooting her lover dead.

Williams accompanied her daily at the murder trial, where she insisted the shooting was an accident.

Longet was eventually found guilty of criminal negligence and jailed for just 30 days.

The couple had three children together – Robert, Noelle and Christian. Williams wed second wife Debbie in 1991 and they remained married until his death.

Madonna is set to hit a major career milestone -- and she wants her biggest fans to join the celebration!

Oct. 6 marks 30 years since the release of the pop queen's debut single, "Everybody." To celebrate the song that launched one of music's most legendary careers, Madonna's official web site is asking fans to pay tribute to the Material Girl using her own iconic work as a source of inspiration.

Fans should pick their favorite Madonna single or album sleeve and come up with their own sleeve face creation! You can stick to the original photo's look and feel or make it even more fun by adding accessories and/or an unexpected background -- the only limit being your imagination.

Once done, e-mail your creation to madonnacontests@gmail.com before 11:59pm EST on Oct. 19, 2012, using "MY MADONNA SLEEVE FACE" as your e-mail's subject line. Madonna will select her favorite 10 photos out of the submissions.

The "Touchdown" grand prize winner will get an exclusive fan pack thats include an autographed football helmet signed by Madonna right after her 2012 Super Bowl performance, one pair of Golden Triangle pit tickets to an upcoming MDNA Tour show, one month's supply of Vitacoco, "Addicted to Sweat" full DVD set, one album cover lithographs set and one pair of "Truth or Dare by Madonna" shoes (size and styling of your choice). Nine additional fan packs also comprise great Madonna-themed goodies.

The Burberry Prorsum woman this season was luscious; a young, playful and fresh fantasy of champagne pink satin and trench coats in intense colors that were loose and sexy, revealing long, bare legs and waist cinching corsets underneath. After years of nude tones and clean faces, makeup artist Wendy Rowe changed the bare image with something a bit more exciting- Burberry’s new crimson lipstick in Siren. “We’re doing a Norman Parkinson woman,” Rowe revealed. “She’s retro but also modern and has a definite forties look about her.”

There was a warmth and luminosity to the skin; the brand’s new Fresh Glow Foundation was used and dotted with its anticipated Illuminator. Cheeks were softly contoured, and powder skipped to keep the dewy effect. Hair was a little more natural, Neil Moodie prepping hair with Bumble and Bumble Does It All Styling Spray and finishing with Bumble and Bumble Briliance on the ends to keep movement and shine. This was an image of “a very British glamor,” upbeat and almost cinematic in execution. Christopher Bailey took the show to the next level; “People are stopping work to watch,” he said. “You’ve got to give them a good reason.”

अपनी मनपसंद चीज खाने का मौका हो तो लोग क्या नहीं कर गुजरते। जर्मनी के इन पोस्टमैनों को ही देखिए। ये दोनों पोस्टल
पैकेटों में से क्रिसमस केक को चुरा लेते थे। यहां तक तो ठीक था, लेकिन इसकी भरपाई के उनके तरीके ने बड़े-बड़े अधिकारियों की नींद उड़ा दी। वे इन पैकेटों में से केक को निकालकर उसमें फ्रेंकफर्ट के एलबीबी बैंक के डॉक्युमेंट डाल देते थे। उन्हें सिर्फ बैंक के पार्सलों पर उन अड्रेस की स्लिप लगानी होती थी, जो केक के पैकेटों पर लगी होती थी।

बैंक के ये डॉक्युमेंट कस्टमरों की पर्सनल डिटेल्स थे। बैंक ने दुनिया भर में अपने कस्टमरों को अलर्ट कर दिया कि उनके खातों में घुसपैठ हो सकती है। आखिरकार वे दोनों पकड़े गए। लेकिन केक की चाहत में इन दोनों सरफिरों ने पूरी पुलिस फोर्स को दिन में तारे तो दिखा ही दिए। navbharattimes

Many women are dismayed to see hair falling out in clumps, either following childbirth, during or after menopause or due to other causes. While some daily hair loss is normal, thinning hair and partial baldness is a frightening prospect for women. What causes hair loss in women and what natural treatments are available that are not chemically based or dangerous to health?

Causes of Hair Loss in Women

There are various reasons why a woman's hair may thin or fall out. If hair loss occurs as a result of an underlying condition or disease, the specific condition needs to be treated first.

A woman's hair loss is different to the typical receding hairline and crown loss in men. Instead, androgenetic alopecia causes a general thinning of women's hair, with loss predominantly over the top and sides of the head. Hair loss or thinning hair can be the result of:

Shampoos, dyes and hair products - shampoos, conditioners and hair colorants often contain harmful chemicals and ingredients that strip or damage hair and may even cause hair to fall out over time. Typically, there are around 10-20 types of synthetic chemicals in commercially manufactured shampoo. Always shop for an organic, natural shampoo in order to prevent damage to the hair.

Childbirth - it is common to lose hair around 3 months after childbirth. This is a result of hormone levels adjusting after pregnancy. This is a temporary problem and hair should return to its pre-pregnancy state within 6 - 12 months.

Menopause - hormonal imbalance is the most common reason for thinning hair in older women. Estrogen levels drop as a woman goes through menopause and other hormones such as DHT (dihydrotestosterone) can become imbalanced, affecting hair growth. Although female hormones may not have as much impact on hair loss as male hormones, it is still a factor when it comes to hair loss in women.

Hair loss can be the result of exposure to nuclear radiation, X-rays, anti-cancer drugs or a severe nutritional deficiency, stress, flu, pneumonia or typhoid fever.

Natural Treatments for Hair Loss in Women

A homeopath may prescribe lycopodium for hair loss after childbirth and sepia for hair loss related to menopause and childbirth. See a qualified homeopath for correct diagnosis and treatment.

An herbalist may suggest a daily intake of rosemary tea to improve circulation to the head. Rinsing the hair with nettle vinegar is said to lessen hair loss. Three herbs for balancing female hormones are dong quai, chaste tree berry, and wild yam. Combined, these herbs make a great formula for balancing female hormone levels. Always consult an herbalist for a specific condition since certain herbs can be toxic if taken in excess.

Increase intake of vitamin B complex, Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, choline and inositol to help the hair to grow and remain healthy.

Cutting down on alcohol and sugar and eliminating nutritionally deficient junk food from the diet can slow down hair loss. Stick to a natural, healthy diet that includes good fats, protein, whole grains and plenty of organically grown fruits and vegetables in order to prevent hair loss and thinning hair. If hair loss is the result of hormonal imbalance, eat foods such as rice, potatoes, wheat, yams, apples and alfalfa. Regular exercise will help with overall health and reduce stress levels.

Let no one doubt New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again. He went offscript last weekend, predicting that the narrative of the race would change Thursday morning. And lo and behold, he was right. At least for a little while, the chattering class will put a pause on all the talk about how Mitt Romney is falling behind in the polls to talk about how he managed to beat President Obama at the podium. Romney went on the offensive, forcing the president, who looked none too happy to even be there, to defend his policies. And perhaps most perplexing of all, Obama failed to mention the infamous 47-percent remark and Bain Capital, two issues that his campaign has been hammering home for months. Let’s take a look at some commentary.

Obama, like other presidents before him, “fell victim … to high expectations, a short fuse, and a hungry challenger,” writes the National Journal’s Ron Fournier. “Romney smiled and cracked jokes … Obama smirked.” It seems commentators didn’t need to watch until the end to come to that conclusion. Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith called the debate for Romney some 40 minutes in, saying the Republican’s “core success was that he won by not losing.” In Time’s Mark Halperin’s report card, it wasn’t even close. Romney got an A-, while Obama received a B-.

Although Romney may have not offered details about his plans that political junkies wanted, “someone tuning in for the first time, would surely have come away feeling that Romney was the candidate with a firm grasp of what he wanted to do and Obama the guy slightly out of his depth,” points out Bloomberg Businessweek’s Joshua Green. Indeed, writes the New York Daily News’ Joshua Greenman, Romney was “more incisive, more fluid and good-natured through it all,” and managed to be tough “without being vicious or disrespectful.”

Part of the problem was that Obama got on the wrong side of what the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza calls the “fine line between sober/serious and grim/uninterested.” He seemed to be taking on the same persona that worked for him in 2008 when he was an untested leader and was eager to prove he was ready for the job. “But now that he has been in the job for four years, Obama’s demeanor came across far less well.” The Chicago Tribune throws Obama what might be the ultimate insult, describing him as “that guy at the meeting who’s surreptitiously checking his email.”

Even Democrats were not too impressed with Obama’s debate performance. “Energy and focus all in Romney’s hands on this,” writes Talking Point Memo’s Josh Marshall, pointing out that even though Romney repeatedly “left himself open to wounding hits from the president,” Obama chose to “not go there.”

John Hinderaker at Power Line, a conservative blog, is veritably giddy: “It wasn’t a TKO, it was a knockout.” Romney “was the alpha male, while Barack Obama was weak, hesitant, stuttering, often apologetic.”

There were “no haymaker punches thrown and not much in the way of one-line zingers,” write Steve Holland and John Witesides at Reuters. “Romney, however, may have done himself some favors with crisper answers than Obama, who sounded professorial and a bit long-winded.” What’s undoubtedly frustrating for Democrats is that this was exactly the thing many had warned the president about before the debate.

And what seems to be, so far at least, the pretty unanimous view that Obama lost the debate may hurt him more than how he actually did at the podium. “Much worse for Obamas than the debate is the media's harsh verdict on his debate performance,” writes the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein on Twitter.

The foreclosed house for sale on the up-and-coming street pined for fresh paint and other fixes, but the Hankins family saw its potential.

Plus, at $36,000, the price was perfect for a young family trying to make ends meet in small-town Klamath Falls, Ore.

"We said, 'It needs a little bit of love, but it's got good bones,'" Jonathan Hankins recalled. "We just had no idea that those bones were poisonous."

Within days of moving in this past summer, Beth Hankins, an ER nurse, started experiencing breathing problems. Then Jonathan got migraine-like headaches and nosebleeds. By the third week, their 2-year-old son, Ezra, developed mouth sores.

"He couldn't even drink water without being in pain," said Jonathan, 32.

They were about to schedule doctor visits when a neighbor shared the bad news: 2427 Radcliffe was a former meth house.

The family ordered a $50 testing kit and had the lab expedite the results, which revealed a contamination level nearly 80 times above Oregon Heath Authority limits.

"Our walls were poisoning us," said Jonathan, who quickly moved his family to a rental home.

Buying a foreclosed house from government-sponsored Freddie Mac meant the family was informed about being responsible for detecting hazards like lead paint and asbestos, but there was no warning from real estate agents or Freddie Mac about drug activity.

Because it was being sold "as is," the couple decided to save their money and skip a traditional inspection, which would have noted superficial repairs but not the chemicals used to cook the highly addictive drug. "In the case of methamphetamine, it's an invisible toxin," Jonathan said.

Twenty-three states, including Oregon, have laws requiring sellers to disclose if a property was ever used as a clandestine drug lab. In the Hankins' case, Freddie Mac says it never knew the two-bedroom, one-bath home had a checkered past.

"We certainly empathize with the situation, but we had no prior information about the way the home had been used," Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German told Yahoo News. "If we had, of course, we would have disclosed it."

It's a Catch-22 that Joe Mazzuca of Meth Lab Cleanup, a national remediation and training company, predicts others could find themselves in. Based on national and state data, Mazzuca conservatively estimates there are 2.5 million meth-contaminated homes in the U.S. "The signs and indicators aren't always there," he said. "You don't always see the meth residue. It's extremely dangerous stuff."

His concern was echoed at a congressional hearing in August on the efforts to curb domestic methamphetamine production.

Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, head of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy, testified that "U.S. meth lab seizure has more than doubled between 2007 and 2010, and these labs pose a major threat to public safety and the environment."

It was no secret that Mohandas Gandhi had an unusual sex life. He spoke constantly of sex and gave detailed, often provocative, instructions to his followers as to how to they might best observe chastity. And his views were not always popular; "abnormal and unnatural" was how the first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, described Gandhi's advice to newlyweds to stay celibate for the sake of their souls.

But was there something more complex than a pious plea for chastity at play in Gandhi's beliefs, preachings and even his unusual personal practices (which included, alongside his famed chastity, sleeping naked next to nubile, naked women to test his restraint)? In the course of researching my new book on Gandhi, going through a hundred volumes of his complete works and many tomes of eye-witness material, details became apparent which add up to a more bizarre sexual history.

Much of this material was known during his lifetime, but was distorted or suppressed after his death during the process of elevating Gandhi into the "Father of the Nation" Was the Mahatma, in fact, as the pre-independence prime minister of the Indian state of Travancore called him, "a most dangerous, semi-repressed sex maniac"?

Gandhi was born in the Indian state of Gujarat and married at 13 in 1883; his wife Kasturba was 14, not early by the standards of Gujarat at that time. The young couple had a normal sex life, sharing a bed in a separate room in his family home, and Kasturba was soon pregnant.

Two years later, as his father lay dying, Gandhi left his bedside to have sex with Kasturba. Meanwhile, his father drew his last breath. The young man compounded his grief with guilt that he had not been present, and represented his subsequent revulsion towards "lustful love" as being related to his father's death.

However, Gandhi and Kasturba's last child wasn't born until fifteen years later, in 1900.

In fact, Gandhi did not develop his censorious attitude to sex (and certainly not to marital sex) until he was in his 30s, while a volunteer in the ambulance corps, assisting the British Empire in its wars in Southern Africa. On long marches in sparsely populated land in the Boer War and the Zulu uprisings, Gandhi considered how he could best "give service" to humanity and decided it must be by embracing poverty and chastity.

At the age of 38, in 1906, he took a vow of brahmacharya, which meant living a spiritual life but is normally referred to as chastity, without which such a life is deemed impossible by Hindus.

Gandhi found it easy to embrace poverty. It was chastity that eluded him. So he worked out a series of complex rules which meant he could say he was chaste while still engaging in the most explicit sexual conversation, letters and behaviour.

With the zeal of the convert, within a year of his vow, he told readers of his newspaper Indian Opinion: "It is the duty of every thoughtful Indian not to marry. In case he is helpless in regard to marriage, he should abstain from sexual intercourse with his wife."

Meanwhile, Gandhi was challenging that abstinence in his own way. He set up ashrams in which he began his first "experiments" with sex; boys and girls were to bathe and sleep together, chastely, but were punished for any sexual talk. Men and women were segregated, and Gandhi's advice was that husbands should not be alone with their wives, and, when they felt passion, should take a cold bath.

The rules did not, however, apply to him. Sushila Nayar, the attractive sister of Gandhi's secretary, also his personal physician, attended Gandhi from girlhood. She used to sleep and bathe with Gandhi. When challenged, he explained how he ensured decency was not offended. "While she is bathing I keep my eyes tightly shut," he said, "I do not know ... whether she bathes naked or with her underwear on. I can tell from the sound that she uses soap." The provision of such personal services to Gandhi was a much sought-after sign of his favour and aroused jealousy among the ashram inmates.

अमेरिका के वैज्ञानिकों ने नए शोध में दावा किया है कि इस बात का कोई पुख्ता सबूत नहीं है कि गर्भपात के बाद महिलाओं को मानसिक अवसाद होता ही है। वैज्ञानिकों के मुताबिक इस विषय पर आज तक कोई स्तरीय अध्ययन नहीं किया गया है। शोध के मुताबिक इस बात को साबित करने के प्रयास ज्यादातर राजनीति से प्रेरित रहे हैं।
बाल्टीमोर स्थित जोंस हापकिंस यूनिवर्सिटी के वैज्ञानिकों ने इस विषय पर पहले हो चुके 21 अध्ययनों की समीक्षा की। इन अध्ययनों में डेढ़ लाख से ज्यादा महिलाओं को शामिल किया गया था। उच्च स्तरीय इन अध्ययनों से साबित होता है कि सामान्य महिलाओं की तुलना में उन महिलाओं के मानसिक स्वास्थ्य पर कोई विशेष फर्क नहीं पड़ा जिन्होंने गर्भपात कराया था। प्रमुख शोधकर्ता डा। राबर्ट ब्लूम के मुताबिक सबसे अच्छे शोध इस बात का समर्थन नहीं करते कि गर्भपात के बाद डिप्रेशन के लक्षण उभर आते हैं। कम से कम उस तरह जैसे घाव के बाद तनाव संबंधी विकार पैदा हो जाता है। शोध टीम में शामिल विग्नेट्टा चा‌र्ल्स ने बताया कि अभी तक मिले साक्ष्यों के आधार पर कहा जा सकता है कि भावात्मक नुकसान को गर्भपात नीति बनाने के दौरान मुद्दा नहीं बनाया जा सकता। यूस सेंटर फार डिजीज कंट्रोल एंड प्रिवेंशन के एक अनुमान के मुताबिक सिर्फ अमेरिका में हर साल 12 लाख 29 हजार महिलाएं गर्भपात कराती हैं। दुनिया भर में यह संख्या लगभग 2।5 करोड़ है।
शोध में कहा गया है कि गर्भपात एक संवेदनशील
राजनीतिक मुद्दा है जिस पर प्राय: सभी देशों में कानून के आधार पर प्रतिबंध लगाने की मांग की जाती है। जिसे सही नहीं कहा जा सकता। jagran

मुम्बई.अब वो जमाना लद गया जहां हीरोइन को हीरो से उम्र में छोटा होने पर ज्यादा जोर दिया जाता था। अब तो जो बिकता है उसे हर कीमत पर बेचा जाता है। अब बिपाशा को ही चले लीजिए। मैडम का करियर इन दिनों सफलता के बुलंदियों पर है।

बिपाशा ने रणबीर कपूर और नील नीतिन मुकेश के साथ पिक्चर साइन की है। दोनों ही बिपाशा के छोटे हैं। रणबीर कपूर के साथ बिपाशा सिद्धार्थ आनंद की 'बचना ए हसीनों 'में नजर आने वाली है वही नील नीतिन मुकेश के साथ उन्होने फ्रीजी नीमक फिल्म साइन की है। इस फिल्म के डाटरेक्टर जहांगीर श्रुति हैं।

फिल्म के बारे में तो बिपाशा ने कुछ नहीं बताया। बिपाशा ने कहा कि अभी मैंने सिर्फ स्क्रिप्ट पढ़ी है। इस फिल्म के हीरो नील मुझसे 3 साल छोटे है ।

जब नील से इस बारे में पूछा गया तो वे झेप गए। नील मे कहा कि कोई भी इस बात पर ध्यान नहीं देता कि कौन बड़ा है और कौन छोटा,अगर फिल्म अच्छी हुई तो हर कोई फिल्म देखना चाहेगा।
Bhaskar