Priyanka returns to Miss World

December 10, 2009 - Life has come a full circle for former Miss World Priyanka Chopra.

On December 12, nine years after she picked up her own crown, PC will be on the beauty pageant podium in Johannesburg as a judge for the final round of this year's Miss World contest. “When Julia Morley, who is in charge of the beauty pageant, invited me to be a judge, I was ecstatic.

There I was a teenager all those years ago, nervous as a help on the same platform. Now I'm going in a totally different capacity,” said Priyanka. The actress is happy she could work her busy shooting schedules around to accommodate this contest, which she considers a very prestigious one.

Back home, too, Priyanka is in a very happy place. Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and she are the top three Bollywood beauties who wield a certain power over the box office. Naturally, the best projects are divided between them. “This was a good year,” said the actress, “and hopefully 2010 will be as good if not better.”

She happily starts the year with Pyaar Impossible in January while also shooting with hotshot Ranbir Kapoor for Sajid Nadiadwala's Anjaana Anjaani and with Bollywood supremo Shah Rukh Khan for Farhan Akhtar's Don-2. “Besides these films, I'm scheduled to do a film with my Kaminey director Vishal Bharadwaj,” said the dusky beauty.

The low point of 2009 was when she cried herself to sleep after Ashutosh Gowarikar's What's Your Rashee came unstuck at the box office. “When you put blood, sweat and tears into a project and it doesn't fetch you the kind of box office you hoped for, it hurts,” Priyanka admitted.

But she did not rise to the bait when asked what she feels about co-star and ‘ex' Harman Baweja making his feelings public for her long after they had split. Guess when things are looking up for her the way they are right now, she has every reason to be gracious.

Label : Bollywood news today

Obama receives Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama picks up Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo

December 10, 2009 - US President Barack Obama has accepted his Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Norway's capital, Oslo.

In his acceptance speech, he said his accomplishments were slight compared with some previous laureates. He defended the US role in Afghanistan, saying sometimes war was necessary, but a just war could lead to a just peace.

Mr Obama was given the prize in October for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples". The ceremony came days after Mr Obama announced he was sending 30,000 extra US soldiers to the war in Afghanistan.

There was a mixed reaction when he was named as the winner of the prize for 2009. Critics have said it is inappropriate for the prize to go to the commander-in-chief of a country involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama said: "There will be times when nations - acting individually or in concert - will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified." "A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies," he added. "Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms."

Mr Obama also said: "Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize... my accomplishments are slight." He could not argue with those who said many previous laureates were "far more deserving" of the honour than him, he said.

Amid high security, the US president earlier signed the Nobel Prize book of previous laureates after arriving in Oslo with his wife, Michelle, on Thursday morning.

But there has been criticism because he did not have lunch with the king and queen, and is staying in Norway only one day, even though Nobel ceremonies are usually held over three.

At a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Mr Obama said he and his wife wished they could stay in the country longer. Anti-war demonstrators have gathered outside city hall, where the ceremony is taking place.

"We are protesting against him because he is going to have this prize and we don't think he is a man of peace," one protester, Anna Carraro, told AFP news agency.

The Nobel Prizes for chemistry, literature, medicine, physics and economics will also be presented in the Swedish capital Stockholm. Each laureate receives a diploma, a medal and 10m Krona ($1.4m; £865,000), which is shared by joint winners.

Coinciding with the Nobel ceremony, a statue of Mr Obama as a young boy was unveiled in a park in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The park is close to where the president lived between 1967 and 1971 and the statue depicts him as a 10-year-old wearing shorts, with a butterfly on his finger.

Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said the statue was intended to inspire Indonesian children.

"There is a message through the young Obama statue that any child and anyone from any background can reach their dreams if they fight for it persistently," the Associated Press news agency quoted her as saying.

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