Over a year after the controversial tape showing godman Nityananda and actress Ranjitha was telecast by some television channels, the two came together for the first time on Wednesday to hold a press conference to reiterate that the visuals were morphed and used to blackmail them into parting with land and money.
Nityananda charged Sun TV and Tamil magazine Nakeeran with attempts of extortion and land grabbing. On Tuesday, Ranjitha had filed a formal complaint with Chennai city police commissioner JK Tripathy against the two media houses.
Clad in white dhoti and wearing a turban and a white shawl, Nityananda walked into the press meet at a Chennai hotel, along with his devotees. Ranjitha sat two seats away from him.
"The video was doctored and the room shown in the video is not mine," he said, answering a volley of questions shot by media persons. Nithyananda alleged that a man who called himseld Sridhar claiming to be a representative of Sun TV and Nakeeran, was acting as the mediator. He also accused Sun Pictures COO Hansraj Saxena, who is now in prison in connection with a cheating case.
"Saxena threatened us on the phone and his assistant Ayyapan did it directly," he said.
When asked why he is making all the allegations now, more than a year after the incident, the godman said that he was frightened that the elements who tarnished his image, may attack his devotees.
It was in March last year the sleazy video showing the godman and Ranjitha was aired. In April, Nithyananda was arrested from Himachal Pradesh and Ranjitha disassociated herself from the video.
SINGAPORE: A 36-year-old derivatives trader has been charged with the murder of Celine Ng Swee Peng, whose decomposed body was found in Clementi Woods Park on July 6.
Ang Soo Hoon, who was Ng's housemate, is accused of killing the 37-year-old property agent at West Coast Crescent's West Bay Condominium between 3am and 9.50am on May 26.
The boyish, bespectacled Ang, looked worried when the charge was read out to her.
She appeared as though she had been crying, and avoided eye contact with the some 30 members of the public who were seated in the gallery who are believed to be mostly Ng's friends.
Before last week's gruesome discovery, it was reported that Ng had been missing since her birthday on May 26.
She was last seen at West Coast Crescent in a purple top and black pants.
Ang will be remanded at the Central Police Division with permission to bring her out for further investigations.
A tense Lottery Commission meeting is expected Wednesday as updated budget numbers come out showing less money for scholarships.
We're talking about $4 million less for scholarships in the state lottery's most recent fiscal year. That ran from July of last year through June 30th.
At that time, we're told Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue predicted about $98 million in scholarship proceeds. But in a lottery document we received Tuesday that number shrank to around $94 million. A lottery spokeswoman says there'd be no comment until Wednesday's meeting. But we're hearing students should be OK for now.
"If they have been notified that their scholarship has been renewed, then they should not be worried at all. And those students who just received notification that they received academic challenge recipient, their award will not change," Shane Broadway said.
Higher Education Department Interim Director Shane Broadway says there's no impact this fall because his office developed a plan based on even lower proceeds, $90 million. They'll continue to adjust every year. If funding problems arise, Broadway says measures are in place but they could hurt certain applicants.
"If funds run short one year, then we will have to prioritize for who receives the awards next year based upon these priorities: students closest to receiving their degree, GPA and if they're in a STEM field, science, technology, engineering and math majors," Broadway said.
Broadway says there's also a $20 million reserve fund in case of an emergency down the road. He is planning on attending Wednesday's Lottery Commission meeting where we should discover the why behind this latest decline in scholarship money.
That meeting starts at 9:30 am and we'll have a reporter there.
And some quick background here, this is actually the third time the scholarship proceeds dropped in the past fiscal year. But there's been no drop in projected sales. We hope to find out where the money went at Wednesday's meeting.
Hugh Hefner has taken to his Twitter profile to rubbish internet rumours he passed away on Monday (11th July 2011). The social networking site lit up with suggestions the Playboy mogul had died, but the 85-year-old told followers he was "very much alive" in a humorous post.
Addressing his 750,000 followers, Hugh tweeted, "The rumors of my death are, as Mark Twain observed in a similar situation, greatly exaggerated. I'm very much alive & kicking". He also alerted fans that he was not only live, but "lying in bed" next to the Playboy model Shera Bechard. Hefner was scheduled to marry his fiance Crystal Harris at his famous mansion last month, but the model chose to cancel the nuptials at the last minute. The ceremony was intended to form an upcoming reality television show, but the magazine magnate has decided to air the episode as a 'Runaway Bride' special. He told twitter followers,
"The guys & I watched an early edit of 'Hef's Runaway Bride' tonight. The fans are going to love it". Hefner and Harris reportedly remain on good terms despite their separation.
Hugh Hefner launched Playboy in December 1953, with the first issue featuring Marilyn Monroe. He had previously worked as a copywriter for Esquire magazine but left after being denied a pay rise.
Charlie Sheen is alive and well, despite a recent internet rumour that suggested the former 'Two and a Half Men' star was dead. The Sheen speculation comes just hours after a similar false rumour claimed Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner had passed away.
A fake story that the troubled actor was dead began circulating on Twitter yesterday (12th July 2011), with fans anxiously searching for confirmation of the news. One user re-tweeted a fake Msnbc story that read, "Charlie Sheen was found dead in his Beverly Hills early this morning, causes of his death are currently unknown" (sic), but a fan of the actor attempted to put the story to bed, tweeting, "Charlie Sheen is not dead! he just sent me a tweet RT".
In fact, the actor had been tweeting regularly throughout the day, asking fans, "Might be time for an "I'll do anything party..." Vegas Anyone?" Rumours of the actor's passing may have originated from the news that his Two and a Half Men' character is set to be killed off. The actor was replaced by Ashton Kutcher for the upcoming new series, and writer Chuck Lorre has been working on ways in which to create a smooth transition between the two stars.
Charlie Sheen is reportedly close to agreeing a deal to return to television in a new sitcom. If given the go-ahead, the show is likely to debut in January 2012.
