Pope emeritus Benedict to join in double sainthood ceremony

 

AP A Feb 24, 2013 file picture shows Pope Benedict XVI giving his final Sunday blessing from his studio window in Vatican,

The Vatican says the retired pontiff, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, will be among prelates helping Pope Francis to celebrate the sainthood ceremony Sunday for their late predecessors John Paul II and John XXIII.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters on Saturday that Pope emeritus Benedict will be in St. Peter’s Square for the canonization of John and John Paul. He said Pope emeritus Benedict and many cardinals will “co-celebrate” the Mass with Francis.

Pope emeritus Benedict resigned from the papacy a year ago, and since has largely dedicated himself to prayer in a monastery on the Vatican grounds. Sunday’s appearance will be his most high-profile one since he retired.

Pope emeritus Benedict presided over John Paul II’s funeral in the square in 2005, and was elected pontiff soon after.

Podolski double keeps Arsenal Euro bid alive

LONDON: Arsenal came from behind to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League as Lukas Podolski´s double inspired a vital 3-1 win over West Ham on Tuesday.

Arsene Wenger´s side are in danger of failing to reach Europe´s elite club competition for the first time in 17 years after a miserable run saw them surrender fourth place to Everton.

The Gunners needed a victory over their London rivals to climb back into fourth, but their European bid looked in dire straits when Matthew Jarvis struck for the visitors late in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

That shock revitalised a previously lethargic Arsenal and German forward Lukas Podolski equalised minutes later before France striker Olivier Giroud put them ahead soon after the interval.

Podolski´s second in the closing stages sealed Arsenal´s first victory in their last five league games and lifted the north Londoners one point clear of Everton, although Roberto Martinez´s men are still in pole position as they will reclaim fourth place if they draw or win at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday. "We were under absolute pressure to win the game and after giving a lot on Saturday it was difficult," Wenger said. "I was satisfied with the mental response of the team. We showed maturity not to panic when we went 1-0 down. The vital thing was to come back to 1-1 before half time. It was a hard-fought and very enjoyable win."

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce added: "We worked really hard to get 1-0 up, but if you gift them two goals it´s difficult to get a result. The defending for the second goal was pathetic."

Wenger had made five changes from the team that beat Wigan on penalties in Saturday´s FA Cup semi-final, with Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom making his first start and Laurent Koscielny returning from injury. But the Gunners spluttered in the early stages and when they did get behind the West Ham rearguard thanks to Santi Cazorla´s defence-splitting pass, Giroud, back in the starting line-up after being left out of the semi-final, could only flick a tame effort straight at Adrian.

It seemed Arsenal might pay the price for that miss when Allardyce´s team took the lead in the 40th minute.

Antonio Nocerino made a powerful burst from midfield and held off Kallstrom to drive in a low shot that Wojciech Szczesny blocked at his near-post.

Nocerino was first to the rebound and poked it towards Jarvis, who bravely ignored Koscielny´s desperate head-high attempt to clear and nodded home from close-range.
To their credit, the setback sparked Arsenal into life at last and Kallstrom forced Adrian to save at his near-post before the Gunners equalised in the 44th minute.

West Ham were the architects of their own downfall as a poor clearance from Stewart Downing from his own team´s throw-in fell to Cazorla, who slipped a lovely pass to Podolski and the German showed great awareness to work just enough space to fire a superb low strike past Adrian for his ninth goal of the season.

Wenger´s men now had the platform to play with more freedom and they went ahead 10 minutes after the break thanks to a moment of inspiration from Giroud.

When Thomas Vermaelen lofted a high ball into the penalty area, Giroud was buffeted by Winston Reid and Andy Carroll, but he was strong enough to hold off his assailants and control the dropping ball expertly before lashing home from close-range.

Giroud celebrated his 20th goal of the season by paying tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster as he marked the 25th anniversary of the tragedy by kissing his black armband and pointing to the sky.

Podolski sealed the Gunners´ eighth successive victory over West Ham in emphatic fashion, driving home a lethal finish after Giroud and substitute Aaron Ramsey combined to open up the visitors´ defence in the 78th minute. (AFP)

Salman Khan's body double injured while filming Kick in Delhi

Salman Khan

 

When you'll watch the high-octane chase between Salman Khan and Randeep Hooda in Sajid Nadiadwala's forthcoming film Kick, if you don't read this, little will you know what happened to the guy who kicked off the scene for Salman.

This guy, who goes by just his first name Ajay in the industry, landed himself in the hospital with serious facial injuries. The incident happened in Delhi last week.

Nadiadwala had rented a row house near a railway track. Ajay (one of Salman's body doubles) was supposed to jump from the first floor of the house onto the railway track. The scene then required Salman (not Ajay) to get onto a moving train with Randeep Hooda (who plays a cop) close on his heels. Ajay went through the sugar glass (a brittle transparent form of sugar used in place of glass) but the timing went wrong and many broken pieces of the glass pierced his face.

Salman and Nadiadwala both rushed to Ajay and the latter immediately arranged for a car to drive him to a hospital. The shooting was called off for the day.

"Salman has four body doubles specialising in different kinds of action for Kick as the movie has several deadly stunts. It would be foolish for Salman to risk his life all the time. What happened was unfortunate," an eyewitness told Mirror.

Till the time of going to the press, Ajay had not returned to the sets. Mirror has learnt that the scene was wrapped up the next day by one of the other three body doubles working on the film.

Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis on double date

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis first met on the sets of their television series 'That '70s Show'.

Newly engaged couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis joined ‘Two and a Half Men’ co-star Jon
Cryer and his wife for a dinner date.
The foursome was spotted in casual clothes with Kunis opting to go makeup free, reported New York Daily News. While the 30-year-old actress showed off in a short denim dress and red heels, one thing that wasn’t visible was her new ring.
The pair started dating nearly two years ago and, after many speculations about their engagement, Kutcher reportedly popped the question earlier this year with Kunis spotted wearing the ring for the first time on February 26.
The couple, who starred alongside one another for eight seasons on ‘That ’70s Show’ where they first met, are reuniting on the small screen as Kunis is set to appear on ’Two and a Half Men’ the network announced on March 4.

Ranbir-Kat and Anushka-Virat Have a Double Date

Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma have been shooting for Bombay Velvet at Sri Lanka. They are staying at a luxurious resort about 45 minutes away from the famous Yala National Park which has the highest number of leopards in the world. Virat and Katrina joined Anushka and Ranbir and we hear they had a double date. They enjoyed chilling out together and also watching the leopards.