Modern Men Prefer Powerful Women (But Also 'Bad Girls' Like Angelina Jolie)

Power has become the ultimate aphrodisiac for modern day men, according to a new study.

Research shows that two thirds of British men now lust after women in high-powered jobs.

Long gone are the days when the ideal woman was the domestic, stay-at-home type - now men believe the ultimate woman is a strong, sexy executive.

Attitude: More than a third of men said they also liked 'bad girl' Hollywood actresses like Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie

Experts say this is not only due to changing gender roles but due to economic hardship men may also be taking a more traditionally female view and looking for a 'provider'.

Research released today shows 66 per cent of men are most attracted to high-flying females, rising to 71 per cent among 30 to 34 year old men.

A girl who is strong, independent and professional is likely to be far more appealing to the modern male, according to the study by games company Electronic Arts.

Now 18 per cent of men look for a partner who's fun, 14 per cent want a woman who can stand up for themselves and nine per cent value spontaneity.

A further 35 per cent said they like so-called 'bad girls' like Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox and Welsh singer Charlotte Church.

Commenting on the findings, relationship expert Jo Barnett, said: 'Finances are harder than ever, and men who may once have been scared of a powerful, successful woman, have wised up.

Ambition: 60 per cent of women said they were more attracted to men with high-powered jobs

'They are now embracing it, as someone who is financially independent is a very alluring option.

'Also, media has sold us the powerful, executive woman as a very sexy image today.

'Women who have it all have a buzz about them, they are not so readily available and the guys flock to them.'

Those living in London are the most likely to be smitten by a high-profile woman, compared to just 56 per cent of the Welsh.

TOP TEN CELEBRITY 'LOVEABLE ROGUES'	TOP TEN CELEBRITY BAD GIRLS
1. Colin Farrell	1. Angelina Jolie
2. Gerard Butler	2. Megan Fox
3. Robbie Williams	3. Charlotte Church
4. Jude Law	4. Sienna Miller
5. Jonathan Rhys Meyers	5. Lily Allen
6. Jose Mourinho	6. Christina Aguilera
7. Russell Brand	7. Lindsey Lohan
8. Christian Bale	8. Britney Spears
9. Danny Dyer	9. Paris Hilton
10. Simon Cowell	10. Nicole Richie

Research also showed that when it comes to looking for their perfect man, most women are no longer looking for a knight in shining armour.

Men who display chivalrous and courteous behaviour are now regarded as weak or patronising by one in ten of the nation's females.

And for 45 per cent, the modern-day groomed man isn't their ideal either.

One in six now find loveable rogues like Irish actor Colin Farrell and Scottish-born heart throb Gerard Butler more appealing.

And, like men, they are also drawn to ambition - 60 per cent of women said they were more attracted to men with high-powered jobs.

Miss Barnett, of datingcoach.me.uk, said: 'Women are looking for the buzz and excitement to distract them from the mundane life of work, kids, usual.

'The 'bad boy' is a challenge, it works the same for women as it does for me, the harder the game, the more we want to play.

'Bad boys have that sex appeal that some of the chivalrous men just can't muster, it's the belief they have that they can play the field and get away with it.

'They have the ability to lay on the charm and we never quite know if they are telling the truth, but it's fun while it lasts.'

The research marks the launch of the new computer game The Sims Medieval.

Stuart Lang, marketing director for The Sims Medieval, said: 'It's interesting to see the change in appeal of men being attracted to high-powered women and more dominant bad-girl types.

'It shows the evolving position of women in society and the developments of their strength.

'These results show that there is still an element of Middle Age mentality in today's society, with women being drawn to roguish characters.'

Earth Hour Hot Phenomenon in Internet

New Delhi: Earth Hour is become a phenomenon in the cyber space as more people are coming forward to pledge for the cause of the Earth by switching off their lights for an hour on March 26 every year, World Wild Life (WWF) Director General Jim Leape said Thursday.

"Around 2.25 percent tweets on social networking website Twitter and 880 searches per second on Google were about Earth Hour last year," Leape told reporters.

Organised by WWF, the lights-off every year at 8.30 p.m. on March 26 is the biggest mobilisation against global warming. "It is much more than energy saving. It is about making a statement for the cause of earth," Leape said.

The phenomenon has multiplied with increasing support from celebrities. "There were more than 5,94,000 hits for Earth Hour after Bollywood actor Vidya Balan pledged to support the movement Tuesday," said Ravi Singh, secretary general and chief executive of WWF-India.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and over 2,000 businesses turned their off lights for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

India joined the campaign in 2009. Presently, mainly the urban centres in the country are participating. "This year, around 50 cities, 11,957 educational institutions, corporates and many small NGOs have pledged to observe the Earth Hour," Singh said

Environment Ministry secretary Dharmendra said: "The government has appealed to over 2,000 schools, 2,000 Resident Welfare Associations, about 100 colleges, malls and hotels in the capital to switch off non-essential lights during the Earth Hour."

"Delhi saved 300 MW of electricity during the 2010 Earth Hour," he added.

The Laziest Lawmakers in India Are…

By Vicky Nanjappa

The Union territory of Puducherry has the dubious distinction of having the laziest legislators among the five states headed for the polls. A report shows that in comparison to the other four poll-bound states -- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam -- the legislative assembly in Puducherry had the lowest number of sittings in the past 5 years.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch states that the Kerala legislative assembly sat for the largest number of days in five years.

Kerala assembly has maximum sittings

The Puducherry legislative assembly sat for only 123 days while the Kerala assmebly sat for as many as 240 days in the last five years. The largest number of bills was passed by the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly -- 225 -- while Puducherry only passed 42 bills.

The West Bengal assembly sat for 219 days in five years (an average of 44 days a year) and the Tamil Nadu assembly for 214 days with an average of 43 days a year.

Image: The Kerala assembly

Shortest assembly sessions in Puducherry

The performance of these assemblies is poor compared to the Lok Sabha, which has sat for 135 days in the last one-and-a-half years. It has sat for approximately 90 days in a year.

The West Bengal assembly held the longest session -- 42 days -- in 2010. It also sat for 39 days in 2008 and 38 days in 2007.

The Puducherry assembly again has the dubious distinction of holding the shortest sessions. On three separate occasions, it has sat only for a day.

Image: Indian Parliament

TN assembly passes maximum bills

In the last five years, Puducherry has held 11 assembly sessions with 123 sittings, with an average of 25 sittings in a year.

Kerala has had 240 sittings in 17 sessions, averaging at 48 per year. The number of bills passed by the Kerala legislature is 135.

The Tamil Nadu assembly has held 14 sessions with 214 sittings, and achieved an average of 43 sittings per year. The TN assembly has passed 225 bills.

Image: The Tamil Nadu assembly

Impressive performance by Lok Sabha

The Assam assembly has passed 125 bills in 17 sessions. With 131 sittings in the last five years, the average number of sittings is 26 per year.

West Bengal has held 8 sessions with 219 sittings, reaching an average of 44 sittings per year. It has passed 149 bills in the last five years.

In the last 1.5 years, the Lok Sabha has held 6 sessions with 125 sittings, passing 74 bills in the process.

Image: West Bengal assembly

Mizo House Seeks Change in Lushai

Aizawl, Mar 25 : The Mizoram Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed an official resolution requesting the Government of India to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

The official resolution, moved by home minister R Lalzirliana sought the substitution of Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes as written in the serial number 10 of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 by "Any Mizo tribes".

It also moved to delete serial no. 7 (vi) of the order that listed the Gangtes as a sub-tribe of Kuki tribe "because the Gangtes belonged to Mizo tribe".

The resolution also sought to substitute the words Lakher and Pawi in the same order as the two tribes already changed the names of their tribes as Mara and Lai respectively.

Members, who participated in the discussion of the resolution said that the amendment of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, as sought by the resolution would improve integrity of the ethnic Mizos in the state and in neighbouring states.

Six Deaths Spark Panic Exodus in Mizoram

Aizawl, Mar 25 : The mysterious death of six villagers in two weeks, forced hundreds of villagers to flee Thanzamasora, a hamlet near Lunglei in south Mizoram. The local priest attributed the deaths to black magic.

According to reports which reached Lunglei town in Lunglei district, the Bru-dominated village had about 70 households. All of them took to their heels in fear.

While three persons died last week, three died this week. According to reports, the six deceased suffered from high fever and vomiting. Their bodies had turned blue-black when they died.

The village bawlpu (priest) claimed someone from the adjacent village had used witchcraft to cast a spell on Thanzamasora. This further triggered panic among villagers, who started migrating in large numbers to nearby villages and forests. The priest reportedly said his powers were not potent enough to counter the black magic.

Lunglei district deputy commissioner, Margaret Zohmingthangi, told TOI over phone that since they had not received a detailed report from the doctors who were sent from Chawngte, a fresh team of would be sent to Thanzamasora tomorrow.

But according to unofficial reports, the doctors from Chawngte have said that an epidemic-like situation was prevailing in the hamlet. They were not able to identify the cause of the death.

Foreign Mobile SIM Used in Northeast India

Guwahati, Mar 25 : Northeast militants are using SIM cards of Bangladesh and Myanmar to avoid electronic surveillance by Indian intelligence and security agencies.

Though the trend is not new, it has increased manifold since the Centre laid down stringent guidelines to prevent misuse of SIM cards by militants.

The recent recovery of two Bangladeshi SIM cards and five mobile handsets from two Ulfa cadres, who are suspected to have been involved in the March 14 blast at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati and were arrested from Panbazar on Tuesday, has certainly set the alarm bells ringing.

Citing the recovery of the Bangladeshi SIM cards as just an example, a highly placed army source said they had concrete reports that rebels of the region were increasingly using SIM cards of foreign countries, including international roaming, to make it difficult for Indian security agencies to trace their location.

“The intelligence agencies in the region are worried about the easy availability of Bangladeshi, Myanmarese and Bhutanese SIM cards for a few hundred rupees in certain areas along the border,” he said.

According to him, it is a “trouble-free procedure” to obtain a SIM card of service providers like Bangladesh Gramin Phone Service in some areas along the border that states like Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal share with the neighbouring country.

“Network of SIM cards of the above-mentioned countries even without international roaming is available within 10km to 20km on the Indian side of the border. Used by militants, this poses trouble for intelligence agencies because the identity and details of the caller cannot be traced as the service provider is in another country. To obtain the call details of such SIM, a lengthy and time-consuming international procedure is required,” he said.

According to him, this is a major factor that has led militants to change their track because many of their cadres were arrested after their locations were traced through electronic surveillance.

“Unlike in India, rules for procuring a SIM card are much easy and lax in some of our neighbouring countries, making it easy for militants to obtain a mobile phone connection by submitting fake documents. Moreover, there is no post-sale verification of the connections to ascertain who is actually using these,” the source said.

The Centre imposed strict rules on issuance of SIM cards by Indian cellular services operators after it was found that several mobile phone connections in the region were procured with fake identity papers and inevitably landed in the hands of militants and their linkmen.

“In some cases it was found that not only were the SIM cards purchased under fictitious names, the photographs in the application forms were also of innocent persons,” the source said.

The SIM cards thus procured had an infinite scope for misuse in militant hands.

“Modern mobile phones can do wonders for militants as these gadgets not only enable communication but can also record videos, take photographs, send it in the form of email attachment, check latest news updates, receive and send messages, point out exact geographical location and can even be used as a timer to trigger blasts,” the source said.

The fresh set of rules to be adhered to by Indian mobile service providers while issuing new mobile connections and verifying existing pre-paid mobile users in the Northeast aimed to ensure that SIM cards remained in the hands of genuine users.

Giving an example of the provisions of the new rules, the source said: “For instance, to get a mobile connection in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, one will have to furnish documents such as driving licence, pan card, passport, arms licence, passbook of post offices or banks together with photograph as their identity and address proof.”

RBI To Address Manipur's Small Denomination

Imphal, Mar 25 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has promised to resolve the acute shortage of small denomination and coins in Manipur.

The state's economy has been hit by the crisis and people have to settle for chewing gums or match boxes in return for an amount between Re 1 to Rs 5.

It is also not difficult to find women coin vendors' selling coins at places like Khwairamband Bazaar in Imphal.

RBI executive director DK Mohanty took note of the issue at a press meet at Ukhrul town on Monday and said he would take steps to ensure the smaller denomination shortage gripping Manipur was resolved.

Mohanty added that since the coins were flown into the state, efforts would be made to increase the number of flights so that the crisis is dealt with.

The RBI executive director was speaking at a financial outreach camp organized by the bank at Ukhrul.

With the primary target to expand banking facilities in the northeast, RBI , which has its office in Guwahati, has planned to set up a unit in Agartala, Mohanty said.

Alessandra Ambrosio – GQ Magazine

Alessandra Ambrosio in bikini – GQ Brazil (April 2011)