Eman

A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT is a tax designation for a corporation investing in real estate that reduces or eliminates corporate income taxes. In return, REITs are required to distribute 90% of their income, which may be taxable in the hands of the investors. The REIT structure was designed to provide a similar structure for investment in real estate as mutual funds provide for investment in stocks.

Like other corporations, REITs can be publicly or privately held. Public REITs may be listed on public stock exchanges like shares of common stock in other firms. REITs can be classified as equity, mortgage or hybrid.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation was the 10th largest retail mortgage lender in the United States and it was structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company stated that it was focused on earning net interest income from self-originated loans and mortgage-backed securities, and through its taxable subsidiaries, from originating and servicing mortgage loans for institutional investors.

Mortgages were originated through the company’s employees as well as through mortgage brokers and purchased from correspondent lenders and were serviced at the company’s servicing center in Irving, Texas.

Residents of Orkney are benefiting from a healthy eating project, aimed at encouraging people to eat more fruit. The Papdale Residents Association is helping to provide subsidised fruit to schoolchildren, the elderly and local residents through the community shop.

A grant of nearly £3000 from the Scottish Community Diet Project has allowed the association to provide fruit for sale at a discounted rate through Papdale Stores on the Papdale housing estate. The project is primarily aimed at residents living in Papdale, in particular children who use the store at lunchtimes and after school.

Papdale Stores also makes deliveries to elderly residents. ’It is hoped that through a combination of tastings, in-store promotions, recipes and cut-price fruit we will be able to encourage people to increase the amount of fruit in their diets,’ says Susan Atkinson, one of the Orkney health visitors behind the scheme. ’In particular, we are keen to promote fruit as a snack option for local school children.’

Funding for the initiative was secured by the Papdale Residents Association, supported by NHS Orkney, Papdale Stores owner Fiona Flett and local councillor Janice Annal.

Vijay is eagerly awaiting the release of his next ‘Kuruvi’. The movie produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin and directed by Dharani, will be a summer special.

Vijay and Trisha have been to New Zealand to shake their legs for a song composed by Vidyasagar.

After completing ‘Kuruvi’, Vijay will once again join hands with Prabhudeva. The duo teamed up to render a hit in ‘Pokirri’.

Their forthcoming venture tentatively titled ‘Singam’ will go to floors once Prabhudeva completes the Hindi version of ‘Pokirri’.

Prabhudeva says, ‘Quite like ‘Pokkiri’, ‘Singam’ will be a racy entertainer. When I narrated the storyline to Vijay, he immediately expressed his consent to act in it”.

Some of Scotland’s poorest communities have benefited from a cash boost to tackle the barriers to a healthy diet.
The Scottish Community Diet Project (SCDP), a Scottish Executive funded initiative, has awarded 55 grants totalling just over £75,000 to projects across the length and breadth of Scotland.

The SCDP was inundated with a record 186 applications this year for grants of up to £3,000 for healthy eating projects ranging from growing schemes, cooking clubs, community cafes to healthy food delivery schemes.

Many communities in Scotland face challenges to a healthy diet caused by factors such as location, limited availability of affordable healthy food, lack of food preparation skills and equipment, and cultural barriers.

The SCDP supports low income communities to tackle these barriers in a number of ways from small grant giving to running training and networking events.

Knowetop Community Farm in West Dunbartonshire received a SCDP small grant this year and is one of many projects working hard within the area to promote the benefits of healthy eating.

The Dumbarton-based farm, which works with disadvantaged people, is using the grant to prepare ’Roots and Fruit’ boxes, containing fruit and vegetables, to home deliver to individuals or families on low incomes in the Castlehill and Brucehill areas.

Project co-ordinator Eleanor Mitchell said: “As there are no shops which sell fresh fruit and vegetables in the targeted local areas, this is a good way of helping people access healthy food and enjoy the benefits of having an improved diet.”

Another to benefit from the SCDP’s small grant scheme is The Furniture Project based in Stranraer, which is planning to provide a healthy diet for its male volunteers who come from difficult circumstances.

The project, which collects waste furniture and runs a low cost removal service, is offering chilled water, fresh fruit and vegetables, to the volunteers to promote healthy eating.

Three people will also sign up to a programme which requires them to fill in a questionnaire at quarterly intervals to gauge whether or not the healthy options offered by the Furniture Project has had an affect on other areas of their diet.

Since the SCDP small grants scheme was launched in 1997 over £400,000 in grants have been awarded to community groups in Scotland.

Bill Gray, the SCDP’s National Project Officer, said: “These small grants often make a big difference to communities who use them to kick start or support imaginative projects which promote healthy eating.”

“The projects have a positive impact on communities, increasing confidence, raising awareness around food and the environment, encouraging exercise and developing new skills, as well as contributing to availability and affordability of healthy food.”

Scotland’s food and health co-ordinator Gillian Kynoch said: “Projects like these, backed by the Scottish Community Diet Project annual grant scheme, go a long way to provide practical support to people who want to or are trying to improve their diet and lead a healthier lifestyle.”

Director Sanjayram brings Shaam and Prakash Raj together for a movie titled ‘Sivamayam’.

Hitherto known for playing soft-romantic hero, Shaam takes to action in the movie. He sports three different get-ups in the movie and has trimmed his muscles after rigorous workout.

Prakash Raj, in spite of his busy schedule, agreed to do the movie after listening to the story. Sreedevika, Meghna Nair play the female lead, while Riyaz Khan, Thennavan, Sudhakar Vasanth, Kadhal Dhandapani are also in the cast.

Dhina has composed music for the movie while D Leo handles cinematography.

Shooting for the movie is on and it would be released this August.

Post ‘Santosh Subramaniyam’, Genelia is going places.

Having played the role of a bubbly and young innocent role in ‘Santosh Subramaniam’ with ease, the actress is smiling all the way with offers coming her way in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi industry.

‘Santosh Subramaniyam’, a remake of Telugu hit ‘Bommarillu’, featured Genelia as the female lead in both the languages.

A thrilled Genelia says, ‘ I never knew that I would emote so well, until I worked in ‘Bommarillu’ and ‘Santosh Subramaniyam’. I don’t want to do heroine-centric films. If I have a meaty role, I am ready to grab it’.

Genelia has been assigned to do three films in Hindi. They include a remake of ‘Santosh Subramaniyam’ opposite Harman, a movie with Aamir’s nephew and another directed by Priyadharshan’.

VJ-turned-actress Lekha Washington, who made it to Kollywood with Silambarasan’s ‘Kettavan’, is currently acting in ‘Jeyam Kondaan’.

Though ‘Kettavan’ has been shelved temporarily, the actress has not lost her spirits. She is currently being roped in to anchor shows at the Indian Premier League Twenty 20 matches.

She is part of the commentary team which comprises big names like Ajay Jadeja, Arun Lal, Rameez Raja and Lakshman Sivaramakrishnan.

Lekha was spotted interviewing international cricketers and match referees at the couple of IPL matches stages so far in Bangalore.

Let’s wish Lekha Washington all the best on her new role.

Schools and parents across Scotland are being urged to get behind a series of walks aimed at encouraging kids to get active.

The Great Wee Walks, supported by the Scottish Executive, are being targeted at primary school children to allow them to put their best feet forward for their favourite charity or school project.

The first of the two-mile long walks kick off in Edinburgh (April 17), then take place in  Glasgow (April 24); Dundee (May 1); Perth (May and Aberdeen (May 15).

The Scottish Executive is supporting the event as part of its overall commitment to increase levels of physical activity among children.

Inactivity affects two thirds of adults and almost one in five children in Scotland aged 12 is clinically obese. It is recommended that adults should accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate level physical activity (the equivalent of brisk walking) on most days of the week, and children should accumulate one hour of moderate activity on most days to benefit their health (1).

Mary Allison, Scotland’s physical activity co-ordinator, said: “The Great Wee Walks are an excellent family day out and we hope that parents will get behind the event and encourage their children to enjoy the benefits of being active.

Once youngsters see just how fun moderate exercise such as walking is they can hopefully get into the habit of taking regular physical activity which will have a positive impact on their health for years to come.”

Over 100 children and their parents took part in the first ever Great Wee Walk which was held in Edinburgh last year and it is hoped that participation in this year’s walks will be even greater.

All wee walkers will receive a medal and certificate and there will be three start times of 11am, noon and 1pm, with an entry fee of £5.

Terry Crossley, organiser of the walking events, said: “Following on from the success of last year’s Wee Walk in Edinburgh, I decided to roll out the event to other cities and I hope that children, along with their mums, dads, and grandparents will come along and enjoy this nice wee walk.”

Glasgow City Council’s Park Rangers are playing a major role in a bid to get more people physically active by making use of the outdoors.

More than 40 Park Rangers across the city have been trained by the Scottish organisation Paths to Health to leads walks in Glasgow’s public parks.

The Glasgow City Health Walks got under way in June and are aimed at getting people of all ages to enjoy the benefits of walking, particularly inactive adults.

Kevin Hutchison, Glasgow City Health Walk Co-ordinator, said: “Glasgow has one of the largest number of public parks in the UK and we want to encourage people to make use of this green space which is on their doorstep, and benefit their health through activities such as walking.”

“Park Rangers are ideal for the job of helping people get active as they know the local park history and will be able to share this with participants.”

Under the initiative, walks led by Park Rangers take place twice a day, mornings at 10:30am and afternoons at 1.00pm from Monday to Thursday in Queens Park, Tollcross Park, Bellahouston Park, Springburn Park and Kelvingrove Park.

As part of the city health project, walks led by volunteers will also take place in Drumchapel, Easterhouse and the Gorbals.

Glasgow City Health Walks is recruiting and training a range of local volunteers to lead a programme of walks in every part of the city over the next three years aimed at encouraging people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to take part.

The initiative, backed by the Glasgow Healthy City Partnership, is one of 53 across Scotland to benefit from grants from Paths to Health, which supports local schemes to encourage people to take up walking in their community.

The funding of £56,846 from Paths to Health will also enable the group to provide resource materials to encourage independent walking, targeting inactive people who are more likely to be at risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.

Paths to Health project manager Kenny Steele said: “Through the support of the Scottish Executive, we have been able to fund projects like this which will allow residents living in Glasgow to benefit their health and well-being through walking.”

“Walking can be easily incorporated into everyday life and can go a long way to benefiting health.”

Welcoming the project, Scotland’s physical activity co-ordinator Mary Allison, said: “Park Rangers are active for much of the day so what a great way to get others involved in an outdoor activity which they can take at their own pace.”

“Becoming active can be a challenge for many and projects like this can give people the motivation and support to take the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle.”

“People of all ages can benefit from walking and, with summer now here, I hope that many more people in Glasgow will take the opportunity to get active whilst enjoying the outdoors.”

Paths to Health is managed by the Paths for All Partnership and offers grants, advice and training to local partnerships of health, leisure and community interests which wish to establish local schemes to promote walking in their communities.