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Rajinikanth death rumours are false, says family

2011-05-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

"Rajinikanth dead" was one of the top Twitter trends Friday afternoon, all because of a false rumour circulating about superstar's death. "Rajinikanth death" and "rajinikanth died" were also the top two most searched for keywords on Google India.

Although later, Dismissing reports about his deteriorating health as rumours, the family of superstar Rajnikanth today said he was fine and had to take some rest following his recent hospitalisation.

"I don't know where these rumours started from. These are false. He is in good health and is resting at home," his wife Latha told reporters.

Online reports suggested that the 60-year-old actor, who was hospitalised recently with allergic bronchitis and viral infection, was in critical condition.

Thanking his colleagues, fans and all well-wishers, Latha said they were right now not particular on proceeding with the filming of 'Rana', his latest venture, where the 'Enthiran' star plays three roles and romances Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone.

Recently, Rajnikanth was admitted to a private hospital for allergic bronchitis and viral fever, just a week after he was admitted in the same hospital for exhaustion.

He had suffered from exhaustion on the first day of the shoot of 'Rana', being directed by K S Ravikumar

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Uttaradi Mutt live Darshan | live.uttaradimath.org

2011-04-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

There is a legend on how this Brahma Sampradaya was initiated. At the time of Creation, Shri Narayana, the supreme God, moved primordial matter into numerous forms in an evolutionary process and gave the infinite souls, who were under his care from unoriginated times, physical bodies suited to their nature, karma and effort. He created the entire universe including the earth, with its Sadhana Bhoomi – the land where merits turn out to be fruitful.

Sri Hamsa initiated Shri Brahma as his first disciple-pontiff and revealed the divine knowledge to him. He also gave him the idols of Shri Sita and Shri Rama for daily worship in Uttaradi Math. As these idols preceded all other idols of Sri Sita and Rama, they were called as Sri Moola Sita and Moola Rama idols (Moola means original or the first).

Accordingly Shri Brahma worshipped Shri Moola Rama and Shri Sita for a very long time in his capacity as pontiff of Shri Uttaradi Math and passed the pontifical seat to Sanaka. This tradition continued for a long period of time until the advent of Kali Yuga. Eventhough the tradition continued unabatedly, it could not openly continue due to the attacks from demonic groups until Sri Madhvacharyas incarnation. Madhvacharya revived and rejuvenated the tradition and poured new life into it.

Live :: http://live.uttaradimath.org/

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Shivendra suspended for 3 matches, team appeals against it

2010-03-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

In-form Indian striker Shivendra Singh has been suspended from India's next three World Cup matches for hitting a Pakistani player and a jury would decide his fate by tomorrow after his team appealed against the suspension.

Tournament Director Ken Read told reporters that Shivendra "deliberately" hit Fareed Ahmed by lifting his stick in the 39th minute of the match which the hosts won 4-1 last night, leaving the Pakistani player with a small cut above the eye.

The Pakistan team management did not make any complaint but Read found Shivendra breaching FIH Code of Conduct and guilty of level 2 offence -- physical assault without serious injury.

"The action of lifting the stick was deliberate. A four-match suspension is appropriate but given the (good) history of Shivendra, I consider three-match suspension appropriate," Read said.

Accordingly, Shivendra will miss -- unless the appeal against his suspension is upheld -- India's matches against Australia (tomorrow), Spain (Thursday) and against England (Saturday).

The Indian team management, however, is hoping for a reprieve.

"We got the intimation this morning and within the stipulated time, filed an appeal, depositing the appeal fees of Euro 600," Hockey India secretary Narinder Batra said.

A few others felt that it was too harsh a decision on the striker.

Ashish Ballal, former goalkeeper, India, said, "We've looked at the footage from many angles to the lay eye it looks completely unintentional doesnt it seem too harsh since he has no history of indiscipline as well."

"It seems like the natural momentum took him to the position when the stick was raised dangerously but it again doesnt seem intentional what do the rules say about such situations," he added.

Read said a jury of appeal was being constituted and a decision would come before India's match against Australia tomorrow.

"A decision on the appeal should come out two hours before India's next match. As far as I know a jury of appeal is being constituted and decision could come even tonight," the Australian added.

Earlier at the hearing, Shivendra was shown the video footage of the incident and he agreed that when the stick was lifted, the ball was ahead of him on the ground and away from the two players.

Shivendra argued that he had no intention to hit the Pakistani player after the jabbing and just wanted to to run faster and for that to hold his stick with both hands. Read rejected the argument and held that there was no need for the stick to be lifted.

"I find that the stick was deliberately raised and that the behaviour of Shivendra was reckless as to the safety of Fareed," Read said.

Incidentally, Read also suspended Pakistan goalkeeper Irfan Muhammad from tomorrow's match against Spain for wearing a long gauntlet-type glove and a knee pad, which were deemed illegal, in the match against India.

Pakistan team manager Asif Bajwa was also severely reprimanded for the breach of conduct.

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No Reduction in Fuel Prices : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

2010-03-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday stated that there would be no reduction in the fuel prices and that the economy will able to absorb the decision without inflation. "Any increase in prices does hurt some people, but we have to take a long-term view," he said.

Singh said that the inflation would no doubt affect millions of Indians and that the country cannot save people from price rises. "We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all populist fiscal policies. Sooner or later these populist policies if persisted for a long time to come will lead to the erosion of the investment climate," he said. According to Singh, there would be less job opportunities due to populist fiscal policies, which in turn will lead to the government's inability to invest in flagship programmes for the poor people.

"So we have to balance these factors. The increase in the fuel prices, the direct effect on the Wholesale Price Index will be no more than 0.40 per cent," he said. "There may be some escalation but my hope now is that with the rabi crop coming into the market, prices which have caused a great degree of concerns in areas like wheat, sugar, oilseeds and pulses, will see some moderation". As per Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget presentation in the Lok Sabha last week, there would be major personal income tax sops but increase in excise and minimum alternate tax. Mukherjee said that there would be a lower fiscal deficit of 5.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), against the revised estimates of 6.7 percent for this fiscal. "The proposal to reduce the tax slab will benefit 60 percent of all tax payers," said Mukherjee.

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Schumacher says McLaren is the leading team

2010-03-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, who makes a return to Formula 1 this season spilled the beans on the performances of the teams on Monday. According to Schumi, the McLaren team is the strongest of the bunch at the moment what with their performance in testing at Jerez and Barcelona.

Two days ago former champion Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time at Barcelona testing with a stunning lap time of 1:20.472, eclipsing second placed Mark Webber of Red Bull. However the top four drivers were separated by just 0.3 seconds. Things don't change drastically between testing and the first race, and McLaren could emerge the top team at least in the first third of the season. They (McLaren) looked very strong, no doubt," Schumacher told reporters. "But then it depends on who is going to bring what to Bahrain. It's something we'll have to wait for to find out. We have some improvement (for Bahrain), but is it much or is it not compared with what the others may or may not do? It's a puzzle that's difficult to read."

Sunday's testing proved to be quite a battle between Hamilton and Schumacher, who have never raced each other in a Formula 1 race. "It was fun," Schumacher said of his race with Hamilton.

"It was interesting to see whether overtaking was possible. Obviously it was not possible as we were in different stages of our runs and tyres. At one point I felt there was no point because I was harming my own situation a little bit. I basically gave way and basically let him do what he wanted to do and I could continue with what I wanted to do."

"Those four testing days here in Barcelona have helped a lot, and I am now quite confident for the beginning of the season. Quite often, we were carrying a lot of fuel, therefore the times did not always reflect the true picture. It was positive that we worked in a lot of areas and thus gained valuable information. We are heading to Bahrain with a good feeling because we know we will have additional new components on our car. But most of all we know that our prospects for the first races are looking very reasonable now." he added.

Meanwhile Ross Brawn, the team principal of Mercedes GP stated that Schumacher is quite close to his own former self, and one can expect podiums from him this season. "Michael has been very intense in terms of his approach," Brawn said, "He's pretty close to what I remember. He stopped because he was tired of F1 but that's gone now. He's very passionate about racing again and is working hard with Nico to improve the car. He's got to start getting back into the groove but I don't think Michael will be the issue - we've got to get the car a little bit better."

It would be a great battle at the front of the grid with as many as four former world champions vying for the title in the 2010 season - Hamilton, Button, Schumacher and Alonso. But the real fight will be within the Mercedes camp with Nico Rosberg taking on Schumacher, will we see a repeat of the Barichello fiasco? "Until we get Michael and Nico on track at the same time it's impossible to judge between the two of them," Brawn said. "They both look very good. You don't want to see either driver trailing behind and judging from the tests on different days they are close. I don't think they know where they are because conditions and tracks make comparisons different but I think both drivers are looking competitive."

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Coch Kirsten wary of weak Indian bowling

2010-03-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Former South African batsman and current Indian coach Gary Kirsten admitted to reporters on Monday that the Indian bowling lineup is a bit to take on sides like Australia and South Africa in the absence of key batsmen.

India suffered a 90 run defeat against South Africa in the final One Day International at Ahmedabad as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra were rested. The new batsmen as well as the bowlers could not take the pressure and gave away too many runs to the opposition in the final few overs. However India won the series 2-1. Kirsten said that it is not right to judge the team's strength on teh basis of the third game alone. "It's difficult to judge the bench strength by one game. I see it as an opportunity for the younger players but you cannot judge them by one performance," Kirsten said.

South Africa had piled on a massive 365 in 50 overs and India crumbled to 275 in 44.3 overs. Kirsten said that it was essential for the youngsters to be given a chance in the final one dayers, in order to assess their strengths. "We want to win every series and this does not give opportunities for the younger players to get the exposure. But this was a good learning experience for them," Kirsten said. "The turning point was when de Villiers, who played exceptionally well, and Kallis who played the sheet-anchor role, added 100 runs in the last seven overs. They had plenty of wickets in hand. From a batting perspective I'm excited by the talent but we don't yet have a settled bowling combination with nine or 10 seamers in the running," he said.

The India batting lineup makes up for the weak bowling attack, with the likes of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja proving worthy of their ODI status. However Yusuf Pathan, who was recalled to the side after a successful domestic series failed to impress in the final ODI. It remains to be seen if Pathan is retained in the side for the series following the Indian Premier League. Rohit Sharma too did not prove too effective in the final ODI, although he managed to score 47.

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Modi confirms that Bopara will join Kings XI

2010-03-01T18:14:00.001-08:00

It was confirmed on Monday evening that English cricketer Ravi Bopara would indeed play the third edition of the Indian Premier League and that he would join the Kings XI Punjab team on March 3rd.

"Ravi Bopara is going to be in India no later than March 3 to play in the IPL as part of the Kings XI Punjab squad. All media reports on his non-participation are speculative," the franchise said in a statement. "We have spoken to Bopara and he has confirmed his participation and is eagerly waiting to join in the hunt for the 2010 IPL trophy," the statement said. Earlier, a British tabloid 'Mail on Sunday' had reported that English cricketers would not play the IPL due to security concerns in India. However IPl commissioner Lalit Modi spoke to Bopara on the phone who assured that he would definitely participate in the series.

Modi put up the news on his Twitter account on Monday evening, "Just spoke to Ravi Bopara -- he is looking forward to coming to India. All the news about him not coming and comments are completely false," Modi tweeted. 'Mail on Sunday' had even quoted the cricketer, who had said that it was not worth risking his life for sport. "Cricket is my living and in many way my life. But it is not worth dying for," Bopara had said.

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Hockey World Cup : India beat Pakistan 4-1

2010-03-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

India beat arch rival Pakistan 4-1 in their opening match at the Hockey World Cup at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. India scored twice in the first-half while Prabhjot Singh scored the third goal in the second half of the match, effectively making a strong start to the campaign.

Shivendra Singh converted one penalty corner in the 27th minute of the match to give India the upper hand, Sandeep scored in the nine minutes later. Towards the end Sandeep blasted a fourth goal from the penalty corner, while Pakistan's lone goal came in the 59th minute. As a result, India have gathered 3 points and have crossed to the top of Pool B. India would take on Australia next on Tuesday.

India played without regular goalkeeper Adrian D'souza, who was replaced by PR Sreejesh.

Full report to follow.

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Team India begin New Year on Winning Note

2010-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Team India may have lost the final One Day International against South Africa at Ahmedabad, but Dhoni's boys have officially began the new year on a winning note.

India had already won the three match series 2-0 before the final ODI, and most of the key batsmen were rested for the game, to make way for newbies. South Africa had piled on a massive 365 for two in 50 overs and India suffered a 90 run defeat. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag had not played in the match and neither did Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the only experienced player in the side, and he is satisfied with the team's effort.

"The three fast bowlers that we played, their strength was not change of pace. If we had somebody like Ashish Nehra or Zaheer, things would have been different," Dhoni said after the match. "The kind of start they got, 340 would have been a decent total to restrict them to. We have done well over the season, there have been injuries, we have missed key players, if you look at everything, we have done really well. Our bowling has improved in bits and pieces we have done well. Youngsters are doing well. May be in one year we will also put up the best fielding side in the world," he added.

Sachin Tendulkar won the man of the series trophy for his outstanding form in the series. The Maestro created a frenzy when he cracked a record breaking 200 in the second game which effectively won the series for India.

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Shilpa to join R&B artist Akon at IPL finale

2009-05-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

Johannesburg, May 21, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty will join American R&B sensation Akon as he sings his Grammy award winning “Smack That” at the closing ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wanderers here Sunday night.

Organisers also said here Wednesday that Katrina Kaif will join a troupe of Indian and South African dancers led by award-winning choreographer Shiamak Davar to perform the Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman song “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”.

The two actors will be the only ones performing at the finale, ending widespread speculation here that a bevy of Bollywood beauties would feature at the closing ceremony.

Caribbean music legend Eddy Grant will perform the ever popular “Walking on Sunshine” and his anti-apartheid hit “Gimme Hope Jo’anna”, which became an anthem in the days when the white minority government of South Africa strictly regulated everything from music and song to social gatherings.

The five-week IPL will end on a high note for Shilpa performance-wise, but this will be clouded by the fact that her Rajasthan Royals team have no hope of retaining their champion status from the inaugural series last year.

Other highlights on the night will include a perfectly synchronised piece featuring renowned percussionist Shivamani and a group of Indian and South African drummers.

Apart from the various musical acts, the crowd will also be introduced to the Miss Bollywood IPL South Africa finalists, culminating with the crowning of the winner of the beauty competition, who will get a guided tour through Bollywood as one of her prizes.

This apart, 1,500 flying lanterns will be lit and released while a thrilling pyrotechnics show using several thousand rounds of fireworks will light up the Johannesburg skyline as final awards signal the end of an unprecedented cricket event which was keenly taken up by locals, who also opened their hearts to the thousands of Indians who came to watch the series.

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No pot of gold at end of IPL for Shane Warne

2009-05-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

The pot of gold at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) rainbow that had driven Australian Shane Warne to come out of retirement to play in the series has eluded him.

Warne, 39, candidly told the Afrikaans weekly Rapport earlier that the only reason why he and former team mates Adam Gilchrist and Glen McGrath were still playing cricket at their age was money.

“Cricket players’ careers get extended by a series like (the IPL). There is so much money at stake that you would be a fool not to take advantage of it.”

“I believe there are many former players who would give anything to have been part of this era. Guys like Gilly, Glenn and I are getting a last chance before we cannot play at all. And why not?”

Warne said the Twenty20 format of the game suited retired players perfectly: “We still have a lot to offer to the IPL.”

But hopes of extra riches for the Rajasthan Royals captain by reaching the final of IPL II were dashed when Kolkata Knight Riders, who sit at the bottom of the log, held their nerve under pressure to squeeze a four-wicket win in the final over against the Rajasthan Royals in a low-scoring clash in Durban on Wednesday. The inaugural champions are now out of the running.

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Manmohan a very wise leader: Obama

2009-05-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

Washington, Thursday 21 May 2009: Congratulating Manmohan Singh for his second term as the Prime Minister of India, US President Barack Obama has said Singh is a very wise leader whom he respects and is looking forward to visiting New Delhi at an early date.

Obama said this to the new Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, at his Oval Office in the White House.
Shankar presented her credentials to the US President as the top Indian diplomat in the US.

Shankar conveyed the greetings from Indian President Pratibha Patil and the Prime Minister to the US President and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The envoy said that she was looking forward to strengthening the strategic partnership between India and the United States.
Succeeding Ronen Sen, whose term ended on March 31 this year, Ms Shankar arrived in the US April 26. She was earlier serving as the Indian Ambassador to Germany.

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Mumbai to play for pride against Delhi

2009-05-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

Centurion, Thursday 21 May 2009: With their semi-final hopes dead and buried, Mumbai Indians will play for pride as they take on table-toppers Delhi Daredevils in their last league encounter of the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

Languishing at seventh place, Sachin Tendulkar’s men will look to end their campaign on a positive note.

Mumbai had made a blistering start to their IPL2 campaign when they defeated Chennai Super Kings in the opener but four weeks down the line they find themselves bruised and battered as they could manage only five wins against seven loses to bag 11 points from 13 matches.

They had everything going in their favour. In Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, they had the most explosive top-order opening pair and together with Dwayne Bravo and JP Duminy, the batting looked in good hands.

Even in the bowling department they had all the riches. Zaheer Khan and Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga were armed and ready to wreck havoc with the new ball while Harbhajan Singh was ready to mesmerise the batsmen with his spin.

But somewhere down the line things didn’t go as planned and they find themselves at the bottom half.

In contrast, Delhi Daredevils are sitting pretty relaxed at the top and so far is the only team to make it to the semi-finals, winning nine out of 13 matches and with 18 points in their kitty.

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Nation pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi

2009-05-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

New Delhi, Thursday 21 May 2009: The nation on Thursday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 18th death anniversary.

President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the departed leader’s widow and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at ‘Veer Bhumi’, the memorial of Gandhi.

Children of Gandhis, Congress MP Rahul and Priyanka along with her husband Robert Vadra were also present at the remembrance ceremony at the memorial, which was decorated with hundreds of white lotuses on the occasion.

Besides, Defence Minister A K Antony, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a number of newly elected MPs, leaders of UPA allies like NC’s Farooq Abdullah and Kerala Congress chief K M Mani also paid floral tributes at the memorial.

The remembrance ceremony began with the entry of 18 children signifying the 18th year of martyrdom of Gandhi. He was assassinated on May 21, 1991 by a LTTE suicide bomber during a public meeting at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

The eldest son of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, was born in 1944 and served as the the youngest Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. Rajiv attended Cambridge University, where he met and married Sonia at 24. Following the death of his brother Sanjay in 1980, his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, persuaded Rajiv to enter politics.

He stood successfully for election in 1981 and became a political adviser to his mother. After her assassination in 1984, Rajiv succeeded her as the head of the Congress, and was sworn in as Prime Minister of India.

Rajiv Gandhi is credited with ushering India into the 21st century. He was among the few world leaders who saw the potential of information technology and laid the foundations for India to become an information technology superpower.

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Origin Of Indian Premiere League ( IPL )

2009-04-16T02:46:00.001-07:00

What is the Indian Premier League?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on September 14, 2007. Based on the lines of the English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball League (NBA), the IPL is said to be the brainchild of BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi. The idea was first floated in 1996 but was shot down as the board felt it would go against the zonal system of domestic cricket. The project moved into top gear when the Zee group launched a rival Indian Cricket League on similar lines in April 2007.

Who are the franchisees?

The franchisees will own the eight teams in the fray. They can run them in their own styles, bring their own sponsors and even name the team according to their choice. They will even be free to list their teams on the stock exchange.

How is it different from the football and hockey leagues in India?

The IPL, in a way, is not very different in its format vis-a-vis the PHL or the I-League in football. It is, however, totally different in its concept as the teams have been offered to franchisees (individuals or corporates) through a bidding process that culminated on Thursday. The BCCI has already signed up 80 international players who will also be put for auction soon.

When will the IPL matches be played and where?

Under lights, on a home and away basis, in the cities that have formed the teams. The league opens on April 18 and will see 59 matches spread over 44 days.

What kind of money is involved in IPL?

The overall prize money will be US $5 million, with the winners taking home $2 million. The remaining will be up for grabs in different forms, like man of the match awards and cash prizes. By contrast, the winners of the 2007 ICC World Cup in the Caribbean took home $1 million; the Indian team that won the World Twenty20 got half of that. TV rights have already gone for over $1 billion. Franchisees have already committed close to US $723 million. Top players are expected to earn minimum 1-2 crores per season.

What is already in place for IPL?

With the league scheduled for April 2008, the IPL has so far sold the eight teams to corporate houses and signed leading players. Indian stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly will be called “icon players” and can play only for their respective cities. They will be the highest paid players and will not be auctioned. The bidding will take place next month.

Who owns the IPL TV rights?

Sony Entertainment, a division of Japan’s Sony Corp, and the Asia-based World Sports Group (WSG) won the broadcast rights for ten years, worth more than a whopping US $1 billion. TV rights are worth $918 million, with $100 million set aside for promotion.

Who will run the IPL?

BCCI has formed an IPL council that comprises former BCCI president IS Bindra, vice-presidents Rajiv Shukla, Chirayu Amin, Lalit Modi and Arun Jaitley, and former cricketers Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. While the BCCI officials are honorary members, Pataudi, Gavaskar and Shastri will be paid for their services. The IPL governing council will have a five-year term and will run, operate and manage the league independently of the BCCI.

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Indian Premier League 2009 (IPL) All You want To Know

2009-04-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Coach : Venkatesh Prasad

Players :
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Kevin Pietersen, Jitendra Patil, Roelof van der Merwe, Abhmanyu Mithun, Karan Sharma, Rohit Sabharwal, Anil Kumble, Kedar Jadhav, Ross Taylor, Balachandra Akhil, Kotarangada Appanna, Saurabh Bandekar, Bharat Chipli, Manish Pandey, Sreesanth Aravind, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mark Boucher, Srivastava Goswami, Cameron White, Nathan Bracken, Sunil Joshi, Dale Steyn, Pankaj Singh, Tinu Yohannan, Devraj Patil, Praveen Kumar, Udit Patel, Dillon du Preez, R. Suteesh, Vinay Kumar, Gaurav Dhiman, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Ishank Jaggi, Rajesh Bishnoi, Jacques Kallis, Raju Bhatkal, Jagadeesh Arun Kumar, Robin Uthappa, Jesse Ryder, Wasim Jaffer

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Bangalore Team Owner : Vijay Mallya
Captain : Rahul Dravid
The Bangalore team was bought by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group for $111.6 million to own the team for 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Rahul Dravid is the captain of Bangalore Royal Challengers. Team India’s bowling coach, Venkatesh Prasad is the coach of the team.

Royal Challengers Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Bangalore Royal Challengers )

Strengths: Some big hitters in Peitersen, Ryder, Taylor, Utthapa.
Weaknesses: Utthapa's form, Peitersen's short stay, lack of options in Indian players, lack of cameraderie in the team.
Contenders for the title: Slim Chance
Probable Position: 5th or 6th.
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Bangalore Royal Challengers".

Chennai Super Kings
Coach : Kepler Wessels

Players :
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Viraj Vilas Kadbe Palani, Amarnath Manpreet Gony, Srikkanth Anirudha, Murali Vijay, Napoleon Einstein, George Bailey, Stephen Fleming, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Subramaniam Badrinath, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Shadab Jakati, Joginder Sharma, Arun Karthik, Sudeep Tyagi, Suresh Kumar, Palani Amarnath, Ravichandran Ashwin, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Parthiv Patel (wk), Suresh Raina, Thilan Thushara, Muttiah Muralitharan

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings Owner : Indian Cements
Captain : M.S Dhoni

The Chennai team was bought by India Cements for $91 million to own the team for 10 years. Team India ODI and T20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings. Former South Africa cricket team captain Kepler Wessels is the coach of the team.

Chennai Super Kings Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Chennai Super Kings)

Strengths: Dhoni's captaincy; some big hitters in Raina, Hayden, Hussey; all-rounder strength of Morkel and Flintoff; bowling champs like Murali, Ntini and Gony.
Weaknesses: Flintoff's short stay; uncertainty of Joginder Sharma.
Contenders for the title: Very Strong
Probable Position: Top 3
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Chennai Super Kings ".

Deccan Chargers
Coach : Darren Lehman

Players :
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VVS Laxman, Sanjay Bangar, Halhadar Das (wk), Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris, D Kalyankrishna, Abhinav Kumar, Dwayne Smitha, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Pragyan Ojha, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, PM Sarvesh Kumar, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Harmeet Singh, Jas Karandeep Singh, Manvinder Bisla, Chamara Silva, Andrew Symonds, Chaminda Vaas, Venugopal Rao, Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Arjun Yadav, Ryan Harris, Shoaib Ahmed, Tirumalsetti Suman, Nuwan Zoysa

Deccan Charges

Hyderabad Team Owner : Deccan Chronicle
Captain : VVS Laxman
The Hyderabad team was bought by Deccan Chronicle, a media house, for $107 million for a 10-year period. Team India’s Test player VVS Laxman is the captain of Deccan Chargers. India’s fielding coach, Robin Singh is the coach of the team.

Deccan Charges Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Deccan Charges)

Strengths: Explosive Batting.
Weaknesses: Form of the batsmen, weak bowling attack, non-cohesive group.
Contenders for the title: Very Slim Chance
Probable Position: 6th or below
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Deccan Charges "

Delhi Daredevils
Coach : Greg Shipperd

Players :
-----------
Virender Sehwag, Aavishkar Salvi, AB de Villiers ,Amit Mishra, Andrew McDonald, Ashish Nehra, Daniel Vettori, David Warner, Dinesh Karthik, Dirk Nannes, Farveez Maharoof, Gautam Gambhir, Glenn McGrath, Manoj Tiwary, Mithun Manhas, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Tejashwi Yadav, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Umesh Yadav, Yo Mahesh, Yogesh Nagar

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Team Owner : GMR Group
Captain: Virender Sehwag
The Delhi team is owned by GMR Holdings for $84 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Virender Sehwag is the captain of Delhi Daredevils. Australia’s Greg Shipperd is the coach of the team.

Delhi Daredevils Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Delhi Daredevils)

Strengths: 3 things: Batting, Batting and Batting, Amit Mishra's spin.
Weaknesses: McGrath's form, weak bowling attack.
Contenders for the title: Fair Chance
Probable Position: Top 5
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Delhi Daredevils "

Kings XI Punjab
Coach : Tom Moody

Players :
-----------
Yuvraj Singh, Ajitesh Argal, Amanpreet Singh, Brett Lee, Burt Cockley, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Jerome Taylor, Karan Goel, Karan Goel, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Luke Pomersbach, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Ranadeb Bose, Ravi Bopara, Ravikant shukla, Sahil Kukreja, Ryan Ninan, Shaun Marsh, S. Sreesanth, Simon Katich, Sunny Sohal, Taruwar Kohli, Uday Kaul, Vikramjeet Malik, VRV Singh, Wilkin Mota, Yash Gandhi, Tanmay Srivastava

Kings XI Punjab

Mohali Team Owner : Preity Zinta/Ness Wadia
Captain: Yuvraj Singh
The Mohali team was bought by Bollywood diva Preity Zinta, her industrialist beau Ness Wadia, along with renowned industrialists Karan Paul and Mohit Burman for $76 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Yuvraj Singh is the captain of Kings XI Punjab. Australia’s Tom Moody is the coach of the team.

Kings XI Punjab Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Kings XI Punjab)

Strengths: Explosive Batting, Good Fielding, Good Bowling, Good replacements for Foreign players.
Weaknesses: Poor Indian bench strength.
Contenders for the title: Fair Chance
Probable Position: Top 5
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Kings XI Punjab "

Kolkata Knight Riders
Coach : John Buchanan

Players :
----------
Sourav Ganguly, Aakash Chopra, Abhishek Banerjee, Aditya Dole, Ajantha Mendis, Ajit Agarkar, Ameya Shrikhande, Amit Das, Angelo Mathews, Anureet Singh, Anushtup Mazumdar, Arindam Ghosh, Ashok Dinda, Avik Chowdhury, Bhavin Thakkar, Brad Hodge, Brendon McCullum, Chetan Suryavanshi, Cheteshwar Pujara, Chris Gayle, David Hussey, Debabrata Das, Dhiran Salvi, Gaurav Chabbra, Gnaneswara Rao, Iqbal Abdulla, Ishant Sharma, Ishwar Chowdhury, Kshemal Waingankar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, M Sanauth, Mark Cameron, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohnish Parmar, Moises Henriques, Murali Kartik, Murtaza Hussain, Nataraj Behara, P Prashant, Prashant Parmeshwar, Rajesh Verma, Ricky Ponting, Rohan Prem, S Niyaz, Sachin Rana, Sanjay Bangar, Sanjib Sanyal, Sanju Samson, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Sheldon Jackson, Shoaib Sheikh, Sourav Sarkar, Sunny Singh, Vinit Indulkar, Wriddhiman Saha, Yashpal Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Team Owner: Shah Rukh Khan/Juhi Chawla
Captain: Saurav Ganguly
The Kolkata team is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta for $75.09 million for a 10-year period. ‘Icon player’ Sourav Ganguly is the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. Australia’s John Buchanan is the coach of the team.

Kolkata Knight Riders Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Kolkata Knight Riders)

Strengths: A good and complete lineup, Name Change (?).
Weaknesses: Non-cohesive group, experimental strategies.
Contenders for the title: Very Slim Chance
Probable Position: 6th or below
Expectation : Your point of views about this team " Kolkata Knight Riders "

Mumbai Indians

Coach : Lalchand Rajput

Players :
----------
Sachin Tendulkar, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Chaitanya Nanda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dilhara Fernando, Dwayne Bravo, Graham Napier, Harbhajan Singh, Jaydev Shah, Jean Paul Duminy, Jude Singh, Kyle Mills, Lasith Malinga, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Ashraful, Pinal Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Rohan Raje, Ryan McLaren, Sanath Jayasuriya, Saurabh Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan, Yogesh Vijay Takawale, Zaheer Khan

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Team Owner: Mukesh Ambani
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
The Mumbai team is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited for $111.9 million for a period of 10 years. ‘Icon player’ Sachin Tendulkar is the captain of Mumbai Indians. Former Team India manager, Lalchand Rajput is the coach of the team.

Mumbai Indians Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Mumbai Indians )

Strengths: A good and complete lineup, Sachin and Sanath are a delight to watch any day.
Weaknesses: Chokers(???)
Contenders for the title: Great Chance
Probable Position: Top 4
Expectation : Your point of views about this team "Mumbai Indians"

Rajasthan Royals
Coach : Shane Warne

Players :
------------
Shane Warne, Abhishek Raut, Swapnil Asnodkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Kaif, Kamran Akmal (wk), Ahad Malek, Amit Singh, Ashraf Makda, Atul Sharma, Gajendra Singh, Lee Carseldine, Mohammad Arif, Mahesh Rawat, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Parag More, Morne Morkel, Pankaj Singh, Munaf Patel, Niraj Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Pratmesh Salunke, Pushkarraj Chavan, Raiphi Gomez, Anup Revandkar, Jaydev Shah, Graeme Smith, Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Younis Khan, Robert Quiney, Justin Langer, Shane Harwood, Shaun Tait, Siddharth Chitnis, Srideep Mangela, Tyron Henderson, Dinesh Salunke

Rajasthan Royals

Jaipur Team Owner: Emerging Media Group
Captain: Shane Warne
The Jaipur team was bought by UK-based company Emerging Media for $67 million to own the team for a period of 10 years. Former Australian spin bowler Shane Warne is both the captain and coach of Rajasthan Royals. Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her business partner Raj Kundra recently bought a 12 per cent stake in the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan Royals Promotional Video

Probability and controversies ( Rajasthan Royals )

Strengths: A complete lineup, explosive batting, some hidden talents.
Weaknesses: Can they repeat the magic again?
Contenders for the title: Great Chance
Probable Position: Top 4
Expectation : Your point of views about this team "Rajasthan Royals"

Indian Premier League, 2009 complete fixture and timetable and venues :

South Africa is the host of 2nd season of IPL Twenty20 League. The opening match will be started on April 18, 2009 at Newlands stadium in Cape Town and final match will be held in Johannesburg.

South Africa’s 8 cities will be celebrated IPL 2009’s all matches. 59 matches will be kicked in 8 different cities. They are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth and the opening match will be kicked off between Rajasthan Royals (the inaugural champions) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Fist semifinal will be taken place at SuperSport Park, Centurion and the second semifinal and final will be kicked off at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

DATE	MATCH SCHEDULE & PLACE
April 18 (Sat)	RR v RCB (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT) ,Cape Town MI v CSK (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT) ,Cape Town
April 19 (Sun)	KKR v DC (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT) ,Cape Town DD v KXIP (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT),Cape Town
April 20 (Mon)	RCB v CSK (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
April 21(Tue)	RR v MI (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban KKR v KXIP (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
April 22(Wed)	DD v CSK (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban RCB v DC (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Cape Town
April 23(Thurs)	KKR v RR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
April 24(Fri)	KXIP v RCB (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Johannesburg
April 25(Sat)	KKR v CSK (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Cape Town DC v MI (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
April 26(Sun)	RR v KXIP (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Cape Town RCB v DD (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
April 27(Mon)	KKR v MI (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Cape Town CSK v DC (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
April 28(Tue)	DD v RR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Centurion
April 29(Wed)	MI v KXIP (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban KKR v RCB (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
April 30(Thurs)	DD v DC (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Supersport Park RR v CSK (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Centurion
May 1(Fri)	RCB v KXIP (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), East London MI v KKR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
May 2(Sat)	RR v DC (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Johannesburg CSK v DD (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
May 3(Sun)	MI v RCB (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban KXIP v KKR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), East London
May 4(Mon)	DC v CSK (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
May 5(Tue)	DD v KKR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban KXIP v RR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
May 6(Wed)	MI v DC (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Centurion
May 7(Thurs)	KXIP v CSK (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), S Park RCB v RR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Centurion
May 8(Fri)	DD v MI (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), East London
May 9(Sat)	DC v KXIP (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Bloemfontein CSK v RR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
May 10(Sun)	KKR v DD (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), East London RCB v MI (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Johannesburg
May 11 (Mon)	DC v RR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Bloemfontein
May 12 (Tue)	RCB v KKR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Centurion KXIP v MI (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Centurion
May 13 (Wed)	DC v DD (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban
May 14 (Thurs)	MI v RR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban CSK v RCB (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
May 15 (Fri)	KXIP v DD (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Kimberley
May 16 (Sat)	CSK v MI (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Johannesburg DC v KKR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Port Elizabeth
May 17 (Sun)	RR v DD (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Kimberley KXIP v DC (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Johannesburg
May 18 (Mon)	CSK v KKR (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Centurion
May 19 (Tue)	DD v RCB (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Johannesburg
May 20(Wed)	CSK v KXIP (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Durban RR v KKR (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Durban
May 21(Thurs)	DC v RCB (12:30 local, 10:30 GMT), Centurion MI v DD (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT), Centurion
May 22(Fri)	Semi Final 1, (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT),Centurion
May 23(Sat)	Semi Final 2, (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT),Johannesburg
May 24(Sun)	Final, (16:30 local, 14:30 GMT),Johannesburg

****** RR - Rajasthan Royals , MI - Mumbai Indians , DC - Deccan Chargers , KKR - Kolkata Knight Riders , CSK - Chennai Super Kings , KXIP - Kings XI Punjab , RCB - Royal Challenger Bangalore , DD - Delhi Daredevils ******

There was some news in media that the two semi-final and final will be hold in Indian home ground but I now I can see that it will be held on South Africa. Any why, this is very good decision from IPL authority.

Note : Let me know what's your team and who's going to be win this IPL 2009 2nd Season Tournament.

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Competitor Of Tata's NANO? A Complete Overview !

2009-04-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

Don't hurry for Nano; one more beautiful car is on its way to India ..!
This car will be launching in India in collaboration with Mahindra,
Which is another budget car to compete TATA and FIAT 500.
Take a complete overview of this amazing car comparing with Tata's NANO..

Make : TATA
Model: NANO
Apprx. Cost: Rs. 1,34,000

Make: RENAULT
Model: YENI...
Apprx. Cost: Rs. 1, 30, 000 ( AED 10,000/-) (US $2750)

Interior design in NANO ..small seating's comparing to the YENI..

Interior design in YENI ..Large seating's with extra space behind..

Concept In NANO :

Tata Motors has just unveiled its hotly anticipated ‘one-Lakh’ car at the New Delhi Auto Expo. Officially called the Nano, the new vehicle is also known as the ‘people’s car’, as it aims to get the upwardly mobile Indian market motoring for a starting price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500).

Available in either Standard (red) or Luxury (yellow) guise, the 624cc, rear-engined four-door Nano has been designed for a four person family and is claimed to have generous interior space despite its compact exterior dimensions - the car is just 3.1m long, 1.5m wide and stands 1.6m high. The mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners, enables this combination of space while facilitating maneuverability in crowded urban areas.

Aside from its low price, a strong selling point of the new Nano will also likely be the ability to personalize the vehicle, like the Mini and the Fiat 500. Buyers will be able to specify different scoop trim (situated ahead of the rear wheels), decals, seat covers and dash colors. It is expected to launch in India later this year.

Concept in YENI : The cheapest car available soon in India by the collaboration of RENAULT and Mahindra. The car will cost around Rs 1,30,000 which will compete TATA mini car and FIAT 500 . This car will be available soon in market at end of 2007 all these car s are in same segment and the price of these mini cars is really close to each other. These will effect the sale of bikes because these mini cars are much efficient and fuel effective and cost little more then a bike so every one would like to buy car rather than a bike, so these car will change the trend and every one will purchase these mini cars. This would also effect the mid range cars market.

These three companies are good at market and there will be very good competition after
releasing these car. Information for the car Mahindra - Renault Yeni will be available
on every showroom of Mahindra detail of this car. The car looks are futuristic design like
swift already in market. Mahindra-Renault also launched the Logan which is running at good
pace in market.

This segment is very tight there are many cars and big brand available like General Motors Lancer, Ford Fiesta, Swift Optra Magnum and much more. But in mini segment there is growth but yet it will boost sales record when these cars enter in market. These cars are affordable by price and running cost . Everyone wants to buy a car but price of car and running cost shatter their dreams but now dreams will come true for the middle class families. This new year will give you greatest gift of new Yeni car by the collaboration of RENAULT and Mahindra.

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Scandal-Hit Indian Giant taken over by Tech Mahindra

2009-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI (AFP) – India’s Tech Mahindra has won the bid for Satyam Computer Services in a sale aimed at giving the scandal-hit outsourcing giant vital fresh capital and a new beginning, Satyam announced on Monday.The mid-level outsourcing firm put in the highest offer in sealed bids that were opened on Monday by Satyam’s government-appointed board, a Satyam spokeswoman said.

“Tech Mahindra has won the bidding at 58 rupees a share,” she told AFP.

Satyam has been struggling for survival since its founder B. Ramalinga Raju confessed in January that he faked a billion-dollar bank balance and inflated profits.

Tech Mahindra beat Indian engineering heavyweight Larsen & Toubro, which already had a 12 percent stake in Satyam and was seen as a front-runner for the company at the heart of India’s biggest-ever accounting fraud.

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India wins Azlan Shah Cup after 13 years

2009-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Making a superb display of speed and execution of planning on the field, the indian hocket team on Sunday beat the host mateam by 3-1 to lift the 18th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here.

India won this prestigious tournament after 13 years of gap on Sunday.

Sunday’s win made India a champion for the fourth time, the previous three occasions being 1985, 1991 and 1995. India had made it to the finals on other two occasions in 2006 and 2008. India had lost 1-2 to Argentina in last year’’s final.

On Sunday, Arjun Halappa put India into lead as early in the 8th minute of the game but the happiness in the Indian camp were short-lived as Azlon Mizron restored parity for Malaysia.

Prabhjot Singh scored the second goal in the 20th minute. While Shivender Singh scored the third goal for his team.

On Saturday, India had overcome its arch-rival Pakistan with 2-1 score, ensuring a contest with Malaysia in their sixth final in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

The Malaysians, on the other sided, had booked their third berth in Sunday’’s final by drawing 1-1 with New Zealand. In 1985, they had lost the final match to India and in 2007 to Australia.

On Saturday, it was skipper Sandeep Singh’s two goals against Pakistan, which helped India its victory over Pakistan hockey team. India needed a draw to reach finals.

Indian players certainly had a psychological edge for the final match, as they had already crushed Malaysia 3-0 in the league stage.

The two teams had last played each other in the final in 1985. This was Malaysia’s third final in the prestigious competition. Malaysia had drawn 1-1 with New Zealand to reach the finals this time.(ANI)

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IPL 2009 Schedule

2009-04-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

Indian Premier League is all set to commence on April 18 at South Africa. The second season of IPL is ready to entertain us. IPL is played in a entertaining T20 foramt which is adored by all the cricket lovers.The teams to participate in IPL are : Chennai Super Kings, Kolkatta Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Dare Devils, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab. Get Ready for the exciting tournament. IPL rocks!!!

IPL Matches Schedule 2009

Date Matches
Apr 18 Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings - Cape Town
Apr 18 Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Cape Town

Apr 19 Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab - Cape Town
Apr 19 Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Cape Town

Apr 20 Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers - Port Elizabeth

Apr 21 Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban
Apr 21 Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians - Durban

Apr 22 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers - Cape Town

Apr 23 Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils - Durban
Apr 23 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals - Cape Town

Apr 24 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban

Apr 25 Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers - Durban
Apr 25 Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Cape Town

Apr 26 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils - Port Elizabeth
Apr 26 Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals - Cape Town

Apr 27 Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings - Durban
Apr 27 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians - Port Elizabeth

Apr 28 Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals - Pretoria

Apr 29 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers - Durban
Apr 29 Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians - Durban

Apr 30 Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils - Pretoria
Apr 30 Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings - Pretoria

May 1 Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - East London
May 1 Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Durban

May 2 Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals - Port Elizabeth
May 2 Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings - Johannesburg

May 3 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab - Port Elizabeth
May 3 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians - Johannesburg

May 4 Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers - East London

May 5 Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban
May 5 Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban

May 6 Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians - Pretoria

May 7 Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals - Pretoria
May 7 Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings - Pretoria

May 8 Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians - East London

May 9 Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab - Kimberley
May 9 Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Kimberley

May 10 Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers - Port Elizabeth
May 10 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils - Johannesburg

May 11 Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers - Kimberley

May 12 Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Pretoria
May 12 Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab - Pretoria

May 13 Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers - Durban

May 14 Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings - Durban
May 14 Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals - Durban

May 15 Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils - Bloemfontein

May 16 Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians - Port Elizabeth
May 16 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers - Johannesburg

May 17 Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers - Johannesburg
May 17 Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils - Bloemfontein

May 18 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings- Pretoria

May 19 Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers - Johannesburg

May 20 Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Durban
May 20 Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab - Durban

May 21 Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils - Pretoria
May 21 Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers - Pretoria

May 22 Semi Final 1 - Pretoria
May 23 Semi Final 2 - Johannesburg

May 24 FINAL - Johannesburg

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Priyanka to root for KKR in IPL II

2009-04-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Amethi, Apr 14 (PTI) Her busy campaign schedule for the general elections notwithstanding, Congress' star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi will cheer for Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders in the second Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.
"I guess so, yes," Priyanka said when asked whether she would support Kolkata Knight Riders during the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament that was shifted out of India owing to a clash of dates with elections.

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Hyderabad-based team Deccan Chargers in their opening match in Cape Town on April 19.

"Yes," she told NDTV when asked whether she backed the team because it is owned by Shahrukh Khan.

Priyanka, her husband Robert and brother Rahul Gandhi had attended Kolkata Knight Riders match during the inaugural edition of IPL last year.

Incidentally, Kolkata Knight Riders play a match on April 23 when elections are scheduled to be held in Amethi, a constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi.

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IPL a 'thank you' to SA, says Khan

2009-04-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Bringing the Indian Premier League (IPL) to South Africa is a means of saying "thank you" to South Africa for its hospitality and warmth over the years, says Kolkatta Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan.

Fondly known as the Tom Cruise of Bollywood, Khan lands in Cape Town on Tuesday in time for the league at the weekend. His team has already been training in Bloemfontein for two weeks.

The Kolkatta Knight Riders, owned by Khan, Indian businessman Jai Mehta, and his Bollywood actress wife, Juhi Chawla, is one of the eight teams participating in the IPL this year.

Khan, 43, has made several trips to Namibia and South Africa, visiting Joburg, Durban, Cape Town and, more recently, Sun City, but this trip will be special because it will be his first visit "with the kids". He is expected to arrive with his wife, Gauri Khan, son Aryan and daughter Suhana.

The family would stay for a few weeks, mostly in Cape Town, he said.

He said he was really looking forward to the tournament.

"South Africans are such warm people, very welcoming, very open and friendly."

He said the tournament was significant for his team because the whole team would be in town, unlike last year when some players did not take part.

"We're hoping to see some of the wildlife and we're really looking forward to meeting some of the people again... and drink some good South African wine," he said.

He was expecting some competition, but the team were aiming to make the top six and hoping to secure a position in the top four teams of the tournament.

"But South Africans won't need to worry - as an actor and as a film-maker I can assure you we will put on a good show."

Despite his claim to fame as a Bollywood legend Khan has always had deep roots in sport, particularly cricket. He recalls a stint as a "good" wicketkeeper when he was 19.

Khan said he had been working on many projects, mostly to do with sport, because as a teenager he was involved in many sporting codes, including hockey and cricket, which took priority.

"Many youngsters never really had access to these sports. In our country you can't really make a career of it. So I wanted to create something that my son could be involved in one day. When I was young playing cricket wasn't really considered a profession, so I really wanted to create a platform for young people to develop their skills and talents. I look at it as a part of my social responsibility."

Given that his name Shahrukh means "face of the king", it is not surprising the star is currently the top actor in India, according to Internet critics.

Khan has won several awards for his outstanding performances in Darr, in 1993, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in 1995, Dil To Pagal, in 1997 and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in 1998. He owns three production houses in India, Red Chillies Entertainment and Idiot Box, and runs the Dreamz Unlimited production company with co-star Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza.

So what about Slumdog Millionaire?

Khan, who turned down a role in the movie, said he personally wanted to make the movie.

"I've said it's not an Indian film, it's a foreign film, and how India is portrayed in the movie is not the point of the film. The film is not about the country. But it was very well done. I think it turned out far better than if I had done it."

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Mumbai Indians - Team Preview

2009-04-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Performance in IPL 2008

Mumbai had a disastrous start, losing their first four games to Bangalore, Chennai, Punjab and Hyderabad but bounced back remarkably well before ultimately failing to make it to the semi-finals.

After four successive defeats, Mumbai won their next six games on the trot - the best streak of the tournament- as they appeared to peak at just the right time.

Mumbai will rue their 1-run defeat to Punjab since it not only ended their winning streak but also their hopes of a semi-final berth as the team seem to lose momentum. Two more defeats followed before Mumbai beat lowly Bangalore to finish in fifth position.

Who's in, who's out

Mumbai shopped for South African sensation Jean-Paul Duminy in this year's auction and splashed out an eye-popping USD 950,000 to acquire the stylish southpaw.

New Zealander Kyle Mills (USD 150,000) and Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful (USD 75,000) were part of their signings.

Mumbai was also involved in two swaps, trading Robin Uthappa for Zaheer Khan with Bangalore and Shikhar Dhawan for Ashish Nehra with Delhi. Jaydev Shah was also added to the roster while Dwayne Smith, Dominic Thornely and Ashwell Prince were released from their contracts. Shaun Pollock will not return as a player after taking up the role of the coach.

Mumbai also signed Graham Napier and Ryan McLaren, both prolific all-rounders in the English Twenty20 competition.

Players to watch out for

Sachin Tendulkar: Sachin Tendulkar is loved the world over and will be cynosure of all eyes in South Africa as well. He missed the inital games last season but is expected to be available for the entire duration this time around. Not only has he been among the runs for India, he has amassed his runs in a manner which reminds us of the Tendulkar of the nineties. Tendulkar on song will be vital to Mumbai's success.

Graham Napier: The cricket world stood up and took notice of Napier's talent after he blasted a 52-ball 158 for Essex in a Twenty20 game. He scored runs heavily and quickly last season and is a decent medium pacer, capable of bowling the yorkers in the death overs.

Zaheer Khan: Zaheer Khan has led the Indian attack superbly in all conditions in recent times. Zaheer will enjoy the conditions in South Africa and his recent form suggests that batsmen will find it difficult against him.

Shikhar Dhawan: Dhawan scored consistently for Delhi, notching up four fifties in last year's IPL and Mumbai will be hoping he picks up from where he left off. A batsman in the classical mould with shots all around the wicket, Dhawan is the ideal number three.

Trivia

Dhawal Kulkarni of Mumbai bowled 3 wides in a row in his last over against Chennai, thus becoming the first bowler to have such a dubious record.

Sanath Jayasuriya of Mumbai Indians, the oldest player in the IPL, holds the record for the most sixes - 31.

Sanath Jayasuriya hit more fours than anyone else in the IPL. He hit a total of 57 boundaries.

Mumbai won their match at home against the Kolkata with a staggering 87 balls to spare, the highest margin in terms of balls remaining in IPL 2008.

Mumbai Indians used as many as three captains - Shaun Pollock, Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar - in the 14 games they played.

Tendulkar holds the record for the most number of catches in an IPL match with 4 catches in the match between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth after Mumbai lost to Kings XI Punjab in a tense game following which Harbhajan was banned from the remainder of the tournament.

5 of the Mumbai Indians batsmen got run out in the game against the KKR. This is a record of a sorts for the IPL.

Current Squad

Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo (WI), Shikhar Dhawan, Jean-Paul Duminy (SA), Harbhajan Singh, Dilhara Fernando (SL), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Zaheer Khan, Ryan McLaren (SA), Dhawal Kulkarni, Lasith Malinga (SL), Kyle Mills (NZ), Graham Napier (ENG), Chetanya Nanda, Mohammad Ashraful (B'desh), Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohan Raje, Luke Ronchi (AUS), Jaydev Shah, Pinal Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Yogesh Takawale, Saurabh Tiwary

Coaches

Head Coach: Shaun Pollock (SA)

Assistant Head Coach: Pravin Amre

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IPL braces up for White Mischief

2009-04-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: England star Kevin Pietersen will have a bunch of "naughty' and "hottie" cheerleaders rooting from the sidelines when he makes his Indian Premier League debut on Saturday.

Pietersen, bought by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record $1.55 million, will clash with good friend Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals on the opening night in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Royal Challengers, owned by flamboyant liquor and airline tycoon Vijay Mallya, had hired the Washington Redskins cheerleaders for the inaugural IPL season last year in India.

The scantily-clad girls obviously failed to inspire as the Royal Challengers finished seventh out of eight teams in the glitzy Twenty20 tournament.

So Mallya dropped the Redskins and hired 24 members of the US-based Varsity cheerleader group for the second season, renaming them the "White Mischief Gals".

"A little bit naughty, a little more hottie and a lot more mischievous," a Mallya company release said of the group, named after his 'White Mischief' brand of vodka.

"Necklines plunging, hemlines rising, they are all set to let the mercury soar, higher than any of the sixes that come from the blades of Kevin Pietersen."

The cheerleaders, the release added, have been "specially trained in flirty acrobatic skills for a scintillating on-field performance."

The use of cheerleading squads last year provoked complaints from some conservative quarters in India.

The Mumbai Indians forced their cheerleaders to don pants instead of skirts after protests from political parties.

The White Mischief Gals will travel across South Africa for all Royal Challenger matches during the five-week tournament, offering fans "flirtatious messages and tips," the statement said.

Pietersen will only enjoy their support for the first two weeks, as he is due to return to England in early May to prepare for the Test series against the West Indies.

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India lose ODI but Win Series 3-1

2009-03-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Jesse Ryder continued his smooth drive in the series and took the Indians for a ride, a bumpy one undoubtedly. Three wickets to wreck the famed Indian batting line-up followed by 63 blazing runs set it up for New Zealand perfectly.

Very appropriately, the burly NZ opener was awarded the man of the match prize for his 63 and 3/29. India created history when they had wrapped up the series in Hamilton, their first series victory in New Zealand. India won the National Bank Series 3-1.

Carrying on after Ryder’s swinging willow was stopped by Ishant Sharma, Martin Guptill finished the New Zealand innings in style with a whack to the boundary off Sharma. The penultimate delivery was hit for a maximum. The Black Caps emerged winners by 8 wickets after the Indians were given a taste of the taste of their own medicine, that of power hitting.

Team India seemed to have left everything on the explosive Virender Sehwag who had continued in the ‘Hamilton fashion’ before he was dismissed for 40 off 27 deliveries. It was complete Kiwi invasion there after with the other warrior for India being Rohit Sharma who remained unbeaten on 43. For the visitors, the only other batsman to have touched the double figures was Yuvraj Singh (11). It was only a matter of time before India were wrapped up for a meagre 149 in 36.3 overs.

The ODI series was affected by rain for the fourth time in the series but thankfully only 7 overs-a-side was lost when the play was delayed due to heavy showers.

It was only a matter of time for New Zealand to emerge victorious after Jesse Ryder went all berserk thumping the Indian attack out of the Eden Park in Auckland. After Brendon McCullum’s early departure, Ryder and Martin Guptill joined hands to put up an 84 run partnership before Ishant Sharma induced an inside edge off Ryder’s bat only for the bails to be taken off. Guptill (57) and Ross Taylor (28) too freed their arms in the end to prepare for the Test series in grand fashion.

This sure was a consolation victory but undoubtedly an important one for the Kiwis. They will be pretty confident finishing the otherwise disappointing ODI series on a high. The Black Caps would now have restored faith in their capabilities after being spanked to all corners in the first three (completed) matches of the National Bank ODI series. Coming to terms with reality, the 50-50 format has come to an end and India have created history winning their first ODI series on New Zealand soil. It will be a new day on the first morning of the Test series and the team that plays well will create ripples.

India are sure to get the boost with the return of Test format mavericks Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.

The Test series begins March 18 at Seddon Park, Hamilton. India have not won a Test series in New Zealand for 41 years now. We all hope history is recreated and India emerges victorious in the Test series too. For that, however, we will have to wait and watch…

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Bangalore won't provide security for IPL

2009-03-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

n another jolt to the Indian Premier League, Bangalore police on Saturday declined to provide security cover for the tournament till May 3 and advised organisers to hold all matches after May 4.

"Bangalore City police will not be in a position to give security for IPL matches until May 3 in view of our commitments regarding Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on April 23 and April 30," Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said.

In a letter addressed to Royal Challengers, the local team owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, he said police will not be able to provide security for matches from May 15 to 18 in view of counting of votes on May 16.

However, Bidari said security could be provided if matches are played on May 4, 7, 10, 11, 14 19 and 20, suggesting the organisers to reschedule the dates.

As per the earlier schedule drawn prior to the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, matches were supposed to be played on April 14, 19, 23 and May 3, 7, 15 and 19.

V Shashikanth, Royal Challengers representative, had held talks with the police commissioner on Friday on the security issue.

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Piracy has finally become Mainstream

2009-03-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

While the entertainment industries push for harsher copyright laws, public opinion steers in the opposite direction. Two recent studies from Canada and Spain found that half of the Internet users use p2p networks to download music, software and films.

Less than 5% of the respondents believe that people who download copyrighted content are engaging in criminal behavior.

In recent years many studies have shown that a large chunk of Internet users share copyrighted files on P2P networks, and this number is rapidly increasing every year. The results of a Canadian study published today show that 45% of all those surveyed use file-sharing networks to download movies and music. Also, this behavior is widely accepted since only 3% of the people who participated in the study said that file-sharers should be punished by law.

These results are not unique to Canada either. A few weeks ago a Spanish survey found pretty much the same results (pdf). Of the thousands of Internet users questioned, more than half admitted using file-sharing software regularly. In fact, 28% said they use it every day. Only 1% of the respondents saw downloading copyrighted files as criminal behavior, while 43% said that the development of P2P networks should be promoted.

The results of these two reports clearly show that public opinion is changing in favor of P2P users. So how did this happen? Could it be that the Internet has changed the way we interact with digital media? Unlike 10 years ago, people are now used to unlimited access to all kinds of information, much of it thanks to Google. The Internet allows people to access an unlimited library of information, and at an increasing rate people demand the same experience for TV, music and other forms of digital information, as the studies show.

Meanwhile, entertainment industry lobbyists do all they can to get tougher copyright laws in place, and to get repeated copyright infringers disconnected by their ISPs. They argue that filesharing is hurting content creators, even though research indicates that the opposite might actually be true. So what’s going on here? Could it be that the bosses at the record labels and movie companies are trying to slow down innovation simply because they want to preserve their old business models?

The people who actually create the movies and music want their content to be shared, only the large corporations behind it are too afraid to move on. Lobby groups such as the MPAA and the RIAA represent the distributors of movies and music, NOT the creators. They even pay politicians to support their cause by voting for or against laws so that legislation is made with their interests in mind. Is that moral? When some of the most successful musicians start their own lobby group to take on the record labels for their alleged extortion practices, there’s clearly something wrong.

So should sharing copyrighted material be legalized? Not per se, but the entertainment industry should focus on monetizing filesharing networks instead of bringing them down. The Internet has drastically changed the way people consume music and other forms of entertainment. Every piece of information is only a few clicks away, and people demand the same for their music and other types of media. There are no boundaries anymore. 15 years ago it was unthinkable that someone could have access to millions of songs, on demand. Now, this has become reality, but the music industry is still hesitant to offer such a service.

The answer really is to compete with piracy. Right now most of the online music services don’t offer a very good experience or are simply too expensive. Most of them still include some form of DRM, no unlimited access, or a limited library. “All you can eat” plans are the future though, either for a small fee or ad supported. If it’s done right, the motivation to download something illegally will simply disappear, at least for the majority of the people. This aside, it is likely to generate more revenue for the artist and labels. Everybody wins.

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Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Pakistan Photos,pictures,stills

2009-03-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

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8 for Slumdog; India rules the Oscars

2009-02-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ swept eight Oscars at the 81 ^stAcademy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Direction and Motion Picture. Indian music maestro A R Rahman brought home two Oscars and Resul Pookutty for Sound Mixing.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire. “It has been collaboration between hundreds of people. All of us are here to share this moment. This was an extraordinary journey,” says the Slumdog… team.

Best Direction: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song: A R Rahman for ‘Jai Ho…’ (Slumdog Millionarie)

The Indian music maestro, Rahman wooed the audience with ‘O Saya’ and ‘Jai Ho…’ the nominated songs from ‘Slumdog…’, as the nominees for Best Original Song were being announced.

Best Original Score: A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire . “I have nothing but my mother and she is there with me. I thank her for making me coming all this way with her blessings,” said a proud Rahman.

Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire. “This is just not a sound award, but a history being handed over,” said Indian receiver Pookutty.

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. “The cast and crew of the film told me so much about India and writing,” said a proud Beaufoy.

Best Documentary Short Subject: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki

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Slumdog Millionaire wins two Oscar

2009-02-23T06:20:00.000-08:00

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Make-up: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess

Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Kato for La Maison En Petits Cubes

Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for Wall-E

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. “The cast and crew of the film has told me so much about India and writing,” said a proud Beaufoy.

Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “Has anyone fainted here, may be I will be the first one,” exclaimed Penelope immediately after receiving the award.
(Agency)

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‘Smile Pinky’ brings home Oscar

2009-02-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles, Monday 23 February 2009: The made in India documentary ‘Smile Pinky’ won an Oscar in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category at the 81st Academy Awards declared in Los Angeles on February 22.

‘Smile Pinky’ is the story of a child with a lip deformity. The film had been nominated along with four other documentaries at the famed Academy Awards.

Residents of Dabai village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ahura district have been praying for the success of the documentary ‘Smile Pinky’ at the Oscars, since it is based on the life of a girl belonging to their village.

The film by Megan Mylan depicts the saga of six-year-old Pinky who becomes a social outcast because of a cleft lip. In the 39-minute documentary, the girl from this obscure village of Uttar Pradesh, undergoes corrective surgery and gets a normal childhood.
(Agency)

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Sonia Gandhi visits Vajpayee

2009-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

UPA Chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday visited AIIMS to enquire about the health of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who has been put on ventilation due to respiratory tract infection.

Gandhi, who drove to the hospital in the afternoon, spent some time with Vajpayee’s foster daughter Namita. She also spoke to doctors attending on the 84-year-old BJP veteran. He was put on mechanical ventilation on Friday after the respiratory infection worsened.
Gandhi, however did not speak to the mediapersons and left the premises within 10 minutes.

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Here is the complete table of the IPL auction

2009-02-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers made the successful bid for Pietersen while Flintoff joins Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings.

Here is the complete table of who got whom.

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KP, Flintoff auctioned for record $1.55 mn each!

2009-02-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

The IPL moolah floods in

English duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff attracted largest bids going for identical USD 1,550,000 each to at the auction for the second season of Indian Premier League at Goa on Friday.

Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers made the successful bid for Pietersen while Flintoff joins Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings.

They also overtook Dhoni as most expensive players in the IPL. He had fetched $ 1.5 million at Chennai last year.

Meanwhile Mumbai Indians made a successful bid for South African JP Duminy at USD 950,000 while Australian tear-way pacer Shaun Tait was lapped up by defending champions Rajasthan Royals for USD 375,000.

Mallya, whose fondness for Pietersen is no secret was understandably elated.

"I was always keen to get Pietersen,” he said.

“He would be a superb addition to the team. We had a list of players before the auction and KP topped that list. We needed to strengthen our batting and I was prepared to pay more for him."

"It is a worthwhile investment and ensure the balance that we wanted in our team", he said.

Mallya also refused to comment on speculations that Rahul Dravid would be stripped of captaincy in favour of Pietersen.

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Dell readying iPhone rival

2009-01-31T23:39:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES: Dell Inc is plotting a foray into the cellphone arena as early as next month, making and selling smartphones to revitalise a busine
ss walloped by crumbling PC sales and pitting the firm against Apple, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The world's No. 2 maker of PCs, which has been designing prototypes for over a year, is focusing on smartphones -- the class of high-end devices that encompasses Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's Blackberry, the newspaper cited people familiar with the matter as saying.

If launched, the phones will be based on Google's Android operating system and Microsoft's Windows Mobile software, it said. One model will even feature a touchscreen, not unlike the iPhone's, the Journal reported.

However, Dell has not finalised its plans and may still abandon them, the Journal added without elaborating.

Shares in Dell climbed 1.4 per cent in after-hours trade, barely denting an 8.6 per cent dive during the regular session to $9.95. Microsoft stock was up 1.3 per cent, and Google shares were holding steady.

Representatives for Dell and Microsoft declined to comment, and Google representatives were not available for comment.

Smartphones – high-end mobile devices that can assume many of the functions found traditionally on PCs, such as playing videos and music -- are the fastest growing segment of the cellphone industry.

IT consultancy IDC expects smartphone shipments to climb 8.9 per cent globally in 2009, far outstripping a decline in the overall worldwide cellphone market.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discharged from AIIMS

2009-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a complex coronary 're-do' bypass surgery at AIIMS on January 24, was this morning discharged from the hospital.

PM Manmohan Singh has been discharged from AIIMS after undergoing heart bypass surgery. (PTI)

The 76-year-old Prime Minister was discharged after the doctors completed the pre-discharge tests on Friday. The decision to discharge Singh from the hospital was taken by a team of doctors from Asian Heart Institute (AHI) led by surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have to follow a strict dietary regimen to keep his long-term diabetes under control. Doctors have projected a 6-week recuperation period before he can fully get back to his duties. "He is on a proper diet regime. He is being given proteins and essential food, which a diabetic should eat. He is having solid food, but his diet plan would return to normal in a week or two," said Dr K Srinath Reddy, head of medical advisory team monitoring the PM's health at AIIMS said on Friday.

The Prime Minister underwent a complex coronary 're-do' bypass surgery at AIIMS on January 24 and was moved out of the ICU on January 28.

PTI reports that Cardiac rehabilitation specialist Dr Ashish Contractor from AHI and Dr Vijay D'Silva besides three nurses from the Mumbai-based hospital will monitor the Prime Minister's condition at his residence. While Dr D'Silva will take care of the Prime Minister for a few days, Dr Contractor will stay back for a week and the nurses for about three weeks to monitor the Prime Minister's health.

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Sania-Bhupathi win mixed doubles title

2009-01-31T23:35:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won the mixed doubles title of the Australian Open, defeating Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram on Sunday.

The Indian duo defeated Dechy and Ram in straight set of 6-3, 6-1.

Thus, Sania Mirza has become first Indian woman to win a senior grand slam tournament.

Mahesh Bhupathi has made his seventh mixed doubles Grand Slam titles under his belt with different partners.

His last mixed doubles Grand Slam was incidentally the Australian Open in 2006 when he had partnered Swiss Martina Hingis.

In the semi-final, Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi overcame a sluggish start to sail into the final for the second consecutive year as they beat Czechs Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets on Friday.

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Obama to be Dad for the 3rd time

2009-01-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

US First Lady Michelle Obama is believed to be pregnant and expecting her third child, a media report in Britain said on Friday.

America is buzzing with hope that the 45-year-old wife of that country's first black President Barack Obama will soon give birth to a "White House baby", barely two weeks after his official inauguration, the 'Daily Star' reported.

Michelle and her 47-year-old husband already have two daughters, Malia (10), and Sasha (7).

Internet bloggers and journalists have in fact started the speculation as long ago as November.
And, now Los Angeles' celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, has written: "This is completely unconfirmed and at this point just a 'rumour' but... we're hearing the talk in (Washington) DC is that Michelle Obama is pregnant. Could this be true????? It'd be happy news! Hopefully it's a boy!"

Though both Michelle and Barack have clearly stated in the past that they intended to have no more children, the White House has done nothing to quell the gossip, it said.

An insider was quoted as saying: "Anything can be done to hide these sorts of rumours, and Barack and Michelle would not have wanted anything to detract from the importance of the inauguration day.

"Their advisers will have been kept up to speed and it is very possible that there may be some announcement in the very near future."

In fact, British media have already nicknamed Michelle as "America's Lady Diana".

"Not since Princess of Wales has there been such a glamorous role model at the apex of society. The First Lady has excited the fashion world, but like Diana she would rather champion the less fortunate than be a clotheshorse," another newspaper had said just days back.

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Spice Group to invest $408 Million in Satyam

2009-01-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

Spice Group is ready to invest about 20 billion rupees (USD 408 million) in Satyam Computer Services and wants to buy a 51 percent stake in the fraud-scarred outsourcer, Spice chairman B K Modi said.

"That is our desire," Modi said on Friday. "We want the money to go inside the company. For that they will have to make a preferential issue. If I buy shares from the market, the money will not go into the company."

Modi said the group had submitted on Thursday its proposal to the government-appointed new board of Satyam. "We have also talked to two, three board members informally."

Spice Group has diversified operations including mobile handset manufacturing, mobile software development, back-office operations, entertainment and retail.

Last year, it sold its mobile telecoms services business to Idea Cellular for 21.76 billion rupees. "That is one of the sources (for funding). But we have other channels," Modi said, adding that the group was capable to fund a possible deal internally.

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SA beat Aus, become World #1!

2009-01-30T19:18:00.000-08:00

Australia were on Friday dethroned as the number one team in One-dayers by South Africa who demolished the hosts by 39 runs in the fifth and final match to clinch the ODI series with an emphatic 4-1 margin.

The ODI series triumph follows South Africa's 2-1 win in the Test series and though Australia remain the number one team in the longer version of the game, the Proteas return home with the new-found tag of being the top team in One-dayers.

Australia needed 289 runs for a win to remain the number one side but 249 was all they managed before folding in 49 overs with Michael Hussey (78) and Brad Haddin (63) making futile efforts with the bat.

Earlier, Hashim Amla (97) and AB de Villiers (60) steadied South Africa with a 118-run stand and then JP Duminy (60 not out off 42 balls) provided the late burst as South Africa posted 288 for six wickets.

Australia faltered early in the chase and could not really recover from the early setbacks.

The hosts needed a strong start from Shaun Marsh (5) and David Warner (22) but debutant South African Lonwabo Tsotsobe rocked the Australian boat with early double strikes and Ricky Ponting's men could never really recover from that.

Tsotsobe removed Marsh in the second over while Warner ran himself out in the 13th. In between, Tsotsobe returned Ponting (12) and then Michael Clarke (0) dragged a Morne Morkel onto the stumps as Australia slumped to 53 for four inside 13 overs.

The subsequent 69 runs raised by the Hussey brothers did arrest the slide for a while but Duminy broke the stand by claiming David and Tsotsobe then castled Michael. Haddin did try his best but it was too late by then.

For South Africa, Tsotsobe made a memorable debut, scalping four wickets for 50 runs in his nine overs.

Earlier, after South Africa decided to bat first, Hashim Amla began with some early fours before guiding a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery over third man for a six.

The visitors had their share of early troubles as well. Hilfenhaus removed Herschelle Gibbs (7) and then James Hopes scalped Neil McKenzie (10), promoted to number three in Jacques Kallis' absence, as South Africa stuttered to 58 for two.

Displaying the same maturity that has been the hall mark of his batting, Amla retreated into a shell and resisted every temptation to go after the host bowlers. de Villiers was equally cautious even though he didn't hesitate to impose himself whenever Michael Clarke and David Hussey erred.

Hopes finally snapped the stand in the 37th over when de Villiers holed out in square leg boundary and 20 runs later, Amla joined him in the pavilion, having missed the 100-mark just by three runs.

Amla tried to guide Hopes through the cordon only to tickle it to Brad Haddin behind the stumps. Amla's 117-ball 97 included six fours and a six, while de Villiers' 71-ball 60 had four boundaries in it.

ALbie Morkel (14) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (5) didn't last long either but with Duminy in scintillating form, South Africa made the most of their batting power play which yielded 53 runs.

Duminy simply went ballistic, hitting Mitchell Johnson over mid-on for a six before hoicking Nathan Bracken for two more, the last of which brought up his fifty.

Duminy eventually remained not out on 60 and his 42-ball blitzkrieg was studded with three fours and as many sixes. Thanks for his batting pyrotechnics, South Africa milked 92 runs off the last 10 overs to swell their tally.

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Sania-Bhupati reach Aus Open Final!

2009-01-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

The Indian hopes at the Australian Open were given a boost as the dynamic pair of Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi stormed in the mixed doubles final.

Mirza and Bhupathi marched ahead with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Czechs Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy.

The Indians, who were the runner-up pair at the Melbourne Park last year, trailed 1-3 in the opening set before storming back to seal the issue in 54 minutes.

In the summit clash, they will take on the unseeded French-Israeli combine of Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram, who stunned seventh seeded Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo 7-6 (9/7) 6-4.

It was hardly the kind of start Sania and Bhupathi, who have dropped just one set en route to the semis, would have wanted as Benesova and Dlouhy broke them in the opening game to race to a 1-3 lead.

However, the Indians got their act together soon after and broke back twice to take the first set in 32 minutes.

Sania and Bhupathi continued their dominance in the second set and broke their rivals thrice.

Such was their hold over the proceedings that the Indians did not face a single break point in the second set, which they wrapped up in a mere 22 minutes.

The win makes it a double delight for Bhupathi, who along with Bahamas' Mark Knowles, has also made the men's doubles finals to be played tomorrow.

Bhupathi has six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles under his belt with different partners.

His last mixed doubles Grand Slam was incidentally the Australian Open in 2006 when he had partnered Swiss Martina Hingis. Sania, however, would be aiming for her maiden Slam title.

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Three killed in Assam

2009-01-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Sibsagar, Thursday 29 January 2009: Two policemen were killed and a child was injured during a gunfight between ULFA militants and security forces on Thursday in this Assam district, where a militant of the group was killed in another shootout.

A joint operation was launched by police and army at Bengabari Buragaon following a tip-off that a group of about 15 ULFA militants had sneaked into the area and was planning to carry out subversive activities.

The shootout continued for over two hours this evening. The militants, however, managed to escape.

While fleeing, the militants shot dead two policemen who were coming to the site on a motorcycle and injured a five-year old child, police said.

The slain policemen have been identified as in-charge of Tingalibom police station Bhimkanta Upadhyaya and constable Debojit Borgohain.

The area was cordoned off and a massive search operation launched in the area during which four IEDs, each weighing nearly 10 kg, two kg of RDX and 1,000 m of flexible wire were recovered.

In a separate incident, an ULFA militant was killed in a gunfight with police at Namtolla area of the district.

Two pistols and some bullets were recovered from the slain militant, police said. (Agency)

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Hijack alert at Mumbai airport

2009-01-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Thursday 29 January 2009: Security at the Mumbai airport has been tightened following intelligence input suggesting that terrorists were planning to carry out a hijacking attempt for securing release of some terrorists.

An alert has been issued following a meeting of senior officials of Civil Aviation Ministry, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, DGCA and Home Ministry, Civil Aviation Ministry sources said on Thursday.

During the meeting, preparedness of “different layers” of the security and safety mechanism at airports as well as in the airspace were assessed in the wake of these inputs, the sources said.

Authorities had received “specific” information that terrorists were planning to attack airports at Mumbai and other smaller airports like Gorakhpur and Bagdogra, they said.

Major airports across the country, especially those in the western region, have been on high alert. Extra surveillance has been mounted at the airports, with additional CISF and police personnel being deployed to keep an eye in and around the terminals.

Sniffer dogs have been deployed in some airports, while plainclothesmen were also put on the job. Sky marshals were keeping a vigil on sensitive routes, they said. (Agency)

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Bhupathi-Knowles storm to Aus Open Final

2009-01-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles thrashed Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final of the men's doubles event of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The third seed Indo-Bahamian pair proved too good for their unseeded Polish-Austrian opponents as it took them just 58 minutes to win the semi-final encounter.

However, the Indian fans' dream final between Paes and Bhupathi were thrashed, when fourth seeded pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy were outplayed by the American second seed pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the other semi-final match.

Bryan brothers took just 53 minutes to cruise into the final as they dispatched the Indo-Czech pair 6-3, 6-3 .

Bhupathi now has a chance to grab his fifth men's doubles Grand Slam title, first Australian Open title and 11th overall as he and his partner take on second seed Americans Bob and Mike Brayan in the final.

It's been a long time that he won a men's doubles title at a Grand Slam event. It was way back in 2002 that he annexed the title at the US Open with Max Mirnyi. Bhupathi-Knowles broke their rivals once in the first set to take a 1-0 lead and then outplayed them in the second to clinch the issue.

They break them thrice - first, fifth and seventh games - in the second set to race away with the match. The winners put up a sterling show at the net, stood like a wall and defended their post with elan. Knowles hit a stunning forehand winner to earn a match point which got converted when Marach's attempted winner flew over the baseline.

Among the juniors, top seed Yuki Bhambri quelled a late challenge from Germany's Becker 6-1, 7-5 to reach the boys singles semi-finals. The teen sensation had reached the semi-finals last year as well.

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Satyam's Raju and Srinivas denied Bail

2009-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

A city court on Wednesday dismissed the bail applications of Satyam's disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju, former managing director Rama Raju and former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas.

The 6th additional chief metropolitan magistrate also posted for Thursday, hearing on separate petitions relating to the bail and police custody of SRSR Holding general manager Gopala Krishna Raju.

SRSR Holding is promoted by Ramalinga Raju's family and Raju held stake in Satyam through this company. Ramalinga Raju, Rama Raju and Srinivas are in judicial custody till January 31.

The court, on Tuesday, had reserved its verdict on the bail pleas of three held for fraud, putting it off for Wednesday. Gopala Krishna, SRSR Holding general manager, was arrested on January 22. CID had moved the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate to secure his custody.

The bail petition of PricewaterhouseCooper executives
S Gopalakrishnan and T Srinivas is up for hearing on January 29.

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Kevin Pietersen's IPL Fee: $1.35 MILLION!

2009-01-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

This seems to be one business that's recession-proof. Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has been assured a minimum price of $1.35 million at the second IPL auction, on February 6.

This means that, at the very least, he will be the joint second-highest paid player in the IPL, along with Andrew Symonds.

If the bidding hots up - which is a very strong possibility - Pietersen could outstrip M S Dhoni's fee of $1.5 million and become the highest paid IPL star.

Apparently, Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers Bangalore are very keen on acquiring Pietersen. The team, which finished seventh last year, lacks an explosive batsman. With his switch hitting and tactical inputs, Pietersen could play a major role for them.

Pietersen won't be the only one pulling in megabucks. Teammate Andrew Flintoff, one of the top all-rounders in the world, has a base price of $950,000. With squads like Mumbai Indians and Team Chennai eying Freddie, he too could join the million-dollar club. Australia's vice-captain Michael Clarke too is set to join the exclusive band.

Earlier, IPL had short listed 88 cricketers for the second auction, but 21 names have since been added to the list. Former England captain Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison have base prices of $250,000 while James Anderson and Ian Bell have reserve prices of $200,000. England's spinner of Indian origin, Monty Panesar, has a base price of $100,000.

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Pub attack: Ten arrested

2009-01-25T10:41:00.000-08:00

Ten suspected activists of Sri Ram Sene have been taken into custody on charges of assaulting customers of a pub in the busy Balmatta Road in the heart of the city.

About 15 to 20 activists, reportedly belonging to Sri Ram Sene, barged the pub late last night and assaulted boys and girls dancing there, IGP ( Western Range) A M Prasad told here today.

Prasad said the attackers alleged that the pub owner was allowing the boys and girls to dance in an “obscene manner”.

No damage has been caused to the pub in the incident, he added. (Agency)

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Solar eclipse on Monday

2009-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

The first solar eclipse of this year, which will be partially visible in the country, will occur on Monday, city based Planetary Society’s founder and Secretary Raghunandan Kumar said.

It will be an annular solar eclipse in South Africa, Antartica, South East Asia and Australia and the different stages of eclipse begins at 10.26 am (IST) and ends at 4.31 pm. The central phase of eclipse begins at 11.36 pm and ends at 3.21 pm, Kumar said.

The eclipse would be at maximum at 1.29 pm which is also termed at ‘Greatest Eclipse Phase’ and people can witness Sun as bright outline around the Moon disk like a ring, he said.

In Hyderabad the solar eclipse begins at 3.02 pm and ends at 3.40 pm, he said adding “It may not be a so noteworthy event in Hyderabad where covering of Sun’s disc by Moon would be just 2.2 %. While Port Blair would witness nearly 39.4% of Sun disc covered by Moon, he said.

Kumar cautioned people not to view the spectacle with naked eye. Instead, reflected image through projection of sunlight in water or on a wall will be a safe view, he said.

The Planetary society in association with Jana Vignana Vedika will arrange for 400 solar filters in Nellore district for students to have a safe viewing, Kumar said.

Kumar said there have been lot of misconceptions from ignorance and wrongful understanding of natural phenomena like eclipses.

In spite of scientific and technological development superstitious beliefs were still prevalent, he said. (Agency)

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India signs nuclear pact with Kazakhstan

2009-01-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

For Uranium Supply

India on Saturday signed a civil nuclear pact with Kazakhstan under which the uranium-rich Central Asian country will supply much-needed fuel to atomic plants in the country.

India also signed four other pacts, including an Extradition Treaty, in the presence of President Pratibha Patil and her Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Patil oversaw the proceedings of inking of the four pacts as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was indisposed.

Kazakhstan will provide uranium and related products under the Memorandum of Understanding between Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and KazAtomProm. The MoU was signed by NPCIL CMD S K Jain and KazAtomProm President Moukhtar Dzhakishev.

The MoU also opens up possibilities of joint exploration of uranium in Kazakhstan, which has the world's second largest uranium reserves, and India building atomic power plants in the Central Asian country.

"These agreements are very important for the stature of our bilateral relations," Nazarbayev told reporters in the capital.

External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who led the delegation level talks in absence of Singh, inked the Extradition Treaty with his Kazakh counterpart Marat Tazhin.

Minister of state of commerce Jairam Ramesh and Kazakh minister of trade and industry Vladimir Shkolnik signed the protocol on the accession of Kazakhstan to the World Trade Organisation.

An MoU was signed between ISRO and Kazakh Space Agency for space cooperation. ONGC Mittal Energy Limited also signed and agreement with state-run KazMunaiGas.

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PM's surgery is successful

2009-01-25T10:05:00.001-08:00

Condition is stable

A team of doctors led by surgeon Ramakant Panda and assisted by AIIMS doctors performed a redo bypass operation on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — the 76-year-old leader who is the Congress candidate for a second-term prime ministership in the event of a UPA victory in the polls.

The surgery is over and the stabilization process is on.

“The operation was successful and there is nothing to worry about. His condition is stable. He has been moved to the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU),” hospital sources said.

“Doctors said they would study his vital parameters and discuss his post-operative care following the surgery,” they added.

Dr Sudhir Vaishnav, a cardio-vascular thoracic surgeon with the Asian Heart Institute (ASI) said that one graft was successfully performed on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Prime Minister was wheeled into the operation theatre at 5:30am. The operation finally began at 7:15am and is expected to last for 7-8 hours," said Dr Sudhir Vaishnav.

The surgery lasted for over eight hours.

According to doctors, tests have shown that the Prime Minister has three arteries blocked. This includes two grafts done during his bypass surgery in 1990 in UK and a stenting done in 2004 at Escorts.

The success rate of bypass surgeries is high. However, a repeat bypass is little more complicated. The surgery, according to sources, could last for seven-eight hours. Given the fact that the Prime Minister is a diabetic, the recovery period might be longer — sources put it at four-six weeks.

The PM checked in at AIIMS on Friday early afternoon. He was admitted in a special room on the first floor that is kept ready 24x7 exclusively for the Indian PM. Dr Panda is a redo bypass surgery specialist who is credited with having conducted over 700 redo surgeries.

This was Singh's second cardiac bypass surgery, the first having been conducted in 1990 in UK. Earlier, asked to assess the risk factor in Saturday's surgery, doctors who are on the surgery team said, "This is a major heart surgery. All surgical procedures are risky, especially when repeated. But in this case, the risks are minimal because of three factors - the overall health status of the patient, the type of surgery being conducted and the expertise of the team operating on the PM."

Dr Panda is being assisted by a joint team of seven doctors from Asian Heart Institute (Mumbai) and AIIMS. A state-of-the-art procedure — beating heart bypass surgery — which carries a lower risk of tissue damage, is being performed on the PM. Doctors in the team said that if the surgery is successful, Dr Singh will stay in AIIMS for 7-10 days and then recuperate at home. He will, therefore, miss the Republic Day function.

The doctors added: "The long term results are better in a bypass rather than angioplasty. That's why we decided to conduct a repeat bypass on the PM. Singh has multiple blockages and since he is a diabetic, the chances of fresh stents getting blocked faster are greater."

Some other cardiac experts in the city, however, differed. They maintained that angioplasty was a safer option, although they added that the eventual decision has to be taken after studying the patient's medical reports.

The PM reached AIIMS at 1.45pm on Friday after the SPG had sanitised the entire cardio thorasic unit. Singh underwent extensive medical tests on Tuesday and Wednesday during which he was diagnosed with blocked coronary arteries
. He was sent back home on Thursday morning.

Explaining why the bypass wasn't conducted on that day itself, doctors said, "The PM was administered blood thinning or anti-platelet medicines during angiography on Tuesday. Usually, an elective bypass surgery is conducted three days after an angiography. By then, the effect of such drugs wear off. If such a protocol is not followed, the patient can suffer extra bleeding during surgery."

The seven-member core surgical team will be supported by 25 technical staff drawn from various departments of AIIMS and Asian Heart Institute. The team from Mumbai includes an intensivist Dr Vijay D'Silva, anesthetist Dr Narendra Garach and cardiac surgeon Dr Pradyot Kumar Rath.

"The team is accompanied by nurses and paramedical staff. They are also carrying 15 boxes of medical equipment with them," said an AHI official. Dr Samin K Sharma, director of Interventional Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Centre in New York City, who was consulted by chief of PM's medical panel Dr K Srinath Reddy, however, flew back to the US on Friday.

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Bush a good man but mistaken: Obama

2009-01-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

Washington, Saturday 17 Jan 2009: President-elect Barack Obama said has said President George W Bush was a “good guy” who loved his country, but warned he would leave the United States struggling with the result of “bad choices.”

When he is sworn in on Tuesday, Obama will inherit two foreign wars and the worst economy since the 1930s Great Depression with the budget deficit forecast to hit more than a trillion dollars this year.

“If you look at my statements throughout the campaign, I always thought he was a good guy,”.

“I think personally he is a good man who loves his family and loves his country and I think he made the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances.

“It does not detract from my assessment that over the last several years we have made a series of bad choices and we are now going to be inheriting the consequences of a lot of those bad choices.”

Obama however praised his predecessor and his White House staff for presiding over what many observers say is the smoothest transition of power in recent history.

On the campaign trail before his historic November election victory, Obama flayed Bush over the Iraq war, accused him of taking his eye off the ball in Afghanistan and accused him of favouring the rich and ruining the US economy.

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Aircraft engine catches fire in Kolkata

2009-01-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

Guwahati, Saturday 17 Jan 2009: A Guwahati-bound plane carrying 46 on board landed under emergency conditions at the airport in Kolkata early on Saturday after one of its engines caught fire.

All 38 passengers and eight crew of the Jetlite flight from Kolkata to Guwahati were safe.

The pilot of S2-361 flight contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) and sought to land minutes after taking off at 6.29 am after he noticed the portside engine emitting smoke and fire, airport sources said.

Fire brigade was on the stand by as the aircraft landed safely two minutes after take off.

Airline sources said a disaster was averted as the pilot seeing smoke and fire switched off the engine mid-air and the fire stopped.

However, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, officials said.

The passengers would be sent to Guwahati around 10 am by another plane, airport sources said.

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400 schools shut doors on girls in Pak

2009-01-16T22:29:00.000-08:00

slamabad, Saturday 17 Jan 2009: About 400 private schools in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern Swat region have stopped offering education to girls following the end of a Taliban deadline to discontinue the practice, depriving over 40,000 students of their basic right.

Besides, another 84,248 girl students of state-run schools are unlikely to attend classes due to warnings from the militants despite the local administration’s declaration to reopen the institutions on March 1.

A body representing 400 private schools has decided to discontinue girls’ education after the ongoing winter vacation despite assurances from the administration that security will be provided to them, the News agency said.

Meanwhile, the federal government said it would cooperate with the administration of the North West Frontier Province in taking steps to protect girls’ educational institutions in Swat and some other areas.

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Mumbai siezes 38th Ranji Trophy title

2009-01-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

Mumbai stamped their authority on the Ranji Trophy title for the 38th time as they defeated a hapless Uttar Pradesh by 243 runs. Dinesh Kulkarni was the wrecker-in-charge as he claimed 5 crucial wickets in the final innings.

Needing an improbable 525 to win the match on the last day, Uttar Pradesh folded up for 281 in 71.5 overs although the last wicket pair of Amir Khan (43) and Praveen Gupta (25) only delayed the inevitable by stitching a 55-run partnership.

The young Kulkarni was the pick of the Mumbai bowlers with five for 76 while spinner Ramesh Powar chipped in with three wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at the Uppal.

Mumbai had scored 402 and extended their 177-run first innings score with a big second-innings score of 367. Jaffer, who lifted the winners` trophy said "I thought UP bowled really well in the first session but Rohit and Nayar brought us back to get to 400."

As UP finished runners-up for the second successive year, Kaif admitted the fielding lapses from his side which included a reprieved to Rohit Sharma, who went on to post a century for Mumbai.

"We fielded first to get some early wickets and we weren`t good with the fielding. Shukla batted well for us," he said.

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Obama's inauguration: The Numbers

2009-01-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Obama's inauguration is all set to annihilate the cracking US economy - here's a rundown of the numbers, including more than a few estimates:

* $40 million, the estimated cost of the inaugural parade, balls, opening ceremonies, giant television screens on National Mall and other expenses for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

* 432, total Presidential Inaugural Committee staff members.

* 0, how many of the free 240,000 tickets that have been distributed thus far for the swearing-in ceremony. They go out this coming week.

*58, law-enforcement and other agencies working on security.

*8,000, District of Columbia police officers on duty, and those hired from departments around the country.

*1,000, US Park Police officers on duty, and those hired from outside departments.

*550, Metro transit police on duty, and those hired from outside departments.

*10,000, National Guardsmen helping law enforcement agencies in and around the city.

*20,000, passengers Metro trains can carry per hour on Inauguration Day.

*2 million, inauguration subway maps Metro is printing.

*10,000, charter buses expected to descend on the city.

*600, hotel rooms left in Washington.

*90,000, unique hits that Destination D.C., the city's tourism bureau, has received on its inauguration Web site.

*13,000, military and civilian participants in the inaugural parade, including marching bands.

*112, light bulbs replaced in lampposts on Pennsylvania Avenue parade route.

*10, large screens broadcasting swearing-in on the National Mall.

*1,000, vendors so far who have received licensed spots to sell wares around parade route and city streets.

*15,000 to 18,000, volunteers helping Presidential Inaugural Committee around the city.

*4,100, minimum number of portable toilets available to the public.

*10, official inaugural balls.

*12,000, eggs that chefs at the Willard InterContinental Hotel will use for meals from Jan. 17 through the inauguration.

*10,000, square footage (930 square meters) of the swearing-in stage.

*6, number of bicycle rickshaws D.C. Pedicab plans to operate.

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Special treatment in jail for Satyam's Raju

2009-01-16T18:23:00.000-08:00

Satyam's tainted founder Ramalinga Raju on Friday asked the court for special treatment for him and his brother in jail, but the prosecution said those who made money at the cost of the poor don't deserve such privileges.

The Rajus' petition seeking special status in the Chanchalguda central prison, where they have been lodged till January 23, was filed before the sixth additional chief metropolitan magistrate's court.

The status was sought under rule 730 of AP Prisons Rules. Raju's lawyer Ravinder Reddy said they wanted a special cell for the Raju brothers as per the rules. The Raju brothers reportedly spent their time in jail since January 10 with dowry offenders.

After hearing the arguments of the public prosecutor as well as the defence lawyers, the magistrate posted the matter for further hearing on January 19.

The prosecution — Andhra Pradesh CID, which had arrested Ramalinga Raju on January 9 — said that Raju has become "unjustly rich at the cost of the poor."

Having committed such a "monumental fraud," Raju does not enjoy any status as such and the question of a special status does not arise, additional public prosecutor Ajay Kumar contended.

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Airbus crashes in New river

2009-01-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

New York, Friday, January 16, 2009: A US Airways Airbus A320 passenger plane carrying 155 people has crashed into the freezing waters of the Hudson River in New York City. The plane, which the FAA said was flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, is partially submerged, apparently after striking a flock of birds shortly after take off. Passengers fled to safety onto the wings of the Airbus and it has been confirmed that everyone was rescued. (Agency)

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Sachin doesn't make it to all time Top 20!

2009-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

We couldn't disagree more

Indian batting genius Sachin Tendulkar has not been included in the list of top-20 greatest batsmen of all times in Test cricket ratings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

The list, that is topped by the great late Sir Donald Bradman, has the likes of Len Hutton and Jack Hobbs and West Indian legends Clive Walcott, Viv Richards and Garry Sobers and also includes Tendulkar's contemporaries like Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Mohammad Yousuf and Michael Hussey.

The only Indian in the list is former batting great Sunil Gavaskar and he is at the bottom of the table.

The list is based on the highest Test ratings batsmen have achieved during their careers and only 25 batsmen in the history of the game have amassed 900 rating points or more in Test cricket.

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Hayden is 18th greatest ODI batsman of all time

2009-01-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

And 10th greatest Test Batsman

Australia's Matthew Hayden, just retired from representative cricket, can look back on his international career that puts him in the top-10 Test batsmen and top-20 ODI batsmen of all-time.

Hayden's highest Test rating of 935 came during the Ashes series of 2002-03 and puts him level in 10th position with South Africa's Jacques Kallis and just behind four others -- Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and a West Indian triumvirate consisting of legends Clyde Walcott, Sir Vivian Richards and Garry Sobers.

Hayden's one-day performances put him 18th in the all-time ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen with a career-high rating of 854 points, a tally that puts him level with New Zealand's Glenn Turner and just behind Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva.

To put this in perspective, only 25 batsmen in the history of the game have amassed 900 rating points or more in Test cricket while just 20 have passed the 850-point mark in ODIs.

Hayden's achievements in the game are remarkable. In 103 Tests he scored 8,625 runs at an average of 50.73, including 30 centuries and 29 fifties.

His highest score of 380 against Zimbabwe at the WACA in 2003 was a world record at the time and at his best he was an impossibly aggressive and mentally strong player who loved to dominate bowling through brute force.

Hayden twice scored centuries in four successive Tests, putting him in an exclusive club of just three batsmen who have achieved that feat (the others being Don Bradman and Ken Barrington) and he passed the 1,000-run mark in a calendar year on five occasions.

He played 161 ODIs, scoring 6,133 runs at an average of 43.80. An obvious highlight was when he smashed 10 sixes on his way to an unbeaten 181 against New Zealand in the last ODI of the 2006-07 Chappell-Hadlee series.

Then, later in 2007 he was the leading run-scorer at the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, knocking off 659 runs at an average of 73.22.

Indeed, 2007 was a great year for the Queenslander which resulted in him winning the ODI Player of the Year at the prestigious ICC Awards. This accolade was made all the more significant considering a year earlier he was not even in the Australia one-day team.

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Pak arrests 124 LeT men

2009-01-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

5 JuD camps shut down

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Thursday that 124 people including top JuD leaders have been arrested in a crackdown on groups allegedly linked to the attacks in Mumbai.

However, Malik reiterated that Pakistan still needs more information from India to allow it to prosecute suspects in court.

Malik said that several top leaders including Hafiz Saeed, Mufti Abdur Rehman, Zakir-ul Rehman Lakhvi and Ammer Hamza are also part of those arrested. But he claimed Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India’s most wanted fugitive, of JeM was currently not residing in Pakistan.

Notably, Pakistan had earlier said that it had put Masood under house arrest.

He said that "mid-level and top leaders" of banned militant groups had been detained so far in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. These included 69 militant leaders held in Punjab province, 21 in Sindh, 25 in Balochistan and eight in North West Frontier Province.

Authorities had shut down five "training camps" run by the JuD in Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. There were "traces" that five of the JuD camps were being used as "training camps", Malik told a press conference.

This is probably for the first time that Pakistan, which has for years denied existence of terror training camps on its soil, has admitted to their presence. He said the crackdown was in response to the UN accusation that a Pakistani charity was a front for an outlawed terrorist group allegedly linked to the attacks.

Significantly, Malik did not say whether any legal proceedings had been initiated against those detained. Six publications of JuD, including the weekly 'Ghazwa', and the group's websites too had been banned, he said.

Malik added that 124 members of banned groups had also been placed under surveillance for the past six months under the provisions of anti-terror laws. Malik further admitted that JuD has links with other militant organisation which are operation in other countries

Incidentally, JuD is the off shoot of LeT which was accused of several terrorist attacks in India. India has said that the November 26 attacks that killed over 180 people was plotted in Pakistan.

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Rs 1700cr receivables for Satyam

2009-01-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Silver Lining

After over a week of bad news, there appears to be some light at the end of the Satyam tunnel - the IT major has received assurances of financial lifelines from lending institutions, while its new board raised hopes that the firm's finances were not as dire as feared with its quantum of receivables being a healthy Rs 1,700 crore.

The government-appointed board also said it was open to take on "strategic investors". The good tidings on its finances might make potential "white angels" see an engagement with Satyam as viable in commercial terms rather than an act of charity that no business entity would undertake.

The news came on a day the government appointed three more directors on the board -- CII chief mentor Tarun Das, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's former president T N Manoharan and LIC nominee Suryakant Balkrishna Mainak. The appointments are further expected to strengthen the new board's efforts at arranging funds.

"The first impression from the government-nominated directors is that Satyam's operations are sound and, by and large, major customers are willing to remain with the company," corporate affairs minister Prem Chand Gupta said after announcing the appointments on Thursday.

HDFC chairperson Deepak Parekh's announcement that rather than being completely in the red, Satyam's receivables stood at Rs 1,700 crore was greeted with cautious optimism by PMO. Though it needed to be seen how soon these funds would come into Satyam's coffers and what outstandings to banks were, it was felt that the IT giant may not need as much assistance at all. "The figure seems to tally with working capital needs," said sources.

The government's optimism stemmed from a meeting earlier in the day between Gupta and Parekh, the senior-most member in the board. Parekh also met Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia to brief him about Satyam's revival roadmap.

After his meeting with Gupta, Parekh said the company had "healthy receivables" and pegged them at Rs 1,700 crore. This exceeds the Rs 1,100 crore quoted by B Ramalinga Raju, Satyam's fallen promoter who had plunged the company into a deep crisis when he owned up to having defrauded the company by cooking up books and siphoning money, perhaps for years.

Indeed, it now turns out that if anything, Raju was at least being truthful about the receivables.

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Pakistan's ISI now train women for terrorism

2009-01-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Can it get uglier?

Security forces in Jammu & Kashmir have found the new face of terror - during an interrogation of a woman arrested last week by the J&K police for providing logistics support for the JeM and Let militants, it was revealed that Pakistan's ISI is reportedly inducting women into militancy.

TV reports suggest that ISI is adopting a new ploy and training woman to carry out militant attacks.

During interrogation of an alleged ISI agent arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police, she confessed that she was trained by the ISI in the Bhiber and Kotli forests in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The video footage shows Asiya Malik - a woman militant, revealing that about 100 girls are being trained in terrorist camps financed by ISI in PoK to carry out militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

In her recorded conversation, Malik reveals how Pakistani girls are being trained in the handling of weapons, explosives, jungle warfare and sabotage activities. She said the women are being trained in two militant training camps in Bhimber and Kotli areas across the Line of Control in PoK.

"I've seen the Mujahideen training camps. Women are also being trained here. Right now, there are about 700 women receiving arms training in different militant camps run by the ISI. These women are also provided with terror literature and taught how to use small arms like guns & grenades," she said in a recorded confession.

Malik also told interrogators that the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI was financing these training camps and that the recruits come from various countries including Saudi Arabia.

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Osama Bin Laden's new Tape emerges

2009-01-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Jihad against Israel

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has called for jihad over the Israeli offensive in Gaza in a new audio tape that appeared on Islamist websites on Wednesday.

"God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven years," bin Laden said in the tape that was dated in the current Islamic month.

Bin Laden also condemns Arab governments for preventing their people from acting to ``liberate Palestine.''

The tape was entitled "A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza". "The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise," he said.

The authenticity of the tape could not immediately be verified.

The Palestinian death toll from the 19-day-old Israeli offensive against the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza has risen to about 1,000. Israel says 13 Israelis have been killed.

The Saudi-born terrorist said the global financial crisis had exposed the waning influence of the United States in world affairs and would in turn weaken its ally Israel.

More than 60 messages have been broadcast by bin Laden, his second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri and their allies since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

Last week Zawahri, in an Internet message, called on Muslims to strike Western and Israeli targets around the world over Israel's Gaza raids.

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Happy Sankranti from www.dailynews24.blogspot.com!

2009-01-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

Kites, Sweets and Joy!

Roll out the 'manja', head to the terrace, wind up your 'chakris', get your hands on the khichdi, ladoos, til and gul!

The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi.

From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time.

Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat.

Whichever may be the accurate reason and religious significance, Sanranti is a very joyous festive day for Indians at home and abroad alike! www.dailynews24.blogspot.com! wishes everyone a Happy Sankranti! Have fun!

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Nokia 5800 XpressMusic in Pics

2009-01-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

Who's buying first?

The stunning new Nokia touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic phone has arrived in India!

And here's the barnburning news - Nokia 5800 is priced at Rs 21,800 (almost Rs 9,000 less than 8GB iPhone and Rs 14,000 less than 16 GB iPhone).

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Rs 2000-crore financial aid for Satyam

2009-01-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

The Central Government has decided to take direct action to remis looking at a salary bailout for the 53,000 Satyam Computer Services employees.

A Rs 2,000 crore package is under consideration to ensure that Satyam employees get their salary on time after it the new board said that they are looking for funds.

CNN-IBN has learnt that the government is looking at giving three instalments of Rs 500 crore to Satyam for the next three months and is planning another infusion of about Rs 400 crore.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met senior Cabinet ministers and officials at his residence to discuss the over Rs 7,000 Satyam scandal where the bailout package was finalised.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

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India to break business, transport links with Pak

2009-01-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

India may break off business, transport and tourist links with Pakistan if it fails to help to investigate the Mumbai attacks, Home Minister P Chidambaram has warned, pressing Islamabad to "cooperate soon."

"There are many, many links between India and Pakistan, and if Pakistan does not cooperate and does not help to bring the perpetrators to heel, those ties will become weaker and weaker and one day snap," Chidambaram told 'The Times' daily.

"Why would we entertain Pakistani business people? Why would we entertain tourists in India? Why would we send tourists there?"

Chidambaram refused to discuss when such measures might be introduced, but said: "We need cooperation soon."

Accusing Islamabad of doing nothing to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba, Chidamabaram said Islamabad has provided "nothing" so far after New Delhi handed over a dossier of evidence linking elements within that country to the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26.

Asked what Pakistan was doing to help with the investigation, Chidambaram said: "Zero. What have they provided? Nothing."

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'Do Not sell Arms to Pakistan'

2009-01-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

Is LeT listening?

In the wake of Pakistan’s couldn’t-care-less attitude after the Mumbai attack terrorist was proved to be a Pak national, India has asked the world not to sell arms to Pakistan.

New Delhi has urged countries that are in the process of striking deals with Pakistan, not to go ahead with them. India has urged Ukraine not to sell T-84 tanks and Germany not to sell submarines to Pakistan.

Meanwhile Britain on Tuesday asked Pakistan to take on Laskhar-e-Taiba, the architects of the Mumbai terror attacks, “frontally and politically” even as India again reminded Islamabad to bring the perpetrators of the terror attacks to justice and honour its anti-terror pledge.

“It's clear where the responsibility for the attack lies. Pakistan has a fundamental responsibility to tackle the roots of this problem,” Britain's foreign secretary David Milliband told reporters after talks with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

“The responsibility of the Pakistan side is something we expect them to fulfill. Those who have been arrested must be brought to justice and, if found guilty, need to be punished,” Milliband replied at a joint press conference when asked about what action Pakistan needs to take in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage for which India has blamed Pakistan-based elements.

“They need to be taken on politically in a frontal and clear manner,” Milliband, who began his four-day visit to India on Tuesday, said when asked about media reports indicating that the banned outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a public front for LeT, has regrouped under a new banner.

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captains Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly to be Cricket Coaches

2009-01-13T00:19:00.000-08:00

Career 2.0

Former Indian cricket captains Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly will head an expert panel of master coaches during their 10-day specialists skill coaching clinic, starting at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Tuesday.

The courses would be attended by qualified level-two and level-three coaches from all states, Dav Whatmore director of operations, said in a statement on Monday.

Other master coaches to take part include Robin Singh, Saba Karim, Venkatesh Prasad, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Venkatapathy Raju.

The master coaches would be supported by Dav Whatmore, B Arun, Dinesh Nanavaty and R Sridhar. They would oversee various cricket skills supplemented by Dr Kinjal Suratwala (Nutrition, Psychology) and Paul Chapman (fitness).

Noted Australian biomechanist, Dr Rene Ferdinandes would anchor the courses, the statement said.

The initiative is in line with BCCI's mandate that all states should establish their own academies by April 30 and ensure they were headed up by highly skilled personnel.

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Matthew Hayden retires from Cricket

2009-01-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

Announces at press conference

Australia batsman Matthew Hayden announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday, drawing stumps on a dazzling career as one the greatest opening batsmen of all time.

The 37-year-old had planned to retire after this year's Ashes tour of England but told a Brisbane news conference he knew his time to quit had come.

"Today I'm announcing my retirement from representative cricket, effective immediately," he read from a prepared statement. "I know that now is the time to move on. This is a decision that I've not taken lightly and I'm here after much thought and consideration and discussion with my family."

Hayden, a powerfully built left-hander and prolific run-scorer, played 103 Tests for Australia between 1994 and 2009, scoring 8,625 runs at an average of 50.73.

The Queenslander completed 30 centuries including 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003, which briefly stood as the world record for the highest Test score.

Hayden was just as effective as a One-day player, amassing 6,131 runs from 161 appearances and featuring in the Australian teams that won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

"There are zero regrets when it comes to my cricket performance," he said.

"Rightly or wrongly I have tried to extract every ounce of ability I have been given and turned it into performance."

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Infosys profits up 33% at Rs 1,641cr

2009-01-13T00:14:00.000-08:00

Recession? What recession?

Software major Infosys Technologies announced a 33.31% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,641 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2008, over the corresponding period a year ago.

India's second largest software exporter had a net profit of Rs 1,231 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Infosys said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"Our robust and flexible operating and financial models position us well in the current uncertain economic environment," Infosys financial officer V Balakrishnan said.

The income from software services, products and business process management rose 35.47 per cent to Rs 5,786 crore, from Rs 4,271 crore in the same period in FY'08.

"Our operating margins during the quarter increased primarily due to depreciation of rupee which was to some extent offset by the depreciation of other major currencies against the US dollar," Balakrishnan added.

During the quarter, the company, along with its subsidiaries, has added 30 new clients. The company has added 5,997 employees during the quarter, taking the total number to 1,03,078 as on December 31, 2008, the filing added.

"In a challenging environment our focus is on creating value for clients, running an optimized business, and evolving our business model that will allow us to emerge stronger when the global economy starts recovering," Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan said in a statement.

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Mumbai terror attacks witness Missing

2009-01-13T00:11:00.000-08:00

Poilce hot on trail

The investigations into the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks have suffered a setback after a key eyewitness became untraceable.

The Mumbai Police said on Tuesday that Anita Uddaiya, the woman who had identified the bodies of nine killed Mumbai terrorists, has been missing since January 11.

Anita, 47, had seen the terrorists get off from their boat and land in Mumbai on November 26. She had identified the terrorists’ bodies at the city’s JJ Hospital.

The police have swung into action and are searching for Anita, whose daughter Seema Ketan Joshi filed a complaint after her mother went missing from her house in the Cuffe Parade's Fisherman's Colony.

The Crime Branch of the city police, which is the investigating agency in the November 26 terror attacks, has also launched a probe into the incident.

"We are also probing the disappearance of the lady since she is a witness in the case," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said.

Anita was on a boat near her house at Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade when she saw 10 men leaving an airboat.

She is however, not a key witness in the trial of arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.

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Lalu wants Bullet Train in India

2009-01-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

Rides Tokyo train for inspiration

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who has an ambitious plan for introducing high-speed train corridor in the country, took a ride on the bullet train in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Prasad, accompanied by senior railway officials, got first hand experience of the fast trains travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto at a speed of about 300 km per hour. He boarded Shinkansen -- the Japanese name for the bullet train – from the Tokyo station at 9.10 am (local time).

The Tokyo-Kyoto bullet train ride normally takes about two hours and 20 minutes to cover the distance of about 515 km between the two stations.

Later in the evening, he and his team will travel to Shin-Kobe by another bullet train. The team is also scheduled to again travel to Tokyo from Shin-Osaka station by Shinkansen on Wednesday.

Prasad is leading the team from the ministry to Japan to have a detailed discussion for a loan for the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).

Meanwhile, the Railways have invited global tenders for conducting pre-feasibility study of high-speed train corridor on the Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar route.

The study will focus on technicalities, financial and operational viability of the project, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Besides the Delhi-Amritsar route, the Railways have decided to conduct pre-feasibility studies for four more high-speed passenger routes.

The routes are Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijaywada-Chennai, Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulum and Howrah-Haldia.

The pre-feasibility studies will be followed by detailed project reports which will focus on traffic pattern, funding plan, stakeholders' view, fare structure and other related issues before beginning the work.

The dedicated high-speed train corridor is estimated to cost about Rs 50 crore per km. During his stay in Japan from January 12 to 16, Prasad will hold a series of meetings with Japanese ministers and dignitaries to discuss various issues related to bilateral co-operation between India and Japan in the rail sector.

Prasad will also travel to Singapore on January 17 to address the faculty and the students of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Besides Japan, there are some other countries like France and Germany which have shown interest in being part of India's high-speed train corridor project.

Since the proposed Delhi-Amritsar bullet train is to pass through Panipat, Ambala, Chandigarh and Jalandhar, the cost of the pre-feasibility study would be shared by Punjab, Haryana and Railway Ministry.

The idea is to construct a high-speed corridor in each region -- northern, western, southern and eastern -- of the country, the official said.

The study on the bullet train project is required for the involvement of financial institutions and industries, while the government will give stress on viability gap funding.

Many states like Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal have agreed to part-fund the project.

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Judges minted Provident Funds of court employees

2009-01-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

One man's PF = another man's cellphone

The CBI has unearthed shocking details - hard-earned provident fund savings of class III and IV employees of Ghaziabad courts were illegally spent on furniture, crockery, mobiles, gadgets, laptops, rail tickets, taxi fares and other luxury items for judges.

These details figure in CBI's just-readied status report compiled after preliminary investigations into the Rs 23-crore PF scam, which involved questioning of a Supreme Court judge named by the prime accused, Ashutosh Asthana, along with 11 high court judges and 23 district court judges.

The report shows that the district judges, who were heading the Ghaziabad judiciary during the scam period, not only made expensive purchases from the scam money, they also spent it on photography and video-recording of family functions and marriages.

"About 500 strips of negatives of the photographs, one CD and two mini-video cassettes said to be related to functions of various members of the judiciary were recovered," CBI sources told TOI quoting from the status report, which is being compiled on the basis of the SC's September 23, 2008, order.

It is not that these judges could not have afforded a mobile phone. But, as it came free, seldom did they flinch in accepting freebies provided by Asthana, courtesy the PF money of unsuspecting employees, the CBI found. "As per Asthana, he had provided about 60-70 mobile handsets to various members of judiciary," the agency said.

The prime accused, who as the treasury officer was responsible for safeguarding the PF funds of employees, allegedly did not think twice about using that money to procure expensive furniture, crockery and utensils. Asthana also used the money to pay for transporting these goods to the residences of the judges.

"Several invoices containing entries on trucks/vehicles provided in the last six years have about 35 entries related to Asthana, in which goods were sent to various judges of higher and subordinate judiciary," the CBI claimed. The trucks had an unbelievably smooth passage through states before reaching their destinations mainly because they carried judicial certificates.

"Four original certificates, said to be issued by the chief judicial magistrate, Ghaziabad, certifying that the truck numbers mentioned in the certificate were carrying articles of members of judiciary, which were given to the truck driver for smooth passage of goods through several states, have also been recovered," it said.

CBI also claimed to have recovered 28 bills of sale of crockery to Asthana and monogram of the District Judge, Ghaziabad, for the year 2006-07. It has also found that Asthana allegedly picked up 43 taxi bills of judges and paid it from the PF money.

"About 540 assorted slips, bills, pieces of papers, sketches etc have been recovered from a carpenter. These relate to purchase of various raw materials for furniture items during last seven years," CBI said. The carpenter who made the furniture appears to have impressed the judges with his skill, for he was called to residences of judges with fresh orders and he answered these calls travelling with rail tickets purchased from the PF money.

The agency suspects this carpenter was summoned to judges' residences far away from Ghaziabad —in Lucknow and Allahabad — as many as 17 times and his train tickets were allegedly bought from the PF money.

The preliminary findings reflect the judges' weakness for electronic goods, especially mobile phones. "As many as 45 original bills have been seized from a Ghaziabad showroom denoting sale of many expensive electronic gadgets and appliances to various members of judiciary," the status report reveals.

After a preliminary probe that tracked Asthana's mobile call details, the CBI chanced upon purchase of four laptops, miscellaneous computer peripherals including monitors, CPUs, cameras and printers.

The probe was entrusted to CBI by the apex court after the UP police, which first investigated the matter, chickened out terming the task of investigating 35 judges as daunting.

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Liquidity for Satyam a major concern

2009-01-12T18:04:00.001-08:00

Hyderabad, Monday, 12 January 2009: In their first joint press conference after being appointed on board the beleaguered Satyam, the three independent board members Deepak Parekh, K Karnik and C Achutan said that the board will try to its best to help the company tide over the crisis.

Board member Deepak Parekh informed media that government would provide temporary liquidity to Satyam to overcome crisis.

Parekh said, “Government will appoint new board members. A new independent accounting firm will also be appointed.

He also said, “New CEO and CFO would be appointed in a while.”

Calling Satyam fiasco “a big challenge”, Parekh said board will try its best to retain prized clients of Satyam.

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Death toll rises to 900 in Gaza

2009-01-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Israeli infantry units clashed with Hamas fighters across Gaza on Monday as Israel sent reservists to boost its ground forces and talks on ending the 17-day-old war plodded on in Egypt.

Troops battled Hamas militants across the Gaza Strip, with the most violent clashes reported in the north of the Palestinian enclave, battered by a war that has claimed more than 900 lives.

At least six people were reported killed as a result of Monday’s clashes, medics said.

Hamas and its allies remained defiant in the face of the assault, firing three rockets and mortars that crashed inside Israel without causing injuries, the army said.

The fighting came as Israel poured reservists into Gaza to reinforce ground troops that have been operating there for more than a week. The Israeli media speculated the move could be a sign that the offensive could intensify.

In Egypt, which has been spearheading Western-backed efforts to end the war that has sparked widespread protests across the world, talks were due to resume between Egyptian officials and Hamas.

But Israel’s pointman for Gaza truce talks, Amos Gilad, delayed a planned visit in what Israeli radio speculated was meant as a pressure tactic on Hamas.

Speaking during the cabinet meeting on Sunday, Olmert said that “Israel has no intention to decrease the pressure on Hamas,” a senior Israeli official said.

Cairo said that it had held positive talks with a Hamas team, saying the Islamists agreed “on the importance of … stopping the shedding of Palestinian blood as soon as possible.”

The negotiations in Cairo are centering on a three-point plan that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak unveiled during the week.

The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, talks on opening Gaza’s border crossings and taking steps to prevent arms smuggling, and relaunching Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

On Sunday, Cairo upped the pressure on Israel by summoning its ambassador to demand that the Jewish state comply with last week’s UN Security Council resolution and open humanitarian corridors to relieve the besieged territory.

Both Israel and Hamas have waved off the resolution that called for an immediate end to the fighting.

Israeli officials on Sunday suggested the war the Jewish state unleashed on Hamas in Gaza could be approaching an end, in first such comments since the start of the offensive on December 27.

“The decision of the (UN) Security Council doesn’t give us much leeway,” Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio.

“Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was nearing the goals it had set for its operation, but that fighting would continue for now.

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Storm sinks Indonesian ferry, 250 dead

2009-01-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Monday, 12 January 2009: High tides hindered rescuers on Monday as they searched for nearly 250 people missing and feared dead after a ferry capsized off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.

About 250 passengers and 17 crew were believed to have been aboard the 700-ton Teratai Prima when it sank on Sunday morning as it traveled from the western port of Parepare to Samarinda on the Indonesian half of Borneo island.

At least 22 people, including four crew members, were pulled from the sea by fishermen Sunday before the military launched an operation at daybreak Monday. Indonesians generally don’t know how to swim, and the others on board were feared dead.

“Another 250 names listed as passengers are still missing,” said Junaidi, a port official in Parepare, where some of the survivors were taken to a hospital. He uses one name, which is customary in Indonesia.

The ferry went down 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast off western Sulawesi.

Transport Minister Jusman Syafi’i Djamal said the captain - who was among those pulled alive from the sea - reported that 150 people jumped off the boat before it sank, but he did not know what happened to them.

“We have prepared a search and rescue operation, but now there are high waves hampering the process,” Djamal said.

The ship, carrying about 18 tons of cargo, radioed that it was “hit by a storm” before it went down, said Nurwahida, a port official. He also uses one name.

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Airtel launched in Sri Lanka

2009-01-12T17:59:00.001-08:00

Colombo: Amid huge fanfare, the multi-billion dollar Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel launched its operations in Sri Lanka on Monday.

Airtel has already invested 100 million dollar to commission a sizeable network in just over an year, and the rest 100 billion dollar would be invested in the next three years, the company said.

Speaking on the occasion, group CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal said, “We are delighted at being given this opportunity to serve the people of Sri Lanka and contribute to the growth story of the country”.

Airtel has also achieved 60 per cent coverage penetration in Sri Lanka on the eve of the launch. Bharti Airtel services is being operated under Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

“It will be Airtel’s sincere endeavour to drive affordability in the Sri Lankan market and empower more and more people to experience the benefits of mobile internet and telephony. We are confident that with our experience of serving around 88 million customers, we will make a positive impact on the telecom landscape of Sri Lanka,” Mittal said.

Bharti Airtel would be offering both 2G and next generation 3G mobile services along with a host of value added services to the customers.

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Leela hotels get email bomb threat

2009-01-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

The Leela group of hotels has received a threatening email saying that explosive devices have been planted in all its hotels across the country, and may go off if a ransom of Rs 42 lakh is not paid.

The email has been traced to Kenya and the UAE. However, a detailed search of the hotel by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad did not recover any explosive devices. The email was sent from the ID payingtime@gmail.com.

Investigators got details of the internet protocol (IP) address from which the mail was sent from Google on Saturday. The police said the email was sent to several Leela hotels besides Mumbai, including Bangalore, Kerala, and Goa. The Goa police are also probing the case.

The police traced the IP address to Kenya. The email sender threatened that explosive devices were installed in the hotel. A team from the bomb squad visited the hotel and did a thorough check but nothing was found.”

A police source said the email had two IP addresses, one from Kenya and the other from the UAE. “Two people could be jointly operating the single email ID,” he said.

The police have scanned closed circuit TV footage, but have noticed no suspicious activity. Copies of the email have been forwarded to the state anti-terrorism squad, the Mumbai crime branch.

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Truckers’ strike called off

2009-01-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Monday, 12 January 2009: After a weeklong truckers strike, there is a strong likelihood of the strike being called off late on Monday evening. In a closed door meeting at Ministry of Road Transport headquarters, all the representatives from the state governments agreed to form a committee headed by Union transport secretary Brhanm Dutt to look into issues of one national permit for truckers for their uninterrupted movement through different states and also to rationalize service tax.

The states have been advised to appeal all the striking truckers to resume their services. However there was also consensus that the government would negotiate only after the truckers called off the strike. The striking truckers have been demanding unconditional release of their leaders arrested under NSA.

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Here are the full details of Raju's confession

2009-01-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

7 years of accounts manipulation

In his first confession to the police, the beleaguered ex-chief of Satyam Technologies B Ramalinga Raju has said that the turn of events following his admission of fraud have been unexpected. Raju had owned up the falsification in the IT major’s books.

Raju has disclosed that he manipulated the accounts so that the company could get more business and that margin of amounts in the books increased every year. He has also divulged that the company’s books were manipulated for as many as seven years.

A court, on Monday, postponed the hearing of Raju brothers’ bail plea till January 16. Court also deferred the hearing of plea filed by police seeking the custody of Satyam ex-chief till January 16 as well.

Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had also filed an application in the court seeking permission to record Raju’s statement as it has not questioned ex chief of Satyam yet. The court postponed hearing on SEBI’s plea till January 16 as well.

Moving forward in their investigations into the case, CID, on Monday, started to probe Satyam’s bank accounts in India. The Andhar Pradesh investigating agency also filed for the custody of Raju brothers and former CFO of Satyam.

According to sources CID is also probing the role of board of directors and auditors in the biggest ever fraud in the India IT sector. CID believes that such a big fraud cannot be done by one single person.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Satyam Board started its first meeting at the company’s Hyderabad headquarters on Monday morning. On Sunday, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had formed new Board with three directors including HDFC chief Deepak Parekh, former NASSCOM head Kiran Karnik and SEBI ex-member C Achuthan.

The newly formed Board is expected to chalk out the future course action of the fourt biggest Indian IT major. The Board is also expected to discuss the suitable person for the Chairman’s post and appointment of other Directors if required. The Board is scheduled to brief the media in the evening.

Raju had earlier surrendered to Andhra Pradesh DGP and was in turn sent to CID custody. Ram Raju, brother of Ramalinga Raju, was also arrested by the investigating agency.

Both of the Raju brothers were slapped with charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, use of forged documents, forgery and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code.

Raju had on Wednesday disclosed a financial fraud in the company to the tune of over Rs 7,000 crore by inflating profits and showing fictitious assets where none existed. The company's scrip has fallen nearly 80 percent since the revelation.

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Wipro barred from World Bank

2009-01-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

The World Bank said that it plans to publish the names of all companies it bars from receiving Bank contracts, and named three Indian firms.

It said it had barred IT company Satyam Computer Services for eight years and Wipro Technologies for four years for "improper benefits to bank staff".

"There are currently three companies that (have) been debarred along with their affiliates under the Bank group's corporate procurement programme," the Bank said in a statement.

It said it also barred India's Mefasoft Consultants for four years in December 2007 for "participating in a joint venture with Bank staff while conducting business with the Bank".

India's No. 3 software company, Wipro Ltd, said on Monday that the World Bank had determined in June 2007 the company would be ineligible for the bank's direct contracts up to 2011 citing a conflict of interest policy.

Wipro said its revenues from World Bank were insignificant and the decision would not affect its business and results.

It said the announcement was being made now under revised disclosure policies.

Earlier World Bank banned Satyam for eight years for alleged malpractices, including bribery. The World Bank debarment has been meted out for "improper benefits to bank staff" and "lack of documentation on invoices.”

World Bank information security chief Robert Van Pulley admitted to the ban during a meeting with the officials of Government Accountability Project (GAP), a whistleblower protection organisation in the US. The bank has handed over the case to the US Justice Department and the Treasury Department.

Satyam started providing IT services to the World Bank in 2003. Two years later, allegations of bribery surfaced. In 2007, an internal World Bank investigation found that former VP Mohamed Muhsin had secured contracts and purchase orders worth $100 million for the Indian firm in return for Satyam's stock options (ADRs) at preferential prices.

After which Muhsin was banned permanently from the bank. However, Satyam was allowed to work for the bank till 2008. There have also been allegations against Satyam of causing security breaches at the bank. World Bank's records, which contain sensitive financial information, have reportedly been illegally accessed over the last year.

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2009 Golden Globe Winners - Slumdog Millionaire Triumphs!

2009-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

The winners of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the precursor to the Oscars, were announced tonight at an extravagant ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills. Thankfully the results this year weren't as big of an upset as last year, with Slumdog Millionaire taking the top prize as Best Drama as well as winning awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score as well. As for the ceremony itself, it was a definite improvement over the 30-minute press conference from last year, but was still a vast step down from the Oscars. Try again next year, HFPA! Read on for the full list.

Personally, I'm thrilled to see Slumdog Millionaire triumph at the Globes. It's such a wonderful film and this means it now might have a really good chance at winning Best Picture at the Oscars in February. The full list of nominees and winners can be found below. Winners are highlighted in BOLD.

BEST DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Revolutionary Road
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

ACTOR (DRAMA)
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

BEST MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges

ACTOR (MUSICAL OR COMEDY)
Javier Bardem - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell - In Bruges
James Franco - Pineapple Express
Dustin Hoffman - Last Chance Harvey
Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges

ACTRESS (MUSICAL OR COMEDY)
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson - Last Chance Harvey
Rebecca Hall - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Waltz with Bashir
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Everlasting Moments

ANIMATED FILM
Wall-E
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Ralph Fiennes - The Duchess

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

DIRECTOR
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road

SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare - The Reader
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

ORIGINAL SCORE
James Newton Howard - Defiance
Alexandre Desplat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire
Hans Zimmer - Frost/Nixon
Clint Eastwood - Changeling

ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" by Peter Gabriel / Thomas Newman - Wall-E
"Gran Torino" by Clint Eastwood / Kyle Eastwood - Gran Torino
"I Thought I'd Lost You" by Miley Cyrus - Bolt
"Once in a Lifetime" by Beyoncé Knowles - Cadillac Records
"The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler

Are these results an indication of what's going to happen at the Oscars in February? Last year they really had no impact on the Academy's choices, so I doubt it'll be any different this year. Stay tuned for the Oscar nominations on Thursday, January 22nd. And let us know your thoughts on this year's winners!

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AR Rahman wins Golden Globe Award

2009-01-11T20:23:00.001-08:00

Indian music maestro AR Rahman created history on Sunday night by winning the Golden Globe Award. At a glittering ceremony in Los Angeles, Rahman bagged the Golden Globe for Best Original Music Score for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The film also won the award for Best Screenplay at the 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

Rahman bagged the Golden Globe for his song ‘Jai Ho’, penned by lyricist Gulzar.

The Golden Globe Awards have now set the countdown for next month’s Academy awards.

The film, which is the story of a Mumbai underdog’s rags-to-riches run, had earned four nominations, including for Best Picture-Drama, Best Director for Boyle and Best Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy.

‘Slumdog…’ is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan in the lead among others.

The film has been shot at various locations in Mumbai including Victoria Terminus railway station, which was targeted by terrorists on November 26, last year.

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British Foreign Secretary to visit India

2009-01-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Monday, 12 January 2009: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is set to visit India and Pakistan this week to push for talks between the two countries to defuse tensions created by the Mumbai terror attacks.

Miliband is expected to be in India by Tuesday for a two-day visit and will then travel to Islamabad, diplomatic sources said. During his parleys with the top leadership in both countries, Miliband is expected to discuss a proposal for talks between India and Pakistan to end the impasse over the Mumbai attacks.

The sources said one proposal that was mooted in some quarters was for talks between the National Security Advisors (NSA) of India and Pakistan. However, this proposal ran into trouble due to the recent sacking of Pakistan’s NSA Mahmud Ali Durrani by PM Yousuf Raza Gilani for his comments on the Pakistani nationality of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist captured in India for the Mumbai attacks.

India put its composite dialogue process with Pakistan on hold when tensions escalated between the two countries after the Mumbai incident. Britain is now reportedly keen to bring the two countries back to the negotiating table to defuse regional tensions, the sources said.

Officials here were reluctant to divulge details about Miliband’s visit to Islamabad due to security concerns but confirmed that he would be in Pakistan immediately after his visit to India.

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Mumbai Attack has the potential to be replicated: Obama

2009-01-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Washington, Jan 11: President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday voiced fear that Mumbai-type attacks can be replicated by terrorists in other parts of world, including the US and said his administration will focus on putting more pressure on "our major target" al-Qaeda.

Asked about 26/11 terror strikes in an interview to ABC News, Obama said the "danger is always there" to have a Mumbai-type attack in an American city.

"When you see what happened in Mumbai, that potentially points to a new strategy, not simply suicide bombings but you have commandos taking over...," he said.

"I think you have to anticipate that having seen the mayhem that was created in Mumbai, that there are going to be potential copycats or other terrorist organisations that think this is something that they can replicate," Obama said.

At a Congressional hearing on Mumbai attack this week, top US intelligence and police officials had expressed similar fear and said that this makes all the more necessary to ensure that those responsible for such an attack are brought to justice, given that US cities are always on top of the hit list of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

"So we're going to have to be vigilant in terms of our intelligence, we're going to have to make sure that we are more effective in terms of anticipating some of these issues, and we've got to continue to put pressure on al-Qaeda, which is our major target -- that's something that I talked about extensively during the campaign," Obama said.

"That has to be one of our primary areas of focus when it comes to our international security."

Early this week, President George W Bush's homeland security adviser Ken Wainstein, while talking about the Mumbai attacks, said: ""You could envision it happening in any American city. It's chilling when you think about it."

Obama's comments on the Mumbai attacks came two days after Vice President-elect Joseph Biden visited Pakistan and impressed upon Islamabad the need to cooperate with New Delhi in the probe into the deadly strikes that killed over 180 people, including six Americans, in India's financial hub.

Iran would be biggest challenge

The US President-elect, Barack Obama, said on Sunday that Iran with a nuclear ambition would be the biggest challenge of his administration and that he would move swiftly with a "new approach" soon after he takes over next week.

"Well, I think that Iran is going to be one of our biggest challenges," Obama told the ABC news channel in an interview telecast today.

"As I said during the campaign, you know, we have a situation in which not only is Iran exporting terrorism through Hamas, through Hezbollah, but they are pursuing a nuclear weapon that could potentially trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," Obama said.

The President-elect indicated that his administration would adopt a new approach on Iran starting with diplomacy and dialogue.

"We are going to have to take a new approach. And I've outlined my belief that engagement is the place to start. That the international community is going to be taking cues from us in how we want to approach Iran," he said.

"I think that sending a signal that we respect the aspirations of the Iranian people, but that we also have certain expectations in terms of how a international actor behaves, is...," Obama said.

"I think a new emphasis on respect and a new emphasis on being willing to talk, but also clarity about what our bottom lines are. And we are in preparations for that. We anticipate that we're going to have to move swiftly in that area," he said.

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Govt appoints new Satyam Board to clear the mess

2009-01-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Jan 11: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs on Sunday constituted a new three-member Satyam Board comprising HDFC Bank chairman Deepak Parekh, former NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik, and former SEBI member C Achutan.

"We will ensure that Satyam continues to function in the best interests of the company and its shareholders," Corporate Affairs Minister Premchand Gupta told reporters here, announcing the names of the new board members.

"The new board will meet in next 24 hours," the minister said a day after the company's founder-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju surrendered before the authorities for financial fraud and were remanded to judicial custody till Jan 23.

"Having considered all aspects, the government has decided to reconstitute the Satyam board with experts in different fields," Gupta said. "Such a board will provide necessary vision and accountable leadership to the company in the hour of crisis."

Lazard not to seek berth

He, however, declined comment when asked if investors in Satyam like Lazard and Life Insurance Corp of India would also be given representation on the company's board eventually.

UK-based Lazard Asset Management, the largest shareholder of troubled IT firm Satyam Computer Services, however said it has not asked for berth in the restructured board of the company.

"Reports that Lazard Asset Management has sought a seat on the Satyam board of directors are incorrect," the fund house said in an emailed statement.

The statement, however, said, "On behalf of our investment clients, we have communicated to SEBI, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of India and to the interim management of Satyam."

The communication requested that as a large shareholder, the asset management company would like to be informed on all matters being considered regarding Satyam, it said. The asset manager holds about 7.4 per cent stake the troubled IT-firm Satyam

Gupta said the reconstituted board will make its own assessment of the situation and take appropriate decisions. "It would restore credibility to the company, customer confidence and boost employee morale."

On being asked about the possibility of appointing more members in the Board of Directors, Gupta said, “A board can have minimum three members and we can appoint up to 10 members in the Board.”

Gupta said that more members to the board would be nominated only if needed.

The new Satyam chief would also be decided by the new Board.

CLB had disbanded Satyam Computer’s board and announced that a 10-member board of new directors would be nominated soon.

The minister briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Saturday to discuss the developments surrounding Satyam, including the names of those proposed to become board members of the Hyderabad-based company, officials said.

The government sacked all members of the Satyam board Friday. Officials said the prime minister wanted a credible management at its helm so as to instil the necessary confidence among various stakeholders.

Board to restore confidence

Asked about the priorities before the board, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh told reporters that restoring confidence was clearly the first priority before the board.

The newly appointed board members would be reaching Hyderabad tonight, when they would hold an informal meeting. This will be followed by a full board meeting tomorrow in Satyam premises on 9.30 am, Parekh said.

"I'm yet to talk to the other members," Parekh said. Karnik, former President of NASSCOM, also said that the three newly named board members would meet as soon as possible and that the first priority is the arrangement of an operational management.

"We are trying to ensure that India continues to be safe, secure and reliable destination for IT services," he said.

The government named three Board members with one each having legal, financial and IT expertise. While Karnik hails from the knowledge sector, Parekh has been in the banking sector and Achutan has had a stint with SEBI in the past.

Reactions

"This is not only a welcome step but also a speedy decision. The government must be congratulated for prompt action which was the need of the hour," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

"All three people named are leaders in their respective field - one knows the IT industry inside out, the second is an expert regulator and chartered accountant, and the third has phenomenal understanding of corporate governance," Banerjee told IANS, referring to Karnik, Achuthan and Parikh, respectively.

"I am sure the government will consider more such people," he added.

"We are confident that this will help to ensure business continuity, build confidence and protect the interests of all the stakeholders - the employees, customers and investors," said Som Mittal, president of Nasscom.

"By acting in this bold and coordinated manner, the government has sent the right signals to the global community and set an example of what governments can do to protect stakeholder interests while ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law."

Officials familiar with the developments said that the markets regulator would soon seek permission from the Sixth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate D. Ramakrishna who has the Satyam brass under custody to record their statements.

Following their former chief Ramalinga Raju five other directors of Satyam had also put in their papers, leaving the strength of the board at just three.

Ramalinga Raju had resigned from his post earlier and admitted to falsification to the tune of 7,000 cr in the company's books.

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Israel is Washington’s ‘Murder Arm’: Chavez

2009-01-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday accused Israel of being the ‘murder arm’ of the United States and said the solution to the Gaza crisis was in the hands of Barack Obama when he becomes US president in 10 days.On announcing Venezuela’s first humanitarian aid shipment for Gaza’s embattled Palestinians, Chavez said he was not surprised Israel ignored the United Nation’s call Thursday for a ceasefire in Gaza because, he said, “behind Israel lurks the United States.” “It doesn’t surprise me in the least…. The Israeli government doesn’t comply because it is the United States. Unfortunately, Israel has become the murder arm of the United States,” he added.

Chavez, Latin America’s most prominent leftist leader and staunch foe of outgoing US President George W. Bush, said the solution to the Gaza conflict was squarely in the hands of Bush’s successor Obama, who is to be inaugurated January 20. “Let’s wait and see what Obama will do when he takes power as president… and head of the empire,” Chavez said, using his pet name for the United States. “Because if anybody can stop that massacre it’s the US president, because it was a US president who ordered it” in the first place, he said. He slammed the international community for not doing enough to stop the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, which since December 27 has killed more than 850 people, according to Gaza emergency services. “They’re killing the Palestinian people in Gaza and the world sits there, arms crossed, drawing up (UN) resolutions. We should move on to more concrete actions. We went as far as we could and threw out the (Israeli) ambassador,” Chavez said. Venezuela on Tuesday expelled Israel’s ambassador to Caracas as calls mounted in Latin America for an end to the Jewish state’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip. The following day, Israel expelled Venezuela’s charge d’affaires. Chavez said Venezuela’s first air shipment of relief supplies for Gaza would be leaving Sunday for Egypt. Meanwhile in La Paz, Chavez ally and anti-American President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, said the United Nations was under Washington’s thumb and he regretted that the world body was unable to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. “What I’m sorry about is that the United Nations is not for the people of the world, it’s a United Nations for the US Empire, and we don’t want that,” Morales said Saturday.

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Israel Attacked Gaza Upon Obama’s Request

2009-01-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

Barack H. Obama who represented “Change” in the world has asked Israeli Zionist to get over with the Gaza and break the Hamas before he takes control of the America this year. Obama wants to reduce problems for him as much as possible and he wants to take control of Middle East, before he iron-out the problems in Afghanistan. Americans already control Iraq and as Israel ensures their control in Palestine, Obama will brutally focus on the FATA areas of Pakistan.Obama’s appraoch is crystal clear. He will be focussing more on Afghanistan. He has lambasted Hamas already. He knows that he has to prove himself in the eyes of Zionist the world over and proof that though his middle name is “Hussain”, but he would act as the savior and champion of Zionist terrorism. Obama must show some responsibility and instead of basking in Hawaii, he should come forward and while stop acting like a useless innocent change idiot, he must act.

America wants more wars but cannot afford them, so she is relying on Israel and India to spend and do the dirty work adn then US wants to share booty with them. According ot the Washington Post 12/26/08, even with declining troop numbers in Iraq, the direct price tag of the two wars could grow as high as $1.7 trillion by 2018, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments reported last week. The defense think tank’s figure does not include potentially hundreds of billions more in indirect economic and social costs, such as higher oil prices and lost wages. The war in Iraq alone has already cost more in inflation-adjusted dollars than every other U.S. war except World War II, the CSBA found.

Pakistan should get ready to be tightly and ruthlessly handled by the new American administration. Mumbai attacks enable India to pressurize the Pakistan and the way Americans have supported Indian cause without any evidence and proof shows that America wants India to be it’s primary policeman in the area and play the same role in South Asia as is played by Israel in the Middle East.

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Somdev Devvarman loses in Chennai Open Final

2009-01-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

Breaking News! India's tennis sensation Somdev Devvarman, who upset top players like Carlos Moya and Ivo Karlovic, faltered at the last hurdle, as he went down fighting to World No. 27 Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-7. Somdev fought hard, but could not match the experience of Marin Cilic.

Somdev Devvarman was the first Indian to reach the final of Chennai Open ATP tournament. Somdev will gain 150 ATP points by the virtue of his excellent performance in Chennai Open. Marin Cilic won a prize money of $450,000.

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Steve Waugh Lambasts Kevin Pietersen

2009-01-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

'He blundered bigtime'

Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh added his respected voice to the Ashes build-up on Friday by telling Kevin Pietersen he was wrong to relinquish the England captaincy.

Pietersen had overseen just three Tests before he spectacularly fell out with coach Peter Moores in a saga which plunged English cricket into crisis just six months before the team attempts to reclaim the Ashes.

Asked if the South African-born Pietersen had blundered in his high-profile resignation, Waugh said: "Yes, I think so.”

"It didn`t look like it was a terrible situation. It does take a while to work with someone. I mean you`re not just going to come on board as a captain and work smoothly and fit in exactly the way he wants," said Waugh.

"There are probably six to twelve months at least so there is that certain period of time where there`s a bit of adjustment needed. You`ve got to get used to the way people operate.”

"So I think they really didn`t probably give each other enough of an opportunity to do that."

Pietersen, who wants to remain as part of the squad despite reports that his self-confidence and single-mindedness had left the dressing room split, has been succeeded as skipper by opener Andrew Strauss.

Moores, sacked as coach, has been replaced on a temporary basis by former Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower who will lead England on their forthcoming tour of the West Indies. Waugh, the most successful international captain of all time having won 40 of his 53 Tests in charge between 1999 and 2004, insists that few people have emerged with much credit from the crisis.

"In the end both people suffer. Kevin had to resign from the captaincy and Peter Moores has lost a coaching job, so no one`s a winner, and it really puts England one step further back than they`d like to be."

Waugh also believes that despite the controversy, Pietersen will not be cold-shouldered when he returns to England duty to prepare for the squad`s departure to the Caribbean on January 21.

"They`re pretty hard-nosed and thick-skinned and they`re used to a lot of these distractions around the team," he said.

"They`ll get on with playing cricket and they`ll embrace him as a great, great batsman, which he is and I think it will be pretty soon forgotten and they`ll just get on with the job."

The Australian veteran also believes that Pietersen may even regain the captaincy in the future.

"We all move on and you know in time he may well get another opportunity because a lot of people thought he was very good at what he did," added Waugh.

"He certainly gave spark to the job and he got a lot of people talking about Test match cricket in England, so there were certainly more things in his favour than against him."

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Pak PM doesn't like 'so much noise' about Mumbai

2009-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

'Mumbai got attacked...big deal'

A day after he made, as some call it, the mysterious statement that ISI's response to the Indian dossier had been conveyed to India,Pakistan PM Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday shot his mouth off again saying that there was no need for the world to make “so much noise'' about the Mumbai attacks.

Gilani's statement about ISI's feedback being given to India was denied again by New Delhi on Saturday.

Drawing a parallel with the Israeli strikes in Gaza, Gilani accused the international community of double standards saying that it was more concerned about the Mumbai attacks than the killings in Palestine. ``We have to see that the world does not have double standards. See how many innocent women and children have been killed in Palestine. Why is nobody talking about that? Why is the world silent on that?'' said Gilani during a function in Karachi, adding that there was no need for the world to make so much noise over just one incident — the Mumbai attacks.

He went on to bring up the issue of J&K saying that the world had remained silent over the ``atrocities'' committed by India on the people of the state. Stating that hundreds of people had been killed in terrorist strikes, including suicide attacks on slain leader Benazir Bhutto's cavalcade in October 2007 and Marriot Hotel in Islamabad, in the past, Gilani wondered why not enough ``noise'' was made over these incidents.
He said 26/11 was an intelligence failure on India's part and that it India's ``internal matter''.

This was the second shocker from Gilani in as many days. Gilani's statement on Friday that Islamabad has handed over its feedback to the dossier linking Mumbai attacks with Pakistan nationals has turned mysterious with India on Saturday saying that no such reply had been received from Pakistan. Gilani had made the statement before reporters in Islamabad on Friday, but this was soon denied by foreign ministry officials.

On Saturday, minister of state for foreign affairs Anand Sharma categorically said that no such feedback had been received from Islamabad. ``We have not yet received it. When it reaches us we will comment,'' said Sharma, adding that India had also not received any request from Pakistan for consular access to the lone terrorist survivor in Mumbai attacks Ajmal Amir Kasab.

What is further intriguing is another statement from Gilani that India had handed over a 52-page dossier to the CIA which had been given to Pakistan and to which ISI had responded. He said that ISI's response had been conveyed to the CIA and India. A senior official in New Delhi, however, said that India had no knowledge about any dossier being handed over to Pakistan through the CIA. The Indian dossier, he said, had been prepared with help from FBI and handed over directly by the foreign ministry to the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi.

``Our position is clear that Pakistan should fulfill the promises it has made to India and the international community. It should dismantle the terror infrastructure that exists there,'' stated Sharma.

Meanwhile, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday again said that all options are open for India even as he ruled out Gaza-like strikes saying that the situation here could not be compared with the ongoing conflict in Gaza. ``I have not gone and occupied any (of) Pakistan's land which Israel has done (in Palestine).

So, how the situation can be comparable,'' Mukherjee told a news channel when asked about whether a response similar to that of Israel can be contemplated by India.

``We have not reached the end of the road. Pakistan, what they have asked for, we have given them. We expect them to act on it. If they do not act on it, then what follow-up steps we will take and in what space of time it will take place, future course will decide,'' said Mukherjee. He said that India had to deal with the civilian government in Islamabad even if it wasn't clear which agency was actually calling the shots in Pakistan.

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Satyam's Raju sent to judicial custody

2009-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

CFO questioned

Satyam's ex-chairman Ramalinga Raju was on Saturday sent to judicial custody till January 23 shortly after he was produced in a Hyderabad court. According to reports, his brother Rama Raju was also sent to judicial custody.

The order in this regard was passed after Satyam’s disgraced chief was produced before a magistrate, who also directed the jail authorities to monitor his medical condition.

The duo was sent to the Chanchalguda prison in Hyderabad.

Raju’s counsel Bharath Kumar has said that he has not lost hope and he will now move a bail plea on Monday. “We are moving a bail plea on Monday,” he said while replying to reporters.

In another development, Satyam's Chief Finance Officer Vadlamani Srinivasan has been arrested. He is being questioned by the authorities for his role in one of India’s biggest corporate frauds.

Just before Raju was produced in the court, CB-CID was seeking the extended custody of B Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju for interrogation.

Meanwhile, Union Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chandra Gupta today assured that all action was being taken in a coordinated manner in connection with the case and there was no reason for panic.

“All action is being taken in a coordinated manner so that nothing goes haywire. We are concerned about the well being of Satyam employees, its share holders, its foreign clients and about the reputation of our corporate world in totality,” he said.

However, both the SEBI and SFIO teams will now have to wait and seek permission from the court to quiz the duo.

SEBI team, which is in the city to quiz Raju, will have to file a request with the Economic Offences Court to interrogate the duo, cops said.

The SEBI team had gone to Raju's house yesterday and had issued summons to him. Later, Raju’s lawyer told reporters that the Satyam founder would appear before SEBI at 4 pm on Saturday.

"We will seek police custody of Raju and Rama Raju... SEBI have to file a request in the Economic Offences Court to interrogate them," Additional DG-CID A Sivanarayana said in Hyderabad.

Earlier in the day, SEBI Chairman C B Bhave said, "We have given the investigation team a brief on Satyam as required," when asked if the investigating team would also get details from the RBI which is reported to have asked various banks including Citibank for credit details of Satyam.

Raju is currently in the CID custody. A case has been registered against Ramalinga Raju and Rama Raju under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 406, 467 and 427 (criminal breach of trust, forgery and using forged documents as genuine).

Cops said all the Sections under which the FIR has been filed against the two brothers are non-bailable.

According to Raju's lawyer, the two were questioned for over three hours on Friday night and again in the Saturday morning.

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