Khobor Akhon: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Carmen Electra reveals her fashion secrets

Carmen Electra believes in being true to herself and not being afraid of what she loves.

At designer Alice and Olivia’s rooftop soiree in New York City, the actress revealed that the secret to looking good is always showing off her hourglass figure with a waist-cinching belt.

Electra also said that she loves to pile on bangles as part of her signature look.

“To me, fashion is really being true to yourself and not being afraid of what you love.

I’m always attracted to that in other people and inspired by people who aren’t afraid,” Fox News quoted Electra as saying.

Manna Dey to get prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award

Renowned playback singer Manna Dey has been nominated for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for the year 2007.

Officials in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Wednesday Dey's name was finalised earlier this week by a five-member committee.

The 90-year-old singer will be conferred the award in a ceremony on 21st October by President Pratibha Patil .

Dey, one of the greatest playback singers in Indian cinema, ruled the playback music scene from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has sung more than 3,500 songs.

The award, named after the father of Indian cinema Dada Saheb Phalke, is the highest honour in Indian Cinema.

Indian's survival hinging on the results of Pakistan vs Australia match

India approach to the game against the West Indies in a must-win match in Johannesburg on Wednesday in their final group A engagement of the Champions Trophy starts with a prayer on the lips that Pakistan would somehow prevail over Australia by a big margin in the day's first game in Centurion.

If it happens, India would need to up their net run-rate dramatically, besides winning the match, to stand a chance of making the last-four stage.

India presently has a net run-rate of -1.08 whereas Australia has a massive advantage of +1.00 in their favour.

Australia won their opening game against the West Indies by 50 runs and India lost theirs by 54 runs. So if India is to go past Australia's net run-rate, they ought to cover the difference of 104 runs between the two teams.

For instance, if Australia lose their game by 25 runs, India needs to win theirs against the West Indies by 80 runs to prevail and go through to the semi-finals.

However, if Australia bat first and score 250 runs, India need to get their runs inside 40 overs for them to go through.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

India's Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar turns eighty

Lata Mangeshkar

Her golden voice has enthralled millions and as the grande dame of Indian music turns 80 on Monday, Lata Mangeshkar says her only wish is to continue singing till her last breath.

The icon, who first broke onto the music scene with 'Aayega Aanewaala' in "Mahal" (1949), is considered the greatest playback singer in the Indian cinema with more than 50,000 songs to her credit.

Lata has become choosy over the years about Bollywood assignments but her voice in a song ensures success be it 'Kitane Azeeb' in Bhandarkar's 'Page-3' or 'Luka Chhupi' in Raykesh Omprakash Mehra's 'Rang De Basanti'.

She recently recorded 'Daata Sun Maula Sun' for Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Jail'. A prayer sung in jail, the song was composed by Shamir Tandon.

The singer also launched a music album with Sa Re Ga Ma, which is the collection of some of her biggest hits.

Known as India's Nightingale, the singing legend was awarded Dada Saheb Phalke award in 1989 and received the country's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 2001.

With over 50,000 songs to her credit, Lata has also featured in the Guiness Book of World Records for highest number of recordings.

She is the only artiste, who can sing in 36 different languages including English, Russian, Dutch, Fijian and Swahili.

Badrinath Temple to be closed on 17th November' 09

Badrinath Temple

The portals of Badrinath Temple, one of the highest shrines of Hindus and one among the Chardhams, will be closed for winter on 17th November.

The temple, situated in the foothills of Garhwal Himalayas, would remain closed for six-months during the winter as a part of its tradition.

The decision for the closure of the temple was taken today in the presence of head priest Rawal Keshav Namboodiri on the occasion of Vijaydashmi.

According to the traditions, the auspicious date and time for the closure of the temple is decided on every Dussehra.

The portals of the centuries-old shrine, located on the banks of the Alaknanda River and is dedicated to Lord Vishu, will be closed at 3:40 PM on 17th November amid religious rituals.

Boxer Vijender Singh becomes world number one

Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist Vijender Singh has achieved yet another first for Indian boxing by becoming the world's top-ranked pugilist in the middle weight (75kg) category.

The 23-year-old Bhiwani boxer, who won India's maiden World Championships medal in Milan earlier this month, has 2700 points and is ranked higher than the reigning champion Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan.

Atoev, to whom Vijender lost in the World Championship semifinals, is third in the list with 2100 points and Olympic silver medallist Emilio Correa Bayeux (2500) of Cuba occupies the second spot in the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) list updated after the Milan event.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Dussehra | Dasara Greetings | Goddess Durga

President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greeted the nation on the occasion of Durga Puja and Dussehra, saying the festivals transcend communal boundaries and unite the nation.

Dussehra is celebrated by Hindus all over India. At some place it is called Vijayadashmi. According to the legend, this day Lord Rama killed the demon-king, Ravana. After killing Ravana, Lord Ram rescued his wife Sita who was abducted by the Ravana. The festival implies the victory of good over evil.

On this day, people place effigies of Ravana, Meghnad, and Kumbhkarna in open space and burn them. Crackers are filled in the effigies.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sensex makes a come-back as Sept contract expires

Fag-end buying on Thursday helped the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recover its early losses and end the day nearly 62 points up as speculators rushed to cover their pending positions.

The 30-share Sensex, which had tumbled 224.58 points during the day, bounced back in the last 30-minutes of trade to close higher by 61.93 points at 16,781.43 on the back of a sharp recovery in heavy-weight stocks like Reliance Industries, Housing Development Finance Corp and ICICI Bank.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty recovered by 16.60 points to end at 4,986.55. It briefly recovered the crucial 5,000 points level on late buying.

Sourav Ganguly included in BCCI Technical Committee

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly was on Thursday included as a member of the Cricket Board's Technical Committee headed by Sunil Gavaskar at the BCCI's 80th AGM in Mumbai.

The panel also includes former Test umpire V K Ramaswamy and ex-India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth who was retained as the head of the senior selection committee for the 2009-10 season.

The following are the various committees for 2009-10 season.

Working Committee: Shashank Manohar (President), N Srinivasan (Secretary), Sanjay Jagdale (Jt. secretary), M P Pandove (Treasurer), Arun Jaitley (North), Shivlal Yadav (South), Arindam Ganguly (East), Chirayu Amin (West) and Lalit Modi (Central) (all vice presidents).

Delhi, Tamil Nadu Bengal, Mumbai, UP (all permanent Test centres), Karnataka, Punjab, Gujarat, Vidarbha (who have staged Tests), HP (North), Hyderabad (South), Jharkhand (East), Cricket Club of India (West) and Rajasthan (Central).

Champions Trophy: SA beat New Zealand by five wickets

South Africa bounced back into contention for 2009 ICC Champions Trophy glory with a five-wicket triumph over New Zealand at SuperSport Park in in Centurian on Thursday.

Upset by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ODI tournament two days ago, the Proteas had to win and did so with relative ease before a large, holiday crowd.

New Zealand were all out for 214 in 47.5 overs and South Africa cruised to 217-5 in 41.1 overs and another win on Sunday over England would virtually assure the hosts of a place in the knockout phase.

Chandrayaan-I confirms presence of water on Moon

Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I -India's maiden moon mission, has detected evidence of water across the lunar surface, scientists announced on Thursday.

Describing as "path-breaking" the evidence of water on Moon by India's Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said no lunar odyssey so far had given a "positive" conclusion.

Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I, detected wavelengths of reflected light that would indicate a chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen in materials on the thin layer of upper soil.

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper or M3 has confirmed existence of water on moon by analysing the data collected from Chandrayaan-I.

The finding ends four-decade long speculation on whether there is water on moon.

Scientists first claimed that water existed on moon about 40 years ago after they analysed rock samples brought to earth as souvenirs by Apollo astronauts.

Chandrayaan-1, launched in October last year, ended prematurely last month ahead of its two-year life span but Nair has maintained that it had achieved 95 percent of its objectives.

Chandrayaan-I confirms presence of water on Moon

Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I -India's maiden moon mission, has detected evidence of water across the lunar surface, scientists announced on Thursday.

Describing as "path-breaking" the evidence of water on Moon by India's Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said no lunar odyssey so far had given a "positive" conclusion.

Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I, detected wavelengths of reflected light that would indicate a chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen in materials on the thin layer of upper soil.

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper or M3 has confirmed existence of water on moon by analysing the data collected from Chandrayaan-I.

The finding ends four-decade long speculation on whether there is water on moon.

Scientists first claimed that water existed on moon about 40 years ago after they analysed rock samples brought to earth as souvenirs by Apollo astronauts.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Schedule

The sixth edition of ICC Champions Trophy will be played in Johannesburg and Centurion of South Africa from September 22nd to October 5th.

Eight teams are divided into two Groups A and B.

The following are the two groups:

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England

Each team will play with one another in their corresponding groups and the top two teams from each group will advance into the semi finals. are in Group A while

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Games Schedule:
(All timings are mentioned in GMT+05:30)

Tue 22 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – Sri Lanka v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Wed 23 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – Pakistan v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Thu 24 Sep
13:00 PM
Group B – South Africa v New Zealand
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Fri 25 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sat 26 Sep
13:00 PM
Group A – Australia v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sat 26 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v Pakistan
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sun 27 Sep
13:00 PM
Group B – New Zealand v Sri Lanka
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Sun 27 Sep (S/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v South Africa
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Mon 28 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Tue 29 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group B – England v New Zealand
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Wed 30 Sep
13:00 PM
Group A – Pakistan v Australia
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Wed 30 Sep (D/N)
18:00 PM
Group A – India v West Indies
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Fri 2 Oct (D/N)
18:00 PM
1st Semi Final – A1 v B2
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sat Oct 3 (D/N)
18:00 PM
2nd Semi Final – A2 v B1
New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Mon 5 Oct (D/N)
18:00 PM
Final – 1st Semi Final winner v 2nd Semi Final inner
SuperSport Park, Centurion

Yuvraj Singh out of Champions Trophy

India's Champions Trophy campaign dealt a massive blow as middle-order mainstay Yuvraj Singh was ruled out of the eight-nation event due to a fractured right-hand finger.

The stylish left-hander, who picked up the injury during a training session today, has been advised rest for six weeks and will return home.

Delhi middle order batsman Virat Kohli has been named as Yuvraj's replacement.

India will open their campaign against arch rivals Pakistan on 26th September.

Yuvraj was enthusiastically taking part in the fielding session at the University Ground in Johannesburg.

But in the process, he ended up hurting his right finger so badly that he couldn't participate in the batting and bowling sessions which were conducted later in the day.

Marathi film 'Harishchandrachi factory' India's entry for Oscars

Harishchandrachi Factory

Marathi film "Harishchandrachi Factory", by theatre-veteran Paresh Mokashi has been selected as India's official entry to this year's Oscars in the Foreign Film Category.

The two-hour-long film depicts the struggle of Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, to make 'Raja Harishchandra' in 1913, India's first feature film.

"Harischandrachi Factory" beat off competition from 15 films including Bollywood movies like "New York" and "Delhi 6" to get selected for the honour.

The nomination of the Marathi film was announced by The Film Federation of India (FFI) and the jury was headed by noted actress Asha Parekh.

Paresh Mokashi, the writer and director of the film was elated on hearing the news. Mokashi said he will have to submit the prints to the Oscar Academy by 1st October.

Scientists close to making 'Chilly grenade' to take on trouble-makers

Bhoot Jolokiya chilly

The Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) at Tezpur in Assam has established after extensive research that the world's hottest chilly 'Bhoot Jolokiya', also called Naga chilly, can indeed be turned into a grenade without being lethal.

Not only that, the extracts of the chilly, exported to the US where it is a favourite among foodies, can also be used as powder to drive away animals, according to scientists in the Defence Research Laboratory.

DRL scientists are working on making the grenade with the hot properties of Bhoot Jolokiya which can be used by the police and the military to disperse unruly mob or for sundry other purposes.

The biggest advantage of the chilly grenade would be its non-lethal nature, said DRL scientist R P Srivastava.

The DRDO and World Wildlife Fund are also working on developing a powder from the chilly that could be coated on fences and ropes to scare away wild elephants who create havoc in many parts of the Northeast.

The Guinness Book of World Records has declared the Bhoot Jolokiya as the hottest chilly in 2007.

India successfully launches Oceansat-2

ISRO placed in orbit seven satellites including Oceansat-2 within a span of 20 minutes on Wednesday, its first successful mission after the abrupt end of the ambitious Chandrayaan-I project.

At the end of the 51-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-C14 blasted off from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota with ignition of the core first stage and put the satellites in orbit one after another.

Scientists cheered as ISRO's workhorse, PSLV soared majestically into clear skies at 11.51 AM from the spaceport in the East Coast in Andhra Pradesh, about 100 km north of Chennai,with the launch watched by Vice President Hamid Ansari
Oceansat-2, the country's 16th remote sensing satellite, will identify potential fishing zones, sea state forecasting and coastal zone studies, besides providing inputs on weather forecasting and climate studies.

A set of six nano satellites rode piggyback accompanying Oceansat-2 on its trip to orbit.

Ansari and senior scientist M G K Menon, who were present in the mission centre, congratulated ISRO scientists soon after the successful launch.

In April 2008, ISRO had launched 10 satellites in a single mission -- one big spacecraft (Cartosat-2A) and nine nano satellites.

Wednesday's PSLV was a core alone version without six strap on motors that surround the first stage in the standard PSLV format.

Oceansat 2 was placed in polar sunsynchronous orbit of 720 km above Earth, as in the case of its predecessor.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Peranmai audio to be launched on September 21

Ayngaran International has planned to launch the “Peranmai’film’s audio in grandeur on September 21, at Sathyam Cinemas.

Directed by SP Jananathan, the film features “Jeyam’ Ravi in lead role. Vidyasagar has scored music for this film. The producers have planned to screen sleek trailer and some breathtaking action scenes from this film during the occasion.

Rama Narayanan, president of Tamil Nadu producers’ council will release the film’s trailer with actor Sarath Kumar receiving the first copy while actor Napoleon will launch the audio and it would be received by Abhirami Ramanathan.

Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu, R.B Choudhary, Pushpa Kandasamy, director Cheran, Ameer, Thangar Bachan, Sundar .C, Vasanthabalan, actor Arya, Jeeva, Shaam, Arun Vijay, Ponvannan, Malai Raja, Anbuselvan, Yakiya and others will grace over this special occasion.

Champions Trophy: Team India leaves for South Africa

The Indian cricket team on Friday left to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in South Africa from 22nd September.

The team heaved a sigh of relief as opener Gautam Gambhir cleared a fitness test to join his teammates for the same.

Gambhir had sustained a groin injury during the BCCI Corporate Trophy, in which he led the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

The team will play a warm-up match against New Zealand on 20th September.

Placed in Group A along with Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will open their league engagements on 26th September against Pakistan.

The Team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthick, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, R P Singh.

MDU Rohatak results declared

Maharshi Dayanand University

Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU)Rohtak has published the results of various courses including MCA, M.Ed 2009.

For results visit following links:
http://mdurohtak.com/Site/ResultSearch.aspx

It may take too much time to open the result link due to heavy rush of traffic.

MDU has also published details regarding admission to various courses for the session 2010.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flags off first 'Duronto Express'

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday flagged off Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto express, the country's first point-to-point non-stop train, with an assurance that 13 others will be launched soon.

"Duronto is a new idea. We are thinking in terms of introducing more faster trains in the country in future. It will be faster than Rajdhani and other trains. The point-to-point train will be very helpful for common people, businessmen and students," Banerjee said after flagging off the express.

The Duronto express will cover the 1447-km distance between Sealdah and New Delhi in 16 hours 20 minutes.

The train will have no commercial stop, but has three operational stops at Dhanbad, Moghalsarai and Kanpur Central.

The 16-coach train comprises one AC-1, three AC-II, four AC-III and five AC-III(economy) coaches.

These trains will be launched in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore as a pilot project.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Sultan Kosen from Turkey takes title of world's tallest man

The world's tallest man, Sultan Kosen from Turkey. Kosen, who is 2 metres 46.5 cm (8 feet 1 inch) tall and also claims the record for the largest hands and largest feet, attended the event to promote the Guinness World Records 2010 book.

WANTED (2009) : Movie Review

Starring: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Prajkash Raj, Govind Namdeo, Inder Kumar, Aseem Merchant, Sajid.
Director: Prabhu Deva

Wanted is a canvas painted in south Indian colours where you can get a glimpse of Rajnikanth in our macho man Salman Khan. Woah hold down It’s a Prabhu Deva film, Bingo

Wanted is undisputedly a well-written story with an excellent screenplay. But there is a flipside to it. It is a well-written story which lacks good direction and editing.

Wanted opens up with an interesting plot with commissioner Ashraf Khan (Govind Namdeo) leaving no stones unturned to eradicate underworld terrorism from the country. Radhe (Salman Khan) is a hardcore gangster known for brutality and commitments. All he knows is the language of money. His loyalties lies with any gang provided the money is right. His entry in Gani Bhai (Prakash Raj) gang under the wing of Golden (Aseem Merchant), the right hand of Gani and betrayal to his existing gang headed by Data Pawle leads to bloodshed, as disputes crop up unexpectedly. However, story takes a twist with Golden’s death, which compels Gani Bhai to take matters in his hands and fly back to India. How Gani Bhai realizes the trap of commissioner Ashraf Khan, and the truth of Salman Khan, would have been an exciting watch had Prabhu Deva tightened his script.

Cinematographers Nirav Shah and S Sriram are simply excellent. Special effects are over the top; could have been subtle. The music is awful, except “Dil Leke’ track, which is the only saving grace.

No refreshing treat for ears, as far as stereotypical dialogues go.
Wanted rides on Salman Khan despite his regular run-of-the-mill, yet nice performance. Ayesha Takia is good and looks gorgeous. Mahesh Manjrekar is perfect for his part as a womanizer. Prakash Raj as Gani Bhai has small, yet pivotal role and lives up to it beautifully. Vinod Khanna and Inder Kumar don’t have much scope, though they are instrumental to the pace of the story. Aseem Merchant is fairly good. Same goes for Govind Namdeo.
On the whole, “Salman Khan’ factor will pull the audience to make this film survive

Habitable moons 'could to be spotted by 2014'

British astronomers have claimed that thousands of moons capable of supporting life, like those shown in the popular Star Wars' flicks, could be scattered all over our galaxy, and are likely to be spotted by 2014.

A team at University College London hopes to track the habitable moons within the next five years, using a telescope launched by US space agency Nasa earlier this year to hunt out other planets.

According to lead astronomer Dr David Kipping, there are more than 12,500 stars within sight of Nasa's Kepler Space Telescope that have the potential for moons orbiting in areas of space where conditions could be favourable to life.

In fact, they have devised a new method for detecting moons in other solar systems -- known as exomoons.

Teams for Irani Cup and Challenger series annonced

Recovering from a shoulder injury, opener Virender Sehwag will return to action in the Irani Cup and will lead the Rest of India team in the 1st to 5th October tournament in Nagpur, as teams were anonced for Irani cup and Challenger series in Chennai.

The Teams:
Rest of India: Virender Sehwag (Capt), Wriddiman Saha (wk), M Vijay, S Sreesanth, S Badrinath (Vice Capt), Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha, Manoj Tiwari, Kedar Jadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhinav Mukund, Irfan Pathan, Uday Kaul, Sudeep Tyagi

Challenger Series:
India Red: Yuvraj Singh (Capt), Wriddiman Saha (wk), M Vijay, R Ashwin, Sunny Sohail, Sudeep Tyagi, Shikar Dhawan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Jaggi, S S Tiwari, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvanesh Kumar, H Khadiwale

India Green: Suresh Raina (Capt), Irfan Pathan, A Rahane, Parthiv Patel (wk), Tanmay Srivastava, S K Jakati, Ravi Inder Singh, L Balaji, Manoj Tiwari, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Pankaj Singh, Chetanya Nanda, Uday Kaul

India Blue: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Yusuf Pathan, Sachin Tendulkar, Naman Ojha, Wasim Jaffer, Harbhajan Singh, Jalaj Saxena, S K Trivedi, Suresh Kumar, S Sreesanth, Kedar Jadav, Ashok Dinda, Abhishek Nayar, A S Goswami.

Bonus for all eligible non gazetted Railway employees approved

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal of the Ministry of Railways for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 75 days wages for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.

The move will benefit 13.05 lakh employees and it will cost the exchequer Rs 889 crore.

Railways were the first departmental undertaking of the Government of India wherein the concept of PLB was introduced.

Staffs of Indian railways are classified into gazetted (Group A and B) and non-gazetted (Group C and D) employees.

The recruitment of Group A gazetted employees is carried out by the Union Public Service Commission through exams conducted by it.

Whereas, the recruitment to Group 'C' and 'D' employees on the Indian Railways is done through 19 Railway Recruitment Boards which are controlled by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB).

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Dhoni, Gambhir short-listed for ICC's Cricketer of the Year award

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and star opener Gautam Gambhir have been short-listed for ICC's Cricketer of the Year award 2009 to be given at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg on 1st October.

Along with Dhoni and Gambhir, England skipper Andrew Strauss and Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson were also short-listed for the coveted award.

In addition, Gambhir, Johnson and Strauss are also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year alongside Sri Lanka's Thilan Samaraweera at the sixth annual ICC Awards, presented in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA).

The awards ceremony is now in its sixth year and this year it will be held in Johannesburg to coincide with the Champions Trophy 2009. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006), Johannesburg (2007) and Dubai (2008).

ICC Awards short-lists:
Cricketer of the Year: MS Dhoni (Ind), G Gambhir (Ind), M Johnson (Aus), A Strauss (Eng).

Test Player of the Year: G Gambhir (Ind), M Johnson (Aus), T Samaraweera (SL), A Strauss (Eng).

ODI Player of the Year: S Chanderpaul (WI), MS Dhoni (Ind), V Sehwag (Ind), Y Singh (Ind).

Emerging Player: B Hilfenhaus (Aus), G Onions (Eng), J Ryder (NZ), P Siddle (Aus).

Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: R Cheema (Can), R ten

Doeschate (Ned), W Porterfield (Irl), E Schiferli (Ned).

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: S Afridi (Pak), T Dilshan (SL), C Gayle (WI), U Gul (Pak).

Women's Cricketer of the Year: C Edwards (Eng), S Nitschke (Aus), C Taylor (Eng).

Umpire of the Year: A Dar (SL), T Hill (Nzl), A Rauf (Pak), S Taufel (Aus).

Spirit of Cricket: Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka.

Rahul Gandhi travels in Shatabdi chair car to Ludhiana

Taking a lead from his mother and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in practising austerity, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday travelled to Ludhiana in the chair car of Shatabdi Express.

A day after his mother flew to Mumbai in the economy class, Rahul boarded the train on Tuesday morning from the New Delhi Railway Station to travel to the northern industrial city.

Rahul refused to accept flowers presented to him at the station, saying it was the privilege of the executive class passengers and also demanded that he be served water in a plastic cup like other passengers.

Passengers travelling by the train were elated to know that the young leader was travelling with them.

The AICC general secretary will return to the national capital by the same train in the evening.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who was behind the decision to ask two ministers S M Krishna and Shashi Tharoor to move to modest accommodation from their five-star dwelling afer a media expose, on Monday flew to Mumbai in a commercial flight in an ordinary class seat to participate in a party function in the financial hub.

Cong-TMC pushes Left out of Siliguri Municipal Corporation polls

Political mercury has suddenly registered a rise in West Bengal as announcement of results of the elections to the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) are coming today.

Political observers are of the opinion that the results of the elections are crucial for the ruling CPM. The results will be an indication to the political parties.

The results are crucial as the politicos are eager to know whether ‘wave of change' that started with the general elections and shown its affect in the local body elections is still continues.

Siliguri is considered to be stronghold of the LF, as it emerged victorious in all the SMC polls it contested since 1981. Political analysts said that the division of votes in the Opposition camp lead to the victory of LF.

But the elections are crucial for the opposition camp as the TMC and Congress together fought the elections against the LF.

A Kolkata-based political analyst said that the final picture will be clear after the 2011 assembly elections.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Nokia shifting it's gear to being a device maker to a services provider

Having ruled the market for over a decade, the world's largest handset manufacturer, Nokia, is shifting gear to reposition itself from being a device maker to a services and solutions provider in the wake of mounting competition from players like Apple and Research-in-Motion.

Nokia, one of the key developers of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), the second-generation mobile technology, is looking at providing various services and solution ranging from music downloads to games to financial services and information about prices and weather to the Indian farmers among many others.

The company has already inked a location-based service deal with social networking site Facebook.

Under the deal, people could update their location and status directly to the social networking site via a Nokia Ovi account.

The company is also planning to enter the money market, with the launch of 'Nokia Money Service'-offering basic financial services on mobile phones by next year

Christie's, Sotheby's tribute to Tyeb Mehta on Sept 16, 17

Leading auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's will pay a tribute to Indian artist Tyeb Mehta, who died recently, by presenting works from different periods of his oeuvre at two auctions in New York on 16 and 17th September.

Christie's September 16 sale of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art will also feature over 100 works from leading 20th and 21st century artists from South Asia, including from India and Pakistan.

The sale's cover lot is "Two Figures", a signature work of Mehta from 1994 estimated at USD 600,000-800,000. The painting bears a strong relation to the themes from Mehta's celebration, which sold at Christie's in 2002.

Mehta's iconic "Behind Me Desolation", which was sold at a Sotheby's auction 14 years ago for a record price is the highlight of the auction house's September 17 sale.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

World's oldest person dies at 115

World's oldest person Gertrude Baines

Gertrude Baines, the world's oldest known person who once quipped she had won the genetic lottery, died at the age of 115 on Friday in a nursing home.

Baines likely suffered a heart attack, but an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death, said her longtime physician, Dr. Charles Witt.

Born in 1894 in Shellman, Georgia, Baines claimed the title of the world's oldest living person when a 115-year-old woman, Maria de Jesus, died in Portugal in January.

The oldest person in the world is now Kama Chinen, 114, who lives in Japan, according to L Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks claims of extreme old age. Chinen was born on 10th May 1895, Coles said.

The oldest person who has ever lived is Jeanne-Louise Calment, according to Coles. She was 122 when she died on 4th Aug 1997, in Arles, France.

Baines worked as a maid in Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement and has lived at the Western Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles for more than 10 years.

india vs srilanka: Sri Lanka beat India by 139 runs

Sri Lanka beat India by 139 runs in a inconsequential match of the Compaq Cup tri-series in Colombo on Saturday night.

Brief score:
Sri Lanka: 307 for 8 in 50 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 98, Thilana Kadamby 91 not out).

India: 168 all out in 37.2 overs.
(Rahul Dravid 47, Sachin Tendulkar 27; A Mathews 6/20).

Sri Lanka set India 308 to win

Electing to bat, Sri Lanka scored 307 for six against India in the Compaq Cup tri-nation cricket tournament at R Premadasa stadium in Colombo on saturday.

Brief score:
Sri Lanka 307 for 6 in 50 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 98, Thilna Kandamby 91 not out; Harbhajan Singh 1/37).

Last update: India 61/1 after 13 over.

Experiment to trace ice on moon fails due to loss of Chandrayaan-I

An experiment to look for ice in the polar region of the moon has failed with the abrupt loss of India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-I, a scientist associated with the project has said.

A well-coordinated cosmic dance of two mooncraft Chandrayaan-I and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was conducted late last month to study the polar craters of the moon which, scientists believe, could be the storehouse of water.

The experiment was attempted on 20th August when both spacecraft were only 20 kilometres apart over Erlanger Crater near the moon's north pole.

A radar on board Chandrayaan-I was to transmit a signal to be bounced off from the interior the crater and picked up by LRO.

But, Chandrayaan-I was pointed in the wrong direction and scientists had no way of knowing it, Spudis told 'Universe Today' website.

Scientists were planning to compare the signal picked up by the LRO with the one picked up by Chandrayaan-I.

The study of the two signals would have provided them with unique information about ice on the polar crater.

Former BCCI chief Raj Singh Dungarpur passes away

raj singh dungarpur

Former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur passed away in Mumbai on Saturday following protracted illness.

Affectionately called as 'Rajbhai' in the cricket fraternity, the 73-year-old Dungarpur, who was president of the Cricket Board for three years in the late 1990s, was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

A bachelor from the Dungarpur royal family of Rajasthan, he was also a former first class cricketer, a former India team manager and ex-chairman of the senior selection panel.

A former President of the Cricket Club of India for 13 years before he took ill last year, Dungarpur died at his residence on Saturday morning.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Japan launches first cargo rocket to supply ISS

Japan launched its first unmanned cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on Friday, aiming for a share of space transport after the retirement of the US space shuttle fleet in 2010.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the HTV transportation vehicle atop an H-2B rocket, which is also on its first flight, as scheduled just after 2:00 am (2230 IST Thursday), agency images showed.

The vehicle separated from the rocket, as planned, about 15 minutes later.

The rocket blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on a southern Japanese island, with the HTV carrying 4.5 tonnes of supplies including food and daily necessities for the six ISS crew, as well as materials for experiments, such as seeds for growing plants in space.

The 10-metre long cylindrical vehicle, which cost 217 million dollars, will deliver the supplies, load waste materials and return to Earth, burning up as it reenters the atmosphere.

Compaq Cup: India beat New Zealand

Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra scalped three wickets each as India exploited a spongy track to restrict New Zealand to a modest 155 in their opening tri-series match in Colombo on Friday.

Electing to bat, the Kiwis could never really recover from the early jolts and were skittled out for a 155 in 46.3 overs on a tricky Premadasa track.

New Zealand, who desperately need a win to remain in contention in the series, could not get a single decent partnership going as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals in the floodlit contest.

Ashish Nehra (3/24) and Yuvraj singh (3/31) were the pick of the the Indian bowlers while R P Singh and Ishant Sharma chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sensex gain for fifth day, fag-end selling reduces margins

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex posted gains for the fifth straight day on Thursday, adding over 30 points in volatile trading even as investors sold shares to book profit.

The 30-share index, which had gained 785 points in last four trading sessions, added 33.31 points to close at 16,216.86 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved closed with moderate gain of 5.15 points at 4,819.40 points.

Marketmen said selling sparked in the last 30 minutes of trade on reports that the country's exports slid for the 11th month in a row in August and inflation inched upwards reduced the earlier gains.

The BSE barometer had gained 248 points in opening trade.

European stock markets turning weak in early trading also impacted adversely the trading sentiments.

Market heaviest and petro major Reliance led the losers while the second heaviest software exporter Infosys Technologies led gainers' pack.
RIL closed lower by 0.93 per cent at Rs 2,149.20.

Infosys Technologies gained 1.92 per cent to Rs 2,235.10, after Nomura Holdings raised its ratings.

Vijaya Bank begins invites application for Probationary Clerks

The Vijaya Bank has invited applications from the young and dynamic Candidates for recruitment to the posts of Probationary Clerks in Clerical Cadre.

Candidate will have to apply online for the post. The opening date for on-line registration is September 10, 2009 and last date of registration is October 1, 2009.

For remote areas candidates the receipt of “Print Out of the Computer Generated On-Line Application” will be available from September 8 and the last date for the same is Oct 15.

The total numbers of vacancies for the Probationary Clerks are 500. The tentative date of written test is December 12, 2009.

For further details logon to http://vijayabank.com/vijaya/vijaya/internet-en/menus/announcements/NoticeRecruClerks2009.html

Bacteria 'to convert waste into power'

Scientists have claimed that bacteria which generate significant amounts of electricity can be used in microbial fuel cells to convert waste into power as well as provide electricity in remote environments.

A team, led by Prof Derek Lovley from the University of Massachusetts, isolated bacteria with large numbers of tiny projections, called pili, which were efficient at transferring electrons to generate power in fuel cells than bacteria with a smooth surface.

In their experiment, the scientists isolated a strain of Geobacter sulfurreducens which they called KN400 that grew prolifically on the graphite anodes of fuel cells.

The bacteria formed a thick biofilm on the anode surface, which conducted electricity. They found large quantities of pilin, a protein that makes the tiny fibres that conduct electricity through the sticky biofilm.

"The filaments form microscopic projections called pili that act as microbial nanowires using this bacterial strain in a fuel cell to generate electricity would greatly increase the cell's power output," Prof Lovley said.

The pili on the bacteria's surface seemed to be primarily for electrical conduction rather than to help them to attach to the anode; mutant forms without pili were still able to stay attached.

Microbial fuel cells can be used in monitoring devices in environments where it is difficult to replace batteries if they fail but to be successful they need to have an efficient and long-lasting source of power.

The scientists have also described in their experiment how G. sulfurreducens strain KN400 might be used in sensors placed on the ocean floor to monitor migration of turtles.

Discovery Shuttle undocks from station & heads home

Seven astronauts aboard the U.S. shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station on Tuesday and set their sights on a Thursday landing in Florida.

Shuttle pilot Kevin Ford backed the craft away from the station as it orbited 223 miles above western China, near the Mongolian border.

Later, Ford backflipped the shuttle around the station so astronauts aboard the outpost could take pictures of Discovery's heat shield.

Discovery's crew will spend the rest of the day on inspections that are part of post-Columbia safety procedures to assure the shuttle was not damaged by debris during its climb to orbit.

So far, NASA has found no damage that would keep Discovery from its scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 10 at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT).

US Open: Paes & Dlouhy win to move into men's doubles final

Indian tennis ace Leander Paes kept himself in line of two Grand Slam titles after entering the final of the men's doubles event of the US Open following an upset win over top seeds and local favourites Mike and Bob Bryan on Wednesday.

Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, overwhelmed the Bryan brothers 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6) in one hour and 51 minutes in the semifinal at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Wednesday.

Paes and his partner Cara Black have already reached the final of the mixed doubles event.

The match had a sensational climax as Paes and Dlouhy had plenty of match points in the tie-breaker of the third and final set but Bryan brothers made a spirited comeback and saved five match points.

However, Paes and Dlouhy held their nerves and finally converted their sixth match point to clinch the issue.

5 students killed in Delhi school stampede

Five girls were killed and 27 other students injured in a stampede triggered by rumours about a short circuit in a government-run school in North East Delhi on Thursday.

The incident was reported from Government Senior Secondary School in Khajuri Khas.

"Five girl students were killed in the incident while 32 students were injured," Joint Commissioner (New Delhi) Dharmendra Kumar said.

Out of the 27 students injured, 26 are girls. The injured were taken to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.

Virat Kohli to replace injured Gambhir in Sri Lanka

Delhi batsman Virat Kohli will replace injured Gautam Gambhir in the Indian team for the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka.

"The All India Selection Committee has decided to send Virat Kohli as the replacement batsman to Sri Lanka for the tri-series," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

"Kohli will join the team at the earliest," he added. Kohli was hurriedly drafted in after Gambhir was ruled out of the event a day before India plays its first match against New Zealand.

Gambhir strained his groin muscle and was subsequently advised 10 days' rest which ruled him out of the tri-series, also featuring hosts Sri Lanka. He will return home.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Lindsay Lohan has landed a top job in the fashion

Actress Lindsay Lohan has been appointed a style consultant for French design house Emanuel Ungaro.

Her appointment as artistic adviser comes shortly after bosses replaced the brand’s top designer, Esteban Cortazar who was reportedly furious about having Lohan attached to the luxury brand.

“To be in a position where I’m working with a fashion house in Paris sets it apart from every other celebrity brand,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.

Lohan already has experience in the fashion industry — her leggings line 6126 hit US stores in 2008 and the actress is planning to launch a full range of clothes line within the next two years.

Indians round off good day at US Open

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi inched closer to a showdown in the men's doubles final after both made the semis with their respective partners, while Yuki Bhambri advanced to boys' singles third round on a good day for the Indians in the US Open in New York.

Fourth seeded Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy defeated seventh seeded South African-Belgian pair of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman 6-3 5-7 6-4.

The Indo-Czech pair has set up a tough clash against top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of United States in the semifinals.

Third seeds Bhupathi and Bahamian Mark Knowles got the better of the Croat-French team of Ian Ljubicic and Michael Llodra 6-4 4-6 7-6(4).

They will be up against the fifth seeded Belarussian-Israeli duo of Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram in the last-four stage.

Paes had more reason to celebrate as he also inched closer to the mixed doubles title with Zimbabwean Cara Black.

The second seeds made the finals of the event with a 6-2 3-6 10-5 triumph over fifth seeds Su-Wei Hseih of Chinese Taipei and Kevin Ullyet of Zimbabwe.

The Indo-Zimbabwean pair will now take on unseeded Americans Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott.

It was a mixed day for teen sensation Yuki, who advanced in singles but crashed out of doubles.

The top seeded Delhi-boy had no trouble brushing aside Swiss Sandro Bhrat 6-0 6-1 to make the third round in the singles event. He will now square off against American Jack Sock. However, it was curtains for him in boys' doubles.

Yuki and his Taipei partner Liang-Chi Huang, seeded number one, squandered a set's advantage to go down 6-3 2-6 6-10 to Americans Evan King and Denis Kudla.

Karzai wins absolute majority amid 'clear proof of fraud'

Despite international pressure to carry out recounts, the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Tuesday announced that President Hamid Karzai had achieved an absolute majority in the 20th August presidential election.

The UN-backed independent Election Complaints Commission (ECC) reported that there was "clear proof" of fraud in the election, and it ordered the IEC to review votes cast in the relevant polling stations.

The IEC said the latest count showed Karzai had 54.1 per cent of the vote against 28.3 per cent accorded his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah, with 90 percent of the vote counted. A candidate must win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off.

Daoud Ali Najafi, IEC chief electoral officer, told a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday that the IEC would not be able to recount the ballots until it counted 100 percent of the votes from the polling stations and announced the preliminary results.

Afghan officials and Western diplomats said Karzai was under increased pressure to allow the body to exclude more "fraudulent votes".

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Asha Bhosle celebrates with Li’l Champs

The veteran and versatile singer Asha Bhosle celebrates’ her birthday today! As she turns 76, Asha Bhosle brings in the celebration with the kids of the singing reality show- Sa Re Ga Ma Pa- Li’l Champs.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa- Li’l Champs will celebrate Asha Bhosle’s 76th birthday on the sets. The singer will cut the cake with participants, hosts and the famous judges.

The Friday’s episode will have a theme in which all the participants will have to sing Ashaji’s songs. The shooting of the episode is today, but the telecast will be in the coming weekend.

Happy Birthday Ashaji.

Pilots mass leave illegal; HC restrains any kind of strike:Jet

Stung by more than half of its pilots taking mass sick leave that forced cancellation of about 190 flights by 1400 hrs, Jet Airways on Tuesday termed the agitation as illegal and secured a restrain order from Bombay High Court against any strike.

"The Bombay High Court has passed an order restraining any kind of strike," Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told the news agency and added that all possible efforts were being taken to save passengers from inconvenience and restore normalcy.

The Jet pilots have been protesting the sacking of two of their colleagues by the management for reportedly joining the guild.

US Open: Paes, Bhupathi reach semis of mixed & men's doubles

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi cruised into the semi-finals of the mixed and men's double event of the US Open with their respective partners.

India's crashed hopes with the ouster of Sania Mirza in the US Open has been rejuvenated by Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi heading towards a possible final showdown in both mixed as well as men's doubles event of the final grand slam of the year, after winning their respective matches.

Bhupathi and his American partner Liezel Huber, top seed, cruised to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles following their emphatic 6-4 6-3 win over eighth seeds Bethanie Mattek of the US and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic.

However, second seeds Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe had to face a stiff resistance from seventh seeded Australian-Swede combination of Rennae Stubbs and Robert Lindstedt before prevailing over them 7-5 3-6 10-6 in their mixed doubles quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Incidentally, both the Indian players enjoyed success in the men's doubles events as well although they had to fight hard to earn their last eight berths along with their respective partners.

Mamata to flag off first Duranto from Chennai on 14th Sept

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjeewill flag off the first 'Duranto' non-stop train between Chennai and New Delhi on 14th September from Chennai station.

The train is expected to take 28 hours to complete its journey, about 20 minutes less than the time taken by Chennai Rajdhani.

The new train will run twice a week and have one first AC, two second AC, three third AC and 10 sleeper class compartments, besides a pantry car.

The Duranto trains announced for Maharashtra will be flagged off thereafter but they have to wait till the completion of the Assembly elections in the state because of the model code of conduct.

These trains will travel as fast as Rajdhani express and being non-stop, will take less time to cover the distance.

Duranto trains will have new-age stainless steel coaches having distinct colour.

Monday, September 7, 2009

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ kids may get an opportunity to work with Anthony Hopkins

The child actors of Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, Rubina Ali and Azhar Ismail, may get an opportunity to work with Hollywood legend Anthony Hopkins in an upcoming project.

Rubina and Azhar have been roped in for “Lord Owen’s Lady”, about a Welsh nobleman who falls in love with an Indian girl, reports imdb.com.

The film will be shot in Wales and India and the producers are in negotiations with Sir Anthony Hopkins to play Lord Owen’s father.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

© Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP