International cricketers to sport red ribbons on World AIDS Day

COME DECEMBER 1 and all leading international cricketers will be seen sporting red ribbons to mark World AIDS Day in their upcoming matches. An initiative of Think Wise partnership which is a joint initiative between the International Cricket Council (ICC), UNICEF and Global Media AIDS Initiative since 2003, the motive of the organisations is to raise awareness around HIV prevention and stop discrimination against people who are living with this disease.
 

On the initiative, South African captain Graeme Smith said that two million people die of AIDS-related deaths each year and nearly three-quarters of them come from sub-Saharan Africa.

Hyderabad 10K culminates with grand success

THOUSANDS OF people from different walks of life came forward to take part in the Annual Hyderabad 10K race event which was held on November 26 and 27. The race took off from Peoples Plaza, Necklace road located in the periphery of historic Hussain Sagar Lake. Hyderabad Police Commissioner, A K Khan, flagged off the run. Popular figures from the world of sports, politics, cinema and corporate were also seen on the occasion to encourage participants.

Parliamentarian G Vivek, Telugu film actors D Suresh, Muralimohan, Naga Chaitanya, Nikhil, Navadeep, Manchu Vishnu and former All England badminton champion, P Gopichand also took

Bahu, Bahuguna and Sonia Gandhi

THE DAUGHTER in Law or ‘bahu’ factor combined with the tireless efforts of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi made the Thursday (November 25) rally of Congress president Sonia Gandhi an overwhelming success in Allahabad, the city of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Allahabad opened the doors of its heart to its ‘bahu’ Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Thousands thronged to her rally as never before in Uttar Pradesh. The city was upbeat and even students bunked classes to catch a glimpse of Sonia Gandhi.

The tireless efforts of UPCC chief Dr Rita Joshi, who

Acer launches new netbbook in association with Tata

TATA TELESERVICES and Acer have joined hands to launch the new netbook Aspire One AOD 260. The netbook comes with built-in Tata Photon and boasts of an internet speed of up to 3.1 Mbps.

The said netbook will make use of the HSIA technology on TTSL’s CDMA network and provide the users with a broadband connectivity.

 

The mini gadget has a 10.1 inches screen and a 16:9 aspect ratio, Intel Atom N450 CPU, a 1. 3 megapixel camera, 1 GB

The truth of Lalit Modi

WHERE DID Lalit Modi lie?

 

Lalit Modi has chosen to come on TV to clear apprehensions in the minds of Indian public about his alleged misdeeds and the entire country watched his interview with great interest. The way Modi refuted all allegations against him and rather portrayed himself as a champion entrepreneur who launched a new product, Indian Premier League (IPL), highly successfully, left everybody with a good impression.

 

In fact, to many it appeared that Mr. Modi was clean, innocent man who was being unnecessarily targeted by the BCCI and the Government of India. He should have been rewarded for his great contribution in glorifying India. When asked why he was being targeted, he blamed

Thanksgiving Day 2010 to enthrall shoppers

FORGET THE turkey and the football-if it's Thanksgiving, why aren't you shopping?

 

U.S. retailers trying to squeeze every extra cent out of shoppers are opening forThanksgiving on Thursday, trying to get a jump on the holiday shopping season.

Among the retailers that will open on Thursday are Wal-Mart Stores Inc's U.S. discount stores, 850 of Gap Inc's Old Navy stores, as well as some of its Gap and Banana Republic stores; and Sears Holdings Corp's namesake department stores, and Kmart discount stores.

 

For retailers, opening the stores

K Rosaiah steps down as Andhra CM

AFTER THE continuing controversy and the instability in the party for quite some time now, Andhra Pradesh CM K Rosaiah resigned today declaring himself non-aligned to any of the Congress groups.

 

This comes following a recent strife that had been created in the party between YSR’s son Jagan Reddy and others after the handpicked appointment of K Rosaiah as the CM.

 

Jagan Reddy went out of the way protesting the appointment with his Odarpu Yatra and his controversial remarks aired on his self owned television network.

ToysRUs reveals its Cyber Monday 2010 Deals

THE LEADING toys store for kids, video games, dolls, baby & toddler toys and more, ToysRUs has revealed its Cyber Monday deals. According to the ToysRUs, Cyber Monday Deals will start online at 12:01am on November 29. The retailer has said, it will be the biggest Cyber Monday sale in their history.

ToysRUs is offering for the Cyber Monday deals including Free Box of 120ct Crayons ($10.99 value) with $25 Crayola Purchase, buy 1 get 1 50% off all Nerf Toys, buy 1 get 1 50% off Imaginarium Toys, buy 1 get 1 50% off all Dream Dazzlers Dress Up

Supreme Court questions CVC's appointment

THE BLOWS and bashings never seem to end for the government by the Supreme Court. Post a series of misendeavours, the apex court raised a question regarding the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), P J Thomas. The Supreme Court said that how could he work as a CVC as there is already a criminal case pending against him. P J Thomas was charged by the Kerala police for his role in the alleged palm oil import scam.

 

Justice S H Kapadia said that when Thomas works as a CVC he will deal with corruption matters. There will be an

India medal tally at Asian Games 2010

 INDIA'S SAURAV Ghoshal lost his semi-final competition against Mohammad Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia to grab a bronze medal in the men's singles squash competition at the Asian Games today. 

Earlier during the day India defeated traditional rivals Pakistan 3-2 in a men's hockey group B match at the Asian Games in Guangzhou on Saturday, while a silver in golf and a bronze in snooker took the country's tally to 24 after eighth day of the competition.

India’s status

DDA to allot about 16000 flats under 'DDA Housing Scheme, 2010'

DELHI DEVELOPMENT Authority (DDA) has announced that it will sell approximately 16,000 flats under the "DDA Housing Scheme, 2010" in different categories and classes. The announcement about DDA Housing Scheme 2010 was made by DDA on Friday. The application forms for approximately 16000 flats of DDA will be available from November 25th to December 24th, 2010. It is expected that the draw for the flats would be held in April 2011.

 

The registration fee for the flats under DDA Housing Scheme 2010 will be Rs. 1.5 lacs, which have to be deposited by the applicant, but for Janta one

Elaborate security in place for last phase of Bihar polls

ELABORATE SECURITY arrangements have been made to ensure a free and fair poll during the sixth and last phase of Bihar Assembly elections on Saturday.

Of the twenty-six assembly constituencies, spread over Rohtas, Aurangabad, Buxar, Kaimur and Gaya districts, 18 have been declared Naxal-hit, where a poll boycott call has been given by the Maoists.

Polling will be held in the Naxal-affected seats between 7 am and 3 pm, while in the rest of the seats it will be held between 7 am and 5 pm

A total of 426 candidates, including 43 women, are in the fray in the last phase

Campaigning for final phase of Bihar assembly elections ends today

CAMPAIGNING FOR the sixth and last phase of Bihar Assembly elections comes to end this evening.

 

Twenty-six constituencies including 18 Naxal hit spread over five districts from Magadh and Shahabad regions will go for polls on Saturday in this phase.

A total of 426 candidates including 43 women are in the fray in the last phase of elections.

 

Leaders of all the major political parties are leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters.

 

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is addressing two rallies today at Sasaram in Rohtas and Obra in Aurangabad district.

Punjab and Haryana High Court seeks details of Rathore's promotion in Ruchika case

THE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court on Wednesday sought details from the Haryana Government on how former Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SPS Rathore was promoted to the rank of DGP, when a complaint of molestation was pending against him.

The court issued the direction while hearing a PIL filed by a local advocate seeking a fresh case against Rathore for abetment to suicide of 14-year-old teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Rajan Gogoi also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to place on record the final report it had submitted in the three FIRs

Punjab and Haryana High Court seeks details of Rathore's promotion in Ruchika case

THE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court on Wednesday sought details from the Haryana Government on how former Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SPS Rathore was promoted to the rank of DGP, when a complaint of molestation was pending against him.

The court issued the direction while hearing a PIL filed by a local advocate seeking a fresh case against Rathore for abetment to suicide of 14-year-old teenager Ruchika Girhotra in 1990.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Rajan Gogoi also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to place on record the final report it had submitted in the three FIRs

Sonia Gandhi meets East Delhi building collapse victims

CONGRESS PRESIDENT Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday (November 16) met survivors and relatives of those killed in the four-storey building that collapsed in East Delhi's Lakshminagar area on Monday (November 15) night.
 

Gandhi offered sympathy to the injured and their family members at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, where 28 of the 130 wounded have been admitted.

Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who visited the site of the four-storey building that collapsed in East Delhi, said that strict action would be taken against those found guilty for the incident.

Dikshit said people have

India defeats Hong Kong 7-0 in Asian Games Hockey

INDIA TOTALLY dominated against Hong Kong in the first Group B Hockey match with a score of 7-0 in the Asian Games 2010. Against Hong Kong, India utilised three out of the six penalty corners they earned in the match.

 

Ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh converted two penalty corners, before the free-flowing Indian attack toyed with the Hong Kong defence.

 

Sarvanjit Singh scored another goal to make it 4-0 before the breather.

 

Within two minutes into the second half, Tushar Khandekar sounded the board while Arjun Halappa added another in quick succession.

Openers put India in a commanding position against New Zealand

IN THE second cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Hyderabad, Indian opening pair Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir completed their hundred partnership. Virender Sehwag also completed his 24th test fifty in the international cricket. However, Gautam Gambhir, who is struggling to re-gain his form also completed his fifty.

Earlier, Indian pace-spin duo of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh restricted New Zealand for 350 runs. On the second morning of the second test match between India and New Zealand, visitors started their inning from 258/4 and added just 92 runs for the

Sudarshan's remarks on Sonia raise Congress hackles

AN FIR was filed against former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief KS Sudarshan by a Congress worker, Suresh Mishra in Jaipur for allegedly making inflammatory statements against Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi. It is not new in Indian politics that leaders choose to speak rough language against opposition leader.

 

K S Sudarshan has shocked the whole nation and his own ideological organisation, when he spoke of his weird speculation about Mrs. Gandhi. He accused her of being a CIA agent and plotting deaths of her husband and mother-in-law. It is a shame that incidents like this cause adjournment of parliament

CBI shifts position, accused gets bail. Anything new?

 IT IS nothing new that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has changed its stand at different stages of the case.
 

Referring to the same that happened at the Supreme Court, when diluted CBI stand was instrumental in getting bail to SPS Rathore.

It comes as a shock more so because it was CBI that had strongly argued against former Haryana DGP at High Court of Punjab and Haryana. CBI should have provided a copy of its closure-report much ahead of hearing-date at the apex court for a proper study and arguments by family-members of the victim.

Suddenly

Valley observed partial strike, curfew in Baramulla district

UNDER THE call for strike given by Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the people across Kashmir Valley observed a partial strike on Thursday (November 11) as the authorities imposed curfew in some parts of Baramulla district.
 

Continuing its protest calendar, Geelani called for a complete strike on Thursday. However, keeping the Eid-ul-Azha celebration in view the people thronged to the markets for the festival’s shopping.

Even private passenger buses and transport were seen plying on the roads. The strike even had no effect on the functioning of schools and government offices in the valley.
 

Meanwhile, authorities imposed

'Spectrum' Raja most likely to be shown the door

POST AN unceremonious exit by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, it is presumed that the next in line to be axed might be telecommunications minister, A Raja.

 

A final report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has held 'Spectrum' Raja responsible on the fraudulent 2G spectrum allocation at dirt cheap rates that eventually resulted in a loss of up to Rs1.70 lakh crore to the national exchequer.

 

Other than Raja, the CAG

The first humanoid is all set for space journey

SPACE IS going to have its first humanoid called Robonaut 2 or R2 with its journey to the International Space Station this week during the final flight of space shuttle Discovery.

R2 is a mechanical and electrical robot that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hopes one day will assist astronauts in orbit in many tasks to make their work in space convenient.

Fact file:

Cost: 2. 5 million dollar Height: Three feet four inches Has no legs Made of aluminum and nickel-plated

Pak wicketkeeper goes missing after receiving threats

PAKISTAN CRICKET is embroiled in one controversy after other and the latest is wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider going missing from team hotel ahead of the deciding ODI against South Africa in Dubai.

  

The PCB has begun an inquiry into the matter and has informed the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit as well as local security officials of Haider''s disappearance.

 

“He is missing and we found this out in the morning when getting ready to come to the stadium,” said Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB’s general manager of media.

  

“He did not say anything to the team management about this at all.

Pakistan beat India in HK Sixes preliminary match

PAKISTAN BEAT India by 22 runs in the preliminary round match on the opening day of Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament. “It’s always good to start with a win… For a first game, it was a good performance from the guys and I’m pretty pleased,” the Dawn quoted Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik, as saying.

 

Pakistan grabbed early high ground after India won the toss and chose to bowl. It scored 78 for 2, while India could garner only 56 runs in 4 overs.

 

Earlier, huge changes were made to the format of the popular tournament at the Kowloon Cricket

Cricket tourism next market; BCCI South Zone convener

CONTROVERSIES, ONCE again, are in full swing and dominant well in Kerala cricket by defeating players, officials, cricket buffs and even cricket too. Series of controversies were kicked off with the row between S Sreesanth and KCA officials. It was followed by environmentalists’ protest against Edakochi Stadium, uncertainty of Kochi Indian Premier League team and finally the storm reached its zenith due to Ind-Oz one-day international (ODI) match washout.
 

South Zone Convener post, representation in Junior Cricket Committee as well as in National Cricket Academy and 27 board matches plus eight 20-20 were the rare feats that KCA achieved in its glorious 60th year. It is for the first time, a Malayali gets a chance as the Convener for South Zone.

In a freewheeling chat TC Mathew, Secretary, Kerala Cricket Association, shares future prospects of Kerala cricket, programmes to discover talented players, S Sreesanth, new projects of KCA and more…

How cricket can play a role in the development of Kerala?

Blending cricket and tourism will work wonders. Cricket Tourism (CT) is the next ‘hot’ market in the tourism sector. CT would help a state like Kerala as it is blessed with backwaters and a lot of tourism spots and ayurveda treatment centres. In fact, Kerala is the perfect place to launch CT. But we have to market our tourism resources at the right

Eco-friendly crackers on high demand in Jaaipur

THE DEMAND for pollution free crackers is at rise in Jaipur on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

 

The local manufacturers of Jaipur have decided to make it a less polluting Diwali this year by making pollution-free crackers.

Customers are also giving a healthy response to these eco-friendly crackers.

 

In spite of shops being stocked with a variety of other crackers, the eco-friendly crackers are on high demand this year.

"There is a shift in choice of the customers, earlier they used to prefer crackers making a lot of sound, and then people used to buy a lot of snake-crackers which

Andhra attracts investors from Korea, Singapore

A DELEGATION from government of Andhra Pradesh, headed by Minister for Major Industries Kanna Lakshmi Narayana visited South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore from October 25th to November 3rd. The other members of the delegation included Principal Secretary (Food Processing) J C Sharma, Commissioner of Industries R Karikal Valaven, APSFC Managing Director Vikas Raj and CII Southern Region Director S Kannan.

 

The main purpose of the visit was to generate interest in investments in Andhra Pradesh, exploring the possibilities of joint ventures in important sectors and infrastructure projects and for mobilising investors and to invite the delegation for the proposed Global Investors Summit in Hyderabad, in September 2011.

Several companies in South Korea and Singapore expressed their interest to invest in manufacturing, infrastructure and

Don't approve? Just hurl your shoe across

THE LATEST weapon in the market is branded shoes and flip-flops. Yes, this is the latest trend, to speak your mind, to show protest or even just to get some camera attention on you, all you have to do is hurl one shoe at the politician or speaker before you and you are done!

Different designer shoes, flip-flops are the emerging voice of people who want to stand up for their rights.

It is increasingly replacing a garland for welcome in election rallies. It is rather a status symbol for the campaigner the number of shoes he gets or the

Thousand 'friends' on Facebook but still lonely

THE FACEBOOK generation as they are commonly called comprises of the youngsters in the age group 16-24 years. Though almost everyone in all age brackets is logging on to Facebook for the new-found way of ‘networking’ the facebook generation makes up for the majority of users.

A new research in the regard has thrown up some interesting revelations. It states that despite of having thousands of friends online, the Facebook generation is the loneliest of all age-groups.

 

The study conducted in Britain revealed that 16 to 24-year-olds are lonelier and unhappy than any other age group.

Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir's suspension upheld by ICC

THE APEX body of cricketing world, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed the appeals of Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir against their suspensions for alleged spot-fixing in the Lord's test match during Pakistan's tour of England this August.

The head of ICC Code of Conduct Commission, Michael Beloff said, "the ban on Salman and Amir would be retained. The players have denied the charges, but they will remain suspended before a code of conduct commission is formed to hear the case." The ICC code of conduct commissioner heard appeals at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Saturday