Chiru to auction Rolls Royce

Megastar and Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi is contemplating to auction his Rolls Royce car worth Rs 3.5 crores, which was gifted by his son Ramcharan on his birthday, and to spend the amount on charity. According to the buzz in Film Nagar, Chiranjeevi was not happy with the criticism the car had generated as the fact that such a costly car being didn’t synch into the people’s psyche.

Being in social service, a majority of his party cadres and fans aired out their views to the megastar family members that it might send wrong signals among the public. The news also made the opposition parties to question Ramcharan`s ability, who is just two-films old, to be able to purchase such a costly car.

In this backdrop, Chiranjeevi is said to have asked a confidante of his to arrange for its auction after the arrival of Ramcharan from the shoot of Orange from abroad.

Keywords : Megastar, Rolls Royce, Birthday Gift, Ram Charan

Honda to continue as partner: Hero Group

Hero Group on Tuesday brushed aside reports that its joint venture partner, Japanese auto giant Honda, is planning to exit India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda by selling its 26 per cent stake.

According to media reports, while Honda is planning to sell 20 per cent stake to the other promoter, Munjal family of the Hero Group, it is looking at selling 6 per cent to private equity firm KKR.

“We have already conveyed earlier that the Hero Group and Honda Motor Co, Japan, have for years enjoyed a very cordial and fruitful relation, resulting in millions of satisfied Hero Honda customers across the country and there has been no change in the relationship in any manner,” Hero Group said in a statement.

“The news report is incorrect and speculative,” it added.

When contacted, a Honda India spokesperson declined to comment saying the reports are “speculative“.

The Hero Honda scrip plunged to an intra-day low of Rs. 1,670 a piece after opening at Rs. 1,775.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Later, the scrip was trading flat at Rs. 1,790, compared to Monday’s close.

Honda and the Hero group hold 26 per cent each in Hero Honda, the world’s largest two-wheeler maker. However, there has been market speculation that there is unease between the partners after the Japanese firm decided to enter the Indian two-wheeler market through its wholly-owned subsidiary Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI).

In 2004, the Hero group and Honda had extended their agreement for 10 years, under which the Japanese partner would continue to provide technology to the JV. It will come up for renewal in 2014.

Last year, Asian Honda Motor President and CEO Fumihiko Ike had said that the company was committed to the JV with the Hero Group and the two have remained partners since its inception.

“We are working to sustain the design of Hero Honda. With Hero Honda and HMSI we see huge potential to grow in India, there is no change in our business plan. We are working on sustaining the success of Hero Honda,” the CEO had said.

Currently, Hero Honda is finalising plans to set up the fourth plant in the country. It already has three facilities at Dharuhera and Gurgaon in Haryana and at Haridwar in Uttarakhand with a total capacity of 50 lakh units a year.

On the other hand, HMSI has announced an investment of Rs. 500 crore to set up its second plant near Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), with an annual capacity of six lakh units. Once the facility becomes operational, in the second half of 2011, the company’s total annual capacity will reach to 22 lakh units.

Keywords: Hero Group, Hero Honda, Honda exit

Titanic expedition captures new images of the wreck

An expedition probing the Titanic wreck has revealed sharp new images of the world’s most tragic shipwreck.

A research team has been relying on a robot pair to click thousands of photographs and hours of video of the wreck, roughly four km below the sea surface.

The high-resolution images include views of the ship’s bow, clearly depicting the railing and anchors, reports the Daily Mail.

The expedition left Newfoundland in Canada earlier this month for the spot in the Atlantic where Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg in 1912. More than 1,500 passengers and crew perished. It was super luxury liner’s maiden voyage.

Scientists are relying on imaging technology and sonar devices that are being used for the first time on the Titanic wreck.

They are probing nearly a century of sediment in the debris field to seek a full inventory of the ship’s artefacts.

The expedition is a partnership between RMS Titanic Inc., which has exclusive salvage rights to the wreck, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, US.

Officials from Expedition Titanic said they are now headed back to Newfoundland because of the rough weather conditions brought on by hurricane Danielle.

The expedition is scheduled to probe a three-by-five-km debris field where hundreds of thousands of artefacts remain scattered.

Expedition officials say they intend to return to finish their work after a delay of a few days.

“Titanic” Director James Cameron has also led teams to the wreck to record the bow and the stern, which separated during the sinking and now lie one-third of a mile apart. RMS Titanic made the last expedition to site in 2004.

Keywords: Titanic, RMS Titanic Inc., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Federer, Nadal have never faced off at US Open

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have played each other 21 times over the years, and all over the world.

Eight matches came at Grand Slam tournaments, and seven of those were in finals - three at Wimbledon, three at the French Open, one at the Australian Open.

The rivals never have faced off at the US Open, though, in any year or in any round. A big reason for that - Nadal has yet to make it past the semifinals in New York. He wants a US Open title, of course. It is, after all, the only Grand Slam trophy he has yet to win.

Still Nadal insists he is not consumed by thoughts of needing to leave Flushing Meadows with a championship two weeks from now.

“I hope I have another chance to play well here and to have the chance to win - but without obsession, no?” Nadal said. “I am more than happy (with) what I have at home, all the tournaments that I won. More than I dreamt five or six years ago.”

“There’s not much he’s doing wrong,” Federer said. “If you can make it to the semis, you can make it to the finals. That’s pretty clear.”

Federer was one of four past US Open champions scheduled to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, along with Andy Roddick, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters. Another previous winner, Lleyton Hewitt, was slated to be in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Also in action on Day 1 were Melanie Oudin, the teenager from Marietta, Ga., who made a surprising run to the quarterfinals last year; former No. 1s Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic; and this year’s French Open finalists, champion Francesca Schiavone and runner-up Sam Stosur.

Nadal was given Monday off, and is expected to be on court on Tuesday, facing Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia in the first round.

“For sure, for me, personal satisfaction is going to be high if any day I have a chance to win here,” Nadal said.

First, however, he’ll need to reach the final. Federer has participated in every US Open men’s championship match since 2004.

“Roger is always there,” Nadal noted.

Nadal lost in the second round in 2003 and ‘04, in the third round in 2005, in the quarterfinals in 2006, and in the fourth round in ‘07. Then came his semifinal exits against Andy Murray in 2008 and against eventual champion Juan Martin del Potro last year.

Keywords: US Open 2010

Air India to monitor competitors’ fares, plans to install FTS

State-run Air India plans to keep a tab electronically on fares offered by its peers, both on domestic as well as international routes, and accordingly chart out its strategy.

The airline has decided to implement a Fare Tracking System (FTS) which would enable it to monitor and compare various basic fares, taxes and other charges by airlines across geographies.

Besides tracking changes in fares, surcharges, taxes made by its competitors on various sectors, the system would also generate alerts every six hours.

Air India had recently invited tenders from interested FTS suppliers to install the system.

According to the tender document, NACIL, which operates Air India, aims to empower its headquarters, regional office, 6 bases in India and all international stations with access to the FTS.

The system, once in place, would be available at around 45 locations/access IDs, the document said.

FTS would also maintain database of historic fare/surcharge/taxes offered/changes made, going back past two years.

The national air-carrier plans to track 300 origins and destinations (O&D ) with an average of five airlines per O&D, spread across NACIL’s domestic and international network, the tender document said.

NACIL currently operates across 93 destinations in India and overseas with an annual passenger carriage of more than 12-million.

Keywords: Air India, Fare Tracking System, FTS, NACIL

'My Name is Khan' Rs. 110 cr. India, Rs. 99 cr. Overseas

MY NAME IS KHAN, which was released in India on 12th February, 2010, is still making waves across the globe. Having raked in Rs. 110 crores in India, the film continues its march across global territories and has already grossed Rs. 99 crores in the International markets [still counting], according to an official statement issued by Fox Star Studios.

Post successful release in U.S., U.K., Middle East and Australia, MNIK continues to break records across Europe. MNIK has already become the most successful film in Europe with a box-office collection of US$ 5.6 million with 325 prints. The release width of 425 prints across just Europe is bigger than the release plan of any Bollywood film on a worldwide basis.

The film has the unique distinction of being the first Bollywood film to be dubbed and released theatrically in 4 European languages: Spanish, German, Russian and Italian. Currently, the film is playing across cinema halls in Germany and will release in Russia in September and Italy in November with more than 100 prints.

A number of factors have contributed to the astounding success of MNIK in the International markets, including:-

•  A separate edit for the mainstream markets by well-known editor Allan Bell, which is a first for an Indian film.
•  Country specific promotion plans with marketing investment across key countries.
•  Presence on mainstream promotion platforms including Jonathan Ross Show, BBC Asia network and BILD, Germany's largest newspaper and innovative promotions like first time ever Bollywood presence at the opening of the NASDAQ bell.
• Red Carpet premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

With MNIK, Fox Star Studios has opened up newer markets and delivered box-office numbers by creating new opportunities for Bollywood in markets hitherto unexplored. Some key milestones being:

•  No. 1 Bollywood film across Middle East, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, South Africa and other African markets.
•  Opened new markets across the world - a first for Bollywood: Puerto Rico, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Russia.

Keywords : My Name is Khan.

Dell and HP escalate 3Par bidding war further

Computer giants Dell and HewlettPackard (HP) have upped their offers again in a bidding war for data storage firm 3Par.

In the latest twist, Dell agreed to match an increased $1.8bn (£1.2bn) total bid, or $27 per share, made by HP on Thursday.

But only hours later, HP again raised the stakes, saying it was now willing to pay $2bn in cash, or $30 per share.

Dell already has an agreement with 3Par that makes it the preferred bidder, so long as it matches any rival bids.

Before HP made its latest bid known, 3Par confirmed that as things stood, its board would recommend Dell to shareholders.

3Par's share price jumped nearly 10% in early New York trading on the latest news, to over $31.

This means the company's price has more than tripled in the last two weeks.

Friday's events make it the second day in a row when Dell agreed to increase its offer, only to be topped by HP.

Dell had originally agreed to pay $18 per share before the bidding war began this week.

The two companies' determination to grap 3Par reflects the growing interest in the industry in "cloud computing".

This is a technology that allows users to access files or services remotely over the internet, rather than just from their own local servers.

3Par says its storage systems can cut storage administration costs by up to 90% and infrastructure costs by up to 75%.

3Par had already signed a takeover agreement with Dell last week, in a deal worth about $1.15bn, but that included a provision for Dell to match competing bids.

It is unclear whether HP will again raise its own bid.

Keywords :   3Par, Dell, HP escalate .

Scheme to 'pull electricity from the air'

Tiny charges gathered directly from humid air could be harnessed to generate electricity, researchers say.

Dr Fernando Galembeck told the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston that the technique exploited a little-known atmospheric effect.

Tests had shown that metals could be used to gather the charges, he said, opening up a potential energy source in humid climates.

However, experts disagree about the mechanism and the scale of the effect.

"The basic idea is that when you have any solid or liquid in a humid environment, you have absorption of water at the surface," Dr Galembeck, from the University of Campinas in Brazil, told BBC News.

"The work I'm presenting here shows that metals placed under a wet environment actually become charged."

Dr Galembeck and his colleagues isolated various metals and pairs of metals separated by a non-conducting separator - a capacitor, in effect - and allowed nitrogen gas with varying amounts of water vapour to pass over them.

What the team found was that charge built up on the metals - in varying amounts, and either positive or negative. Such charge could be connected to a circuit periodically to create useful electricity.

The effect is incredibly small - gathering an amount of charge 100 million times smaller over a given area than a solar cell produces - but seems to represent a means of charge accumulation that has been overlooked until now.

Dr Galembeck suggests that with further development, the principle could be extended to become a renewable energy resource in humid parts of the world, such as the tropics.

Charged debate

However, while the prospect of free electricity from the air is tantalising, the prospect of harnessing enough of it to be widely useful is still a matter of some debate.

Hywel Morgan of the University of Southampton says that a similar effect has been known for some time; he points out that tribocharging - the generation of charge by rubbing wool over amber or water droplets over water droplets - is the origin of thunderstorms.

"What we think is happening is he's pumping the water vapour across his capacitor and during the pumping mechanism, tribocharging the water vapour."

That would result in a charge, but would not be the same as simply pulling the charge from still, wet air.

Marin Soljacic, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist behind a wireless power transmission technology, known as Witricity, disagrees.

He calls the paper "very interesting" and "a good area of research".

He concurs, however, that the amount of charge gathered in the initial tests suggests the effect may be difficult to put to good use, saying that "at this point it is far-fetched to see how it could be used for everyday applications".

"It really warrants future research and understanding what all the limitations of this are, how far it can go," he told BBC News.

"[Prof Morgan] is right that a similar and closely-related effect is known to exist, but we're very pressed for finding new sources of renewable energy, [so] I think it's a bit early to discard this research."

Dr Galembeck is familiar with the controversy that this kind of work generates, saying that disagreement about the mechanism behind it forms "the motif for bitter discussions among scientists".

"There have been many attempts to harness electricity from the atmosphere and most had bad endings."

Keywords :  Electricity from the air

Match-fixing allegation: alleged fixer released on bail

British police say that a man arrested as part of an investigation into allegations of match-fixing by Pakistan players in their test match against England has been released and bailed without charge.

Mazhar Majeed had been arrested as officers investigated claims that Sunday newspaper reporters paid a middle-man 150,000 British pounds ($232,000) in return for exact details relating to play during the Lord’s test match.

Police said Sunday that Majeed had been bailed to appear before police at a future date.

Pakistan players were questioned by police Saturday night after the News of the World newspaper alleged that bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were paid to deliberately bowl no-balls during Thursday’s opening day of the fourth test that England went on to win by an innings and 225-runs.

Team manager Yawar Saeed said that Asif, Amir and captain Salman Butt had their mobile phones confiscated by police, who also searched hotel rooms as part of an investigation also involving the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

Keywords: match-fixing allegation, England series, Pakistan cricket team

Dazzling display: Ad Notam Mirror TV

Catch the latest flick on this telly as you lie in your bathtub for a relaxed Sunday soak. The Mirror TV combines conventional mirror surfaces with a sophisticated display system that can be installed anywhere you want - recessed into the wall, hung as a picture, or even integrated into the furniture. A new LCD Active Matrix is elegantly mounted behind a mirror surface to dramatically display anything from TV and Satellite channels to PC presentations and video games. The Mirror TV elegantly blends into your décor with no visible cables or annoying TV boxes. With the Magic Mirror technology, the TV can completely ‘disappear' when turned off.

Rs 1.5 lakh onwards

Keywords: Ad Notam Mirror TV

Double meteorite strike 'led to dinosaur extinction'

A new study has suggested that dinosaurs were killed 65 million years ago by at least two meteorite impacts, rather than a single strike.

Previously, it was thought that the Chicxulub Crater in the Gulf of Mexico lead to the extinction of dinosaurs from the earth. But now evidence for a second impact in Ukraine has been uncovered.

The discovery of the Boltysh Crater has suggested that the dinosaurs were driven to extinction by a “double whammy” rather than a single strike.

In the current study, scientists examined the “pollen and spores” of fossil plants in the layers of mud that unfilled the crater.

They found that immediately after the impact, ferns quickly colonised the devastated landscape. Ferns have an amazing ability to bounce back after catastrophe. Layers full of fern spores - dubbed “fern spikes” - are considered to be a good “markers” of past impact events.

They located a second “fern spike” in a layer one metre above the first, suggesting another later impact event.

“We interpret this second layer as the aftermath of the Chicxulub impact,” the BBC quoted Simon Kelley of the Open University as saying.

This shows that the Boltysh and Chicxulub impacts did not happen at exactly the same time. They struck several thousand years apart, the length of time between the two “fern spikes”. Kelley continued, “It is quite possible that in the future we will find evidence for more impact events”. Professor Monica Grady, a meteorite expert at the Open University said, “One possibility might be the collison of Near Earth Objects.” The new findings have been published in the journal Geology by a team lead by David Jolley of Aberdeen University.

Keywords: meteorite impact, dinosaur extinction, fossils

Federer ready for any eventual clash with Nadal

Roger Federer has no fear of a potential dream final with Rafael Nadal at the US Open.

With the final Grand Slam of the season starting on Monday, the road to the title match is still more than a fortnight away. But the Swiss number two is boosted by last week’s Cincinnati Masters title, his fourth at the Midwest venue.

In addition, the 29-year-old with five Open titles has a loss in last year’s New York final to put behind him after dropping a 6-2 fifth set to Argentine Juan Del Potro. The Argentine is missing from the title defence as he heals slowly after wrist surgery, which has kept him away from the ATP since late January.

With fans at Flushing Meadows dreaming of a Federer-Nadal showdown — the elite pair have played one Grand Slam hard-court final (Australia 2009, won by Nadal) and last met in the 2010 Madrid title match on clay where the Spaniard also prevailed — the possibility remains well into the future.

Federer is not fussed either way. “I think it’s an advantage or disadvantage, depending on when you play against him,” he said of the rivalry, which has fascinated tennis for the last half decade.

“I was able to beat him two times (Madrid 2009 and Hamburg 2007).

“But I’ve also lost to him over ten times. It depends where you play him.” New York has all the attributes which suit Federer’s game on hard-courts, while Nadal has always struggled at the venue, his best finishes semifinals at the last two editions. Federer is keen for any eventual showdown.

“Unfortunately we hardly ever get a chance to play here in the States where conditions maybe suit me more. That’s the way it is,” he said.

“I think we get excited when we play each other, but I don’t think we miss each other when we don’t play. We’ve had that many matches against each other, and the matches are tough and gruelling on both of us.

“There’s a huge hype around it, which is also a bit exhausting at times.” But the Swiss, always a realist, is not getting ahead of himself: “Look, I hope I can play him at the Open. I don’t think it’s possible before the finals again, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Nadal has had a day or two of training with his uncle and long-time coach Toni, who prefers his summer down time during August, only arriving in time for the Open.

On a women’s side, world number one Serena Williams is missing due to a foot injury and ensuing surgery, which have yet to be fully explained. So Dane Caroline Wozniacki takes the top seeding.

Last year’s losing finalist to Belgian Kim Clijsters has dropped an off-court bombshell, saying in New Haven at this week’s WTA event that she hopes to enrol at Yale University for online course work to help take her mind off of tennis 24x7.

The world number two says she would be keen to study business or management.

Keywords: US Open 2010

Man Utd boss Ferguson doubts Scholes will make England return

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson can't see Paul Scholes ending his England exile.

With a squad for the opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland due to be announced on Sunday, there has been some speculation that Scholes might be in it.

However, as one of the few men who knows Scholes intimately, having spent so long in the same dressing room, Ferguson would be stunned if the midfielder was in Capello's 23.

"I have no idea about England. I wouldn't have thought so," said Ferguson

Tata Steel signs Corus' Teesside plant to Thailand's SSI

Tata Steel's European arm Corus on Friday entered into a pact with Thailand-based Sahviriya Steel Industries to sell its Teesside Cast Products plant in the UK for about $500 million. 

"Corus UK Ltd and Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Company Ltd today signed a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the scope of a potential transaction whereby SSI would acquire from Corus the Teesside Cast Products (TCP) business in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million," Tata Steel said in a statement here. 

Corus said in May it had hired Citi to sell the Teesside plant, one of the largest employers in the area, after it started a partial closure of the plant in February following its failure to secure a long-term partner for the site's output. 

Tata Steel said that the deal, if successfully concluded, is expected to create a significant number of new jobs at the plant in addition to TCP's existing workforce of over 700 and will provide a considerable boost to the local economy. 

"The assets covered by the MoU include the Redcar and South Bank coke ovens, TCP's power generation facilities and sinter plant, the Redcar Blast Furnace and the Lackenby Steelmaking facilities," it added. 

Corus MD and CEO Kirby Adams said, "We are very pleased to announce this significant progress in our long-held objective to sell the TCP assets to a strategic industry investor. 

"This is the first of several steps required to reach a definitive sale agreement in the coming months which, with the anticipated co-operation of Government, employee representatives and the North East community, should result in the restart of steelmaking on Teesside in the first half of 2011." 

A sale agreement would also result in Corus and SSI operating Redcar Wharf (TCP's bulk terminal) as a joint venture, giving Corus the flexibility to use Teesside to serve its other steelmaking operations, while also meeting SSI's requirements on Teesside, it added. 

SSI President Viriyaprapaikit said, "For the past year we have held very constructive negotiations with Kirby Adams and the Tata Corus team and we look forward to engaging with all stakeholders in the same spirit of co-operation to secure a final agreement." 

Tata Steel added that Corus and SSI will continue their negotiations, as well as holding talks with trade unions and the Government in coming weeks and months with the aim of finalising the terms of a sale agreement as soon as possible. 

TCP was partially mothballed last year after a consortium of buyers broke an offtake contract with the plant last year.
Keywords: TATA,TATA STEEL

Sreenu Vytla acts in ‘Parama Veera Chakra’

Appearing on silver screen is not new to director Sreenu Vytla. He did before in V N Aditya directed Rain Bow. But acting under veteran director Dasari’s direction is different ballgame altogether. When Dasari asked him to do a small role of a film director in his 150th movie, Parama Veera Chakra, Srinu Vytla immediately said yes. For rarely does one get chance to act with this veteran director. He shot for the film for two days and finished his part. In the film, Balakrishna plays dual role and one character he portrays is that of a film star. So Srinu Vytla acted directing Balakrishna, the star in the film.

Keywords: Sreenu Vytla, Parama Veera Chakra.

Brindavanam set for Oct 1 release

NTR-Dil Raju combine film – Brindavanam – is going to release on October 1.

Made on Sri Venkateswara Creations, produced by Dil Raju and directed by Vamsi Paidipalle (of Munna fame), a media briefing was arranged at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad, to give details about the film.

Dil Raju said: “At present, we are canning a song on hero and heroine. In September, the unit will move to Switzerland and Turkey for two songs. The audio will be released into the market on September 12 and the movie will hit the marquee on October 1. We are confident that the family audiences would definitely like this film, not only for its cool title but also going by the healthy content with which we have dealt. We earnestly hope that the film would bring accolades to our banner and to director Vamsi Paidipalli as well. Music director Taman had put in the best efforts for the successful audio.”

“There are seven songs, including three youthful numbers and four related to family entertainment. Several big artistes have worked for the film. Though the title suggests that it could be a soft film, in fact, it has all the masala that should go with an NTR starrer. Action sequences were shot for over 40 days. This is an youthful action film,” Dil Raju said.

Keywords : Brindavanam, NTR-Dil Raju combine film.

Rajamouli turns TV host

Top director S S Rajamouli enters into small screen. He will be hosting a programme for a news channel.He is anchoring a program called "come on India" MAKING Bharat mahaan for HMTV, The theme of the program is to address why India lacks in some sections. He would try to motivate the youth with his ideas in this programme starts from 9th of September.

Keywords :  Rajamouli, come on India, HMTV.

Confusion over Power Play

Even as India was on the verge of victory, play was stopped for more than five minutes before the start of the 29th over of the New Zealand innings because of a confusion over the batting Power Play.

Later, Kyle Mills, in the middle during the period, revealed he had informed Mahendra Singh Dhoni that the Kiwis had opted for the Power Play before the 25th over.

The Indian captain set his field accordingly. Mills assumed that umpire Asad Rauf had heard him too but that was not the case.

When Ashish Nehra, before beginning the 29th over, clarified with the umpire about the state of the Power Play overs, he was informed that the batch of five overs had not yet been taken. In the next few minutes, both the fielding side and the two batsmen had to convince the umpires that as many as four Power Play overs had already concluded. After a lengthy discussion, they succeeded in doing so.

There was no issue between the sides. Later, New Zealand captain Ross Taylor said in a humorous vein, “He (the umpire) should have seen that there were only three fielders guarding the boundary.”

Sehwag satisfied

Man of the match Virender Sehwag was pleased that he scored a hundred in a winning cause. “It was a better wicket to bat on today. I was striking the ball well but was disappointed that I could not stay longer after the hundred. Had I done so, we could have got close to around 280.”

Sehwag said it was not easy for the younger batsmen to bat in these conditions. “You cannot judge others by the way I bat here. I have a lot more experience.”

The dashing opener complimented the pacemen for bowling in the right areas.

“All the four pacemen did extremely well. We are happy to be in the final. We have beaten Sri Lanka once and they have beaten us once in the tournament. The final will be a big game.”

Taylor said it was disappointing to lose a vital match in such a fashion.

“Sehwag was brilliant with the bat. Then, the Indian pacemen were very good. They bowled full and straight and moved the ball. But we are a young side and have gained much from the tournament.”

Keywords: India, New Zealand, tri-series

Facebook No.1 social networking site in India

Facebook has dethroned Google-owned Orkut as No.1 social networking site in India. With over 2-crore visitors last month, Facebook has shown stupendous growth in the past few months, overtaking Orkut, said global research firm comScore, Inc.

“Facebook.com posted an especially strong month in July, growing 12 per cent versus June but 179 per cent up versus a year ago, to capture the top spot in the category with 2.09 crore visitors. Orkut ranked second with 1.99 crore visitors — up 16 per cent versus year ago,” it said. These two sites were followed by BharatStudent.com with 44-lakh visitors, up 3 per cent.

Interestingly, Twitter.com had the highest rate of growth among the top five social networking sites, increasing 239 percent to 33-lakh visitors, while Yahoo! owned two of the top 10 social networking sites — Yahoo! Pulse (35-lakh visitors) and Yahoo! Buzz (18-lakh) visitors, it added.

More than 3-crore Internet users aged 15 and older in India visited social networking sites in July, representing 84 per cent of the total Internet audience. India is the seventh largest market for social networking, after the U.S., China, Germany, Russian Federation, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The total Indian social networking audience grew 43 per cent in the past year, more than tripling the rate of growth of the total Internet audience in India.

“The social networking phenomenon continues to gain steam worldwide, and India represents one of the fastest growing markets at the moment,” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice-president for the Asia-Pacific region. “Though Facebook has tripled its audience in the past year to pace the growth for the category, several other social networking sites have posted their own sizeable gains,” he added.

Control over data-sharing

Orkut has decided to provide its users more control over data-sharing by allowing them to define and customise group settings. “We've created this new functionality to give Orkut users more privacy and control over how they share content,” Google Product Director Victor Ribeiro said.

Keywords: social networking sites, Facebook, Orkut,

Suzuki Motorcycle launches mass segment bike

Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. on Wednesday launched its 125cc bike SlingShot, targeted at the mass segment. The Indian subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation also announced an investment of Rs.500 crore to double its production capacity by 2012.

Priced at Rs.43,945 (ex-showroom Delhi), SlingShot was being positioned to fill the void that now existed between the 100cc and 150cc segments without compromising on the key parameters that a customer aspires for — style of a 150cc and the efficiency of a 100cc bike, Suzuki Motorcycle India Chairman Katsumi Takata told journalists here.

According to Suzuki Motorcycle India Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Atul Gupta, “our new offering is a complete package in terms of style, comfort, performance and practicality — all combined in a 125 cc bike.” The new bike is equipped with ‘pulsed-secondary air-injection (PAIR)' system that gives high combustion efficiency for enhanced mileage and reduced emissions. On future investments, Mr. Takata said: “we are aggressively expanding our production capacity to 5.40 lakh units from 2.50 lakh units by 2012. We have so far invested around Rs.450 crore this year and another Rs.50 crore will be invested in enhancing the capacity. The total investment will be around Rs.500 crore.”

He further pointed out that Suzuki would concentrate on new product development and strengthening of the distribution network.

The company has now 260 dealers across the country and it sold 1.80 lakh units in 2009-10, both scooters and motorcycles.

Referring to their sales, Mr. Gupta said out of the 5.40 lakh units, which would be produced annually by 2012, they expected 60 per cent of sales to come from scooters and 40 per cent from motorcycles.

“This year we aiming sales of 2.70 lakh units,” Mr. Gupta added.

Keywords: Suzuki Motorcycle, sling shot

Uncertainty over mega science projects in Europe

Britain, the third biggest funding country, has called for tough savings across the board for several mega projects

It was never a question of whether but when the funding for mega science projects in Europe or funded by European countries would get affected by the financial downturn. Alas, it appears that many projects are running out of luck this time.

And that is sad news for science, particularly basic sciences. Unlike the U.S., most of the mega projects underway in Europe or funded by European countries are to understand and investigate various phenomena in different fields in basic sciences.

But it should be remembered that none of the mega projects faced the axe or had to make do with reduced funding during the recent global recession. In a way, they were insulated from the gloom of the global recession. But their luck seems to be running out.

With another recession beginning to build up in the U.S and most of the European countries, the fate of many mega projects like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle collider located at CERN, is uncertain.

According to a news report in today's (Aug 26) Nature, representatives from 20 nations involved in CERN will be meeting to discuss budget cuts over the next five years.

Other victims

And in the next few months, other organisations are “facing decisions on whether to delay new projects, put upgrades on hold or make cuts in an attempt to appease their struggling member States,” notes Nature.

Unlike the projects in the U.S., most of the mega projects based in Europe are built and run with financial contribution by many European countries. Some, like the CERN, involve the U.S. and Asian countries as well.

The other projects that have been created the same way like CERN include the European Molecular Biology laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and a series of massive telescopes built in the Chilean desert and spacecraft to observe Earth and beyond.

The only silver lining is that these organisations operate under treaties. And such treaties ensure that any funding committed by member States is strictly adhered to. This ensures that the projects are never left in a limbo all of a sudden.

The funding decisions taken during budget meetings are hotly debated. The five-year funding budget for CERN that came up recently for approval saw the U.K. putting up strong resistance. The message was simple and clear — the budget had to be revised to save money.

The extraordinary meeting to discuss the revision plan on Aug 25 will have its repercussions. Among other things, suspension of activities at CERN's smaller accelerators during a shutdown of LHC in 2012, and a slow down in the development of Compact Linear Collider advanced accelerator technology.

One of the European nations that is strongly against the business-as-usual funding is the U.K. The U.K. is the third largest funding country, next to France and Germany. Incidentally, France and Germany are far better placed financially than U.K. and other nations in the continent.

Cost saving by Britain

According to Nature, John Womersley, the director of science programmes at the U.K. Science and Technology Facilities Council has indicated that Britain will be “calling for tough savings across the board” for several of the mega projects. Britain is planning “deep cuts in public spending.”

Britain is compelled to weigh the options of continuing to fund the mega projects as usual at the cost of internal projects or to cut funds for projects abroad to support its own scientists.

Next in line that will face the consequences of reduced funding is the European Apace Agency (ESA). According to Nature, the Agency has put on hold most new missions. The only two programmes that will escape any funding crunch will be the extension of the International Space Station programme until 2020 and the development of the next generation of the Ariane 5 rocket.

Projects unaffected

While the European Synchrotron Facility (ESRF) supported by 19 countries, including Israel, will be the worst hit, the 1.5 billion euro European Spallation Source, a new neutron-scattering facility that will be located in Lund, Sweden may not face the same fate.

The reasons are quite simple: the project start date is 2013 and the Scandinavian States are strongly backing the project.

Similarly, the 1 billion euro European Extremely Large Telescope project that will have a 42-metre diameter telescope located in Cerro Armazones in the central part of Chile's Atacama Desert may escape budget tightening.

Keywords: mega projects, science projects, European Synchrotron Facility, LHC, CERN, global recession, telescope project

Yahoo’s search migrates to Microsoft

Yahoo has completed the migration of its web and mobile search functions to Microsoft’s Bing search engine as the two companies hope that their combined market power may prove a more significant threat to the dominance of Google.

The integration comes more than a year after Yahoo and Microsoft announced their 10-year search deal under which Microsoft will power Yahoo’s search site, while Yahoo manages sales for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

“This is a great milestone for Bing and Yahoo and our customers, and we are happy to report the transition has gone smoothly and we feel great about the progress our search alliance has been making over the summer,” wrote Satya Nadella, senior vice president of Microsoft’s online services division, in a blog post.

According to recently published data, Yahoo and Microsoft have a combined 28 per cent share of the US search market, while Google has a roughly 66 per cent share.

Yahoo expects the deal to save it the high cost of developing its own cutting edge search capability, while combining the two companies’ customers is expected to entice advertisers to pay more for paid search ads.

Keywords: Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, Bing

'Komaram Puli' to be delayed further

Komaram Puli is not releasing in September 1st week. Learning this, several other movies have announced their schedule happily. Films like Takita Takita and Gaayam - 2 are hitting in the first week. Uncertainty about Komaram Puli’ s release date continues. Producer Singanamala Ramesh is not forthcoming on the date but it is clear that the movie would not release before Sept 10th.

keywords : Komaram Puli, Komaram Puli's release date

Demoralised India face NZ in a do-or-die match

Bruised and battered in their previous outing, India go into the do-or-die encounter against a gritty New Zealand with concerns about the continuing poor form of their batsmen in the cricket tri-series here on Wednesday.

Languishing at the bottom of the points table, India will hope that rain does not play spoilsport as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men need an outright over the Kiwis to progress to Saturday's final against Sri Lanka.

But going into the match, Dhoni would be a worried man as his famed top-order line-up has struggled throughout the series, the proof of which was the 103-run surrender to Sri Lanka in the last match.

Barring Virender Sehwag, all other Indian top-order batsmen have found the going tough on the tricky Rangagiri Dambulla wicket. Sehwag will have to shoulder the responsibility of guiding the Indian innings against the pace-heavy Kiwi attack.

India's main worry, however, will be the form of youngsters who have failed to rise to the occasion in the absence of seniors such as Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.

Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have failed miserably in the earlier matches. To add to it, Dhoni himself has very little to show in the tournament.

But Yuvraj Singh's return to runs in the last match might give Dhoni something to cheer about.

Yuvraj, who came back to the playing eleven against Sri Lanka in the last match after recovering from dengue, managed the only knock of substance for India with a fighting 38 off 64 balls.

"Next game is like a semi-final now. We have to do well in that match or we have to pack up and go back home," Dhoni had said after the humiliating eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka, which was also India's biggest loss in terms of balls remaining.

"Yuvraj batted well (in the last match). That was the positive thing. He is a crucial man at the middle order. He is the kind of guy who can graft for runs and also hit big shots," the Indian skipper said of the left-hander.

On the bowling front, the Indian attack has done a fine job so far, except for the last match where they had very little to defend. Seamers Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar have been impressive in the tournament while pace colleague Ishant Sharma too is getting back into his groove.

Left-arm tweaker Pragyan Ojha also did a decent job with the ball after being handed over the responsibility of spearheading the spin attack in Harbhajan's absence.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will be a confident lot after having mauled India by 200 runs in the tournament opener.

Sitting at seven points compared to India's five, the Kiwis too need an outright victory to qualify for the summit clash. However, in the event of the match being washed out due to rain, the Kiwis would automatically make it to the final.

New Zealand had a spectacular start to the tournament with the big win against India, but the Kiwis hit a low after losing to Sri Lanka by three wickets in the next match.

To add to New Zealand's misery, their next match against Sri Lanka was washed out, which dragged them into the do-or-die situation.

The Kiwis would once again rest on captain Ross Taylor, who hit a 95 in the opening match against India, to lead from the front against Dhoni's men who are expected to roar back like wounded tigers.

Like the opening match, New Zealand's balanced bowling attack will once again look to exploit the frailties of Indian top order.

The Kiwi pace duo of Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey is among wickets in the tournament while the slow bowlers were also chipping in with useful contributions.

The Teams (from):

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain & wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary, Munaf Patel.

New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Kyle Mills (vice-captain), Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins (wicketkeeper), Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Peter Ingram, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Keywords: India-Sri Lanka-New Zealand tri-series

Ramcharan on Chiru’s 150th film

Hero Ramcharan Teja confirmed that the 150th movie of his dad and megastar Chiranjeevi would be ready by August 2011. Accompanied by the Praja Rajyam senior leaders and in the presence of the fans of his family, the young hero said that the megastar decided to make a comeback onscreen based on the appeals form the fans.

Participating at the 56th birthday celebrations of Chiranjeevi, Ramcharan cut the birthday cake at the Chiranjeevi Blood Bank, Jubilee Hills. Due to heavy commotion, the glasses of the building were broken. However, the mob was controlled in no time. He shot back the allegations of the opposition parties that there was corruption in the Blood Bank. “Your (fans) affection would be the fitting reply to them,” he said. Ramcharan also inaugurated the blood donation camps, in which hundreds of fans and party workers took part.

Senior PR leader Ramachandraiah said that very soon the fans of Chiranjeevi will hear the sweet news about the launch formalities of the film.

keywords : Chiru’s 150th film , Ramcharan producer .

Mexico City sinks several inches annually.

The city itself drops between 0.2 and 1.3 feet per year! Because Mexico City has one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, there is an extremely high demand for water.

70% of this water comes from the groundwater beneath the city. But it is being extracted much faster than it can be naturally replaced.

This drastic water deficit has severely weakened the ground upon which the city rests, causing the Mexican capital to sink.

keywords : Mexico City .

Sachin shortlisted for ICC People's Choice Award

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the five cricketers who has been shortlisted for the first LG People's Choice Award to be given away during the ICC prize distribution function in Bengaluru on October 6.

The other four are Mike Hussey of Australia, Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, England captain Andrew Strauss and South African A.B. de Villiers, an ICC release said on Monday.

The award category, which has been included for the first time this year, will be chosen by cricket fans around the world who now have a chance to vote for their favourite player until September 10, the release said.

Innovative parameters

The cricketers have been selected on the basis of some innovative parameters by a five-member ICC selection panel, chaired by former West Indies captain and current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Clive Lloyd.

The panel also includes former international players Angus Fraser of England, Matthew Hayden of Australia, Ravi Shastri of India and Zimbabwe's Duncan Fletcher.

These parameters include innovation, dynamism, strength in decision-making, performing well under pressure and also executing a plan to distinction.

Perfect tribute

“Our great sport owes a lot to its dedicated and passionate cricket fans around the world for their non—stop support and commitment. This LG People's Choice Award is a perfect tribute to those avid and dedicated fans,” said ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.

“I urge all cricket lovers, irrespective of where they are living, to take active part in this online opportunity and make your vote count for your favourite cricketer,” he added.

The LG ICC Awards ceremony is now in its seventh year.

Keywords: ICC People's Choice Award, Sachin Tendulkar

Final year CA students may get to see answer sheets

Final year Chartered Accountancy students should be able to see copy of their answer sheets after May 2011, subject to approval by Central Council members, said Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) president Amarjit Chopra on Monday.

Delivering the special address at ‘Convocation 2010', he said the performance of students was dismal, despite all the coaching classes, and this had to improve. They need to go back to text books and reference books and apply the concepts to the given problems. The Common Proficiency Test needs to be strengthened by bringing in appropriate changes.

To allay the apprehension that ICAI was failing students, it was proposed to allow them to see their answer sheets. The comments of the head examiner on every question would be hosted on the web. Besides, it was decided to host suggested answers for the November exam, one month before the declaration of the result, he said.

According to Mr. Chopra, the ICAI has signed Mutual Recognition Agreements with many nations; it will be signing one with Ireland next month, negotiations were on with New Zealand and Singapore and new initiatives were planned in the African region.

He also said that for the next two years, there would not be any change in the curriculum or in fee structure. It was also proposed to start a virtual classroom by December, which would be cheaper than attending the coaching classes. Distributing the convocation credentials to top nine rank holders from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, G. Thiruvasagam, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras, said, “the higher education system faced an alarming situation due to a mismatch in demand and supply. Though the University gives results of 75 per cent, the employability ratio is only nine per cent, while ICAI gives results of four per cent and the employability is 100 per cent. This is due to good syllabus, effective delivery system, effective examination system, research programmes and global education.”

He asked the students to update their knowledge on a regular basis, act as the conscience of corporate companies and remind them of their corporate social responsibility and be the guardian angels of shareholders.

V. Murali, vice-chairman, Board of Studies said that Chartered Accountants should have focus, work with responsibility, play their role to perfection and render value addition to society.

G. Ramaswamy, vice-president, ICAI, said that a few more international chapters would be opened soon.

Keywords: Chartered Accountancy, ICAI