Latest Breaking News

Indians, Now the Time to Stand Against Corruption

2011-08-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

12th day of Anna's fast against the corruption in India and Indian government in sitting idle. Looks like every member of parliament is deaf. Where is Rahul Gandhi from Congress who was the true friend of farmers according to him only. Nobody is here who can support the right cause of corruption. Its the public of India who is supporting Anna Hazare from the day one. Can anyone ask the member of parliaments, why you are chosen? Why should we vote you again? Is there anything you have done for us?

Anna Hazare has the support from all states of India. In fact he is surrounded by over one lakh people for the past 6 days. Team Anna's other member include Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, ArvindKejriwal. All of these have worked for various roles in the society. Most of them have been the part of the Indian Judiciary system.

This is the right time to get up and stand against corruption. Vande Mataram.

13th July: Another Black Day in Mumbai

2011-07-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

Once again 13th became the black date for Mumbai. Although it was not the Friday, but it was one of the worst day for World's largest democracy. Terrorists hit the business capital of India on 13th Jul'11. The terrorists plotted the blast in three major regions of Mumbai. Bombs were planted in Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar, and Opera House areas. All of these areas are packed with the crowd daily and the day the serial bomb blasts took, they were fully packed.

Looking for clues, Maharashtra's ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad) has sent the teams to various locations in India and prepared a sketch of the suspect based on eyewitness accounts. A senior Anti-Terrorism Squad officier said that the sketch of a suspect in Mumbai serial blasts is prepared which is responsible for the death of 19 people and 130 injured.

"Suspect's sketch is ready. It will be circulated among the selected investigating officials but it won't be released to the public," said the Anti-Terrorism Squad official. This incident raise another question on spending 100 crores on the security of Kasab, responsible for Mumbai attack two years ago. Shouldn't he be hanged till death to give the clear message to other terrorists?

Indians: World Champions Once Again

2011-04-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

Once again history was created but this time in Mumbai. Everyone was waiting for long and the time came after 28 years when Men in Blue repeated the miracle what Kapil Dev did in 1983. Year 2011 is turned out to be the glorious for Indian sports. Indian team won the ICC cricket world cup after beating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played the innings of his lifetime. After regular failures in this world cup, he promoted himself to 3rd down and it worked favourably to India.

India was chasing a mammoth total of 275 which was never chased in the world cup final ever before. Earlier Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir scored a wonderful 97 when Sachin and Sehwag were lost before 50 runs. That was a real crucial stage of the game and Gambhir played outstanding knock in pressure. Gambhir got the right man for his support there, the name was Virat Kohli. 83 runs partnership between them was the match winning. Later Dhoni and Yuvraj did splendid job by making over 100 runs without losing any chance for the Sri Lankans.

India is champpion.....Well Done India.

Vid weds Sid in 2011

2011-02-26T01:21:00.000-08:00

Once again Heart broken!!!
One more B-town's girl is getting engaged in 2011. Its none other than the taleneted & gorgeous Vidya Balan. She is going to tie a knot with Siddharth Roy Kapur, a top film corporation honcho. Both of them can be seen dating together in the recent time.

Vidya Balan is one of the most talented actresses from Bollywood. Her performances in Paa and Ishqiya are memorable. She looks absolutely seductive in Ishqiya. She was abusive too. Her recent performance in 'No one killed Jessica' is mindblowing.

Vidya started her career through some TV commercials including Wheel and many more small budget ads. Later she was picked as the main lead in the movie Parineeta in which she proved what a fantastic actress she is. Her chemisty with Saif and Sanjay was ultimate. Worked in alot of good movies like Guru, Bhool Bhulaiya, Hay Baby, Ishqiya, Paa, Kismat Konnection she has touched a milestone in the Bollywood fil industry.

You can join Sid weds Vid later this year.

All the best Vidya for your next role!

38 Gold at CWG 2010: Bane Tuned into Boon

2010-10-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Common Wealth Games 2010 are one of the biggest games arena hosted by India. Started from problems, rain, unhygene,bad construction and a lot more things etc etc which nobody wants to describe in his comments. 14th October was a day for Indian pride when we people successfully completed the hosting for CWG 2010.

With 38 Gold medals, India again proved them better than what everyone expected from them in the beginning. Final score was 74 golds for Australia, 38 for India and 37 for England. Australia is the tue winner in 2010 CWG with a total of 177 medals included Gold, Silver and Bronze. India won 38 Golds, 27 Silvers and 36 Bronze medals. Even Indian women has also shared a lot of medals in the tally. India mainly won the medals in Wrestling, Shooting, Badminton, Athletics. Indian hockey team once again beaten the rival Pakistan team. Saina Nehwal won Gold for badminton. Sushil kumar for Wrestling, Abhinav Bindra for Shooting and many more new names like Ashwini Poonappa Machimanda, Jwala Gutta, Sharath Kamal Achanta, Subhajit Saha, Paramjeet Samota, Manoj Kumar, Heena Sidhu, Annu Raj Singh, Krishna Poonia, Somdev Burman won the Gold medals for Indian pride.

MBBS 2011: Single Entrance Test All Over India

2010-08-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

2011 will be a boon to all medical aspirants. Government has decided to conduct one common entrance test each for over 35,000 MBBS seats and 12,000 MD seats in all government and medical colleges in India. Medical Council of India and Union ministry of health has taken this significant decision on 13th July. They have passed this decision to the Supreme Court of India.

This new idea will help a lot of students who have a dream to become doctor for the mankind. But from 2011, there will be just one entrance test each for MBBS and MD courses offered by all 271 medical colleges, 138 government-run and 133 under private management. These colleges together offer over 35,000 seats for MBBS courses and another 12,000 for PG.

Star Parivar Awards 2010

2010-06-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

Once again its back, Star Parivaar Awards.......the glorious award ceremony from Star network in India. In the past 10 years, this one is the most renowned celebration by any television network. Star network has created the culture and everyone including Zee, Sony and other major networks are following the same in their own way.

AAccording to Star TV, this award ceremony is a platform for all those who started their career with Star TV and are now at the heights in their fields. It is the get tgether for the milestones with the new generation artists. You can see all Tulsi, Parwati, Mihir, Anurag, Prerna, Komalika, Baa, Kumkum, etc in the Star Parivar Awards.

Star Parivar Awards is a platform on which STAR awards the best members of its serials family for entertaining its audiences and it takes place on a larger & grander scale every year following its launch.

Don't miss it on 13th June 2010, 8:00PM.

UK is going to be India

2010-05-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

First time in the most recent years for UK elections, no party is in majority. It is the common situation in Indian elections every time. Its the Hung house situation in Britain. All the major parties like Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats are failed to satisfy the citizens of the United Kingdom.

Conservative Party needs 20 more seats for a clear majority while Labour party is currently on 258 wins. The third party Liberal Democrats are having only a mere 57 seats in hand. Its really good to see that how UK get rid of a weak government. India can take lessons from that for its forthcoming elections.

PRITHVI 2 & DHANUSH : Nuclear Capable Launched Successfully

2010-03-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Good news once again for the Indians. One more milestone in the power of India. The scientist has proven that they are the world class and India is no longer dependent on other developed countries for its safety and security just like other south asian countries.
India has successfully tested Prithvi 2 and Dhanush Missile at Balasore, Orissa. Both tests met the required parameters. Having a range of 295km, Prithvi 2 ballistic missile, as now been added in the Indian Armed Squad.

Tendulkar broke the 194 record, sets new 200

2010-02-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

The man created history again. It was a glorious moment on the 25th Feb when Sachin Tendulkar broke the record of 200 in an innings in the One Day Internationals. After a long period of 15 years, the record of Saeed Anwar was broken by any batsman. 194 was a milestone for any batsman in the ODI matches. They have tried everytime but couldn't reach even close to it. Many batsman including Sachin, Hayden, Ganguly, Ponting, Dhoni, Gilchrist and many other big names tried to reach 194 but they even can't reach 190.

The competition began when an unknown player from Zimbabwe scored 194 not out in an innings. It was really amazing to see a batsman near to the record set 15 years ago by the Pakistani batsman. Sachin has broken all kind of records and set a lot of many other records in the both shows of cricket whether it is ODI or Test matches. But it was a dream for Sachin to break 194 and he did it and what a remarkable fashion...200 not out with 25 fours in an innings..wow...Amazing

Khan Show Successful : SRK Hit, Thakrey Flop

2010-02-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

After a long controversy between Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thakrey and the Bollywood star King Khan, 'Mu name is khan' was finally released all over the world including Mumbai. Last week Shiv Sena was committed to ban the release of this most awaited film in the Maharashtra cinema plexes. But after the full support from Bollywood and the Indian government, Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan finally made it in the right time.

'My name is khan' is produced by the Dharma productions in association with Shahrukh Khan. It is the biggest and the most awaited movie of 2010. The movie is a story of a mentally challenged lover who is arrested by the US army after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Go and see the movie how 'Rizwaan Khan' aka Shahrukh Khan turns his emotions in to reality.

The movie is a 4 out of 5 star rating from all movie reviews.

Rahul Vishela : Adwords Certified Professional

2010-01-16T23:36:00.000-08:00

Rahul Vishela has passed the Google's Certified Adwords Examiantion with 91% marks. Here is the link for the score :

http://www.starttest.com/8.0.0.0/transcriptview.aspx?r=1&code=I0070FB5EF07A0370FD68F463F17AFF782AE587

http://rahuladwords.notlong.com

Worst Ever Disaster : Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-16T23:32:00.000-08:00

Earthquake in Haiti is the worst ever disaster found in the past 50 years it was confirmed by the United Nations. It is one of the biggest disaster for mankind after Tsunami of 2004. More than one lack of people have been declared dead officially.

"This is a historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory. It is like no other," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office. In the last disaster of Tsunami atleast Governent buildings and offices were not destroyed, but here in Haiti earthquake everything has been lost.

"No local government infrastructure remains," she said.

"According to the local police, between 5,000 to 10,000 people have been killed and most bodies are still in the collapsed buildings," she said. But the number is more in actually.

Tiger went to the Woods

2009-11-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

Bad news for the fans of the Golf champion Tiger woods. He is badly injured in a car accident while he was driving with his wife. Tiger was going to his home in Florida on the friday night when the accident took place.

In the friday evening he was celebrating the time with his wife, Erin Nordegren. There were some misunderstanding type situation for the name of the Manhattan nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel. Tiger's wife was in abad mood thinking the affair between his husband and nightclub hostess.

They suddenly left the club in ther car. Nordegren's version goes that she rushed to rescue her husband from the wreckage after she heard sounds of the crash. She claimed she used a golf club to smash the car window. The crash at 2.25 the morning after Thanksgiving, followed the National Enquirer report claiming that the 33-year-old Woods cheated on his wife during the recent Australian Masters in Melbourne.

Odisha : The official call for Orissa now

2009-10-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Time is changing. This is the rule of nature. It has been supported by a lot of scientists. Newton told in the third law of motion , "Equal and oppsite reaction for every action". First Delhi became New Delhi, then Bombay became Mumbai, then Bangalore became Bangaluru, now its turn for another place in India.

Guess it, you guesses correctly Orissa, it will now be in the books only. From November,09 Orissa will named as Odisha. O-dish-a , wow it looks like a name of a delicious food item. So the people shown that there is something in the name.

The language of Odisha will not be Oriya, as obvious. It will be called Odia,,,,,

Lets see what happens next, id it Ghaziabad to something.....

Pakistan on backfoot, Sri Lanka stronger side for attack

2009-09-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

After six months, Pakistan wake up. It was the incident when terrorists attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. In that attck incident , 8 people wer killed and other 20 wer badly injured. Finally Pakistani Government has decided to set an investigation team for the cause happened. Pakistan was showing the similar action just in case of the Indian terrorist attack situation.

Pakisatan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani has built a team including Malik which will investigate for the incident. They will report the Sri Lankan government. All this thing happen because of the pressure created on Pakistan. Every cricket playing nation has declared not to play in the Pakistan if Pakistan will not find the fault behind the scenes.

US Security Reasons : SRK was detained

2009-08-15T04:31:00.000-07:00

Breaking news from the US, its not another attack from Al-Qaida but it is related to India, in fact Bollywood. Today's Indian superstar, Shahrukh Khan was detained for around three hour at Newark airport this morning. The incidence took place at around 1:00 AM IST, when Shahrukh was entered into the airport. He went there for completing the shooting of his movie.

The issue behind the scene , was his surname 'KHAN'. As these days, it is the common surname for most of the people visiting the site. The delay was due to security reasons. The actor was detained after his name flashed on the computer. He was asked several questions about the purpose of his visit. His hand baggage was checked. He was not allowed to even make a phone call for nearly an hour.

GAY is now an official word in India

2009-07-05T05:12:00.000-07:00

The largest democracy of the world, India on July 02 in 2009 is also grren signalled to be GAY. On this day, Delhi High Court leagalised to be called of Gay, or to marry eith the same sex. This means that 2 adults of same sex, from now on, can have private sex without any fear of legal harassment.

People have seen such characters in the latest bollywood movies. Specially in the films made by Madhur Bhandarkar, Karan Johar homosexuality has been a vital canvas. On this historical decision by a stat court, the spiritual Gurus from Hindus and Muslims are really angry and they are speaking it a funny and sick decision.

A lot of famous celebrities are also in the favour of the decision give by the high court. Celina Jaitley is favouring this act for the gays. Ultimately, it is the right of every individual to have a partner of his/her choice. It is his/her life, let them choose.

Gilchrist and Deccan : Made for IPL

2009-05-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Wanderers become the witness of the miraculous performance by the hyderabadi boys. It was a cheerable moment for the Gilchrist and teammates when Royal Challengers couldn’t make the last 6 runs needed on the very last ball of the Final game in the IPL 2.

It is the successive year when the team that is considered out of the tournament, have won the game and rose to the sky heights. In 2008 , Rajasthan Royals were nowhere in the race and finally they made it by winning first ever IPL trophy to their name. And this time in the year 2009, Deccan Chargers that stands 8^th in the last year, have won the IPL season 2.

Congratulations to Gilly and his boyz for becoming the IPL champions. Nobody can forget the great knock played by Gilchrist in the semi-final against Delhi Daredevils. 85 of 35 deliveries, Amazing……..Keep it up Deccan.

Oldest lady gone, now its ur turn aunty

2009-05-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sakhan Dosova died. But who is Sakhan Dosova ? Do you know ? or anybody near you know it ? We are telling you the whole story behind the name Sakhan Dosova.
Sakhan Dosova was the oldest woman on the earth. She was 130 years old. But now she is no more after she met an accident. An accident in her bathroom, she slipped in the washroom of her new flat and can not recovered from that. Sakhan Dosova was born on 27 March 1879.
In an interview this year, she had said: "I don't have any special secret. I've never taken pills. I have never eaten sweets. I don't like them."
She was married twice in her lifespan.Now three of her children remain alive.

Again the final between BJP and Congress

2009-05-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

The day has arrived when the major phase of the Lok Sabha elections is set to be held. On thursday, 07th may 2009 over 10 crore Indian people are goint to caste their vote in the 14 Lok Sabha elections.

1315 election candidates are standing in the queue from various national parties like BJP, INC, BSP etc. The polling will be for the 85 seats of Lok Sabha and this phase is definitely going to be the result oriented in making the majority to form the next government in India.

Main leaders in this phase of election are BJP's Rajnath Singh, Congress' Pranab Mukherjee, RJD's Lalu Yadav, SP's Mulayam Singh, Farooq Abdullah from J & K. There will be the elections for the 543 Lok Sabha seats in the 5 phases. Final phase will be started on 13th may 2009.

Rajasthan Royals back in form, beaten Delhi Daredevils

2009-04-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Rajasthan Royals are hitting it hard this time after the match with Delhi Daredevils on 28th april. Again the Royals are back in form exactly when they were supposed to be out of the tournament. In the morning Sehwag won the toss and took batting first. Again a bad open for the Delhi Daredevils, both openers were gone till 25 on the scorecard. AB de Villiers and the tail enders took some charge and finally AB de Villiers could manage up to 143/7 in 20.0 overs.

Chasing a low total, Rajasthan Royals were also not good in the start of the game. But from one end, Graeme Smith was holding line, who made 44 of 46 deliveries. And then comes the finisher, the superhero of 2008 IPL, Yusuf Pathan hit 61 of just 30 balls. These 61 includes the really big six sixes. Thus the score was 147/5 in 18.3 overs. Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 5 wickets.

Membership of India on two key bodies

2009-04-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

On the 2nd april of 2009, it was great day for the US and India. Newly elected president of America, Barack Obama came alone to meet specially the prime minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh in the G20 meet. In the afternoon, Mr. Singh from India has declared that India will now be the key member of Financial Stability Forum. He also announced tha membership for Basle Committee on banking supervision immediately.

British PM Gordon Brown was also representing the commitee with Indian prime minister. Famous leaders like Russian president Medvedev and China's Hu Jintao were also present in the summit held at London , UK. On the topic of terrorism, Mr Singh was supported by all the laeders of the world, when he said, "Pakistan should not allow its soil to be used to promote terrorism.". In the future the chances are there that G20 can replace G8 too.

India safe, once again by Laxman

2009-03-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Once again Team India has done it. In the latest New Zealand cricket tour, India was given follow on by the home team. The senior players have proved that they are not the missed players. Just like in 2001 Australian tour to India, Laxman and Dravid proved themselves, again this time bothe players have turned out to be the key players of the running tast match. On the day 4th of the second test match in Wellington, India scored a total of 476 for the loss of 4 wickets.

Laxman is playing on 124 with Yuvraj singh on 54. Earlier Dravid hit a 120 runs partenership with Tendulkar. Finally Team India is in a good position to secure the match and in a winning situation to lift the Test trophy in the New Zealand.

Congress again in trouble for 15th lok sabha

2009-03-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

After the separation from Samajwadi Party, Congress is in much trouble in the forthcoming elections for the 15the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier on saturday, 21 march SP leader Amar Singh announced that if congress is not giving any seat against SP in U.P., only then thay will go hand to hamd with the UPA alliances.
And this time on sunday 22 march, Rastriya Janta Dal Head , Lalu Prasad Yadav declared the same situation for the UPA government. RJD also asking to fight alone in the state Bihar just like the SP supremo announced the day before.
All these happening just when elections are one month from now. This time UPA govt amd Congress is in full pressure what to do and what not.

USD 3 only : Its 50 for Barbie doll

2009-03-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Barbie is the dream doll of every girl and now their playmate, the pretty 'Barbie' has completed an era. Barbie is turning to 50 this year, isn't amazing?

At the birth time of Barbie, the first TV commercial aired in the year 1959 - in traditional black and white (B/W) - and advertised the sexy doll for only 3 US dollars. Two years later in 1961, Barbie got her boyfriend 'Ken' doll. In her lifetime, she pursued more than hundred roles; she has been a presidential candidate, a veterinarian, a teacher, a cook and an astronaut. Over years, her looks also changed according to the timely fashion and local trends.

The manufacturers of the 'Barbie' doll claims that 50 designers, 12 hairdressers and others work for the Barbie brand and over 800 companies produce everything from clothes to bedroom furniture. Reports suggest that even Barbie doll sales are hit by recession as the sales dropped 21 pc in last quarter.

Cities around the world are planning to mark the 50th birthday of Barbie with special events. The organisers are even planning to conduct a fashion show in Barbie's honour during the New York Fashion Week. And a good news to the Barbie fans, on her 50th birthday Barbie is again available at 3 US Dollars. The price has been kept same as it was in the year 1959.

Indains created history at the Oscars 2009

2009-02-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

Its none other than "Slumdog Millionaire" who created the history after bagging 8 Oscar Awards in the 81st Academy Awards, USA 2009.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Christian Colson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Sean Penn for Milk (2008/I)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Okuribito (2008)(Japan)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar("Jai Ho")

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman

Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Chris Dickens

Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: The Dark Knight (2008) - Richard King

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: Smile Pinki (2008) - Megan Mylan

Best Documentary, Features
Winner: Man on Wire (2008) - James Marsh, Simon Chinn

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: Spielzeugland (2007) - Jochen Alexander Freydank

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Greg Cannom

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: The Duchess (2008) - Michael O'Connor

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: Maison en petits cubes, La (2008) - Kunio Katô

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Simon Beaufoy

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Milk (2008/I) - Dustin Lance Black

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Oscar Nominees for 81st Academy Awards

2009-02-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

Finally the day has arrived and the heartbeats of the persons working for media industry in are running harder. Who will win and not? Its the final questions now. We have collected the 81st Oscar nominees list in some major categories, so that you people can be aware of the prizes...

Best actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Best director
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best foreign language film of the year
* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production

Best music written (Original song)
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman

Best motion picture of the year
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson

Who's the most stylish man in America ?

2009-02-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

It has been announced just after 2 days of Valentines, that Grammy-award winner pop star Justin Timberlake has blasted in the GQ magazine's list of "the 10 most Stylish Boys in the US,". Justin gave the credit to his banker stepfather, for his dress sense in 2008-09.

The men's magazine, GQ praised Timberlake, nearly 28, for his impact on fashion, his willingness to take risks and "knack for targeting trends" including hats, three-piece suits, skinny ties and beards.

The timing of the award is good news for Britney's ex boyfriend Timberlake, whose own clothing line William Rast, launched in October 2006 with his friend Trace Ayala, is on the runway at this week's New York Fashion show for its second outing.

Timberlake told the March issue of GQ that he got his sense of style from his stepfather, Paul Harless, a banker who laid out his suit for the next morning every night and went to work looking "like Richard Gere in (American) Gigolo."

As for his signature style of wearing a suit with sneakers, Timberlake said that was more for practicality that design. Full story here

Ashudh ho chuke ho, sadh chuke ho : RAAZ - 2

2009-02-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Raaz - The Mystry Contnues (popularly known as RAAZ - 2) has been counted as the first HIT of the year 2009. It has been around 7 years since the previous version of RAAZ was released. The movie RAAZ has created a new era of horror movies from the early 21st century. Raaz - The Mystry Contnues has broken all the records set by its prequel version in the year 2002. Till now the collections of RAAZ - 2 are absolutely fine and those are mentioned under :
Week 1 10,39,54,683 INR

It includes
# Mumbai - 3,05,56,411 and
# Delhi - 1,76,01,725

2009 mother gives birth to 8 twins

2009-01-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

On monday, A woman from California, gave birth to eight babies in a short span of 7 minutes. This is only the second time in history, when live octuplets have been born. The mother, who has not been identified, gave birth to six boys and two girls weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces, doctors at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center told The Associated Press.

The hospital had scheduled a Caesarean section for seven babies, but doctors were surprised when an eighth came out at 10:48 a.m. "My eyes got to be the size of saucers," Dr. Karen Maples told the Los Angeles Times, explaining her reaction to the last birth. "We just went on and delivered the babies." She said the babies were in stable condition and would probably remain in the hospital for at least two months. She said the mother should be released in a week.

Kaiser spokeswoman Myra Suarez said she could not release any information about the mother, including her condition or whether she used fertility drugs. "They are all doing the best they can," Suarez said. "They were all screaming and kicking around very vigorously," Dr. Harold Henry said.

The first live-born octuplets were born in Houston in December 1998. They were three months premature and their weights at birth ranged from 11 ounces to 1 pound, 11 ounces. Complete pounds here

10 Oscar nominations for Indian Slumdog

2009-01-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

Not one, not two, not 3, but amazingly 10 Oscar nominations for Slumdog Millionaire in the year 2008-2009 . Great Indian music composer A R Rahman bags nomination for three of the 10 oscars - India's arrival at the mecca of film awards was nothing short of spectacular. The bonanza also belatedly made up for years of lacklustre performance in this most coveted cinema competition.

Although the announcements were made a little after daybreak in Los Angeles, the news broke here at a providential moment - when the film's Indian premiere in Mumbai was underway and several of the film's adult and child cast and crew assembled on stage, with television cameras ready to capture the whoops of joy. "I'm so honoured and humbled to be a part of this film," said an overjoyed Anil Kapoor, the biggest Indian star in Slumdog. Complete Award news here.

President Bush gets farewell in Washington

2009-01-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

On thursday, Former President George W. Bush addressed the USA that it has not suffered a major terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001 on his farewell . But the threat remains, he said, and will be President-elect Barack Obama's biggest challenge.

"Our enemies are patient and determined to strike again," Bush said in a nationally televised address from the White House.

Bush, who listed the Iraq war as one of his efforts to combat terrorism, said he understands disagreement with some "tough decisions" he made, "but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."

Speaking to about 200 guests in the East Room, Bush extended best wishes to Obama and his family. The election of the nation's first African-American president, he said, "reflects the enduring promise of our land" and is "a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation."

The two-term president acknowledged experiencing setbacks but also listed accomplishments, including creation of a Department of Homeland Security, new counterterrorism surveillance laws, the No Child Left Behind education bill, prescription drug assistance, and adding conservative justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Full story here

Rahman Creats History in the Golden Globes 2009

2009-01-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

Everybody from India was delighted after getting the news that the legend music composer A. R. Rahman bags the Golden Globe Award for the best original music score on 12th Jan 2009. The 66th Annual Golden Globes event was packed with talented stars. But there is no doubt that the big winners of the night were 'Slumdog Millionaire,' Kate Winslet, Tina Fey, and the late Heath Ledger.

'Slumdog Millionaire' won all four of the categories is was nominated for, most notably for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Danny Boyle won Best Director, Simon Beaufoy won best screen writing, and A. R. Rahman won for best original score. From l. to r.: Producer Christian Colson, actor Dev Patel, actor Anil Kapoor, actress Frida Pinto, director Danny Boyle, composer A.R. Rahman, and writer Simon Beaufoy. Click for full footage here.

Satyam Down Due to Accounting Scandal

2009-01-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

08 Jan 2009, Current share rate : 39.95 rupees.
The accounting scandal that caused Satyam Computer Services Ltd. to collapse yesterday is shaking investor confidence in Indian stocks, putting an end to the market’s best start since 2000.

“How did they manage to conceal a fraud of such magnitude even from the auditors?” said Greg Kuhnert, a London-based fund manager at Investec Asset Management Ltd., which manages about $10 billion and sold its 0.15 percent stake in Satyam last month. “That to me is a huge concern and is making me very nervous about the situation in India now.”

India’s Sensex index tumbled 7.3 percent yesterday, led by a 78 percent plunge in Satyam, after Chairman Ramalinga Raju said profits at the company had been inflated for years and then resigned. Satyam American depositary receipts fell $8.42, or 90 percent, to 93 cents before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange, which then halted trading in the stock.

Just six weeks after Franklin Templeton Investments’ Mark Mobius said the world’s second-fastest growing major economy would overcome the Mumbai terrorist attacks and prosper, his company said the Satyam scandal will weigh on investors.

“This unfortunate development will be a short-term negative for market sentiment,” Sukumar Rajah, chief investment officer of equity in India at Franklin Templeton Investments, which manages $4 billion of assets in the country, said in an e- mail. Read full scandle...

All New Nissan URGE : A Thunderball

2008-12-31T20:44:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know the real concept behind the Nissan URGE. Its the presigious Xbox 360, which powers All-New Nissan URGE Car. A Motorcycle-inspired roadster which delivers a futuristic driving experience using "Project Gotham Racing 3."

In 2005 - Nissan North America Inc.(NNA) and Microsoft Corp. merged automobile design and gaming technology to create the first-ever fully integrated gaming system within a vehicle.

10th year for the EURO in the european markets

2008-12-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

10 years ago, European countries have launched its grand experiment with a shared currency and watched it plunge in value before recovering.

As the anniversary approaches of the January 1st, 1999, arrival of the euro, economists say the new currency is finally fulfilling its promise as a way to lower borrowing costs, ease trade and tourism, boost growth and strengthen the European community.

And doing it amid a global financial crisis that, for the moment, underlines the safety in numbers that comes from joining one, big currency.

"After 10 years it has truly created a zone of security and stability," French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in mid-December. "From all these points of view, the euro has in fact proven wrong the forecasts some made against the euro 10 years ago."

When it was launched for non-cash purposes in 1999, just 11 countries were on board Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Notes and coins were added on January 1, 2002, and the original 11 have been joined by Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Slovenia, with Slovakia slated to join on Jan. 1, bringing the total to 16. Now, some people in longtime holdouts such as Sweden and even strongly euro-skeptic Britain are beginning to reconsider the question. Full celebration here

Santa Clause killed at least 8 people at Covina party

2008-12-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

LA Authorities said that Mr. Pardo, dressed in a Santa suit, opened fire at a Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze. He is later found dead of a gunshot wound.

As he had in years past, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo volunteered to serve as an usher at his church's midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Pardo, however, was miles away from the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church as the religious service got underway. He drove a rental car from his home in Montrose to the Covina home of his ex-wife's parents. Shortly before 11:30 p.m., dressed as Santa Claus, he approached the front door with a large, wrapped package.

Inside the two-story home at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, his ex-wife, her parents and about two dozen others were enjoying their annual holiday party.

An 8-year-old girl ran to answer his knock. When the door swung open, Pardo, 45, shot her in the face with a semiautomatic handgun, stepped into the house and opened fire on the revelers. Amid the chaos, he doused the house with a flammable liquid contained in the package -- a pressurized fuel tank, about 2 1/2 feet tall. Read full article

Celtics win 17th straight NBA records

2008-12-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ray Allen scored 27 and Kendrick Perkins added a career-high 25 points as the Boston Celtics rolled to their 17th straight victory, 126-108, over the Chicago Bulls.

Rajon Rondo had 15 of Boston's 40 assists and the defending NBA champions improved to a league-best 25-2 this season. Kevin Garnett scored 17 and Paul Pierce had 16 for the Celtics, who can equal a couple of records if they win at home against the New York Knicks Sunday.

The 17-game run is the second-best in franchise history, joining the 1959-60 squad. The team record victory streak is 18, established during the 1981-82 campaign. Also, the best a team has ever started in the NBA before a third loss is 26-2, set by the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers and equaled by the 1969-70 Knicks. Both of those teams went on to win the NBA title.

"Our mentality has always been, since last year, to take it a game at a time," said Garnett. "That's what we've been focused on. We have a Knick team that's coming in Sunday, better team, a more well-rounded team and a confident team."

Perkins went 12-of-15 from the field, all part of a 59.5 percent shooting effort for the Celtics, who forced 20 turnovers and used a 41-point third quarter to pull away. More photos

Barack Obama Focuses Domestic & Reshapes White House

2008-12-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

President-elect Barack Obama has finished building a cabinet of prominent and strong-willed players on Friday, but he is putting together a governing structure that will concentrate more decision making over his top domestic priorities in the White House.

With new offices in the White House to coordinate health care, urban policy and energy initiatives, Mr. Obama has signaled that he intends to keep real power over domestic issues close at hand. The collective moves shift the political center of gravity farther away from the cabinet, a trend that has accelerated under presidents of both parties in recent years.

At the same time, Mr. Obama’s reorganization suggests a willingness to tolerate, and even encourage, competing power centers within his administration, but it is unclear how that will work in practice. Not only is he creating new positions with authority over key areas, he is filling his West Wing with people of stature equal to or even greater than the members of his cabinet, including two former cabinet officers and a former Senate majority leader.

David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, said issues like health care and energy “are so fundamental to our ability to right the economy in the long term that he knows he’s going to have to drive a lot of that. And he wants a high-powered staff in the White House to help him do that.” Complete coverage here

Friday Night Brings "Year's Biggest Full Moon"

2008-12-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

This Friday night will bring the biggest full moon of the year as Earth's natural satellite reaches its closest point to our planet. Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.

The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it will be just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away. It will be 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA. See Moon Pictures here.

India with Limited Options, Presses Pakistan for Terrorism

2008-12-11T21:38:00.000-08:00

On Thursday , Even as Indian officials lambasted Pakistan as the “epicenter” of terrorism and dismissed its crackdown on extremist groups as inadequate in the wake of last month’s attacks in Mumbai, they all but ruled out the prospect of a military confrontation.

Rather, Pranab Mukherjee, the Foreign Minister told members of Parliament that it would take time for India to turn off the tap of support for militant groups operating across the border, and that war was “no solution.”

“We shall have to patiently confront it,” he said. “We have no intention to be provoked.” His words signaled India’s delicate and somewhat circumscribed options. If it were to carry out even limited military strikes against Pakistan, it would be likely to lose the support of its allies, namely the United States, which fears that Pakistan would then divert troops from its western border with Afghanistan to its eastern one with India.

Second, India confronts a weak civilian government in Pakistan, which, as Indian officials have long acknowledged privately, has little muscle to counter the powerful military and spy agency. Complete story here

Bank of America : Cutting up to 36,000 jobs

2008-12-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

On thursday, Bank of America said that it plans to cut up to 36,000 jobs over the next 3 years as the financial giant adjusts to a recession and completes the pending acquisition of brokerage firm Merrill Lynch & Co.

This comes as the latest wave of mass layoffs in the troubled financial sector, which has been crippled by the credit crunch and the failure of large institutions such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc . More than 220,000 jobs already have been lost across the sector this year, according to labor-tracking firm Challenger Gray & Christmas and to reflect the current recessionary environment," the bank said in a statement. The weak economy "is affecting the level of business activity," it added.

Still, the bank said it continues to do business actively with all of its clients and has attracted deposits and new customers. It also stressed that it's still actively offering loans through all of its credit product lines.
Bank of America's reductions represent one of the largest rounds of layoffs in the history of the financial-services industry. Citigroup Inc. said last month that it plans to cut about 50,000 staff.

Challenger Gray said last week that the financial sector cut 91,356 jobs in November, the second-worst month for industry layoffs since September 2001. The news from Bank of America came the same day that the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of first-time filings for state unemployment benefits jumped by 11% to 573,000 last week -- marking the highest point for jobless claims in 26 years. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits rose by 338,000 to stand at 4.43 million. Full Article Read here

Britney's Circus Act Again Tops the Charts

2008-12-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

This is happening for the first time in the last five years, Britney Spears topped the Billboard 200. Her new album Circus sold more than half a million copies for the week ended Sunday.

This gives Spears the second biggest female bow of the year, topping debut weeks by Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Janet Jackson and Beyoncé and only trailing Taylor Swift. Once the final retail receipts are counted, the album should claim the seventh biggest bow of 2008.

Back in October, Britney set the stage for her comeback when "Womanizer" became her first Hot 100 chart-topper since "…Baby One More Time" a decade ago. "Womanizer" also set the record for the biggest digital sales debut by a female artist (286,000 copies) since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking downloads in 2003. Watch Full coverage

40th birthday for Computer Mouse

2008-12-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

This time computer mouse(three button) is celebrating its 40th anniversary today after first being unveiled by Douglas Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Conference (FJCC) in 1968.
The original mouse had two wheels set at right angles to each other and the computer plotted the distance each wheel moved. Then in 1972 Xerox PARC came up with a ball mouse, the design for which remained popular for decades.

Englebart developer the mouse while at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), one of the largest research institutes in the world. “Doug Engelbart once said, ‘the better we get, the better we get at getting better.’ That concept, combined with his creation of perhaps the most innovative interactive computing tools ever developed, has been a personal inspiration to me,” said Curt Carlson, Ph.D., SRI president.

“Doug and his team exemplified the disciplined approach to innovation used by SRI researchers today. By focusing on a very important problem, capturing the genius of the team, and continuously improving their tools, they accomplished a tour de force unlike any other in the field. Silicon Valley, the computing industry, and society are indebted to Doug and his team.”

The first mouse was made of wood and had a single button, a design copied by Apple until recently, and was used to highlight text on a written document. Complete history here..

Advanced YouTube : Less Sex, More Symphony

2008-12-02T22:40:00.000-08:00

YouTube announces this week promising less sex and more symphony. Youtube Symphony Orchestra will accomplish the latter, offering classical musicians worldwide a chance to perform in an "online orchestra" packed with some of the industry's biggest names. As for the former, a set of new standards will attempt to keep adult-oriented content away -- or at least make it slightly harder to find.

YouTube is inviting musicians from across the globe to send in demo tapes of themselves performing two songs -- "The Internet Symphony," a composition written by Chinese composer Tan Dun for the competition, and a second piece of their own choosing. The winning performers will work with Dun and San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael to prepare for a performance at Carnegie Hall -- which, of course, will be broadcast worldwide on YouTube. Pianist Lang Lang and members of the London Symphony Orchestra will help lead the rehearsals.

Entries are being accepted from now through January 28, 2009. Professional classical musicians from all over the world will help select semifinalists from their own regions. Then, an online vote will determine the final Symphony Orchestra members.

The winners will spend three days at a YouTube-sponsored classical music summit in New York, which will end with the Carnegie Hall performance. Read full article

Condoleezza Rice arrives India to ease tension

2008-12-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (Foreign Minister) has arrived in India on 02 Dec,2008 hoping to ease tensions between India and Pakistan after last week's attacks in Mumbai. She is to hold talks with India's prime minister and foreign minister. She is due in Pakistan on Thursday.

Earlier, unnamed US officials said the US had warned India about a possible threat a month before the attacks. The head of the US intelligence has also implied that Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Toiba was responsible. Islamabad has denied Indian allegations that the attackers, who killed almost 200 people, had Pakistani links.

Last week's attacks at multiple locations in Indian's financial capital, Mumbai, stunned the country with many describing it as India's 9/11. A senior state department official said Ms Rice would pressure the two neighbours to co-operate to fight terrorism. She has urged India and Pakistan to remain in contact and work together to find those behind the attack.

On Tuesday, a US official told the Associated Press that the Indian authorities had been told of an apparent plot to launch an attack on Mumbai from the sea. Mumbai police chief Hassan Gafoor later appeared to confirm the report by saying that there had been a known threat to at least some of the locations targeted, including the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Complete news here

Attack on Mumbai - Commandos storm Jewish center

2008-11-27T21:45:00.001-08:00

Gunfire erupted on Friday when commandos began an operation to free Israelis held by suspected Islamist gunmen in Mumbai, while guests were also being evacuated from a luxury hotel in India's financial heart, witnesses said.

Heavily armed Indian commandos, their faces covered by balaclavas, rappelled from helicopters onto the roof of a Jewish center in what television reports said was an assault by the paramilitary National Security Guard to flush out the militants. The Jewish center was one of three pockets in Mumbai where Indian forces were battling die-hard militants more than 24 hours after brazen, coordinated attacks killed at least 121 people.

A Reuters witness said troops fired into the Jewish center, apparently to provide cover, as commandos made at least three sorties and took up positions on the roof. The building is in a crowded part of the city, making a frontal assault difficult.

Not far away, another Reuters witness said hotel guests including foreigners were being evacuated from the besieged Trident-Oberoi Hotel, one of two luxury hotels where police said militants were still holed up with an unknown number of hostages. Read the full coverage here

Dating Disasters : Britney Spears Opens Up

2008-11-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

It's all work for everybody whether its US president and is no play for Britney Spears as she prepares for the release of her new album, Circus. "I feel like an old person now," she says in Rolling Stone's next issue, out Friday. "I do! I go to bed at, like, 9:30 every night, and I don't go out or anything."

And when she does find time to go on a date, Spears says the experience makes her wish she had just stayed home. "Right when we got there, we just knew it was just bad," Spears tells Rolling Stone of one recent bad date. "He looked like an older version of Harry Potter, but skinnier. … So I had to get dessert first.

"And the other date I had, the guy was really, really tall and a lot older. … We're trying to ask him questions, like, 'OK, you're into martial arts, so what kind of martial arts are you into?' And he was like, 'Oh, all kinds.' "

So instead of partying and dating, Spears is focusing on promoting Circus, which comes out Dec. 2 – her 27th birthday – with a live performance that day in New York City on Good Morning America. Her first single, "Womanizer," has been slowly climbing the charts, and Spears debuted the album’s title track Tuesday on Elvis Duran’s Z100 morning show in New York City. Click here for the complete article

Osama Bin Laden's driver sent Yemen to finish final sentence

2008-11-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

An ex-driver for Al-Qaida's head Osama bin Laden was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to his homeland of Yemen to serve out the remaining 32 days of his sentence, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Salim Hamdan, the first man to go before a U.S. war crimes trial since the end of World War II, was flown from the U.S. Navy base in Cuba to Yemen.

Hamdan was convicted on Aug. 6 of providing material support to terrorism, and the military said it could keep him locked up indefinitely if it considered him to be a continued threat. Instead, he was sent home early. A Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said the decision was made by the White House.

Hamdan was sentenced at the war-crimes trial to 5 1/2 years in prison. Being credited with five years and one month for time already served means his sentence ends on Dec. 27, according to the Pentagon. "As part of a transfer agreement with the United States, the remainder of Hamdan's sentence will be served in Yemen," the Defense Department said in a statement.

Hamdan's Pentagon-appointed attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer, told The Associated Press that he was surprised to learn the U.S. was transferring Hamdan to Yemen so soon. Read exact news here

Oil steady near 22 months low in Asia

2008-11-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

Oil prices were steady near 22-month lows Wednesday in Asia as investors paused to examine the extent of global economic weakness, which has sent crude down more than 60 percent in four months.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery was up 8 cents to $54.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract Tuesday fell 56 cents to settle at $54.39, the lowest since January 2007. "Market sentiment is still bearish, but not as bearish as a week ago," said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "Volatility has come down and the market is consolidating a bit."

Stock markets have served for the past few months as a barometer of investor perceptions about the health of the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8 percent Tuesday as Hewlett-Packard Co. said fourth quarter and 2009 results will exceed analyst expectations.

Most Asian stocks, however, fell Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index fell 0.7 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.5 percent and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 1.9 percent. Complete story here

Officially Japan's Economy in Recession

2008-11-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

Japan, the world's second-biggest economic nation, has fallen into recession, the government said Monday. The country's gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 0.4 percent from July to September, marking the second consecutive quarter of negative growth -- the technical definition of a recession. Japan's previous recession was in 2001, after the collapse of the dot-com bubble in the United States.

Japan's economy minister warned that the situation could worsen: Collapsing sales of Japanese goods in the United States and Europe amid the global downturn threaten to make the country's export-dependent economy even weaker in coming months.

"Downside risks to the economy are growing further, and Japan is in a very serious situation," Kaoru Yosano said at a news conference. Complete article here.

James Bond, Breaking Record, Topped Box Office

2008-11-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

James Bond brushed off some lackluster reviews to sell an estimated $70.4 million in tickets at North American theaters, setting an opening-weekend record for this 46-year-old film franchise.

“Quantum of Solace,” starring Daniel Craig as 007, arrived in the United States unusually late; MGM and Sony Pictures released it overseas in late October. The move may have contributed to strong domestic sales. By withholding the hotly anticipated picture from fans in the world’s largest movie market, the studios stoked an online frenzy.

The movie’s global cumulative gross through Sunday was $322 million, according to Sony. “It’s an extraordinary opening that speaks to how much audiences have embraced Daniel Craig as Bond,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s president for domestic distribution.

The stronger-than-anticipated opening is a relief to the two studios because of the picture’s outsize cost. The combined production and marketing budgets are estimated at about $400 million, although Sony places the number lower because of tax credits. MGM in particular was counting on a strong opening; a hit of this size helps shore up its financial footing. Read full story here

Read new public website of Obama

2008-11-10T22:31:00.001-08:00

Barack Obama had a formidable online presence during his quest for the White House, and he is once again turning to the Internet to communicate with the American public as president-elect.

Within 24 hours of last week's historic vote, his transition team rolled out change.gov, a Web site that promises to be "your source for the latest news, events and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration." The site is still a little thin on content, but there's a blog, a newsroom and a countdown to the January 20 inauguration.

Visitors can fill out a form to share their stories about what the election meant to them, or they can give their vision of an Obama presidency. They can even apply for a job. The Web site is an extension of Obama's online strategy during the campaign. As a candidate, he had four times as many friends as his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, on MySpace.com. Obama had almost 3 million supporters on Facebook and put together a massive database of e-mail addresses -- some 10 million. Obama even announced Sen. Joe Biden as his choice for vice president in a text message to supporters....Click to read full post

India wrap-up border-gavaskar triangular series, beat Australia

2008-11-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

India survived a valiant fightback from Australia to win a thrilling second Commonwealth Bank final by nine runs and claim the series 2-0.

Irfan Pathan took two wickets in the final over with Australia needing 13 to win in Brisbane, after a half-century from James Hopes had inspired the hosts' fightback. Chasing 259 after Sachin Tendulkar posted a classy 91, Australia struggled to recover from the loss of Adam Gilchrist, who scored two in his final international innings, and skipper Ricky Ponting for one.

Matthew Hayden (55) and the middle order provided some resistance to set up a nailbiting finish but the India bowlers skittled the tail to clinch victory. After his brilliant innings of 117 provided the platform for India's victory in Sydney, Tendulkar struck 91 before being superbly caught by Ricky Ponting off the bowling of Michael Clarke. Yuvraj Singh made a quickfire 38 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni 36, although the tourists would have been disappointed that they did not record a bigger score having been well set at 205 for three with just over 10 overs remaining.

Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat but India struggled to get going initially because of some tight bowling from the Australians. Having been dropped by Ricky Ponting early on, however, Tendulkar soon got into his stride by punching Stuart Clark through mid-on for four before clubbing another off the back foot through the same area. The 'Little Master' was beginning to look in the mood and lifted Mitchell Johnson over the slip cordon to the fence before repeating the dose with a straight drive in the left-arm seamer's following over. Tendulkar brought up a 70-ball half century with a single off Clark before steering another boundary off Johnson.....Read more here

Thousands protest gay-marriage ban in Los Angeles

2008-11-07T03:45:00.000-08:00

Outside the gates of a Mormon temple, Kai Cross joined more than 2,000 gay-rights advocates in a chorus of criticism of the church's role in a new statewide ban on same-sex marriage.

Once a devout Mormon who graduated from Brigham Young University, the 41-year-old Cross was disowned by his family and his church after he was outed as a gay man in 2001.

"They are on the losing side of history," Cross said Thursday of the church's opposition to gay marriage. Cross and other protesters blame leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for encouraging Mormons to funnel millions of dollars into television ads and mailings in favor of Proposition 8.

The ballot measure passed Tuesday, which was sponsored by a coalition of religious and social conservative groups, amends the California Constitution to define marriage as a heterosexual act. It overides a state Supreme Court ruling that briefly gave same-sex couples the right to wed.

The protest came amid questions about whether attempts to overturn the prohibition can succeed and whether the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California over the past four months are in any danger.

For Cody Krebs, 27, four months was not enough time to fulfill his "intense hope" to marry one day; he and his boyfriend have been together for little more than a year, so they aren't ready to wed.

On Thursday, Krebs dodged eggs hurled at protesters from an apartment building. He said he'd seen worse growing up in Salt Lake City.

"It's important to come out like this because it gets the gay community into the public eye," Krebs said. "I feel like this has started a lot of conversations that had to get started."

The demonstration began outside the temple in the Westwood section of Los Angeles and noisily spilled through the western side of the city, with chants of "Separate church and state" and "What do we want? Equal rights." Some protesters waved signs saying "No on H8" or "I didn't vote against your marriage," and many equated the issue with the civil rights struggle. Read more here

Illinois hopes 'Obama buzz' will boost tourism

2008-11-07T03:41:00.000-08:00

Tourism officials in Illinois say they expect a boost from Barack Obama's election, and they're doing what they can to capitalize on the Obama buzz.

A Chicago tourism Web site invites travel-planners to "experience the city the Obamas enjoy." The Illinois Bureau of Tourism plans to launch a three-day getaway featuring Obama sites. And in Springfield, tour guides at the Old State Capitol may get new scripts.

Catherine Williams volunteers as a Chicago Greeter for Chicago's tourism office. She leads walking tours and gets visitors as close to the Obamas' Hyde Park home as the Secret Service will allow.

A hand-lettered sign in one Chicago bookstore window congratulates "longtime customer" Obama. A nearby restaurant has sold 3,000 T-shirts that read "Obama Eats Here." For more click here