Be careful what you wish for in Egypt - Tom Switzer | ABC

Be careful what you wish for in Egypt - Tom Switzer | ABC: "“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,” wrote William Wordsworth of the fall of the Bastille, “But to be young was very heaven!”

For many Egyptians today, the street protests in Cairo and elsewhere perhaps hold a similar romance. But just as the French Revolution turned into the Jacobin Terror, so might the widespread unrest on the Arab Street lead to instability and bloodshed in Egypt and the broader Middle East.

Several observers - from liberal idealists on the Left to neo-conservatives on the Right - suggest it wrong and churlish to dismiss the wider significance of the week-long uprising to end Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule."

Is Qaddafi the next to go? - The Daily Beast

Is Qaddafi the next to go? - The Daily Beast: "Libya's neighbors are in turmoil. To the west is Tunisia. To the east is Egypt.
And with Libya's immediate neighbors convulsed by public protests over the brutality and kleptocracy of their ruling familes, a newly leaked cable from the U.S. Embassy in Libya suggests that strongman Muammar Qaddafi has created a decadent, money-hungry family dynasty that could find itself the target of the next Arab revolution in the streets.
The latest batch of American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks includes a secret message to Washington last February from U.S. Ambassador Gene A. Cretz, who wrote that Qaddafi's family—notably, two of his especially wayward sons—had 'provided enough dirt for a Libyan soap opera' and could endanger the country's stability."

Egypt's protests continue | Al Jazeera Live blog

Egypt's protests continue | Al Jazeera Live blog: "4:27pm Malley adds that a government led by the Muslim Brotherhood would clearly would be a 'major challenge' but would also somewhat vindicate the stance of Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been saying that a security regime in a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians would need to be onerous.

3:38pm The sheikh of Al Azhar University, a prominent cleric, tells protesters that shedding blood is prohibited under Islamic law and says that the Egyptian people have credible demands."

Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi in ODI captaincy race | Cricinfo

Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi in ODI captaincy race | Cricinfo: "Pakistan are likely to announce a captain for the World Cup within the next few days, possibly even before the fourth ODI of the current series against New Zealand scheduled for February 1. Indications, for the moment, lean towards the Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq taking over from Shahid Afridi, the current ODI skipper, for cricket's showpiece event. But the situation remains fluid and Misbah's chances were far greater a few days ago; a comfortable win over New Zealand on Saturday, with a starring role from Afridi, will no doubt impact on the final decision."

Firesheep: Lets You Hack Into Twitter, Facebook Accounts Easily

Firesheep: Lets You Hack Into Twitter, Facebook Accounts Easily: "Developer Eric Butler has exposed the soft underbelly of the web with his new Firefox extension, Firesheep, which will let you essentially eavesdrop on any open Wi-Fi network and capture users’ cookies.

As Butler explains in his post, “As soon as anyone on the network visits an insecure website known to Firesheep, their name and photo will be displayed” in the window. All you have to do is double click on their name and open sesame, you will be able to log into that user’s site with their credentials."

Facebook Beefs Up Security With Social Captchas and All HTTPS, All The Time

Facebook Beefs Up Security: "Facebook is introducing two new measures to beef up security: expanding HTTPS connections as an all-the-time option and using social captchas to authenticate users who have lost passwords.

More on Social Captchas

Social networking: Alone Together | The Observer

Social networking: Alone Together | The Observer: "The way in which people frantically communicate online via Twitter, Facebook and instant messaging can be seen as a form of modern madness, according to a leading American sociologist.

'A behaviour that has become typical may still express the problems that once caused us to see it as pathological,' MIT professor Sherry Turkle writes in her new book, Alone Together, which is leading an attack on the information age.

Turkle's book, published in the UK next month, has caused a sensation in America, which is usually more obsessed with the merits of social networking. She appeared last week on Stephen Colbert's late-night comedy show, The Colbert Report. When Turkle said she had been at funerals where people checked their iPhones, Colbert quipped: 'We all say goodbye in our own way.'"

Adani, Reddy Lead India's Billionaires in $15 Billion Indonesia Expansion - Bloomberg

Adani, Reddy Lead India's Billionaires in $15 Billion Indonesia Expansion - Bloomberg: "Indian companies led by billionaires Gautam Adani and G.V. Krishna Reddy signed accords worth $15 billion for projects including airports, steel plants, ports and railroads in Indonesia.

A GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd.-led venture will spend as much as $4 billion to build two airports in Indonesia and Adani Group signed a deal to build a railway and port worth about $1.8 billion, the companies said separately yesterday. Indian companies including Tata Power Ltd. signed 18 agreements with Indonesia, according to a government statement.

Yudhoyono said India and Indonesia have pledged to double bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2015 from the current level of about $12 billion.

This is Yudhoyono’s first state visit to India since 2005 when the countries announced a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing trade and political ties. He will be the chief guest at Republic Day celebrations today."

Egypt Opposition Calls for Renewed Protests | VOA

Egypt Opposition Calls for Renewed Protests | VOA: "An Egyptian opposition group has called for a second day of protests in Cairo, just hours after police fired tear gas and beat anti-government protesters to clear a central square in the city.

The 6th of April Youth Movement used its Facebook page to urge protesters to continue Wednesday, after the largest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's decades-old rule.

Egypt's Interior Ministry said Wednesday no new demonstrations would be allowed, and warned that protesters would be prosecuted."

Egypt Stocks Fall Most Since May After Protests Against Mubarak - Businessweek

Egypt Stocks Fall Most Since May After Protests Against Mubarak - Businessweek: "Egyptian stocks tumbled the most since May after thousands took to the streets of Cairo and other cities yesterday in protests against the government of President Hosni Mubarak.

The benchmark EGX30 index fell 4 percent, the most since May 25, to 6,455.07 at 10:33 a.m. in Cairo, extending its decline this year to 9.6 percent. Egypt’s market was shut for a holiday yesterday.

The protests, rare in their size in Egypt, were inspired by a popular revolt that forced Tunisia’s President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile on Jan. 14. A policeman and two protesters died in clashes yesterday, state-run Nile TV reported, citing an unnamed interior ministry official."

Tunisia: Ali Baba gone, but what about the 40 thieves? | The Economist

Tunisia: Ali Baba gone, but what about the 40 thieves? | The Economist: "It cannot quite be termed a revolution, at least yet. The main instruments of control for the past 50 years, the police and the ever-ruling RCD party (a French abbreviation of Constitutional Democratic Rally) are battered and wobbly but still standing. They face no strong, cohesive opposition, no charismatic leader waiting in the wings, armed with a mission or an ideology. Yet with 78 civilians dead by official count and with street protests continuing into a sixth week, it is certainly bigger than a revolt.

Everyone knows what started it: the self-immolation on December 17th of a despairing, jobless youth named Muhammad Bouazizi in the main square of Sidi Bouzid, a town in Tunisia’s hardscrabble interior. Yet there is a fierce dispute about what has sustained the revolt, encouraging furious protesters to the streets of prosperous coastal cities, galvanising near-moribund trade unions and opposition groups into action, and bringing about the dramatic scuttle into exile on January 14th of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, president for the past 23 years."

Indigo promoters will launch Agera supercar

Indigo promoters will launch Agera supercar: "Swedish super sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB has joined hands with Rahul Bhatia-promoted InterGlobe Enterprises to launch a range of high-end, high-performance models in India.

Koenigsegg, known for its big engines, unfamiliar designs and styling under its own brand, will launch the Agera, which carries a sticker price of Rs 9.6-10 crore, next month in Hyderabad.

The supercar maker’s ride into India will be managed by Delhi-based InterGlobe Enterprise, which also promotes low-cost carrier IndiGo under the InterGlobe Aviation banner. An announcement to this effect is expected next month, said industry sources."

TCS now second in terms of market-cap

TCS now second in terms of market-cap: "Driven by smart December quarter earnings, IT major Tata Consultancy Services has become the country's second largest firm in terms of market valuation, lagging behind corporate leader Reliance Industries.
TCS, which was the top gainer among the country's 10 most valuable companies in the last week, saw its valuation surging by Rs 18,378.11 crore to Rs 2,37,330 crore in the week.

State-run ONGC slipped to the third position after its valuation dipped by Rs 15,763.47 crore -- the most among top 10 companies -- to Rs 2,36,355.83 crore during the week."

Skype add-on for Firefox caused 33K crashes in one week | ZDNet

Skype add-on for Firefox caused 33K crashes in one week | ZDNet: "Mozilla has announced that it will pull the plug on the Skype add-on toolbar for Firefox and remotely disable it following a spate of crashes and performance issues.
After spending almost two weeks trying to contact someone at Skype who might be able to fix the problem, Justin Scott of the Mozilla add-ons team decided it was time to pull the plug on the add-on."

HTML editor dumps 'HTML5' for HTML - ZDNet

HTML editor dumps 'HTML5' for HTML - ZDNet: "The editor of the Hypertext Markup Language standard has dumped the term 'HTML 5', just two days after the World Wide Web Consortium debuted a flashy new HTML 5 badge. HTML 5 now HTML says WHATWG

'HTML is the new HTML 5,' Ian Hickson, of the Web Hypertext Application Working Group (WHATWG), said in a blog post on Wednesday."

Nepal Takes Command of Former Maoist Fighters - NYTimes.com

Nepal Takes Command of Former Maoist Fighters - NYTimes.com: "In a major step forward in Nepal’s tortured peace process, Maoist political leaders on Saturday formally relinquished control of their 19,000-member army to a special governmental committee.

At a ceremony held about 110 miles from the capital, Katmandu, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) signed a statement with the country’s caretaker interim prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal. Then the prime minister raised the national flag over a gathering of former Maoist fighters."

Dhobi Ghat - Reminiscences of My Life

Yesterday I saw Dhobi Ghat & to be very honest I did not like it very much. Actually I was expecting more from an Aamir Khan's movie. Anyways I found many interesting things in the movie which are somehow related to me.
I will at first introduce the characters of the movie with a few information which I searched about them on the net.

Monica Dogra: A real nice face. Her name in the movie is Shai & I never in the movie found her 'shy' :P


The video below is the complete introduction of Monica Dogra and her character Shai.

Prateek Babbar: He is the son of late Smita Patil (actress) and Raj Babbar. If you people do not know either Smita Patil & Raj Babbar then I will ask you to watch the famous song...

Prateek Babbar has played Munna from Bhagalpur, Bihar. Though he has played an illiterate in the movie, he once uttered "I mean..." hahaha while talking to 'Shai'.
And again if you people till now have not recalled where you have seen him before them I will tell you to go and watch "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na" again. He had played the role of Genelia's brother in that movie.
Here is his video introduction...

Other than Aamir Khan & the above mentioned two characters, there was Kriti Malhotra who played a significant role in the movie. Though she was shown through her videos in the movie, her role has a strong effect.
Kriti was part of the first edition of MTV Roadies. She plays a married Muslim woman, Yasmin.








Dhobi Ghat - Reminiscences of My Life...


The character of Munna somewhat reminds me of a childhood friend of mine who has always wanted to be a model, though he ended up becoming a software professional and is now studying management in Sydney. He used to have a strict diet routine. He still runs to keep his body in shape. He had his portfolio made to get a few modelling offers. However he did not got even a chaddi-banyan's assignment :D He too, like Munna, had many one-sided (from his side) girl-friends :P
He is a very nice friend of mine, my "langotiya yaar".


The character of 'Shai' reminds me of another "langotiya yaar" of mine. This friend is a male, unlike 'Shai :(
I have always thought of him a very creative, very unlike us. He is an avid photographer. He takes such beautiful snaps that I really believe sometimes that he fakes. But he never. He is truly talented. He was a national level badminton player during the school days. He was a karate champ too, some blue-green-orange belt holder. Sometime later I will post his numerous photo albums in my post (with his permission as he mentions 'copyright' in all his pics :D).


If you have seen the movie then you would have noticed that Aamir uses a single coffee mug every time. That takes me back to my own coffee mug that I have been using for the last 8 years.

  


My college friends would easily recall this cup :P


When in the movie, Munna & Shai roams around in the bustling Mohammed Ali Road during Ramzan, it reminds me of my only 'celebrated' Eid in Bangalore. On that Eid night, I roamed through the crowded streets of Shivaji Nagar. It was very similar to the street shown in the movie. The streets were full of people buying, bargaining for Sawai, Ittr (perfume), Kurta, Chudee (bangles) and other things. I really savored that night.


In this movie, Munna kills rat to earn money. This too reminds me of an incident, actually two. First, there was a big rat in our last home and we had a difficult time with it. It used to damage each and everything. It used to eat openly kept tomatoes and other vegetables. It used to tear through our clothes and bags too. Then one day we planned to eliminate it and it was I who did the act :D I killed it with the help of our cricket bat. It was an act of vengeance!! [Animal Rights people please keep away from it. It was our personal matter.]
The second incident that I recalled had happened during my college days. I used to get scared, and still, of spiders. We were then studying in Kerala and were staying in a forest-kind-of place. We used to frequently come across snakes, weird insects & irritating 'jhadi' (bushes). That day I saw a very very big spider near to the dining table. I was very frightened. Then as usual, I called Dada, my roomie. He was a very daring-baaz person. He killed that bloody insect with his slipper in 1 shot!! Wow...the stain on the wall was there was for ages.


Prateek Babbar 'Munna' as a character reminds me of Anurag Sinha of "Black & White" film. I suppose these two actors, along with Imaad Shah of "Dil Dosti Etc", are very talented and are the future of 'acting' in India.


.................
You can find nice Dhobi Ghat posters / pics here...


Another nice review here...

The great Indian robbery : India Today

The great Indian robbery : India Today: "At least $500 billion, or Rs 22.5 lakh crore, has been spirited out of India illegally to foreign bank accounts over the six decades since Independence. This is the key finding of a comprehensive study on the Drivers and Dynamics of Illicit Financial Flows from India: 1948-2008 conducted by the US-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI). This staggering sum amounts to almost half of India's $1.3-trillion GDP and is parked in accounts across exotic locales such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. The identities of the owners of this loot are unknown, as of now. But the sanctuary of ignorance has begun, at long last, to crumble."

Twitter topples Tunisia?

Twitter topples Tunisia?: "Tunisia's Twitter Revolution was different in one very important way: activists used Twitter to help protesters navigate the on-the-ground tumult, warning of sniper locations, for example. One man even tweeted that Twitter saved his life. Then Friday, Ali Larayedh, leader of Tunisia's once-outlawed opposition Islamist party, told The New York Times, 'None of us expected the Ben Ali government to go down as fast as [a text] message.'"

Six of the bets | Business Standard

Six of the bets | Business Standard: "They are not familiar names yet, but they may soon be. J Jagannath and Nilanjana S Roy identify six under-the-radar writers to watch at the Jaipur Literature Festival"

Politics in Malaysia: Najib in overdrive | The Economist

Politics in Malaysia: Najib in overdrive | The Economist: "Mr Najib says the ETP is starting the year “with a bang by switching into overdrive”, part of a wider modernisation to win the Malaysian economy rich-world status by 2020. Yet the rush also looks part of a very different strategy: to win a general election which the prime minister may call this year, perhaps as early as in the spring, despite not having to go to the polls until 2013."

Saurabh Tiwary is brand ambassador of JPL

Saurabh Tiwary is brand ambassador of JPL: "Saurabh Tiwary has beenmade the brand ambassador of the Jharkhand Premier League(JPL), an 8-day tournament beginning March 12.

Jharkhand thus becomes the second state after Karnataka to host a state T20 league.

'The JPL will be organised jointly by Jharkhand State Cricket Association and Elite Sports Management (ESM). The BCCI has permitted for the franchise bidding and taking 100 players as marque,' ESM director, Nishant Dayal, told reporters here."

Google to Launch Groupon Competitor

Google to Launch Groupon Competitor: "Google is preparing to launch Google Offers, the search giant’s Groupon competitor, Mashable has learned. Mashable has the documents to prove it.

Google Offers looks and operates much like Groupon or LivingSocial. Users receive an e-mail with a local deal-of-the-day. They then have the opportunity to buy that deal within a specific time limit (we assume 24 hours). Once enough people have made the purchase, the Google Offer is triggered and users get that all-too-familiar $10 for $20 deal for that Indian restaurant you’ve never tried."

ALERT!!! Twitter worm hits goo.gl, redirects to fake anti-virus | ZDNet

ALERT!!! Twitter worm hits goo.gl, redirects to fake anti-virus | ZDNet: "A fast-moving Twitter worm is in circulation, using Google’s goo.gl redirection service to push unsuspecting users to a notorious scareware (fake anti-virus) malware campaign.

At 8:45 a.m EST today, this Twitter search shows thousands of Twitter messages continuing to spread the worm."

Playboobs on the iPad | ZDNet

Playboobs on the iPad | ZDNet: "Typical. Steve Jobs takes his liver on vacation and all hell breaks loose.

The Apple CEO and notorious sex-positive advocate is famous for saying that there will never ever be any porn in the Apple App Store ever, and that people who want that kind of sicko thing can just put on their raincoats and go to the adult bookstore where they sell Androids.

Except this morning, we woke to media fap-fap-fapping away about Playboy CEO and notorious prude Hugh Hefner Tweeting that, yes Dorothy, there will be Playboobs on the iPad.

An uncensored app? Has the world gone mad?"

Quora content quality quelled by its own constituents | ZDNet

Quora content quality quelled by its own constituents | ZDNet: "While the freedom to say what you want when you want it as quickly as you want is one of the famed beauties of communities built by today’s social network environments, it is also its cancerous bane. The line between meaningful engagement/resourceful conversation and everyone’s apparent built-in desire to market the living hell out of themselves without evaluating their own value as a contributor, is as blurry as your longest evening at the local pub."

List of fictional countries - Wikipedia

List of fictional countries - Wikipedia: "This is a list of fictional countries from published works of fiction (books, films, television series, etc.). Fictional works describe all the countries in the following list as located somewhere on the surface of the Earth as we know it — as opposed to inside the planet, on another world, or during a different 'age' of the planet with a different physical geography."

Jaipur Lit Fest Organizers Pick Top Books - WSJ

Jaipur Lit Fest Organizers Pick Top Books - WSJ: "When deciding on whom to invite to the Jaipur Literature Festival, William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale, founders and directors of the event, naturally start from the prime ingredient: books.
Ms. Gokhale and Mr. Dalrymple to pick out their top five books in their categories of expertise."

India, largely a country of immigrant :The Hindu

India, largely a country of immigrant :The Hindu: "If North America is predominantly made up of new immigrants, India is largely a country of old immigrants, which explains its tremendous diversity. It follows that tolerance and equal respect for all communities and sects are an absolute imperative if we wish to keep India united. If it was believed at one time that Dravidians were the original inhabitants of India, that view has since been considerably modified. Now the generally accepted belief is that the pre-Dravidian aborigines, that is, the ancestors of the present tribals or Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes), were the original inhabitants."

Afghan peace plan: Taliban likely to be invited to OIC summit

Afghan peace plan: Taliban likely to be invited to OIC summit: "In an effort to find a negotiated settlement to the Afghan imbroglio, the Taliban leadership is likely to be invited as observers to an Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit meeting scheduled in March in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh had taken the initiative after US President Barack Obama requested King Abdullah during his visit to Washington in June 2010 to play a role for reconciliation with the Taliban. The Obama administration supports Saudi mediation because both the US and Saudi Arabia see growing Iranian influence in Afghanistan with concern."

India news: BCCI denied customs duty exemption by government | Cricinfo

India news: BCCI denied customs duty exemption by government | Cricinfo: "The BCCI has been denied customs duty exemption on imports by the government of India, in the first direct consequence of its de-recognition as a national sports body.

A government circular from the Ministry of Finance on Monday states that the goods imported by the BCCI or certified as import 'are not entitled to any exemption benefit' which is usually available on 'sports goods / equipment / consumables' that are imported by national sports federations."

Bihar to get its own anthem: India Today

Bihar to get its own anthem: India Today: "The people of Bihar will soon have an anthem they could call their own. The state's remarkable turnaround in the past five years has spurred the Nitish Kumar government to propose that such a song be composed.

The state's human resource department has placed an open advertisement inviting entries for Bihar Geet. Anyone from the country or elsewhere can send in entries and the winner will receive a cash award of Rs 1 lakh."

Israel tested virus linked to Iran atom woes

Israel tested virus linked to Iran atom woes: "Intelligence services of Israel and the United States collaborated in developing a computer virus that reportedly sabotaged Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and slowed its ability to develop an atomic weapon, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
The newspaper reported that Israel has tested the effectiveness of Stuxnet worm at its nuclear facility in Dimona complex in the Negev desert before releasing it."

Paulo Coehlo Banned in Iran - Newsweek

Paulo Coehlo Banned in Iran - Newsweek: "This week the Iranian government reportedly banned all works by Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian mystic and author of international bestsellers such as The Alchemist, The Diary of a Magus, and Veronika Decides to Die."

Tunisia Riots: The Youth Revolution - Newsweek

Tunisia Riots: The Youth Revolution - Newsweek: "He was the minor dictator of a minor nation in North Africa that’s best known for exporting workers and courting low-rent tourists. But when Tunisia’s President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali fled his country on Friday after more than 23 years with a ruthless grip on power, the Arab world was swept by the kind of excitement that augurs epochal change.
From Morocco to Egypt to Jordan and beyond, the news racing across the Internet and on cell phones hit these long-oppressed societies the way word of the fall of the Berlin Wall impacted the shaky dictatorships of the decrepit Soviet Empire in 1989."

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protesters claim victory | The Guardian

Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protesters claim victory | The Guardian: "Tunisia's president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has fled his country after weeks of mass protests culminated in a victory for people power over one of the Arab world's most repressive regimes.

Ben Ali had taken refuge in Saudi Arabia, at the end of an extraordinary day which had seen the declaration of a state of emergency, the evacuation of tourists of British and other nationalities, and an earthquake for the authoritarian politics of the Middle East and north Africa."

Bajaj to drop its name

Bajaj to drop its name: "Come April, Rajiv Bajaj will remove the family name from the group flagship company’s products, showrooms and service centers.
In just three months from now, ‘Hamara Bajaj’ could become ‘Hamara Pulsar’ or ‘Hamara Discover’. And the man presiding over this mega transition will be none other than a Bajaj himself – Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj."

IPL 2011: Rajasthan pick four as franchises focus on Ranji final

IPL 2011: Rajasthan pick four as franchises focus on Ranji final: "Rajasthan Royals have picked four players from the Rajasthan Ranji squad as a part of their uncapped basket. Aakash Chopra is the most prominent name among the pickings with the other three being middle-order batsman Ashok Menaria, seamer Deepak Chahar and wicketkeeper Dishant Harendra Yagnik."

Klout raised a surprisingly large $8.5 million

Klout raised a surprisingly large $8.5 million: "Klout, the funding round was pretty significant. In raising a surprisingly large $8.5 million, the company was singling its decision not to take a flip and to try to build a big company out of measuring influence online. For Klout founder and CEO Joe Fernandez, it’s a human version of page rank and the opportunity can be just as big."

Lionel Messi wins FIFA world player award

Lionel Messi wins FIFA world player award: "From there it was on to the moment everyone had been waiting for: the announcement of the winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2010. The lights dimmed once more as the audience was treated to a video featuring just some of the magic moments that candidates Andres Iniesta (ESP), Lionel Messi (ARG) and Xavi Hernandez (ESP) served up last year. As the tension rose in the auditorium, Moriniere and Blatter joined forces to read out the winner’s name, presenting the coveted prize to a suitably grateful Lionel Messi."

IPL: Gilchrist to captain Kings XI Punjab

IPL: Gilchrist to captain Kings XI Punjab: "Adam Gilchrist, the former Australia wicketkeeper, will be the captain of Kings XI Punjab for the fourth season of the IPL, the Punjab coach Michael Bevan has said. Bevan said Punjab bought Gilchrist, who led Hyderabad to the trophy in the IPL's second season, specifically for his leadership skills. Gilchrist was bought on the first day of the auction for $900,000."

Arsenal had showed keen interest in Subrata Paul last summer

Arsenal had showed keen interest in Subrata Paul last summer: "Arsène Wenger is thought to have made a £1 million pound move for Pune FC goalkeeper Subrata Pal.

Arsenal are in the hunt for a new No.1 after Manuel Almunia & Lukasz Fabianski's continuous mistakes, and Subrata Pal may be the one to finally add some stability between the sticks."

Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya, Vaas out of World Cup squad | Cricinfo

Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya, Vaas out of World Cup squad | Cricinfo: "World Cup-winning veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were left out of Sri Lanka's final World Cup squad of 15 players named on Friday by the national selection committee headed by Aravinda de Silva."

My Name is Khan has made it to the Oscars - Hindustan Times

My Name is Khan has made it to the Oscars - Hindustan Times: "It may not have done too well in India, but My Name Is Khan became very popular abroad and just how popular? The film has been declared eligible for the best known film awards across the globe - the Academy awards."

GDP projections from PwC: how China, India and Brazil will overtake the West by 2050 | Guardian

GDP projections from PwC: how China, India and Brazil will overtake the West by 2050 | Guardian: "What will the world look like in 2050? For a number of years, the economists at PwC have been charting the rise of the big emerging countries and seeking to calculate the moment when the G7 industrial nations will be surpassed by an E7 (E for Emerging) of China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey."

Tehelka - Swami Aseemanand’s chilling confession

Tehelka - Swami Aseemanand’s chilling confession: "Swami Aseemanand’s chilling confession is the first legal evidence of RSS pracharaks’ involvement in the Samjhauta Express and 2006 Malegaon blasts. ASHISH KHETAN scoops the 42-page document that reveals a frightening story of hate and deliberate mayhem"

Starbucks cuts name, "coffee" from logo; stirs ire

Starbucks cuts name, "coffee" from logo; stirs ire: "'I have been a big supporter of (Starbucks) since the early days, taken expensive rides in taxis to get my morning coffee, even waded through two feet of snow in my business suit ... but I do not see the logic of your Business Development folks for the removal of the Starbucks name.'"

IPL 4 will be 10-team, 74-match affair, Times of India

IPL 4 will be 10-team, 74-match affair, Times of India: "With Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab being cleared to take part in the January 8-9 Indian Premier League players' auction in Bangalore by the Bombay High Court, the fourth season of the cash-rich Twenty20 league in April-May will be a 10-team event."

Bihar more happening tourist spot than Goa? - The Times of India

Bihar more happening tourist spot than Goa? - The Times of India: "Celebrated as the party destination in India, Goa appears to have lost its 'happening' tag to the humble Bihar. Data collected by the Union tourism ministry appears to indicate that Bihar attracted a larger number of foreign tourists in 2009 than Goa."

Sudan's al-Bashir vows to accept referendum outcome - CNN.com

Sudan's al-Bashir vows to accept referendum outcome - CNN.com: "Sunday's vote could establish the world's newest country or potentially trigger a renewed civil war in the region. The vote was part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended two decades of violence between Sudan's north and oil-rich south that left 2 million people dead, many from disease and starvation."