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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

One radiation exposure patient dies in New Delhi

New Delhi- A 35-year-old man died in a local hospital late Monday, 19 days after he was exposed to radioactive material in a scrap market in New Delhi. Doctors have said the patient suffered from a multi-organ failure.

Doctors at the premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital said another patient, Ram Kalap, who was also exposed to radiation, was in a critical condition.

Rajender Prasad, who was exposed to Cobalt 60 at a scrap dealer shop in the crowded industrial area of Mayapuri in west Delhi and admitted to AIIMS on April 8, died around 9.30 pm local on Monday after multiple organ failure, doctors said..

"His condition had deteriorated and his platelet count had dropped drastically. He had developed pneumonia and liver functions impairment. He was on ventilator and was being administered multiple drugs,” attending doctors said.

According to doctors, Kalap is critical and his blood counts have reduced significantly. He has been put on prophylactic antibiotic and anti-fungal agents.

Six people were admitted at AIIMS with radiation exposure. One was discharged on April 20. Three other patients continue to have low blood count but are "stable", the doctor said.

Deepak Jain, a scrap metal dealer from Mayapuri, was the first victim. He turned black after he touched the radioactive source. He had a considerably suppressed bone marrow and is hospitalized at the Indraprastha Apollo hospital.

Ajay Jain, another scrap metal dealer from Mayapuri, was admitted to Max Hospital in Pitampura on April 10. He suffered minor burns and was declared radiation free by the hospital authorities. His condition is being monitored.

Ten sources of Cobalt-60 had been found in the Mayapuri scrap market earlier this month.

Cobalt-60 is a radioactive isotope of cobalt, which is a hard, lustrous, grey metal. It is used in cancer therapy machines and other medical equipment.

Indian scientists last week had cordoned off part of an industrial area in New Delhi and started investigations after a radiation leak from a scrap shop.

The people came in contact with a "bright shining object" at the shop in the Mayapuri industrial area in western New Delhi.

"A team of experts has already identified the source of radiation, removed it and sent it for further investigations," senior district police official Sharad Agarwal had told reporters last week.

Scientists from the Crisis Management Group of the Department of Atomic Energy and Atomic Energy Regulation Board were surveying the extent of radiation in the area.

They confirmed the radioactive emissions were coming from the scrap. They also sealed off the area within a kilometre and conducted tests to check if there was any other source of radiation in the area.

"The experts have identified the material as Cobalt-60. They have identified six sources of Cobalt-60 from the scrap shop," B B Bhattacharya, member of National Disaster Management Authority.

Meanwhile, a top Indian nuclear scientist has advocated that police should be trained to take necessary actions in case radioactivity is detected.

Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has been quoted by PTI news agency as saying: “After any kind of explosion, police teams going to the spot should be armed with radiation monitors. If radioactivity is detected then the place has to be cordoned off and the authorities of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) should be called. ”

The former chairman further said since nuclear and radiation technologies are improving in India, there is a need to secure malevolent use of these materials and technologies by terror outfits.

Kakodkar also said the police should not create a panic situation. “Several times we have seen police holding press conferences to announce the seizure of huge quantities of uranium. But such uranium is not at all harmful,” he said.

End it srinath
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BJP moves privilege motion against PM

Fifty BJP MPs on Tuesday tabled a breach of privilege notice in Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing outside Parliament his decision to reject setting up of a joint parliamentary committee on the issue of alleged phone tapping.

The MPs submitted the petition to Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary.

Their action comes close on the heels of Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj objecting to the Prime Minister's announcement on the issue.

"This is disrespect to the House. The Prime Minister should give a statement in the House on the issue," she said in Lok Sabha.

She insisted this was a serious matter as phones of even cabinet ministers were allegedly tapped. BJP has also demanded a JPC into the IPL controversy.
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US Republicans block debate of finance rules reform

US Republican senators have blocked moves to start debating a bill to introduce the most significant reforms to financial regulations for 60 years.

Needing 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to begin debating the bill, Democratic leaders fell three votes short.

Democratic Senator Ben Nelson joined 39 Republicans in voting against it.

Republicans say the bill does not go far enough in its reforms, while Democrats say their opponents want to protect wealthy corporate interests.

Both parties say they expect the overhaul will eventually be approved.

Correspondents say that with Wall Street reeling from a fraud case against Goldman Sachs they are eager to act before November's Congressional elections.

Goldman executives are due to appear before a Senate committee later. On Monday, the committee said the bank had made billions of dollars at its clients' expense during the housing market collapse.

'Obstruction'

Minutes after Monday's procedural vote, President Barack Obama said he was "deeply disappointed" that Republicans had rejected a debate and urged senators to put the interests of country ahead of party.

"Some of these senators may believe that this obstruction is a good political strategy, and others may see delay as an opportunity to take this debate behind closed doors, where financial industry lobbyists can water down reform or kill it altogether," he said.

"But the American people can't afford that."

It is likely that the Democrats will try again later this week to push through a debate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid switched his vote to "no" at the end - a manoeuvre that will enable him to call for a new vote as early as Tuesday.

"The only thing Republicans stand for is standing together," he said.

The Democratic dissenter, Sen Nelson, said his vote reflected concerns about the bill from businessmen in his home state.

Nebraska-based billionaire Warren Buffett has reportedly been lobbying to exempt existing derivatives from new regulations.

Analysts say that with neither side appearing to be willing to compromise over the shape of the bill, further delays look likely.

Last-minute talks had already taken place to try to reach a compromise before the vote.

But Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell had urged his side to stand firm.

"All of us want to deliver a reform that will tighten the screws on Wall Street. But we're not going to be rushed on another massive bill based on the assurances of our friends on the other side," he said.

Democrats and their two independent allies control 59 Senate seats, but had needed at least one Republican vote to overcome delaying tactics.

The bill's supporters say it would tackle financial institutions that are "too big to fail", putting in place a framework that would mean taxpayers do not fund any future bailouts.

Among the bill's proposals are changes to the derivatives market and tougher legislation to protect consumers.

Mr Obama has made reining in Wall Street a cornerstone of his presidency.

In a speech last week to the financial community, he attacked the army of lobbyists in Washington employed by banks to oppose his changes.

A poll published in the Washington Post on Monday suggests two-thirds of Americans support stricter financial regulations.

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BlackBerry unveils new Bold and Pearl smartphones

Toronto, April 27 (IANS) BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) Monday launched another smartphone – called BlackBerry Bold 9650 – to add another device to its premier Bold brand.

The company also unveiled the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G, its smallest smartphone yet.

“The new BlackBerry Bold 9650 is an extraordinary smartphone that we think customers will love,’ said RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis. “Whether at work or at play, the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 offers a truly impressive communications, multimedia and connectivity experience,’ he said at the launch of the latest smartphones.

About the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G, he said, “The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is unlike any other smartphone in the world and we expect a broad range of new and existing customers will be drawn to its powerful features and compact design.’

Beside a keyboard, optical trackpad and built-in Wi-Fi, the new smartphone also allows users to talk on the phone while browsing the web or sending and receiving email.

Loaded with 512 MB Flash memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB microSDHC cards, the BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone supports 3G networks.

Built in stylish design with glossy black finish and chrome highlights, the new device features large high-resolution display which allows pictures, videos and web pages with great contrast and detail, the RIM statement said.

Apart from a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, zoom, image stabilization, autofocus and video recording, the new BlackBerry Bold also features advanced media player for videos, pictures and music, a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for Bluetooth.

The new BlackBerry Pearl 3G measures less than two inches wide and weighs only 93g. It also features an optical trackpad for smooth navigation, a 3.2 MP camera with flash for quality pictures, and support for up to 32 GB of personal content.

Both the new devices will support mobile applications built by third parties for RIM and carry built-in GPS with support for geo-tagging, BlackBerry Maps and other mapping applications.

“The BlackBerry Bold 9650 fuses form and function in a striking design and, in addition to providing premium phone and multimedia features, it of course delivers the industry’s leading mobile solution for email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and social networking,’ the company said in its statement.

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Monday, April 26, 2010

I was misquoted on anti-Sikh riots: Gadkari

Nagpur: BJP President Nitin Gadkari on Monday said he has not given any clean chit to the Congress in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"I have not said any such thing and I have been quoted out of context," he said here.

Gadkari was reacting to a radio report in which he was quoted as sayig that some people might be involved in those riots (anti-Sikh riots) but it would not be entirely correct to say that the riots were initiated by the (Congress) government.

"My statement was totally misinterpreted. The reference was to riots in Gujarat where Chief Minister Narendra Modi was being blamed and held responsible," he said.

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Chidambaram denies authorising phone tapping

New Delhi: The Government on Monday "categorically" denied it had authorised the tapping of phones of key political leaders.

Amid a furore over the issue in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government had investigated the matter but found "nothing to substantiate" the allegations reported in a weekly magazine last week.

"I wish to state categorically that no telephone tapping or eavesdropping of political leaders was authorised by the previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government. Nor has the present UPA government authorised any such activity. After the issue of the magazine was available late Friday, the allegations in the story were thoroughly inquired into. Nothing has been found in the records to substantiate the allegations," Chidambaram said in the house.

Newsmagazine Outlook in a report had said that the government was tapping the telephones of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

However, the home minister's statement did not satisfy the protesting MPs led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Chidambaram's statement came after opposition MPs demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue.

Amid an uproar that made the home minister barely audible, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 2 pm. This was the second disruption of the house on Monday.

Earlier the opposition MPs stalled the Lok Sabha over the matter soon after the house reassembled after the weekend.

Manmohan Singh is likely to speak over the issue in the house at 3.30 pm.

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Chidambaram denies authorising phone tapping

New Delhi: The Government on Monday "categorically" denied it had authorised the tapping of phones of key political leaders.

Amid a furore over the issue in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government had investigated the matter but found "nothing to substantiate" the allegations reported in a weekly magazine last week.

"I wish to state categorically that no telephone tapping or eavesdropping of political leaders was authorised by the previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government. Nor has the present UPA government authorised any such activity. After the issue of the magazine was available late Friday, the allegations in the story were thoroughly inquired into. Nothing has been found in the records to substantiate the allegations," Chidambaram said in the house.

Newsmagazine Outlook in a report had said that the government was tapping the telephones of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

However, the home minister's statement did not satisfy the protesting MPs led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Chidambaram's statement came after opposition MPs demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue.

Amid an uproar that made the home minister barely audible, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house till 2 pm. This was the second disruption of the house on Monday.

Earlier the opposition MPs stalled the Lok Sabha over the matter soon after the house reassembled after the weekend.

Manmohan Singh is likely to speak over the issue in the house at 3.30 pm.

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Chirayu Amin appointed interim IPL chairman

Mumbai: Baroda Cricket Association president Chirayu Amin was on Monday unanimously appointed as the interim commissioner of the Indian Premier League after Lalit Modi was suspended late last night by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

The IPL governing council met here and deliberated for close to two hours before arriving on Amin's name. The board, while not appointing an interim IPL committee to help Amin run the show, has in a move that is expected to be widely appreciated, announced that former India captains and current members of the IPL governing council, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri will discuss the strategy for IPL 2011.

NEW BOSS: Chirayu Amin is also the serving  president of Baroda Cricket Association.

Addressing the media after the meeting, BCCI president Shashank Manohar said it was necessary to suspend Modi "so that there is no interference".




"I don't think that the autonomy of the Board is threatened. It's the duty of the board to look into allegations. It is necessary to suspend a person so that there is no interference. Suspension is not a punishment, it's just for free and fair inquiry."

He added that the IPL "is a great property and has love from all of you and across the globe" and while the "commercial aspect is important also ethics are important".

Manohar said the show cause notice and the suspension letter was sent to Lalit Modi after the IPL final last night as they did not want to disrupt the tournament.

He confirmed that the 22 charges against Modi were discussed in the meeting and said, "Everyday the IT dept is asking for the documents which we don't have in our custody."

Manohar also took on the media and said,"An allegation is being made, the media is saying that all members are party to the decisions made by governing council. The governing council had no other option. Media should have the correct facts before they present their views.

"All of us were here as honorary members, we don't hide anything from the board. As far as IPL is concerned we knew it's a huge property."

He also indicated that all people involved with the IPL could not be held responsible for the mess in the IPL and said, "We have appointed officials and professionals for various jobs, everyone can't be held responsible."

Fielding question on the counter-charges made by Lalit Modi, the BCCI chief said it was a "misconception" created by the media.

"If Rajasthan Royals funds are coming from outside India, I have no machinery to check that. The Income-Tax and the Enforcement Directorate are investigating into this, we got the information from them."

Stating that the ownership of the Rajasthan franchise was still not clear as there were "too many unidentified companies" and that the "names of Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra was not present in the ownership documents of Rajasthan Royals".

Manohar said Board official Ratnakar Shetty will look into the missing bid documents.

The Board president reiterated that "all decisions are to be taken by the IPL governing council in majority and if others are guilty we'll take same action against them."

Manohar said that he had never persuaded Modi to attend the meeting and that he was "not aware whether Modi was to attend the meeting or not".

He added that the Board has no documents to probe allegations of facilitation fee made about telecast rights for the IPL.

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New chief Amin gets ready to clean up IPL

Mumbai: Newly-appointed IPL Commissioner Chirayu Amin said Monday his immediate priority is to clean up the Twenty20 league, which has been rattled by a massive financial scandal.

Amin replaced the flamboyant Lalit Modi, who has been suspended for alleged bid rigging and shady TV and internet rights deals among other charges. With the league in the eye of a storm, Amin said he has his task cut out.

"The immediate task is to clean-up the IPL. The game has just been concluded and so we will start planning for the next year. That is the priority right now," Amin, who also owns a pharmaceuticals company, said.

The Baroda Cricket Association chief, who is also a BCCI vice-President, was a surprise pick for the job considering that his name was not even mentioned in the run up to the IPL Governing Council meeting here Monday.

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No reply by PM on phone tapping; LS adjourned

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday as the Opposition continued its protests over reports that politicians' phones were tapped by government agencies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was supposed to speak in the Lok Sabha over the allegations at 3.30 p.m.

When the House reassembled after the lunch at 2 p.m., Opposition MPs from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party (SP) shouted slogans against the government and gathered near the speaker's podium. They were supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Left party MPs.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh also raised the issue of the Indian Premier League (IPL) controversy. As the Opposition continued its protest, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the House for the day.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier told the House amid furious protests by Opposition MPs: "PM is ready to speak in the House at 3.30 pm."

Oppn not satisfied with Chidambaram's reply:

The BJP and the CPI-M said they were not satisfied with Home Minister P. Chidambaram's denial that the government did not tap telephones of four senior political leaders.

BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should respond to the demand for setting up of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to look into the allegations.

"The government's statement is an afterthought. Why they did not respond the first day (when allegations surfaced)? The Prime Minister should respond to the demand for JPC," Naidu told reporters here.

The issue rocked parliament Monday following a report in a news magazine that the government had tapped telephones of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, CPI-M leader Prakash Karat and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said a statement should come from the Prime Minister. "We are not satisfied with statement of Home minister." The Congress, however, said Chidambaram's statement in both the Houses had made it clear that no phone tap were authorised by the government.

"The fundamental question is whether the Opposition is looking for a reply from the government or wants to score political brownie points," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.

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Attend parliament: Meira Kumar tells Alagiri

New Delhi: The perpetual absence of Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, M K Alagiri from the parliament is turning into a big embarrassment for the UPA government.

It is learnt that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has now told the Union Minister that he should attend parliament. She has also offered to provide Tamil interpreters if language was a problem.

"I have asked Alagiri to come and attend the parliament session, I have told him that we will solve his problem," Meira Kumar told reporters.

Alagiri had cited his official tours abroad and his inability to respond in English as an excuse for his absence from the Parliament.

The Opposition had earlier made it an issue in Parliament saying a minister can't always be missing from the House.

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IPL gets new chief, fresh start, waits to try Modi

Mumbai: Chirayu Amin, businessman and low-profile cricket administrator, was made interim chief of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday. His task--and the BCCI's too--would to get the league out the taint of scandal.

Amin is a BCCI Vice-President and president of the Baroda Cricket Association. He is also the CMD of Alembic Pharmaceutical, one of the leading drugs companies of the country. "The immediate task is to clean up the IPL. The game has just been concluded and so we will start planning for the next year. That is the priority right now," Amin said after his appointment.

CRISIS MANAGER: Shashank Manohar at a  governing council meeting of the IPL in Mumbai.

The BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) priority too is the IPL, but it is yet to settle the manner with suspended IPL commissioner and chairman Lalit Modi.

The board accused Modi of keeping the IPL Governing Council in the dark and taking decisions without consent of others, but promised him a fair investigation.

"In the last 15 days, there were lots of allegations and counter-allegations made through media as a result of which the board looked into the allegations levelled and took a decision to issue a show cause notice to Lalit Modi and, pending inquiry, decided to suspend him. The board will hold, after receiving a reply from Mr. Modi, an inquiry if necessary. If the reply or Mr Modi convinces the members, the proceedings will be dropped," said BCCI president Shashank Manohar.

Manohar said that it was important to suspend Modi so that a free and fair investigation could be conducted. "For free and fair enquiry it was necessary to suspend Modi so that he cannot interfere with the enquiry process," he said.

Manohar also said that BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty will look into the documents which are reportedly missing. "We have also asked Professor Shetty to look into the documents as many documents are missing. Every day Income Tax department is asking for documents and we don't have them. So professor Shetty will look into the missing documents and will collect the documents.".

Manohar absolved Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, saying neither the senior politician nor his relatives were involved in bidding for IPL teams.

He ruled out any political interference in the functioning of the BCCI saying as far he was concerned nobody can change his decisions.

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A horse that is just 14 inches tall

LONDON: A pint-sized stallion born in Britain weighs just 2.7 kg and is barely 14 inches tall.

The three-day old stallion, called Einstein, weighed 6lbs (2.7 kg) when it was born on Friday in Barnstead, New Hampshire, Daily Mail reported Monday.


Born at Tiz Miniature Horse Farm, the diminutive stallion's proportion are tiny for a horse.


The Guinness Book of Records lists the smallest newborn horse as weighing just 9lbs, claimed Einstein's co-owner Rachel Wagner.
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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Steve Davis rolls back the years to complete epic 13-11 victory over defending champion John Higgins

Steve Davis, who won the last of his six snooker world titles 21 years ago, inflicted one of the biggest upsets the tournament has ever seen by defeating defending champion John Higgins at The Crucible.
Golden oldie Davis, 52, rolled back the years with a vintage performance in Sheffield to stun Higgins and keep alive his hopes of a shock seventh crown.

Tight: Davis (above) completed a momentous win over the defending champion
Davis, a 400-1 outsider to win snooker's world championship before the tournament began, saw his odds slashed to 28-1.
He led 9-7 overnight and held his nerve to clinch a breathtaking 13-11 win as 34-yearold Higgins crumbled under the pressure.
Davis said: 'I was shaking like a leaf, that's such an amazing victory.
'I had a little tear in my eye when I won the match, it was such an emotional feeling.
'I cannot believe I played well enough to beat John; the inner belief grew as I got closer and closer. steve davis

Frustration: Defending champion Higgins reflects on a missed red as Davis makes his way to the table
'But the nerves started to kick in then. I had my chance in that last frame we played and I thought, "This is my moment". I said to myself, "Just go to it".
'I had such a good start against him. John is such a great champion, he wished me all the best. You couldn't beat a nicer bloke.
'There were times, when John came back at me, when I could have dropped my head, but I kept my competitive resolve and it has worked.'
His stunning victory made Davis the oldest Crucible quarter-finalist since Australian Eddie Charlton reached this stage of the competition in 1983, also at the age of 52.
If Davis were to go all the way this year, he would become the oldest-ever winner of the famous Crucible crown, eclipsing Welshman Ray Reardon, who holds that distinction after winning the title in 1978 aged 45 years 203 days.
But despite capturing the imagination by seeing off Higgins yesterday, Davis stressed that contemplating his first Crucible title since 1989 would be a big mistake. 'I'm not looking at winning the tournament, that's a recipe for a sporting disaster.
'If I look too far ahead that's a big mistake,' added Davis, who will play Australian Neil Robertson in the last eight.
'All of a sudden I've inspired myself.
'The crowd were fantastic and that spurred me on.'
Higgins was disappointed with his second-round exit, but the three-time champion was full of admiration for veteran Davis, his boyhood idol.
'I really struggled at some points during that match, but take nothing away from the great man,' he said.
'He's the greatest in my eyes.' Read more:
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Akki-Ash to do lock & key act

Vipul Shah’s ‘Action Replayy’ is a film that’s going to replay the old acts and lives, through Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai. The film, which is based on a time machine saga, includes a song that gives tribute to seventies’ on-screen romantic couples. While planning the song the director thought of jodis like Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bhaduri, Dharmendra-Hema Malini and Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz. But he somehow missed out the ‘Bobby’ pair Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia, who created sensation then.
So now it seems Shah is serious to include the jodi in the song and seriously working out an alternative. Sources reveal that the filmmaker is planning to insert the lyric of the song “Hum tum ek kamre mein band ho” from ‘Bobby’. And for that Shah is trying to get permission to shoot the song in Gulmarg where the song was shot in the 70s – something which the director is excitedly looking forward to shoot.
Aha now that would be really interesting to watch na… but will Akshay and Ash able to replay the classic innocence that Rishi and Dimple portrayed… Lets wait and see....
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Brilliant Bangalore in Champions League

Mumbai: A peerless show by the Royal Challengers Bangalore saw the Deccan Chargers being thrashed by nine wickets at the DY Patil Stadium on Saturday. With this emphatic win, Bangalore book their spot in the Champions League to be played in September later this year. The Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings have already made it, by virtue of being the finalists of this year's IPL.
It was a sorry tale for the Deccan Chargers in their last appearance this year as the Royal Challengers bowled them out for 82. Only two batsmen from the Deccan innings reached double figures while as many as five batsmen made no score. Chasing the small 83-run target, Bangalore reached home in the 14th over.
Rahul Dravid (35 not out off 30) and Kevin Pietersen (29 not out off 21) ensured there were no miracles by the Chargers on a tricky surface. For the most part of their chase, a Test-like field was set with Deccan searching for wickets but Bangalore batsmen were too experienced to fall into any sort of trap.
Jacques Kallis (19 off 32) now has a two-run lead over Sachin Tendulkar for the race to the Orange Cap. The Mumbai skipper will have a chance on Sunday to seal the Orange Cap in case he plays in the final against Chennai.
Anil Kumble was the hero for the Bangalore with the skipper taking four wickets for 16 runs in 3.3 overs. Praveen Kumar and Jacques Kallis picked two wickets each.
Anirudh Singh was the only bright spot in the Deccan innings as the youngster sparkled with a gritty 39-ball 40 in a pressure situation. Had it not been for Anirudh's endeavour, Deccan could have had a worse embarrassment in store for them.
After electing to bat, when Adam Gilchrist (four) smashed Kumble's first ball for four, it looked like the Deccan skipper might write a different script after failing for 15 games on the trot. But two balls later, he smashed a regulation full toss down the fine-leg's throat and it was all over for Gilchrist. Deccan collapsed from there as poor shot selection and sharp bowling accounted for an insipid batting performance.
Praveen trapped Monish Mishra (zero) and Rohit Sharma (zero) as Deccan were in tatters at 15-3. Praveen could have had his third straight wicket, that of Andrew Symonds but Dale Steyn dropped a sitter on the ropes. However, the South African redeemed himself by picking up the wicket of Symonds (two) in the next over.
When Dwayne Smith (five) was the outfoxed by a Kumble googly, Deccan had lost half their side for just 35 runs on the board in the ninth over. Venugopal Rao along with Anirudh brought some sanity to the innings by attempting a recovery. But Kallis came to the attack to snare Anirudh.
Nayan Doshi, making his IPL debut for Bangalore, hammered the final nail in the coffin when he sent back Rao for 24.
Kumble came back into the attack to finish the Deccan innings clinically.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Tharoor has a stake in Kochi IPL team: Lalit Modi

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi on Saturday fired another salvo at Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

In a no-holds barred interview to Headlines Today, Modi said, Tharoor is lying, and he is sure that Rendezvouos Sports have a hidden agenda.

He cast aspersions on Tharoor saying, "He (Tharoor) is a liar. Why was Tharoor so keen on the bidding process? He has a stake in the Kochi IPL team."

Modi described the entire IPL controversy and the Income Tax raids as a minor issue.

He sounded supremely confident, insisting he will just swat the problem away and move ahead.

Following a bitter spat between Modi and Tharoor, the income tax department recently grilled Modi.

Modi said, "I'm a victim of my own success. I-T raids are a minor issue. We have seen bigger challenges. We have nothing to hide. We will co-operate with I-T."

He also said, "I-T has the right to know how our process works."

Modi said, "The IPL bid is a secret process. I can't decide."


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Ancelotti backs Spurs for title push

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says Tottenham will challenge for the Premier League title next season as he prepares for Saturday's trip to White Hart Lane.

Spurs are gunning for a top-four finish along with Manchester City and they could halt Chelsea's charge towards a Premier League and FA Cup double with victory over Ancelotti's side.

Tottenham bounced back from last weekend's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Portsmouth with a hard-earned victory over north London rivals Arsenal in midweek. It is that lack of consistency that has prevented Spurs making a title push this season, but Ancelotti has already tipped them to be a real force next term.

"Harry Redknapp is doing a very good job at Tottenham," said the Italian.

"He did a very good job winning the FA Cup in 2008 at Portsmouth.

"Tottenham haven't played with continuity, but have played football with very good quality.

"They are a team that likes to play. They have very good players with a lot of quality. They could challenge next season - they can fight for the title."

Ancelotti promised that Chelsea would take the same attacking mentality to White Hart Lane that saw them defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Chelsea are four points clear of United at the summit and a win tomorrow would go a long way towards sealing their first title since 2006.

But while United boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists that a draw would be good enough for Chelsea, Ancelotti disagrees.

"I don't think so," added Ancelotti.

Football Report: Tottenham

"A draw wouldn't be a good result.

"We want to maintain a good philosophy against Tottenham and try to win the game. That would be the best thing. I don't know if it will be possible. I was surprised at their performance against Arsenal because they reacted well after the Portsmouth defeat and played a strong match.

"We want to put pressure on them immediately. I don't know if it's possible because Tottenham will want to do the same. But that is the right way to get a good result."

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

18 killed in Thailand violence

Fierce clashes between Thai troops and protesters in Bangkok claimed at least 18 lives and injured 807, government sources said on Sunday.

A Red Shirt guard sits atop an abandoned Thai Army armored personnel carriers on Sunday morning. APAmong the dead were 14 civilians, including one Japanese photographer working for the Thomson Reuters news agency, and four soldiers, the latest report from the government's Narenthorn Medical Centre said.

A tense standoff between government troops and anti-government demonstrators continued on Sunday in the two main protest sites, Phan Fa Bridge in the old part of the capital, and at Ratchaprasong, a posh shopping and hotel district in modern Bangkok.

On Saturday the government, which placed Bangkok and surrounding provinces under emergency law, moved to enforce the decree by sending troops to clear out tens of thousands of supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) from Phan Fa Bridge. The move sparking bloody clashes as the protesters refused to budge and fought back with sticks, Molotov cocktails, grenades and rifles.

The UDD, also called the red shirts, has been staging protests at Phan Fa Bridge for almost a month, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.

In their efforts to increase pressure on the government to meet their demands, the red shirts April 3 occupied the Ratchaprasong intersection, an upmarket shopping and hotel district.

On Wednesday, they attacked Parliament building, forcing legislators to flee and prompting Abhisit to declare emergency law, a decree that bans gatherings of more than five people and provides broad immunity for officials involved in cracking down on dissent.
The red shirts defied the emergency decree Friday with the seizure of the ThaiCom Satellite station, to force the People Channel TV back on the air. The channel, their main media outlet, had been cut by the government.

On Saturday, the government decided to get tough and clear the protesters from Phan Fa, and thereafter Ratchaprasong.

But the troops ran into stiff resistance, especially at Khok Wua intersection on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, where protesters lobbed grenades at the troops, injuring more than 20.

The soldiers reportedly responded with live bullets, causing casualties.
In most encounters the troops used water cannon, tear gas, batons and rubber bullets.

By 9 pm (1400 GMT), with injuries mounting on both sides, the government agreed to withdraw its troops from Phan Fa and sued for truce negotiations, which the UDD leadership initially refused.

UDD chairman Veera Muksikpong Saturday night called on Abhisit to "dissolve parliament and leave Thailand."

But Abhisit has shown no inclination to step down.

"The government and I are duty-bound to resolve the problems, restore peace and maintain justice for the country," he said in a televised broadcast Saturday midnight.
He promised to set up an independent body to determine the cause of deaths and injuries.
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PM-Obama talks to focus on nuke liability bill, Pak, Afghan

The controversial nuclear liability bill, US arms supplies to Pakistan and situation in Afghanistan are expected to figure prominently at the meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will have with President Barack Obama here. PM

Singh, who is here on a four-day visit to attend the April 12-13 Nuclear Security Summit, will hold talks with Obama at Blair House tonight, their second meeting in four months. They had last met here on November 24 during Singh's State Visit.

The Prime Minister is expected to inform Obama that the nuclear liability bill is going through democratic processes in India and he hopes it to be passed by Parliament at the earliest, sources said.

The Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, whose passage is crucial for implementation of the historic Indo-US nuclear deal, has got caught in a political quagmire with opposition parties strongly objecting to certain aspects of the proposed legislation.

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'Indian education doesn't allow critical thinking'

370)this.width=370">Sumita Vaid Dixit

Raju Narisetti, managing editor, The Washington Post, began his professional career by selling cheese and butter for a dairy cooperative but soon realised that his calling lay elsewhere: in journalism. His first full-time job was with the American newspaper, the Dayton Daily News, which, Narisetti says, 'became the real foundation of all my future journalism'.

In a frank interview with Sumita Vaid Dixit, Narisetti talks about the state of Indian education, media's role in improving journalism standards, relationship between advertising and editorial amongst others...

Tell us a little about your growing up years in India?

I grew up with newspapers, books and conversations about language and journalism as my father was a journalist and my mother was a professor of English. A favourite game for my sister and me was to sit and look at the vast number
of books my dad had in bookshelves and try to name a fragment of a book title that the other could spot or complete.
And I would dash off lots of letters to local newspapers on various topics.

So, a journalist is what you always wanted to be...

I didn't necessarily think of journalism as a career. In fact, I went to Institute of Rural Management, Anand, (IRMA), to get my two-year MBA equivalent in Rural Management, after which I worked as regional sales manager for AP
Dairy, the producers of Vijaya brand of dairy products. But some two years into that, it dawned on me that selling butter and cheese wasn't how I want to spend the rest of my life and that I wanted to really become a journalist.

Were you a good student in the conventional sense?

I barely passed my 10th grade Hindi exam because I hated the subject and never put effort into it but that event
was such a shock to me that it forever changed my thinking on education. Not only did I score very well in Hindi later but never ever got myself into a situation where I didn't sail through my exams.

Why Indiana University and not an Indian university for journalism?

I got a Post Graduate diploma from The Times School of Journalism (TSJ), back in the late 1980s, the best journalism
education you could get.

Meanwhile, the journalism degrees you get from Indian universities are, even now, not worth the paper they are printed on -- most of the faculty wouldn't know what to do in a newsroom if they woke up in one. The biggest problem in India still is that journalism education is so terrible and the pipeline from a couple of better institutions is so narrow.

It is a challenge that I hope India media organisations, those who believe in maintaining vibrant democracies and free speech, and those who really want to impact the quality of Indian media in a positive way, will rise to one of these days.

How was education in the US different from India?

I realised that good teachers are ones that make your mind open to multiple possibilities and challenge you to find
answers. David Pritchard, Indiana University professor, taught me the value of rigour and ethics in journalism. I owe Indiana University a great debt of gratitude for making me think. With the exceptions of IRMA, Anandhi Natarajan, my English schoolteacher, and Thomas Oommen, my journalism teacher at TSJ, I never found education in India to be about allowing you to become a critical thinker. It is a pity that so many years of school and college
were, in a way, wasted on me.

You seem to suggest that there are fundamental flaws with Indian education...

The focus on year-end exams, the static nature of testing based on rarely updated textbooks, the unwillingness to formally recognise and reward intra-year two-way conversation in a course between students and teachers, the fixed
set of subject pairs you can take rather than being able to build your coursework, teachers who aren't measured by
their ability to attract students to willingly attend classes, teacher education that is ancient in its focus on curriculum development and teaching methods -- the list is endless and yet something that can be fixed because it isn't rocket science.

Coming to your experience at Mint, there were some turbulent moments...

In general media organisations, their owners and top editors, don't pay enough attention to the issues I found problematic, such as inadequate journalism training, lack of newsroom standards -- both the presence and enforcement,
to name a few. And I have never personally dealt with as many external ethical issues in my career as I dealt with in my three years of planning, launching and managing Mint.

It doesn't mean good, honest journalism can't happen or even thrive in those conditions and, in fact, I would point to Mint as a place where Indian journalists continue to succeed in doing good, honest journalism even now, long
after I am not involved with it. So to succumb is a matter of choice -- for editors and owners -- and not a given for
Indian media.

The point you make about ethics also extends to a few Indian educational institutes that thrive at students' expense...

The veracity of claims of institutes such as IIPM has been questioned by many, including Mint, and more recently by your publication. Mint, under me, drew a bright line between news and advertising and through well-researched
pieces, by experts such as Premchand Palety, raised a lot of unanswered questions about such educational institutions
and their claims. Just as the advertising department couldn't tell News what to do, I believed it wasn't up to News to tell Advertising as long it met whatever guidelines the business side had on such advertising.

It is not the role of the media alone, nor can it be held accountable for ending questionable practices. Our job was to shed light and hope that those responsible for enforcing India's laws would also take appropriate action.370)this.width=370">

Before we end, tell us what do you like to do when you are not working?

In the last few years, I haven't spent enough time with my daughters, Leila (8) and Zola (4), so am trying, even if
not entirely successfully, to make some amends on that front when I can. I am a walking cliche in the sense I love journalism and the business of journalism. While it was a 15-hour job before, these days with both print and online responsibilities, and with tools like Blackberry, it has morphed into a near 24-hour responsibility. And I would be lying if I said I don't enjoy that!

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BJP's 30th anniversary event held sans Sushma, Advani

New Delhi: The 30th anniversary celebration of BJP held here on Tuesday was a dull affair with two of its most prominent faces -- Parliamentary Party Chairman L K Advani and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj -- keeping away from the event despite being present in the city.

While Advani, who returned yesterday from a trip to Uttarakhand, stayed at home during the programme, Swaraj kept herself busy in other engagements though she had been invited.

Even BJP President Nitin Gadkari rushed in from the airport quite late in the programme.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was the main speaker who took on Home Minister P Chidambaram for "playing politics" on the issue of Naxalism.

"I can use the language of the Home Minister and say that the buck stops with the Home Minister's chair. But I don't think this is necessary," he said, adding, "He can politicise the issue from Lalgarh."

Chidambaram had said in Naxal-infested Lalgarh on Sunday that when it came to law and order in West Bengal, the buck stops at the Chief Minister's table.

Jaitley said some groups in the country were functioning as "overground faces" of the "underground movement".

"Democracy is under threat in India. More than 200 districts in the country are affected by Naxalism. This means one-third of the country," he said.

Jaitley said the "Red Corridor" has spread from "Pashupati (Nepal) to Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)".

"Ninety of the Naxal-affected districts are such where the writ of Maoists runs more than that of the administration. There aim is to overthrow Parliamentary democracy. Here power flows through the barrel of a gun," he said.

Jaitley insisted that during the rule of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, which was guided by a "nationalist inspiration", the presence of Naxals was only symbolic but there was a spurt in their numbers during UPA-I regime.

The senior leader maintained that BJP was the only "India first party" and had never engaged in votebank politics.

Two minutes' silence was observed at the beginning of the programme for the CRPF personnel martyred at the deadly Naxalite strike at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh today.

Gadkari attacked the Congress-led UPA government, alleging it was soft on terror which had resulted in incidents like the one in Dantewada that has claimed 76 lives.

He also referred to his recent visit to Assam and the infiltration of Bangladeshis in the state.

"Bangladeshi infiltrators have entered Assam in big numbers. While the natives face problems in getting their papers (like ration cards, voters' I-card) made, the Bangladeshis get them with ease. The natives are living there as tenants," Gadkari said.
He accused political parties, especially the Congress, of indulging in appeasement politics for vote bank. Gadkari insisted that China had made incursions into Indian territory in 147 places but the Indian army only showed them banners, saying "this is our land" and asking them to go back.

He also accused the government of allowing foodgrains to rot as this could then be used for making liquor.

"I ask the Prime Minister to come clear on how much of rotten foodgrains are supplied to distillers for making foreign liquor," Gadkari said.

In his speech, Jaitley alleged that government's "soft" policy and Article 370 had resulted in Jammu and Kashmir turning from "a separate state to separatism".

"Now terrorism from across the border has local modules and sleeper cells in the country," he said.

Jaitley also referred to the Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik case and said even in a country like Pakistan has started moving towards progressive laws since 1961 but this has not been the case in India due to minority appeasement.

BJP supports imposition of a Uniform Civil Code in the country and removal of Personal Laws as it considers them regressive.

BJP general secretary Thawar Chand Gehlot, who is also the scheduled caste face of the party, spoke against the Ranganath Mishra report and said any move to give reservation to "converted Dalits" is a "big conspiracy" that would lead to a "flood of conversions".
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Water theft: MNS workers beat people

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers are on a rampage once again. Making a mockery of the Ashok Chavan government's law and order machinery, groups of MNS activists have been going around the state capital beating up people for allegedly stealing water.

Mumbai's water woes have become a political plank and parties are trying to outdo each other to hijack it. Parties are sending out vigilante groups to hunt down anyone fetching water illegally.

Taking the law into their hands, Raj Thackeray's party workers have been conducting raids at several places. Late on Wednesday night, they attacked people in Kalbadevi and chased them through streets before beating them up.

Justifying its act, the MNS claimed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was not taking any action against people stealing water.

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Two Army troopers held for raping teenager in Pune

A teenaged girl has been allegedly raped by two army jawans when she went to a remote spot in Pune to meet her boyfriend, a week after a married women was gangraped by three people in the city suburb.

The jawans, who allegedly beat her boyfriend and committed the crime on Wednesday night, were arrested this morning and remanded to police custody till April 15.

The 19-year-old girl was allegedly raped when she had gone to meet her boyfriend at a remote spot near a military ground in Sangvi area, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mahesh Patil said.

Her boyfriend, who was to see her at the spot as per a rendezvous arranged between them, was late in reaching there as he ran out of fuel and dragged his motorcycle along the road, she said in the complaint filed at Sangvi police station.

As the girl walked towards the boy, the two accused beat up her boyfriend, took away ignition key of the bike and later allegedly raped her in the adjacent ground, Patil said.

She, later, filed a complaint following which the police identified the accused and arrested them on Friday morning, he said.

The accused, Rajneesh Kumar of Mirzapur in UP and Sumendersingh of Rajasthan [ Images ], were later produced before a court which remanded them to police custody till April 15.

The latest episode came close on the heels of the alleged gangrape of a 25-year-old married woman here last Friday at Hinjewadi, a Pune suburb.

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Sunday, April 4, 2010

Apple's iPad unearthed: Samsung, LG appear

RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Luke Soules was one of the first on the planet to get his hands on an iPad. And he wasted no time taking it apart.

An Apple iPad is displayed during an iPad launch event at the  Apple retail store in San Francisco, California April 3, 2010.  REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

After staking out three locations in the Eastern United States, Soules -- co-founder of teardown firm iFixit -- cracked the device open on Saturday to unearth NAND flash memory by Samsung Electronics, an LCD display from LG Display and microchips from Broadcom Corp, Texas Instruments Inc and NXP Semiconductor.

Soules and his outfit provide and advise on components in Apple gadgets -- and also identifies them. The work of teardown firms such as iFixit may prove crucial in identifying which manufacturer gets its parts into a device expected to sell upwards of 5 million units in 2010 alone.

Soules had slept overnight in the parking lot outside an Apple mall store in Richmond, Virginia. He was the first to walk out of the store, moments after the outlet opened at 9 a.m., iPad in hand.

Store employees clapped and gave him high-fives. He grinned, but moved quickly. There was work to do.

Without a second's dawdling, Soules hopped in a waiting car and raced a few short miles to the house of a friend, where he had his tools of destruction ready to go. He barely paused to admire the iPad out of the box. He didn't even turn it on.

The secretive Apple is famous for designing sealed-up devices intended to discourage nosy gadget heads from poking around in them, and the iPad was no different.

The iPad had no screws. But working with a tool called a spudger, it took Soules only 10 minutes to separate the iPad's handsome, 9.7-inch facing from its silver-backed casing.
He surveyed the iPad's design, a maze of parts that would be utterly inscrutable to most people.

"That's very, very nice," he said almost reverentially.

IPAD'S SOUL

Teardown firms are hired by an array of clients, their data used for competitive intelligence, in patent disputes or to keep current on industry benchmarks.

By 9:30 a.m., Soules had turned the iPad inside out and was sharing its secrets with the world.

There is strong competition to be first to tear open Apple devices and reveal the design, chips and components within and iFixit has gained a measure of fame for their work.

Months of anticipation had built ahead of the iPad launch and -- at least in technology circles -- almost as much excitement about what's on the inside of the device.

Within 45 minutes, iFixit had left the iPad -- the gleaming symbol of Apple's technological wizardry -- in tatters, its various parts naked against a crisp white backdrop.
Soules moved at a rapid clip, narrating as he took pictures and streamed to colleague Kyle Wiens and others in California, who were posting them online and helping identify parts.

IFixit's near-live teardowns have become staples for gadget fans during Apple product launches.

As a veteran of many previous efforts, Soules was prepared for any tricks Apple might throw his way, but the iPad didn't prove to be too enormous of a challenge to take apart, as some of previous devices have.

Soules had removed the main circuit board of the iPad by 10 a.m. The 4-inch long, 1-ounce board was covered by an electromagnetic interference shield, and underneath were all the microprocessors that make the device tick.

"The vast majority of the brains of the iPad are on this little board. It's amazing what they can fit into such a small space," Soules said.

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

One of first identifiable parts was the NAND flash memory, which was made by Samsung, which has supplied components for other Apple devices. Soules also quickly noted chips from Broadcom, Texas Instruments.

There were also at least three chips carrying Apple branding. Apple is known to hide the identities of some chipmakers in its products by having them stamp an Apple logo on their parts. The main iPad chip is an Apple creation; its very own A4 processor controls the iPad's programs.
IFixit determined that Samsung is manufacturing the A4 chip for Apple.

After removing the circuit board, Soules dug in further using a Torx screwdriver to manipulate the minuscule screws inside THE iPad. His fingernails gingerly pried open casings.

"The teardown process is bit easier if I keep my fingernails on the long side," he said.

Soules discovered the iPad's battery is not soldered into place, which means that replacing it is possible for the do-it-yourself crowd. IFixit promotes device repair as a way to cut down on electronic waste.

Apple requires users to mail iPad units back to the company, which will change the battery for a hefty fee.

By 10:45 a.m. Soules was cautiously fiddling with the iPad's display, the most expensive component.

While he was unable to determine who made the display on his unit, another iFixit teardown at a different location revealed one from LG, meaning Apple could be using displays from more than one supplier.

Besides Richmond, iFixit had also ordered iPads at addresses near Indianapolis and Orlando, Florida. The company had people in both areas, home to FedEx shipping hubs.

IFixit thought it might be able to get a few hours jump on the competition by staking out the FedEx hubs the morning of the launch, to intercept one of the devices.
But that didn't pan out, so they resorted to standing in line -- at the head of the line actually -- in three cities.

The Federal Communications Commission also managed to steal at least some of iFixit's thunder. Bloggers discovered on Friday that the FCC had posted pictures of the insides of pre-production iPads on its Web site, despite the fact that Apple had requested that they keep them confidential.

IFixit spent much of the night identifying the parts, which were not necessarily the same as those in real iPads.

By noon on Saturday, the bulk of the iPad teardown was done. But there will be at least another week of analysis, using sophisticated equipment that can cut into components to determine how they were made, and who made them.
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India imports 3 mn tonnes of sugar so far this season

India, the world's largest sugar consumer, has imported over 3 million tonnes of the sweetener in the first six months of the 2009-10 sugar season, ending in September.

"Sugar mills and private traders have contracted to import 3.1 million tonnes in the current season till March 25," a senior Food Ministry official told PTI.

Of the 3.1 million tonnes, white sugar shipments were at 0.64 million tonnes, while that of raw sugar at 2.44 million tonnes, he said.

"About 2.7 million tonnes of sugar has already landed at ports here," the official added.

The government has allowed duty-free import of sugar (both raw and white) from April 2009 to meet the domestic shortage and curb rising prices. The duty-free import is allowed till December 2010.

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) Managing Director Vinay Kumar pointed out, "Going forward, India need not import sugar if the country's output rises to 18 million tonnes in the 2009-10 season (sugar season runs from October to September)."

The total availability of sugar is likely to be over the estimated demand of 23 million tonnes this season if you take into account the likely sugar production of 18 million tonnes plus the carry over stock of 3 million tonnes from the last season and the current import of 3.1 million tonnes, he said.

Recently, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had also indicated that sugar output may exceed the earlier estimate of 16 million tonnes this season.

According to official data, the country is estimated to have produced 16.7 million tonnes in the first six months of the current season.

Currently, the sugar prices in the retail markets have cooled down on reports of higher supplies and government's measures like stock limit order on bulk consumers.

In Delhi, the retail price of the sweetener has declined to Rs 35 a kg from Rs 48 in January.
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Liberty Shoes to add 60 outlets this fiscal

Footwear firm Liberty Shoes plans to open 60 outlets, including 10 overseas stores, this fiscal, a top company official said.

"We plan to open 50 outlets pan-India, primarily in Tier II destinations which will take our network-strength to 550 by end-this fiscal. Besides, we plan to open 10 outlets overseas as well," Liberty Group's CEO Adesh Gupta told PTI in Mumbai.

Within India, the company will focus primarily on Tier II destinations while overseas it plans to set up shops in South Africa, Singapore, the Middle-East and Kuala Lumpur, he said.

Domestically, with demand for the company's shoes growing and the company clocking a healthy sales in Tier I cities, Liberty now plans to target Tier II destinations, he said.

"We are growing and doing very well in the country and especially so in Tier I cities. Now, our focus will increasingly be on other markets," Gupta said.

The footwear major has pegged the investment for its domestic expansion at Rs 10 crore.

To keep pace with its expansion, Liberty plans to up its head-count and will hire between 300-500 professionals this fiscal, he said.
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IIM-Calcutta hikes fees by 50 per cent

The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C) has decided to hike fees for its flagship post-graduate course, but reduced its intake of students citing lack of infrastructure.

The IIM-C board of governors at a meeting decided to raise the fees for the two-year post-graduate diploma in management programme from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 13.5 lakh from the current session (2010-12).

The hike was necessary to cope with the increased expenditure in infrastructure, greater faculty allocation and spending in research related activities, board chairman Ajit Balakrishnan told reporters.

The hiked fee would be at par with that of IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore.

Balakrishnan said the additional funds will also be utilised to give fee waiver to more students.

The institute offers fee waiver to around 10 per cent of students who fail to arrange the funds for the course.

The board also decided to reduce the student strength for the programme to 375, though the institute had initially planned to accommodate 462 students.

Dinesh Verma, the institute's chief administrative officer, said the number of students have to be reduced this year due to lack of infrastructure.

"With the addition of the under construction new campus, this problem will surely be solved," he assured.

Three years back, the institute used to take 300 students for the course, but it decided to increase the intake in a phased manner to 462 to accommodate the 20 per cent other backward classes (OBC) quota.

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