Spice Mobile Rolls Out M-7070 In Indian Market

Spice mobile rolls out M-7070 in Indian market: Spice mobile has announced to roll out a new model known as Spice M-7070 in the Indian market at an attractive price of Rs.7999.
Isn’t it a goodChristmas or a New Year gift for yourself or someone you like! But before you buy just go through the features it includes.
It is a multi SIM device with excellent picture quality and contrast along with a Dual LED Flash, 8x Digital Zoom.
Spice M-7070 is a 5 megapixel camera phone with features like Anti-Shake and Auto-Focus funtionalities.
It comes with face detection ability, enable its users to locate human faces and capture the perfect image.
Apart from all these it has a 16GB expandable memory along with FM recording, Music & Video Player.
The phone also backs up EDGE and JAVA.It also supports mini movie recording as it has a back up of 30fps.

HTC HD2 Debuts In India

HTC's flagship Windows Mobile based handset; the monstrous HD2 has finally made its official Indian debut. The feature packed handset might easily be the mobile phone with the largest ever screen. All of 4.3 inches at a jaw dropping 480 X 800 WVGA resolution, this one makes even the Omnia HD look like a midget. The latter "only" has a 3.7-inch screen.The HD2 is the first Windows Mobile powered handset to sport the Sense UI that was first seen ion the Android based HTC Hero. The HD2 is also different as this one sports a capacitive touchscreen, instead of the usually seen resistive one on WM powered handsets. The phone boasts of a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that runs at an incredible 1 GHz and makes the device a zippy customer to work with. It also boasts of 512 MB ROM and 448MB of RAM. Memory can be expanded using microSD cards. The phone is powered by the latest version of Windows Mobile 6.5 and is 3G capable as well. It boast of a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus and dual LED flash.

A 3.5mm jack too finds its way in. The phone is also social media friendly with native support for Facebook and Twitter. The HD2 is now available in India at Rs. 36,990. In Maharashtra, you will need to shell out more and it will set you back by Rs. 39,990. Tata DoCoMo has announced an offer with the launch of the HTC HD2 phone wherein its subscribers can browse the Internet and download 500MB of data per month free for six months.

A Link between Mesopotamia and Americas?

Some researchers reject the dogmatic idea that the New World was isolated prior to 1492. There is some compelling evidence that the ancient peoples from Mesopotamia may have crossed the Atlantic ages before Columbus. The images below represent very much the same religious symbolism. Also, please notice the object held by the deity (it looks the same).

Holding a cone or sponge in his right hand and a bucket in his left, this genie is performing a ritual involving the Assyrian sacred tree. The sacred tree was an extremely important symbol in the palace of Ashurnasirpal, appearing on reliefs in virtually every room of the palace. It was also used in textile patterns, on stamp and cylinder seals, and in ivory carvings. It represented both the king and Ashur, the chief god of Assyria, and was also a symbol of the fertility of the land.

Mysterious Alignment

Another puzzle is mysterious alignment of world's ancient sites. Easter Island is exactly aligned along a straight line around the center of the Earth, with the Nazca lines, Ollantaytambo and the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Other world wonders that are within one tenth of one degree of this alignment include: Perseopolis, the capital city of ancient Persia; Mohenjo Daro, the ancient capital city of the Indus Valley; the Oracle of Zeus-Amon at Siwa; and the lost city of Petra. The Ancient Sumarian city of Ur and Angkor temples in Cambodia and Thailand are within one degree of latitude of this alignment.

The alignment of these sites is easily observable on a globe of the Earth with a horizon ring. If you line up any two of these sites on the horizon ring, all of the sites will be right on the horizon ring. 3-D world atlas software programs can also draw this line around the Earth. Start on the Equator, at the mouth of the Amazon River, at 48° 36' West Longitude; go to 30° 22' North Latitude, 41° 24' East Longitude, in the Middle East, which is the maximum latitude the line touches; then go to the Equator at 131° 24' East Longitude, near the Northwest tip of New Guinea; then to 30° 22' South Latitude, 138° 36' West Longitude, in the South Pacific; and then back to 48° 36' West Longitude, at the Equator.

BlackBerry Curve 8520 Now Available On Tata DOCOMO Network For Rs 14,990

Tata DOCOMO today launched Blackberry Curve 8520 for its subscribers priced at Rs14,990/- offering features such as email, messaging, social networking and mobile Internet, as well as powerful multimedia features including a music and video player and camera with video recording.

Mr. Pradeep Dwivedi, Senior Vice President, Tata Teleservices Limited, said on the launch, “TATA DOCOMO recently rolled out its BlackBerry solution and has received an enthusiastic response. When we launched our BlackBerry services, we had promised our subscribers that we would bring them the best products and services. Living up to that brand promise, we are launching the stylish new BlackBerry Curve8520 smartphone for our customers. The major attraction of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is that it brings the exceptional BlackBerry smartphone experience within the reach of a larger population.”

“The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a sleek, stylish and approachable smartphone with a compelling mix of features. We believe this amazing new model, with its new trackpad navigation system and integrated multimedia features, will attract a broad range of mobile customers to the BlackBerry services offered on the Tata DOCOMO network,” said Ms Frenny Bawa, Vice President India, Research In Motion.

Google Unveils Social Search Function

HAMBURG: Google is testing a new social search function to make it easier for people find their friends' blogs and twitter feeds.

The only catch is that users of the service need to have an open profile with Google that includes personal contact data.

Once those conditions are met, the user can access the service at the Google Labs. Typing in "New York" will yield a list of friends in the user's social network who have posted items from the Big Apple. Settings can be altered so that only postings from close friends and acquaintances are included in the "social graph."

Google Germany spokesman Stefan Keuchel says the new social search function is separate from a recently launched service allowing real time searches of Twitter feeds. Social Search works quickly, but not in real time. It is currently only available in English.

2012 - A Myth Exposed

Does anybody remember Y2K? New Years Eve 1999 the world stopped and waited,.. and then,.. the clocks ticked over,.. and,.... NOTHING! How foolish are we! How foolish are the people who stocked up on life supplies of water and food because of the mere date!

Why is this so foolish? You may think they were smart and prepared for the worst. However, the question is what exactly did these people think was going to happen?!?!

2012 is just another date. 12 years after Y2K and we haven't learned a damn thing. If the government confirmed the so called "coming of Nibiru" why would it not call upon all minds of the world to solve the cataclysmic event? Keep in mind that they themselves have no answer to what they would do during a catastrophe of this nature. They would simply need everyone they could get, and disclosure would come directly after scientific evidence.

The problem however is that there is no scientific evidence. People will run their mouth that the telescope on the South Pole is to track Nibiru; a claim that is entirely unjustified considering you would not be able to see it any better at the South Pole than anywhere in the southern hemisphere - possibly anywhere on earth.

Additional lacking of evidence comes from the millions of civilian contractor scientists working with space seeking new planets on a daily basis. They use multimillion dollar telescopes to cruise the sky looking for incoming threats, discovering new planets, monitoring planetary alignment, seeking space anomalies, tracking alignment of satellites (and the telescopes on many of them), etc.

Mankind is just foolish enough to get tripped up on these dates. Let's not forget however that Jesus Christ died 7 years prior to 0AD. This would make the current date 11/24/2015. Oh crap we missed it, oh well just have to wait another 3600 years

Let's break down some scientific facts shall we?

Have a look at the following diagram and tell me what you think is incorrect about it.

Nibiru Cycle

Now tell me what is out of place in this picture. Yep, you guessed it! The planet that is supposedly the size of Saturn is on some ridiculously sloppy, mis-angled, mis-interpreted cycle!

How come all of the planets are in perfect rotation of the sun except this mysterious planet whom nobody has any evidence for? Assuming it did indeed come 3600 years ago, the sheer gravitational force of a planet this size coming so close to our tiny little planets would have devastated the human race - or better yet devastated our tiny little planet.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, The Moon, and Mars are all supposedly smaller than this planet, yet when it came right in front of all 5 it didn't even pull on them enough to make an oblong year cycle. This would contradict Einstein's mathematical theories entirely which would prove "Nibiru" to merely destroy any planet it comes in contact with by sheer gravitational force. If these 5 planets have not been pulled off of planetary alignment, and are still in great shape (no planetary dust that would signal a recent explosion) then this one is starting to look busted.

If it were to come in contact and collide with any of these 5 planets (entirely possible due to gravitational pull of Nibiru) they would have been obliterated off of our radar and the space dust created would have circled and eventually landed on Nibiru, the planet in which collided with them.

Let's calculate the sheer force of Nibiru on planet earth using Isaac Newton's law of Universal Gravitational Force.

The Formula (This is calculated in Kilograms and assumes a distance of Nibiru to planet earth of 450,000KM or 450,000,000 Meters):
Force of Gravity ~ (mass1 X mass2) / distance^2
Earth's Mass = 5.9742 × 10^24
Nibiru's Assumed Mass (double Earth's) = 1.19484 × 10^25
(5.9742 × (10^24)) X 1.19484 × (10^25) = 7.13821313 × 10^49
7.13821313 × 10^49 / 450,000,000^2 = 3.52504352 × 10^32

The sheer gravitational force is (in newtons):
3.52504352 × 10^32
OR
100000000000000000000000000000000 X 3.52504352 Newtons

Let's put this into perspective with some Newtonian Examples:

Gravitational attraction between Earth and Moon :: 2^26 Newtons
Gravitational attraction between Earth and Sun :: 2.1^28 Newtons
Gravitational attraction between "Nibiru" and planet Earth :: 3.52504352 × 10^32 Newtons

As you can see this is an extraordinary amount of gravitational force. This is merely calculated for force against earth, but the truth of the matter is the gravitational force would be outward affecting all planets in our solar system. Given the current nature of our cyclic solar system, and circular rotation around the sun, we are safe to assume that this amount of Newtonian force was never brought as wrath down on Earth. The sheer effects would be effecting our planetary cycle to this day. It would be an amazement of science that all 5 smaller planets supposedly were completely unaffected by this force that supposedly brought it's wrath on earth 3600 years ago.

I am starting to wonder if this is more Christian scare tactics as in the Bible it mentions "The day the earth stood still" - another theory which I believe is totally unacceptable.

At the equator, the earth is rotating at a speed that is about 1,670 km/hr, or 1,070 mi/hr. However, it is traveling around the sun at a rate of 67,000 mph.

The only possible act of gravity would be to stop the rate of traveling around the sun (67,000mph) because gravity is pulling on the object and does not have the effect of stopping it dead in it's tracks. It would have to halt our planet which weighs 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (6E+24) kilograms traveling at a rate of 67,000 MPH. Good luck Nibiru.

If we are to assume the Earth will stand still on the arrival of Nibiru we can expect a few things. First of all we depend highly on both the rotation of earth on it's axis for our 24 hour periods as well as the rotation around the sun for yearly periods including seasons and weather cycles. A halt to all of this would be devestating and it is likely we never recover from it. Secondly we must note that if this has happened in the past how did earth begin moving again? You could assume gravity, but for the precise climate needed to maintain the variety of species that have evolved on this planet that is impossible. Earth never stopped spinning either on it's axis or around the Sun - because if it did we would see the effects of it to this day (I.E. we would have to start it back up again).

Now I promised I would put a section in here dedicated to the Mayan calender. After all, it can be said that they created this whole fuss.

The Mayan calendar consists of many different cycles that work together. These include the long count, the calendar round, the short count, and the 819 day cycle among others. The dating system that doomsday entrepreneurs use is the long count. The long count is made of several cycles that work like an odometer. For Mayan era dates, as well as modern dates, five cycles need to be used. From the largest to the smallest they are -

* B'aktun = 20 k'atun
K'atun = 20 tun
Tun = 18 winal
Winal = 20 k'in
K'in = 1 day

An example of a long count would be 9.15.10.0.0. There a 9 b'aktuns, 15 k'atuns, 10 tuns, and no winals or k'ins.

The long count that is supposed to be the end of the world is 13.0.0.0.0. The day before is 12.19.19.17.19. The main significance of 13.0.0.0.0 is of course the number of zeroes.

However, the long count does not end at that point. There are many cycles beyond the b'aktun that can be used to describe any date. The are several instances of extremely large dates used. Coba Stela 1 has a long count that adds up to 41,943,040,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. Also, Macanxoc Stela 1 has a long count in the initial series that is 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13 .13.13.13.0.0.0.0. Their is no limit to the long count other than the size of the writing surface used and the patience of the scribe.

The other problem with 13.0.0.0.0 is determining the equivalent Gregorian calendar date. To do this you need a correlation between the two systems. Most Mayanists use the astronomical (584285) or the GMT (584283) correlation. Using the astronomical correlation places 13.0.0.0.0 on December 21, 2012 and the GMT gives a date of December 23. However, there is some question as to how accurate these correlations are.

The following paper describes some of the problems with the GMT correlation and points out that GMT may be off by 260 years!

K'in in the Hieroglyphic Record: Implications of a Pattern of Dates at Copan, Honduras by Gerardo Aldana.

Other correlations place 13.0.0.0.0 anywhere from December 11, 1614 (Willson 438906) to August 12, 2532 (Weitzel 774078).

I should also point out that classical Mayan civilization collapsed around 900 AD (using GMT) and the last long count inscriptions were from around the same time. That would be somewhere around 10.3.15.X.X, which I don't think was predicted.

New 'Windows' Open Up To Computer Users

If you have been holding off buying a new computer, then Windows 7, the latest operating system (OS) from Microsoft, will give you a good excuse to buy one. Windows 7, or Win 7, is largely believed to be better than Microsoft’s previous OS Windows Vista and way more advanced than the last generation Windows XP. But is it really all that?

First impressions
While it is easy to get infatuated with a new design and swanky features, the viability of an OS is only determined when you begin using it eight hours a day. We used a preview copy of Win 7 for over 12 hours and we have to admit that we do prefer it over Vista because it’s more stable and did not crash out even once.

We installed Win 7 on a desktop with 1 GHz processor and 4GB of RAM. The OS took a little over 30 minutes to install on the PC that had Vista Home Basic edition (time to install could vary depending on hardware profile and existing OS on your PC). Decisively, Win 7 loads faster than Vista, which takes hours to install.

Win 7’s minimum hardware requirements are roughly similar to those of Vista Home Basics — both require a 1 GHz processor and 15-16GB of hard-drive space, although Win 7 demands a minimum of 1GB memory, while Vista Home Basics needs 512MB memory.

Let’s be honest here. Win 7 is both a sigh of relief and breath of fresh air, after Vista. Built with a renewed focus on performance and ease-of-use, Win 7 is poised to succeed where Vista couldn’t.

Why is it better than Windows Vista?
Haunted by sluggish performance issues, from playing games to complicated disk access programmes to poor networking features, Vista was undoubtedly Microsoft’s biggest failure. Win 7, by contrast, will run fine on most of the existing netbooks as well as older PCs.

Win 7 delivers a completely revamped user interface and some brand-new features designed to make organising and sharing your files easier. Simply put, the user gets much more than new wallpaper and a different colour taskbar.

The taskbar, in addition to showing the applications being used by the user, also hosts shortcuts to the most commonly used applications (say Word or Media Player). When the mouse pointer is moved over the taskbar shortcuts, the user can preview the application.

Unlike Vista, the re-designed user interface of Win 7 gives the user intuitive shortcuts like ability to maximise a window by dragging it to the top of the screen, minimise it by dragging it to the bottom, maximise to half the screen by dragging it to either edge, or (our favorite) minimising all opened windows by shaking the one you want to focus on.

Is it really more secure and easier than Windows XP?
In one word — yes, Win 7 is way more secure than Windows XP and a step ahead of Vista too. Even though it is eight years old, Windows XP still remains the world’s most widely used operating system and almost completely dominates the netbook market.

But Windows XP users have a lot more to gain by going to Win 7. Vista had introduced some great features, such as fast searches of the entire hard drive, which, of course, are present in Win 7 too. Such features will be quite an attraction for users who haven’t yet used them on their Windows XP machines.

All technical tirades aside, Win 7 is the back-to-basics operating system. Moving beyond the eye-candy features, Windows XP users can customise how the user account control functions, or how tray icons work to suit their needs. This was never there in Windows XP.

What type of PCs and laptopscan run Windows 7?
The basic requirements of a PC to run Win 7 are a 1 GHz processor, minimum 1GB of RAM and 16GB hard drive space. In simple words, any hardware that worked with Vista will work for Win 7 too.

Since Microsoft is targeting future generation of casual users who use computers for mainly emails, office documents, Internet and video among other things, Win 7 could be an ideal choice for future PCs.

HP India has started retailing Win 7-preloaded PCs at between Rs 27,990 and Rs 90,000, while Acer PCs with Win 7 OS will be priced at between Rs 15,000 and Rs 35,000. Acer notebooks with the new OS will be priced at Rs 21,000-70,000.

Should you get ready to pay for the upgrade?
That’s a million-dollar question, if you are a Windows XP user. Is it worth Rs 5,800, that a Windows XP users will pay to get the new features in Win 7? Probably yes, as a superior OS also means a more secure and functional PC. But this is not necessarily a must-have upgrade for all the existing Windows XP users.

Although those users who will be upgrading from Vista will find it easier (and cheaper) to adopt Win 7, those who are migrating from Windows XP might need to completely wipe their hard drives and re-install their applications.

What you pay and what you get
* Windows 7 Starter (via OEM only): Up to three concurrent applications, ability to join a Home Group, improved taskbar and JumpLists.

* Windows 7 Home Basic: For Rs 5,899, users get unlimited applications, live thumbnail previews that enhance visual experience and advanced networking support.

* Windows 7 Home Premium: For Rs 6,799, you get Aero Glass and advanced windows navigation, improved media format support, enhanced Windows Media Centre and media streaming, and also multi-touch and improved handwriting recognition.

* Windows 7 Professional: For Rs 11,199, users can join a managed network with the Domain Join feature, protect data with advanced network backup and encrypting file system and print to the right printer at home or facilitate intuitive printing with Location Aware Printing option.

* Windows 7 Ultimate (worldwide): For Rs 11,799, it is meant for advanced users who want to protect data using the BitLocker feature on internal and external drives, deploy DirectAccess for seamless connectivity over corporate networks based on Windows Server 2008 R2

Version Blackberry Storm2 Available With OS 5.0

RIM has announced that the BlackBerry Storm2 will be made available via Verizon Wireless from October 28. Along with this, the company has also announced their long awaited BlackBerry OS 5.0.

This new operating system incorporates a host of new features. The BlackBerry Storm2 along with OS 5.0 is said to provide users a never before touchscreen experience.

The Storm2 features a smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate. The 3.25-inch screen of this handset flaunts a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. The screen comes integrated with functions like Send, End, Menu and Escape. The SurePress technology makes navigating practically effortless. The other features of the handset include 256MB of Flash memory, 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for Wi-Fi and EV-DO.

The BlackBerry OS 5.0 brings with it a greater stability and new flick-gestures for the Storm’s browser. The software claims to render the Storm a whole lot more usable, with noticeably reduced delay while toggling between applications

The Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm2 will be made available from October 28. The smartphone will be priced at $179.99 after a two year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. The BlackBerry OS 5.0 is now available for original Blackberry Storm users.

TVS Motors Q2 Net Up At Rs 24.6 cr

TVS Motor Co. posted a net profit of Rs.24.6 crore for the second quarter this fiscal, registering a record growth of 136 per cent from Rs.10.4 crore in the like period last fiscal, the leading two-wheeler maker said Friday.

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'We were able to post robust net profit by reducing raw material prices and inventory during the quarter. Focus on value, cost-effective engineering and improvement in sales realisation contributed to a record bottomline,' TVS Motor chairman and managing director Venu Srinivasan said.

The Hosur-based company's net sales, however, increased marginally to Rs 1,115 crore in the quarter under review from Rs.1,105 crore a year ago, posting 9.9 per cent growth.

The overall revenue too grew by 9.5 per cent to Rs.1,130 crore from Rs.1,034 crore last fiscal.

'We have witnessed a growth of 4.7 per cent in two-wheeler sales in the second quarter this fiscal with 391,241 units as against 373,761 units in the same period last fiscal,' the statement noted.

Sale of motorcycles, however, dipped 14 per cent to 155,492 units from 180,964 units, while scooter sales grew 12 per cent to 86,389 units from 76,853 units.

'In the three-wheeler segment, we have seen a record growth of 165 per cent with 3,259 units sold in the second quarter as against 1,226 units in the corresponding quarter last year,' the company said.

Exports continued to be affected due to global recession. As a result, shipments declined by 29 per cent to 35,080 units from 52,249 units.

More India business stories

After launching TVS King, a new generation three-wheeler (auto-rickshaw), the company unveiled TVS King Arjun and TVS King LS in Kolkata and Bangalore respectively.

In the current quarter, the company will launch two new products - a new motorcycle in the executive segment and a scooter.

Windows 7 May Push PC Market Revival

With Microsoft commercially rolling out its latest bet - the much-awaited Windows 7 operating system - leading vendors feel this will trigger a huge revival of the PC market.

Small wonder, Hewlett-Packard (HP), HCL, Samsung, Dell and Acer are getting their act together for this latest platform. For starters, vendors have decided that all forthcoming launches will either be bundled with Windows 7 or be Windows 7 compliant. Microsoft also believes that more than 100 different Windows 7 PCs will be launched in India over the next one month.

“The Indian market is already seeing early signs of revival and the launch of Windows 7 will create more excitement among consumers. By the end of the year, we will have eight netbook and notebook models on this platform,” Samsung India director (IT and telecom) Ranjit Yadav said.

According to last published data compiled by IDC, the Indian PC market grew by 5.2% during April-June quarter, a degrowth of 15% compared to last year. PC vendors, however, claim the market has significantly improved. Windows 7 is expected to lend a bigger push to sales.

Samsung has drawn a two-pronged strategy — while for netbooks it will continue with both Windows XP and Windows 7, in case of notebooks, it will completely migrate to Windows 7. Dell, too, has outlined a pipeline of 80 models that will be powered with Windows 7. HP, however, will continue with all the versions of Windows.

“Windows 7, due to its inherent features will help bring touch-based PCs into the mainstream. We already have a few touch products and will now expand this portfolio. HP believes that touch PCs will become a critical factor for the growth of the market,” HP India president (personal systems group) Ravi Swaminathan told ET.
Domestic PC maker HCL timed the launch of its ‘ME series’ of laptops with that of Windows 7. “There is huge synergy since both Windows 7 and our new laptop range has been designed to appeal to GenNext,” said HCL Infosystems executive VP (marketing) George Paul.

Mr Paul feels since Windows 7 will be able to support programmes originally designed for the Windows XP platform, it will trigger faster enterprise adoption. “Windows Vista enterprise users will also be able to upgrade their PCs to Windows 7 at no additional cost,” he said.

Analysts, however, feel the pace of enterprise adoption will be relatively slower. Said IDC India lead PC analyst Sumanta Mukherjee: “While adoption of Windows 7 among consumers is expected to be reasonably quicker, enterprises may wait a little longer before going for a complete Windows overhaul. However, Windows 7 is expected to be much better received by the market, as compared to its predecessor Windows Vista.”

Microsoft, on its part, confirmed that more than 1,000 enterprises in India are currently deploying Windows 7, including Infosys, Maruti, Wipro, Big Cinemas, Biocon, MindTree, NIIT, L&T ECC and GMR Infrastructure, among others. Some companies like Dell have also unveiled consulting, management and support services designed to help organisations migrate to the Windows 7 operating system.

Pakistan Forces Move On Taliban

The Pakistan army has started moving troops & artillery towards the Taliban Militants' stronghold in South Waziristan, local offcials say.

They told the BBC that 30,000 troops backed by tanks were moving in on the stronghold of Hakimullah Mehsud, the new head of the Pakistan Taliban.

They are moving from the north, the east, the west. A curfew was imposed in the region before the offensive began, after several Taliban attack in recent days.

More than 150 people have been killed in co-ordinate attacks in several Pakistan cities.

Three - Prolonged Attack

Troops were moving from the northern town of Razmak, between North & South Wazirstan; from Jandola in the East; & from Shakai in the West.

They were reported to be moving towards Makeen, Spinkai Raghzai & Tiarza.

The ground operations comes after weeks o air & artillery strikes against militant targets in the region, which lies close to the Afghan border.

Bhajji Loses Cool Again

Bangalore: Harbhajan Singh finds himself in the middle of a controversy all over again after the off-spinner jabbed at a cameraman at the Bangalore International Airport Wednesday.
The feisty off-spinner, often in the news for all the wrong reasons, jabbed at the cameraman after his camera brushed his head
Harbhajan glared at the cameraman even as a security person tried to push back the pack of lensmen who had the cricketer virtually mobbed.
The Punjab spinner has a rather dubious disciplinary record, having been penalised for various offences during his career.
The most infamous of these has been 2007’s ‘monkeygate’ incident involving the off-spinner and Andrew Symonds.
In the same year, Harbhajan, playing for Mumbai Indians, was banned for the remainder of the IPL matches for ‘slapgate’ — which was him slapping S. Sreesanth.
These flare-ups of a temperamental sportsman will be of little help to the offie in his dream of leading India some day because that is one honour that Harbhajan covets.
So, although the soft-spoken Virender Sehwag does not want to lead Team India, the feisty Harbhajan thinks it’s a challenge worth taking up.
However, some of the national selectors, including chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, said they were not aware of Sehwag’s comments.
Sehwag had said that a new vice-captain be appointed with an eye to grooming him to take over from Dhoni. Harbhajan said Mahendra Singh Dhoni was “doing a fantastic job” at the helm but he made no secret of his desire, saying he would not shy away if the captaincy came his way.
“Whoever plays for India wants to lead the side at some stage and it’s no different with me.
“At the end of the day, it’s a huge honour for a player,” Harbhajan said before leaving for the tri-series in Sri Lanka.
Incidentally, Harbhajan had a taste of captaincy, leading Air India Blue to the Sahara BCCI Corporate Trophy final where his team lost to the Yuvraj Singh-led Air India Red.

Vijender Does It Again, Breaks Medal Jinx At World C'ships

Indian boxing's jinx-breaker Vijender Singh achieved yet another historic feat as he ensured the country's first medal in the World Championships by advancing to the middle-weight semifinals in Milan, Italy.The world number two and top seed Vijender out-punched Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko 12-4 late last night to become the first Indian to make the last-four stage of the prestigious event."I am on cloud nine...it's a feeling that cannot be described in words. I have broken another jinx for India and I am very happy," the 23-year-old who won India's maiden Olympic medal -- a bronze -- in Beijing last year, told PTI from Milan.

Paes-Bhupathi To Face-Off In Men's Doubles Final

New York: The US Open men's doubles final will see estranged Indian partners Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi facing each other.
It is the first time the two players, who won three slams together, will be up against each other in a Grand Slam final.Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, seeded third, won 6-4, 6-2 against the fifth seeded pair of Belarussian Max Mirnyi and Israeli Andy Ram in the semi-final.In Images: Paes on target for doubles celebrationEarlier, in the other semi-final, the fourth-seeded pair of Paes and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic overcame a stiff challenge from top-seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) and avenged their defeat in the title-round here last year.Paes and Dlouhy held their nerves in the tense decider to pull off a thrilling match in an hour and 51 minutes. The deciding set lasted 55 minutes with Paes and Dlouhy wasting a match point in the 10th game off left-hander Bob's serve.Dlouhy struggled with his serve initially in the third set. Federer's record run continues He was down 0-40 in the first game, but managed to hold after saving three break points in the game that stretched to 16 points.Bob and Mike served strong and won three straight service games at love to level 3-3. Paes' service was under attack in the seventh game and he had to ward off four break points to hold after being down 0-40.The Indo-Czech pair had a match point at 5-4 on Bob's serve, but could not convert and the set went to the tie-breaker.Paes and Dlouhy raced to a 5-0 lead in the tie-breaker, before Bob and Mike fought back. Fan charged for kissing Nadal courtside at US OpenThe Americans saved four match points at 6-2 to draw level. Finally Paes and Dlouhy wrapped it up in their sixth match point with Paes showing great reflexes at the net and putting away a volley.For Bhupathi and Knowles, it wasn't as tough a task and the duo took 76 minutes to wrap up the match in straight sets.Paes, who won the title here in 2006 partnering Martin Damm, entered the US Open title round for the fifth time. He has also advanced to the mixed doubles final with Zimbabwean Cara Black. The duo are the defending champions.

Chandrayaan Enables Study Interaction Without Magnetic Field

BANGALORE: A Chandrayaan-1 moon mission payload has enabled scientists to study the interaction between the solar wind and a planetary body like moon without a magnetic field, a meeting convened by ISRO was told.

The payload in question is a joint one of Sweden and India -- Sub KeV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) which covered the entire lunar surface several times, ISRO said in a statement at the end of a meeting of payload scientists from India and abroad connected with the Chandrayaan-1 mission. Scientists from ISRO, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, and European Space Agency (ESA) met here yesterday and today and reviewed the data sets obtained from the 11 payloads (scientific instruments) on board the lunar craft. The scientists discussed results obtained from that data, some of which are being reviewed by a peer review committee. ISRO said the 11 payloads have largely met their objectives of studying the moon from different perspectives. Among those, four instruments -- Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Hyperspectral Imager (HySI) and Smart near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2) -- have provided extensive data on moon's topography, mineralogy and chemistry. "TMC and HySI payloads of ISRO have covered about 70 per cent of the lunar surface, while M3 covered more than 95 per cent of the same and SIR-2 has provided high-resolution spectral data on the mineralogy of the moon", ISRO said. Indian Space Research Organisation said interesting data on lunar polar areas was provided by Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) and High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) of ISRO as well as Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) of the USA. LLRI covered both the lunar poles and additional lunar regions of interest, HEX made about 200 orbits over the lunar poles and Mini-SAR provided complete coverage of both North and South Polar Regions of the moon. Another ESA payload -- Chandrayaan-1 imaging X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) -- detected more than two dozen weak solar flares during the mission duration. The Bulgarian payload called Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) was activated on the day of the launch itself and worked till the mission's end. ISRO said scientists from India and participating agencies expressed satisfaction on the excellent performance of Chandrayaan-1 mission as well as the high quality of data sent by the spacecraft. They have started formulating science plans based on the data sets obtained from the mission. It is expected that in the next few months, interesting results about lunar topography, mineral and chemical contents of the moon and related aspects are expected to be published,ISRO said. ISRO terminated the Chandrayaan mission, which was to last two years, on August 30 after it failed to re-establish contact with the lunar craft ,ten months after it was launched.

Rare Gold Watch Stolen From Shastri Memorial

NEW DELHI: Thieves struck at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial in high security Ashoka Road area last week, and made away with a rare gold watch a symbol of friendship between erstwhile USSR and India.

The unidentified thieves took away a gold wristwatch presented to second Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri by his counterpart Alexei Kosygin when the former visited Moscow just before the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. The watch was kept in a glass case at the memorial which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005. "I was in first year of college. I remember that my father was unaware that it was a gold watch. He told me that he came from a humble family and he did not know how to handle expensive gifts. He presented the watch to me. I wore the watch for 40 years before handing it over to the memorial museum,'' said Anil Shastri, Lal Bahadur's Shastri's son and special invitee to the Congress Working Committee. He is also the holding trustee of the museum which displays over 800 items belonging to the late Prime Minister. The theft came to light on September 3 but the authorities of the memorial, located adjacent to the AICC headquarters, reported the matter to the police only four days later. According to curator Kundan Singh, the theft was detected by memorial director professor A K Das around 3.30pm, hours before the visiting time was to end. "Das reported the incident to me. We immediately formed an internal committee and probed if any of the 15 staff members or security staff were involved. The probe was initially to be completed in two days but the director wanted to be absolutely sure before he approached the police. The complaint was lodged four days later on September 7,'' said Anil Shastri. A case of theft has been registered at the Tughlaq Road police station. "We sent our crime team to lift fingerprints but sadly the police was called in late. The caretaker was on leave that day. There are no CCTV cameras at the memorial and neither is any alarm system in place. We are investigating the matter,'' said Shankar Dash, additional commissioner of police, New Delhi district. According to Anil Shastri, CPWD had been approached for installation of CCTV cameras and alarm system. "Our own investigations have revealed that a particular couple had been lingering in the gallery area for a long time that day. We have informed the police about this,'' he said. A senior investigating officer maintained that even the basic security drill at the museum was not being carried out. "It is shocking that visitors coming out are not properly checked. The glass casket containing the watch was stuck with chemicals and kept in the display room that exhibits Shastri's personal items like glasses and his favourite Mont Blanc pen. It takes time to cut through the glass cover. But none of the three attendants supposed to keep an eye on the gallery noticed it,'' added the officer. "It is a personal loss for the family. Not only did that watch have an emotional and historical connect, I presume it was one of the rarest Russian-made watches in the country. It's value in the auction market will be no less than several lakhs,'' said Anil Shastri. He added that he had not expected such a theft to take place at the memorial of an "honest man". Meanwhile, this is the third high-profile theft in the national capital in the last one week. On September 4, police received a complaint that the office of President Pratibha Patil's officer on special duty had been burgled in the high-security Rashtrapati Bhavan complex. A day later, the OSD to Sonia Gandhi
reported a theft in his daughter's car.

Grounded UAE Plane Takes Off

A China-bound UAE military transport plane laden with weapons and detained in Kolkata, earlier this week took off on Thursday morning (September 10). The UAE Air Force aircraft was detained at the NSC Bose International airport in Kolkata and now has been given the green signal by the custom authorities. Sources stated that the defense ministry has been told to released the plane after the crew were found to be cooperative. The plane, detained on September 7th was held up and it's nine member crew questioned after finding a large cache of arms and ammunition onboard. Embarrassed by the incident, the United Arab Emirates were quick in expressing regret and described the incident as a "technical error".

Pakistan Altered Missiles Given By US To Target India

Washington: Pakistan illegally modified missiles given by the US for its defence to expand capability to strike land targets, a potential threat to India, a media report said on Sunday. The charge, which set off new tensions between the US and Pakistan, was made in an unpublicized diplomatic protest in late June to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials, The New York Times reported.
At issue is the detection by American intelligence agencies of a suspicious missile test April on 23 - a test never announced by the Pakistanis - that appeared to give the country a new offensive weapon. American military and intelligence officials say they suspect that Pakistan has modified the Harpoon anti-ship missiles that the US sold in the 1980s, a move that would be a violation of the Arms Control Export Act. The accusation comes at a time, when the administration is asking the US Congress to approve USD 7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan over the next five years, and when Washington is pressing a reluctant Pakistani military to focus its attentions on fighting the Taliban, rather than expanding its nuclear and conventional forces aimed at India. While American officials say that the weapon in dispute is a conventional one, the subtext of the argument is growing concern about the speed with which Pakistan is developing new generations of both conventional and nuclear weapons. "There is a concerted effort to get these guys to slow down," one senior administration official was quoted as saying. "Their energies are misdirected." Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself. Whatever their origin, the missiles would be a significant new entry into Pakistan's arsenal against India. It would enable Pakistan's small Navy to strike targets on land, complementing the sizable land-based missile arsenal that Pakistan has developed, the paper said. That, in turn, would be likely to spur another round of an arms race with India that the US has been trying, unsuccessfully, to halt. "The potential for proliferation and end-use violations are things we watch very closely," said another senior administration official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to New York Times. "When we have concerns, we act aggressively." A senior Pakistani official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the US accusation was "incorrect". The official said that the missile tested was developed by Pakistan, just as it had modified North Korean designs to build a range of land-based missiles that could strike India.

Pakistan Blast 'Kills 14 Cadets'

A suspected suicide bomb attack in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley has killed at least 14 police recruits and injured others, officials say.

Disguised as a recruit, the suspected bomber walked into a police base where the cadets were being trained.
No-one has claimed the attack - the deadliest since the recent Pakistani army offensive there which officials said had driven out Taliban militants.
The Taliban have threatened to avenge the killing of their leader this month.
Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack.
See a map of the region
Some two million people were displaced from the Swat valley when the three-month-long conflict was at its height. Isolated skirmishes continue. Residents began returning home last month.
Big blast
The explosion targeted recruits for a community police force as they trained in Mingora, the valley's main town, provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said.
We will not allow the enemies of the country to succeed in their evil designs
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani
Reports from the area say there was a big blast followed by bursts of gunfire. A local hospital official said 14 bodies in police uniforms had been brought in.
Television footage from the scene showed bodies being recovered from outside the police base, which has been the target of previous attacks.
Security forces in Mingora were put on high alert and nearby shops and markets closed for business, officials said.
Responsibility for the latest bombing has not yet been claimed but BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says suspicion is likely to fall on the Taliban, after new leader Hakimullah Mehsud vowed revenge for the death of his predecessor.
The attack came a day after the army said it had destroyed a major training camp for suicide bombers in the area.
After the blast, a local official said occasional incidents were to be expected but it was believed that the Taliban's back had been broken during the army's offensive.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the killings and ordered an inquiry into the attack, adding that the government was determined to carry on the fight against militancy.
"We will not allow the enemies of the country to succeed in their evil designs," he said in a statement. On Thursday, 22 border guards were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a checkpoint in the Khyber Pass, on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

Senator Edward Kennedy Buried With Full Honours

Arlington National Cemetery on a grassy hillside beside his two assassinated brothers, President John F Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy.

The senator's remains were flown to Washington for a final journey past the white marble Lincoln Memorial and across the Memorial Bridge to their final resting place. Crowds had earlier lined the streets of rainy Boston where the funeral was held earlier in the day.
As evening fell on a humid summer day, only the Kennedy family and a few close friends - including the Vice President Joseph Biden attended the burial.


Military pallbearers carried the flag-draped casket from the hearse to the grave site. Seven riflemen then fired three volleys in a traditional military funeral ritual for a member of Congress, and a bugler sounded taps. Lightning flickered across the sky and the man known as the "lion of the Senate" was buried.
Arlington National Cemetery is where the nation's military heroes and prominent historical figures are buried. It overlooks the Potomac River with the grand monuments of Washington stretching away in the distance.
An eternal flame indicates President Kennedy's grave nearby, and Robert Kennedy's is marked by a decorative fountain. Senator Kennedy was a regular visitor to the site, coming at least six times a year to his brothers' graves, often by himself.
Earlier the funeral cortege stopped briefly at the US Capitol, to witness an extraordinary outpouring of emotion, when applause echoed around the imposing grounds for over three minutes. Hundreds of people, including senators and congressmen, friends and staff members gathered on the steps to bid farewell The hearse bearing the flag-draped coffin halted briefly on the last leg of the senator's final journey. It was the same flag which had flown from the Capitol building on the final Senate session in Mr Kennedy's 47 years in office.

Two Koreas To Restart Family Reunions

SEOUL — South and North Korea agreed Friday to restart a reunion programme for families divided by their 1950-53 conflict, in the latest sign of an easing of tensions after more than a year of hostility.
The reunions will be held from September 26 to October 1, the two sides said in a joint statement on their third day of talks. They will be the first for two years.
The hardline communist North suspended the programme after a conservative South Korean government took office in February 2008 and announced a tougher line on cross-border relations.
"The South and the North will continue to cooperate on the issue of separated families and other humanitarian issues involving the Red Cross," the statement said after talks at the North's Mount Kumgang resort where families will meet.
In a programme organised by each side's Red Cross, families will meet just before Korea's Chuseok (Thanksgiving) day, one of the year's two most important holidays.
Yonhap news agency said earlier the South had withdrawn its demand that the statement refer to South Korean prisoners of war and to civilians believed kidnapped by the North during the Cold War era.
Seoul says 494 of its people, mostly fishermen, were seized in the decades following the war and more than 500 prisoners of war were never sent home in 1953.
Pyongyang insists it is not holding anyone against their will even though some abductees have escaped to the South.
"I believe our position has been sufficiently explained to the North through these talks," unification ministry spokesman Chun Hae-Sung said in Seoul.
"Here, we will focus on the most pressing issue of arranging the Chuseok reunion, but our efforts will continue with patience."
Seoul also dropped demands for the reunions to be held on a regular basis so that many more elderly people can meet loved ones before they die.
The North and South agreed to select 100 people on each side and locate their relatives across the border.
Tens of thousands of families have been separated by barbed wire and minefields since the war. There are no civilian mail or telephone services between the two countries.
The reunions normally last for three days.
The programme began in earnest after the first inter-Korean summit in 2000 eased tensions between the historical enemies.
More than 16,000 Koreans from both sides of the border have held face-to-face meetings since then while 3,200 others communicated through video links.
The North's leader Kim Jong-Il and a visiting Seoul business chief agreed this month the reunions should resume around Thanksgiving. They also agreed to restart tourist trips to the North by South Koreans.
In another conciliatory gesture Kim last weekend sent a team to Seoul to mourn ex-president Kim Dae-Jung and to hold talks with current leader Lee Myung-Bak.
The overtures follow a year of sabre-rattling, including missile launches and a nuclear test this year which brought tougher United Nations sanctions.
The North is also trying to ease tensions with Washington. This month it freed two US reporters after ex-president Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang.
It has expressed willingness for talks with Washington to end the nuclear standoff.
US special envoy to North Korea Stephen Bosworth will travel to Asian capitals soon but not to Pyongyang, the State Department said Thursday.