As the United States approaches into the 10th year of its combat operation in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said that the leadership of Al-Qaida remains anchored in the border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

An eminent American expert on South Asian affairs has said the US policy makers and industrial leaders have been taken off guard by the Bill and it threatens to cast a pall over the historic Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

The owners of a Chilean mine which collapsed early this month, trapping 33 men underground, asked forgiveness on Tuesday for the accident, as a giant drill slowly bored through the earth to rescue the miners.

NASA and aerospace company ATK Aerospace Systems successfully tested on Tuesday the most powerful solid-fuel rocket engine ever, even though its future in the space program remains in doubt.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Tuesday on an Israeli car in the West Bank and killed four passengers on the eve of a new round of Mideast peace talks in Washington.

In a noble gesture, Chhattisgarh policemen donated blood to save the life of a Maoist who sustained a bullet injury in the state's restive Bastar region, officials said on Tuesday.

Three more battalions of security forces, comprising nearly 3,000 personnel, will be deployed in Orissa for anti-Maoist operations in addition to the eight already pressed into service, a senior official said.

A Delhi court on Tuesday issued Letters Rogatory to the US authorities to provide details of the emails exchanged between disgraced diplomat Madhuri Gupta and her handlers in Pakistan in the spying case in which she allegedly passed sensitive information to ISI agents.

Government on Tuesday admitted in the Rajya Sabha that diversion of funds meant for the welfare of SC/STs to Commonwealth Games projects by the Delhi Government was "wrong" and efforts would be made to bring them back to the SC/ST Fund.

hidambaram will visit Mangalkote in Burdwan district on Saturday which had witnessed clashes between TC and CPM.

Mayawati decided to start recruitment for setting up a police force to guard parks and memorials for Dalit icons.

Former Haryana DGP, found guilty in the Ruchika molestation case, is being stripped of his meritorious service medal.

Bal Thackeray flayed the tennis star for her decision to marry Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh asks why there cannot be a convocation with everyone sporting a simple dress.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Premier League (IPL) cricketers had been approached about spot-fixing over the last two-and-a-half years, former India player Atul Wassan said on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted a government petition seeking harsher sentences for seven people convicted for their role in the world's worst industrial disaster that killed thousands of people in 1984.

WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Barack Obama declared an end to the seven-year U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday and told war-weary Americans his central responsibility now is to restore the sagging U.S. economy.

KOT ADDU, Pakistan (Reuters) - For some of the children caught up in Pakistan's floods, the most frightening moment of their lives was the day before the water hit.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India expressed concerns on Tuesday about China's influence in the Indian Ocean region, the latest sign of tension between the Asian giants who are competing for resources and geopolitical power in the region.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said everyone wanted privacy but convenience of the people cannot be ignored.

Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha's eyes welled up on seeing his daughter on screen.

Gauri reveals that though she likes everything to be her way at home, she has alloted a private space for Shah Rukh Khan

Even in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, all Pakistan can seem to think of is its animosity towards India.

Australia today warned of possible terrorist attacks in public places in India, especially in New Delhi and Mumbai, and advised its citizens not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir.

But President Barack Obama isn't calling it a victory for America. He said a lot more still has to be done in Iraq.

A New York Times article had claimed that Pakistan had handed Gilgit-Baltistan region in PoK to China's Army.

The CBI is seeking stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the seven accused in the tragedy.

The tainted players were summoned back to London from Taunton for interrogation by Scotland Yard.

The former Pakistan skipper were also not in favour of a life ban to players involved in spot-fixing.

BY RANA AYYUB

BY ANUMEHA YADAV

BY SWAPAN DASGUPTA

BY RAMAN KIRPAL

UPA-2’s big ticket idea is food security. It should get basic warehousing in order first

By blocking the $7-billion Vedanta mining project in Orissa and slowing down multi-crore projects, Jairam Ramesh takes on all who oppose his green agenda, be they colleagues or corporations.

Frequent admonitions by the courts and sharp reactions from the LDF have the judiciary and Government at loggerheads.

It's the next big thing in gaming. Digits may soon become redundant in the digital playground as couch potatoes upgrade from clicks to gestures and body movements.

It's a crazed new world out there with regular city dwellers riding the chemical wave.

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Harpreet Aulakh, the estranged husband of Geeta, whose dismembered body was found in the streets of London, has appeared in court after being charged with her murder.

Britain has tightened immigration rules from January for Indian IT professionals seeking to move to the UK under inter-company transfers. From next year, workers in this category will need to have 12 months experience instead of six months as at present with their employer before they can be transferred to the UK, official sources said.

NDTV has met with Vikram Buddhi - the PhD student jailed in the US for allegedly posting hate messages against former President George Bush on the Internet in 2006. This is the first time Vikram is meeting with any journalist to tell us his side of the story since he was arrested three and a half years ago. Buddhi’s sentencing is due on December 10. He spoke with NDTV’s Sarah Jacob in prison today.

The Metropolitan Police have arrested a teenager for allegedly murdering Geeta Aulakh last week. 18-year-old Sher Singh of Southall was produced in court on Monday. Aulakh, a 28-year-old mother of two, was found battered in West London, with one of her hands chopped off. Six people including her estranged husband Harpreet Aulakh had initially been arrested for questioning, but were later let off.

With a proven track record in managing complex work programmes, Indian economist Siddharth Tiwari has been named as the Secretary of the IMF by its Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Nine men, all Vietnamese, held guilty for stabbing an Indian man to death in a brothel.

Three Indians have been named in MIT's prestigious 'Tech Review' list of top young...

'Operation Samosa' was a project to fund attacks on Canadian troops in Afghanistan, say police.

Gone are the days when anything and everything that was passed off as Indian food would be happily tucked in by Britons.

A 23-year old Indian national, who molested five girls and women in May this year, has been sentenced to eight years of jail and ordered to be given 12 cane strokes.

Derby v Northants, Group B, CB40: Northamptonshire won by 5 wkts. Derby 171/10, Northants 172/5

Sachin Tendulkar today said that people bringing disgrace to the game makes him sad as it leaves a bad impression on cricket.

Paul McCarthy, sports editor of the News of the World, said there was no hidden agenda behind his publication's decision to target the Pakistani players in its sting operation.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Tuesday it would not suspend players embroiled in betting scam allegations while the claims are investigated, though they are set to miss the next match. Meanwhile British authorities revealed they had made three arrests on money laundering grounds, which sources confirmed were linked to the cricket scandal.

The three Pakistan players engulfed in betting scam allegations will be summoned to a meeting in London on Thursday -- effectively ruling them out of the team's warm-up match here. Pakistan team manager Yawaz Saeed said Test captain Salman Butt plus bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif are due to meet with Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner (ambassador) to Britain.

Cuttack, March 19: The Deccan Chargers playing their first ever IPL home game at the Barabati Stdaium in Cuttack tamed Kings XI Punjab by six runs to record their second win in Match 12 of the IPL 2010. The listless Kings XI Punjab made 164/8, chasing 170 for win falling short by six runs. But the contest was never as close as the scores make it out to be simply because the Kings XI Punjab kept loosing wickets at frequent intervals because of which they were never in the hunt. Kings XI Punjab have so far had a nightmare of a tournament losing all their first three matches while Deccan Chargers have finally notched a home victory. Kings XI Punjab were off to a disastrous start, as purple cap holder left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, the highest wicket-taker with seven wickets from three matches, swung the ball late and captured two top order wickets. Opener MS Bisla was run out, skipper Kumar Sangakarra was done in by a ball from Vaas which came in and hit the stumps to have Kings XI Punjab reeling at 11/2. It became 22/3 in the fifth over when left-hander Yuvraj Singh continued his poor form with the bat. He hit Vaas straight to Herschelle Gibbs at covers. England opener Ravi Bopara, Kings XI Punjab’s main run-getter, could score only a 32-ball 38 before he was caught in the deep of off-spinnner Rohit Sharma. West Indian opener Adrian Barath, who made his IPL debut for the Kings XI Punjab today, made only seven before falling to local hero Pragyan Ojha. However, it was left-hander Irfan Pathan (60; 29 balls, 3x4, 5x6) who fought a lonely battle to create some element of hope for the Kings XI Punjab with his lusty hitting. Pathan took the match to the last over. But his fine rearguard innings ended when the surprise last over choice bowler Jaskaran Singh had him caught at deep mid-wicket. The twentieth over that Jaskaran bowled was incidentally his first of the game. Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist was on a song, as the Aussie left-hander slammed a whirlwind 12-ball 33 (4x4, 2x6). Gilchrist struck both the sixes off an inconsistent Sreesanth, who conceded as many as 51 runs today. But Gilchrist's innings was cut short when he top edged left-arm seamer Shalabh Srivastava and was caught at short mid-wicket by Jayawardene. Deccan Chargers suffered a setback when VVS Laxman got injured in a strange circumstance when Srivastava threw the ball wildly from mid-on that got Laxman’s forearm. The batsman had to retire hurt for 10. Although Rohit Sharma (run out) and left-hander Anirudh Singh were out cheaply, Herschelle Gibbs made a 23-ball 23 and Andrew Symonds struck his second successive half century before he was held in the deep for 38-ball 53 (3x3, 3x6). T Suman played a cameo knock of 26 (22 balls, 2x4, 1x6) as Decccan Chargers reached 170/7.

New Delhi, March 19: Man of the match Mathew Hayden came up with a stunning 93 (43 balls), which included nine fours and seven sixes, as Chennai Super Kings conquered Delhi Daredevils by five wickets in Match 11 of the IPL 2010 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here today. This was the second successive win for Chennai Super Kings, sans their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, while Delhi Daredevils tasted their second defeat in a row. Chasing 186 for victory, Chennai Super Kings scored 190/5 in 19.1 overs.But the evening belonged to the burly Hayden and his Mongoose bat. After two failures with the bat, the former Aussie opener blazed away to play an aggressive knock with his Mongoose bat. The left-hander toyed with the hapless Delhi Daredevils bowlers. He launched into the attack in the fifth over hitting his first six off Rajat Bhatia and then in the eighth over, T Dilshan faced the wrath of Hayden’s bat. The Lankan off-spinner was clubbed for three sixes as the 50 for the Chennai Super King’s was raised in 5 overs and then the 100 came in 10 overs. Hayden and skipper Suresh Raina, who began his captaincy on a winning note, added 50 runs in 23 deliveries. Delhi Daredevils finally dismissed Hayden with Dilshan bringing off a superlative catch at long on. Chennai Super Kings lost two more wickets that of Justin Kemp (bowled) and Albie Morkel (caught at mid-wicket) but Raina, with his 34-ball 49 not out (3x4, 3x6), saw the team through with five balls to spare. Earlier Parthiv Patel, who kept the wickets as Dhoni was injured, was run out for six while S Badrinath, the batting hero of the previous match, was dismissed for 14. Delhi Daredevils bowlers looked ordinary but Nannes was outstanding as he finished with figures of 4-0-18-0. Electing to bat, Virender Sehwag (74; 38 balls, 10x4, 3x6) gave a sparkling start to Delhi Daredevils. The Indian opener moved into top gear from the first over even as he lost Australian explosive opener David Warner, who came in place of the injured skipper Gautam Gambhir, early. Sehwag, as usual, went hammer and tongs. Sehwag brought up yet another 50 in 22 deliveries (8x4, 2x6) while Delhi Daredevils’ 50 came in the fifth over. Delhi Devils were cruising along but at 102 - Muralitharan the Lankan veteran off-spinner provided twin breakthroughs at a crucial juncture of the game. Muralitharan forced Dilshan to play a false shot and the resultant skier was held in the deep and one run later Sehwag was caught by Kemp. Suresh Raina, leading the side in place of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, brought in off-spinner R Ashwin, who obliged his skipper by sending back South African batsman AB de Villiers for 2. Delhi Daredevils lost three wickets in space of five runs. Chennai Super Kings were right back in the game as skipper Dinesh Karthik returned to pavilion, falling leg before to medium pacer Joginder Sharma. Mithun Manhas (32 off 22 balls, 5x4) and all-rounder Rajat Bhatia (21 off nine balls) batted fluently in the end overs as the Delhi Daredevils posted a challenging total of 185/6. For Chennai Super Kings, it was good come back as at one stage the Delhi Daredevils looked like scoring over 200.

Bengaluru, March 18: Praveen Kumar notched up the first hat-trick of the IPL 2010 to star in Bangalore Royal Challengers’ comprehensive ten-wicket win over the insipid Rajasthan Royals in match 10 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here tonight. The 23-year-old Praveen Kumar (3/18) and skipper Anil Kumble (3/9) destroyed the Rajasthan Royals who were bundled out for the season’s lowest total, 92 in 19.5 overs. Praveen Kumar’s hat-trick came in the 17th over of the innings. The canny swing bowler’s first victim was Damien Martyn (bowled), debutant Sumit Narwal (caught in the deep) and Paras Dogra (bowled) with his second, third and fourth deliveries of his third over. This was the seventh hat-trick of the three-year-old IPL tournament. Orange Cap holder and man of the match Jacques Kallis (44 not out, 34 balls, 7x4), the tournament’s highest run-getter with198 runs, and young Manish Pandey (42 not out, 30 balls, 7x4, 1x6) completed the formalities with 56 balls to spare. Bangalore Royal Challengers have chalked up their second successive win to run into form, while the Shane Warne led 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals tumbled to their third defeat on the trot. Bangalore Royal Challengers face table toppers Mumbai Indians on Saturday at Mumbai. Injuries to South African captain Graeme Smith (finger) and England all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas (ankle) forced Rajasthan Royals to play Australian 38-year-old Damien Martyn and Yorkshire left-handed opener Michael Lumb against Bangalore Royal Challengers. There was a third change in the foreigner players list with out-of-form Shaun Tait making room for South African fast bowler Morne Morkel. There were totally five changes for the Rajasthan Royals today. Put into bat, the Rajasthan Royals batsmen struggled as Dale Steyn, Praveen Kumar, D Vinay Kumar and Kallis contained the openers Naman Ojha and Lumb. The batsmen could not break free against the more accurate Bangalore Royal Challengers attack. Rajasthan Royals scored just 27 runs in five overs. Ojha, in desperation, swung Kallis wildly and was caught by Uthappa. Lumb was foxed by the wily leg spinner Kumble and was stumped for 10. Kallis was denied a wicket by umpire Hariharan who was unmoved after a confident appeal for a caught behind decision against Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, which was rejected. The veteran seamer had his revenge two balls later when the batsman chopped the ball on to his stumps. Rajasthan Royals had the slowest start of the tournament so far, scoring 45/3 in 10 overs. The big-hitting Yusuf Pathan, who slammed a hurricane century against the Mumbai Indians, broke free by clubbing Vinay Kumar for two sixes in the 12th over. Pathan rode on his luck as he was dropped at 19 (Dravid). But he was back in the pavilion, run out for a 24-ball 26 as Kohli broke the stumps with a brilliant throw from covers. Martyn (19 off 24 balls), who was a pale shadow of his playing days, got his first boundary after 22 deliveries but was yorked the next ball by Praveen Kumar. The Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals innings was in disarray as debutant left-handed Sumit Narhwal pulled and Manish Pandey brought off a splendid catch at square leg. A pumped-up Praveen Kumar completed the first hat-trick of the tournament by clean bowling Paras Dogra in the 17th over.

New Delhi, March 17: Skipper Sachin Tendulkar (32-ball 62, 11x4) was on a roll as he led his Mumbai Indians from the front to a huge 98-run win over table toppers Delhi Daredevils in Match 9 of the IPL 2010 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here tonight. Firing on all cylinders, the Mumbai Indians posted a massive 218/7 in 20 overs, which incidentally is their highest score in the IPL thus far. It was also the Mumbai Indians second successive 200 plus score in IPL 2010. Delhi Daredevils, in reply, were never in the hunt as they were dismissed for 120 in 16.3 overs. In their defense Delhi Daredevils, did suffer a huge setback when their skipper Gautam Gambhir pulled a hamstring and did not bat. This incidentally was the first first defeat for the Delhi Daredevils in three outings in IPL 2010, while Mumbai Indians recorded their second consecutive win to be placed at the top of the leader board. Delhi Daredevils batting fell apart once T Dilshan and Virender Sehwag were back in the pavilion in the seventh over. Dilshan was done in by a slower one by Lasith Malinga to be bowled. Then the dangerous Sehwag, after hitting a typical 16-ball 26, was caught in the deep off medium pacer Dwayne Bravo. The tricky Bravo scalped his second wicket in the same over by bowling AB de Villiers, which pretty much took the wind out of Delhi’s sails. Bravo and Kieron Pollard, who did not get enough opportunity with the bat, made their presence felt with the ball Earlier, Tendulkar was in full flow. He cracked 11 dazzling fours to give the Mumbai Indians just the sort of start they needed. He drove and pulled on his way to a blazing 50 which came off only 23 deliveries, which saw the Mumbai Indians gallop to 50 in just 4.3 overs. Tendulkar’s innings came to an end when substitute fielder Yogesh Nagar, who came in place of the injured Gamhir, held a low catch off leg spinner Amit Mishra. Nagar had earlier pulled off a spectacular catch at mid-off to dismiss the Matara mauler and left-handed Mumbai Indian opener Sanath Jayasuriya, leaping high in the air to take a spectacular one-handed catch. After Tendulkar’s departure, the tall Saurabh Tiwary and the impressive Ambati Rayudu were involved in some lusty hitting. The fourth wicket pair stitched 71 runs in 34 deliveries before Rayudu was superbly snapped at long-on by Dilshan. However, the left-handed Tiwary completed his second successive 50, which came off only 31 deliveries. The dismissal of Rayudu (34, 21 balls, 1x4, 3x6) brought in the IPL’s costliest player Kieron Pollard to the crease for his IPL debut. The hard-hitting West Indian batsman was greeted by a dangerous beamer from left-arm Delhi Daredevils seamer Dirk Nannes and the next ball Pollard had a narrow escape when Mishra failed to hold a low catch at long on. Tiwary was run out in the 19th over for 37-ball 61 (4x4, 3x6). Leg spinner Sarabjit Ladda brought some cheers to Delhi Daredevils by dismissing the two West Indians Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard in the last over. Farveez Maharoof, Pradeep Sangwan, Ladda and Mishra went for more than 40 runs. Dirk Nannes, the Aussie though was the best bowler for the Delhi Daredevils, conceding only 35 runs. The Mumbai Indians now take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore back home in Mumbai on March 20th, which should make for a mouth watering prospect, given the form of both the teams.

Kolkata, March 16: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a superb 33-ball 66 (6x4, 3x6) to guide the Chennai Super Kings to a 55- run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in match eight of the IPL 2010 at Eden Gardens here today.It was the first win for M.S. Dhoni’s - Chennai Super Kings who had lost to the Deccan Chargers earlier on Sunday. The win for Chennai put a break on the Kolkata Knight Riders two match winning streak as they had notched wins against the Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers. At the end of the match eight, Delhi Daredevils were at the top of the league points table have beaten the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad. The Kolkata Knight Riders had a nightmare of a start with Chennai Super Kings’ Albie Morkel striking with with only the second ball of the first over to have opener Brad Hodge caught at mid-wicket for nought. Manpreet Gony then bowled Manoj Tiwary after the opener had hit two successive boundaries. Kolkata Knight Riders were 8 for 2 in 1.3 overs. Top scorer Wriddhiman Saha, dropped at two, cracked 13-ball 22 before being castled by Lakhsmipathy Balaji. The Chennai Super Kings medium-pacer took his second wicket when he had Owais Shah caught nicely by wicketkeeper captain MS Dhoni to reduce Kolkata Knight Riders to 46 for 4. It was a one sided trek all uphill for the Kolkata Knight Riders from then as they lost their way and wickets at regular intervals. Justin Kemp then struck in succession to send back skipper Sourav Ganguly (11), Angelo Mathews and Rohan Gavaskar. The Kolkata Knight Riders were finally all out at 109 in 19.2 overs Earlier in the day it was M.S. Dhoni that came up with a super knock of 33-ball 66 (6x4, 3x6) and his unbeaten 109 runs partnership in 10.5 overs with S Badrinath (43, 33 balls, 3x4), which helped lift the Chennai Super Kings to a respectable 164/3 in 20 overs after being 55 for 3 in 9.1 overs at one stage. Chennai Super Kings started on a shaky note. The burly left-hander Mathew Hayden was dismissed in the fourth over by Ishant Sharma. New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, who came in place of South African swing bowler Charl Langeveldt, was impressive in the first two overs. Laxmi Ratan Shukla castled Murali Vijay for 33 and when Suresh Raina yorked himself, Chennai Super Kings were in a spot of bother. But thereafter captain cool Dhoni and Badrinath repaired the damage with some sensible batting. Dhoni smashed Shukla for 14 runs in an over before the Chennai Supers Kings ended on a challenging total. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik bowled the middle overs splendidly to return with figures of 4-0-21-0. Bond gave away 27 runs in the last two overs.

The England team believes the Pakistan players named in the betting probe that has engulfed the tourists should sit out the rest of the tour.

Kevin Pietersen is omitted from England's limited overs series against Pakistan, with the England batsman announcing the news via Twitter.

The Pakistan cricketers under scrutiny for claims of spot-fixing are unlikely to play again on the current England tour, BBC Sport understands.

Australian duo Shane Watson and Brad Haddin allege they were approached by an Indian bookmaker last year while playing in England.

The Scottish cricket team will not travel to Zimbabwe for their ICC Intercontinental Cup match.

Bull-headed focus or unnecessary stubbornness? I am probably not as famous as Tony Greig. In any case, my word does not hold as much ground as the former captain’s, and I am not sure whether Messr Ricky Ponting would even bother to read this garb; as he had so glibly put a lid to the illegal bookie controversy by making it clear that he had ‘other important things to think about.’ Had I been Greig, the captain may have even cheekily questioned my wisdom, akin to that infamous Sydney test match in 2007–08, when Greig had criticised Ponting’s decision to declare quite late. In reply, at the end of the game, Ponting had nudged Adam Gilchrist in an interview to ask Greig whether the decision was correct or no! Yet, I would like to push my neck out of my body vertical little and question his – and his crony selectors’ – decision to go ahead without a frontline tweaker in the playing eleven at Oval. The reason is quite simple; none of the following boxes allow a tick in front of them. Are the four speedsters an equivalent of the almost life-threatening West Indian quartet? Is the track so full of green that could entice Roger Federer into calling for a shift of venue for the Wimbledon? Is the pitch so rocky and tough that the head groundsman at WACA could learn a few tricks? Does the wicket possess so much moisture in it that the drought problem that has besieged most parts of India could be solved? Were the overhead conditions so windy that it could have given ‘Katrina-the Typhoon’a run for its money? Then, one can only infer that it is about the fear of shuffling around with a combination that had earned the Aussies a win, something that hasn’t been as commonplace as during the times of the McGraths and Warnes of the world. And that strategy, to me, looks seeped in a risk which could be compared with winning the toss and electing to field first because the openers have been struggling through the series. Trott will be under pressure: Ponting, Hussey & co. (yawn): It began with the Bradman-turned-Chris-Martin Michael Hussey calling for Ashes being a pressure-cooker-like situation to be making his debut, and was followed by another step towards the direction of their favourite pastime called ‘mental disintegration’, when Ponting spoke about England’s desperation in getting Jonathin Trott into the side. Dudes, the tactics worked when you possessed a rich list of line-up who could hurl and curl the cherry well enough to provide cover to your lip-service, but things have drastically turned around. It would be great if you could try something different, to try and scare someone away, even one making his debut. Oh yes, he will be under pressure, but not as much you, Mr. Captain, given that a failure for the Warwickshire lad could probably be attributed to his debut, but for you, a failure would most certainly assist the selectors in bidding your captain’s hat a goodbye. And yes, I am still surprised you have decided to go ahead without a spinner! --- For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

So here we are. After a number of hits and misses, England and Australia are locked at one game each as we go into the decider at The Oval. The series began with Australia missing out on a fantastic opportunity to claim the early lead in the opener followed by a great comeback by England at Lord’s, only for them to surrender the advantage at Leeds without a fight. Up until then, they had dominated the series. But a creepy dose of overconfidence got the better of them and now they find themselves on the back foot as they look for resurrection. With virtue of having clamped England 5–0 in 2007, Australia do not need a result to reclaim the Ashes. And thus it will be the Poms who have to make all the running. First and foremost it is most essential that England get back to doing the basics right. This is where they excelled at Cardiff under pressure but floundered at Leeds. Their batsmen kept poking and prodding and never looked settled. Of course, the quartet of Johnson, Siddle, Clark and Hilfenhaus bowled exceedingly well and caused plenty of trouble. But as the Australian batters and the England lower-order themselves, in the second innings, proved, the pitch was not unplayable. That though is history now and the Englishmen need to start all over again. The pitch at The Oval is expected to be a sporting one and should reward hard work put in by both batsmen and bowlers, depending on what they want to get out of it. It is thus essential that England start well on both counts. Openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook as well as new-ball bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad must take up additional responsibility to ensure the same else England would find themselves in deep trouble. As it is, they are unsure about their combination. The thought process of including either Steve Harmison or Monty Panesar or both sounds like playing with fire. Neither has shown the consistency or potency required at the big stage lately and England would be better advised to stick with their performing though under-rated players like Graham Onions and Broad. The two big changes for the hosts would be the return of talisman Andrew Flintoff for his final dash at Test cricket glory and the inclusion of debutant Jonathan Trott in place of Ravi Bopara, who had a miserable four Tests and learnt a thing or two about Test cricket than he could not discover in the Caribbean. As any cricketer playing his farewell Test, Flintoff too would like to go out on a high but, like many others, he too has to make sure that the occasion does not get the better of him. In a different sense, Trott has to do the same. That said, he should not place excessive pressure on himself to do well. Easier said than done though. While the Englishmen have a lot of musings to mull over, Australia only need to carry on from where they finished at Headingley. The one perceptible change could be the comeback of paceman Brett Lee. However, that too seems a distant possibility considering the success of the four-pronged pace attack. On the other hand, if Australia decide to test out what Nathan Hauritz has picked up from Saqlain Mushtaq, it would mean Stuart Clark will have to sit out. This again is unadvisable as Clark had been one of the prime factors of Australia’s revival in the last Test. There aren’t too many qualms for the Aussies in the batting department. But how dearly they would love Michael Hussey to get a hundred and proper the side to another Ashes victory. Seems wishful thinking at the moment, however in cricket you just never know. Like England, the only thing that can get the better of Australia from hereon is arrogance, of which they have been guilty of in the past – assuming the Englishmen don’t come up with something sensational. The Ashes isn’t the right place to exhibit it and the players will be aware of it. Everything’s at stake for both teams and, unless weather intervenes, we should look forward to an intriguing finale. --- For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

A file has been reported by the Australian management with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. This has developed after a player from the Australian team was loomed by a man who had “suspected” links with illegal match-fixing. According to Cricinfo, reports suggest that the approach was initiated at the team’s residing hotel, inside the bar of the London hotel, The Royal Kensington garden immediately after Australia’s historical defeat at Lords. The player immediately complained to the officials and subsequently, the team manager – Steve Bernard filed a report to the ASCU. This matter is under investigation at the moment. There is no substantial evidence of the player for doing anything wrong, and has in fact been praised by a senior official in the ICC for his quick treatment – The ASCU educates players to do just exactly. Sources from the Australian team as well as the ICC explained the approaching of such a bookie to international players was “concerning” and revealed that the book makers are back in the fold – to a higher exposure. According to the Chairman of the ACSU: the biggest threat for corruption within the great game of cricket lay in the twenty20 format. The ASCU is thoroughly investigating further approaches by bookmakers with other players, or any conduits performing on behalf during the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament held in England earlier this season. According to a source, the ASCU has been well advanced in investigating such occurrences. There is a rising concern that the illegal book makers are fluttering around team hotels and cricket venues to control matches according to their own will. After the 2000 debacle of Hansie Cronje and Mohammed Azharuddin’s sacking – the ASCU has tried to do their best in preventing any direct contact from bookmakers with the players. “This shows that our education programme is working,” an ICC spokesman told the Telegraph. “The player who was approached reported it straight away. We have the policies in place to try to ensure that we never go back to the times we were at a decade or so ago.” The spokesman was also quoted by Times as saying that the ACSU “was content that all the World Twenty20 matches were clean”. According to the Sunday Telegraph, an anonymous report from an ICC official claimed that cricket was once again under major threat of illegal activities being involved. It stated: “Those in charge in the ICC understand that Twenty20 cricket has the danger of going back to the bad old days.” After such major developments in match fixing scandals, Lalit Modi finally decided to recruit the ASCU for the third edition of the IPL – paying them 1.2 Million dollars. Pakistan were also involved in being contacted with match fixing bookies, but after thorough investigation, the ICC chief finally announced that “there was absolutely no substance of corruption within the Pakistan team” “The ICC and its members have a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and rightly so because the integrity of our sport with its spirit is one of its greatest assets,” Lorgat said. “On that basis it is entirely appropriate that any suggestions in relation to that subject are always reported to and properly investigated by the ACSU. I am pleased those investigations have indicated nothing untoward has taken place on this occasion but it is a reminder that all of us – players, officials and supporters – must maintain our vigilance to ensure we remain on top of the issue of corruption.” Cricket’s recent occurrences with bookmakers have divulged since February 2007 where Marlon Samuels was caught giving out disclosed team information to a bookie. In October 2008, two ICL players were suspended for match fixing. On the 9th of July 2009 the Pakistani players complained bookies trying to reach them. And now finally in August 2009 – a player has once again been approached by a bookie. This only shows that the ghosts of yesterday who destroyed the brilliance of irreplaceable players like Salim Malik, Hansie Cronjie and Mohammed Azharuddin still haunt cricket today. --- For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

In rather startling news, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has offered the owners of the two Indian franchises which had made it to the finals of the IPL, 2008, a financial package of $5 million each. That equates to around 22 crores of rupees to Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for, unbelievably, doing absolutely nothing! So, did the owners of the Chennai Super Kings or the Rajasthan Royals file for bankruptcy? As I see it, the performance of both the franchises, India Cements and Emerging Media hasn’t been anywhere close to being offered assistance by the government, and certainly not by the BCCI! One may argue that the sum of $10 million may be small change for a cricket body which is valued at more than $3 billion by some sources. Some others may talk about it being legal, given that the BCCI has only invoked a clause mentioned in the contractual document inked between all and sundry that allows the respective boards to dish out an amount which they deem it fit in case of a cancellation. Yet, the basic question that the critics – or even the fans – would need an answer to is probably not about why the compensation; though that too could be debated. It lies in the figure itself. The compensation has been offered as a part of the cancellation of a tournament in 2008, which had assured a guarantee money of $500,000 for all the eight teams, with the winner of the tournament being awarded $3 million. One needs to check the rule books about whether the guarantee money was said to be over and above the winners’ cheque, but even if that were to be the case, the sum that any side could have taken away from the tournament would have been $3.5 million. Even if one were to add the prevailing simple interest rates then of around 10% per annum, my mathematics tells me that the total sum comes to not more than $4 million. And lest someone forgets, that is to not feature in the tournament, not hold the bat or the ball, and probably to handle not more than a little marketing and promotion before the tournament. The overall costs that the franchises may have had to face would not have been more than a lowly six-figure mark, at the very outside of one’s imagination. Yet, the BCCI has agreed to pay out $5 million! One does not even have the exact details of how much of it would be pursed by the players themselves, but my sense is that most of it will be pocketed by the owners. After all, the players had not even begun practicing when the tournament had had been called off! It certainly has been rather unheard of, and baffles me to a large extent. It may just be pertinent to note that the owner of at least one of the two sides to have been offered the money is a part of the BCCI as well as the IPL and Champions League governing committee. And only recently had he increased his holding in the company by buying out the shares belonging to a family member! It could all probably be unrelated, and yet, it is hard to believe that there isn’t a clash of interest in this particular case of the franchise owner and the board member being the same entity. Even without alluding this particular case in question, it would rather simple for fingers to be pointed out on a regular basis against the BCCI if the financial benefits continue to be delivered as freebies for reasons which are rather beyond the fathomable. --- For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Ricky Ponting is no exaggerator – so when he claims the upcoming Ashes final at the oval as his most important test match in life, you have to take it seriously. The batsman is the highest run getter in Australian test cricket – and ranks amongst the list of the highest run getters in all time Test cricket. Ricky Ponting declared this in a column, stating how he endured the depression and pain of losing the Ashes back in 2005 – and that he would use it as a positive motivation this time up. He also suggested reverse swing could play a vital role at the oval. But what’s most important is the fact that Ricky Ponting is taking this Ashes series larger than life. It holds great personal significance for the veteran. Imagine the most important test match for a man, who has been batting day and day out around the globe for the past fourteen years, who’s won three world cups in a row – white washed England at home in the Ashes in the previous edition, has played over 135 test matches: He regards the upcoming Oval test match has the most important he’s ever played. And I think there’s a factor behind this. One of the many reasons is the booing of the English crowd. Ricky is a fighter – he’s called the punter and maybe that urges him to show the public he’s not the right person to be boo’d at. The second reason could be the posters all across United Kingdom, which mock Ricky Ponting and his side claiming they’ll lose the Ashes this summer. In the poster Ricky Ponting almost looks like a cartoon, with his facial features being mocked by the cartoonist. “I have played in 135 Test matches but never played in a match as big as this one,” Ponting wrote. “There is nothing bigger than playing a deciding Test in an Ashes series, and you have to grab these moments when they present themselves because you may never experience such a match ever again. “That kind of excitement adds a bit of zip to your training and when that starts happening it generally spills over into the week of the game. There has been a very positive feel about our training during the last couple of days. We enjoyed a few days of rest in Leeds but since arriving in Canterbury we have trained very hard and I’m happy with where we are at the moment.” Previously, Ricky Ponting never admitted the 2005 Ashes defeat hurt him – but ever since Australia’s major turnaround’s been revealed – Punter’s talked a lot more about it. He says he still remembers Michael Vaughan holding the Ashes urn, and that is a sight he cannot forget. “The only motivation I need this week is the memory of having to search out Michael Vaughan, congratulate him and shake hands at the end of the Ashes series of four years ago,” he wrote. “We were off the field when we lost the match due to bad light and the fact that we never had a chance to have a crack at chasing down our target left a bitter taste in the mouth. “I also remember we made sure we stood outside and watched the ticker tape, the popping of champagne corks and the fireworks. We made sure we took it all in to make us better and stronger for the next time we played in 2006–07. But heading to The Oval this week it is clear that roles have been reversed completely since 2005. “Then we were the team facing questions over selection. They had a settled line-up and just come off a victory in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. Now it is us who have the momentum gained from comprehensively winning at Headingley. We are comfortable with what we have achieved in the last Test-and-a-half.” With Brett Lee coming back in to the side – according to many cricket analysts, Ricky Ponting has kept a fifty percent probability of the world’s fastest bowler’s comeback. Nevertheless, Reverse swing may play a major role at the oval – which could eventually decide the conclusion of one of the most exciting and breath taking Ashes tournaments ever played – adding to that Brett Lee is a veteran at reverse swing, and with his pace… he could only prove to be lethal – if given the right body language and frame of mind. The paceman is working very hard to get into the side, and he bowled well at Worcester, reverse swinging the ball. “In 2005 reverse swing dominated the series. This year it has probably been a damper summer and we have only seen conventional swing. The Oval is the one ground where that may change, especially if we have a dry, hot week.” --- For more articles and photos on Cricket visit oCricket.com.

Sallu may have given the Delhi Cyclothon a miss, but he made all the right noises while in the Capital

Aishwarya is miffed that an international dairy products line is using her name without consulting her.

Talking about portraying her role in ‘We Are Family’ in style, Kareena Kapoor says that she is an actor by choice

It would be impossible for Karan Johar to choose between the two Ks - Kajol and Kareena Kapoor

KBC 4, starring Big B, will be launched simultaneously with Bigg Boss 3, starring Khan - the channel allegedly wants to get even with Sallu.

Designer Siddharth Chandrasekhar’s debut directorial Bale Pandiya is all set to hit the screens on 3rd September and here’s an interesting news about the film. It seems that the film is inspired by Hollywood film I Hired A Contract Killer, which

K.V. Anand's upcoming film Ko has completed its shooting within a short span of time with a song left to be shoot in Norway. The producers R S Infotainments have decided to release the film for Diwali.The film is reported to

The South Indian actors of 1980s had a gala time at a ‘Evergreen 80s’ reunion. The concept, which was started by Lissy Priyadarshan in 2009 saw a second edition on Sunday, August 29. This time, Suhasini Maniratnam got the honour of

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Krishnudu might be a bit chubby for a hero role but it has not stopped him from getting offers. Now, the actor has bagged another film to his kitty. He has started working on a new film titled Chandrudu, which is

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Director Lingusamy’s Aawara has completed its glorious run of 100 days in theaters on 28th August. The movie is a dubbed version of Tamil film Paiya. Actor Karthi’s huge fan following has played a big role in Andhra Pradesh (AP) in

Here is some good news for Nagarjuna fan, according to industry insiders the next Nagarjuna film is well on its way to completion. The unit sources says that as much as 30% of the film has completed its shooting. The movie

Ram Gopal Varma's Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju was launched on August 27 at Annapoorna Studios in Hyderabad. The muhurat scene was shot on actor Sunil, while Sridevi and Nagarjuna tapped the clap for the first shot. K.Raghavendra Rao, Naga Chaitanya,

Thakita Thakita’, the first production of heroine Bhumika Chawla is releasing on September 3rd. Answer simple questions in the contest and Win Free Tickets to Watch Thakita Thakita with Celebrities.

Suresh Productions’ latest movie titled ‘Amrutham Alasyam’ starring Nikhil and a couple of fresh faces started its shooting on August 20th and will complete in one straight schedule.

Controversy’s favourite child Ramgopal Varma has been receiving legal notices and threat calls right from the beginning of the announcement of his ambitious faction movie ‘Rakta Charitra’.

Looks like Jagapathi Babu is on a sequel spree. The macho hero during an interview to a popular Television channel said he is planning a sequel to action super flick ‘Anthahpuram’ directed by Krishna Vamsi.

Chubby hero Krishnudu has started shooting a new movie ‘Chandrudu’, directed by Satyanarayana Dwarapudi.

For all its aspired sweetness, Anjaana Anjaani's USP lies in its dynamic substance and stylish oomph.

For those who are wondering whether to make the trip to the theatres to watch Avatar's re-release or just wait for the DVD or Blu-ray versions, the latter seems a better option.

The film is riddled with pithy, half-baked situations, dialogues laced with sexual innuendoes and downright in-your-face vulgarity. Run far far away from this one.

More than a social drama, Antardwand is actually a thriller merely because it's impossible to predict which direction the film will take. Thankfully, the film does not end in 'Bollywood' style.

Aashayein has a unique story that starts with good intentions, but eventually the treatment amounts to nothing spectacular.

Rahul Sharma (John Abraham) is all set to marry girlfriend Nafisa (Sonal Sehgal) after amassing a huge sum in gambling.

Raghubir (Raj Singh Chaudhary) is a small town boy, living with his girlfriend in Delhi, hoping to fulfill his dad's (Vinay Pathak) dream of qualifying for the civil services some day.

So who's the bugbear in the life of three young women (Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley, Eesha Koppikar) who work in a fashion house?

Madholal is a happy-go-lucky archetype of the aam aadmi who spends most of his time smiling, singing and sailing through life with a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step.

Circa 2154. The US army lands in Pandora, an earth-sized moon in outer space. Their objective: to extract the much needed minerals from Pandora's soil.

The script of Moscowin Kaveri lacked clarity. There are too many questions left answered. Several jigsaw pieces just don't fit into the story.

A complete entertainer, Ananthpurathu veedu, is a must watch with family.

As the name suggests, this is a story of a simple soul from Ambasamudram who dreams big. A time pass film.

Kalavani is a usual run of the mill story. However what lingers after the film ends are the beautiful visuals.

The film with its action keeps the audience hooked. And with AR Rahman's foot tapping music, Raavanan keeps you entertained. There is not a dull moment. Yet, you can't help missing the Mani Ratnam of Anjali, Roja and Guru.

'Happy Happyga' very ordinary fare

'Maryada Ramanna' yet another hit from Rajamouli

'Em Pillo Em Pillado' waste of time

'Jummandi Naada' - old wine in an old bottle

'Panchakshari' suffers from too many loopholes

Robust expansion leads to higher growth estimate for the fiscal, but economists react to data with caution

Insurance regulator Irda has capped various Ulip charges, increased their lock-in period and mandated a minimum guarantee for such plans, which are hybrid products that combine the features of insurance and investment in equities

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee has censured a government research lab conducting experiments to develop genetically modified chicken for violating key environmental laws

The Supreme Court reopened the Bhopal gas tragedy case on Tuesday after accepting a curative petition by the Central Bureau of Investigation

India needs a better system of counting national aggregates. A lot is at stake

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Nokia scores a hat-trick as Brand No. 1It's a hat-trick for nokia. But the Brand will have to read the Pitch carefully to stay at number one.

Give equal trading rights to foreign players: Sinha panelThe move will enable foreign nationals to open demat account, trading account and bank account for investing in Indian stocks and bonds.

Facebook CEO: Keep private life out of lawsuitZuckerberg says suit by a man who owns part of the site is trying to seek details about his private life.

Those hoping that the Government will be able to get details of secret bank accounts from Switzerland are in for

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We recommend a sell in the stock of Godawari Power and Ispat from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts of the stock that from its April 2010 peak of Rs 319 it has been on an intermediate-term downtrend. The stock encountered

Fresh long position is recommended only if the stock exceeds above Rs 990 levels with rigid

Tuesday saw yet another round of denials from the Hero group and Honda of Japan to reports that they were parting ways. India Inc is, however, convinced that the divorce is

We're sorry, content cannot be read. If you are the feed creator, something went wrong while the Dapp ran. To see what happened, please go to the Dapp's page on dapper.net, or Contact Dapper support specifying the Dapp name If you are a subscriber, this feed was created using Dapper. Dapper lets anyone turn regular websites into RSS feeds. The feed doesn't work at the moment, We're again sorry for the inconvenience. - Contact Dapper support - Learn more about how to create feeds with Dapper

There was a time when I loved “The Times of India”. In the late 90’s when coloured printing was introduced and the invitation price of Re.1, Deccan Herald & Indian Express had finally got competition in Bangalore. The light hearted Bangalore Times was a welcome change from the heavy reading of the Hindu. And people [...]

Geologists in southern India say they have found hundreds of dinosaur egg clusters which could be about 65 million years old.

Experts say Obama is heading towards an assassin's bullet. What do you think?

But Barney Stinson does!

I dont represent any international peace agency. Nor do i have a professional degree or training in broking peace. One fine day i decided to follow, what the heck is actually happening there. The reason for the dawn of that “fine” day being, i saw a picture of one pink salwar clad lady, throwing stones [...]

India, one of the most secular countries in the nation, is routinely shaken by communal violence. Headlines that rip your heart: Thirty-eight people burnt alive, 12 among them were children. Property worth lakhs of rupees gutted down to ashes. Shops looted and vehicles torched. Vikram Patel, Swastik Mehta, Joy Lobo, Heeralal Shah, Brian Phillips, Iqbal Mehmood, Aslam Khan – casualties [...]

“The gentleman who wrote the journal from which the following pages are chiefly drawn, went out to India in the beginning of 1805, and returned in 1819. …The impressions made upon his mind by the scenes which he beheld in India, are now, with deference, offered to the public.” Thus begins the book “Fifteen years in [...]

Back in 1999, Shyamalan’s star was not simply rising but exploding into awareness.  I still remember the impact that The Sixth Sense had upon its release. Five-storey billboards whetted anticipation, and four- and five-star reviews dropped in virtually every newspaper. It was a restrained ghost story, beautiful and enigmatic with a twist that had all [...]

Obesity and the health issues that accompany it have long been a subject of intense discussion in the Western world, where the abundance of super-cheap and highly processed foods has been linked to many health disorders. David Kessler’s, The End of Overeating is an important addition to the books written on the subject – why, [...]

Part I – Base Camp Part II – The Ascent On the 20th (3rd day) we woke up bright and early with expectation heavy in the air. After double checking our backpacks and packing our lunch we got a pep talk from the director of the camp. YHAI gav...

I should rightly call this piece ‘how not to go to Hogenakkal falls’. For this is an account of a trip to Hogenakkal on a route that did not exist. Early September, very early Sunday morning, mid-monsoon. Three cars, twelve people, three cameras. N...

I shot my second narrative film at NYU on the Canon 5D. Here's a recap (pre, production and post) of what I learned from shooting on the amazing new HDSLRs. [...] .

With so much baking going on The Purple Foodie, how could I not have a baking essentials list? A lot of people have asked me about “must-haves” and emailed me questions about the basics of baking so I think I ought to give it some attention with th...

A new award — Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction — will be awarded on June 19th at the Borders Book Festival. Sarah Dunant, one of the finalists, explains why Historical fiction is the genre of the moment. Toni Morrison’s astonishi...

If you follow me on Twitter or are connected with me on Facebook, you have no doubt been subjected to repeated plugs for this article of mine that appeared as “Mum, I Shrunk The Workplace” on Outlook. For the others, I’m sorry, there’s no escape. Here it is… The nice folks at Outlook wanted me [...]

The title says it all. Here’s the link. Like it? Share it.

Yawn. What a boring press conference our PM had earlier this week. Read the transcript if you want. Note : It’s partly in Hindi. Everybody knew what the questions would be. The usual stuff – Pakistan, terrorism, inflation, Naxals, corruption, Rahul, Sonia, and so on. And everybody knew that there would be no real answers. [...]

Voting for the Indibloggies has started and exit polls indicate that the voters are hopelessly in splits. So some of us candidates have decided to form a united front with a common, extremely minimum programme. Presenting – The Progressive Union of Bloggers. While the PUB has many happy hours, we understand that you, dear reader, [...]

Put what, you ask? Put vote, I say. Indibloggies, as you all know, is a highly prestigious award, which, after recent developments, has overtaken even the Nobel Peace Prize, in terms of credibility & importance. Like its cheap imitations (Grammys, Oscars, etc.), Indibloggies too has various categories in which awards are given out. There are [...]

Like most kids, I used to love sketching. And like most kids, I gave it up the moment I realized that I wasn’t very good at it. This whole business of wanting to do only things one is good at is one of the first adult corruptions of a child’s mind. But I recently bought [...]

It is rather uncommon of me to spend more than a couple of days in any city I visit on work. There’s usually only enough time to grab a Baja Chalupa (beans instead of beef) at a Taco Bell for nostalgia purposes in between the time spent commuting to the Chennai airport, standing at the [...]

I hear that the Cabinet is going to decide what the new symbol for the Rupee is going to be. Apparently, after a long and arduous contest involving, among other things, SMS voting and reality shows, the final choice is to be made from these 5: But while these can hog the limelight for now, [...]

If you are wondering what this post has to do with some one named “Gregory”, it will be clarified at the every end (like an S Ve Sekar play) In a another couple of weeks, I will finally move into my own apartment. What took us so long, one might ask and the response to [...]

As many of you might have assumed, I have not been slacking off, lazing around and being generally unproductive. I’ve just been slacking off and lazing around while doing a fair bit of writing (and diagramming) as a result of the Indian Premier League. For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, this [...]

Mobile Apps have defined a new economy, i.e. of apps being more important than the device. We earlier shared a report on the growth of smartphone app download statistics in first half of 2010 (3.8 Billion Apps were Downloaded!) and here is probably one of the most comprehensive report/facts on the mobile appnomy. Apple’s App [...] Related posts:Jobs: Android and iPhone Mobile App Developers, Software Developer/Architect Mobile App’onomy – Mobile users aren’t Loyal to Cool Apps Google Launches Apps Marketplace – 80% Revenue Share with Developers

Consumers today are bombarded with increasing number of direct marketing messages coming through a variety of channels such as phone call, SMS, direct mail, email, etc. In most cases these messages, with the purpose of acquiring new customers, are irrelevant and time wasting to the consumer- succeeding only in irking them. In current competitive environment [...] Related posts:Google goes offline – Launches Print Campaigns to Promote Search Effective Marketing Tips for Startups & Small Businesses IPL: Orkut Monetization via Brand Campaigns

Payment gateway is backbone to India’s e-commerce but if you are a startup and observe the current situation (which is improving steadily), you will hear inner voice ‘what the heck why no body is doing something about it’. This inner and expressed voice you will see in almost all blogs in India. But then life goes on, each startup has a problem to solve. Related posts:10 Things You Need to Know Before Signing up with a Payment Gateway in India TimesofMoney Launches DirecPay, Payment Gateway Service @Startup Forum – Payment Gateway Recurring Payment tool, Revenue Model..and more

The world is flat, but when it comes to Indian government’s vision, its more flatter (and flutter). After Blackberry gave-in, Indian government is planning to send notices to Google and Skype to setup servers in India. “There will be no discrimination. All networks operating in India will have to give access to their services to [...] Related posts:What Globalization? Indian Govt. wants Google/Yahoo/Microsoft to Host Indian Email accounts ending with .in, servers in India 15 Days Notice Or Face Ban – Indian Government Wants Readable Data from Google, Skype and RIM Blackberry to setup Servers in India (?) – Gets 60 Days Relief

Google to Launch Priority Inbox Email overload has taken up one’s life and Gmail, owing to the notional ‘unlimited’ space attracts a lot more unwanted emails than others. Google has announced the launch of ‘Priority Inbox’ that automatically identifies your important email and separates it out from everything else. “When you click the Priority Inbox [...] Related posts:Tech Around WWWorld–Oracle Sues Google over Android, IE9 Beta on September 15th [and more] Tech Around WWWorld– No Nexus Two, Firefox 4 Beta 1 Released [and more] Tech WWWorld: Picnik Comes to Picasa, Windows Live Phone to be available in 17 countries (Including India)

Digital video marketing is growing leaps and bounds and as a testimonial to this Times Audience Network (TAN), the digital arm of Times Group has tied up with Monsoon Ads Pvt. Ltd., an online advertising network in an online and mobile advertising sales partnership. As per the agreement, TAN will exclusively sell online and mobile [...]Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult - India's Leading Social Media Agency

Celebrities have understood the importance of social networking websites and have made their presence felt on these sites. Bipasha Basu recently joined Facebook and Twitter, while Priyanka Chopra, who already had an active Twitter and Facebook account, launched her own website. One can understand Bollywood stars wanting to come on Facebook or other social networking [...]Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult - India's Leading Social Media Agency

MTV India the popular youth TV channel in India which has always been at the forefront when it came to leveraging the web be it making Orkut the youth icon or having Roadies take to social media in a big way.  Thy even made an earlier attempt at launching digital only shows but the one’s [...]Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult - India's Leading Social Media Agency

Language purists might want to take a deep breath before reading further. Publishers of THE Oxford English Dictionary have hinted that a print version of the latest edition will be “considered” only if there is sufficient demand at the time of publication. This comes at a time when everything online is gaining increasing acceptance from [...]Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult - India's Leading Social Media Agency

If you thought women went crazy shopping, Google is giving women all around the world a run for their money considering the startup shopping they have been doing. Recently, Google acquired Like.com, Jambool, and Slide. It is no secret that Google is building a social network of its own, apparently called “Google Me“, in order [...]Looking for a Social Media Agency? Try WATConsult - India's Leading Social Media Agency

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Samresh Jung were hoping to repeat their success in front of home fans, but a rigid and an 'unfair' selection policy cost them places for the mega-event.

AC Milan snapped up Manchester City's Brazilian forward Robinho on transfer deadline day on Tuesday, the latest piece in a jigsaw which the Rossoneri hope will bring them the Serie A title.

Miffed at the Sports Ministry for not inviting him for the National Sports Award ceremony on Sunday, Indian Olympic Association secretary general Randhir Singh on Tuesday resigned from the governing body of Sports Authority of India.

He has been picked for both the Commonwealth and the Asian Games but Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh on Tuesday said he is still unhappy with the way selection trials for the two events were conducted as some "deserving" boxers have been left out.

Schalke 04 have signed Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Italian side AC Milan, coach Felix Magath said on Tuesday.