Bill Gates offering a million dollars for the 'next generation condom'

Got an idea how to come up with the 'next generation condom'? You may bag up to one million dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation is offering USD 100,000 of initial funding, with up to USD 1 million of possible continued funding to whoever comes up with a viable proposal. Ideas for a better condom are being accepted at GrandChallenges.org. Ideas that may prove too expensive for widespread use in the developing world, or those that doesn't do the job of preventing pregnancy or disease transmission will be dismissed right off the bat.

The next-generation condom challenge is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Grand Challenges Explorations," a continuing initiative to fund programs geared toward improving the lot of the world's poorest citizens.

"To overcome persistent health and development problems, we need new, game-changing ideas," said Chris Wilson, Director of Global Health Discovery & Translational Science at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a statement.

"Inspiration can come from anywhere and we are hopeful that this new round of Grand Challenges Explorations will uncover innovative approaches to improve lives around the world," Wilson added.

Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife work to eradicate poverty and increase access to healthcare. Founded in 1994, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the world.

Now, with the USD 100,00 grant offered through the Grand Challenges in Global Health Program, they are hoping to find anyone - students, scientists or entrepreneurs - to reinvent the condom.

"The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom. So a 'next-generation' condom would, perhaps, find some way to increase sensation to get men to use them more often -- purely in the name of global health, of course," says a statement describing the requirements of the challenge.

"Female condoms, meanwhile, suffer from some of the same liabilities as male condoms, require proper insertion training and are substantially more expensive than their male counterparts," says the foundation.

Thus, the foundation thinks that a cheaper, simpler female condom might also help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

Tamannaah is called ‘Milk’!.....

We've heard of people being nicknamed after eatables like Laddoo and Chikoo, but Tamannaah, it is learnt, is called Milk in South India. Apparently, the actress is called thus, considering her 'milky-white' complexion. 

When she started shooting for Sajid Khan'sHimmatwala, the film's hero Ajay Devgn and others were amazed to hear about her unique nickname. Interestingly, a number of cast and crew members of the film feel that Tamannaahis a lot like Karisma Kapoor. The enthusiasm and professionalism the young actress showed while working on the film reminded them of Lolo, who was known to not move on to the next shot till she had given the perfect take. 

To follo Tamannaah, visit www.follo.co.in/ tamannaah on your mobile.

Michael Clarke ruled out of IPL 6.....

CA said that Clarke would be able to be a part of the Australian team for the Ashes in England. (PTI Photo)MELBOURNE: Australian captain Michael Clarke was on Tuesday ruled out of IPL, starting next week, as he has been advised to take rest for at least seven weeks under the rehabilitation programme for his chronic back injury. 

Clarke, who was bought by Pune Warriors for $4,00,000 in the IPL auctions early this year, underwent scans for his back and hamstring problems soon after he arrived home from India where his side suffered a humiliating 0-4 Test series whitewash. 

Cricket Australia Chief Medical Officer Justin Paoloni said that Clarke would need at least 7-10 weeks rest as part of rehabilitation programme for the degenerative disc problem that has afflicted him since 17 years of age. 

Clarke missed the fourth and final Test against India in New Delhi, which Australia lost inside three days. 

"Michael Clarke had scans that confirmed his current lower back injury is an exacerbation of previous issues he has had with his spine. Michael is having intensive rehabilitation for both his back and hamstring but is still 7-10 weeks away from returning to training and playing," Paoloni said in a CA statement. 

"As always, we need to manage this carefully as there are potentially serious consequences with further aggravation. He still has pain with basic activities and is not back to full function as yet," he said. 

"Michael's intensive rehabilitation program will be overseen by the CA medical team and back specialists in Australia," he added. 

Clarke's injury status and the rehabilitation programme meant that he will miss the April 3-May 26 IPL. It also laid to rest speculations that he could be coaxed to captain Pune Warriors in the cash-rich Twenty20 League by offering two million dollars following reluctance shown by Yuvraj Singh. 

CA, however, said that Clarke would be able to be a part of the Australian team for the Ashes series in England in July-August. 

"He also has a hamstring injury that has been a concern for most of the summer and will complicate his return. We are confident that it will not affect his Ashes preparation but will know more over the coming weeks," CA said in the statement. 

On his early return home following his inability to regain fitness in time for the Delhi Test, Clarke had said he would "listen to the experts" regarding his battered and fatigued body and his IPL participation. 

"I'll have scans and spend plenty of time with physio, fingers crossed it turns out okay. I would be silly to make that decision (on the IPL) right now, I think I need to wait on the results, listen to the experts and then make a plan from there. 

"I've had my back issues since I was 17 years of age so this is no different. In regards to my hamstring I hurt it throughout the Australian summer and it has just lingered on. I haven't had the opportunity to get that 100 per cent fit due to how much cricket we've had."

source:timesofindia

Yahoo's new employee is 17 years old and a millionaire.....

One of Yahoo’s newest employees is a 17-year-old high school student in Britain. As of Monday, he is one of its richest, too.

One of Yahoo's newest employees is a 17-year-old high school student in Britain. As of Monday, he is one of its richest, too.

That student, Nick D'Aloisio, a programming whiz who wasn't even born when Yahoo was founded in 1994, sold his news-reading app, Summly, to the company on Monday for a sum said to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Yahoo said it would incorporate his algorithmic invention, which takes long-form stories and shortens them for readers using smartphones, in its own mobile apps, with Mr. D'Aloisio's help.

"I've still got a year and a half left at my high school," he said in a telephone interview on Monday. But he will make arrangements to test out of his classes and work from the Yahoo office in London, partly to abide by the company's new and much-debated policy that prohibits working from home.

D'Aloisio, who declined to comment on the price paid by Yahoo (the technology news site AllThingsD pegged the purchase price at about $30 million), was Summly's largest shareholder.

Summly's other investors, improbably enough, included Wendi Murdoch, Ashton Kutcher and Yoko Ono. The most important one was Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong billionaire, whose investment fund supported D'Aloisio's idea early on, before it was even called Summly.

"They took a gamble on me when I was a 15-year-old," Mr. D'Aloisio said, by providing seed financing that let him hire employees and lease office space.

The fund read about Mr. D'Aloisio's early-stage app on TechCrunch, the Silicon Valley blog of record, found his e-mail address and startled him with a message expressing interest.

The others signed up later. "Because it was my first time around, people just wanted to help," he said.

For teenagers who fancy themselves entrepreneurs — and their parents, too — the news of the sale conjured up some feelings of inadequacy, but also awe. For Brian Wong, the 21-year-old founder of Kiip, a mobile rewards company, the reaction was downright laughable: "I feel old!"

A few years ago, Wong was described in the news media as the youngest person ever to receive venture capital funding. But a couple of younger founders came along — "and then Nick broke all of our records," Wong said on Monday.

Among the attributes that helped D'Aloisio, he said, was a preternatural ability to articulate exactly what he wanted Summly to be. "There were no umms, no uhhs, no hesitations, no insecurities," Wong said.

D'Aloisio, for his part, sounded somewhat uninterested in answering questions about his age on Monday. He acknowledged that it was an advantage in some pitch meetings, and certainly in the news media, "but so was the strength of the idea." He was more eager to talk about his new employer, Yahoo, which is trying to reinvent itself as a mobile-first technology company (having dropped the digital media tagline it used before Marissa Mayer became chief executive last year).

"People are kind of underestimating how powerful it's going to become and how much opportunity is there," he said.

For a company that badly wants to be labeled innovative, those words are worth a lot.

D'Aloisio's father, who works at Morgan Stanley, and his mother, a lawyer, had no special knowledge of technology. But they nurtured their son's fascination with it and he started coding at age 12. Eventually he decided to develop an app with what he calls an "automatic summarisation algorithm," one that "can take pre-existing long-form content and summarise it." In other words, it tries to solve a problem that is often summed up with the abbreviation tl;dr: "too long; didn't read."

Summly officially came online last November. By December, D'Aloisio was talking to Yahoo and other suitors.

Yahoo said in a statement that while the Summly app would be shut down, "we will acquire the technology and you'll see it come to life throughout Yahoo's mobile experiences soon."

Other news-reading apps have attracted corporate attention as of late, reflecting the scramble by media companies to adapt to skyrocketing traffic from mobile devices. The social networkLinkedIn was said to be pursuing an app called Pulse earlier this month. Still, the eight-figure payday for a teenage entrepreneur on Monday struck some as outlandish and set off speculation that Yahoo was willing to pay almost any price for "cool."

D'Aloisio, though, will have plenty of time to prove his and his algorithm's worth. As for the sizable paycheck from Yahoo, he said he did not have any specific plans for the sudden windfall. "It's going to be put into a trust fund and my parents will help manage it," he said.

He did say, however, that "angel investing could be really fun." When not working at Yahoo, he will keep up with his hobbies — cricket in particular — and set his sights on attending college at Oxford. His intended major is philosophy.

source timesofindia

Tiger Woods wins at Bay Hill to reclaim world No. 1 spot....

Tiger Woods holds the trophy after he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational PGA golf tournament. (Reuters Photo)

ORLANDO (Florida): Tiger Woods reclaimed the world number one ranking for the first time since October 2010 with a closing round of two-under 70 to capture the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday.

Factfile | In Pics

With his eighth Bay Hill course triumph, 37-year-old Woods replaced Northern Ireland'sRory McIlroy atop the rankings and set the seal on an extraordinary comeback after a spectacular fall from personal and professional grace.

"I play well here," said Woods, who earned $1.08 million in prize money after a closing round of two-under 70. "That is about as simple as it gets. It is a by-product of hard work and patience."

It took an extra day, but Woods out-dueled fellow American Rickie Fowler down the stretch, winning the $6.2 million event by two strokes.

Woods has won 14 majors in his career and had previously spent a record 623 weeks on top of the world.

But he has not led the rankings for nearly three years, after injuries and an infamous scandal saw him stumble. Woods fell to his lowest rank on November 11, 2011 when he dropped to 58th in the world.

His woes began in 2009 when a US tabloid aired claims he had had an affair with a nightclub manageress. Two days later, amid speculation about his marriage, he was slightly injured when he crashed his car near his home.

In December of that year, Woods issued two statements admitting to serial marital infidelity and announced he would take a break from golf. He later said that he had undergone therapy to help him change his behavior.

He returned to golf at the 2010 Masters in April, but his marriage was over and his divorce with former model Elin Nordegren was granted in August. His game had clearly suffered during the turmoil and his return to the top took three years.

Last week, Woods announced that he was dating US ski star Lindsey Vonn, and this weekend's tournament seems to have confirmed his return to form.

"The first step in the process was getting healthy. Once I got there, then my game turned," Woods said. "I've won six times on the tour the last couple years. That's not bad."

Woods also claimed his 77th PGA Tour victory - his 99th professional victory - in his final tune-up event for next month's Masters.

The Monday finish followed a severe thunder storm on Sunday that postponed the fourth round. The storm swept across the Bay Hill Club & Lodge course with gusting winds toppling trees and television towers.

Woods and playing partner Fowler began on the third hole Monday and Woods quickly set the tone with birdies on a pair of par-fives.

He finished on 18 with a bogey but it was enough to reach 13-under 275, giving him the win and propelling him the Number One spot for the first time since October 2010.

"I am getting back to winning golf tournaments," Woods said. "I won some golf tournaments the last couple years so consequently I moved up."

Runner-up Justin Rose fired a two-under 70 to finish at 11-under while Fowler stumbled down the stretch, closing with a one-over 73 as he plummeted to a four-way tie for third at eight-under 280.

Fowler finished alongside Mark Wilson (71), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (72) and Keegan Bradley (71).

Woods, who has won six times in his last 20 tournaments, attributes his recent success to learning how to juggle his family life with golf.

"It was a lot easier to work on the game and make all those changes when I was younger," he said Monday. "Having family responsibilities changes things. Trying to find the time to do it tests your time-management skills.

"I had to work differently. It was going to have to be done in short bursts. But I wouldn't trade it. My two little ones are the most important thing in my life."

Woods has now won 51 times in 55 tries when holding the lead entering the final round and is five wins shy of matching Sam Snead's all-time record on the PGA Tour.

He and Snead are also the only players to win the same tournament eight times with Snead doing it at the Greater Greensboro Open.

source:timesofindia

Sanjay Dutt to start dubbing for 'Zanjeer' this week....

Sanjay Dutt More Pics

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, will start dubbing for " Zanjeer" Thursday, director Apoorva Lakhia said.

Lakhia said they require three days with Sanjay to complete the movie, a remake of 1973 hit of the same name that had starred Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. 

Sanjay, who is playing Sher Khan, originally played by Pran, will start shooting soon after the return of Priyanka Chopra from Miami. Priyanka is playing the female lead opposite Telugu actor Ramcharan in both Hindi and Telugu versions of "Zanjeer". 

The Supreme Court, which last week upheld Sanjay's conviction under the Arms Act for illegally possessing weapons, and sent him to five years' imprisonment, asked him to surrender within four weeks of the verdict. 

"He is my friend and mentor. Personally, I can't comment much on the way he is feeling. Obviously he is feeling down, but he is taking this in his stride because he respects the constitution of India and the Supreme Court. I have been with him and he is doing pretty well," said Lakhia at a function organised to release the teasers of "Toofan", the Telugu version of "Zanjeer". 

Talking about Sanjay, Priyanka said: "For the industry and for me as his colleague and friend, it is a extremely sad moment. I wish the family strength and courage." 

She hoped that Sanjay would get some respite from the judiciary keeping in mind his family. 

"We all respect the law. What needs to be done, needs to be done," the actress said in obvious reference to the demand for Sanjay's pardon. 

Ramcharan Teja, the lead actor for the film, described it as unfortunate. 

"We love him. I have fond memories of him. He has been very kind to me. It is quite unfortunate. The whole industry is with him. We all support him. I hope the best happens to him and his family," he said. 

"Zanjeer" producer Amit Mehra said it would be released during summer. 

"'Toofan' is a big film on its own. Finding a date for their simultaneous release is very critical. We are going through that. We will announce the date shortly but it will be during summer," said Mehra, son of Prakash Mehra, the maker of the original "Zanjeer". 

Lakhia added "Zanjeer" is his interpretation of the iconic movie. "We have tried to make it as different as possible. It is a 'Zanjeer' of today. It is also a tribute to Prakash Mehra (director-producer of the original) and Amitabh Bacchan," he added. 

The director said when Amit Mehra approached him with the project, his only condition was that he would make the movie with Ramcharan as the hero.

source:tomesofindia

I am ready for marriage: Siddharth......

Siddharth More Pics 

Siddharth, 33, is an optimist and grew up being a linguist. He considers doing South films his job and Bollywood, his hobby. The actor-writer-singer and producer hopes to turn director some day. Ahead of his upcoming release 'Chashme Baddoor', he talks TOI about the superiority complex of Bollywood, his readiness for marriage and why Mani Ratnam will always remain his boss. Excerpts:

How did you get into films?
Born in Chennai, I am a Tamilian. I grew up in Chennai and Delhi. My father retired after working in Nestle for 37 years. Right from my childhood, my mother exposed me to a lot of music and films from across the world and I grew up wanting to be in films. Even though I had a happy childhood, I am not too nostalgic about it and was in a hurry to grow up. As children, you are not allowed to do what you want to. So, I was happy to be older as I could do what I wanted to. I was not too happy with my school life as the academic pressure on kids in Chennai is too high and I was happiest when I went to college. I went to college without an agenda. I went to school to just get out of school. My parents have always allowed me to be myself and are the best parents you can have. There were no beliefs enforced on me and they are both my friends, but wanted me to complete my education. I completed my management and managed to reach Mani Ratnam through email. He met me and even though I had no formal training and had just done theatre in Delhi, he acted on his instinct and hired me as his assistant director at 21, replacing Shaad Ali.

Are there are differences between the South film industry and Bollywood?
As a country, we really encourage mediocrity and we cherish it. We like to insulate ourselves fromthe rest of the world. People who prevent good work from happening are usually the people in power and that is the tragedy. I am not particularly fond of numbers, but in Bollywood, you will not see a small budget film doing 100 crores unlike in Chennai, where I am proud of the independent films being made with small budgets and sometimes without stars. And they still do well. While independent cinema is finally getting a voice in Bollywood, the numbers are small. The quality of films in Tamil is far better than Bollywood. Production value is not about making a film look pretty. Tamil cinema is far more realistic and the good thing is that even the common audience watches it.

In contrast, there is so little evidence of the front bencher watching good cinema in Bollywood. People are used to seeing films that have no relevance to their life and remains a medium of escape. When you make a film because another film did well, then that's the death of cinema. In Bollywood, films are made by watching films and not by watching life. We have a billion people, but only one way to watch a film. Marketing is fantastic in Bollywood. As stars in the South, we don't see as much promotion. People understand the making of the product better in the South and they understand marketing better in Bollywood.

What's your motivation for being a part of David Dhawan's Chashme Baddoor?
I am doing a Hindi film not because I want to further my film career here. I couldn't be bothered. I have no reason to come here and fight for a film. I am doing it only as David is a friend of mine and was wanting to work with me for five years. Also, I needed a break and wanted to take some time off. And the only way I could take the break while working is with David Dhawan. I do films that give me creative satisfaction, but I can do a Chashme Baddoor to be with friends, have fun and recharge my batteries. South Indian films is my job, Hindi cinema is my hobby.

Are there things about Bollywood you don't like?
It is an old prejudice that Bollywood has, about their willingness to take from the South but not willing to acknowledge it. The standard Bollywood mindset thinks of itself on top of the Indian film chain and that they are only below Hollywood. I refuse to let anybody else's superiority complex to become the truth. Mumbai's problem is that they assume that if some one has done a Hindi film they will want to move to Mumbai and do Bollywood. In reality, when you see stardom in one place, you don't want to become a newcomer at another place. You have no idea how much fame and money we make down South. We need to crossover within our country.

Are there are people responsible for your success in the film industry?
We are always in a hurry to figure out who our roles models for our youngsters are or whom they resemble. I want to be the best of myself. I have been lucky working with people who I grew up watching like Mani Ratnam and whom I have worked closely with. Had I not started with him, I would have been different. He is my boss and teacher and his obsession with the craft and the process of making films consumes you. He is an enigma and a private person in public. Those who don't know him will never know him and those who do know him, do so in a special way. I have worked with accomplished people at regular intervals. I am a greedy person and have learnt from everyone including David Dhawan who, even after having made 41 films, has this childlike enthusiasm working with newcomers.

Why have you always been silent about your affairs?
I speak to my family and friends. As it is, it is a difficult thing to make a relationship work. It is even more difficult to make a relationship work when you are in this business. And it is most difficult to make it work when every one is commenting on it. It is human decency to let people lead their personal lives. And I genuinely don't want to share my personal life with people whom I don't want to share it with. You can be my biggest fan, but that still does not give you the right over my personal life. You buy a film ticket; if you like the film, tell ten people. If you don't like the film, you will anyways tell a 100 people not to watch the film. I don't believe that a true fan deserves to know every personal detail about the star.

Do you see yourself getting married?
Absolutely. And I am ready for it. I hope to have a family with children and am hoping it happens soon. I have been written about with a lot of women. I have chosen not to respond. My family does not read gossip rags and what is in the paper today is the packing for a pakoda tomorrow. You can attribute a quote to a person without meeting him. The inverted comma is being molested beyond identity.

Editor's note: We could say two things for sure. One, the girl Siddharth is seeing is not Tamannah, and two, it is for sure Samantha. We eagerly await the marriage :-)

source:Times of india

Mahindra scooters receives 'Indian Design Mark' award....

Mahindra's Duro DZ and Rodeo RZ scooter have been awarded the 'Indian Design Mark' granted by the 'India Design Council'

It's glad tidings for Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd (MTWL), as scooters from its portfolio, the Duro DZ and Rodeo RZ have received the prestigious India Design Mark. The India Design Mark is a design standard, which recognises good design. The criteria for this design award are form, function, quality and innovation. Apart from the above mentioned points other points which are important for a product to bag this award are usability, durability and aesthetics. 

On receiving this award, P S Ashok, Senior Vice President and Head (R&D and Pune Operations), MTWL, said, “We are honoured to receive the India Design Mark for two of our products. This accolade is testimony to the global appeal and style of the Duro DZ and the Rodeo RZ.”

Both the scooters are powered by the same 124.6cc, 4-stroke engine producing peak power of 8.1PS and 9Nm of torque. The Duroz DZ is marketed by Mahindra as a commuter scooter while the Rodeo RZ is looked upon as a youth oriented scooter.  

BSP politician shot dead in South Delhi firing....

New Delhi: A politician belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was killed at his farmhouse here on Tuesday morning by two unidentified gunmen. 

Deepak Bharadwaj was shot dead after he had a tiff with the two men, who had entered his farmhouse in the Vasant Kunj area of South Delhi. 

The two men, who were in a black Skoda car, shot Bharadwaj after a heated argument at the latter’s farmhouse 'Nitish Kunj' at around 9:15 am. The duo fled after the firing. Two others also suffered injuries in the incident. 

"As they were talking, the two men took out firearms and opened fire at Bharadwaj. They then fled from the scene. The motive and the trigger for the firing is not immediately known. We are investigating the matter," a police official said. 

Police believe that the two attackers were known to Bharadwaj as they were allowed inside the farmhouse by his security guards. 

62-year-old Bharadwaj, who had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a BSP ticket and was one of the richest candidates at that time with assets worth around Rs 600 crores, was rushed to Army's Research and Referral Hospital near Dhaula Kuan where he succumbed to injuries nearby Fortis Hospital. 

Bharadwaj was also into education, hotel and real estate business. 

The incident came just months after liquor baron Ponty Chadha was also killed in a shootout at his farmhouse in South Delhi. Chadha was also close to BSP chief Mayawati. 

source:zeenews

IPL matches in TN only if no SL players, umpires, officials: Jayalalithaa

Chennai: As protests in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils continued, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said IPL matches would be permitted in the state only if there were no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff in these matches. 

"In view of the popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Tamil Nadu is of the view that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu", she said. 

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said BCCI may be advised by the Centre to prevail upon the IPL Organizers not to allow Sri Lankan players, officials, umpires and support staff to take part in the tournament in the state. 

"The Government of Tamil Nadu will permit IPL matches to be held in Tamil Nadu only if the organizers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches", she said. Jayalalithaa said the recent continous agitations in the state during the debate in the UNHRC have revealed the "great angst and anguish" among the people with regard to the highly emotive Sri Lankan Tamils issue. 

"In this surcharged atmosphere, the IPL cricket tournament is scheduled to be held at various locations, including Chennai from April 3 onwards and will go on for over a month till May 26", she said, noting that almost all participating teams have in their ranks Sri Lankan cricketers as their team members. 

Observing that the civil strife in Sri Lanka was a "lamentable saga of an ethnic pogrom" launched by the Lankan government against Tamils, she said, "These painful events of genocide of innocent Sri Lankan Tamils have had a deep impact amongst the people of Tamil Nadu...". 

"Recently, against the background of increasing and credible evidence of continuing atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil Nadu witnessed mass agitations, hunger strikes, self-immolations and large-scale spontaneous involvement of many sections of society, including the student community, protesting against the Sri Lankan action against the Tamils", she said. 

Recalling her letter to him on the attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, she said, "Understandably, their sentiments, too, have been hurt by these brutal and hostile acts of the Sri Lankan Navy". 

"All political parties in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly voiced their grave concern regarding these issues. The atmosphere is, therefore, already surcharged with a groundswell of popular public opinion against the Sri Lankan Government", she said. 

"In such a hostile and tense environment, we apprehend that the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people", Jayalalithaa said. 

Amid protests over the alleged brutal killing of slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran's son, she had last month said that her government would not host the 20th Asian Athletics Championships here in July, saying that Lankan players have no place in the state. 

In September last year, Jayalalithaa had sent back a Lankan football team home and suspended a state official for allowing them to play a friendly match here. 

Today's decision on IPL matches comes close on the heels of attack on Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in the state, allegedly by pro-Tamil activists. 

source:zeenews

Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus selling online at Rs 21,399

New Delhi: The Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus, an upgraded version of the best-selling Galaxy S2, is available and up for sale on major online retail stores in the country.

While Croma and Homeshop18 have pegged the smartphone at Rs 25,999 and Rs 25,599 respectively, Sulekha and Infibeam are keeping the price tag at Rs 25,900.

Meanwhile, Tradus has kept the price of Galaxy S2 Plus at Rs 25,390 and Naaptol is selling the handset at Rs 24,999.

Ebay.in seems to be the only player which has the lowest price tag of Rs 21,399 for the Galaxy S2 Plus.


Specifications


Processor: 1.2 dual-core Broadcom BC28155 processor; Broadcom VideoCore IV

Display: 4.3-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen; 217 ppi pixel density

OS: Android v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

RAM: 1GB

Storage: 8GB internal; expandable to 64GB

Camera: 8 MP rear 3264x2448 pixels; 2 MP front

Connectivity: Bluetooth v3.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 +5GHz), WiFi Direct

Battery: Li-Ion 1650 mAh battery
source:zee news

Badminton tournament opens in Vietnam....

Hanoi: As many as 269 badminton players from 14 countries and regions gathered on Tuesday in Vietnam`s capital Hanoi to compete at the Ciputra Hanoi Vietnam Challenge 2013.

The tournament, which opened here on Tuesday, is a ranking event of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC).

Held annually since 2009, the event offers prizes worth $15,000.

India maintain top spot in ICC ODI ranking; Kohli, Dhoni remain in top-10

Dubai: Team India maintained their top position in the latest ICC ODI ranking list with 119 points followed by England and Australia.

According to the fresh list issued on Monday, India is closely followed by England on 117 points and Australia are third on 116 points.

Since India top the table as per cut-off date, they will receive the shield and will collect a cheque of USD 175,000, while England will receive USD 75,000 for finishing second.

Rising star Virat Kohli and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintained their third and fourth rank in the list with 812 and 784 points respectively.

The other two Indian players in the top-20 list are Suresh Raina on 12th spot and discarded Gautam Gambhir who has gained three places to 15th.

South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla are first and second on the list.

In the ODI bowlers` list, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja moved two slots up the order to grab the seventh place with 663 points. The table is headed by Pakistan`s off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. All-rounder Jadeja maintained his fifth position in the All-rounder`s table with 333 points. Bangladesh`s Shakib Al Hasan displaced Pakistan`s T20 captain Mohammed Hafeez to get back his top ranking. 

Srinivasan hints he stopped Dhoni being sacked....

New Delhi: Indian cricket board president N.Srinivasan hinted that the board`s constitution gives him the power to approve any decision of the national selectors, including that on the captain.

When asked during an interview whether there was substance in the media reports that selectors were under pressure to sack Mahendra Singh after India lost four Tests in England and another four in Australia, but you had backed him, all that Srinivasan would say was "it is not proper to discuss selection matters. The constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does say that the president has to approve the national team."

When the question was rephrased and asked: "So, you have the last word as president?" 

Srinivasan: "That`s what the constitution of the BCCI says."

Asked whether Dhoni should choose to drop the shorter versions of the game format, as suggested by some experts including former captain Rahul Dravid, Srinivasan said it is for the selectors to take the call. 

"The selectors are there to take a call. We have an experienced group of selectors. It is for them to decide. But personally I feel that Dhoni is discharging the duties (captaining in all three formats) well," he said.

Former India selector Mohinder Amarnath had claimed that the last selection committee headed by Kris Srikkanth unanimously agreed to sack Dhoni after the team`s whitewash in England and Australia. But Srinivasan reportedly didn`t approve the move.

Asked if he spoke to Dhoni when the team was going through a tough phase, Srinivasan said: "All the Indian players are aware that the board is behind them. The BCCI has given confidence to the players that they should play their game. We will watch their back."

Srinivasan said Dhoni is very experienced captain and given the glorious uncertainties of the game he has sailed the team well. 

"During this season, his innings against England and the double hundred against Australia were game changers. He has always been an outstanding player. He gave us two World Cups. He is very experienced captain. Everybody will agree that given the glorious uncertainties of cricket Dhoni has sailed well," he said.

Incidentally, Dhoni who captains Srinivasan-owned Chennai Super Kings is now also the vice-president of a Chennai-based corporate.
source:zeenews

PROUD TO BE INDIAN....

Some Indian Facts. .
* India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
* India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
* India is the world's largest democracy.
* Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
* India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
* The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
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Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
* Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

*Mark Twain : "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India