Sachin, "On top of the world"

Sachin Tendulkar has moved past Brian Lara's world batting record for most Test runs .The master batsman, who came into the second Test at Mohali against Australia with just 15 runs short of the milestone, created history today when he hit debutant pacer Peter Siddle for three runs to overtake Brian Lara's record of 11,953 runs.

Tendulkar had to endure a nervy tea interval on 13 not-out, just one run behind Lara’s record, but stroked his first ball after the break down to third man for three.The accomplishment was met with rapturous applause from the crowd, as well as warm congratulations from his team-mates and the opposing Australian fielders.

Sachin Tendulkar still has a lot of cricket left in him and India will need him for the next 2-3 years to guide the youngsters in the team which is ‘in the transitional phase’, Chairman of Selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said.
"He should play cricket for another 2-3 years. We need him as the team is going through a transition phase. He is a fantastic team man, very involved cricketer and we need him so that he is able to guide cricketers of future," Srikkanth said after Tendulkar became the highest run-getter in Test cricket.

Bailed out bank,AIG spending on parties for executives

First there was the $440,000 American Insurance Group Inc. spent entertaining executives days after receiving an $85 billion lifeline from the Federal Reserve, now it’s $86,000 for a hunting trip in England as the faltering company reaped another $37.8 billion in taxpayer funded loans.
News of the hunting trip emerged Wednesday as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo ordered AIG to do away with golden parachutes for executives, golf outings and parties while taking government money to stay afloat.

Company officials said the hunting trip in the English countryside was an annual event for customers that had been planned months before the bailout. The company pledged — as it did following the September trip — to do everything possible to end such extravagances. They declined to say which AIG executives attended.

Sea food is the way to go

Sea foods are perhaps the most under consumed recipes in the world. But they are also most healthiest and naturally protien enriched foods. So, the Great American Sea food cook off for the year 2008 had some great recipes of sea food from different parts of the USA.

The cook off has an array of best chefs and their great and favourite dishes made of sea foods. I was quiet impressed by John Currence of City Grocery, Mississippi. John, a New Orleanian by birth, began cooking in Chapel Hill, NC under the tutelage of Bill Neal at Crooks Corner, one of the Eastern Seaboard's premiere Southern, fine-dining institutions.
John's North Mississippi Courtboullion was perhaps the best sea food he has ever cooked. The recipe is available at http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com/.
The recipe has a nice combination of Bacon and okra and adds a unique taste to it. Also, the yellow onion, fresh fish from the the shores of the sea added with white wine has a separate taste to it. This dish can also be served over rice which could attract a large population of South Indians who would love to have rice in their menu. The fact that a little more of spice could be added to it, is also an option for the chefs to make it or for the ladies back home.
Another thing about this recipe, is that it is easy to prepare it from time to ime. Fresh sea foods and their recipes in http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com/ , are all healthy foods high in proteins and generally sea food recipe twice a week is very good for the body. The fact that they could be got fresh and unadulterated is also a advantage in itself.
The Great American Sea food cook off has thrown in some wonderful recipes and i encourage everyone to check it out and try your hand in some of your favourite sea food dishes. I also encourage everyone to visit http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com/, and vote for your favourite dishes in sea food. There are some exciting prizes to be won too. And if your lucky, you can win a trip to New Orleans.

Now, Apple iPhone 3G can be bought in Indian markets

Apple's most sought after tech instrument, the iPhone has finally come to India. The 3rd generation cellular instrument has created quite a stir worldwide withits classic outline touches and many advanced features.

The main attraction is its slim finish and handy equipment with a neat plastic outlook. The advanced features include e-mail on the go, GPS enabled connection with the help of google maps, wireless connection, advanced internet connection. It has all that a business and tech geek would ask for.

While India may be amongst the hottest markets for Apple’s iPhone 3G, the country presents several unique challenges which the US-based multinational will have to address before it can succeed here. Not just Apple, but its partners in India—Bharti Airtel and Vodafone—will have to play their roles to perfection for their customers to enjoy the iPhone.

Last, but not the least, the price could be a dampener. The 8 GB version is about Rs.31,000 and the 16 GB version is Rs.36,000. So, all the iPhone geeks, get ready to shell a lot more from your pockets.

Tata Motors to move out of Singur

Ratan Tata, the chairman of the TATA group, has said that they would move out of singur if forced to move out. Tata Motors Ltd , India's top vehicle maker, will move a plant to make the ultra low-cost Nano car out of the state of West Bengal itself.

This decision come about due to the protests in Singur district and the politically motivated move has made it impoossible for Tata Motors to continue their plans in the communist governed state of West Bengal.

Tata Motors, which is scheduled to launch the Nano car later this year, has faced violent protests and political opposition against farmlands of about 400 acres acquired for the Nano project in West Bengal state, which threaten to delay the launch.

Launch of Tata Nano itself seems to be on track and would be unveiled around october this year, said Ratan Tata.

Come, join the fight against Alzheimer

Alzheimer disease is the most disatrous disease in this world and many suffer from it throughout the world. Its an This incurable, degenerative and terminal disease and we all should fight against this disease and Alzheimer's Memory Walk is the first of its kind formed by Alzheimer's association where people are encouraged to take part and volunteer walk of about 3-4 miles in weekend mornings.
This Alzheimer's Memory Walk is open to all ages and all individuals who has the will to fight against Alzheimer's disease. Please do take part in it and help eradicate and fight Alzhemier.

Chiranjeevi enters politics

Telugu actor K. Chiranjeevi on Sunday announced his resolve to enter politics and dedicate himself to the service of the poor, who “had been deprived of the fruits of development."

Stating that he was joining politics to do more public service, the 53-year-old actor said he wanted to bring in a change.The actor, whose party is likely to emerge as the third major political force after the ruling Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), said his outfit would be pro-poor and work for social justice.He did not agree that there was no political vacuum in the state.

The actor said he would announce his party’s name, the design and colour of its flag and the political agenda at a public meeting at Tirupati on August 26, coinciding with Mother Teresa’s birth anniversary.

"My mission is to transform the state into a “santosh (happy) Andhra Pradesh and chirunavvula (smiling) Andhra Pradesh.” Chiranjeevi said.

Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody come together

After bruising from the racist slurs from Jade Goody, Shilpa Shetty encounters the feminine partner in the sequence of the Big Brother Reality Show of London. Jade Goody who thrusted Shilpa for all kinds of racial slurs, have come back along with Shilpa this time for "Big Boss".

Shilpa this time just hosting the show and appearing for the week end Friday eliminating episodes of the reality show in the 'Colors' channel by communicating with contestants through a TV screen.

Shilpa is happy, for she'll get a chance to show her ex-rival how welcoming Indians are. Contestants will be kept private in a specially designed house for three months under 24-hour shadowing, with no access to telephones or television. The show was launched late Sunday and expected with lot of fireworks from the contestants

Will Champion's trtophy take place in Pakistan ?

ICC Champion's trophy in Pakistan is now in jeopardy. New Zealand's squad has not softened its view on attending the Champions Trophy despite a detailed security briefing by an ICC task force.

Tim May, the chief executive of the global players' union, believes Pakistan must do more to ensure the safety of players at next month's Champions Trophy. Security fears over the tournament in Pakistan have already led to New Zealand and Australia casting doubts about competing despite meeting with high-ranking figures from the International Cricket Council, the sport's world governing body.

England will make a final decision about their participation in next month's Champions Trophy following Tuesday's board meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board. Ponting has said it was hard on his players as they tried to prepare for the event, unsure where or if they would have the chance to defend their title.

Musharraf resigns as President of Pakistan

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced Monday that he will resign, just days ahead of impeachment in parliament over attempts by the U.S.-backed leader to impose authoritarian rule on his turbulent nation.

The big question is-- what happens to Musharraf now? It's still not clear yet but there are some options the former General has.

On Sunday, a committee of the ruling coalition finalized a list of impeachment charges against Musharraf, including violation of the Constitution, suppression of democracy, and gross misconduct.
Musharraf said the country would lose if the impeachment proceedings were launched. Coalition officials had said Musharraf sought immunity from prosecution but he said in his speech he was asking for nothing.

Time for the "Fab Four" to retire

The India- SL test match series is over and the well fought series has gone to the Sri Lankan side. Two main things which tilted the series in favour of Sri Lanka are Sri Lanka's home conditions favouring them and the most pathetic

batting display by the Fab Four of the Indian batting line up. Sachin Tendulkar was very much concerned about how to erase 171 runs to get past the the legend "Brian Lara". Sachin cringed under pressure of 171 runs and deservedly didnot get past Lara. I sincerely hope he doesnot get another chance to get past Lara. Sachin's career should end here and now. He is pre-occupied with his own records rather than think about the team.

Next is Sourav Ganguly. Sourav was awfully out of touch in the series. He was bamboozled by Mendis and Murali. Its better to invest in a youngter for the future. Sourav's fielding and attitude in the field is pathetic.

Third in line is Rahul Dravid. Dravid, it seems has forgotten the ways to get runs. He is ridiculously defensive in his approach and it pains to see Dravid struggle and sweat under pressure.

The man who reedems himself a bit is VVS Laxman. Laxman still has a another good two years left in him, with especially the Australian series coming up. However,his approach while batting with the tail-enders should improve immensely. Laxman should be given another series or two.

Sehwag and Gambir had a great series without whom the solitary win would not have been possible.

In the bowling department, Harbhajan had a smooth comeback and bowled well in the second test to give India a chance in the third. Ishant bowled really well and was a shame he got injured in the third test. Zaheer Khan is effective only with the new ball and he needs to improve his bowling with the old ball immensly, if needs to make any impact on the test arena.

The biggest disappiontment of the series was Anil Kumble's bowling. Even in favourable bowling conditions his bowling was below par to put it mildly. The old wily Kumble might not be seen again. He has become very predictable and has no sting in his bowling of late throughout 2008 season.

The score sheets:

Batting:

Sachin - 3/10,Ganguly-1/10,Dravid- 3/10,Laxman-4/10,Sehwag-7/10,Gambir-8/10.

Bowling:

Ishant Sharma-7/10,Zaheer Khan-5/10,Harbhajan Singh - 7/10,Anil Kumble- 3/10

Fielding:

Indian Cricket Team- 0/10.

Keeping:

India needs Dhoni desperately even yhough he is not the best Test Keeper. Karthik was pathetic to say the least.

So, move on Fab Four and leave space for younsters.

Bindra brings first ever gold for India in Beijing Olympics

The long wait is over. Abhinav Bindra has won gold in 10m riffle and makes India proud. He has brought India the first ever individual gold medal for India. After 1980, when the Indian hockey team won gold, its first time Bindra has brought back the coveted gold medal.
Bindra shooted a record 700.5 in the finals of the 10m pistol and climed to the top position beating Hakkinen of Finland and his Chinese counterpart.
With this Indian olympics had taken a huge leap and many youngsters will take it seriously as a profeesion. India is now 11th in the overall position in overall medals tally

Amitabh is the real king of Bollywood

Akshay Kumar is back in the news ahead of his much hyped film release, "Singh is King". This time in a controversial question of who is the king of bollywood. Akshay Kumar took a dig at Shah Rukh Khan and has said Amiatbh Bacchan is the real "King of bollywood".

He was speaking at a promotional event of 'Singh is Kinng' which will be released later this week.Many in trade circles had commented that the title 'Singh is Kinng' was an attempt on Akshay's part to show that he was the "King of Bollywood".

Brit babe Katrina Kaif is Kumar’s leading lady and this is the beautiful pair’s third film together. Kaif has been quick to quash rumours that they maybe more than just good friends.

Akshay also participated in the inaugural show of Bachchan's world tour 'Unforgettable' in Toronto on July 18.

Shah Rukh says 'No' to "No Smoking"

Shah Rukh Khan has cleared the air about his smoking controversy. His interview to a malayalam daily, about his decision to "Quit Smoking" has not gone down well with the Bollywood super star. He has reiterated that he has no plans to quit smoking nor has he planned to do so in the future.

Asked whether he would give up cigarettes, King Khan replied with a stressful "No".
The actor even declined to respond to a query whether the decision to quit cigarettes would come after a couple of months as stated in his interview.

This particularly might not be music to the ears of Unoin Health Minister Mr. Anbumani Ramadoss who has appealed to all actors to quit smoking. Rajnikanth accepted his appeal but the minister had no such luck in Shah Rukh's case.

Musharraf to be impeached soon

President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf will be impeached very soon from his President's post. Coalition partners of the ruling parties,PPP's Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and PML(N) chief Nawaz Sharif has now agrred to impeach the president.

Rumours doing the rounds, Musharraf has cancelled his China tour to witness the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing.The announcement came as the leaders of Pakistan's main ruling parties met for a second day in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss how to restore dozens of judges fired by Musharraf as well as to consider the unpopular president's fate.

Musharraf has a rough ride in the months to come as he is believed to have been mulling the option of fleeing the country the days to come fearing arrests on legal grounds.

3G mobile connections from March 2009

The Indian government has announced guidelines for auction and allotment of spectrum for 3G telecommunication services. Spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band will be allocated for 3G services through bidding in an auction.

The base price is quoted at Rs.2,200 crores for each license. Many say the actual price may go up many fold as many foreign players like AT&T, Verizon are desperate to get into Indian telecom market. This puts enormous pressure on many Indian players like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Communications and Reliance Communications to rise their bar and bid at a higher price.

Its all good news for Indian customers as the call charges may come down significantly due to competitive market.

So brace up for the new revolution in telecom market in 2009.

Deepika gets Ranbir's name tattoed

Nowadays, it seems tatoo is the best way of showing one's love and romance to the other. After, Saif tattoo of Kareena his left arm, its now the turn of Deepika Padukone who has now got the tattoo of Ranbir's name on her body.First it was the hunks of Bollywood doing it, now it’s the ladies turn.

The tattoo says R K (but obviously Ranbir Kapoor). Since it is hidden behind her hair, not many have caught sight of it yet.We just hope Ranbir Kapoor doesn’t have a “D.P” embedded somewhere or the other.

N-Deal in US congress on Sep 8th

The US has fast-tracked the Indo-US nuke deal with the state department on Tuesday announcing that the deal will be tabled for congressional approval on September 08.The Bush administration is "positive" of getting the nod from the NSG later this month.

Meanwhile, the NSG is meeting on August 21 to consider the waiver.
"Well, we've stated often our support for this deal and we believe that it's important not only for the bilateral relationship, but also for nuclear security to the rest of the world," officials say.
Asked whether the administration would have the 123 agreement before the Congress adjourned for the elections, Mr.Gallegos, an US official said, "Well, we're going to be working with our contacts on the Hill to explain why we believe this is important. And hopefully, we'll be able to have a positive outcome of this."

Bangalore rocked by serial blasts

Terror struck the IT capital today with at least six low intensity serial blasts rocking the southern city leaving one dead and several injured.The blasts took place at the Madivala bus stop, Hossur road, Adugudi, Koramangla, Mysore Road and Nayadahalli. The blasts happened within a span of 12 minutes.

Some of them were in crowded areas. At least person was killed and 15 to 20 were injured. Soon after the serial explosions, the police ordered closure of all schools, colleges, cinema halls and commercial complexes.

The SIMI and LeT operatives have been arrested and they are being interrogated. The police sources said that these terror attacks bear the hallmarks of Bangladesh outfit HuJI.

Pakistan to host Champions trophy as scheduled

As scheduled the cricket champions trophy, also known as Mini world cup, will be hosted by Pakistan this september. The security situation in Pakistan was of grave concern for member countries of ICC like England, Australia and New Zealand.

The tournament, to be conducted in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, will be held as per the scheduled dates, from September 11 to 28.
The board arrived at a decision at a teleconference held today. As reported few participating nations had expressed doubts over the security situation, but it's believed the PCB received overwhelming support from other ICC members to host the tournament. The ICC has also set a task force the evaluate the situation in the country before the tournament.

Indian cricket board, BCCI was supportive of the Pakistan board to host the Champions trophy.

PCB has specially thanked the BCCI for supporting its bid for hosting the tournament. The decision has come as a big relief for the PCB, which is yet to host a big tournament after the 1996 cricket WC.

Markets give loud cheers for the UPA victory

The government emerging victorious in the confidence motion gave bulls the much needed trigger to trample bears on Wednesday.The confidence vote win in parliament meant that the government could revive stalled economic reforms. It also meant that the country could now go ahead and sign the civilian nuclear deal with the US which has the potential to significantly boost India's nuclear energy production.

The Sensex closed with a gain of 838 points at 14,942 while the Nifty closed at 4,476, higher by 236.70 points, marking their fifth consecutive day of gain.Not to be outdone, the rupee jumped 64 paise against the dollar to end at a two- month high of Rs 42.10.

The top gainers were Reliance Communications (12.20 per cent), ICICI Bank (11.64 per cent), BHEL (10.92 per cent), HDFC (10.92 per cent), SBI (10.45 per cent), Reliance Infrastructure (10.36 per cent), HDFC Bank (9.57 per cent) and DLF (9.12 per cent).

Is political morality the last thing that MP's are worried of ?

The last week and half has shown Indian politics in bad light. It has been highly immoral behaviour of the political parties from BJP, Congress and the Left which has ordinary Indian citizen wonder "What's going on ? Is this how far the politicians will go to clutch on to their political careers ?"
The UPA government in the centre called for trust vote on July 22nd over the Nuclear Deal after their 4 year long political friendship with the Left parties broke away citing the miscrepancies in the N-deal. The UPA became a minority and in came Samajwadi Party to their rescue with their 39 MP's. Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh, the leaders of SP had other political
compulsions like the growing clout of their bitter rival in their home state UP, BSP chief and CM of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawathi. Reports said the congress and SP struck a deal behind the doors in return for SP's support to the Deal.
Meanwhile, the opposition party in the centre BJP, has gone all out to defeat the government in the trust vote. Even with all the support of the UPA MP's, the government still falls short of majority mark of 272 by about a dozen votes. This forced Congress to talk to small parties like JMM with 5 MPs, JD(S) with 3 MPs and RLD with 3 MPs and some independents.
Each regional party had their own conditions. JMM chief Shibu Soren wanted his Coal Ministry back and an undertaking that he will be made Chief Minister of his home state Jharkhand.
JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, wants a berth in the central ministry for his son and former CM of Karnataka, Mr.Kumaraswamy and greater say in the government. RLD supremo, Ajit Singh, wants the Lucknow Airport named after his father and a ministry for him. So, even though, the trust vote is about the N-Deal, none of our distinguised leaders of all parties bother about India's future. Both BJP and Congress are trying to woo these small parties.
Apart from this, many MPs claim they have been offered 25-50 crores for their single vote. Is this how our MPs behave regarding the most important deal of our country, the N-deal with USA. Many Corporates are suspected to have thrown in thousands of crores of money to the parties they support to poach MPs.
Is it politically moral for all the MPs to act in this deragatory manner when they have been elected to putforth people's problems ? We, as people of India should be ashamed to have elected these money and power hungry people as our constituent's MPs.
Next time you people elect to vote, please vote for the one who would look into our problems and we should try to bring an end to this coalition governments in which parties, small or big, have their own agenda and dont care about people's agenda. These coalition governments bring only confusion and chaos rather than country's growth.

Asif tests positive once again for banned drugs

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif tested positive for a banned substance during random testing at the Indian Premier League, the IPL announced on Monday.

Asif will now have the right to request that his 'B' sample [supplied at the same time as the one that tested positive] be sent for analysis, which he and his representative can attend along with an IPL representative. Asif was detained in Dubai for possession of contraband drugs last month for 19 days and he is already the subject of a board inquiry into those events.

''I have no clue about the dope test report and I have not been informed about anything in this regard,'' Asif.

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar is one of the three-member Indian Premier League drugs tribunal that will decide the fate of Asif, who failed a dope test in the inaugural edition of the multi-million dollar Twenty20 event.

Infosys,TCS most admired companies: Survey

IT majors Infosys, TCS and Wipro have emerged as the three most admired companies in India, followed by Sunil Mittal-led telecom giant Bharti Airtel and another Tata group company Tata Steel in the top five, according to a list prepared by the Wall Street Journal Asia.

As part of its efforts to determine Asia's 200 most admired firms, the Journal released the list of India's 10 most admired companies as well as top 10 innovators.

However, Bharti Airtel and the country's biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank have scored over the IT majors in terms of innovation with their top two positions.

For innovation, Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies are also in the top five, followed by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications, Wipro, Satyam, M&M and Hindustan Lever (now called Hindustan Unilever).

In the overall list, Infosys has retained its position as the most admired company since 2000, while TCS has also retained its second position since 2006 survey. Wipro has moved up one position from fourth in the previous 2006 survey.

Ranbaxy sued by U.S government; its stocks fall in India

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has filed a motion in a U.S. court seeking documents from Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd . The U.S. is probing whether Ranbaxy destroyed reports it was required to keep, falsified data and failed to meet quality control specifications in manufacturing the generic drugs it sells.

In a sharp departure from accepted pharmaceutical industry practices, officials at a Ranbaxy plant in northern India fabricated test data to show their pills met Food and Drug Administration standards and attempted to conceal the ruse from FDA inspectors, prosecutors charge.

Ranbaxy, the best performer on India's equity benchmark this year, fell 8 percent, or 42.15 rupees, to 490 rupees in Mumbai trading. The stock dropped as much as 9.8 percent earlier.

Prakash falters at the last leg

Prakash Amritraj's dream run at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships ended after second seed and defending champion Frabrice Santoro handed a straight-set defeat to the Indian in the finals of the USD 385,000 event in Newport.

Santoro became the second player since 1990 to win an ATP event after his 35th birthday.Amritraj, the son of three-time Newport winner Vijay Amritraj and a wild-card entry, was the lowest ranked player to reach a Newport final. India's Davis Cup member entered the week 305th in the world, and he became the first Indian to play in an ATP final since Leander Paes won Newport 10 years ago.

Santoro is ranked 57th and had not won an ATP title since beating compatriot Nicolas Mahut in last year's Newport final. He earned 64,000 dollars for the win.It marked the sixth ATP singles title for Santoro.

There was disappointment for India in the doubles competition as well with fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi losing 4-6, 6-7 (1) to the unseeded American duo of Mardy Fish and John Isner in the finals.

Trust vote on July 21, 22.

The UPA government has announced that the vote of confidence will take place on July 22. A two-day special session of Parliament will be called on July 21.On Friday, the top Congress leadership closed ranks over the nuclear deal.

The Prime Minister has told the President that he wants to face a trust vote in Parliament and wants to do this as soon as possible.Breaking her silence over the IAEA safeguard agreement issue, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has thanked the Left parties.''We thank Left parties for support despite of the fact that we could not carry them on nuke agreement,'' said Sonia.

She has also acknowledged Samajwadi Party, the newly-found friend of Congress, for support.Talking about the trust vote and the majority of the party in the Parliament, she said, ''We will be able to prove our majority and fulfill our remaining agenda.''Meanwhile, RJD president and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have said that they would work with Left after the elections.

Obama backs N-deal

Barrack Obama, the democratic presidential nominee back the Indo-US nuclear deal. It was always speculated that Obama will renogotiate or put the deal on hold, if he becomes the president. But now, Obama himself has said he would be reluctant to renogotiate his deal. Obama in a election campaign has said. "I would be reluctant to renogotiate the deal".

The deal will almost certainly be signed by India’s government - putting the onus back on the United States to get it implemented. Deal makes a huge exception of India, endorsing its status as a nuclear-weapons state and granting it a more lenient regime of inspections of its nuclear power facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency than is normal.

Infy Q1 results out; net rises 21 pct, beats f'cast

Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No. 2 software services company, posted a 21 per cent rise in quarterly profit, beating forecasts, boosted by a weaker rupee. It has posted 4.24 per cent growth in its first quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 1302 crore (Rs 13.02 billion) against Rs 1249 crore (Rs 12.49 billion) posted in the previous quarter.

While net profit is above market expectations, sales are in line with estimates.
Income was Rs. 4,854 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2008; YoY growth was 28.7%
Net profit after tax was Rs. 1,302 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2008; YoY growth was 20.7%.Earnings per share increased to Rs. 22.75 from Rs. 18.89 in the corresponding quarter in the previous year; YoY growth was 20.4%.

Despite, the in-line market expectations, the Infy stock on its opening today declined touch above 1.1%. This probably is due to its Rupee:Dollar expectation of Rs.43.05/$ for the second quater.

Iran fires more missiles; Gulf in war mood

Iran today test-fired missiles in the Gulf for a second consecutive day.The weapons fired in the Gulf by the naval section of the Revolutionary Guards included shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles, state television said. No details were given on the names of the missiles.

The range of the Shahab-3 would allow it to reach Israel, Pakistan, and U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region. Pictures broadcast showed several missiles being fired into the night sky.
Images were also broadcast of the naval manoeuvres, showing divers fixing mines to a pier, missiles fired from shore-based mobile launchers to the sea and the Hoot speeding towards a target.

The reports emerged soon after the U.S. secretary of state said Washington would defend Israel against any threats of aggression from Iran.

Israel is today expected to showcase an advanced spy plane. The plane was first unveiled a year ago but Israel's Army Radio reported that it was to be shown now in response to Iran's missile tests.

Ganguly threatens to quit Bengal

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly today threatened to stop playing for Bengal if some Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) members continue to create problems for his family members."Some CAB members are creating problems for my family and if these continue I may consider stopping to play for Bengal," Ganguly said.

There have been a plethora of problems among the current CAB members ever since Jagmohan Dalmia was ousted after severe ideological differences and power-shifts.

The elegant left hander, who could not find a place in the Champions Trophy probables, also reckoned that India's ODI captain M.S. Dhoni must have "felt fatigued" after playing non-stop cricket for the past year.

The Bengal southpaw has been in the thick of the matter as he was recently not named in the Champions Trophy list but was retained in the Test team against Sri Lanka.

Shoaib Akhtar back in the reckoning

Controversial Pakistani pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif on Wednesday got some reprieve after the national selectors included them in the shortlist of 35 players for the Champions Trophy, although the final decision on their participation rests on the Cricket Board.

The International Cricket Council regulations state that all the participating teams have to submit names of 30 probables two months before the start of the tournament and the final 15 squad a month before the event.

Shoaib is available for selection as the Lahore High Court has suspended his 18 months ban last week, at least until the court hears his writ petition scheduled for sometime in September.

As far as Mohammad Asif is concerned PCB’s three-man fact finding committee is yet to start their investigation behind his 19-days detention in Dubai over alleged possession of a contraband substance.

MTN-Rcomm deal over

The deadline for talks between India's Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN Group over a tie-up to create a top 10 global telecoms company worth around $50 billion, may be extended by three or four weeks, the Business Standard newspaper said on Tuesday.

But due to first refusal right put out by RIL Chairman and elder brother of Anil, Mukesh Ambani the deal may be all but over.

An extension to the talks, which have been taking place on an exclusive basis for the past 45 days, would provide Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications, with a brief window to resolve a feud with his brother Mukesh that threatens to scupper the deal.

Reports say that there has been no official comment or confirmation from RCom as well. The two parties had committed to their shareholders that they will keep them updated of the developments but none of the parties issued a brief update yesterday. MTN is reportedly working towards holding a board meeting on Thursday.

Dravid, Ganguly once again sidelined for One dayers

India have omitted former captains Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly from their provisional 30-man squad for the Champions Trophy. Sachin Tendulkar was the only player from among the Fab Four who found a place in the list announced by Cricket Board.Dravid and Ganguly have not figured in the limited overs for nearly a year.

The selectors continued with their youth policy and included two key members from the India under-19 World Cup winning team, Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

Left-handed Ganguly, who turned 36 on Tuesday, is the world's fourth-highest scorer with 11,363 runs in 311 matches with 22 centuries. He played his last one-dayer in November 2007.
Dravid, 35, has also not played a one-dayer this year as selectors look to build a team for the 2011 World Cup to be held in South Asia. His last match was in October 2007.
Dravid has scored 10,585 runs in 333 one-dayers with 12 hundreds.

The probables will be pruned and the final squad named a month ahead of the Champions Trophy scheduled from September 11.

Dada celebrates his 36th birthday, pledges to do well against SL

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly who celebrated his 36th birthday on Tuesday hoped to do well in the Sri Lanka series.
“There was no special wish for my birthday ... also, there’s no special celebration ... just that I’m looking forward to the Lanka series,” he told reporters in Kolkata. With the national selectors retaining him in the 16-member squad for the three-Test series in Sri Lanka starting later this month, Ganguly felt that there was no reason to be excited to see his name on the team roster.
“I was always there in the squad; so there’s no need to get excited. I’ll look to give my 100 per cent and do well in the Sri Lanka series,” he said.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) presented him a bouquet.

Akshay Kumar escapes a blast

With an impressive star-cast including Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt,Katrina Kaif, together with some amazing stunts and breathtaking underwater episodes, Ashtavinayak Cinevision's upcoming movie ‘Blue’ is surely one flick to wait for.
Recently, the movie confronted a life-threatening situation while shooting on the sunny beaches and blue waters of the Bahamas. Apparently the sequence including Sanju Baba, Akki and the cameraman Peter Zuccarini required a ship to be blown up.
Utmost safety measures were taken and Sanjay, Akshay & the cameraman were 50 feet below water filming some special scene for the movie.
Despite such great care being taken, because of the underwater conditions, the blast went a little wild! It was really a distressing moment for the whole panel, but luckily the cameraman used his common sense and got himself and actors out of trouble quickly.
While the actors thanked their lucky mascots for being alive, they also thanked the cameraman for such a narrow escape

Yuvraj out, Sehwag made Vice-Captain for SL Test series

Yuvraj Singh, the VC captain of the Indian One day team is dropped from the Sri Lankan test tour. This decision takes us back to Australian Test tour where Yuvraj's form was appaling. Sachin Tendulkar comes back into active cricket after he himself opted out of Tri-Nation tour in Bangladesh and Asia Cup in Pakistan, due to his groin injury. Harbhajan Singh who has served 5-match ban due to the Slap-gate controversy.

As, everyone know, earlier in the day, Dhoni, the Captain of the One-day Indian Team and the Vice-captain of the test team has opted out of the Sri Lankan test team. Dhoni has been playing non-stop cricket right from Bangladesh tour which took place on May 2007.

In his place, Virender Sehwag who is having a great year in all forms of the game is made the Vice Captain for the Test team. Zaheer Khan who was nursing a heel injury makes his comeback into the Indian Test team. Sreesanth, suffering from Side strain is left out of the squad.

Squad: Anil Kumble (c), Virender Sehwag (v-c), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Kaarthick, Pragyan Ojha and Parthiv Patel.

Pepsi dumps Sachin Tendulkar

Completing a phase-out of its aging cricket brand ambassadors, soft drinks major has dropped master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, whose long-standing contract with the company expired in May.The dropping of Tendulkar comes on the backdrop of Pepsi axing the other two members of the Indian batting trioka -- Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - earlier this year.Industry sources said Pepsi did not renew the contract with Tendulkar, who has been their brand ambassador since the 90s, following its decision to focus on younger cricketers.

Tendulkar continues to be popular among advertisers, and endorses several brands such as health drink Boost, Canon, Adidas, Visa, Britannia, and Aviva. But, Pepsi has decided to end its innings with Sachin Tendulkar.

As per market estimates, Tendulkar with a fee ranging between Rs 3-4 crore for endorsement per brand annually has been the most highly paid cricketer of his generation. So, he still is the man of all seasons.

Dhoni pulls out of the Sri Lanka test series

One-Day International and Twenty20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni may pull out of the series to take a break. The first Test gets underway on July 23 in Colombo.Dinesh Karthik is expected to be the back-up wicketkeeper and the third opener in the squad.Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will return to take their middle order spots as will off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.Harbhajan has finished his five-match ban handed to him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for slapping Sreesanth after an IPL match.

India's squad for the Test tour of Sri Lanka will be named on Tuesday and pacer S Sreesanth has been ruled out of the series after being advised three weeks rest due to a side strain.

Left withdraws support to UPA

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday formally announcing his government’s plans to put the nuclear deal negotiations on the fast track, the Left has decided to announce withdrawal of support for the ruling side on Tuesday. The Left will convey its decision to the President on Wednesday.

Left leaders said that after the prime minister’s statement, the meeting has become irrelevant and that a decision to pull out will be taken at the meeting of Left parties. “The prime minister has made such a categorical statement. It means that the Left has no other option but to withdraw support".What added to the Left’s ire was that the government was inviting them to attend a meeting of the committee just as the prime minister was making the announcement.

Will go ahead with IAEA: PM Manmohan Singh

Having lost the shackles of its communist allies that stymied years of economic reforms, India's government finally has political space to push for change.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's agenda in Japan includes several meetings with world leaders, on the sidelines of the G-8 summit.The most crucial will be a meeting with President Bush, Wednesday, where he is expected to convey his intention to take the final steps to seal a civilian nuclear deal signed between the two countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday announced that India will "very soon" approach the IAEA for a safeguards agreement for the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal where the "process will move very fast". A relaxed and confident Singh made it clear that Government was not afraid of facing Parliament if the Left parties withdraw support.

Mr Singh appears to have secured a deal with the regional Samajwadi Party to replace the Communists. The leftists have opposed the deal saying it would give the US undue influence over India's foreign policy.

India is under pressure from Washington to sign the deal before the US presidential elections in November. Mr Singh has argued the pact is crucial for India's energy security and reports suggest that his Congress Party-led coalition would go ahead with the deal.

Back home,the Left parties are all set to withdraw its support to the UPA government on July 10 even while the government has appealed to them to attend the last meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal on the same date.

Harman feels sabotaged by Aamir Khan

Harry and Harman Baweja have been breathing fire for the last three days ever since Love Story 2050 released along with Aamir Khan's Jaane Tu... starring his nephew Imran Khan.By now the verdict at least in the reviews, is clear. Harry Baweja's ode to the future and to his unmistakably-gifted denbutant son has been savaged by critics.But Harman feels that there is a deliberate attempt to sabotage his film by running it down. Harman and Harry feel there is a gameplan at work to prove that their film is a flop.

Some people are even spreading a buzz that Anees Bazmee, who is directing Harman in his next film wants him out of the film. Harman, his father producer-director Harry Baweja, his girlfriend and co-star Priyanka Chopra and Boman Irani flew into London on Wednesday for the premiere of Love Story 2050. Harman and others left at interval itself.

When Aamir was asked to respond to all the allegations reported in the media,"From last month, I have been reading reports, and quotes of Harman and Harry and they have somehow got it into their heads that I am trying to sabotage Harman's career and their film. I am really not interested in doing that. It is not my style. I don’t believe in sabotaging other people’s work. I think that I believe in making my own films as well as I can and I believe in promoting my films as well as I can".

Climate Change top priority in G8: PM Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left New Delhi on a three-day visit to Japan for attending G-8 summit.Manmohan Singh said he would raise a number of issues from India's perspectives. They included the state of the world economy, development, trade, transfer of technology, energy and food security. Climate change and energy security, which are top of the agenda at this summit, will be utilized by India to push the Nuclear Deal.

During his stay in Hokkaido island, he will meet leaders of various countries including Russia, Britain, Germany, France and host Japan for bilateral discussions.Over the years, India's participation in the G-8/O-5 dialogue process has enabled it to articulate its concerns on a wide range of issues in a forthright manner, on an equal footing.

The Manmohan-Bush meeting will be the focus of eager attention back home as the two leaders are likely to discuss the timetable of the Indo-US nuclear deal that has led to a near break-up of the ruling coalition with the Communists threatening to withdraw support over it. That has led the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to seek support from their erstwhile foe, the Samajwadi Party, to ensure the government's parliamentary survival.There was, however, no mention of the India-US civil nuclear deal in the prime minister's departure statement.

Indian Embassy attacked in Kabul

India's Defence Attache Brigadier Mehta and three other Indians have been killed in the suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.A high level team is leaving for Kabul to assess situation in the wake of suicide attack at Indian Embassy.A suicide bomber blew up an explosive-filled car at the gate of the Indian embassy in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, killing 40 people including two ITBP security persons. The real target was the vehicle of India's Defence Attache. The bombers succeeded in their attempt and Defence Attache's car has been hit.Four Indian nationals have been killed in the attack, the Indian ambassador said.When asked to confirm reports that four Indian nationals had been killed in the attack, ambassador Jayan Prasad said: ''Yes, I can confirm that.''An Indian foreign ministry official said at least two Indian paramilitary troopers guarding the embassy were among those killed in the attack.''Our information says two personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been killed in the attack,'' the ministry said.

ICC Champions Trophy might move to Srilanka

The Champions Trophy could be moved from Pakistan to Sri Lanka in September because of security concerns.
A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people in Islamabad on Sunday and the International Cricket Council's Haroon Lorgat said safety would not be risked.
The ICC chief executive said: "The ICC will not compromise the safety and security of any individual at one of its tournaments.
"If it is not appropriate to play in
any country then we will not do so."
The attack in Islamabad was the deadliest in the city for a year.
Security consultants have been preparing a report for the ICC and they are expected to announce by the middle of July whether Pakistan is deemed safe to host the eight-team tournament.
It is due to start on 11 September with matches being held on Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The ICC has previously stated Sri Lanka would be the back-up venue for the trophy.
Australia, who pulled out of a tour to Pakistan in March, and New Zealand have both voiced security fears of holding the event in Pakistan.

Saif unpertrubed by private photos with Bebo in the net

Saif Ali Khan is matured enough to handle incidents like private photo leakage of him and his lady love Kareeena with elan. He was unmoved when some of his private and intimate photographs with girlfriend Kareena Kapoor were leaked.Saif's secret and private photos with Kareena hit the net recently. A prankster created a profile by the name Safeena Kapoor Khan in a popular social networking website and posted some very private photographs of the couple. Not only that, the person updated the movements of the couple regularly. This would hurt anybody but Saif is an exception.

He said that posting his private photographs on the net is harmless and that a fan might have taken the photographs. He doesn't approve prying into their private lives but at the same time expresses helplessness because of their celebrity status. He said that everything would be fine if he and Kareena keep a watch on their public behaviour. He also added that they can't stop people from clicking photos, as almost everybody has camera phones these days.

Mendis spells a magic on Indian Cricket team

Sri Lanka have been crowned Asia Cup champions for the fourth time thanks to a Sanath Jayasuriya century and an incredible spell of bowling by Ajantha Mendis.
Jayasuriya dragged his side through their innings, scoring 125 from 119 balls, including 26 from one over, while young spinner Mendis ripped through India’s middle-order taking 6-13.
After MS Dhoni had won the toss and elected to field at the National Stadium in Karachi, eyebrows were raised, but his decision looked to be vindicated as Sri Lanka struggled on a flat pitch, posting a seemingly modest 273.
Indeed, when Virender Sehwag smashed 60 from just 36 balls, including the fastest fifty in Asia Cup history (from only 26 balls) India looked to be coasting towards their target.
But Mendis produced three stunning spells of unorthodox spin bowling to bring Sri Lanka back into the match, and to eventual victory, clean bowling the dangerous duo of Yuvraj Singh (0) and Suresh Raina (16) and having Sehwag stumped.
MS Dhoni battled doggedly for his 49, with support from Robin Uthappa, 20, but the damage had been done by Mendis and India could never recover.
Muttiah Muralitharan and KM Kulasekara bowled economically, each yielding figures of 1-26, while Chaminda Vaas returned after being attacked relentlessly by Sehwag in his first spell, to take two late and crucial wickets.

Hamilton wins a stunner in Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton, 23, has won a wet British GrandPrix infront of his home fans at Silverstone.
Hamilton was the first Brit to win the race since David Coulthard in 2000.
He lapped everyone except Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) who finished second a minute back and Rubens Barrichello in a Honda.
Hamilton is now even with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) on 48 points in the drivers' championship.
Massa of Brasil who lost control and spun several times during the race finished last of the 13 who finished.
Mark Webber of Australia (Red Bull) started second on the grid, but spun out on lap one and finished 10th.Finn Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren Mercedes placed fifth after he scored his maiden pole position for the race.

It was a dream race for Hamilton and a perfect one too. This throws a three way fight for the title race.Hamilton, Raikonnen and Massa are tied at 48 points and Kubica is not far behind with 46 points. So, at the half way mark, F1 2008 is very nicely poised for a grand finish.

Federer beaten by a resurgent Nadal

Rafael Nadal dethroned five-time champion Roger Federer as king of Wimbledon on Sunday with an epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (8/10), 9-7 win in one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time.
The Spaniard, who had squandered two match points in a nerve-shredding fourth set tie-breaker and a third in the decider of the longest final in Wimbledon history, added a first All England Club title to his four French Opens.
He also shattered Federer's dreams of an historic sixth successive Wimbledon trophy.The intensity and quality of the match recalled the 1980 final between Borg and John McEnroe, which Borg won in the fifth set after losing an 18-16 tiebreaker. McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon champion and TV commentator at this tournament, called yesterday's final "the greatest match I've ever seen."

Federer, who had wept after winning his first two Wimbledon finals, was now dry-eyed. "Yeah, I tried everything. It got a little late and everything," he said, hinting that it had been too dark to see the ball clearly at the end. "But look, Rafa's a deserving champion. He just played fantastically."