Twitter song !!!!!!!

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs square off in the clean white virtual world of the iconic Mac ads

KP in line to become second best paid cricketer in IPL

The second auction of IPL players will be held in Goa on February 6. While most teams already have the core of the squad in place the players available this time can provide them just that extra edge.Some people described the 2008 IPL auction as the most thrilling moment in cricket after the 1983 World Cup win for India at Lord's. The second auction isn't expected to be quite as exciting but promises its own share of thrills.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen will be the big star at the auction. His base price of 1.35 million US dollars or about Rs 8 crore will make him the second most expensive player in the IPL after MS Dhoni.

Pietersen is likely to be snapped up by the Bangalore Royal Challengers who are desperate to overturn their disastrous campaign from last year.The other star attractions will be Andrew Flintoff and Michael Clarke. Both are expected to fetch in the range of 1 million US dollars each. According to sources Flintoff is headed for the Chennai Super Kings while the Rajasthan Royals and the Deccan Chargers will battle it out for Clarke.

South Africa's rising star Jean Paul Duminy is another player who has attracted a lot of interest from the franchises and he too could fetch a substantial price at the auction.While five Pakistan players have been put up for auction including leg spinner Danish Kaneria, there is still no certainty about them being available given the current political climate.

A 114 players may be available. But only 10 per cent of these will make the final cut. Under IPL rules each franchise can only have 10 foreign players and most teams have eight or more already signed up. Also teams can only spend 2 million US dollars at this year's auction unlike the 5 million they were allowed last year.

IPL season 2

pakistani version of raodies..must watch for all roadie fans...

Can you name the popular add??????

No recession blues for the footballers...Messi up for grabs for $330 mn..

Some 254 million euros, close to $330 million: that is what it would cost to get the talented football forward Lionel Messi away from Barcelona in accordance with Spanish law.

Barcelona has set 150 million euros ($195 million) as the fee - required by Spanish legislation - for the young Argentine to unilaterally break his contract with his current employer.The figure is high enough to deter most of those who might consider signing him. But, based on rumours of possible buyers in Madrid, there are some out there eyeing both the $330-million figure and their own bottom line.

However, other concepts should be added to that amount. VAT would be required, as well as an income tax of 46 per cent, the Barcelona sports daily Mundo Deportivo noted on Monday.Given these figures, Messi is worth almost the equivalent of Barcelona's whole annual team budget, worth some $390 million.

Should any club try to tempt Messi without coming to an agreement with Barcelona, the player - "not the club" - would have to pay the required money, so he should first get it from his potential new employer. Once he gets those funds, however, Spanish tax authorities would demand that the striker pay income tax on them.

Messi could only avoid that payment "if both clubs came to an agreement to issue a bill for the amount of the contract-cancellation fee," which Real Madrid and Barcelona did in the past when Luis Figo moved to the Spanish capital, for example.

Technically, this would make the move a direct sale between clubs, for the same amount set as a penalty fee for the player.Beyond tax issues, Messi's play, goals and general statistics bring up comparisons with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, of Manchester United, the recent winner of the Ballon d'Or that distinguishes the best player in the world.

There are reports of an alleged deal with Real Madrid that would take Ronaldo to Spain next season for just over 120 million euros ($155.6 million). The amount is considerably lower than the fee required to get Messi.

The young Argentine shone again Saturday. When he scored in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Numancia, Messi kissed the club badge on his shirt, in a gesture that seemed highly symbolic following days of intense rumours.

Barcelona-based media were shocked by the chance that former Real Madrid coach Florentino Perez - a candidate to return to the club leadership in the coming months - might want to turn Messi into his greatest electoral asset. And the snowball started to roll.

Barcelona fans do not forget the way Figo signed for Real Madrid in 2000, lifting Perez to the presidency. They also recall how their club has traditionally devoured superstars: one by one, talented players like Diego Armando Maradona, Bernd Schuster, Ronaldo, Figo or, most recently, Ronaldinho have left Barcelona through the back door.

Messi was quick to calm down fears. First, he kissed the club badge, and then he made it clear that he was very satisfied.

"I am missing nothing here, I have everything. Like the love of the fans, which is the most important thing, that which impresses me the most. I do not need to change teams," he said.

And yet, late Sunday he made it clear that things may yet change. Could he leave?"Nothing is impossible, because after everything that Ronaldinho gave Barcelona, he ended up being badly treated and he wound up leaving," the Argentine noted.

In the meantime, Messi's price continues to rise, and Barcelona is looking into ways to keep its superstar happy. However, given his market price, it is easy to predict that he will remain at his current club for as long as he wants to.

A perfect 10 for Slumdog Millionaire !!!!!!!

Danny Boyle's Golden Globe winning Slumdog Millionaire - a story based in Mumbai slums - has been nominated in 10 categories for the Academy Awards to be held on February 22, 2009. Slumdog has been nominated for
Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy)
Best Picture,
Best Original Score (A R Rahman)
Best Song (One each for Jai Ho and O Saya)
Best editing
Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty)
Best Sound Editing (Resul Pookutty)
Best Cinematography and Best Director (Danny Boyle) at the Oscars.

Surat welcomes Obama in their own way

ICC takes away Test Championship trophy from Australia

Australia's long reign as world's best Test team may not be over yet but the ICC has taken back the Championship Trophy to Dubai to present it after the series in South Africa starting next month.

Australia's last-gasp victory against the Proteas in the final Test in Sydney kept them in the number one spot, which they can lose when they made a return tour of South Africa.
Instead of waiting until the conclusion of the series, the ICC has decided to take back the Test Championship trophy in anticipation that it could change hands.

Cricket Australia has been forced to return the ICC Test Champion trophy to Dubai after holding it for all eight years of its existence -- apart from four months in 2003 when South Africa briefly claimed it.

CA's new office in Melbourne was designed around the gold and silver mace-shaped trophy speckled with jewels but the USD 150,000 trophy is now adorning the Dubai office of the ICC.

"We have held it ever since the ICC Test rankings were introduced in May 2001, so apart from the four months in 2003 it's been with us," said CA spokesman Peter Young.

"Our building was designed around the trophy. We are most certainly planning to bring it back with us from South Africa. If that does not eventuate we may have to get some Polyfilla and fill the space in our foyer," he was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

AR Rahman wins Golden Globe for best composer

Slumdog wins 4 Golden Globe!!!! Rahman the first indian to win it :)

Slumdog Millionaire has lived up to its underdog theme at the Golden Globes, sweeping all four of its categories, including best drama and director for Danny Boyle.

India-based story of an underdog, the Danny Boyle-directed Slumdog Millionaire in on a winning spree, first bagging the award for the Best Film, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Screenplay category (Simon Beaufoy), and the Best Original Score (A R Rahman). It has also won the Globe for the Best Motion Picture.

Shot in Mumbai, Rahman's song Jai Ho has been penned by lyricist Gulzar.

"Your mad, pulsating affection for our film is much appreciated," said director Danny Boyle.

The film tells the story of a slum kid who participates in popular reality game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) and wins Rs 2 crore in a bid to win his love interest back.

Slumdog is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan in lead among others.Recently, the film's protagonist Dev Patel won the most promising newcomer award at the British Independent Film Awards as well as the Best Young Actor Award at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The film has been shot at various locations in Mumbai, including the railway Victoria Terminus, which was targeted by terrorists on November 26 last year.Slumdog Millionaire, some awards watchers think, could become an Oscar favourite.

The Indian connection does not end here. Bollywood's King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan will present an award at the ceremony.

The other winners

As expected, the late Heath Ledger earned the supporting-actor Globe for his diabolical turn as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight.

The Globe win boosts Ledger's prospects for the supporting-actor honor at the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out January 22, the one-year anniversary of the actor's death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

The award was accepted by The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, who said he and his collaborators were buoyed by the enormous acclaim and acceptance the film and Ledger's performance have gained worldwide.

"All of us who worked with Heath on The Dark Knight accept with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride," Nolan said. "After Heath passed, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema."

Only one actor has ever won a posthumous Oscar, best-actor recipient Peter Finch for 1976's "Network."

Wall E grabbed the best animation film award while Sally Hawkins has got the best actress in a motion comedy.

British actress Kate Winslet has been named best supporting actress at the Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles.

The star - who won the award for her role as a Nazi prison guard in The Reader - said she was "shocked" as she had "a habit of not winning things"

British actor Tom Wilkinson was named best supporting actor in a miniseries for his role as Benjamin Franklin in HBO period drama John Adams.

The awards are widely seen as a precursor to the Oscars.

Satyam boss Raju admits accounting fraud, quits

Satyam Computer Services founder-chairman B Ramalinga Raju has resigned from the IT major's board after admitting a multi-crore fraud in the company’s accounts.

In a notification to the stock exchanges, the Hyderabad-based IT firm said Raju and Managing Director Rama Raju had resigned early Wednesday and that the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) had been informed.

In the regulatory statement, Raju said that the company had fraudulently incorporated a non-existent cash component and inflated the bank balance to reflect Rs 5,040 crore (Rs 50.4 billion) as against Rs 5,361 crores (Rs 53.61 billion).

''No board member had any knowledge of the real situation. Accrued interest of Rs 376 crore in books is non-existent. About Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam, but was not reflected in the books,” he said.

CNBC-TV18 reports that the account manipulation started years ago. "It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," Raju said in his resignation letter to the company’s board of directors, in which he listed major financial wrong-doings over the years to inflate profits.

"I sincerely apologise to all Satyamites and stakeholders, who have made Satyam a special organisation, for the current situation," said Raju. "I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face consequences thereof."

Raju recommended DSP Merrill Lynch be entrusted the task of "quickly exploring some merger opportunities," but the investment banker informed the stock exchanges that it has terminated its engagement with Satyam.

According to Raju, Ram Mynampati will act as an interim CEO. The resignations, ahead of January 10 board meeting, pushed the company into crisis and paved the way for immediate restructuring of the board and the management.

Shares of the company plunged by over 40 per cent soon after the resignations. Satyam, considered a ripe proposition for acquisition, was pushed into crisis after Raju was forced to abandon the acquisition of Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties promoted by his son.

In a regulatory filing the company said Raju would continue to be the chairman till the board is expanded. "Under the circumstances I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible," said Raju.

An account of the confession

Raju said the fraud was “marginal” when it started but then grew over the years. "What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years," said.

"It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of the company operations grew significantly. The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations thereby significantly increasing the costs," he said.

"The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas' investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit. Once Satyam's problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas' payments can be delayed. But that was not to be," he said.

Raju claimed that he and Managing Director Rama Raju (his brother) didn’t make any personal profit from the inflated accounts.

The balance sheet also carries "an accrued interest of Rs 376 crore which is non-existent, an understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me (Raju), an overstated debtors position of Rs 490 crore (as against Rs 2651 crore reflected in the books," Raju said.

He further said that Satyam reported a revenue of Rs 2700 crore for the September quarter and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore (24 per cent of revenue) as against the actual revenue of Rs 2112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of revenue).

"This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up Rs 588 crore in Q2 alone," Raju said.

"The gap in the Balance Sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance.

Satyam is the country's fourth largest IT firm and has over 51,000 employees.

Abhishek's new haircut?

Abhishek Bachchan was spotted with a new look last weekend -- one, that reminded us of Aamir Khan's Ghajini look.The actor and his star wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are starring opposite each other in Mani Ratnam's Ravan, and this is rumoured to be Abhishek's look for the film.

Farhan's Luck By Chance

After showing off his acting skills in Rock On!!, Farhan Akhtar will be seen next in sister Zoya Akhta's directorial debut, Luck By Chance.The movie revolves around struggling actors, trying to make it big in the film industry. The film also stars Konkona Sen Sharma playing Sona Mishra, a junior artiste who falls in love with Farhan's Vikram Jaisingh character, a struggler from Delhi.

Hrithik Roshan puts in a cameo as superstar Zaffar Khan. Isha Sharwani -- remember Vivek Oberoi's love in Kisna? -- plays 18-year-old Nikki Khurana, daughter of 1970s superstar Neena (played by Dimple Kapadia).

Romy Rolly (played by Rishi Kapoor) is a movie producer, starring Zaffar and Nikki.

Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Rani Mukerji, Shilpa Shetty, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Rajkumar Hirani have put in guest appearances.

Juhi Chawla plays producer Rolly's wife Minti.

Shankar-Loy-Ehsaan have composed the music for the film.

It took a long time for Zoya to put her film together, as there were many stars involved. Besides, Zoya had initially cast Madhuri Dixit in the film. When she stepped down, Tabu was approached. Finally, Zoya cast Konkona. Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi were also approached for the film. But they asked Zoya to change the climax. That's when brother Farhan stepped in, and the film was on its way.

Azharuddin's son trying for Kolkata Knight Riders

His father Mohammad Azharuddin began his career at Eden Gardens and now an 18-year-old Mohammad Ashaduddin, called for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) selection trials, hopes the venue will do the magic for him as well in his quest to make it big in cricket.

A product of St John's Academy -- a club where VVS Laxman learned his basics -- Ashaduddin is yet to make it big anywhere, but he is hoping that the KKR call-up will help him establish in the big league.

"I have heard a lot about Eden Gardens from my father... It was one of his favourite grounds, having made his debut [against England in 1984-85]" the left-handed opener said."It's a great opportunity for me to prove myself if I get a chance. It can well be the turning point if I can cash in on the opportunity. I am very excited about the call-up."

One of the most successful India captains, Azharuddin, boasts of a 107.5 average, 860 runs from seven Tests at the Eden. In ODIs, the former middle-order batsman has 332 runs at an average of 47.42 from nine matches.

Unlike his father, Ashaduddin, popularly known as Abbas, loves to play attacking shots which he says come in handy in the Twenty20 format."I have learnt cricket watching my father...so he is my first coach. But I have my style of play and I don't want to play like my father. My father had a God's gifted talent. I will never get there. I just like to be myself and perform well being a cricketer."

"I think my style of play will suit the Twenty20 format. I have an attacking approach... I like to pull and ganguly's stepped-out shot was my favourite," Ashaduddin, who plays for East Marredpally CC in the Hyderabad's A division league (two-day format) and has four fifties in six innings this year, added.

Ashaduddin, who is also a part-time off-spinner, agreed there are a lot of expecations that a star-son has to face but is confident of shrugging off pressure."There is pressure when you are born to a legendary father. But on the field I will be just a cricketer and try to play as the situation demands."

Asked to compare his father and Ganguly -- two of India's most successful captains -- the youngster chose to laugh it away: "It's tough to answer... Ganguly was also a great leader and it was a dream come true for me meeting the former India captain."

He added that Australian hard-hitting opener Matthew Hayden is his all time favourite, while he also admires Yuvraj Singh among the Indians.Incidentally, the KKR probables also includes another cricketer son Shatrunjay Gaekwad, son of former India coach Aunshuman Gaekwad. Left-handed batsman Shatrunjay has played for Baroda.

Ashaduddin is part of a pool of 44 cricketers selected from all over the country to go in for a three-day selection trial to be conducted by coach John Buchanan and Ganguly for Kolkata Knight Riders. The camp will begin on Monday.

Juventus to offer Barcelona €75m for Messi

Juventus are planning to turn their Lionel Messi dream into reality by scrambling together €75 million in an attempt to prise the striker away from Barcelona.

Reports of a possible deal have been fuelled with speculation after club heir Andrea Agnelli told Tuttosport about his dream to bring Messi in.

The same paper has now claimed Juve are looking to build up a mega transfer kitty in order to tempt the Catalan giants.

Although the move is possible, it will not come soon as reports suggest the Old Lady have a long-term plan to sign the Argentine, rendering any January move highly unlikely.

A €75m deal is being touted and this could be enough to convince the Blaugrana to part company with their man in future. Messi has been outstanding for Barca but he could be wearing the Juventus jersey within the next couple of years.

As well as this, Juve are not worried about splashing out such a mega sum of cash as they would make massive returns on their investment through marketing and sponsorship deals and the move could tie in nicely with their plans for a new stadium.

The arena is set to be completed in 2011 and the club is looking to have Messi on their books by then. Tuttosport have always linked the greatest players to Juventus, but not all of their predictions have materialised.

Nov 26 terror attack cost BCCI Rs 120 crore

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 120 crore this fiscal year mainly due to the November 26 terror attack.

"BCCI has incurred a loss of Rs 120 crore due to the cancellation of the Pakistan tour, Champions League that was to be held in the month of December and the two one day matches against England due to the terror attacks," a BCCI source said on Friday.Last month's terror attacks resulted in losses for the BCCI as the Englishmen returned home, though the team came back later for the Test series.

The BCCI source said that in a bid to compensate for the losses, the Board may ask New Zealand to accomodate an additional Test match during India's tour in March-April this year. Apart from that, the BCCI was exploring the possibility of arranging a short series to make up for its cancelled tour of Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks

BCCI's T20 Champions League faces UEFA ire

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is on a collision course with for European football's governing body UEFA over the naming of its Twenty20 tournament as the Champions League.

The name of UEFA flagship footballing event, too, is same and the football body has objected to the BCCI calling its Twenty20 tournament as the Champions League.

According to reports, the BCCI had applied for a Community Trade Mark (CTM) license for the event. The BCCI's motive was to promote the competition in the United Kingdom.

The BCCI-backed event was postponed after the terror attacks in Mumbai, one of the three venues of the eight-club tournament.

The UEFA now has objected to the BCCI using the Champions League brand. It has reportedly sent a letter to the BCCI informing them about violation of the use of trademarks of the Champions League in the European Union.

15 Crore Sms in one day [:O]

Hyderabadis have nearly pushed the GSM and CDMA mobile communication systems to the brink of a collapse, as they thumbed a mind-boggling 15 crore short messages on their mobile phones while ushering in the New Year.No wonder that the networks got jammed.

While the youngsters adeptly thumb-texted wacky messages, the elders too were not left behind though using the ‘hunt-and-peck’ typing system on a majority of the 60 lakh mobile phones in the State capital. As the messages reduced to zeros and ones in the cyber world, zigzagged their way through to the recipient mobile phones, the telecom operators must have been the happiest lot.

But all is not hunky dory with the SMS greetings. Most of the mobile phone users were still getting their messages delivered till late in the evening on January 1 too, as the overloaded systems put the incoming SMSs on the queue and began transmitting them later. This delay is acute on festival days or on occasions like new year eve. It’s happening on normal days too.Mobile phone firms say they are taking measures to tackle the delay.I don't know to what extent these measures have an impact...Lets see in the coming days..

Anil Ambani tops billionaire blowups list

Industrialist Anil Ambani continues to be on the focus of US magazine Forbes but this time around for topping the list of 'Billionaire Blowups of 2008' by virtue of turning the biggest loser of wealth in less than a year of being touted as the biggest gainer in the world.

Besides ranking him as sixth richest person in the world with a net worth of $42 billion, Forbes had credited him for having added maximum wealth in its last annual rankings in March.

Since then, his net worth has declined to $12 billion, the magazine said in a news report titled "Billionaire Blowups of 2008".

"The biggest loser of all was Anil Ambani. Touted on the cover of our 2008 billionaires issue for having added $24 billion to his fortune in one year, Ambani has dropped $30 billion since then," the report said.

The report further added that three of "his fellow countrymen--estranged brother Mukesh, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Indian K P Singh, all of whom ranked earlier among the world's 10 richest--lost more than $20 billion apiece."

Noting that 2008 was "a dreadful year for the world's wealthiest as markets and currencies around the world tumbled", Forbes said that over 300 of the 1,125 billionaires have lost at least $1 billion since March.

While several dozen have lost more than $5 billion, the 10 richest from annual 2008 rankings have lost about $150 billion.

This is primarily driven by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, estranged brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani and property baron K P Singh together losing $100 billion.

Three blasts in Guwahati; 5 dead, 51 injured

Three blasts rocked Guwahati in crowded areas on Thursday, including one shortly before the arrival of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The Assam Chief Minister's Office confirmed that the blasts have left five persons dead and 51 others injured. According to initial reports, the bombs were of low intensity.Speaking to CNN-IBN minutes after the third blast, Assam DGP, GM Srivastava said, “One person is in critical condition. We can confirm that the perpetrators are ULFA.”

The first bomb exploded in the Birubari area, injuring three persons.At least four people were injured when a suspected cycle bomb exploded at Bhootnath locality, which falls on the route Chidambaram was to take, shortly before his arrival.

Three persons were injured in a blast outside a Big Bazar retail chain outlet at Bhangagarh, an upmarket commercial area near the Guwahati Medical College.Earlier, an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) kept in a municipal corporation dustbin went off at around 1530 hours IST leaving three persons wounded.

The injured have been rushed to a hospital and they were identified as Altaf Ali, Fatema Begum and Raul Ali, news agency PTI said.Police have cordoned off the blast sites.

The state witnessed serial blasts on October 30, killing 88 people.