Ipl 2009-Katrina kaif at the IPL Grand Finale

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif (L) performs with US singer Akon during a closing ceremony after Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challenger Bangalore in the 2009 Indian Premier League cricket final match in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday May 24, 2009.

A dancer entertains fans at the end of the 2009 IPL T20 cricket final match in Johannesburg on May 24, 2009.

Also, Katrina performs during the closing ceremony of 2009 IPL.

Glam girl Katrina performs during the closing ceremony of 2009 IPL.

Bollywood glam girl Katrina danced to the English version of Jai Ho of Slumdog Millionaire fame sung by the Pussycat Dolls.

Fireworks explode over the Wanderers Stadium during a closing ceremony after Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challenger Bangalore in the 2009 IPL cricket final match in Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday May 24.

Two new God Of War 3 Screenshots arrive!

After the March reveal of God of War 3, we've had virtually no info on the game- until now.

Some of these screenshots are from the trailers, but most of them are new, and some are even in-game. Nothing much, but maybe it'll hold us till E3.

Teeth bared, veins bulging, Kratos plunges both hands elbow-deep into the gargantuan eye socket of the Cyclops.

Propping a foot against each hulking shoulder of the giant, the bloodthirsty Spartan and raging son of Zeus yanks the beach ball-sized organ as if it was a cork coming out of the world's largest wine bottle.

Blood vomits from the orifice as the glistening optic nerve stretches and stretches and stretches like an overtaxed rubber band. It snaps, the two halves of the ruined eyestalk flutter to the ground, and the giant orb comes free in Kratos's hands.

The kicker: this is an in-game, playable sequence from God of War III, Sony's outrageous new action epic for the PlayStation 3. Though it's months away from completion, God of War III is already something special. So are you really going to think twice before playing God of War 3?

Now Mallika Sherawat joins Twitter

Mallika Sherawat has a new hobby – tweeting - the lady has gotten obsessed with Twitter and just adores the networking site like many Hollywood celebs.

The actress, who has a milkshake named after her in Hollywood, was enjoying the US breeze for quite some time while working for the post production of her movie Hisss. Away from home in the US, the lady used to get lonely in her leisure time and started using Twitter (a popular networking site). She started bonding online big time with the members of the site.

Now that she’s discovering the joy of tweeting, Mallika thinks amazing things can happen when you get connected to people.

Tweeting by the username ‘@MallikaLA’, the bombshell confesses that she is addicted to it now. What began as a hobby to beat her loneliness in the US, has now become an addiction.

The surprising thing is that before she joined Twitter, she took classes to learn how to use social networking sites. The actress also discovered that Shahrukh Khan too is hooked to the site. Twitter is used extensively by many Hollywood celebs like Ashton Kutcher, his wife Demi Moore and also sexy celeb-socialite Kim Kardashian who recently posted her photographs showing her sun-burnt face.

May be to the actors bored with their glam world, the virtual world of internet appears more fascinating. Mallika is the new addition to the fast growing brigade. Among Bollywood celebs hooked to networking are Karan Johar , Priyanka Chopra , Shahid Kapur , Celina Jaitley and many others.

Force India VJM01 gets new rear wing

Following the introduction of an updated diffuser at Spain, Force India has fitted a new rear wing on its 2009 car.

Just like so many other teams, FI is exploiting the small central region of the rear wing where it is allowed to have more than two closed sections.

FI's solution is however quite distinctive as the team have chosen to add an extra little wing above the other elements. At the same time, the existing elements were modified to create an extra slot, similar to that of the new wing of McLaren.

On Sunday the Force India Formula One Team enjoyed its most competitive race performance to date in the Monaco Grand Prix. Giancarlo Fisichella finished a fighting 9th position, just 1.8secs from eighth and and one point, and the final driver to be on the lead lap at the end of the race. Adrian Sutil passed the flag in 14th place.

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All 8 IPL Teams make Huge Profits

If IPL has stood all you thought you knew about cricket on its head, it has done the same with finances too.

In a year when franchisees were complaining about shifting how to South Africa would make a mess of their budgets, each one of them will make a profit.

If that’s not strange enough, try this: The two finalists, Royal Challengers and Team Hyderabad, will make a fraction of the profit that bottom-of-table Knight Riders will, even if you take prize money into account.

The main reason for the healthier bottomlines is a jump in the share of revenues from broadcasting. Last year, each franchisee got Rs 25 crore from IPL as its share of the central pool. This year, that has risen to Rs 67.50 crore each.

BCCI’s profit too has apparently jumped to Rs 477 crore from Rs 350 crore last year. Sony Max is also likely to be in the black this year.

IPL franchisees who had been complaining about the event being shifted to South Africa are in for a surprise: Every single team stands to make a profit from this year’s tournament.

Had the matches been organized in India, it’s likely the teams profits would have been even higher because of higher receipts from ticket and merchandise sale, which have averaged Rs 8 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively in South Africa.

In 2008, teams like Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Team Delhi earned around Rs 20 crore from ticket sales alone as the capacity of their home stadiums was large enough to accommodate over 70,000 and the crowds just poured in.

According to a report by equity research firm IIFL, Team Jaipur will make the highest profit of Rs 35.1 crore in the group matches of the second edition of the tournament. Jaipur had also made the second-highest profit of Rs 14.50 crore in 2008, including the Rs 4.50 crore ($1 million) prize money.

Knight Riders, which finished lowest in the league table during the qualifying round in South Africa, will nevertheless end up with the third-highest profit of Rs 25.8 crore in the second edition of IPL.

In fact, the only semifinalist which also stands to make over Rs 20 crore in profits is Delhi.

This is despite the fact that prize money in the IPL is a sizeable amount, with Rs 4.8 crore for winner, Rs 2.4 crore for the runners-up and 1.2 crore each for the losing semifinalists.

For those who didn’t get past the league stage, the sums are correspondingly smaller - Rs 80 lakh for the team that finished fifth (Kings XI Punjab), Rs 70 lakh for the sixth placed (Jaipur), Rs 50 lakh for the seventh (Mumbai Indians) and Rs 40 lakh for the lowest one.

The healthy bottomlines are a happy change from last year when besides Knight Riders and Jaipur, Team Chennai just scraped into the black due to its Rs 2.25 crore prize money for the runners-up position, according to a highly placed source.

What has helped the IPL and franchisees is essentially the re-awarding of the broadcasting rights. The renegotiated contract was for $1.64 billion (Rs 8,200 crore) for nine years -- a jump of 90% from the original figure

IIT-JEE results declared

Over 10,000 students have qualified in the 2009 Indian Institue of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination with Nitin Jain, a student from Delhi zone, topping the list.

A total of 10,035 students, including 1,048 girls, have succeeded in this year's IIT-JEE, results of which were announced on Monday.

The students, who cracked the test, will get admission into 15 IITs, IT-BHU and ISM Dhanbad, which will offer over 8,500 seats this year.

"There will be more seats in the IITs this year as the institutes will implement OBC quota. Besides, two new IITs, one in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and another in Indore in Madhya Pradesh, will start functioning," IIT Guwahati Director Prof Gautam Baruah said.

The total number of seats in the IITs for this year will be 8,295, against 6,332 seats offered by 13 IITs last year, he said.

The highest number of 2,831 students have qualified from Mumbai zone.

The counselling for admission will start from June nine, Baruah said.

Nearly four lakh students had appeared in the test held across the country on April 13. The number of questions came down to 120 this year compared to 132 last year.

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Barbara Mori upset over smooch publicity

Mexican actress Barbara Mori is surprised that a kiss between a hero and heroine is a big deal in Hindi films.

There was a time when romantic scenes in Hindi films had the hero and heroine coming close to each other and just when their lips would be inches away from docking…cut…two roses gently meeting. Times have changed today, but the mentality hasn’t. Today, either co-stars don’t kiss; but if they do, it becomes a headline for tabloids. Barbara, who comes from a culture where kisses are as common as handshakes, is quite surprised by all the hype surrounding kisses in Hindi films.

“In most films they don’t kiss, they just come together but at the last moment it stops. I was always left wondering why they stopped,” Mori expressed her surprise while speaking to a news channel. .

Incidentally, the actress has been making a lot of news in India over suggesting co-star Hrithik Roshan to kiss her on the lips in a crucial scene in Kites , while the original scene had just a peck on the cheek.

Hrithik, on his part, says he has developed genuine love and respect for Barbara after working with her in ‘Kites’.

“We have a fabulous working relationship. I have genuine love and respect for Barbara. She has become very close to our family. If it was not for her, we would have not been able to accomplish the kind of film we have,” said Hrithik

‘Kites’ is a turbulent, sensuous love story between an Indian salsa dancer and a Mexican girl. Kangana Ranaut adds a third angle to the love story.

Katrina and Akon blaze at the IPL Finale

From Katrina Kaif unto Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan to Akon's smash hits, the closing ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the New Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday night showcased the diverse cultures of South Africa and India.

Senegalese-born American singer Akon sang his popular number Smack That, while the fusion of the Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram bhajan with African drums created a magical aura at the Bulls Ring at the New Wanderers.

It was Brand India all over at 40,000 capacity stadium, where the Deccan Chargers lifting the IPL crown after a heart-stopping final against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

From Jai Ho to Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram and Vande Mataram, the IPL closing ceremony gave South Africans a taste of Indian culture. The ceremony was better planned as compared to the inaugural, which was put together in a short span of time after the tournament was moved from India to South Africa.

Bollywood glam girl Katrina Kaif danced to the English version of Jai Ho of Slumdog Millionaire fame sung by the Pussycat Dolls, while the winner of Miss IPL Bollywood Dune Kossatz matched steps with Akon.

Jugglers took the centrestage and put on a jaw dropping performance as they literally juggled with fire, while a group of drummers rocked the New Wanderers with fire on their drum sticks.

British reggae musician Eddie Grant kept everyone on their toes with his popular tracks. Grant performed his anti-apartheid hit Gimme Hope Jo'anna and also Walking on Sunshine to bring down the curtain on the 37-day IPL extravaganza that has greatly strengthened ties between South Africa and India.

Adriana Lima tops Twitter totty List

It turns out that Twitter isn't all about men like Amitabh Bachchan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ashton Kutcher discussing what they had for breakfast.

The world's hottest women are also logging on to tell the world what they're up to. And now a Top 50 Twitter totty list has been compiled, starring some of the hottest women around.

It's topped by supermodel Adriana Lima who posts hot bikini pictures and videos of herself online.

Movie goddess Jessica Alba also makes the chart, along with songwriters Taylor Swift and British singer Lily Allen.

Here we reveal the Top 9 list along with links to their Twitter blogs - or at least those claiming to be official.

1)Adriana Lima
2)Jessica Alba
3)Taylor Swift
4)Ashanti
5)Audrey Hitching
6)Brooke Burke
7)DJ Tamara sky
8)Tila Tequila
9)Lilly Allen

Nation pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi

New Delhi, Thursday 21 May 2009: The nation on Thursday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 18th death anniversary.

President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the departed leader’s widow and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at ‘Veer Bhumi’, the memorial of Gandhi.

Children of Gandhis, Congress MP Rahul and Priyanka along with her husband Robert Vadra were also present at the remembrance ceremony at the memorial, which was decorated with hundreds of white lotuses on the occasion.

Besides, Defence Minister A K Antony, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and a number of newly elected MPs, leaders of UPA allies like NC’s Farooq Abdullah and Kerala Congress chief K M Mani also paid floral tributes at the memorial.

The remembrance ceremony began with the entry of 18 children signifying the 18th year of martyrdom of Gandhi. He was assassinated on May 21, 1991 by a LTTE suicide bomber during a public meeting at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

The eldest son of Feroze and Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, was born in 1944 and served as the the youngest Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. Rajiv attended Cambridge University, where he met and married Sonia at 24. Following the death of his brother Sanjay in 1980, his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, persuaded Rajiv to enter politics.

He stood successfully for election in 1981 and became a political adviser to his mother. After her assassination in 1984, Rajiv succeeded her as the head of the Congress, and was sworn in as Prime Minister of India.

Rajiv Gandhi is credited with ushering India into the 21st century. He was among the few world leaders who saw the potential of information technology and laid the foundations for India to become an information technology superpower.

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Lalu: No hard feelings if Cabinet berth denied

With little hope of getting "sympathetic treatment" from the Congress top brass, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday appeared resigned to his fate, saying he would not feel bad over being denied a Cabinet berth.

Asked whether he was hopeful of getting a berth in the UPA Government, a visibly perturbed Lalu said: "Why are you asking me this question? It is the Prime Minister's prerogative." He, however, refrained from saying anything against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said he still shared a good relationship with her as well as Manmohan Singh.

He told reporters that there was no reason to feel bad about being denied a berth in the Government as "ups and downs were part of a politician's life". The RJD chief went on to reiterate that he had given unconditional support to the UPA and was happy that his "mission" of not allowing the BJP to come to power had been successful.

Pointing out that all was not over for him, he said he would go back to the people and earn their support once again.

Lalu's annoyance comes not only from the fact that the Congress has been keeping him at an arm's length but also because inside his own party there are voices calling for only outside support to the UPA. Rural Development Minister in the outgoing Government and RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has gone on record to say that "we (RJD) should provide outside support as more time needs to be devoted to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots".

Interestingly, this comes amidst reports that considering Raghuvansh's commendable performance as the Rural Development Minister, the Congress leadership is eager to accommodate him instead of Lalu.

Meanwhile, PTI reports from Patna said the RPF security at the bungalow of the former railway minister was quietly restored on Wednesday. On Tuesday, PTI had reported that personnel deployed at the 10, Circular Road residence of Lalu were withdrawn following instructions from the RPF headquarters. When contacted, Chief Security Commissioner, East Central Railway, Neeraj Sinha said the security personnel would continue to guard the bungalow till further orders. The bungalow, where Lalu stays in Patna, is allotted in the name of his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.

Freida Pinto is miffed at blogs and websites

Websites and blogs are picking up pictures from an old calendar shoot she did in 2006.

The scans of her calendar made an appearance on the net a few weeks back. They were first uploaded on a US-based celebrity blog and were later picked up by many popular blogs and sites.

After seeing the old pics, the Slumdog Millionaire actress has now asked her lawyers to take legal action against any site making these pictures more popular.

Ever since Pinto made it big, she has been marred by a series of picture and video leaks on the internet.

Apart from her ex-fiance, Rohan Antao lashing out at her and pictures of their engagement in Goa leaking online, recent images of current boyfriend Dev Patel and Freida getting cosy in Paris, also made it to the net.

There are not just images but also a music video featuring Canadian singer-song writer Dal Hothi that is popular on several blogs.

Pinto shot for the video years back when she was still a struggling model.

However, the actress is most upset over the calendar pictures and has asked her agents in Hollywood to try and get them off the web.

A source reveals, "She is doing very good for herself and doesn't want any controversies. Freida feels that people are jealous of her success and want to malign her.

Apart from getting a plum role in a Woody Allen flick, she also recently shot for Miral in Jerusalem."

No pubs for Kareena!

Actress Kareena Kapoor has been losing sleep... and it’s not quite over Priyanka Chopra and ex-beau Shahid Kapoor’s alleged love affair.

Or so we’re told! “What else can you expect when you’re shooting for four films simultaneously?” says a friend of the actor. Currently working at completing 3 Idiots, Kambakkht Ishq, Agent Vinod, Qurbaan and Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Bebo now prides herself in not having slept a wink for 36 hours. And, while most girls her age are going pub-hopping, Kareena is set-hopping! But, this is something that Kareena doesn’t mind. After all, her bank accounts are getting heftier, and her power yoga, diet and beau Saif seem to be giving her the energy she needs to keep going on!

Ramu can't be punished for distorting national anthem

Director Ram Gopal Varma has irked the censor board by tampering with the national anthem for the song "Jana gana mana rann hai" in his upcoming film "Rann" which stars megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Lawyers say there is no specific law to prevent people from doing so.

"There can't be anything disparaging on the national anthem or flag or any such property. One can't play around with these things. But sadly, no legal action against any person can be taken if he or she tampers with the anthem because there is no law for it," Lalit Bhasin, president of the Society of Indian Law Firms, told IANS.

According to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, a person could be charged with a criminal offence with regard to the national anthem only if he or she "intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian national anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing".

Bhasin also said that nothing can be done to prevent Varma from using the anthem under the existing law.

Varma faced the ire of protesters and a ban on the song by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) after he showcased the first look of "Rann" last week. But the filmmaker maintains it does not portray the national anthem in bad light.

"Through this song, we are talking about the (ongoing) disputes in the country but there were no intentions to ridicule anything. It's something I felt in my heart and it was my idea to place the song like this. It is based on the script of my film and I don't think there's any offence in it," Varma had said.

The promo, however, led to protesters burning effigies of Varma and Bachchan in Mumbai and Ranchi a few weeks ago.

A Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader, who was among the 100-odd protesters in Ranchi, had said: "We cannot tolerate twisting of the national song. It is dishonour of the national song and the country. We are planning to file public interest litigation in the Jharkhand High Court seeking banning of the movie."

But such acts of protest are futile, say lawyers.

"I don't see why justice is going to the roads. When there is no punishment for the act according to the law, nothing can be done about it. I have heard the song and there is no dishonour to the national anthem," said Supreme Court lawyer Pinki Anand.

"Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right of every Indian citizen. And when there is no system of law against what the filmmaker has done, no amount of people taking to the roads and agitation can help," she added.

Jayant Bhushan, a senior advocate, echoed similar sentiments and said: "Freedom of speech is important. One shouldn't be too sensitive. I don't think the filmmaker has dented the national anthem by just changing a few lines. The dignity of the national anthem is not so fragile."

Varma is now moving Supreme Court after the censor board refused permission to air the song, said producer Madhu Mantena.
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A good cause: Hrithik reaches out to AIDS affected

Mumbai: After the first look of Kites was unveiled at Cannes Film Festival last week, Hrithik Roshan's next stop was a candlelight memorial for the AIDS affected in Mumbai. And joining him for the good cause were his wife Suzzane Roshan, actor Nandita Das and author Shobha De.

"I was in Cannes but I had to come for this function. Our film got a great response and we are positive, let's see what happens," said Hrithik.

Making his presence felt at the 26th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, Hrithik, it seemed truly believed in the cause and insisted it was for wife Suzzane who got him on board for this cause.

"Suzzane has been the most important impetus, because she said this is something she truly believes in and wanted to do. She wanted me to be a part of it," he said.

With that Hrithik put a stop to all rumours of trouble in paradise. And looked like there has been no love lost between the couple with Kites star Barbara Mori's name popping up from time to time.

When asked about the brewing controversy of Barabara and Hrithik's chemistry, Hrithik said, "Aap jo bol rahe ho kafi hain, (I don't need to add to what the media is saying, it's enough)."

Slumdog star Rubina's house demolished

Mumbai: After Azharuddin Mohammad, another Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali's home too was razed by civic authorities on Wednesday.

The child actor lived in Mumbai’s Bandra (East) suburb, and the construction was demolished by the local railway authorities as it was deemed illegal.

However, when Rubina's father, Rafiq Qureshi went to the police to inquire about the demolition, he was allegedly beaten up by the police. He is currently at Bhabha hospital undergoing treatment.

While the police officers on duty have denied the incident, Rubina confirms the reports.

Ironically, Rubina and other impoverished child actors from Slumdog Millionaire were promised a house by the government.

Press Trust of India had reported that a week ago, another Slumdog Millionaire actor, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail's house was razed down too.

"All the illegal encroachments on the nullah were today demolished because it needs to be widen to avoid flood-like situation during monsoons," Umashankar Mistry, H-East ward officer had told PTI on May 14.

The child actors’ houses fall on the nullah that has to be widened for better drain management.

Azharuddin had played the role of young Salim in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire and Rubina had played young Latika.

With no alternative accommodation given, the families are at a loss about future action.

"The Chamdawadi nullah needs to be widen and it was important to demolish all the hutments on the nullah. Fifteen such hutments have demolished till now," Mistry told PTI.

"All the hutments that have come up post-1995 would be provided alternate accommodation only if they have proof regarding it," he said.

Earlier this month Azaruddin's house was demolished following the Bombay high court's order. The BMC that time took action against illegal encroachments on water pipelines based on a petition filed by city-based NGO Janhit Manch.

The family then took shelter in a makeshift tarpaulin home at Chamdawadi nalla opposite railway station which today again got demolished.
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Shilpa to join R&B artist Akon at IPL finale

Johannesburg: Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty will join American R&B sensation Akon as he sings his Grammy award winning Smack That at the closing ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL)

at the Wanderers on Sunday night.

Organisers also said on Wednesday that Katrina Kaif will join a troupe of Indian and South African dancers led by award-winning choreographer Shiamak Davar to perform the Oscar-winning A R Rahman song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.

The two actors will be the only ones performing at the finale, ending widespread speculation here that a bevy of Bollywood beauties would feature at the closing ceremony.

Caribbean music legend Eddy Grant will perform the ever popular "Walking on Sunshine" and his anti-apartheid hit Gimme Hope Jo'anna, which became an anthem in the days when the white minority government of South Africa strictly regulated everything from music and song to social gatherings.

The five-week will end on a high note for Shilpa performance-wise, but this will be clouded by the fact that her Rajasthan Royals team have no hope of retaining their champion status from the inaugural series last year.

Other highlights on the night will include a perfectly synchronised piece featuring renowned percussionist Shivamani and a group of Indian and South African drummers.

Apart from the various musical acts, the crowd will also be introduced to the Miss Bollywood IPL South Africa finalists, culminating with the crowning of the winner of the beauty competition, who will get a guided tour through Bollywood as one of her prizes.

This apart, 1,500 flying lanterns will be lit and released while a thrilling pyrotechnics show using several thousand rounds of fireworks will light up the Johannesburg skyline as final awards signal the end of an unprecedented cricket event which was keenly taken up by locals, who also opened their hearts to the thousands of Indians who came to watch the series.

Shahid Kapur signs another Yash Raj film

Bollywood actor Shahid Kapur seems to have become Yash Raj Films' (YRF) favourite. His first venture with the production giant is yet to hit the screens, but the actor has already signed another film with the banner.

Shahid's first film with YRF is being directed by Anurag Singh. He has teamed up with Rani Mukerji in the film, which was earlier titled "Hadippa", which is said to be about cricket.

The second project that Shahid has been signed up for will be actor Parmeet Sethi's directorial debut and he teams up with Anushka Sharma of "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" fame.

"The Yash Raj camp sees Shahid as the classic romantic hero who has the potential to turn on the sexy or rugged vibe when required," said a source close to the actor.

Abhi-Ash embarrassed by Sallu's love interest

Salman Khan’s latest love interest, Claudia Ciesla, has put Abhishek and Aishwarya in an embarrassing situation.

Claudia, who’s a German model-actress and has also been a Playmate, had her photograph clicked with Abhishek while they were in Cannes. Soon thereafter, the photo appeared in a Mumbai newspaper along with the story that Abhishek was seen chatting with wife Ash’s ex-boyfriend’s current love interest!

The Bachchans were in for a shock when they found out about Ciesla’a past and the fact that even a nude image of hers had adorned the cover of a German magazine.

Abhishek could not recollect getting this picture taken. After some time he realised it was just one of the many photographs he and his wife got clicked with fans.

So now, as a precautionary measure, Ash and Abhi will be saying no to all fans wanting to get photographed with them, at least for the time being.

Nadal poised to claim French Open history

Paris, May 20: Rafael Nadal is poised to become the first man to claim five successive French Open titles and once again crush Roger Federer's fading, lifetime ambition of securing a career Grand Slam.

The 22-year-old world number one may have seen his latest, marathon claycourt winning streak halted at 33 by Federer in Madrid.

But the Swiss star's hopes of that victory - which came a day after Nadal spent over four hours beating Novak Djokovic in his semi-final - heralding a new dawn seem certain only to usher in another dark chapter at Roland Garros where he has lost the last three finals to his great Spanish rival.

Two years ago, Federer ended Nadal's 81-match streak on clay at Hamburg to instill fresh confidence of finally cracking the French code, but he was to be denied once they resumed hostilities in Paris.

On the evidence of the 2008 tournament here, where Federer won just four games in a brutally one-sided final, the 13-time Grand Slam title winner looks doomed.

Adding to the odds stacked against him is Nadal's record of having won all 28 matches he's played in the French capital. Furthermore, in 2008, the Spaniard swept the title without dropping a set.

But Federer refuses to concede defeat, believing that his win in Madrid, which was his 58th career title, but first of 2009, could represent another launchpad.

"He has never lost in Paris so obviously his confidence is very high, but I think we have seen that if you play Rafa the right way there are chances," said the 27-year-old world number two.

"I know his game inside out. It's not like he changes many things, he is just rock solid like when Leyton Hewitt was number one and all those other guys who were dominating from the baseline."

"He is the best mover on this surface. He is just an excellent competitor and that is what makes him so difficult to beat."

James Cameron's Avatar on IMAX for 3 months!

What are Hollywood’s expectations for James Cameron's Avatar? We haven’t even seen a trailer, or even a photo, but many are already touting a "revolution."

With the director of the highest grossing film of all time behind it, everyone is hoping for big.

As you know, Avatar is set to hit IMAX theaters in 3D, day and date with the theatrical release. Now-a-days, IMAX screens, much like 3D screens, are in high demand. JJ Abrams' Star Trek only had two weeks on the giant screen in the States before being replaced with Fox's Night at the Museum sequel.

But The New York Times is reporting that IMAX is considering giving Avatar an 11-week (almost 3 months) run to "satisfy demand" for Cameron’s first feature film since Titanic. Avatar hits theaters on December 18th 2009, and the next giant screen release is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on March 5th 2010. The Dark Knight had a 10-week IMAX run, and was still doing pretty well when Eagle Eye replaced it.

Of course, this might all change. Possible IMAX up-conversions include Warner Bros' The Book of Eli (January 15th) or the Disney 3D rerelease of Beauty and the Beast (February 12th). The latter seems more of a possibility, as Disney has a multi-film deal with the IMAX corp. But this would still give Avatar a full two months of screen time.

For the record, the IMAX version of Spiderman 3 made the most money in Indian IMAX screens, with The Dark Knight a close second.

Wal-Mart cash-and-carry store comes to India

Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and the US-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc, will open its first cash-and-carry store in India next week.

The joint venture's first store, to come up in Amritsar, will be inaugurated by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a source familiar with the development said.

The joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores Inc was inked in 2007 and the company had earlier announced plans to open 10-15 cash-and-carry stores in the country by 2015.

The company had last year announced that its cash-and-carry stores would be opened under the brand name of 'BestPrice Modern Wholesale' and each store would have a size of 50,000-1 lakh square feet.

YSR takes oath as Andhra CM

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy of the Congress on Wednesday evening took oath as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for the second consecutive term.

Governor N D Tiwari administered the oath of office and secrecy at 6.32 pm (1832 hrs IST) as thousands of party leaders and workers from across the state attended the event at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in the heart of the city.

Clad in a white kurta and his trademark dhoti, Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, took oath in Telugu amid fireworks outside the stadium.

YSR, as he is popularly known, entered the record books as not just the first chief minister of the Congress to retain power in nearly three decades but also the only one to have completed a full term in the state.

After the swearing-in, Hindu, Christian and Muslim priests blessed YSR and prayed for his success and well-being.

Earlier, the audience gave him a warm welcome when he reached the venue with his family in an open-top jeep. He waved at the crowds as his supporters danced in gay abandon to the tunes of songs hailing him as a mass leader.

There were also fireworks when YSR, accompanied by his wife Vijayalakshmi and other family members, reached the venue. YSR's son Y. Jaganmohan Reddy, elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa, was also present.

Also present were Congress leaders including M Veerappa Moily, newly elected state legislators and MPs.

YSR, who prefers a public ceremony for taking oath like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N T Rama Rao, alone took the oath. He is likely to induct 24 ministers later this week. YSR had taken oath as chief minister for the first time on May 14, 2004 at the same venue.

Shriya Saran's Renaissance in 2009

With her two much-awaited films up for release this summer, Shriya Saran is the girl of the moment down south.

Shriya is excited about her two new films – ‘Kandasamy’ with Vikram and ‘Thoranai’ with Vishal .

In ‘Kandasamy’, directed by Susi Ganesan, she plays a stubborn girl. Shriya is particularly all praise for her co-star Vikram who she says is a “role model” for her and she looks at him with “awe and admiration”. In ‘Thoranai’ she plays a girl-next-door who works in a call centre. Shriya says it is a pure fun film with doses of comedy, action, romance and drama.

Apart from these two films, Shriya has some other plum projects in the south.

She’s working in a realistic movie called ‘Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai’ in which she shares screen space with two other actresses. She’s doing a comedy film with Dhanush . And she’s already started shooting for ‘Chikku Bukku’ with Arya . Production work is also underway on her film ‘Jaggubhai’ with Sarath Kumar .

Shriya is also making her debut in the English film titled ‘Stella’ by Dilip Mehta, Deepa Mehta’s brother.

Well, looks like Shriya sure is the girl of the moment.

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Ferrari lose court case against FIA

The French court has rejected Ferrari's legal bid to prevent the FIA from introducing the budget cap into Formula One.

The court claimed that Ferrari simply did not have any valid reason to block plans for the £40 million budget limitation.

The decision may well introduce an interesting week for the existing teams, as the court case already revealed that 8 teams are seriously looking into competing in F1 as soon as of next year.

As next week's entry deadline will go ahead as planned, the existing teams, including Ferrari have one week to sort their position on the budget cap after threatening to leave the sport if the currently proposed ruleset would not be changed.

It is also believed that the FIA was desperate to win the case and leave the entry deadline unchanged to leave the joining possibilities open for the new interested teams.

IPL bombshell to learn cooking from SRK

One of the top three contenders to win the Miss Bollywood IPL crown at the ongoing tournament in South Africa, sexy model Gabriella Demetriades wants superstar Shahrukh Khan to teach her cooking.

Not that the King Khan is known for his culinary skills, but the 22-year-old South African model desires to learn to cook a special dish from the Bollywood star.

“I want him (Shahrukh) to teach me how to make a really great lamb korma,” Gabriella is quoted as saying.

With nearly 14,000 votes in her name, Gabriella is sitting pretty on the third spot among 16 Miss Bollywood IPL finalists from different teams at the T20 tournament. Interestingly, she doesn’t represent SRK’s team Kolkata Knight Riders, but the Hyderabad team, Deccan Chargers.

Gabriella has traveled to India before and claims to be “fascinated” with the country.

“I'm fascinated with the country; there are extremes in terms of wealth and poverty, but the country is diverse, and has great shopping,” she said.

The top spot among Miss Bollywood IPL finalists is taken by the 35-year-old Dune Kossatz who is a model and actress from East London. She’s got 15,888 votes. 24-year-old Genna Cloud, a business marketing graduate from Johannesburg, is on second place with 14,352 votes.

The winner of the Miss Bollywood IPL contest, to be declared at the tournament’s finale, will get a package of prizes including a tour to Bollywood and also a role in Hindi movie.

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Microsoft will try to kill Google with Kumo

Microsoft Corp is likely to show a new version of its Internet search engine publicly for the first time next week, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The software giant has been testing a new version of the service internally under the name of Kumo.com and it may become part of the firm's attempt to catch up with Internet search leaders Google Inc and Yahoo Inc.

Microsoft has hired JWT, a unit of WPP Plc, to develop an advertising campaign for the product, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The search engine is expected to be unveiled at the "D: All Things Digital" conference.

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Chennai punch Kings XI Punjab out of IPL 2

Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 24 runs to send them out of the second edition of the Indian Premier League today.

Riding on brilliant bowling performances by the Chennai bowlers, Punjab could manage 92/8 in 20 overs while in pursuit of 117.

Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Muttiah Muralitharan and Thilan Thushara took 2 wickets each as only Luke Pomersbach and Irfan Pathan registered double figures for Punjab. Muralitharan was adjudged the Man of the Match for his superb bowling.

Punjab got off to a bad start losing opener Sunny Sohal (3) to Thushara in the second over. Muralitharan got his team the second breakthrough when he clean bowled Simon Katich (8) from behind his legs.

Pomersbach hit a six and a four in his 32-ball 26 before Muralitharan had him caught at first slip by Raina. Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh (6) was all at sea against the spinners, specially Muralitharan, before he was clean bowled by Raina. Ashwin dismissed Kumar Sangakkara and Wilkin Mota in a space of three deliveries to reduce Punjab to 60/6.

Pathan hit a four in his 12-ball 14 before he was caught at long-off by Jacob Oram off Thushara. Now all Deccan Chargers and Bangalore Royal Challengers have to do on Thursday is to maintain a better run rate than Kings XI Punjab. Earlier, S Sreesanth and Pathan took 2 wickets each as Chennai's middle order failed to fire.

Sreesanth took 2 wickets in one over to reduce Chennai Super Kings to 70/4 in 10 overs. Batting first after winning the toss, Chennai got off to a good start with openers Parthiv Patel and George Bailey putting up a 40-run partnership. Bailey hit 3 fours in his 12-ball 15 before he was run out by a direct hit by Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh from mid-off.

Kareena sizzles in Sallu's Dus Ka Dum

Kareena Kapoor and her elder sister Karisma Kapoor will reportedly appear on the second season of Salman Khan’s television show ‘Dus Ka Dum’.

Rumour has been abuzz that Salman Khan is not using his influence to rope in celebrities from the film industry for the game show this year because of his slashed remuneration. So, the onus has been solely on Sony television to approach the celebs and get them for the show.

Until recently the channel had not been able to rope in any celebs even after approaching a number of them. A recent report said the channel had approached Sonam Kapoor , Anil Kapoor , Sanjay Dutt and wife, Ajay Devgan and Kajol , but none of the celebs were free to appear on the show.

But now, the Kapoor sisters are almost confirmed to be the special guests. Reports say the two sisters will show their ‘dum’ in the very first episode of the show this season, which is set to kick off on May 25, Monday.

Sources say the Kapoor sisters are very fond of Salman. Kareena, who plays his love interest in Main Aur Mrs Khanna , is particularly eager to be on Salman’s show.

5 Reasons why Win 7 should not be pricier than Vista

For all the praise we've heaped on Windows 7, it appears there's been a catch all along: price.

According to Dell's Darrel Ward, director of product management for the corporation's business client product group, the cost of the new operating system will exceed Vista (and in turn, XP):

"If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," he said, referring to the various upcoming versions of 7.

The source of this issue, it appears, is licensing, perhaps specifically a decrease in growth in its revenues:

"In tough economic times," says Ward, "I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."

To give you a more specific idea of what to expect, he states Windows 7 Professional should be more expensive than Windows Vista Business was.

Network World's Mitchell Ashley has a big problem with this, saying Microsoft would be making a grave mistake to make the entry point for 7 even higher than the standard $200-300. Here are his reasons:

1) Vista upgraders and purchasers would like the product they already paid for

2) This won't help seduce XP users

3) Not going to help the battle against Linux. (i.e. Free OS or $400 OS? Suddenly Linux is a serious consideration for some.)

4) Remember the bad economy?

5) Why should we pay (reward) Microsoft to fix your own problems. (i.e. Decreased license revenues? Not our issue.)

So, will Windows 7's high pricing hold you off from upgrading?

Manmohan Singh appointed PM

President Pratibha Patil has appointed Manmohan Singh prime minister for a second consecutive term, after the UPA coalition staked its claim to form the govt. The new ministry will be sworn in on May 22.

Apparently in view of the comfortable numbers the coalition has in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the president has not asked the prime minister to prove his strength in the house.

"I have pleasure to appoint you the prime minister and request you to advise me on the names of the others to be appointed to the council of ministers.

"I propose to administer the oath of office and secrecy to you on Friday, 22nd May 2009 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at a mutually convenient time," President Pratibha Patil said in her letter handed over to Singh when he called on her along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Reading out the president's letter, Singh said "you will come to know in due course of time" when asked whether MPs outside the pre-poll allies would included in the new ministry.

Manmohan Singh said the coalition has 274 members including four independents who are part of the Congress-led pre-poll alliance.

"We have the support of SP, BSP and RJD whose number adds up to another 48. All this adds up to 322," he said.

Asked about details of composition of the ministry, Singh said "we will talk in greater detail later."

Earlier in the day, the crucial UPA meet to decide Cabinet berths was held at 10 Janpath, the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. All the key pre-poll partners of the Congress attended the meeting.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief M Karunanidhi, NCP president Sharad Pawar and leader Praful Patel were present, along with senior Congress leaders, including Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram and A K Antony besides Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Katrina should be a stunt-double for Akshay

Superstar Akshay Kumar does seem to be looking for the opportunities to praise B-town beauty Katrina Kaif.

But this time he surely has a reason to justify his words. Akshay has apparently found his female action-star now.
According to a source, Akshay and Katrina were recently shooting a water skiing stunt for their upcoming film 'De Dana Dan' in Singapore. To everyone's surprise, Katrina pulled off the stunt with such confidence that her co-star Akshay Kumar was left speechless by the Bollywood beauty’s bravado.

The striking part was that while Kat hardly took any time pulling off the swashbuckling shot, action-king Akki himself struggled for a long time and kept falling off while doing the stunt!

"I have never fallen on my ass so many times in one day I swear...You know at the back of my mind I've always wondered what is going to be 'that' thing in life I'm gonna find unbelievably difficult??... Ha Ha, I've found it...Ladies and Gentlemen, it was Water Skiing!" Akshay writes in his latest blog post.

And what really impressed Akki was the way Kat pulled off the stunt. "I must say hats off to Katrina, she did extremely well, not many heroines I know would have tried and succeeded as much as Kat did, well done girl," added Akshay.

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Saif-Kareena's 'Jehad' is now 'Qurbaan'

B-town couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor's much talked about flick, being directed by Rensil D'Silva, still seems to be facing a name trouble.

Although filmmakers have previously tried hard to push 'Jehad' as the film's title, but it has reportedly been changed to 'Qurbaan' now.

Producer Karan Johar and director D'Silva have reportedly changed their minds about naming the flick, which is based on Islamic terrorism.

According to a source, "As soon as the title 'Qurbaan' is made official, Karan and Rensil plan to call a press conference to correct the media perception that the film is called 'Jehad'. Since Kareena and Saif used 'Jehad' in all their interviews, it will take some time for 'Jehad' to get out of the public's mind. They have made a gripping thriller on terrorism. The narration is taut and uninterrupted by Bollywood formulae like songs, dances and melodrama. Kareena and Saif have even done one of the boldest love sequences ever."

Hopefully this new title suits the flick, for the much-hyped love-scene reportedly seems worthy enough 'to die for'! If not the sensitive topic, Saifeena’s bold scenes will surely pull crowds.

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Excess Cola can paralyze your muscles

Think twice before you take a sip from that cola bottle this summer. Experts are warning that excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis.

This is because the cola drinks can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

They tell of the curious case of an Australian ostrich farmer who needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking 4-10 litres of cola a day.

He made a full recovery and was advised to curtail his cola intake, BBC News portal reported on Tuesday.
Another example included a pregnant woman who regularly consumed up to three litres a day for the last six years and complained of tiredness, appetite loss and persistent vomiting.

A heart trace revealed she had an irregular heartbeat, most likely caused by her low blood potassium levels.
Once she stopped drinking such quantity of cola, she made a full and uneventful recovery.

The investigators believe these cases are not atypical and that many people risk problems due to their intake. Manufacturers insist the products are safe when consumed in moderation.

In a commentary, Clifford Packer from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre in Ohio said: "We have every reason to think that it is not rare. With aggressive mass marketing, super-sizing of soft drinks, and the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialised countries drink at least 2-3 litres of cola per day. "It follows that the serum potassium levels of these heavy cola drinkers are dropping, in some cases, to dangerous low levels."

The author of the study, Moses Elisaf from the University of Ioannina in Greece, said it appeared that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks - glucose, fructose and caffeine. "The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalaemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients. However in most of cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role.

"This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose."

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IPL-2009-Nick Names Guide to Fake IPL Player's Blog

"Shakespeare and Ganji Hanger they are genuinely nice blokes and are generally liked by everyone - within and outside the team."

"And Appam was as usual busy making a fool of himself."

"And he got too close for comfort to Peter Ka Beta."

If you are new to the fake ipl player's blog, I am sure you wonder who are Shakespeare, Ganji Hanger, Appan and Peter Ka Beta in IPL. There is a difficulty to follow the blog because of extensive usage of nick names. You need to read each and every post to relate nick names with the real person. To help you out, here we have compiled a glossary of the nicknames used in the blog for your convenience -

Aila - Sachin Tendulkar
Appam Chutiya - Sreesanth
Arnold Power - Ramesh Powar
Baja of Baroda - Anshuman Gaekwad
Bangla Tiger - Mortaza. Few people are also guessing Wriddhiman Saha.
Bantli - Preity
Bevdaa - Jessie Ryder
Bevdaa team - BRC - Bangalore Royal Challengers (Mallya’s Team)
Bhookha Naan – Buchanan
Big Brother - Raj Kundra
Big Mac - Mathew Hayden
Big Sister - Shilpa Shetty
Boy George - Joy Bhattacharya, CEO of KKR.
Bubaan - Arindam Ghosh
Bublee - Bret Lee
Bunty - Ness Wadia (Babli's mate)
Calypso King - Gayle
Candy Nickel - Andy Bichel
Castro - Fidel Edwards
Chatterjee Kaaku - Old Guy from the KKR Ad 'Tum Bhi Jeetoge'
Chhota Chetan - Cheteshwar Pujara
Chikna Pussy - David Hussey
Chinnu Popli - Shreevats Goswami
Chintu Singh - Anureet Singh
Chirkut Teli - Virat Kohli
Cool Dude - MS Dhoni
Darwaan of Patiala - Tom Moody
Deegrah Patan - Irfan
Dewar - Rahul Dravid
Desis - Mumbai Indians
Dhakkans - Deccan Chargers
Durbaan - Tom Moody
Emerald Pearl - Angelo Matthews
FIP - Fake IPL PLayer
Former India fast bowler who will remain a former India fast bowler - Agarkar
Ganji Hanger - Sanjay Bangar
Ghati Baba - Rohit Sharma
Gilli danda - Ashok Dinda
Hawaii Chappal - Greg Chapel
Hanky Panky - Danny Morrison ???
India’s best fast bowler - Ishant Sharma
John Wrong - John Wright
Joker - Nepali guy (Chang) who was Indian Idol host
Junta/ Junta Tormentor - Ajanta Mendis
Kameez Pajama - Ramiz Raja
Kaan Moolo - Ajit Agarkar
Kishen Kanhaiyya - Ravi Shastri
Laal Chaddi Dada / Lordie - Sourav Gangly
Lady Jaya - Jayawardene
Little John - Ishant Sharma
Little Monster - Sachin
Little Sister - Shamita Shetty
Lord Almighty/ Lordie - Sourav Ganguly
Mangal Pandey - LR Shukla
Mira Bhai - Harbhajan Singh
Mr. Batlivala - Mallya
Panty Curry - Robin Uthappa
Pedophile Priest - Gilchrist
Pedophile Priest - Gilchrist
Peter Ka Beta – Pietersen
Phoren babas - McCullum & Buchanan
Prince Charles of Patiala - Yuvraj Singh
Pussy - David Hussey
RDB - Ranadeb Bose
Re-Peter - Peterson
RVR Singh / Pamela Inder Singh - VRV Singh
Saala Slimeball - Lalit Modi
Sandy Baddy Babe - Mandira Bedi
Shakespeare - Aakash Chopra
Sheikh of Tweak - Shane Warne
Sparrow / Parrott - McGrath
Sheikh & Hammy - Hamstring Injury of Shane Warne
Springbok - Morne Van Wyk
Sticky Something - Ricky Ponting
Style Bhai spinner - Murali Karthik
Sultan of Tweak - Shane Warne
The Rajputs - RR - Rajasthan Royals
Vakkel Saab - Kumara Sangaksarra
Very very special friend Ram - VVS Laxman
Vinnie Dildo/ Badsaah Dildo - Shah Rukh Khan

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End of LTTE: Will India shut down Rajiv murder case?

India will seek forensic evidence from Sri Lanka to confirm the deaths of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and his intelligence head to finally close the case on the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi 18 years ago.

Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman, who oversaw all covert killings in the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), were the last of two suspects still wanted in India for the killing of Gandhi, who was blown up by a woman suicide bomber at an election rally near Chennai on May 21, 1991.

The LTTE initially denied killing Gandhi but in later years some of its leaders privately and otherwise voiced regrets over his death, which led to the group being outlawed in India in 1992.

But the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in what is acknowledged to be one of finest investigations in the world of crime, proved conclusively that Gandhi was killed by the LTTE, on the specific orders of Prabhakaran, the killer band reporting directly to Pottu Amman.

A total of 41 people were arraigned for the crime, 14 of them Indians and the others Sri Lankan Tamils.

Of the 41 as many as 12--11 of them Sri Lankans--committed suicide during the investigation, mostly by taking cyanide, the hallmark of LTTE. As many as 26 people faced trial and three were officially declared proclaimed offenders.

These three were Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Akhila, the LTTE women's wing leader who was killed by Sri Lankan security forces in 1995.

The reported killings of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman on Monday accounts for the last of suspects in the Gandhi case who could never be caught.

The case is being pursued at the TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) Court at Poonamallee near Kancheepuram, close to Chennai.

According to CBI sources, once the evidence regarding the deaths of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman is made available, the court will be told that they are dead and the case will come to a final stop.

Gandhi, who as Prime Minister sent the Indian Army to Sri Lanka's northeast in 1987 to end Tamil separatism, was killed when the suicide bomber, who was strapped with explosives under her clothes, exploded herself while pretending to touch his feet.

The CBI formally registered a case on May 24, 1991 and began its investigation. A chargesheet was filed on May 20, 1992 and the trial began January 19, 1994.

On June 5, 1995, India formally submitted to Sri Lanka a request that Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman should be extradited if and when they were caught.

On January 28, 1998, a court sentenced all those who were tried to death. The only exceptions were Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Akhila since they did not face trial.

The Supreme Court modified the verdict in May 1999, confirming capital punishment only in four cases and sentencing three to life. The others were set free against time they had spent in prison.

CBI officers involved in the Gandhi assassination case still recall with pride how they pursued the suspects in and beyond Tamil Nadu, in the process decimating an elaborate network the LTTE had built for itself in the state.

"We chased them on foot, on motorcycles, in cars, even by helicopters," one officer, who did not wish to be identified, told reporters. "There were nights when we slept in our cars on the roadside. Once I did not get to sleep for 12 straight nights. In the end, the LTTE was stunned by what we achieved."

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Prabhakaran's body found

Sri Lankan troops recovered the body of slain rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on Tuesday, a day after he was killed in the Tamil Tigers' last stand against government forces in the north, the military said.

The government had announced Prabhakaran's killing on Monday, but later said they had not yet found his body. A rebel official abroad denied Prabhakaran was killed and said he was in a safe place.

As speculation grew about Prabhakaran's fate, army chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka announced that his body had been recovered.

"A few hours ago, the body of terrorist leader Prabhakaran, who ruined this country, was found in the battleground," he told state television. "I take responsibility for this statement."

Fonseka's announcement came hours after President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to parliament, declaring that his country had been "liberated" from terrorism after defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels on the battlefield.

Recounting how the rebels, known formally as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, once controlled a wide swath of the north and much of the east, Rajapaksa said that for the first time in 30 years, the country was unified under its elected government.

"We have liberated the whole country from LTTE terrorism," he said, declaring on Wednesday a national holiday to celebrate the armed forces.

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BSP, RJD, JD-S endorse victorious Congress

Arch rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as well as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) Tuesday vied with each other to offer support to the victorious Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which needs just nine more MPs to get the 272 figure needed to form government.

The Congress has, however, yet to make up its mind on taking support from these parties, which are its rivals in their respective states. The party is meeting its "pre-poll allies" Wednesday at 10, Janpath, the residence of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

"We have not made up our mind on the issue. We are meeting our pre-poll allies tomorrow. A decision will be taken only after that," sources in the Congress party said.

The SP and BSP, which fought elections against the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, said they have decided to pledge their support to the UPA to "strengthen secular forces" and to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out.

The RJD, which Monday said it would offer unconditional support to the UPA, is to hand over to President Patil a letter of support Tuesday eveing.

The UPA is short of merely nine MPs to reach the 272 half-way mark in the 543-member House. If SP (23), BSP (20), and JD-S, which has three seats, are added, the UPA will easily cross the 300 mark in the 15th Lok Sabha. The RJD has four seats.

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IPL 2009-Bangalore stun Delhi, close in on Semifinal Berth

Riding high on gutsy knock of 58 runs from Jacques Kallis, Bangalore romped home to a 7 wickets win over Delhi Daredevils at The Wanderers stadium here in Johannesburg.

The win ensured that Mallya’s boys remain in strong contention for a semi-final berth in the IPL season two and put behind their horrendous campaign of the opening series.

Chasing a modest total of 135 runs for victory, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid combined together in a defining partnership after Robin Uthappa’s early departure.

Robin Uthappa’s horrendous IPL campaign continued as he failed again to live up to the expectations. Uthappa could manage just one before nicking one to the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik off the bowling of Ashish Nehra. But from their on, it was Bangalore all along the way as Kallis-Dravid combination kept Delhi’s bowlers at bay. Delhi, who until now had an exceptional record in the tournament, badly missed their pace Derek Nannes, who was rested by Virender Sehwag.

In what was a must-win game for Royal Challengers Bangalore after Delhi had already secured a semi-final berth, Ray Jennings needed his middle order to stand up to occasion and Kallis-Dravid did that in style. In the end, a 25 run cameo off 12 balls from Ross Taylor, and 38-run effort by Rahul Dravid ensured that Kallis’ show did not go in vain.

Earlier, opting to bat first after winning the toss Delhi were put on backfoot right at the start as Virender Sehwag and Mithun Manhas were sent back to the pavilion before they could trouble the scorers. Praveen Kumar accounted for both the batsmen.

Gautam Gambhir, who opened the innings with Sehwag, remained undeterred by the proceeding on the other end and kept the run rate ticking for Delhi. The Delhi left-hander along with de Villiers combined together for a 35-run partnership when Jacques Kallis struck.

Trying to clear the third man boundary Gambhir was holed in deep by Ross Taylor on a personal score of 27 as Delhi brought its fifty in 8 overs.

AB de Villiers who was in tremendous form this season carried the day for Delhi as Karthik joined him at the crease. At the strategy break Delhi managed to lift their total to 63/3.

Bangalore struck just after the strategy break by removing dangerous looking AB de Villiers for 28 runs. Van der Merwe clean bowled his African teammate with an arm bowl which crashed into the off and middle stump.

More problems were in store for Delhi as Kumble then got rid of Andrew McDonald, who failed to read a yorker from the Bangalore’s Jumbo. Match was then an affair between Karthik’s grit and Kumble’s nagging line and length. Kumble marshaled his resources well and in the end set Bangalore on road to victory as Delhi Daredevils were scuffled to 134/7 in stipulated twenty overs. In the end Kallis made the modest target look easy as the all rounder deservedly ran away with the Man of the Match award.

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IPL 2009 :No touching, please, says Preity

Preity Zinta who’s in South Africa with her cricket team is cool as a cucumber most of the time.

But when people whom she barely even knows get familiar with her, she finds it hard to take. Though she’s most charming, sweet and often genteel with fans, Zinta likes to keep a wee bit of distance. She tells us, “I am fine with people posing with me for pictures, but what I don’t like is when some put their hand around my waist or shoulders! When you don’t know someone too well, it gets awkward and this is something I just don’t like.” So next time you try to put your arm around this lady, remember touching is touché.

Akshay will not be at any more IPL matches

Akshay Kumar, who vowed not to be a part of any Indian Premier League (IPL) game in South Africa, was recently seen at a match with friend Preity Zinta. The actor says he went to Cape Town just to cheer for the Delhi Daredevils.

Akshay was seen at the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Preity Zinta-owned Kings XI Punjab last Sunday (April 19). Earlier, he had refused to be a part of the match even though pals Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty own two teams in the IPL.

"I had no intentions of going. But the Delhi Daredevils did it. Although this year I'm no longer professionally or financially associated with the team I had to go for their sake to the IPL match on Sunday. There I met up with my buddy Preity Zinta and naturally the cameras went berserk. So what if her team was playing against the Delhi Daredevils? Off the field we're still the best of friends. But that's it. I won't be attending any of the other matches," Akshay said.

Akshay is now in Singapore to resume the shooting of Priyadarshan's "Dan Dana Dan".

"First it was Preity's darshan, now I go for Priyadarshan," he said.

"Somehow I've always had one Darshan or the other in my life," he quipped about the contribution of Suneel and Dharmesh Darshan and Priyadarshan to his career.

IPL 2009: SRK won’t return to SA until KKR wins

Shah Rukh Khan has decided to try the tough love approach with his team, The Kolkata Knight Riders: he’s not going to cheer for them in South Africa until they buck up. After playing 5 matches and with just 1 win to their name, the Knight Riders are in the worst position in the IPL ranking, coming in seventh on the list.

They’ve had some real bad games, and team owner Shah Rukh Khan is not at all happy. So much so that after returning to India to vote for the upcoming elections, he was quoted to have said, “I won't return to South Africa unless the team starts winning. I feel really sad when I see my team losing. They are trying very hard, so it's even tougher to digest the losses... I will only return to South Africa and cheer for my team when they start winning.”

Shah Rukh’s present attitude is a far cry from what we heard him say a few days ago. The actor was full of hope while he wrote his blog in South Africa. It said: “So let’s start from the fact that, yes, we have been hit already. So, this is a good thing. A very good thing! We have been hit and hit hard, so the difficult part is over now. We all should accept that we do lie at this point very nearly on the floor. So, now comes the part which is more important. The part that we need to show everyone around us that we can take a hit; we can fall down, but we also know how to scrape ourselves from the floor and continue to fight.” Now, reality has sure ‘hit’ Shah Rukh as he landed on Indian soil, and he’s too embarrassed to be present while his team struggles to ‘scrape’ themselves up from the bottom.

IPL 2009: Did Preity Zinta upset some fans in SA

Our dimpled darlin’ rarely upsets her fans (though sometimes she does get into a brawl with mediafellas), and owing to her eternal bubbly image on screen, she has a huge kiddie fan following too.

So ZOOM was really surprised when recently a fan wrote to us ranting about her ‘once favourite’ star – PZ. Apparently, Preity Zinta was doing a promotional event for the media with her team on the beaches of South Africa; and was so heavily into doing the drill that she was inadvertently brusque with a female fan. The girl fan simply requested her to pose for a picture and, “she bluntly refused,” said the disappointed fan.

She also added in an email to us, “Preity, in her enthusiasm may have forgotten that the time on the beach was for crowd interaction with the players and for giving youngsters an opportunity to mingle with the sporting stars. So I was hurt when I was ignored.” Okay gal, we understand your grouse, but honestly, PZ is hardly like that. And stars do get busy and involved. Also, when it comes to work, everything else is secondary for Ms Zinta. And being a glam-gal in the sporting biz is no mean task.

C’mon gal, be a sport, next time around we promise ya that PZ will pose for pics first, and then go back to the field. We at ZOOM will ensure that and capture it on camera too. And we can see Preity flashing those ‘dees’ already!

Shah Rukh votes ‘to give a chance to better people’

Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh flew down especially from South Africa to cast his vote and said "we should vote and give a chance to better people".

"When I endorse everything from candy to soft drinks, this is something I have to support," Shah Rukh on Thursday (April 30) told reporters outside the polling station in Mumbai.

"I had to make it a point to come and vote," said Shah Rukh who was in South Africa for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.

He said the voters should choose the best-qualified candidates and be patient for change.

"People expect politicians to solve problems immediately. But it's not that easy. It takes time. That's why we should vote and give a chance to better people," he said on the day Mumbai and the adjacent district of Thane went to the polls, in the third and final round of balloting in Maharashtra.

Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the IPL, is reportedly unhappy with the performance of team and is believed to have said that he would not return to South Africa till the team started winning.