Brawn's Button snatches Pole at Melbourne GP

Jenson Button has confirmed that Brawn GP is the dominant car in Formula One by solidly driving to the pole position at the Australian Grand Prix.

His teammate Rubens Barrichello is second while Sebastian Vettel will be third on the grid with his Red Bull RB5.

Under a sunny sky, the Australian qualifying session at Albert Park finally kicked off. First man out on track was Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian was quickly followed by the rest of the pack who streamed out of the paddock for a first run.

The first man to take the lead is once again Nico Rosberg, the man who topped all the Australian free practices. With 13 minutes left on the clock of the first heat, Williams proves to be one of the strongest teams out there as Kazuki Nakajima takes over the lead of his team mate.

The only drivers not yet on track are both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

Ferrari seems to be determined to battle with its new rivals at front. Kimi Raikkonen's fast lap on the harder tyre is faster than the one of Nakajima. But the Finn doesn't stay on top for long as Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello takes over the lead with a time of 1:25:815.

What was already obvious after the three free practice sessions at Albert Park, and confirmed during this first heat of the qualifying session, is that the established pecking order in Formula One has been overturned. Williams and Brawn GP seem the teams to beat this weekend.

With four minutes left, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is completely at the back of the pack after running 7 laps. The Brazilian pushes very hard to fight himself to the front. He sets the second lap time for now.

Few minutes ahead of the end of Q1 the action builds in the pits now as everybody is preparing for a final run with only three minutes left on the clock. Home driver Mark Webber is the one to clock the fastest lap as the other drivers try everything to make it to Q2.

Sebastien Bourdais, Adrian Sutil, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Sebastian Buemi are eliminated for the second heat. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand just managed to get through in 15th place while his teammate only managed marginally better.

Raikkonen is obviously hungry for some action and is the first to leave the pits for Q2. He is all alone for two laps before Trulli and Massa also join the action. One minute later Glock puts in a fastest time with 1/25.281.

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Two Big Satellites Collide Over Siberia

Two big communications satellites collided in the first-ever crash of two intact spacecraft in orbit, shooting out a pair of massive debris clouds and posing a slight risk to the International Space Station.

NASA said it will take weeks to determine the full magnitude of the crash, which occurred nearly 500 miles over Siberia on Tuesday.

"We knew this was going to happen eventually," said Mark Matney, an orbital debris scientist at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA believes any risk to the space station and its three astronauts is low. It orbits about 270 miles below the collision course. There also should be no danger to the space shuttle set to launch with seven astronauts on Feb. 22, officials said, but that will be re-evaluated in the coming days.

The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and believed to be non-functioning. The Russian satellite was out of control, Matney said.

The Iridium craft weighed 1,235 pounds, and the Russian craft nearly a ton.

No one has any idea yet how many pieces were generated or how big they might be.

"Right now, they're definitely counting dozens," Matney said. "I would suspect that they'll be counting hundreds when the counting is done."

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Dreams of Pakistan-2020

Now I’m convinced Pakistan has a serious drug problem. There is no harm in dreaming but you should try to put a lid on it if they are too wild. According to their Daily Express newspaper, this is what the map of India will look like in 2012.

Hmm…? Lost for words? Hold your reactions will you see the 2020 version.

Nice. Atleast Kerala is putting up a fight. I wonder if this map includes Goa? Imagine what an Pakistan -(disputed) India cricket match would be like in 2020. We will have to still keep playing Dravid!

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Brown blames Pakistan militants over Mumbai

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown holds a news conference in Brussels December 12, 2008. REUTERS/Yves...

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown blamed banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for last month's deadly Mumbai attacks as tension between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan simmered on Sunday. Pakistan said on Saturday Indian warplanes had inadvertently violated its airspace, but New Delhi later denied the incident and accused Islamabad of trying to divert attention. In talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and later with Pakistan's Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad, Brown offered both countries help in tightening security and combatting terrorism. In Islamabad, Brown proposed a new British-Pakistan "pact against terror", saying "three-quarters of the most serious terrorist plots investigated by the British authorities have links to al Qaeda in Pakistan". "The time has come for action, not words," he said. Brown also said he had asked Singh and Zardari for permission for British police to question suspects arrested in both countries in connection with last month's Mumbai attacks. India, backed by the United States, has called on Pakistan to crack down on Pakistan-based militant groups after the attacks, in which 179 people were killed during a three-day siege in India's financial heart. It blames Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a militant group it says was set up by Pakistan to fight Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region, for the Mumbai attacks. "The group responsible for the attacks is LeT and they have a great deal to answer for, and I hope to convey some of the views of the Indian prime minister to the president of Pakistan when I meet him," Brown told reporters in India's capital. Islamabad has blamed "non-state actors" for the attacks and has vowed to cooperate with investigations, but has also repeatedly said anyone caught in Pakistan would be tried in Pakistan. Singh later said India wanted good relations with Pakistan but again urged Islamabad to do more to stamp out militant groups operating on its soil. "We want to normalise our relations with Pakistan," Singh told people at an election in the Kashmiri town of Khandroo. "There are some people in Pakistan who are always trying to launch such bloody attacks."

Miss Russia, Ksenia Sukhinova, at Miss World 2008

I am not sure how to spell her name. I see Kseniya and Ksenia SUKHINOVA. It doesn’t matter because the young Russian beauty will represent Russia at the Miss World 2008 pageant at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Saturday 13th December 2008. She is a good bed to take the crown from current Miss World, China’s Zhang Zilin.

Some facts about Miss RUSSIA 2008

Miss Kseniya (Ksenia) SUKHINOVA

Age: 20 Height: 178cm

She speaks - Russian & English

Ksenia SUKHINOVA - Miss World 2008 - Photo Gallery

Kseniya (Ksenia) lives with her parents in the Tyumen region. Tyumen is located in the north west of Siberia. Brr….You have heard how cold it is in Siberia? It’s true. I have been there when it was -26C.

Kseniya (Ksenia) is studying to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineer of Administration.

Kseniya (Ksenia) dreams to become a Supermodel.

In her free time she swims; mountain skis roller skates; plays badminton; goes tot he gym; does rhythm gymnastics; enjoys pop & dance music; reads Russian classic literature. All of that in her free time?

Her favorite foods are: Japanese and Italian. (me, too! Date?)

Kseniya’s (Ksenia’s) motto is:”Respect people around you, and people will respect you”.

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India has evidence against Pakistan: Chidamabram

New Delhi, December 11: Union home minister P Chidambaram has announced a massive overhaul of the country's security and intelligence agencies in the wake of last month's Mumbai attacks.

Palaniappan Chidambaram made the announcement while addressing Lok Sabha members during the Parliament session.

The home minister said the government had evidence the Mumbai terror attacks had originated from Pakistani soil.

Government will introduce a set of bills to strengthen security measures, said Chidambaram, and urged the Lok Sabha to pass the bills to strengthen preventive, investigative and prosecution measures, including the one to set up a national investigative agency in this session itself, PTI reported.

The home minister has said the government will beef up coastal security forces, create a national investigative agency, better train local police and strengthen anti-terror laws, agency AP reported.

Centre will set up 20 counter-insurgency and anti-terror schools for training commandos from police forces, he said.

The measures are the government's first detailed response to the public outcry over security and intelligence failures in the attacks, which left over 171 dead in the country’s financial capital Mumbai.

Chidambaram has previously admitted to government ``lapses'' in the assault.

Meanwhile in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal said the government will set up Coastal Command for overall security of 7,500-km coast-line, according to PTI.

Intelligence gathering and sharing to be made more effective and result-oriented, he added.

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Jennifer Aniston goes Full Monty for GQ

Massive change from the goody two shoes image of Rachel Greene - American actress Jennifer Aniston has bared all for the new issue of GQ magazine.

The 39-year-old star poses in nothing more than a necktie on the cover of the magazine and goes on to chat candidly in an interview. The best part of the interview is Jenny’s gag about being friends with Brangelina.

Responding to reports about her frequent sparring with her ex-hubby’s partner, Aniston joked with the magazine’s interviewer: "The funny thing is that people don't realize we all go away to the Hamptons on the weekends…But can you imagine?...That'd be hysterical: I've got Zahara on my hip, and Knox…"

The ‘Friends’ star also dismissed the rumour that she was having a baby with musician John Mayer.

"I am not having his baby. And I have not popped the question," cleared Aniston.

About her now-on, now-off relationship with Mayer, Aniston said: “We care deeply for each other, and we're just trying to figure it out.”

On a more candid note, Aniston revealed that she is not out of touch with ex-hubby Brad Pitt.

"When there's something to congratulate or celebrate, there's always an exchange," Aniston is quoted to have said.

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Wicked CIA-RAW-Mossad axis against Islamabad: Pak media

Pakistan media finds "a wicked axis" of New Delhi Washington and Tel Aviv ganging up against Islamabad. In this backdrop, protecting Pakistan from terrorists and securing the national border are the key issues on the media agenda

The sense of paranoia is apparent in a Frontier Post editorial published on Tuesday. It says "what can you expect when a wicked axis of America's CIA, India's RAW and Israel's Mossad are so active in fuelling and fanning militancy in our tribal region? Why is it (government) keeping mum? It is because of the wickedness of this wicked axis, our military and our people have been pitched against each other."

In an opinion piece, the Post explains why crippling the ISI would be suicidal. "For last several years Indian Intelligence Agency RAW, Afghan intelligence, allegedly Israeli Mossad, and others are aiding and fuelling Balochistani separatists, causing trouble in Karachi, and turmoil in North West Frontier Province. Pakistani people resent this external interference. The vast majority of Pakistanis fully support the ISI and fully expect it to aggressively counter conspiracy of external powers, and treacherous acts," says the Peshawar-based newspaper.

The Tuesday editorial of The Nation, Lahore, points out contradictionsin statements of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator John McCain, to conclude that "the Americans must stop playing the devil's advocate and compel New Delhi to furnish concrete evidence to Islamabad of involvement in the Mumbai tragedy from the Pakistani side. India needs to be delivered a stern warning against creating war hysteria and at the same time also threatening Pakistan's security by spreading its intelligence networks in Afghanistan."

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Queen Elizabeth cutting costs to survive, told to save more

LONDON: She's facing the pinch of recession like everyone else in Britain. Her home is badly in need of repair. She's checking her mounting gas and power bills. She has even stopped using the phone unless necessary. And her pension hasn't gone up in a decade.


The only factor setting her apart from the rest is the scale of her poverty, measured in millions of pounds and not pennies. After all, she is the queen.

The latest report of Britain's National Audit Office (NAO) reveals Queen Elizabeth has had to adopt stringent cost-cutting measures across all her palaces in the last one year.

The attempts to reduce the household's maintenance budget include cutting back on repairs, letting more properties and reducing the phone bill by more than 20 per cent.

The queen's annual maintenance grant of 15 million pounds from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport had not changed since 2000-01, a reduction of 19 per cent in real terms.

In an attempt to deal with the shortfall, the royal household has more than doubled the number of properties it lets to 36, increasing the annual rent by nearly 100 per cent to 1 million pounds. The number of residents living in rent-free accommodation has been reduced since 2000 from 70 to 42.

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US warns Pak of 'unintended consequences'

WASHINGTON: Warning of "unintended consequences" if Pakistan did not act against the "non-state actors" who used its territory to stage attacks in Mumbai, the US today said it was "working hard" to verify what Islamabad was actually doing against such elements.

"... I think we have to be concerned because it's obviously a time of great outrage in India. And what I emphasised was that this was a threat to both Pakistan and India these terrorists," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview to the National Public Radio.

Pakistan, she stressed, needed to act since its territory had been used by "these non-state actors to make those (Mumbai) attacks."

"Also, Americans were killed, which gave the United States a special responsibility," Rice said.

Amid reports of arrest in Pakistan of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, the two top commanders of LeT which is blamed for the Mumbai strikes, she said she was "pleased" to see that some "important steps" are being taken in Pakistan.

"We are working hard to try and clarify and verify what is actually happening there, but there seem to be some positive steps being taken. The people who did this also wanted to abort what has been a positive direction in Pakistan-India relations," Rice said.

Noting that India and Pakistan were on the brink of war after the 2001 attack on Indian parliament, she said the ties between the two countries are "very different now."

"The Pakistani Government is a civilian government, a legitimate civilian government that has been reaching out to India, and vice versa. The Pakistani Foreign Minister was actually in India at the time that this took place. And so we have a lot to work with, and I think we're making some progress," Rice said. comments

Will arrest all non-state actors: Zardari

Three attempts to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the frontal organisation of the Pakistan-based terror outfit LeT, in the UN Security Council were blocked by China in the past, and now all eyes would be on what Beijing does on fresh attempts to ban the outfit.

The sanctions committee of the Council had circulated a note to its members that the United States, backed by Britain and France, had twice tried to add JuD chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed to the list of individuals and organisations connected to terrorism last May, but the move was blocked by China, according to a note circulated in the UNSC on Wednesday.

A similar attempt directed against the organisation in April 2006 was also blocked by China, the note said. Now India has put in a formal request for declaring JuD as a terrorist outfit for its involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi has also asked for freezing of assets of the organisation.

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Will arrest all non-state actors: Zardari

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has pledged to take action against "non-state actors" responsible for Mumbai terror attacks, but made an emotional appeal to India against "hasty judgements" and "inflammatory statements".

Zardari said that all "non-state actors" found in his country would be treated like "terrorists and murderers" and said Pakistan was committed to "pursuit, arrest, trial and punishment of anyone involved in these heinous attacks".

In an emotionally charged article in the New York Times, Zardari said that Mumbai attacks were directed not only against India but also against Pakistan's new democratic government and the peace process "we have initiated with New Delhi".

"Supporters of authoritarianism in Pakistan and non-state actors with vested interest in perpetuating conflict do not want change in Pakistan to take root," he wrote.

"Not only are the terrorists not linked to the government of Pakistan in any way," the president said adding "we are their targets and we continue to be their victims".

The best response to the Mumbai carnage is for India, Pakistan and the US to coordinate in counteracting the scourge of terrorism, Zardari wrote, asserting that he well understood the pain of terror victims given that his wife, former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto was also assassinated in a terror attack.

"Pakistan is committed to the pursuit, arrest, trial and punishment of anyone involved in these heinous acts. But we caution against hasty judgements and inflammatory statements," Zardari wrote

Referring to Sunday's raids conducted on Lashker-e-Taiba militants, including the arrest of suspected Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi, Zardari pledged that Pakistan will take action against non-state actors found within its territory, "treating them as criminals, terrorists and murders".

To foil the designs of the terrorists, Zardari said the "two great nations of Pakistan and India, born together from the same revolution and mandate in 1947," must continue to move forward with the peace process.

"Pakistan is shocked at the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. We can identify with India's pain. I feel this pain every time I look into the eyes of my children," he said, recalling referring to the assassination of Bhutto.

He said the terrorists who killed his wife are "connected by ideology to these enemies of civilization."
Stating that India is a "mature nation and a stable democracy," he said Pakistanis appreciate its democratic contributions.

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Will arrest all non-state actors: Zardari

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has
pledged to take action against
"non-state actors" responsible for Mumbai
terror attacks, but made an emotional appeal

to India against "hasty judgements" and "inflammatory statements".

Zardari said that all "non-state actors"
found in his country would be treated like "terrorists and murderers" and said
Pakistan was committed to "pursuit, arrest,
trial and punishment of anyone involved in
these heinous attacks".

In an emotionally charged article in the New York Times, Zardari said that Mumbai attacks were directed not only against India but also against Pakistan's new democratic government and the peace process "we have initiated with New Delhi".

"Supporters of authoritarianism in Pakistan and non-state actors with vested interest in perpetuating conflict do not want change in Pakistan to take root," he wrote.

"Not only are the terrorists not linked to the government of Pakistan in any way," the president said adding "we are their targets and we continue to be their victims". The best response to the Mumbai carnage is for India, Pakistan and the US to coordinate in counteracting the scourge of terrorism, Zardari wrote, asserting that he well understood the pain of terror victims given that his wife, former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto was also assassinated in a terror attack.

"Pakistan is committed to the pursuit, arrest, trial and punishment of anyone involved in these heinous acts. But we caution against hasty judgements and inflammatory statements," Zardari wrote

Referring to Sunday's raids conducted on Lashker-e-Taiba militants, including the arrest of suspected Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi, Zardari pledged that Pakistan will take action against non-state actors found within its territory, "treating them as criminals, terrorists and murders". To foil the designs of the terrorists, Zardari said the "two great nations of Pakistan and India, born together from the same revolution and mandate in 1947," must continue to move forward with the peace process. "Pakistan is shocked at the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. We can identify with India's pain. I feel this pain every time I look into the eyes of my children," he said, recalling referring to the assassination of Bhutto.

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Illinois governor arrested for trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich - accused of a 'staggering' case of corruption - being greeted by president-elect Barack Obama

James Bone, New York and Kaya Burgess

The Governor of Illinois was arrested today for trying to sell off Barack Obama's vacated US Senate seat in an explosive case that has cast a spotlight on endemic corruption in the President-elect's home state.

Prosecutors charged that Rod Blagojevich, the two-term Democratic governor, discussed trading the open Senate seat for a position in President-elect Obama's Cabinet, and also considered asking for a substantial salary for himself at a non-profit foundation or a trade union affiliate, a lucrative corporate directorship for his wife, and even cash up front.

His chief of staff, John Harris, has also been arrested.

FBI wiretaps allegedly caught the governor saying that the Senate seat "is a f***ing valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing".

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JeM chief Masood Azhar under house arrest

Pakistani authorities have reportedly imposed restrictions on the movement of Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar and confined him to his home despite turning down India's demand for handing him over.

Azhar, who was freed by Indian authorities along with two other terrorists in exchange for passengers of an Indian Airlines flight hijacked from Kathmandu to Kandahar in 1999, has been confined to his multi-storey building in Model Town area of Bahawalpur, The News daily reported today.

The report quoted official sources as saying that Azhar's activities had been restricted in the wake of India's demand to hand him over along with criminals Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. There was no official word on whether Azhar had been restricted to his home. The Pakistan Army on Monday confirmed it had launched an operation against banned militant groups.

Lashker-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi is among over 20 militants arrested during the crackdown, sources said. The Pakistan government has turned down India's demand to hand over Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. The demand had been made in a demarche handed over by India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

Azhar's movements have been restricted in the past too when India had demanded his handing over. There have been reports in recent months that Azhar and the Jaish had stepped up activities, including the raising of funds and organising large rallies, in the Bahawalpur area.

The militant leader was being held in an Indian jail when he was released by the Indian government in exchange for passengers of the airplane hijacked by several Pakistani terrorists and taken to Kandahar.

Soon after his release, Azhar formed the Jaish. Azhar and his group had faced restrictions in the wake of the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and the 2003 suicide attacks on former President Pervez Musharraf.

The Jaish was renamed as Khudam-ul-Islam and reorganised under the command of Mufti Abdul Rauf, the younger brother of Azhar. The US State Department designated the Jaish a foreign terrorist organisation in December 2001, forcing the Musharraf regime to slap a ban on the group in January 2002.

Azhar was formally arrested by Pakistani authorities in December 2001 following the attack on India's parliament but a review board of the Lahore High Court ordered his release a year later.

Azhar reportedly fell out of favour with the Pakistani establishment in the wake of American allegations about his al- Qaida links and because of the belief that he had been providing logistical support to fugitive al-Qaida and Taliban leaders.

Following the January 2002 kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl by Sheikh Ahmed Saeed Omar, a close aide of Azhar, the US had sought the custody of the Jaish chief, saying authorities wanted to file charges against him for his involvement in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight, which had an American citizen on board.

However, Pakistani authorities had turned down the US demand, saying Azhar was not a hijacker and his incarceration in India had been "illegal".

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Ecuador's president in Iran for talks with Ahmadinejad

Tehran - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa in Iran for a three-day visit started talks Saturday in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the news network Khabar reported.

Correa, the first president of Ecuador to visit Iran, arrived in Tehran on Friday night and is also set to meet parliament deputies and businessmen.

The main agenda of the talks between the two OPEC member states is the furthering of bilateral political and economic relations, with several agreements expected to be signed. (dpa)

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Pregnant man Thomas Beatie on Oprah April 3rd

The “pregnant man” will be appearing on Thursday’s Oprah Winfrey show to share his thoughts and feelings on being pregnant. Thomas Beatie, born Tracy Langondino, received media attention after writing an article for ‘The Advocate,’ a magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered readers.

In the article, Beatie says that he was born a woman. He went through breast reconstruction surgery but kept his female organs.

On Oprah, Beatie explains that his wife was unable to get pregnant because she had a hysterectomy. “I see

pregency as a process and it doesn’t define who I am,” he says. “Ironically, being pregnant doesn’t make me feel any more female or feminine.”

The couple’s daughter is due on July 3, 2008.

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