Sports
Australia admits some attacks on Indians -racist
Canberra, Feb 9, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith admitted Tuesday that some of the attacks on Indians in his country were indeed racist in nature and pressed the need to build strong ties with New Delhi.
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Sports
Final scoreboard: India vs. South Africa, First Test»Nagpur, Feb 9, Final scoreboard of the first cricket Test between India and South Africa here Tuesday.
South Africa first innings: 558/6 declared
India first innings: 233 all out
India second innings (following on, Overnight 66/2):
Gautam Gambhir b Morkel 1
Virender Sehwag c Smith b Steyn 16
Murali Vijay c Morkel b Harris 32
Sachin Tendulkar b Harris 100
Subramaniam Badrinath c Boucher b Parnell 6
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c de Villiers b Harris 25
Wriddhiman Saha lbw b Steyn 36
Harbhajan Singh lbw b Parnell 39
Zaheer Khan c Harris b Kallis 33
Amit Mishra b Steyn 0
Ishant Sharma not out 0
Extras: (b-15, lb-8, w-6, nb-2) 31
Total: (all out in 107.1 overs) 319
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Gambhir, 1.2 overs), 2-24 (Sehwag, 4.4), 3-96 (Vijay, 31.2), 4-122 (Badrinath, 41.3), 5-192 (Tendulkar, 67.2), 6-209 (Dhoni, 75.6), 7-259 (Harbhajan Singh, 87.5), 8-318 (Khan, 104.4), 9-318 (Saha, 105.1), 10-319 (Mishra, 107.1)
Bowling:
Dale Steyn 18.1 1 57 3
Morne Morkel 21 6 65 1
Wayne Parnell 13 2 58 2
Paul Harris 38 17 76 3
Jacques Kallis 12 3 19 1
JP Duminy 5 0 21 0
Result: South Africa won by an innings and six runs
Man of the match: Hashim Amla (South Africa)
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Ian Gould (England)
TV umpire: Amiesh Saheba (India)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)
Entertainment
Ajay Devgn- the new King of Comedy»Think about comedy flicks and the first name that comes to your mind is Ajay Devgn. The talented actor who started his career with the super hit ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ was best known for his action movies for a long time. But, action is certainly not what he seems to be doing these days.
Ajay Devgan
The two-time National Award winner has now become the King of comedy, with his recent hat trick of ‘Golmaal’, ‘Golmaal Returns’ and ‘All The Best’. The smashing success of these movies has resulted in the actor being flooded with offers of comic roles.
What’s more! The actor’s forthcoming release ‘Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?’ co starring Paresh Rawal and Konkona Sen Sharma is also a laugh riot. The film, produced by Amita Pathak and Warner Bros (India), will make it to theatres across the world on March 5. The promos of the family entertainer have already got the audiences eager to watch the film.
Ashwni Dhir, the director of Atithi….says, “Ajay is a first-rate actor. You can give him just about anything to do; whether it is action, comedy or drama. He is a natural in front of the camera.”
Speaking about his latest comedy Atithi….Ajay says, “Our generation didn’t have the privilege of working with masters like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and even Gulzar saab, who made some really amazing social films with a comic twist. I agreed to Atithi… almost minutes after I heard the first draft of the script, because to me, this film fit into that genre of Hrishida’s films. Films like ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Rajnigandha’, ‘Khubsoorat’, ‘Angoor’ and ‘Golmaal’ (Amol Palekar) made by stalwarts like Hrishida, Basuda and Gulzar saab tickled your funny bone, but they also had a soul.”
His eyes crinkle as he says, “Atithi … is from the school of film-making that made a huge impact through the ’70s and ’80s. Yet the film has a contemporary look. Believe me, every time I say I will run away from comedy, comedy chooses me. After Atithi… I’ll plunge headlong into ‘Golmaal-3’. Sometimes, I think actors don’t choose a role, a role chooses them. When you deliberately resist something, it has a way of following you.”
Ajay laughs and adds, “They say man proposes god disposes. For actors, it should be ‘an actor proposes, a filmmaker disposes’. Amitabh Bachchan was an angry young man and then did some delectable comedies. I was the action guy who went into comedy. Though I keep saying I want to get back to action flicks, I will trust my instincts and accept a good comedy if it comes my way.”
The versatile actor has a number of movies lined up for release this year including Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’, ‘Toonpur Ka Superhero’ along with wife Kajol, Milan Luthria’s ‘Once Upon A time In Mumbai’, Kumar Mangat’s ‘Garam Hawa’ and Rohit Shetty’s ‘Golmaal 3’.
Well, with Ajay wanting to shift back to action movies in the near future we surely hope he is enjoying his current status as the Bollywood’s King of Laughter. -Sampurn
Health News
Erectile dysfunction – a warning of future heart attacks»New York, Feb 9, Beware! Erectile disorder (ED) could be a grim warning of future heart attacks, stroke, atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure.
These findings are based on 12-year research study conducted by the New England Research Institutes, (NERI) in collaboration with San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
However, while ED is significantly related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) independent of traditional risk factors, it does not improve the prediction of who will and will not develop CVD beyond these risk factors.
Men with ED showed a 40 percent higher risk of developing CVD compared to men without ED.
“This is an important study because it is the first to explicitly test whether ED can predict the future development of CVD beyond a predictive tool called the Framingham risk score,” said Andre Araujo, director of epidemiology at NERI who led the study.
“Although the answer is no, this is not necessarily surprising given how strongly the Framingham risk score is related to CVD,” said Araujo. “Our data indicate that ED is as strongly related to the development of CVD as the Framingham risk score.”
The study followed 1,057 men (aged 40-70) from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study (MMAS) – a prospective observational study of aging, health, and endocrine and sexual function – over an average of 12 years.
These men were free of diabetes and CVD at the start of their study participation. However, during the follow-up years, 261 new cases of CVD occurred. ED predicted the development of CVD, independent of age, traditional risk factors, and Framingham risk score.
According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, ED affects approximately 18 million men aged 20 years or older in the US. ED and CVD share a number of risk factors like smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure.
Physiologically, the link between ED and CVD can be explained by the fact that the penis and the heart are both vascular organs that are subject to atherosclerosis or thickening of the arteries, said a NERI release.
Since atherosclerosis affects the entire body, the small arteries in the penis can become blocked sooner than the larger arteries in the heart. Blocked arteries reduce blood flow which can result in a reduced ability to have an erection.
These findings were published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Technology News
Bangladesh to make cell phones, laptops»Dhaka, Feb 9, Bangladesh has unveiled plans to manufacture cell phones and laptops with the help of foreign companies after witnessing a revolution in the usage of both mobiles and portable computers.
Six foreign companies have submitted ‘expressions of interest’ for forming a joint venture with the state-owned Bangladesh Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (Teshish) to manufacture mobile sets and laptops.
The mobile phone would be as cheap at Taka 2,000 ($29) and the laptop would be for Taka 12,000 ($174)
Teshish has been revived after 12 years.
The names of the six foreign contenders were held back “to avoid confusion” during scrutiny by Teshish Managing Director Ismail Hossain, New Age newspaper said Tuesday.
Hsssain told BSS, the country’s official news agency, that the letters of expression of interest were sent to head of the Electrical and Electronic Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for scrutiny.
The government floated international tender in December 2009 inviting the entrepreneurs as the power and telecommunication ministry had taken an initiative to make Teshish fully operative after a long time.
Hossain hoped that the mobile sets and laptops would come to the market by April next year.
Teshish secretary Osman Gani said the mobile would be produced with local technology and every set of mobile would be priced at Taka 2,000 with every latest facility including double SIM system.
He quoted communication experts to say the number of mobile phone users in Bangladesh would be over 80 million in the next two years.
For them, Teshish will produce 400,000 sets a year initially.
Laptops and notebooks were entering Bangladeshi homes and NGOs have taken them to remote villages.
Bangladesh NGO Foundation (BNF) has been providing local NGOs with financial support in the pursuit of their social development programmes. It has as many as 1,000 or so partners all over the country, The Daily Star said.
Science News
India to build intelligent satellite for surveillance»Bangalore, Feb 9, India is set to develop a dedicated network-centric communication intelligence satellite for detecting conversations and espionage activities in the region, a top defence scientist said Tuesday.
“We are in the process of designing and developing a spacecraft fitted with an intelligent sensor that will pick up conversations and communications across the borders,” Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) director G. Bhoopathy told reporters here.
The Rs.100 crore (Rs.10 billion) satellite will be developed in partnership with the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and launched in the lower earth orbit – about 500 km above the earth – on board the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“The satellite fitted with the electronic sensor will be more powerful than the remote sensing satellites (IRSA) of ISRO. The spacecraft should be ready for launch by 2014,” Bhoopathy said on the margins of a preview on the first international conference on electronic warfare (EWCI 2010).
The Hyderabad-based DLRL, which functions under the aegis of state-run Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), is also developing a border network-centric electronic warfare sensor for surveillance on the Indian borders in the mountain range and desert areas.
“The electronic warfare (EW) sensor will be located on the mountain range facing Pakistan, China, Nepal and the northeast to detect troop or vehicular movement across the borders. Some of the sensors can also be deployed in the plains or desert for monitoring the ground situation in border areas,” Bhoopathy said.
Code-named “Divya Drushti” (foresight), the radars will be installed on the mountain tops from December this year onwards.
The Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) in Bangalore and DLRL are engaged in the design and development of EW systems indigenously and state-run defence behemoth Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) will manufacture the radars and the support systems in collaboration with the private sector.
DARE and BEL have rolled out Tarang radar warning receiver systems and its variants for fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
BEL has orders from the Indian armed forces to supply EW system to the value of Rs.710 crore (Rs.7.1 billion) in this fiscal (2009-10) and Rs. 900 crore (Rs.9 billion) in fiscal 2010-11.
Over the years, BEL supplied EW systems to the three armed services to the value of Rs.3,500 crore (Rs.35 billion) till fiscal 2008-09.
Commonwealth Games 2010
Security exercises for Commonwealth Games kick off Wednesday»New Delhi, Feb 9, Dry runs to check the level of security preparedness, emergency response, behaviour and coordination among various agencies ahead of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games will kick off at a shooting competition at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range in south-east Delhi Wednesday.
Commonwealth Games 2010
A temporary venue security command has also been set up at the shooting range and the multiple agencies involved in the exercise are the ministry of home affairs, Delhi airport, district police, traffic police, security cell, special cell, central paramilitary forces including National Security Guard (NSG), intelligence agencies and civil administration authorities like Municipal Corporation of Delhi (DTC), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Delhi Fire Service (DFS).
“It has been decided at a meeting with Delhi Police, organising committee and other agencies to take every event as run up to the Commonwealth Games. It will be a full-fledged rehearsal where multiple agencies will coordinate and work hand-in-hand to prevent any untoward incident,” a highly placed security source told IANS.
“Wednesday’s shooting event is the dress rehearsal for the Commonwealth Games. We will follow the drill of taking players and athletes from the airport or their respective place of accommodation to the stadium as per the pre-decided planning with all concerned agencies,” the official added.
The response of all stakeholders will again be monitored Feb 18-28 when the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will organise another shooting competition at the range.
The same drill come into play at the World Cup Hockey, which will take place Feb 28-March 13 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the heart of the national capital. Twelve countries, including Pakistan, Germany and Australia, are participating in the event.
The next security check will be during the March 7-13 archery event at the Yamuna Sports Complex. According to highly placed sources, these dry runs will be conducted till the start Commonwealth Games Oct 3. Over 70 countries are participating in the Games that will be held at different venues in the national capital and its suburbs Oct 3-14.
Though the government and the organisers are committed to safe Games, security continues to be the prime concern of quite a few participating countries, including Britain and Australia.
A delegation of security experts from Britain, which was here last month in the wake of concerns raised by some of their athletes, expressed its satisfaction over the security arrangements for the Games.