Data theft topped a trillion dollars in 2008

SAN FRANCISCO: Workers turned ‘cyber moles’ and crime syndicates armed with malicious software are looting digital data from businesses as losses reportedly topped a trillion dollars in 2008.
California computer security firm McAfee presented the findings Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with a warning that the world's dismal financial straits are exacerbating data theft woes.

‘Based on the survey findings McAfee conservatively estimates that the global damage from data loss to top one trillion dollars,’ said McAfee chief executive Dave DeWalt.
‘This report is a wake-up call because the current economic crisis is poised to create a global meltdown in vital information.’
Insights for the first-ever worldwide study ‘on the security of information economies’ were gathered from more than 800 chief information officers in Japan, China, India, Brazil, Britain, Dubai, Germany and the United States.

The companies surveyed estimated they lost a combined 4.6 billion dollars worth of intellectual property last year, and spent approximately 600 million dollars repairing damage from data breaches.
‘Companies are grossly underestimating the loss, and value, of their intellectual property,’ said Eugene Spafford, a US university computer science professor who is executive director of The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS).
‘Just like gold, diamonds or crude oil, intellectual property is a form of currency that is traded internationally, and can have serious economic impact if it is stolen.’

Pressure on firms to cut costs is resulting in weakened computer security measures, making them more tempting targets for information thieves, according to CERIAS, which analyzed responses in the study.

Thirty-nine per cent of the CIOs in the study said they believe vital company information is more vulnerable because of current economic conditions.
There has been an increase in ‘cyber mafia gangs’ breaking into corporate databases, according to the study.
‘Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting executives using sophisticated phishing techniques,’ the study states.

‘Phishing’ refers to deceptive emails or other online ruses that trick people into revealing passwords, account numbers, or other sensitive information.
Such attacks customized to harpoon specific powerful executives are often referred to as ‘whaling.’
The dour economy also raises the chances of companies being looted by employees out to supplement shrinking paychecks or improve job prospects with future employers.
An increasing number of financially challenged employees are using their corporate data access to steal vital information,’ the study contends.
The study also pinpointed China, Pakistan, and Russia as data theft ‘trouble zones’ because of legal, cultural or economic factors.

Flying Animal

Believe it or not, but the flying fox is really a bat! It is called the flying fox because it has red-brown fur and a head like a fox. It is about one foot long.
During the day, these flying foxes, or fox-bats, hang upside down from the branches of trees in large numbers, so that the trees have the appearance of carrying heavy bunches of some extraordinary looking fruit.

The vampire bat is another one of these mammals. Surprisingly, these bats are not large, their bodies being a little larger than those of mice.
With its sharp front teeth the vampire bat makes a small incision, similar to a razor cut, in the flesh of its sleeping victim, and draws blood until its appetite is satisfied. Or it may be slapped away as soon as the alarmed victim awakes.
Contrary to the many fanciful and spine-chilling stories that have been told about these creatures, their bite is not fatal. The bite may, however, transmit a disease to man or beast, and if much blood is sucked the effect is very weakening.

The sizes and habits differ from bat to bat, so does their colouring. Most species are a mousey colour. Some are brownish-yellow on the underside, or nearly white, and one is orange coloured.
Bats do not make nests. The young ones, referred to as pups, are born blind, and quite bare of fur. The pup clings tightly to the mother when she goes out hunting for food for the first few weeks. Then when the little one is better able to be left on its own, the mother hooks it up by its toes in the cave or hollow tree trunk until she returns. After about two months, the youngster is sufficiently grown up to fend for itself.

Zoologists place all the different kinds of bats into one order — Chiroptera (meaning hand-winged). Odd as it may seem, bats have the same number of ‘fingers’ as we have, but they are strangely formed.
The thumb is very short, and instead of having a nail, the thumb has a claw or hook which is used when the bat is not flying or to scramble about on a tree. The bones of the palms of the bat’s hand are very long, and the finger bones, also very long, are joined to them. This great length of bones is to support the ‘web’ of the wings.

The web stretches from the shoulders down the two bones of the arm, over the bones of the hand, and down the tips of the four fingers. Then, from the underside of the arms, it reaches down to the legs, as far as what would be our ankles, and between the legs to join on to the tail.
As a matter of fact, if you were to take away the ‘webbing’ of a bat’s wing you would see a little animal with two arms and hands and two hind legs!

COVER STORY: By all means

You are a FAILURE: You embarrassed me in front of everyone. You can’t imagine what I went through when your teacher showed your report card!” Faizan’s mother exclaimed at him because the 14-year-old had failed in the final examination.
His parents, in fact the whole family, were depressed because of Faizan’s so-called ‘sin’. They, like the society at large, think that failing, particularly in an examination, is a ‘sin’. The reaction of his parents, siblings, teachers and even friends made Faizan confused and depressed.
Looking around us we see many cases where people feel so dejected after failing at something that they end up taking an extreme and stupid step that they may regret later. But scolding, thrashing and punishing are not the right ways to treat such a person.

A failure should be treated, not in a harsh way, but in a consoling and tender way. Those who think their entire life is ruined because they failed to do something properly need proper guidance and support. Having failed once does not mean one will always fail, or even failing repeatedly at something doesn’t not mean that one is not good at anything else.
The fear of failure is the greatest obstacle on the road of success. If you are scared that you will fail at something, you will end up either not trying at all or putting in a half-hearted attempt.
The first thing that should be kept in mind before attempting anything is that failure isn’t a crime. Failure is merely a stepping-stone to success. Everyone fails at something or the other, at some point in life. We should not take failure to heart but learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them.

Treat failures as learning experiences that should turn you into a better person as you can now identify your mistakes and shortcomings. Once you know why you failed, you should find ways that can make you succeed the next time. Stay positive and keep trying until you succeed. Remember when a baby takes his first steps, he falls — but he gets up again and keeps trying until success is achieved.
We can also learn from the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States who led the nation through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War. After failing as a businessman, he moved on to politics but failed in his initial attempt to become a member of the Illinois General Assembly. He then studied law and became a lawyer.

He returned to the political arena and, in 1855, he ran for the Senate but was defeated again. The next year Lincoln went after the vice-presidency position but was defeated. This didn’t deter him and, finally in 1960, he became the president. He had a taste of failure initially which made him more determined to become successful.
Many people feel depressed when they fail to achieve something that is important to them. But failure is a learning tool. Always accept failures positively because they help you gain confidence.
We all know about Thomas Edison, the renowned inventor. Edison also failed many times before he finally became successful in inventing the light bulb. Did he stop trying? No he didn’t. If Edison had stopped trying, the world would be pretty dark right now.

And there is the shinning example of everyone’s favourite author J. K. Rowling. About 12 publishers rejected Rowling’s first manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stones. But today, according to Forbes Magazine, she is the first billionaire author in the world.
Failing 12 times in a row would get anyone down but she didn’t stop and finally got a green signal from Bloomsbury, a small British publishing house in London for the publication of her first book. And now Rowling is ranked 14th in Telegraph’s list for 2008’s “100 most powerful people in British culture”. Isn’t it exciting?

If you always cry over the mistakes that you made, you will never get anywhere in life. So there’s no use crying over spilt milk. If you want to live life to the fullest, your plan of action should be target-oriented.
A confident individual always looks forward and keeps his/her eyes on the target/destination. They consider failures as part of their journey towards success. And positive thinking is the best way to get out of the gloominess of failure.
They Speak....
Failure Success Failing a venture does not make you a loser. Here a few youngsters talk about failure and how they deal with it
“Failure can trigger success. If you fail, you question yourself and then you struggle to excel in that area. This helps in progress. Failure is good, only if it doesn’t become a habit.” — Asma Siddiqui

“Failure may sound like an easy thing to deal with, but it can leave permanent scars on a person psychologically. Not everybody can face it. At times when those who fail do not get the support they need from their family and friends, and get scolded, thrashed and even disgraced for this ‘so-called’ sin. But as Robert F. Kennedy said, ‘Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly’. We should keep this in mind.” — Zeeshan Ahmed

“When I was 17, I failed my math exam during my first year at college. I simply hate trigonometry and this mishap posed a major setback to me. But due to the caring and loving behaviour of my family, specially my elder sister, I somehow learnt to deal with the situation and finally cleared the examination in the next attempt.” — Furrukh Azeem

“I was very depressed when my application was rejected for a scholarship programme. For a moment I thought I will never re-apply for it but my teacher was of great help. He supported me and made me realise the importance of failure in life. I still remember his words, ‘Don’t you know that in a race everyone runs but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize, but if you fail, do your best next time. Everyone who competes can’t win.’ I studied hard and in the next semester I not only got my university scholarship but I also secured first position in my class.” — Ali Ahmed

“I was jobless for about two months after my bachelors. I did my BBA from a reputable institute with a good GPA. I applied for every single opportunity that was available at the time and was more than sure about getting my desired job. But with the passage of time my confidence decreased and and I became very depressed. This was a tough period for me — both financially and mentally. But I took this phase as a learning experience and changed my job hunting strategy. Soon, I got an excellent job with good remuneration. Now I am pursuing my masters along with my job.” — Saima Shah.

Musharraf offered for job in Washington

WASHINGTON: Former President Pervez Musharraf has been offered a job in Washington: Pakistan chair at the Middle East Institute.
Mr Musharraf also met former US Vice President Dick Cheney who is still in Washington although the Bush administration has completed its tenure on Jan. 20.
The US State Department has indicated that Mr Musharraf might have met senior officials at the Pentagon during his three-day stay in the US capital.

The department’s spokesman Robert Wood told a briefing that he’s not aware of the meetings Mr Musharraf may have had with US officials but he asked reporters to check with other departments, saying that ‘one place to start would be the Pentagon.’
Mr Musharraf arrived in the US earlier this month. This week, he spent three days in Washington where he met American scholars, think-tank experts and friends. He leaves for home from New York on Saturday evening.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani also attended a reception hosted by the Middle East Institute.

The institute’s head, former US ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain, also urged Mr Musharraf to be their next scholar-in-residence on Pakistan.
The institute is willing to create a special Pakistan chair, should Mr Musharraf accept the offer.
Sources close to Mr Musharraf said the former president seems interested in the offer, which will give him the chance to write another book on his experience as the head of a country considered key to US security.

Only a few Pakistanis were invited. Mr Musharraf did not address the gathering but the guests did talk to him in small groups.
Besides Ambassador Haqqani, Pakistan’s Ambassador at Large Riffat Mahmood, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, former State Department officials Robin Rafael and Daniel Markey, and scholars Steve Cohen and Marvin Weinbaum also attended the reception.
Ambassador Haqqani, when asked to comment on his meeting with Mr Musharraf, said he attended the reception and shook hands with him but said it was normal for diplomats to attend such events.

The US administration provided full protocol and security to the former president.
Asked who paid for Mr Musharraf’s security arrangements, the State Department spokesman said he’s a former head of state and urged the journalist who asked the question to check with the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
The embassy, however, said they did not pay for Mr Musharraf’s security.

Three Indian arrested in Lahore

January, 30 2009 LAHORE-City : police with the cooperation of intelligence agencies has foiled a deadly plan to carry out large-scale bloodshed through a series of terrorist activities and arrested three RAW agents here on Thursday.The terrorists were assigned target by the Indian agency to destabilise the law and order situation especially in the provincial capital.

Police recovered remote control bombs, explosives and sensitive documents besides huge cache of sophisticated weapons and maps/drawings of different sensitive installations from their possession.The arrested terrorists are identified as Muhammad Fayyaz alias Feja, a resident of Mundyanwala, Burki, Muhammad Akram alias Mian Akram and Shahzad Bhatti of Mauza Ludhar, Burki.Capital City Police Chief Pervez Rathore said this while addressing a Press conference at Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh here on Thursday.DIG investigation Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera, SSP Investigation Zulfiqar Hameed, DSP CIA Umer Virk and other senior police officers were also present on the occasion.Pervez Rathore said that the arrest of the terrorists was a big success of the police which foiled nefarious designs of the anti-Pakistan elements.

He said that the arrested terrorists during investigations confessed their involvement in smuggling across the border from Pakistan to India.Terrorists have further confessed that during their visits to India they had managed to establish their contacts with Indian Intelligence Agency RAW, he added.He said that RAW officials used to help the terrorists in crossing the border from Gate number 139.The CCPO said that the arrested terrorists used to provide photographs of important places of the provincial capital and other cities to the Indian agency RAW.

They had carried out bomb blast near FC College underpass on November 17, 2006 in which two persons lost their life and more than two dozens others got injured, he said.‘They were smugglers and used to cross the Pak-Indian border for the purpose’. During their frequent visits to India, they met with RAW officers and started working for the said agency against Pakistan, he added.

The CCPO further said that they were in contact with the RAW officers including Kumar, Bakhshi, Chopra, Vijay, Mehta (bomb expert), Chaudhry Pertaib and Sharma at their Ranjeet Avenue Private Society, Amritsar, office in India.‘On the instructions of the said officers, the said terrorists had provided them photographs/maps and drawings of an under construction bridge of Saryali, Mochi Gate, Lahore, Jamia Qudsia Chuburgi Chowk, Lahore, Azam Cheema Masjid Aqsa, Bahawalpur, Jamia Masjid Millat Park Chowk, Faisalabad, and important buildings, like mosques of Mansehra, Muridke, and Cheecha Watni against millions of rupees. These places were their next targets’.Giving details, he said that they reached India, handed over photographs of Jamia Masjid Aqsa, Bahawalpur and briefed the RAW officers about the mosque and activities of religious leader Azam Cheema.The RAW officers gave them target of killing Azam Cheema by planting bomb in the said mosque against Rs 300,000 and handed over them a bag carrying remote control bomb.

They reached Bahawalpur, planted bomb in the premises of the mosque but they removed it and threw the bomb in a local canal when they came to know that Azam Cheema was not visiting the mosque, he added.Similarly, the CCPO said, the agents got training from RAW officer Mehta who previously gave them a bag carrying remote control bomb weighing 5/6 kg explosive to hit the target in 2006.They later reached Lahore from India and stayed at the residence of Shahzad Bhatti alias Feja. They then went to FC College underpass in a car and carried out the blast, he said.

He said that they crossed the border seven times and held meetings with the RAW agents to get training from its officers.He while answering a query said that the terrorists crossed the border to India about 6 to 7 times but Pakistan Rangers failed to arrest them because of the involvement of Indian Border Security Forces, who opens gate number 139 after checking the schedule of patrolling of Pakistan Rangers along the border.To a query, Pervez Rathore said that City police was facing tough time from the terrorists as the people were feeling themselves insecure due to bomb blasts in different parts of the City.He called an emergency meeting of the senior police officers and assigned a target to the DIG Investigations to trace the anti-social elements.The DIG later constituted a special team of CIA police officers headed by the SP CIA Umer Virk and comprising DSP Khalid Abubakar, Inspector Tariq Ilyas and other officials which traced the said terrorists and arrested them.

Iranian cycling for peace in Pakistan

QUETTA, Jan 29: An Iranian couple, who have been on a cycling mission for peace for two years, arrived Quetta on Wednesday after visiting several countries.Talking to journalists at the Khana-i-Farhang on Thursday, Jafar Idresi and his wife Samiya said they had travelled to Turkey, France Germany, the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, China and India before coming to Pakistan, covering about 10,000 kilometres. They planted 73 trees during the journey.

They said they had been warmly welcomed in all the countries they visited. The couple will leave for Iran via Taftan border on Friday.

Harry Potter stuntman injured

A man is in hospital with serious back injuries after being injured on the set of the latest Harry Potter film.
Paramedics were called to Leavesden Studios near Watford, where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is in pre-production.
The man, in his 20s - who is a stuntman according to press reports - was taken to hospital after Wednesday's accident.

Warner Bros said he was not a member of the cast, and did not comment further "out of respect for his family".
In a statement, the company added: "The person has been taken to hospital and we are awaiting further news."
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Paramedics were called to Leavesden Studios... after a man in his 20s sustained a significant back injury.

"He was stabilised at the scene and taken to Watford General Hospital."
The hospital refused to comment on the man's condition, but said he had been transferred to another hospital.

Blagojevich ousted as Illinois governor

CHICAGO: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office on Thursday after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges, including an accusation he tried to sell the US Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.
The Illinois Senate, acting as a jury, voted 59-0 to oust the second-term Democrat immediately. The lawmakers also voted by the same margin to bar him from ever holding public office again in America's fifth most populous state.

Before the vote, members of the Senate, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 37-22, called Blagojevich 'devious,' 'cynical,' 'crass,' 'corrupt,' 'inept,' 'a liar,' 'a hypocrite' and 'irresponsible.'
Blagojevich had pleaded with the body hours earlier, asking, 'How can you throw a governor out of office who is clamoring and begging and pleading with you to give him a chance to bring witnesses in to prove his innocence? ... A crime has not been proven here.'
He later told reporters outside his Chicago home he was 'saddened and disappointed but not at all surprised' by what happened. 'It was a fixed deal from the beginning.'

He skipped the chance to make a formal defense during the proceedings because, he said, the rules restricted him from calling the witnesses he needed or playing in full the federal government wiretapped conversations that led to charges involving Obama's Senate seat.
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn in almost immediately, saying, 'The ordeal is over' and urging people to 'to make the sacrifices necessary to address the serious challenges we have before us: The integrity challenge, the challenge of our economy, the challenge of making sure that we pay our bills.'

Quinn has expressed concerns about the state's budget ills, about which he says he has been told little, and a 7.6 per cent unemployment rate that is above the national average.
Blagojevich has not been indicted on criminal charges. The security detail assigned to him as governor left his Chicago home immediately after he became an ex-governor.

PATTERN OF CORRUPTION
Blagojevich's arrest drew attention to a pattern of political corruption in Illinois, becoming a distraction for the incoming Obama administration, which operated its presidential transition office in Obama's home state.
The governor's impeachment was unprecedented in Illinois and he joined only seven other state chief executives to be convicted after impeachment. Arizona's Evan Mecham in 1988 became the first governor impeached since the 1920s and, like Blagojevich, the Republican said his accusers were politically motivated.

Blagojevich was among four of Illinois' past eight governors hit by criminal charges. His immediate predecessor.
Republican George Ryan, is in prison after being convicted of corruption charges.
Illinois' senior US senator, Democrat Dick Durbin, said the state needed a fresh start after Blagojevich, by not resigning, put Illinois through 'weeks of turmoil at a time when many Illinoisans wanted to share in the joy of having just elected one of our own to the Presidency. Today, the Illinois Senate came to the only reasonable conclusion: Blagojevich can not continue to serve as our governor.'

'Clearing this up may give the state some room to focus on its pressing financial and economic challenges,' said Ted Hampton, a Moody's Investors Service analyst.
Those challenges included underfunded pensions, a large employee benefit burden, cash-flow troubles and an ailing economy, he said.

'Whoever is governor needs to get together with the Legislature to fix the budget,' said John Kenward, an analyst at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which has the state's 'AA' rating on a watch list for a possible downgrade.

On Monday, a spokesman for the governor's budget office said the state's current deficit was $2.5 billion. But the state comptroller's office said the situation was likely worse as Illinois' unpaid bill backlog stands at $2.1 billion.

Glam Slam: SAG Awards Style

LOS ANGELES, Calif. “Yeah, now that’s something to talk about,” Brad Pitt said of his lovely lady Angelina Jolie. We couldn’t agree more. Angelina dazzled in a cornflower blue satin Max Azria at last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. The gown featured a low cut back, which showed off her tattoos. I love that Angelina knows what she likes and she sticks with her signature style… simple and elegant, not too much jewelry.
Also in blue?
Kate Winslet showed off her curves (and the girls!) in her form-fitting cobalt Narciso Rodriguez.
“The Wrestler’s“ Evan Rachel Wood wowed in her teal, one-shouldered Monique Lhuillier.
“Slumdog Millionaire” star Freida Pinto chose a floaty silk chiffon Marchesa in pewter.
Christina Applegate led the bold color brigade with her emerald green one-shouldered Emanuel Ungaro.
Amy Adams chose deep purple Giambattista Valli, Claire Danes rocked red Nina Ricci and “Doubt” star Viola Davis was a vision in yellow by David Meister.
The white gown trend, which was so big at the Golden Globes continued.
“I love my dress tonight. It’s Azzaro and I just I feel really nice in it,” Anne Hathaway said about her white gown. “I’m not really a girlie girl, but who doesn’t like to have their hair and makeup done and put on a fabulous frock?”

Anne accessorized her crystal embellished gown with a half a million dollars worth of Cartier jewels.“Benjamin Button” star Taraji P. Henson worked a Marilyn-esque white Herve Leroux and Olivia Wilde chose a creamy satin Ralph Lauren gown. Teri Hatcher took a fashion risk with her white one-shouldered Monique Lhuillier, which paid off.

Her fellow “Desperate” divas didn’t fare so well… at least in my book.
HATED Eva Longoria Parker’s look. Her tangerine Jenny Packham should be burned. Didn’t love the color. Too much fabric going on and don’t get me started on the prom hair.
I wasn’t a fan of Marcia Cross’ black and navy Carolina Herrera strapless gown either. I thought it was over the top to the point of being fussy.

Thriller’ Director Sues Michael Jackson

January 28, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Calif.
“Thriller” may be headed to Broadway, but first Michael Jackson’s song and groundbreaking music video may be headed to court.
John Landis, the acclaimed director who co-wrote the video and shot “Thriller,” is suing Jackson,claiming the pop star has failed to pay him royalties for the project for the past four years.

2009 Miss. Triumph Show in Mumbai

Triumph International added to the global warming by presenting hot-hot models wearing their latest 2009 spring and summer collections at a show, that took place recently in Mumbai. It was the best time for the models to walk with poise, showcasing company’s latest collection, with its third stand alone store inaugurated in New Delhi a week ago.

The Managing Director of Triumph International, Mr. Thorsten Allenstein, was beaming with pleasure at the fashion show! The showman knew that the show was a smash hit and the designs were applauded for their appeal, comfort and vibrant colors. The models were, although not very pretty but surely elegant with fine hair and hot stats! Accordingly, the creation displayed in their designs overshadowed their choice of models!!
We have brought you the pictures of this successful show of Triumph International; and eager await your precious comments.

Breath Taking performances of Bollywood stars at screen awards

Sizzling performance by bollywood starts on 15th Annual Nokia Star Screen Awards.

Stunning Priyanka Chopra comes on the stag with her hits numbers like ‘Pardesi girl’ from her recent films, newbie Anushka Sharma with her hit number ‘Dance Pe Chance’ stole evryone’s heart with her dancing skills.

Ever Gorgeous Katrina Kaif she performed on her rocking numbers from ‘Singh is Kinng’ and ‘Race’. Last but not the least, rockstar Arjun Rampal looking dashing in washed out jeans and a black fitted ganji impressed everyone with his performance and the show comes on its climax , when arjun Ramapal call Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra on stage to join him.

More over the darker side of the show when verbal fight between Sajid and Farah Khan and Ashutosh Gowarikar.

Nomination of BollyWood Film"Slumdog Millionaire" in ten Oscar Categories!

After Winning Golden Globe, The good new for ' Slumdog Millionaire" is nominated in Ten Categories for the Oscar awards including nomination for the best picture,the best director for Danny Boyle. The movie is also nominated in best adapted screen play, cinematography, editing, original score, sound editing and sound mixing. Amazingly the movie scored two out of three nominations for best song “Jai ho” (A.R Rahman) and “O Saya” (A.R Rahman and M.I.A).

An other big movie with 13 number of nominations is the “”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” The nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for Brad Pitt.

A.R. Rahman, the 'Slumdog Millionaire' composer and the muisc director is very happy about the nominations and expressed his joy in the words. “Slumdog Millionaire has paid magical dividends for so many people around the globe. I am deeply honoured to be a part of a film that has inspired so many,” Other than Danny Boyle who are nominated for best director are Stephen Daldry for “The Reader,” David Fincher for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Ron Howard for “Frost/Nixon” and Gus Van Sant for “Milk.

Sanjay Dutt’ adopt new hairstyle for ‘Luck’

Bolly world Star Sanjay Dutt adopt a new hair style as it become a trend in bolly world now a days.Hair, no doubt is very important aspect of a stars’ personality, but there a very strange phenomenon of trimming hair is catching up in Bollywood as it did happen never before. After long stylish hair of Salman Khan in Veer, Amir Khan’s shaved head in ‘Ghajini’ now it is turn of Sanjay Dutt, he comes with new hair style for his 2009 movie ‘Luck’.

Soham Shah the director of the moive after some creative discussion with Aalim, the hairstylist changed Sanjay Dutt into a man with one of the most daring hairstyle of Bollywood. Alim told, “This is one of Sanjay’s most daring and dashing looks! It’s a very different side lock with three triangles opposite each other. Sanjay can carry off anything larger than life…his aura is really huge!” Sanjay Dutt hair style glance of this

Kareena, Katrina and Yana has been roped in Miss India Worldwide pageant finale

On 31 Jan Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta have been roped in the grand finale of PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide pageant to be held at Pragati Maidan and Deepak’s Tijori Entertainment is hosting the show with Kaleidovision.
Bollywood beauties attend the finale to add glamour and glitter to the event.

“At the finale of the pageant, there will be a mix of beauty, talent and glamour, with Bollywood beauties shaking a leg with the participants; host Deepak Tijori said at the press conference here Wednesday that it will be an evening to remember,”

More over the 20 finalists will go through a 10 day grilling regime.

As per Mehar Bhasin , who will look after the grooming of the contestants“Training is not going to be a cakewalk for them. They cannot take it easy because they will have to go through a tough and hectic regime of around 14 hours a day ,”

“Finale finalists will undergo an exclusively designed training and grooming regime that includes fitness, diction, psyche, aptitude, hair and make-up sessions. The training will enhance their confidence not only for the finale, but for further rounds to be held on the international stage as well,”

model-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev will take care of their fitness & Beauty expert Blossom and Samantha Kochhar will take care of their beauty and hair.

While shooting for ‘Kites’,Hrithik injured yet again

On Tuesday Hrithik Roshan, injuired at the Filmistan Studio in Mumbai while doing a stunt shot.He was breaking a glass with a rod and one piece of glass flew and hurt him.

It was only last October when Hrithik Roshan injured his knees while shooting for a dangerous car stunt in Las Vegas for his home production ‘Kites’.

Towards the latter half of 2008, Hrithik underwent surgery in the US and spent nearly two months recovering but his rendezvous with injuries continues.

The Bollywood moive 'kites' is about to an indian boy's romatic affair with a lantia girl as they do not understand each other’s language.The movie has US-based Spanish model Barbara Mori opposite Hrithik. The moive directed by Directed by Anurag Basu,

The stunts while doing his movies is not new for the Roshan lad.Though it is a minor injury, In the past Hrithik was injuiredWhile shooting for ‘Krrish’ and ‘Dhoom 2’, he had torn the ligament in his right knee and continued working despite the pain.

Aishwarya and Akshay Kumar awarded Padma Shree

The Government of India awarded on 60th year of the indian republic made two Bollywood proudwhen two leading stars of Bollywood were awarded top civilian honours Padma Shree to Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

The other Bollywood recipient of the prestigious Padma Shree is none other than the legendary Helen.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has popularized Indian cinema across the globe and has given much to Indian entertainment industry and though Akshay Kumar has done mainly commercial cinema yet his success and hits cannot be ignored. To be known that a few days ago, Akshay had been refused to take the popular choice best actor award.

Jaya Bachchan Ready for Adoption!

Now before you jump to conclusions when you read the word adoption, let me tell you that we are not talking about the child-adoption but the adult adoption. Yes Jaya Bachchan is doing an interesting film which will be a remake of a 2004 Tamil film directed by Revathy Verma.
The Hindi version of the film will have Ayesha Takia, Madhavan and Raveena Tandon along with Jaya Bachchan in a pivotal role.

Revathy confirms,”Jayaji’s confirmation is a big achievement for us. She is a great actor and we are looking forward to working with her. She is rarely seen on the big screen, so it is great to see her.”
Phir Tum Mil Gaye is about a 20-something girl who ‘adopts’ a mother from an old age home. “We always hear of couples adopting babies from orphanages, here it is the reverse process of a young girl wanting a mom. The mother’s character is extremely optimistic,” points out Revathy.
While casting, the name of Jaya to play the mother who is up for adoption was topmost in Revathy’s mind. “When we were in talks for the Hindi version, one thing was sure that she would be in the cast.

“We sent a bound script to her office and waited with bated breath. We were delighted when she said yes.”

Preya has had a brush with B-Town being part of Priyadarshan’s Bhaagam Bhaag crew. “Shooting for Phir Tum Mil Gaye begins from April 3 in Mumbai. We have also planned another project after this with Aziz Mirza as director,” she says.

2 More Indian Films Nominated for the Oscars!

Slumdog Millionaire was deeply impressed the firangs, so much that it has garnered a maximum of 10 nominations.
A source reports, “Smile Pinki a 39 minute short film in Hindi and Bhojpuri, directed by Emmy-nominated producer Megan Mylan has also been nominated in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category.
Set in Varanasi, Smile Pinki revolves around a six-year-old girl from Mirzapur named Pinki who cannot go to school because of her cleft lips.

A simple surgery can fix her cleft lips, but instead she has to face social ostracism, until she meets Pankaj, a social worker who ensures that Pinki gets a free surgery.
Another film in the running for the ‘Best Short Documentary’ Oscar is The Final Inch by Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant. Once again, set in India, this documentary deals with the protagonist Muhammed Gulzar’s battle with polio.

The Final Inch highlights efforts to eradicate polio in India, through his story.”
Quite strange… all these films, although are made on India… but they are made by non-Indians… Does the west need western directors to show them what India is? Why doesn’t an Indian director gets so much respect and honor from them? Does it mean the Oscars are biased? Or does it mean the western directors can see India better than our Indian directors?
What do you say?

When Eesha Koppikar kissed Tom Cruise!

Sigh… would be a dream for many ladies to get just one chance in a lifetime to kiss Tom Cruise. Apni Eesha Koppikar had the crush of her lifetime on this Hollywood hottie, she says she would have his posters stuck all around her room and she would keep kissing his poster.

So among the Bollywood stars, who does Eesha find equally hot. And she says,
“Amitabh Bachchan. Purely for the fact that he started off from such a humble background. It was his sheer hard work and attitude, professionalism and devotion that propelled him into becoming a legend. I believe that he’s also a very doting and loving father.

Aamir Khan too…because I simply love his diligent work ethics. He is one of the brilliant actors of our times.”
She also loves Shahrukh Khan, especially after working with him in Don, she thinks, “Shah Rukh’s energy levels are infectious. His professionalism is something to be admired. His humility is something to be imbibed. I think he always succeeds in motivating his co-stars and heroines.”

John Abraham’s Slum Connection

Slumdog Millionaire has definitely made the slums of Mumbai a little popular. Perhaps this is why they are so welcoming to every director who wants to make a film on their lifestyle.

John Abraham’s fortcoming film Hook Ya Crook is also one of those films shot in the Chikalwadi Chawl of Mumbai.

This film is directed by David Dhawan and John Abraham playes a cricketer who resides in the chawl. In a song John and Genelia D’Souza dance to a tapori-ish number with the typical tapori dance steps.
The residents of the slum were delighted to see the stars around and cheered for the unit as they worked. John Abraham added to their delight by giving them autographs and taking pictures with them.
Johnny boy is surely a charmer!

Ghajini Takes Pakistan By Storm

Amir Khan’s magnum opus Ghajini that became the most successful film in the history of Indian cinema has now taken over our neighbouring country Pakistan with the same force.
Recently, after the rift with India, Pakistan decided ban the release of Indian films. But they recalled their ban and paved way for the release of Ghajini.

And Ghajini is doing tremendously well in Pakistan. The film is running housefull in major cities like Lahore and Karachi.
This has made clear that a quality film especially that has a brand power will do well irrespective of the borders

Priyanka Chopra Is Special To Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan has generated quite some interest and a lot of publicity for his next film Billu Barber because of his dance numbers with Kareena and Deepika Padukone. However he has saved the best for the last, the dance number that he is going to do with Priyanka Chopra.
Ladies claim that Shahrukh is a complete charmer and he does that without trying too hard. Now here is how he floored Priyanka Chopra.

Shahrukh Khan sat down with music director Pritam while he composed a duet for SRK and Priyanka. Pritam confirmed, “Shah Rukh took very close interest in each one of the songs. He isn’t a musician. But he has an instinctive ear for music. It takes him just a few seconds to approve or cut down a track.”

With the songs meant for Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, Pritam faced no problems. “Shah Rukh loved his songs with Kareena Marjana and Deepika Love mera hit hit. They were straightforward dance songs with shared grooves between Shah Rukh and Kareena/Deepika.”
The script demands that Priyanka be given special treatment in the song. Shahrukh saw to it that she got what she deserved.

Divulges Pritam, “Shah Rukh’s song with Priyanka Khuda-ae-kher is not an item song. It’s a love ballad that the pair playing Bollywood superstars, emote to in front of the camera.
Being a love song Shah Rukh felt there wasn’t enough of the female presemce in the vocals. He made me re-record the song with more for the female vocalist (Dominique) to do since he wanted Priyanka to have an equal number of lines.”

Priyanka when she heard this was completely floored by his magnanimity. She then sighs and says, “What do I say? Now do you know why he’s my favourite?”

ILO Says Crisis Could Claim 50m Jobs By End 2009

GENEVA: Two years of global financial and economic meltdown could leave over 50 million more people unemployed by the end of 2009, risking social unrest, the International Labour Organization warned Wednesday.

New estimates indicate that “global unemployment in 2009 could increase over 2007 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate,” the ILO said in a statement.

That could raise the world's jobless total to 198 million, or 230 million people in the worst case scenario, according to the figures in the ILO's report, “Global Employment Trends 2009”. In 2007, some 179 million people were out of work, according to the report.

“The ILO's message is realistic, not alarmist,” Director-General Juan Somavia told reporters. “We have to assume that we are now facing a global jobs crisis.” Officials were more inclined to a middle range scenario of 30 million job losses for 2007-2009, raising the worldwide unemployment tally to 210 million.

Labour experts here believe the lowest scenario has already been overtaken. That could propel the global unemployment rate to an average of 6.5 percent, or 7.1 percent in the worst case, for this year, against 5.7 percent in 2007.

The report indicated that 190 million people were jobless by the end of 2008 after 11 million jobs were shed around the world last year alone, based on a combination of official national data and estimates.

If that figure were confirmed, the economic crisis could claim two to four times more jobs this year alone under the ILO's forecast.

Somavia urged the Group of 20 leading industrial and emerging economies to examine measures to boost “productive” investments, create jobs and bolster social protection, on top of helping financial institutions.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Monday criticised the G20, saying they had made little progress in fighting the global financial crisis.

Pointing to growing unease about job security, Somavia said: “I think that social unrest is here already. That's why the emphasis we're giving to this crisis is -- please don't forget the people.”

France was bracing for major disruption to transport and public services on Thursday in a nationwide strike called to protest government policy on coping with the financial crisis.
Fears about the impact of the economic crisis were also the centre of the World Social Forum in Brazil, where about 100,000 people are expected to attend the counterweight to the forum of business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland this week.

The ILO figures indicated that developed economies would be hit the hardest with the fastest rise in unemployment rates, from an average of 5.7 percent in 2007 up to 6.6-7.9 percent in 2009.

The report estimated that last year the developed economies and European Union failed to create jobs in 2008, while unemployment picked up sharply to 6.2 percent, ending five consecutive years of decline.
But East Asia, which had the lowest regional unemployment rate at 3.5 percent in 2007, was forecast to experience a jump to 4.5-5.5 percent in a year.

The crisis could also push another 200 million workers into extreme poverty as they eke out a living in informal, underpaid and unstable work, especially in Africa and South Asia, the ILO predicted. That would swell the ranks of the “working poor” to 1.4 billion, just under half of all the world's working population.

According to AFP, although the absolute jobless numbers would be unprecedented, the impact on the working population in percentage terms would still be well below what was experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s, labour experts noted.

US Resolve On Test In Pakistan: Mike Mullen

WASHINGTON: 'Some level of stability, no safe havens, reasonable development, nuclear weapons not a significant concern in Pakistan,' said America’s top military official when asked what would constitute success for him in the South Asian region.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff, made these observations while defining America’s national security strategy at a briefing for Washington-based foreign journalists.
The admiral underlined the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the biggest threat confronting the United States and added that within those two countries, the presence of terrorist elements in Fata was the main cause of concern for Washington.

'And with respect to al-Qaeda, the biggest concern we have with respect to them is the existence of them in the FATA and Pakistan,' he said.

The United States, he said, wanted to make sure that the safe havens were eliminated and were not recreated in Afghanistan or some other place like Somalia or Yemen. Admiral Mullen appeared particularly concerned about Afghanistan where he said 'the situation grows increasingly perilous every day.'

He noted that suicide attacks and bombings in Afghanistan were up by 40 per cent over the last year. 'The Taliban grows bolder implanting fear and intimidating the Afghan people, and the flow of militants across the border with Pakistan continues,' he warned.

The admiral said that while he favoured President Barack Obama’s strategy of sending more troops, about 32,000, to Afghanistan, he believed that “military forces (alone) will never be enough to achieve a stable Afghanistan.'
The Afghan people, he said, were the 'real centers of gravity in this war' and a success could only be achieved with their help.

The admiral also emphasized the need for developing a regional strategy for defeating terrorism in Afghanistan.
A regional approach, he said, was critical and it should include not just Afghanistan and Pakistan but also Iran and India.

'India plays an important role here. And certainly Iran, as a bordering state, plays a role as well,' he said. 'It is important to engage Iran. Iran is unhelpful in many, many ways in many, many areas.'

He said although he was not 'overly optimistic' about the success of this regional approach either, 'there are mutual interests and I think that that might offer some possibilities.'
Responding to a question about why was Pakistan concerned about India’s expanding role in Afghanistan, Admiral Mullen noted that there’s 'certainly a historic tension' between Pakistan and India.

This tension, he said, has 'accentuated greatly' as the result of the Mumbai attacks. But 'I am comforted that the strategic leadership in both Pakistan and India has been such that we have not had any kind of conflict break out as a result of Mumbai,' he added.
'I think it’s the joint contribution of all those countries, which would help us move, which could help us move forward in a positive way,' said Admiral Mullen.

He disagreed with the suggestion that the forthcoming elections in Afghanistan be postponed due to the current situation. 'I very much look forward to the presidential election this year,' said the admiral, adding that he believed the elections will be held in August or September this year, as planned.

PAKISTAN UNDER IMF SHADOW:

Not so many months back when unrelated to the world economic meltdown we were nursing our own self-created default-cum-bankruptcy scenario and friend upon friend from the Far East to the oil rich brothers in faith were returning our mendicant’s bowl without a farthing in its bottom and the word IMF was having us scampering to the washroom, lota in hand; and we were in a hapless state of self denial, our unassuming friend, Fasihuddin, a former chief economist and adviser to the finance ministry, had softly told the puzzled populace that in view of the poor performance of the economy since 2008 with little prospect of immediate reversal, the possibility of going back to the IMF could not be ruled out and that in all probability the IMF shadow was likely to persist on the horizon of Pakistan.

Fasihuddin’s slim volume, Pakistan Under IMF Shadow discusses the historical evolution of the relationship with a focus on the period 1988 to 2004 when IMF’s involvement in the country’s economic management was at its peak. The treatise highlights the changes in the IMF charter, which provide the perspective for his study. How to prevent falling back on the IMF support again he answers by suggesting quantitative benchmarks in critical areas like fiscal deficit, balance of payments and the debt policy.

The adverse side effects of IMF interventions and the effectiveness of the programmes on which its support is based have been widely criticized. Fasihuddin quotes Jeffrey D. Sachs in The End of Poverty: “In the past quarter century, when impoverished countries have pleaded with the rich world for help, they have been sent to the world’s money doctor, the IMF.

The main IMF prescription has been budgetary belt tightening for patients much too poor to own belts. IMF-led austerity has frequently led to riots, coups, and the collapse of public services. In the past, when an IMF program collapsed in the midst of social chaos and economic distress, the IMF has simply chalked it up to the weak fortitude and ineptitude of the government.”

Pakistani Tribal Areas Trouble For Region, Beyond: Hillary

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that she personally conveyed her concern on civilian casualties in US drones attacks to the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan but added that the tribal areas were a source of trouble for the entire region and beyond.

Mrs Clinton’s remarks coincide with a separate statement by the US Defence Secretary Robert Gates who told a Senate US panel earlier Tuesday that the United States has informed Pakistan that US drone attacks in Fata will continue.
This marks the first time a cabinet level US official has confirmed the drone attacks. Previously, US officials refused to comment, saying that since the attacks happened inside Pakistan, they would let Pakistani officials deal with it.

‘We are looking very broadly and comprehensively at the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and along their borders,’ Secretary Clinton told a briefing at the State Department.
Since last summer, the US has carried out at least 30 US missile attacks on Pakistan's tribal area, killing more than 130 people, many of them civilians.

Similar attacks were carried out in Afghanistan as well, also causing civilian casualties.
Last week, US Vice President Joe Biden not only indicated that the attacks would continue but also warned Americans to brace themselves for an increase in US casualties in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Asked to comment on these developments, Secretary Clinton said the region that includes Afghanistan and Pakistan was ‘an area that we are following closely.’
She said that as the US moved forward in this area, civilian casualties in US air strikes would ‘certainly (be) a part of our assessment’ about the situation there.

‘But there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind that the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan are a source of instability for Afghanistan, for Pakistan, and far beyond the borders of those two countries,’ she added.
Mrs Clinton said that President Obama and she thought it was important to move ‘as quickly as possible’ for dealing with the situation in that area and that’s why they appointed a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

She recalled that the Bush administration had already started a review of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was going to continue under the new administration as well.
We are engaged very vigorously in trying to assess what has been done before and what we are going to be doing. And we thought it imperative that we had a high-level representative – and in this case, Richard Holbrooke – to be guiding that process with us,’ she said.

There will be other decisions made as we go forward. But I don’t think anyone should be surprised by our willingness to engage,’ she added.
‘So there will be more to report about our views as to how we’re going to proceed in the future,’ she said.

Global Warming Irreversible For Next 1000 Years:

WASHINGTON: Climate change is ‘largely irreversible’ for the next 1,000 years even if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be abruptly halted, according to a new study led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to AFP.

The study's authors said there was ‘no going back’ after the report showed that changes in surface temperature, rainfall and sea level are ‘largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after CO2 emissions are completely stopped.

NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon said the study, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, showed that current human choices on carbon dioxide emissions are set to ‘irreversibly change the planet.

Researchers examined the consequences of CO2 building up beyond present-day concentrations of 385 parts per million, and then completely stopping emissions after the peak. Before the industrial age CO2 in Earth's atmosphere amounted to only 280 parts per million.
The study found that CO2 levels are irreversibly impacting climate change, which will contribute to global sea level rise and rainfall changes in certain regions.

The authors emphasized that increases in CO2 that occur from 2000 to 2100 are set to ‘lock in’ a sea level rise over the next 1,000 years. Rising sea levels would cause ‘irreversible commitments to future changes in the geography of the Earth, since many coastal and island features would ultimately become submerged,’ the study said.

Decreases in rainfall that last for centuries can be expected to have a range of impacts, said the authors. Regional impacts include, but are not limited to, decreased human water supplies, increased fire frequency, ecosystem change and expanded deserts.

ENERGY REPORT

Pakistan is facing massive power shortage. Most cities in the country are suffering from frequent loadshedding, and the situation in the rural areas is even worst.It can easily be said that if no emphasis is placed on increasing our electricity generation capacity, the situation will only deteriorate.

And rather than relying only on the current sources of power generation, we need to turn to renewable sources, like wind, water, sun, etc. Here we look at the different modes of power generation through renewable energy.Typically, electricity is generated from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

The use of these sources contributes to pollution problems, resulting in global warming, greenhouse effect and acid rain. The burning of fossil fuels gives off harmful chemicals like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, arsenic and ash. The emission of these chemicals, particularly carbon dioxide, is leading to an increase in greenhouse effect. Greenhouse effect rises the temperature of our planet and due to this rise in temperature, glaciers have started to melt, raising the sea levels.

On the other hand, fossil fuels contain carbon, sulphur and nitrogen which, when burnt, form their oxides. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine with moisture in the atmosphere, forming sulphuric and nitric acid respectively, which lead to acid rain. Acid rain has harmful effects on both flora and fauna.In a nutshell, the harmful effects of fossil fuels are many and, in addition, our reserves of fossil fuels cannot last forever so we should not depend heavily on them for the generation of electricity. Therefore, the exploitation of renewable energy for power generation has been carried out by many countries across the globe. A renewable resource is one which can be regenerated naturally, examples being generation of electricity using solar and wind power.

SOLAR POWER GENERATION:As the name suggests, solar energy utilises the energy of the most powerful source -- the sun. You might have seen or used watches and calculators that are empowered by solar energy. Similarly, electric power can also be generated on large scale by utilising solar radiation.

Among the renewable resources, solar energy is most commonly used today as it is a renewable source that is clean, free and viable. The use of solar energy has been actively pursued in many countries round the world.There are two basic ways to generate electric power from solar radiation -- one is photovoltaic (PV) technology (the one used in solar calculators and watches) and the second is concentrated solar power (CSP) technology.PV is a terminology used for panels that generate electricity.

The material that is used for PV panels is generally pure silicon that converts sunlight directly to electricity. When sunlight strikes the silicon material, electrons are extricated, resulting in the flow of electric current. The PV technology is best suited for domestic purposes like indoor and outdoor lighting, and is being used even in Pakistan for the electrification of remote areas.

Concentrated photovoltaic or solar thermal electricity technologies generate electric power by transmuting the energy obtained from the sun into heat, using mirrors of various configurations. This heat is then transferred to the power plant which uses it to generate electric power through heat conversion techniques. The power plant mainly consists of two parts, one converts the collected solar energy into heat, while the other converts heat energy into electricity.

Some systems use this technology to produce electricity at night or during cloudy weather.

CSP systems can be use to produce electricity in remote areas on both small and large scale. There are three basic CSP technologies -- sterling engines, solar troughs and solar tower. While power generated using solar power is free, simple and inexhaustible, and there needs to be further development so that this clean and cost-effective source is feasible for large-scale electricity generation.

Pakistan is blessed with a lot of sunlight all around. Institutes such as National Institute of Silicon Technology (NIST), Pakistan Council of Appropriate Technology (PCAT), Solar Energy Research Centre (SERC), Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, are working to promote the use of solar energy for power generation in the country. This will not only be beneficial for the environment but will also reduce our reliance on the vulnerable fossil fuels, accompanied by reduction in load on the present electric supply system. People in remote areas will also be able to get electricity and as no fuel is burnt, this clean source of energy will not add to pollution.

WIND POWER GENERATION:Wind is another renewable energy source that can be utilised to generate electric power. Wind energy is copious, clean and renewable, and reduces green house emissions.In this method of power generation, wind turbines are used to convert kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power.

As the turbine blades are turned by the wind, it rotates the shaft which is connected to a generator and thus electricity is produced. Turbines of low power ratings are used to generate electricity on a small scale, for instance, domestic purposes, etc., whereas large turbines are employed to generate electricity on a larger scale.One serious problem is associated with this renewable source of power generation.

The flow of wind is sporadic which can be a barrier for smooth power generation. Research is still going on in order to make this source of power generation more effective on a large scale. However, this natural source, if utilised efficiently, can meet the present energy needs of the country.

GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION:“Geo” means “earth” and “therm” means “heat”, so geothermal power generation utilises natural heat from steam or hot water found underground to produce electricity.

Hot gases are produced inside the earth when radioactive particles decay. For the construction of a geothermal power plant, first a site is tested to see if it contains a geothermal reservoir or not. For this purpose, deep holes are drilled underground and the temperature is tested there. At such a site, steam or hot water is extracted which is used to rotate a turbine. The turbine is attached to a generator which creates electricity.

This mode of power generation is suitable for locations where geothermal reservoirs are found.Geothermal power plants are of three types: dry steam power plant, flash steam power plant and binary power plant. In dry steam power plant, steam extracted deep inside the ground is directly utilised for the generation of electricity.

In flash steam power plant, hot water is extracted which is converted into steam and then utilised for the production of electricity, and in binary power plant the heat from the hot water extracted is transferred to another liquid which is converted into steam and then used to create electric power.This mode of electricity generation is being utilised in Germany and many states of America, such as California. This source of energy is renewable as the heat extracted is injected back to the earth after utilisation.

TIDAL POWER GENERATION:In this type of power generation, the energy of the tides is employed for the generation of electricity. A tidal power plant works on the same principle as that of hydroelectric power plant. For these power plants, selection of the site is very important, it should be such that it has enough tidal changes for the creation of energy which is supplied to the turbines. However, this mode is very expensive and more research and development is required to make this source of electricity effective on a large scale.

Robinbo in Deep Trouble

Robinbo, the Manchester City and Brazil striker in a deep trouble when he arrtested and bailed over allegation of a serious sexual stabbing in a british nightclub.

As per report a teenaged university girl claimed that, she was raped by Robinbo st the space night club.
Spokeman said that 25-year old Rabinho as he is the most expensive player, met by police but he totaly denied of doing an worng act. he also express that he will co-operate with the police if the further required him.

Robinho is married & having a son.Ealier to this month Robinho leave his trainning camp in Tenerife & back to Brazil coz of his Birthday that he want to celebrate with his family.Later on his club's manager Mark Hughes having a meeting with Robinbo & said that Robinho would bhe fined for leaving the training camp with premissio.

Cool Gadget

Product: Smart phone

Brand: Samsung SGH- i900 (Omnia)

Networks: 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; 3G: HSDPA 2100/ HSDPA 850 / 1900 - American version

Dimensions: 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm; 122 g

Display type: TFT touchscreen, 256K colours (65K effective)Display size: 240 x 400 pixels, 3.2 inches

Ringtones type: Polyphonic, MP3, vibration

Memory: — 8 GB/16 GB internal memory — microSD (TransFlash), supports up to 8GB —128 MB Ram, 256 MB Rom

Processor: 624MHz Marvell PXA312 processor

Data Connectivity: GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps; EDGE Class 12; 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; WLAN WiFi 802.11b/g; Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP

Camera: 5 MP, 2592õ1944 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash; secondary video-call camera

Supported formats:

Music: MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/OGG/AMR player;

Video: DivX/XviD/WMV/MP4 player

Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1440 mAh

Stand-by :Up to 500 h

Talk time Up to 5 h 50 min

OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

Features:• TV Out•Voice memo•Built-in handsfree•Java MIDP 2.0•FM Radio with RDS•Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF viewer)•Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate Optical trackpad•Handwriting recognition•Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support•Widgets and touch friendly additions•SmileShot — enables the camera to detect when a person is smiling and automatically take a picture when in the ‘SmileShot’ mode•Personal organiserPrice: Rs50, 400Compared to: Apple Iphone (Rs54, 300)

Display:The Omnia's display makes it a real rival to the iPhone. However, its resolution is not quite up to scratch and is one area in which Samsung could have done better. The screen is bright and good quality, but a little harder to use in bright daylight than other similar brands.As always in any touch screen phone, the interface itself is extremely important. In case of the Omnia's, the touch screen is finger-friendly, the icons are big allowing finger prodding with surprising accuracy.However, one area where there is a major gap is the Samsung QWERTY keyboard and its text entry method. Like the iPhone, typing is carried out on a touchscreen keyboard but the Samsung's does not work as well as you need to apply more pressure for it to respond and this stops it being as fluid.The hardware itself is partly to blame — the screen is not quite as responsive as the iPhone's and its smaller size does not help either — but the design of the keyboard is the main issue. It just doesn't provide enough visual feedback and the keys are not separated from each other by enough dead space to be usable. It is far too easy to hit a neighbouring key by accident.Also many of the Omnia's advanced settings screens are still fiddly and strewn with check boxes. It can be confusing at times, too, with several settings screens available in Samsung or Microsoft modes, depending on where you launch them from.However, to compensate for this somewhat is the accelerometre, which is the best on any device I have used, it works in every screen and works over 360 degrees so the phone can be turned right round and the screen rotates with it. It is smooth, fast and works faultlessly.

Camera:The Omnia is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera which produces images with a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. Not just any 5.0 Megapixel camera though, think auto focus, face detection, smile detection (waiting for all the faces in the shot to smile before capturing), image stabiliser, flash and QVGA video recording at 30 fps and you get the picture.The camera allows users to take crisp images in all conditions, though the settings may need to be adjusted for optimal quality. Video recording is in MPEG4 format the quality matches the best out there. The addition of DivX/xViD file format support makes this a feature completely unique to the Omnia.

Call quality and sound:As far as the in-call performance of the Omnia is concerned, the sound quality is up to the standards set by the best in the market and a 3.5mm headphone jack will allow users to add their own headphones if they require.

Office work:The Windows Mobile OS means that the Omnia features Pocket Office, which includes programmes such as Word, Excel and more with which users can edit and view files on the go. On top of this detailed organisers, calendar and a task manager allow users to keep track of everything that needs to get done. WiFi internet access will provide email tools and a decent browsing experience.

Storage:Another major thumbs up for Samsung, the Omnia features 8GB of storage availability and you can also add extra storage via a Micro SD card slot so the possibilities are endless really.

Warid receives equity investment of $250M

KARACHI: Warid Telecom, one of the major providers of mobile communications services in Pakistan, has confirmed the injection of $ 250 million (Rs 20 billion) equity by its joint shareholders Abu Dhabi Group and SingTel. An announcement to this effect was made in a statement issued here on Wednesday, APP reports.

The statement said that Warid has aggressively penetrated the Pakistan mobile communication services market with huge capital expenditure, which has enabled it to capture market share of 18.8% (as of Dec 08) and coverage in over 450 cities and 7,200 towns across Pakistan.

Warid is providing voice and data communication services through its premier GSM and GPRS/EDGE network with the best voice clarity and connectivity since May 2005.
The equity injection will be used to further enhance the Company's network coverage with the objective to provide quality services to its customers.

This also reflects the confidence of shareholders in the Company's management and its operational plans.This investment is one of the major milestones achieved towards the long term strategic goals of Warid Telecom in Pakistan.

Warid's Chief Executive Officer, Imad Kreidieh said, 'The continued support of Warid shareholders (Abu Dhabi Group and Sing Tel) and their recent equity injection is an endorsement of their commitment in Pakistan.

With their persistent support and the continuous hard work of our team we are geared up to become number one GSM operator in Pakistan'.
Tariq Gulzar - Warid's Chief Financial Officer said, 'This equity injection of US $250 million by the company's shareholders, namely Abu Dhabi Group and SingTel, demonstrates the confidence reposed by our shareholders in the company's ability to continue to provide highest level of quality services to our valued subscribers at very affordable prices. We are going to further enhance our technical and retail network across the country to exceed the expectations of our existing and potential subscribers'.

Israeli Planes Bomb Gaza Tunnels

GAZA, Jan 28: US President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy called in Egypt on Wednesday for a Gaza ceasefire to be consolidated and pledged the new administration would vigorously pursue peace and stability in the region.A surge of violence has threatened the fragile separate truces that Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers put into effect on Jan 18 after a 22-day Israeli offensive.

Israeli aircraft bombed smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border in a response to the killing on Tuesday of an Israeli soldier on patrol along Israel’s frontier with the coastal enclave.Citing “security incidents in the south”, a senior Israeli official said Defence Minister Ehud Barak cancelled a planned visit to the United States, where he was to have held talks on Thursday with Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

While Israeli leaders weighed more military action, Palestinian work crews used giant yellow bulldozers and backhoes to repair tunnels damaged by bombing during the Gaza war and in the latest attack.Israel fears Hamas could rebuild the underground network to replenish an arsenal of rockets used in cross-border attacks on its southern communities before and during the Gaza campaign.

Some 1,300 Palestinians, including at least 700 civilians, were killed in the offensive, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said. Israel, which said it launched its assaults to stop rocket salvoes, put its death toll in the war at 10 soldiers and three civilians.Former US Senator George Mitchell, Obama’s envoy, said in Cairo it was “of critical importance that the ceasefire be extended and consolidated, and we support Egypt’s continuing efforts in that regard.”He was speaking at a news conference after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose country is trying to mediate a long-term truce.

The envoy, who helped to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict and headed a commission that made Israeli-Palestinian peace recommendations in 2001, said Washington was “committed to vigorously pursuing lasting peace and stability in the region”.Mitchell later arrived in Israel and planned to meet Israeli leaders.
He will also hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.Western diplomats said he would not meet officials of Hamas.The Islamist group is shunned by the West over its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace deals.Mitchell’s week-long mission follows a call by Obama for a return to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The new US leader has made clear the Middle East conflict will be a high priority as he tries to repair a US image battered by the war in Iraq.

VIOLENT PROVOCATIONS: In the Gaza Strip, a little-known Islamist group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bomb attack on the Israeli patrol.Hamas and other militant groups defended the strike as a response to what they said were ceasefire violations by Israel in which two Palestinians were killed last week.After the explosion, Israeli fire killed a Palestinian, identified by Gaza medical workers as a farmer.

An Israeli air strike seriously wounded a militant on a motorcycle who the military said was involved in the bombing attack.Israel followed up those attacks by sending aircraft to bomb smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. There were no reported casualties.Israel has secured U.S. and European pledges to help to prevent Hamas from rearming through the tunnels and by sea.Israel also has lobbied its Western allies to put pressure on Cairo to seal its porous border with the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians have relied on the tunnels as an economic lifeline, smuggling in commercial goods that Israel has not allowed past the blockade it tightened on the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized the territory in internal fighting in 2007.Israeli leaders, responding to Tuesday’s explosion at the Gaza border and running in a Feb 10 national election, promised voters they would hit back hard.Mark Regev, a spokesman for outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel held Hamas responsible for “all hostile fire” from the territory.—Reuters