Obama triumphs, will be first black US president

Barack Obama was elected the nation's first black president Tuesday night in a historic triumph that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.

The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa.

A huge crowd thronged Grant Park in Chicago to cheer Obama's improbable triumph and await his first public speech as president-elect.

Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.

As the 44th president, Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

The popular vote was close, but not the count in the Electoral College, where it counted.

There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.

Fellow Democrats rode his coattails to gains in both houses of Congress, toppling Republican incumbents and winning open seats alike.
Source: http://ap.google.com/article

Kumble – a cricketer and a gentleman

Like those topspinners and googlies that he bowled for 18 years, Anil Kumble’s decision to quit international cricket was a bolt from the blue. I doubt even those closest to him had an inkling though considering his age and fading prowess, the retirement was not a huge surprise, even if the timing and the suddenness were. In any case, Kumble received the kind of sendoff from his team-mates that at once reflected the high esteem in which he was held.

It is tempting to use clichés like “an end of an era” in offering tributes and salutations to such a worthy man who was a human being first and cricketer next. Perhaps, that was the reason why Kumble did not receive the kind of adulation and recognition that he so richly deserved. As he pointed out during his post-match media conference at the Kotla, throughout his career, detractors hounded him, questioning his ability to spin or turn the ball while conveniently glossing over his special talent to take wickets.

Kumble Special: Saluting a true legend

I always believed (and it would take a lot to convince me otherwise) that India, by and large, does not know how to look after or treat a true champion. It is as if we as a nation cannot come to terms with the fact that we have world-class sportspersons in our midst. It was no different with Kumble who toiled in his inimitable quiet and no-nonsense manner while allowing his bowling to do all the talking.

Jumbo Talk: Kumble on India under Dhoni and life after cricket | Will you miss him?

Also, being a bowler in a batsman-oriented sport, those 35 five-fors and eight 10-fors were not equated to a century or a double hundred nor are those feats celebrated unlike in the case of a batsman.

I would say that Kumble was a Tendulkar in his own rights. As is with Tendulkar whose contributions to Indian cricket are solely (and unfairly) judged on the number of matches he won for the team, so it was with Kumble. Time and again, the affable Bangalorean had to put up with uncharitable questions about his performance, and it grew into a crescendo in the recent months when he struggled to take wickets. Under the circumstances and with the body not obeying the mind, not to mention injuries, Kumble must have realised that his time was up.

Full Coverage: Australia in India 2008

It is a pity that Kumble was denied of a fairytale parting at the Kotla where an Indian victory would have been a fitting parting gift from his mates among whom Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman must be contemplating their future with Ganguly also making way at the end of the current series.

The great man’s retirement signals the start of a transitional period in Indian cricket with the baton being passed to Dhoni and a bunch of young, eager and enthusiastic players. For sure, Kumble has left a legacy for Dhoni to inherit and it is to be hoped that the stumper will prove to be a worthy successor.

Source: http://sify.com/sports

Watch The "Rab Ne Bna Di Jodi" Shahrukh film's promo released on shahrukh's birthday

Anil Kumble retires from Test cricket

India captain Anil Kumble announced his retirement from Test cricket after the third Test against Australia in New Delhi.

Kumble said after the completion of the Kotla Test that he had taken the decision on Saturday.

"It was a tough decision when you have played 18 years of cricket and been so competitive. But my body helped making the decision and also, this (left hand) injury. I had already made the decision yesterday. Especially, as I knew I won't be hundred percent for the next Test. I had already decided to leave the game after this series any way. But it's been a fantastic journey," said Kumble.

Kumble, who injured his left hand on Friday and had eleven stitches in the little finger, said he would be present in Nagpur.

"I would be there in Nagpur, be part of the dressing room to see Sourav's last Test, Laxman's 100th Test and hope to see the team win. Though, I would have liked to win the series here (New Delhi)," he added.

Asked about the response of his teammates when he informed them of his retirement decision, Jumbo said, "the response I got I was proud of it. I have played with lots of players -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, the younger lot and of course with captains like Mohd. Azharuddin. I am proud to have played along with some of the great players."

Known for his fighting abilities, no cricket fan can ever forget the sight of a jaw strapped Kumble in West Indies when he took the field despite being advised to take rest. In his last Test as well he kept fighting, though he could pick only three wickets.

His teammate VVS Laxman, who was adjudged as the 'man of the match' for his unbeaten knocks of 200 and 59 runs, called his innings special for they came in Kumble's last match.

"He has been a great role model. All of us are really proud to play with him. Even his last wicket, if you see, we were dropping sitters and he took that difficult catch," said Laxman.

Kumble's Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting too lavished praises and wished him success off cricket.
Source: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket

Nokia N79 launched in India, an ultimate phone for entertainment

Nokia unveiled N79 a new sleek phone that adds to the NSeries range of multimedia phone that combines bright and customizable design with a complete package of multimedia computer. Besides the smart and cool look the Nokia N79 is inherited with the latest and advanced technologies. It will surely show its true multimedia magic that includes integrated navigation, FM transmitter, high speed of connectivity and enhanced web browsing facility.

N79 phone is a phone that will entertain you thoroughly when required. The phone comes with a 4GB microSD card so you can store in more that 300 songs for your time pass. FM is very common in all devices but N79 includes FM transmitter that will provide you with more entertainment than ever before and easily play through your car audio system. The phone has dual speakers so you can rock on wherever you are with its fine sound. Another useful addition is a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphone. The owner of N79 can now enjoy 19 classic club remix songs and preloaded Anthems 1998-2008 which is a compilation of around 17 latest music videos sponsored by Ministry of Sound.

This new N79 phone adds colors to your life to make it more attractive, that incorporates two additional interchangeable Xpress-On smart covers in various colors. The phone packs in a built-in microchip that changes the phone’s theme color automatically when the back cover of phone is changed to match the two colors and make it appear cool. The phone is available in 5 classy and trendy colors like Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White and Coral Red.

The phones offers a 5 mega pixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a dual LED Flash that provides you with high range of quality picture and a best camera phone to capture your memorable moments and videos and the best part is that you can edit it without using the computer. The phone’s lens is protected with a sliding lens cover.

Nokia N79, certainly a choice of many music lovers will be available at a price of Rs. 22939/-.

Source: http://www.mobiletor.com/

Team Golmaal plans on returning third time

Golmaal Returns hits theatres on Wednesday, and after the first part being quite a success at the box office, all eyes are now on the sequel. CNN-IBN's Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand caught up with the four main stars of the film.

Rajeev Masand: After Golmaal in 2006, there was scope for a sequel, but my question is, after the first film it is easy to make the second one bigger but it's also important to make it better. Isn't it?

Ajay Devgan: It's most important to make it better and that is the reason we took so long to make the sequel as we needed the right kind of script and the right angle.

Arshad Warsi: And honestly speaking the storyline of the sequel is funnier than the first film.

Rajeev Masand: But are the characters still the same? Tusshar, do you still play the mute funny guy?

Tusshar Kapoor: Yes, my character is the same along with everyone's name which is also the same.

Ajay Devgan: The characters are the same.

Arshad Warsi: We're still paying idiots like in the first one.

Tusshar Kapoor: Also the film doesn't start from where it left off, as it's a whole new episode.

Rajeev Masand: But give us some idea about the film?

Ajay Devgan Well, in the first film, we all play friends. But in this one, Kareena plays my wife and Tusshar plays Kareena's brother. Arshad plays a cop and we don't like eachother and it's tussle between the both of us.

Arshad Warsi: What I'm doing is trying to find out what Ajay is upto in the film.

Rajeev Masand: In Golmaal, all four characters were after one girl, but in the sequel the bar has been raised has there are also four girls in the film?

Ajay Devgan: Yes, we insisted we all want a heroine each.

Arshad Warsi: And there was more money, so we could afford it.

Rajeev Masand: Assuming all goes well with Golmaal Returns, is there going to be a part three?

Ajay Devgan: There is no assuming, it will go well and there going to be a part three as we're working on it.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/

When Ajay Devgan dressed in drag

Golmaal Returns promises to pack in some laughs. And getting Ajay Devgan, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade to dress in drag seems like a hilarious idea.

Apparently, there is a scene in the film where the four men had to dress as women to enter a mall, as only ladies were allowed to enter it, the day being Women's Day. And the four sportingly took up the challenge.



Ajay, Arshad fight it out in Golmaal Returns


"I was quite taken aback when Ajay agreed to this scene in particular," says director Rohit Shetty. "He was very gung-ho about the scene! In fact, none of the guys had any reservations, which made it one of the best scenes in the film."

The real women in the film are Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Arora, Celina Jaitley and Anjana Sukhani.

I am planning Golmaal 3 with Paresh Rawal'

Golmaal Returns will release on October 29.
Source: http://inhome.rediff.com/

Kumble may go Dada way, retire after series:

To be honest, I didn’t expect to be picked, says Sourav

A CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: The dramatic announcement was kept for the last. Sourav Ganguly had finished the question and answer part of his session with the media late on Tuesday afternoon, when he stunned everybody by saying: “Just one last thing lads, before I leave, I just want to say that this is going to be my last series. I have decided to quit and I’ve told my teammates before I have come here. These four Test matches are going to be my last. Thanks for all your support, hopefully we’ll go on a winning note. Thanks.” Sourav Ganguly during a practice session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday. (AP) Earlier, Sourav took a lot of questions from the media. The following are excerpts: Q If he is prepared for the series A I am prepared. I played some games before coming to Bangalore. Hopefully with the break after Sri Lanka, some matches under the belt and some good nets, I’m prepared for the series. Whether his inclusion in the squad was a surprise It was. To be honest I didn’t expect to be picked for this series. Once I was (picked) I started preparing. Even when I was left out of the Rest of India squad, which was a bit surprising, I was training with the Bengal boys. That’s the way it is. On the retirement of the seniors This has been going on for some time really — for the last one, one and a half years. And it will go on. I don’t think it’s ever possible that anybody can offer you a VRS scheme, that was the term used. I don’t think that’s ever possible in sport. You can’t do that to players like Kumble, Dravid, Laxman, Sachin, myself or anyone. We have been performing for years. I understand we all had a poor series in Sri Lanka. But they have been performing for the last two-three years, for their entire lives. On the speculation that the Board has directed the seniors to retire I don’t know really. When you play for so long you tend to put speculation behind you because there have been a lot of things written in the past and a lot of things will be written on the future. It’s important what you get to know from the board. As far as I am concerned and as far as any of the other seniors are concerned we haven’t received any intimation from the board on anything. Obviously some people have been picked and some people have been dropped. That’s the way selection goes. That’s all I can say and when you play this sport you have to learn to keep these things behind you and go ahead. On the pressure on the seniors cricketers In every series there is pressure. It is not about seniors or youngsters. When there was a series five years back also, there was pressure. You knew that if you didn’t perform then there was someone to come in. When we started there were greats who had played for India for so long, like Azharuddin, Vengsarkar, Manjrekar… We performed and we came in. That process will go on. It’s all about performances. Every series, every year you have someone waiting. Five years ago it was probably Dinesh Mongia, Hemang Badani, now it is Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma. Five years down the line it will be someone else. That’s the way sport goes, you just have to live with it. If the touring Australian side is weak You should never judge any touring team on the basis of a practice game. Test matches are different, practice games are different. As a team you try a whole lot of things in a practice match before you get to Test cricket and this Australian team will be as formidable as those of the past. You can say they lack a quality spinner but they have other people who can make up for it. On what will be India’s strategy in batting We’ll just play every bowler. You have to survive till the spinner comes! You just have to play every bowler and then play the spinner when he comes. On India’s strength There are some players who peak against good teams. Somebody like VVS, or Sachin, who have good records against Australia. Plus we have always produced quality spinners and good spinners will do well against any team. If Hayden is India’s greatest threat I’m sure with 30 Test hundreds he gets fired up against anyone. Obviously he has a superb record against India. You have Ponting, who is one of the best, you have Clarke who plays spin very well, you’ve seen what Hussey can do. They’re not the best side in the world for nothing. Bangalore being his lucky ground Hopefully it turns out lucky again. You feel good walking out to a ground where you have played well. Hopefully I can do well again. If India will start as favourites As I said they are a very good side. I don’t think anyone can start as favourites. It’s what you do on the park and that can change every day. They will be a tough side and a hard side to beat. Whether there is too much pressure on the Indian cricketers As I said you will have pressure right throughout. Look at the pressure on these Australian players. They have somebody waiting who is as good. There is pressure on everyone. There will be different players putting pressure on you at different stages. We have done that when we were young players trying to get into the team. You have to just live with that and perform. On what will be Australia’s plan They played differently last time. They also had the players to execute. They had Glenn McGrath, they had Shane Warne, they had Gillespie who was as good as anyone. They had the bowlers to execute it. It’s going to be the same this time. Both teams will have plans, but how they execute it is important. On India’s plan Whichever team puts runs on the board will put pressure on the opposition. That’s the way Test cricket is played. If we can put runs on the board we’ll put pressure . Players who might replace the seniors It’s difficult for me to say. I’m a firm believer that it’s not just a question of one game, it’s what you do over a period of time. Look at someone like Michael Hussey, he had to get 10-15 thousand first-class runs to get a place in the Australian team. Some of these boys have just started. Yuvraj has been around for a long time, Badrinath too. If India can repeat the performance of the 2001 series against Australia 2001 was a different part of our cricketing lives. I was captain then, now it’s Anil. Some new boys have come in, some are same. It’s two different times. On the Bangalore wicket This will turn as the Test match goes on. Bangalore wicket has been a bit different over the last few years. It might get a bit up and down in the last couple of days. It’s an older wicket now with more cricket played on it. So I’m sure it must have settled down. But I’m sure there will be spin for the bowlers. Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/

Sandisk launches world's first 16GB mobile flash memory

If recent blog posts about the increase in capacity of CompactFlash cards and small-size hard drives make you wonder what's in store for your mobile phones, then I have some good news.

(Credit: ScanDisk)

On Monday, SanDisk announced its new microSD high-capacity (microSDHC) card that offers up to 16GB in storage space. While 16GB doesn't sound like a huge deal compared with other media that offer hundreds of gigabytes, this is actually very significant for two reasons. First, microSD cards are by far the smallest in size among consumer storage devices--about the size of your little finger's nail. Second, it's also the most popular media for smartphones and PDAs, and it is becoming more popular thanks to its tiny size.

The introduction of the new size lets cell phone and PDA owners really use their devices for storage-intensive purposes, including music and video playback, high-definition digital camera functions, gaming, and GPS applications. The new card also works with other devices that have a microSDHC reader, such as digital cameras, GPS receivers, or MP3 players.

Together with the new microSDHC, SanDisk also introduced its new 16GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) mobile memory, which is the micro version of Sony's Memory Stick card.

SanDisk's new 16GB microSDHC and M2 cards will be available in October and cost about $100 and $130, respectively. They will also be available in 4GB and 8GB versions. The new microSDHC might not be compatible with all devices that support the legacy microSD cards (that caps at 2GB). Make sure to check your devices' compatibility or update them to newer and supporting firmware before purchasing.
Source: http://news.cnet.com

Big B's first international film

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has said that he is likely to sign an international film project which will be made by makers of the Oscar winning documentary March of the Penguin.

Big B wrote on his blog that he might give consent to this project to be made in English. The project will be produced and directed by the French makers and the film will be set in India and France.

"That is all that one can talk of right now," he wrote on his blog.

March of the Penguin directed by Luc Jacquet is about Antartica's emperor Penguins which earned $77 million at the US box office.

Big B has also hinted that he had got a Hollywood offer. "There is another project from the writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull from Hollywood and I shall need to see the script before I consider any further," he said.

Amitabh Bachchan has recently wound up his Unforgettable tour with wife, son and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai. Bachchan Sr is currently in Paris.
Source: http://movies.ndtv.com