सिंगापूर से आए लालू के प्रशंसक

नयी दिल्ली। भारतीय रेल को फिर से चमकाने की कहानी रेल मंत्री लालू प्रसाद यादव की जुबानी सुनने के उत्सुक विदेशी बिजनस स्कूलों के छात्र- छात्राओं और अध्यापकों का भारत आने का सिलसिला जारी ही है।

इसी क्रम में विश्व भर में प्रतिष्ठित प्रबंधन शिक्षा संस्थान “इन्सीड” के सिंगापूर स्थिति एशियायी परिसर के चार सदस्यों के एक दल ने आज यहां रेलमंत्री से उनके कार्यालय में मुलाकात की। इस दल का नेतृत्व इन्सीड के संकायाध्यक्ष फ्रैंक ब्राउन कर रहे थे। उन्होंने रेलमंत्री को सिंगापूर आने और अपने संस्थान में भारतीय रेल के प्रबंध के बारे में बताने का न्यौता दिया।

Topless swimmers make waves

A group of Swedish women is making waves by taking their tops off at public swimming pools in a protest against what they call gender-biased rules on swim wear.

About 40 women have joined the network and staged topless protests in at least three cities, said Sanna Ferm, 22, one of the founders of the group called Bara Brost, or Bare Breasts.

"The purpose of the campaign is to start a debate about why women's bodies are sexualised," Ferm said on Wednesday.

She said the fact that men can be bare-chested in public swimming pools but not women is "a concrete example of how women have fewer rights than men."

Reactions from other swimmers have ranged from support and encouragement to anger and even indifference, she said.

The network was formed after two women who were swimming topless in a public swimming pool in Uppsala, north of Stockholm, were asked to cover up or leave.

Women can sunbathe topless in the summertime at beaches around Sweden, which is known for its relaxed attitude toward nudity, but they are required to wear tops at public swimming pools.

Inger Groteblad, a manager at the swimming facility in Uppsala, said it was a matter of security.

"We want to make sure that girls don't get subjected to sexual harassment," she was quoted as saying by tabloid Aftonbladet.

The women have filed a complaint against the facility to Sweden's Equal Opportunities Ombudsman.

News By: ibnlive

HALF MAN - HALF TREE

An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A.

Dede, now 35, baffled medical experts when warty "roots" began growing out of his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident. The welts spread across his body unchecked and soon he was left unable to carry out everyday household tasks.

Sacked from his job and deserted by his wife, Dede has been raising his two children - now in their late teens - in poverty, resigned to the fact that local doctors had no cure for his condition. To make ends meet he even joined a local "freak show", parading in front of a paying audience alongside victims of other peculiar diseases.

Although supported by his extended family, he was often a target of abuse and ridicule in his rural fishing village.

But now an American dermatology expert who flew out to Dede's home village south of the capital Jakarta claims to have identified his condition, and proposed a treatment that could transform his life.

After testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland concluded that his affliction is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.

Dede's problem is that he has a rare genetic fault that impedes his immune system, meaning his body is unable to contain the warts. The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on his hands and feet.

Dede's counts of a key type of white blood cell are so low that Dr Gaspari initially suspected he may have the Aids virus. But tests showed he did not, and it became clear that Dede's immune condition was something far rarer and more mysterious.

Warts aside, he had enjoyed remarkable good health throughout his life - which would not be expected of someone with a suppressed immune system - and neither his parents nor his siblings have shown signs of developing lesions.

"The likelihood of having his deficiency is less than one in a million," Dr Gaspari told the Telegraph.

Dr Gaspari, who became involved in the case through a Discovery Channel documentary, believes that Dede's condition can be largely cleared up by a daily doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin A, which has been shown to arrest the growth of warts in severe cases of HPV. "He won't have a perfectly normal body but the warts should reduce in size to the point where he could use his hands," Dr Gaspari said.

"Over the course of three to six months the warts should be come smaller and fewer in number. He will be living a more normal life."

The most resilient warts could then be frozen off and the growths on his hands and feet surgically removed.

Dr Gaspari hopes to get the necessary drugs free of charge from pharmaceutical firms. They would then be administered by Indonesian doctors under his supervision. Still intrigued by the origins of Dede's peculiar immune condition, the doctor would like to fly him to the United States for further examination, but fears the financial and bureaucratic barriers would prove too difficult to overcome.

"I would like to bring him to the US to run tests on where his immune condition has come from, but I would need funding and to get him a visa as well as someone to cover the costs of the tests," he said.

"I've never seen anything like this in my entire career."

AdSense godfather leaves Google for startup life

Another top Googler has left to start his own company. This time, it’s Gokul Rajaram, a product manager who was a key leader in the development of Google’s AdSense advertising service.

Rajaram joined Google in early 2003, when the company was just starting to work on ways of selling ads on other web sites. Rajaram started working with a team of four engineers, developing an algorithm for matching ads with text on sites in less than six months — now, Adsense is a cash cow, generating billions of dollars a year for the company. He is known around the Googleplex as one of its godfathers.

“I’ve been having the itch to do something entrepreneurial for awhile now,” Rajaram told Fortune, “I’m in my early 30s and I have some experience and financial security, so the time felt right.”

Rajaram says he is thinking about starting a consumer internet company, but also says he’s thinking about journalism and writing — you can read some of his works here.

Google, which has been hiring thousands of new employees over the past year, seems okay with Rajaram’s departure. Its senior leaders honored him with a large plaque signed by hundreds of Google employees, and threw him a farewell party at the ‘Plex a couple weeks ago, Fortune reports.

As has happened with every other successful company in Silicon Valley, the process of composting Google back into the local soil is now well under way. We broke the news last month that Salman Ullah, the former head of the Google team responsible for acquiring other companies, is leaving to start his own venture firm. The list just keeps getting longer. As we’ve mentioned several times, top engineer Benjamin Ling and dealmaking guru Gideon Yu have both left Google for Facebook.

Pak doctor plays saviour to Indian dowry victim

Twenty-three-year-old Samlin Jenita lies in Chennai’s Mehta Hospital battling for life. Twenty-eight weeks pregnant, seriously bruised and nursing a severe brain injury, Jenita is a victim of dowry harassment.

She was flown to Chennai from the US on Sunday night in a special air ambulance after her family got a frantic call informing them of her accident and urging them to take her back.

Jenita was allegedly beaten up by her husband Christy Danius - an Infosys employee in the US - who reportedly threw her out of a moving car.

She was rescued by Sardar Inamullhah, a Pakistan-origin pathologist was and sent home.

“Jenita was brought into our hospital on July 31 and she was severely injured. She sustained 80 per cent burs and there seemed to be no chances of survival,” Inamullhah told CNN-IBN.

However, Danius denies this, saying Jenita was injured in a car accident in which he and his sister and parents were hurt as well. He claims that he had provided her contact numbers and address in India to the hospital as well.

But Samlin's parents say they got to know only when they got a call from Inamullhah who got suspicious while treating her.

Inamullhah is a pathologist at the Lake Forest Hospital in Illinois and was the first to suspect something was wrong when a badly-hurt Jenita was rushed into the hospital by a police patrol van. She was brought to the hospital in a state of coma, with multiple bone fractures.

“Initially, I started helping the family but I realised there was something wrong. There was no information, no insurance papers, nothing. Then I heard her husband had left her and abandoned in the hospital. The state of North Carolina wanted to take her custody,” said Inamullhah.

He says none of Jenita’s relatives came to see her while she was battling for life. “Her husband came for first few weeks but none of her relatives came. Then he disappeared too. That’s when I and some of my Indian friends – including Mr Sebastian – got her custody,” he said.

Inamullhah says Jenita also narrated her version of the story. “She told us there was a fight inside the car and they were trying to push her out. That’s when her husband – who was at the wheel – lost control.”

As of now, both Jenita and her child are in a stable condition in Chennai’s Mehta Hospital. But Jenita has been paralysed on the left side due to the brain injuries.

Her parents are now filing a police case against Jenita's in-laws.

As for Inamullhah, he says his duty and priority to save the girl, irrespective of the nationality. "There was no question of our nationality or culture coming into play. I have a number of Indian friends and I love them all like my family," he said.

News By: Ibnlive

युवराज सिंह को दंडित किया गया

जयपुर। भारत के मध्यक्रम के धुरंधर बल्लेबाज युवराज सिंह को पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ अंतिम वनडे क्रिकेट मैच के दौरान, अंपायर के फैसले पर विरोध जताने के लिए दंडित किया गया है। उन्हें आचार संहिता के उल्लंघन का दोषी ठहराते हुए मैच रेफरी ने उनकी 20 फीसदी मैच फीस काट ली है।

आईसीसी की तरफ से जारी बयान के मुताबिक अंपायर द्वारा आउट करार दिए जाने के बाद युवराज की प्रतिक्रिया को आईसीसी ने आचार संहिता का उल्लंघन मानते हुए उनकी 20 फीसदी मैच फीस बतौर जुर्माना काटने की सजा सुनाई है।

रविवार को खेले गए दिन-रात के इस मैच में युवराज ने 50 के निजी स्कोर पर अंपायर सुरेश शास्त्री द्वारा उन्हें उमर गुल की गेंद पर विकेट के पीछे कैच आउट करार दिए जाने पर असंतोष जताया था।

अंपायर द्वारा आउट देने के बाद भी युवराज कुछ देर तक क्रीज पर रूके रहे थे और उन्होंने इशारा करके यह जताया था कि गेंद उनके कंधे को रगड़ती हुई विकेटकीपर के दस्ताने में गई थी। लेकिन उनके इस विरोध का अंपायर पर कोई असर नहीं पड़ा और उन्हें पवैलियन लौटना पड़ा।

हालांकि टीवी रिप्ले से ऐसा लग रहा था कि गेंद युवराज के कंधे से होकर ही गई थी। उनके पवैलियन लौटने के साथ ही मैच में पाक की पकड़ मजबूत हो गई और अंत में भारत को हार का सामना करना पड़ा।

Hot Lindsay Lohan serves time behind bars – for 84 minutes!

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is the latest star to join the likes of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie to serve time behind bars. Her stint however, lasted just 84 minutes.

The recently reformed ‘Mean Girls’ star spent time in the slammed at the same facility where Paris and Richie served their time - Lynwood Jail in Los Angeles.

Her stint though a lot shorter than that of Paris Hilton, was just two minutes more than Richie’s, reports the Sun.

The 21-year old actress was ordered to serve just one day in jail stemming from her DUI charge in August.

She had originally been sentenced to 4 days, but got credit for 1 day served, followed by a deal to perform 10 days of community service instead of 2 days in jail.

Lindsay was admitted to Lynwood at 10.30 in the morning on Nov 16 to serve her time and was released at 11.54 a. m.

Nicole Richie served 82 minutes in jail, while Paris had 21 days. (ANI)

Darling, you look good enough to eat..

For hard-core Chocoholics, it was the fashion show that quite literally took the biscuit. Models in New York paraded outfits made of chocolate in the 2007 Haute Chocolate Couture Collection as the audience feasted their eyes on dresses and accessories made out of dark and white chocolate, chocolate squares, chocolate chips and little else. Model Ashley Moss showed off a dress made from cookies. "It's actually amazing. It's not everyday that you get to wear something like this so I'm really, really excited about it. It's a first time experience to be wearing cookies," she told Reuters Television. The show was part of the 10th Annual International Chocolate Show held over the weekend. All outfits were meticulously crafted by several designers, including Ortrud Muench Carstens who said the sun almost sabotaged her creation. "You have to keep it at a very low temperature, not more than about 65 or 68 degrees (18-20 degrees Celsius)," said Carstens. "The other day I opened the window while I was still working on the dress, and the sun was shining and it, if you come close to it, you see, it melted," she said, pointing out an area of partially melted chocolate.

News By: Yahoo

Asia Pacific Screen Awards Winners Announced

Winners in the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region’s highest
accolade in film in 2007, were announced last night at a special ceremony on
the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia..

Films from Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, India, Iran, Turkey and Israel
received Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

The Awards were determined by an International Jury headed by esteemed Indian
actress and humanitarian Shabana Azmi.

The Best Feature Film award was won by SECRET SUNSHINE (MIRYANG) from Korea
(Producers Lee Chang-dong, Kim In-soo and Hanna Lee)

Jeon Do-yeon received the Best Performance by an Actress Award for her
performance in SECRET SUNSHINE (MIRYANG).

The Best Achievement in Directing was awarded to Iranian directors Rakhshan
Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab for the film MAINLINE (KHOONBAZI).

Best Children’s Feature Film was DENIAS, SINGING ON THE CLOUD (DENIAS,
SENANDUNG DI ATAS AWAN) from Indonesia, awarded to Producer Ari Sihasale.

Best Animated Feature Film was won by 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND (BYOSOKU 5
CENTIMETERS) from Japan ( Producer Noritaka).

Best Documentary Feature Film was BEIRUT DIARIES: TRUTH, LIES and VIDEOS from
Lebanon (Prroducers Mai Masri and Jean Chamoun).

Best Screenplay was awarded to Feroz Abbas Khan for his screenplay for the
Indian film GANDHI, MY FATHER. The Best Achievement in Cinematography was
awarded to Hooman Behmanesh for the Iranian film THOSE THREE (AN SEH).

Turkish actor Erkan Can won the Best Performance by an Actor Award for his
performance in TAKVA: A MAN’S FEAR OF GOD (TAKVA).

Three additional major Awards were announced for outstanding achievement.

Australian director and producer Dr George Miller (HAPPY FEET, BABE, LORENZO’S
OIL, MAD MAX) was announced as the winner of The FIAPF Award for outstanding
achievement in film in the Asia-Pacific region.

The UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation
of cultural diversity through film was decided by the International Jury and
awarded to the Israeli film THE BAND’S VISIT (BIKUR HATIZMORET),

The Jury announced a Jury Grand Prize for the Iranian film NIGHT BUS (AUTOBUS-E
SHAB), produced by Mehdi Homayounfar and directed by Kiumars Pourahmad.

APSA is an initiative of the Queensland Government in collaboration with CNN
International, UNESCO and the Federation of International Film Producers
Asociation.

News by: PTI

H'wood-B'wood come together at Dubai in Dec

The Dubai International Film Festival, since its inception in 2004, has seen the best of Bollywood and Hollywood come together.

From Richard Gere to Laurence Fishburne to Shah Rukh Khan - who won a DIFF Salutes trophy for his contribution to cinema - the stars' presence has always been strongly marked at the festival.

This year's festival, which will be held from December 9 to 16, will focus on Indian cinema.

Among the films screened will be Santosh Sivan's Before the Rains, Frozen, Mira Nair's AIDS Jaago and Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Naal Pennu (Four Women).

"There is a change in the way Indian films are being made today," says DIFF Chairman Abdulhamid Juma. "Very young actors and very young directors are coming, today. They want to take indian films internationally more than ever, and we want to use Dubai as a platform to do that," he added.

One of the highlights of this year's festival would be the charity dinner hosted by Sharon Stone after hours.

'Nude scenes make me feel shy'

Washington: Actress Angelina Jolie has revealed that she felt shy over her latest accomplishment in a simulated nude scene of her upcoming animated movie Beowulf.

The 32-year-old, who plays a temptress killer lizard was painted gold, but animated without clothes.

"I got a little shy. I was really surprised that I felt that exposed. I didn't expect ourselves to come out as much. I didn't expect it to feel as real, and so because of especially the type of character I play, it was kind of funny at first,” People quoted Jolie, as stating at a press conference for the film in Los Angeles.

“There are certain moments where I felt actually shy – and called home, just to explain that the fun movie that I had done that was digital animation was, in fact, a little different than [what] we expected,” she added.

Boewulf, which opens on Nov 16 is directed by Robert Zemeckis and is based on the Old English poem.

It is Jolie’s third animated movie, after Shark Tale and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

News By: Ibnlive

Google gets into the wireless business

When Google came on the scene 10 years ago, the PC business was pretty much figured out. Lots of companies made computers, but Microsoft monopolized the operating systems that ran on them. It was Microsoft's world, and as a software developer Google had to learn to live in it.

Not so with cell phones. There are lots of handset makers, and several companies make operating systems and other software for the devices. Google either has to play ball with those companies or control the mobile environment on its own.

Enter today's announcement of a Google operating system that will prominently feature the company's applications -- mail, maps, search and so on. And Google is going to entice handset makers by giving them the system for free. The phones probably won't have the name Google anywhere on them, and the first ones won't be available until the second half of '08.

This is a tough road for Google. People just want the best phones out there. Google's software has to be as good, if not better, than anything Microsoft, Symbian or Apple has to offer. Web searching has to be fast. Video should be seamless. Maps and directions can't be buggy.

In other words, Google has to nail this. As in better than iPhone nail this. If it can't, then don't expect handset makers to be on board. There are more issues here to consider as well:

Carriers are important. Google is doing a lot to appeal to the guys that make phones, but what about the carriers? AT&T and Verizon aren't part of the alliance of companies supporting Google's efforts. Sprint and T-Mobile are showing initial support but aren't publicly committing to the system. Why would carriers want to be a part of this?

Why would I want one? I haven't seen anything yet that would make me want a phone with Google's software on it. Google's Andy Rubin says Google's phone will have lots of Net applications, which will distinguish it from others. But you can bet that competitors are working on this as well.

What about advertising? Google makes its money from selling ads. It's giving the phone software away for free. Are the phones going to be stuffed to the gills with ads?

News By: MSN Money

Lance and Ashley, sitting in a tree...k-i-s-s-i-n-g

The new most unlikely duo is “Full House” star Ashley Olsen and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. The 21-year-old twin was spotted at the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel on Monday night with the famous cyclist, reports Page Six. “They came together with a group of friends. Ashley drank red wine, sat on his lap and they were making out all night. They left together around 2 a.m.,” the source told Page Six. Story continues below ↓advertisement Access Hollywood has reached out to Lance Armstrong’s publicist and is awaiting a response. Ashley Olsen’s publicist had, “no comment.” Lance Armstrong was previously linked to fashion designer Tory Burch. Lance bought a home in New York City to be closer to her. Before that he very publically dated rocker Sheryl Crow. “He tried to make Tory happy when they were dating by buying a place here, but she couldn’t deal with him not actually living in the same city, so they broke up,” another source tells Page Six. Lance and Tory split up in October.

News By: msnbc

IT sector in for big pay cut

Mumbai: It may be the end of good times for software professionals. Fat salary hikes in the IT industry may soon be a thing of the past. That is because IT companies have realised they need to cut costs in their biggest money drainer - the salaries. The IT industry's largest employer, TCS, says that wage inflation has peaked.

“What we are experiencing this year is a stability in wages. Last year, we had a 12 per cent –15 per cent increase in wages and my own expectation is that this year the wages will increase 10 per cent –12 per cent,” said S Padmanabhan, ED and Head-HR, TCS.

That is a view seconded by Wipro, which sees wage inflation moderating at 12 per cent-13 per cent.

Infosys, however, sees wage inflation at 12 per cent –15 per cent. Salary increments offered in the first quarter this year, reflected in the margins of TCS and Satyam, in the form of an impact on their second quarter margins by 117 basis points and 450 basis points respectively.

Infosys, which offered salary hikes in April last year, saw margins in its first quarter impacted by 250 basis points. One look at the wage hikes, in the past five years, clearly show wage inflation moderating if not declining.

Industry experts say IT margins are impacted primarily by wage inflation and appreciation of the rupee. While the sting of the rupee is being countered by forex hedging, salary hikes are also being tempered. However, some job skills may continue to carry a premium.

“In certain niche market or skill set, you can have a demand, which is far more than the supply and there is a premium. In industry parlance, we call it hot skills, and those hot skills demand a premium,” said Aquil Busrai, ED-HR, IBM India.

Instead of offering a salary hike, some IT companies are sending employees to the US or Europe earlier than usual, so that their onsite salaries make up for the lower salary hikes.

News by: ibnlive