Mumbai: Colourful Republic Day parade at Marine Drive

Mumbai: Mumbai witnessed a dazzling Republic Day celebration, with a colourful parade at the picturesque Marine Drive on Sunday.

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan hoisted the national flag and took the salute at the parade in south Mumbai along the Arabian Sea promenade.

Present on the occasion were Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, his cabinet colleagues as well as Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

This is the first time the parade has been held at Marine Drive. The traditional venue was Shivaji Park in central Mumbai.

The parade saw around 25 tableaux put up by government departments and ministries highlighting achievements as well as vintage cars and a cycle rally that were cheered by people from both sides of the Marine Drive.

The crowds were thrilled as the army, navy and air force jointly put up demonstrations and daring display of their capabilities.

There were also cultural shows including traditional Maharashtrian dances and other aspects depicting the state's rich culture and heritage.

Mr Chavan earlier announced that the best float would get Rs. 5 million, the second best Rs. 2.50 million and the third best Rs. 1.50 million.

Meanwhile, the Republic Day was also celebrated in schools, colleges and housing societies, with millions turning out for the festivities.

The tricolour was hoisted across the state in official and private functions -- in district towns and villages.

Woman elopes with paramour, but raped by him and friend.

New Delhi: A 22-year-old woman, who eloped with her neighbour after he promised to marry her, was held captive by him at his friend's house for over 12 days and gang raped repeatedly by both of them, police said Friday.

The matter came to light when the victim somehow escaped Jan 20 and informed police about her ordeal.

The woman, a resident of west Delhi's Begumpur, had eloped with her neighbour Ranjan as he promised her to marry her.

"Ranjan took the victim to the house of one of his friends. He kept her captive there and raped her repeatedly along with his friend," said police as per the victim's statement.

A case regarding the incident has been registered against the accused after the victim's medical examination confirmed that she was raped.

Sony launches new hybrid 'Vaio Flip' for Rs 94,990

New Delhi: Japanese technology giant Sony today unveiled a range of hybrid laptops -- Flip -- priced Rs 94,990 onwards to cash in on the growing consumer preference for new smart form factors.

A hybrid, also called 2-in-1, is a device which can be used both as a laptop and a tablet. The form factor is gaining acceptance among consumers who are looking for productivity and mobility in a single device.

"People have smartphones but when it comes to work, they still prefer to take out their laptops. With our Flip range, they will have the mobility of the tablet with the productivity of a laptop," Sony VAIO India Product Manager Shoji Ohma said here.

The company has introduced 13, 14 and 15-inch variants of the device priced between Rs 94,990 and Rs 1,19,990.

Talking about the hybrid market in the country, he said the segment is still niche.

"Since it is a niche category as of now, the devices are priced on the higher side. But in the next 1-2 years, we will see this category becoming more popular given its benefits and there will be more devices in the Rs 50,000-60,000 range," Ohma added.

Sony, which sells laptops under the Vaio brand name, also offers tablets under its Xperia range.
The IT division accounts for about 20 per cent of Sony India's revenues.

The Windows 8-powered Flip can be converted to a laptop, tablet and viewer modes by flipping the display over the hinge. These are powered by 4th generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. The Vaio Flip F13N also has 8MP rear camera.

Sony will bundle its premium headphone worth Rs 12,990 with the device. Buyers will also get access to Jive, which will offer unlimited songs download for 3 months from a collection of more than 1.5 million songs.

Injured SRK discharged, back to work

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was taken to a city hospital following a minor injury that he suffered while shooting a film here Thursday, has now been discharged. He is going back to work, said his spokesperson.

"Shah Rukh got a slight cut on his forehead and he was taken to the hospital as a precaution to make sure there was no serious injury. He is going back to work now," the actor-producer's spokesperson told IANS.

Shah Rukh left the Dr. Balabhai Nanavati Hospital here Thursday afternoon after he sought medical aid for the injury that he is said to have suffered during the shoot for Farah Khan's "Happy New Year".

His wife Gauri Khan was by his side. However, she left the hospital premises a few minutes before SRK. There was tight security outside the hospital.

A source had confirmed to IANS that SRK was in the physiotherapy department of the hospital.

New Zealand beat India by 15 runs in second ODI

Hamilton: After failure of bowlers, batting brigade failed to chase target of 297 runs given by Duckworth/Lewis method in the rain-curtailed second one-dayer here today.

New Zealand, batting first scored an imposing 271 for seven in 42 overs.

While chasing a D/L target of 297 in 42 overs, India made 277 for nine in 41.3 overs.

New Zealand lead the five-match ODI series 2-0.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand: 271/7 in 42 overs (Kane Williamson 77, Ross Taylor 57, Corey Anderson 44, Martin Guptill 44, Md Shami
3/55).

India (D/L Target) 297: 277/9 in 41.3 overs (Virat Kohli 78, M S Dhoni 56; Tim Southee 4/72).

As per Duckworth Lewis method, India will have to score 297 runs in the stipulated overs largely due to home team's brutal assault in the death overs during which they scored a whopping 101 runs in 8.4 overs.

Kane Williamson set the platform with a polished knock of 77 helping all-rounder Corey Anderson to cut loose as he played a brilliant cameo smashing 44 off only 17 balls with five huge sixes. Skipper Ross Taylor also 57 off 56 balls with seven hits to the fence.

For India, Mohammad Shami (3-55) was once again the most successful bowler. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-43), Ishant Sharma (1-46), Ravindra Jadeja (1-46) and Suresh Raina (1-18) took a wicket apiece while R Ashwin (0-50)'s poor form with the ball continued.

The lengthy rain break didn't put the brakes on home team's scoring although they lost five wickets post interval.

Williamson and Taylor started off after the rain break, looking to up the ante immediately as the Kiwis had a little over eight overs left to play.

The former though was stumped in the 34th over off Jadeja. Williamson's 77 off 87 balls, with five fours and one six and he added 60 runs with Taylor.

Skipper Brendon McCullum's decision to send Anderson ahead of himself to take advantage of the bowling Powerplay was a good move.

Anderson made full use of it as he pummelled the Indian bowling for five sixes in his 17 ball stay, carting two each off Ashwin and Ishant. His 50-run partnership with Taylor came up in only 21 balls, and in total adding a massive 74 runs in 4.4 overs.

His partner Taylor wasn't quiet either, reaching his 26 ODI fifty in the process. The big-hitting all-rounder was out caught in the deep in the 39th over, but by then, he had done his job. Off the four Powerplay overs, 58 runs had come with the loss of just one wicket.

Tendulkar will mentor 11 emerging players, including Rasool and Unmukt

New Delhi: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will mentor eleven emerging players, including Parveez Rasool and Unmukt Chand, as part of an initiative by sports apparel giant Adidas.

Adidas, which has already signed up Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina added some more names to its roster.

Tendulkar welcomed the newest members of team adidas -- Unmukt Chand, Parveez Rasool, Vijay Zol, Manan Vohra, Manpreet Juneja, Rush Kalaria, Chirag Khurana, Akshdeep Nath, Vikas Mishra, Sarfaraz Khan and Aparajith Baba.

"This is a great initiative from adidas to support the future of this sport, which encourages aspiring athletes to follow their passion and be part of an extraordinary league.

Mentoring these talented young cricketers will let me be close to what I love and give back to the sport," Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket last year, said at the event.

The 21-year-old Unmukt, is former Captain of the 2012 Under-19 World Cup champion team and played for the Delhi Daredevils in IPL this year.

Rasool, 25, is the first Jammu and Kashmir cricketer to represent the Indian senior team. He captained his state team to the Ranji trophy knock-out phase this year.

Ranji Trophy: Maharashtra crush Bengal to enter final

Wriddhiman Saha’s gutsy century went in vain as Maharashtra crushed Bengal by 10 wickets to enter the final of the Ranji Trophy after a gap of two decades.
Maharashtra will take on the winner of the other ongoing semi-final between Karnataka and Punjab. Maharashtra last played in the Ranji Trophy final in the 1992-93 season where they lost to Punjab.
After a batting collapse in the first innings, Bengal put up a relatively better show in the second essay courtesy Wriddhiman’s unbeaten 108 as they scored 348 managing to avert the ignominy of innings defeat.
Harshad Khadiwale knocked off the required eight runs in two overs on the third day as Maharashtra continued their dream run in the national championship entering the summit clash from Group C.
Still it was a dominant performance by the Surendra Bhave coached side that finished the game inside three days having beaten heavyweights Mumbai well inside four days.
Left-arm seamer Samad Fallah (3/110) claimed three in the second innings to complete a match-haul of 10 wickets, while Dominic Joseph (3/80) and Anupam Sanklecha (3/84) also shared the spoils.
On the third day, the question was how long Maharashtra will take to dismiss Bengal for the second time rather than any imminent chance of a miracle.
The match went along the expected lined despite Saha’s impressive effort that came off 146 balls. Saha hit 15 fours and a couple of sixes off left-arm spinner Akshay Darekar as he completed his eighth first-class century with a picture perfect straight drive off Joseph.
Saha was able to complete his century with some good effort from the tail-enders Sourav Sarkar (35), Ashoke Dinda (25) and Shib Shankar Paul (13). The eighth, ninth and 10th wicket partnerships yielded 45, 62 and 53 runs, respectively.
Although he is not expected to play any part in the New Zealand Test series, the century would definitely keep him in high spirits as he leaves for New Zealand with the other Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and Zaheer Khan in a week’s time.
However, it was the same old story from the other end as none of the batsmen save left-hander Sudip Chatterjee (49, 92 balls, 9×4) contributed enough.
Likes of Arindam Das (34), Abhimanyu Easwaran (6) and Sandipan Das (12) failed consistently in the past few games as Bengal managed to cross 400-run mark only once this season.
It was due to herculean effort from skipper LR Shukla (608 runs and 12 wickets) and wickets on ‘green-tops’ from Dinda (40 wickets) that helped Bengal reach this far. Others have had minuscule contribution in the team’s journey so far.
On the other hand, Maharashtra have put up a stunning performance since Bhave took over from Englishman Dermot Reeve under whom the team had got relegated to the group C in the last season.
With the likes of Kedar Jadhav, Harshad Khadiwale, Vijay Zol, Ankit Bawne and Sangram Atitkar scoring tons of runs, it became easier for the likes of Fallah, Sanklecha and Shrikant Mundhe (injured in this game) to attack the opposition with runs on board.
Their best win will certainly be against Mumbai, whom they defeated by eight wickets chasing a 250-plus score after conceding a first innings lead in excess of 120.

 

1st ODI: Kohli ton goes in vain as New Zealand beat India by 24 runs.

NAPIER: Virat Kohli's exhilarating hundred went in vain as New Zealand staged a dramatic turnaround to pull off a thrilling 24-run win in the first one-dayer against India to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series on Sunday.

 

Set a formidable target of 293, India seemed on track for a facile win with Kohli (123 off 110 balls) anchoring the chase with his 18th ODI century before pacer Mitchell McClenaghan's three-wicket burst 11 balls changed the complexion of the game completely .From a comfortable 224 for five, the Indians were all out for 268 in 48.4 overs with McClenaghan being the wrecker-in-chief with a match haul of 4/68.

Earlier, electing to bowl after winning the toss, India's inconsistent bowling effort helped New Zealand pile up 292 for seven.

For the Kiwis, apart McClenaghan, Corey Anderson shone bright with an all-round effort, scoring 68 runs off 40 deliveries before knocking off two wickets in his 10 overs of medium pace bowling.

Tim Southee (1-43 in 9.4 overs) and Adam Milne (1-40 in 7.3 overs) gave Anderson good support, even as the latter walked off mid-way in the 41st over with a side-strain.

After being put in to bat, half-centuries from Anderson, Kane Williamson (71) and Ross Taylor (55) helped the hosts reach 292/7 in their allotted 50 overs.

However, the brightest star of the match ended up in the losing side.

Kohli, who scored his a first hundred in a losing cause while chasing, found no support from otherbatsmen, none of who managed to reach even the 50-run mark.

Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan started with great caution. Southee bowled two maiden overs first up as the batsmen took time settling down.

In fact, the first wicket came before the first boundary in this innings, as Rohit failed to rotate strike and came under pressure to score, holing out to Southee off a short ball from McClenaghan in the sixth over. He scored only 3 runs off 23 balls.

Kohli came to the crease and got off the mark with a signature cover drive, the first four for India on the 29th ball of the innings.

Along with Dhawan, he put on 58 runs for the second wicket as the two batsmen tried to build a platform from which to launch the chase.

The runs were coming in a trickle and the first 10 overs yielded only 43. India's 50 came up in the 12th over, while their 50-partnership came four overs later.

Dhawan tried to be the more aggressive of the two, but his timing was off as he could only muster a strike-rate of 69.56. His dismissal in the 19th over reflected as much, a mistimed pull off a short ball from Anderson. It was a huge blow for the team as the partnership was developing well at that time.

On 15 not out, Dhawan had been given a life in the ninth over, when Anderson, at square leg, managed to only get a hand on a high pull shot.

But the Indian failed to capitalise and was finally out for 32 runs off 46 balls. He hit three fours. It resulted in two more quick wickets with Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina back in the hut within ten overs. Rahane (7) was out to a superb one-handed catch by Nathan McCullum. The ball, played towards mid-off, seemed to dip before the off-spinner caught it, leaving the batsman shocked.

Raina added 45 runs with Kohli for the fourth wicket and their runs came in good time at a runrate of 6.14. But even so, the asking run-rate was always climbing higher and trouble resurfaced when Raina was out, attempting a loose pull-shot like Dhawan, off Milne. He scored 18 runs off 22balls, with two fours.

At the other end, however, Kohli continued unfazed. He had come to the crease to pull off this chase and he went about the job not caring about the dismissals too much.

In Raina's company, in the 26th over, he had brought up his half-century off 58 balls, hitting four fours and one six. But after the double blows in the middle overs, he settled down with skipper Dhoni to try and dig India out of the hole.

The Indian captain scored 40 runs off only 46 balls, with two fours and two sixes. More importantly, he rotated the strike well with Kohli as the two put up 95 runs for the fifth wicket in just 85 balls.

In the 38th over, Kohli reached his 18th ODI hundred, off 94 balls with 10 fours and a six. He celebrated with joy as the chase looked set. They accelerated with a plan in mind as 51 runs came off the second powerplay without any loss of wickets.

But the turning point came when Dhoni was out caught behind in the 43rd over, off McClenaghan.

Three balls later, he removed Ravindra Jadeja (0), also caught behind fending a rising delivery. Kohli still didn't give up, hitting boundaries at will, but he was finally out in the 45th over, caught sharply by Jesse Ryder, who had earlier misjudged a skier from Kohli when he was on 95, at cover.In the next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was run-out for 6 runs. R Ashwin (12 runs) was out to Kane Williamson, who completed Milne's 41st over after he had walked off with a side strain.

The Indian innings came to an end when Southee bowled Ishant Sharma (5). Mohammed Shami was unbeaten on 7 runs.

Earlier in the day, Corey Anderson hit 68 off 40 balls, his first ODI half-century, to take New Zealand to 292/7 in their allotted fifty overs. This was after Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor put on 121 runs for the third wicket.

Mohammed Shami was the most successful bowler for the visitors, finishing with 4-55 from nine overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-38), Ishant Sharma (1-72) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-61) were the other wicket-takers, while R Ashwin (0-52) and Virat Kohli (0-13) finished wicket-less. Taylor and Williamson together flayed the Indian bowling in the middle overs. The two batsmen put on a hundred-plus stand for the third wicket during which they amply punished the two spinners, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Taylor completed 4000 ODI runs in 121 innings, at the personal score of 15 not out, becoming thesecond-quickest Kiwi batsman after Nathan Astle (120 innings) to do so. In the 23rd over of the innings, Williamson brought up his seventh ODI half-century, off 66 balls and hitting five fours.

Eventually Taylor edged to Dhoni in the 37th over off Shami, becoming the Indian skipper's 300^th ODI victim. Dhoni is the first Indian wicket-keeper to breach this mark, in 239 matches, and the fourth overall after Australia's Adam Gilchrist (472 dismissals in 287 matches), Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (424 dismissals in 362 matches) and South Africa's Mark Boucher (424 dismissals in 295 matches). Taylor was the only batsman to fall in the second powerplay as Brendon McCullum and Corey.Anderson took 41 runs off those five overs.

 

Sunanda Tharoor cremated; doctors say she died a 'sudden, unnatural death'

New Delhi: The mortal remains of Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances at a luxury hotel last night, were consigned to flames today in presence of her family members.

Sunanda's 21-year-old son Shiv Menon lit the pyre. Pushkar's husband Union minister Shashi Tharoor, her father and brother were among the family members present at the Lodhi Road crematorium.

Earlier, her body was taken from AIIMS to Tharoor's residence at Lodhi Estate where a number of prominent political leaders including Defence Minister A K Antony, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit paid tributes to her.

Menon, who performed the last rites, is Sunanda's son from previous marriage.

A three-member panel of doctors headed by Dr Sudhir K Gupta had conducted an autopsy on Sunanda's body in AIIMS and stated that she died a "sudden unnatural death" with her body bearing several injury marks.

52-year-old Sunanda was found dead in a 5-star hotel in South Delhi last night, a day after her twitter spat with a Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Tharoor. However, Sunanda and Tharoor had issued a joint statement declaring they were happily married.

The three member team of doctors conducted a post-mortem on the body this afternoon in the presence of a magistrate after which head of the panel, Dr Sudhir Gupta, who is the chief of the Forensic Sciences Department at at AIIMS, said it was a case of "sudden, unnatural death".

Dr Adarsh Kumar, Additional Professor Forensic Medicines and one of the doctors who conducted the post-mortem, was asked if poisoning has not been ruled out as cause of the death. "Of course", he replied, indicating that poisoning had not been ruled out.

"If any person is suffering from disease, the terminal event may be something else. It does not matter. Let the investigation be over," he said.

According to a source, Sunanda's body bore injuries in her hand and face but they appear unlikely to be the cause of her death. She appears to have died between 1PM and 7PM yesterday.

Sunanda was known to be suffering from stomach tuberculosis and Lupus, an auto-immune disorder which can lead to rashes or marks.

Dr Kumar confirmed that Sunanda was suffering from these health problems and said that details of her treatment had been sought.

Dr Gupta said Sunanda's body had "certain injuries" butrefused to give details. "I cannot reveal the details of the injuries. Basically, in medico-legal cases, the number of injuries does not matter. Whether these injuries relate to fatality or not matters."

A doctor said that there are cases in which a person may consume excessive alcohol and pass-out thereby losing control over their airways which get blocked leading to gastric aspiration which, in turn, causes acute pneumonia or even death.

However, doctors concerned with the case refused to speculate on the cause of the death in the absence of a complete post-mortem report.

The doctors described these as initial findings and said a clear picture would emerge after couple of days after they receive toxicological analysis and complete a visco- pathological examination. The post-mortem has been videographed.

Suchitra Sen passes away

Kolkata:Legendary actress Suchitra Sen, who was known as the Greta Garbo of Bengali

cinema and had 60 films to her credit including the memorable 'Aandhi' and' Deep Jwele Jai', today died of a heart attack at a super-speciality hospital here today.

The condition of the 82-year-old screen goddess had eteriorated last evening after which she suffered a massive cardiac arrest leading to her death at 8:25 AM, family sources said.

Sen was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic on December 23 following a respiratory tract infection.

Later she was treated in a private Intensive Treatment Unit for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sen, who has been living the life of a recluse in a south Kolkata apartment, has starred in

memorable Hindi films like 'Devdas', and 'Aandhi' and 'Saat Paake Bandha', 'Agnipariksha',
'Saptapadi' and 'Deep Jwele Jai' in Bengali.

The screen goddess of yesteryears, who had been living a life of a recluse, was often

compared to Hollywood actress Greta Garbo.

Emraan Hashmi’s son diagnosed with cancer, undergoes surgery

MUMBAI:Actor Emraan Hashmi’s 4-year-old son Ayan underwent a surgery last night who was diagnosed with first-stage cancer.
 

 

Bollywood actor who is known as ‘serial kisser’ is going through a tough time as his son had a malignant tumor in kidney.

Film-maker and Emraan’s uncle Mahesh Bhatt spoke to media about it.

Bhatt said, Ayan is recovering soon, after the tumor was removed.

According to a report in a news portal, the film-maker said, “On Tuesday, the child underwent an operation at the Hinduja hospital in Mumbai and the tumour has been removed. It was like a time-bomb ticking in his body; and it’s out now.”

Bhatt added, “Things are looking better now, but the child is still in the ICU and further medical investigations will determine the future treatment, and that could probably mean

chemotherapy.”

According to reports, the child will be under doctor’s care for next few days.

NZ include fast bowler Milne for India series

Auckland: New Zealand picked a settled line-up, the only change being the inclusion of fast bowler Adam Milne, for the five-match ODI series against World No.1 India starting at Napier on Sunday.

The 13-man-squad is identical to the one which drew the recent ODI series against the West Indies, with the exception of Auckland batsman Colin Munro who will return to play for his province.

General Manager National Selection Bruce Edgar said the players had been rewarded for a number of strong performances against the West Indies.

“It was pleasing to see every player stand up at some stage of that series and there were some simply outstanding efforts headlined by Corey Anderson’s world record one day ton,” he said.

Edgar says the New Zealand now face one of their toughest challenges at home against a side ranked at the top in the 50 over game and No.2 in Tests.

“We know we’ll have to play out of our skins, and out match them player for player to be competitive against such a powerful side. But we showed against the West Indies that we can play extremely well on our day and are capable of beating any side,” he said.

Head Coach Mike Hesson says the team is fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

“Matching yourself against the best in the world is what you play international cricket for and I know the guys are buzzing about this opportunity. It’s also an important part of our build-up for next year’s World Cup where India are the defending champions,” he said.

The ODIs are slated for Napier (Jan 19), Hamilton (Jan 22), Auckland (Jan 25), Hamilton (Jany 28) and Wellington (Jan 31). The two Tests will be played in Auckland and Wellington and the squad will be announced after the ODI series.

The ODI squad: Brendon McCullum (captain), Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne

Micromax to price dual-boot 'Laptab' under Rs 30,000

Las Vegas: Indian smartphone maker micromax's dual-operating system tablet Laptab will be priced under USD 500 (about Rs 30,000) and will be available in the domestic market next month.

                                                    
Its latest offering, which runs on both Windows 8 and Android 4.2.2 JellyBean, was unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2014 here.

"The Laptab will be priced under USD 500 for the Indian market and we expect to sell about 100,000 units in the domestic market in the first half of 2014," Micromax Co-founder Rahul Sharma said.

The Intel-powered LapTab is the first dual-boot Windows and Android tablet and is designed for multitasking across operating platforms.

Users need to reboot the device to switch from Windows to Android and vice versa, he added.

On technical specifications of the tablet, Micromax Chief Marketing Officer Shubhodip Pal said it is powered by 1.46GHz Intel Celeron processor and has a 10.1-inch IPS display.

Laptab comes with 2GB RAM, 7400 mAh battery, 2MP front camera with light sensor and wireless keyboard. With storage of 32 GB expandable up to 64 GB and supports Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi, he added.

"As Micromax looks to expand footprints across global markets, we would continue to fulfill our promise of democratising technology for people around the world by making it more affordable and accessible," Sharma said.

Micromax would be unveiling more products across international markets in next six months, he added.

According to analysts, the Laptab's specifications are not its highpoint, but the dual operating systems is.


However, Micromax is not the only company to launch a dual-OS tablet here.


Computer components maker Asus unveiled its Transformer Book Duet TD300, which also runs on Windows 8 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

The 13.3-inch tablet from the Asus stable sports a quad-core Intel i7 processor, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

Besides, the detachable keyboard dock has a 1 terabyte of internal memory and various ports, including HDMI, LAN, one USB 3.0, and two USB 2.0.

Samsung Galaxy S5 may be launched in March at London event

It may be two or three months before we could see a real Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung's next flagship smartphone, but the rumour mills are rife with speculation with its possible launch date and features. The latest rumour doing the rounds on the internet is that the big ticket launch from the South Korean tech giant may happen in mid-March at a London event.

Earlier, during last week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung's top official was quoted as saying that the much-awaited device would likely be launched in April. So, talk of a mid-March London launch for the S5 could very well be nothing but rumours to keep the internet buzzing about the phone until it really comes out.

Other rumours on the internet suggest that with its possible features and specifications, the S5 is likely to compete with Apple's iPhone. The Iphone 5s is out in the market and selling like hot cakes with some striking features and improvements in terms of its specs from the previous iPhone device. The iPhone 5s is the world's first 64-bit smartphone. Soon after the launch of the iPhone5s, Samsung was said to be working on a handset based on 64-bit processor. Additionally, the Apple flagship comes with a new fingerprint identity sensor.

Now, Samsung has an uphill task to either match or provide a better handset in terms of specs and features. Recently, a Samsung executive at CES 2014 has reportedly revealed that the world's leading smartphone maker was working on an eye-scanning technology. So, the possibility of the Galaxy S5 coming with an eye-scanning technology or iris scanner, as it is said as of now, is high.

Well, before the actual launch rumours speculations will keep coming, but we can't shrug it off as Samsung is known for innovative products in mobile space and has the potential to turn all these rumours into reality.

Team India leaves for New Zealand; to play 2 Tests, 5 ODIs

Mumbai: The Indian squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed for New Zealand from here today for a five-match ODI series followed by a best-of-two Test rubber against the hosts.

The limited overs contest will start on January 19 at Napier and conclude on January 31 at Wellington with the other three games to be held at Hamilton (January 22), Auckland (January 25) and Hamilton (January 28).

The Test series would be held after that with the opener scheduled from February 6-10 (Auckland) followed by the second and final match at Wellington (February 14-18).

The tourists would play a two-day warm-up game on February 2 and 3 at Whangarei ahead of the Tests.

Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Zaheer Khan, Murali Vijay and Umesh Yadav did not leave with the others today and are slated to leave a week later.

This is India's ninth visit to New Zealand for a bilateral contest and their first since 2008-09 that they won 1-0.

The ODI team: M S Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit
Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh
Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny and Varun Aaron.

The Test team: M S Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan,
Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma,
Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami,

Ranji Trophy 2013-14: Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave praises his players for their performance against Mumbai

Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave praised his players after they defeated Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2013-14 quarter-final on Saturday. It was the first time they have beaten Mumbai in a knockout game of the Ranji Trophy.

“It is an outstanding feeling to beat Mumbai in Mumbai and beating them in the knockout is even more special. All the credit goes to the players who have been outstanding. You are 122 down on a seamer friendly pitch, not many would have given a chance but it was a lion-hearted effort from the players and hats off to them,” Bhave said at the Wankhede Stadium.

Maharashtra were a wicket down at the end of Day Three and the match was hanging in balance. Bhave credited Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Zol for their unbeaten 215-run partnership. Jadhav scored 120 while Zol scored 91.

“Given the conditions, the match was in balance. I think Kedar [Jadhav] and Vijay [Zol] took the match away. First they soaked the pressure and took the match away.”

Bhave heaped praise on centurion Kedar Jadhav for shepherding a young Vijay Zol and showing his experience to plan the chase maturely. Bhave said, “I am sure he helped Vijay when he went after Nayar bowling outside off-stump. Kedar put him right and told him not go that wide and preserve his area of strokeplay. He has helped the other team members quietly in his own way. This year Kedar has showed he has matured much more to hold the batting together.”

About the young Zol, the coach said “I think he has got to take it slowly and not get too ahead of himself. Vijay being just 19 will help him a lot. By nature Vijay is an aggressive batsman. The fact that he had to leave a lot of balls in the morning showed his patience. When the bowlers bowl wicket to wicket he is good at playing them.”

He emphasised on the importance of winning every session. “If you see the session pie, four sessions were won in a row by Mumbai and five in arrow then by Maharashtra. So 5-4, there’s your winner. Winning five sessions together will make a miracle happen.”

Maharashtra were bowled out for 280 thereby, conceding a 122-run first innings lead. “I thought we could have taken their score much closer to the Mumbai total.

“Having said that, the bowlers hit the right areas. And I knew when the bowlers hit the right areas nicks are going to happen. So it was all about the catching.

“And that brought us back in the match. The lines held by the bowlers were very tight on off-stump. And they hardly anything to leave and they had to play. Since they had to play some of them were going to nick it and it was taken very well behind the wickets,” Bhave said.

When asked about the brilliant turnaround, Bhave added, “Most of them are brilliant individual players. Last season four or five batsmen were averaging about 50 in the Elite league. For those performances to come together and convert them into wins was important. That’s exactly what we have done so far and potentially there are two more matches to go and we want to play them well.”

IPL 7: Mumbai Indians retain Rohit, Malinga, Pollard, Harbhajan and Rayudu

Defending champions Mumbai Indians on Friday retained five players including skipper Rohit Sharma and dashing West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, for the upcoming seventh season of Indian Premier League.

Apart from skipper Rohit and Pollard, the three others retained are senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga and talented batsman Ambati Rayudu, who can also double up as a wicketkeeper.

Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson, who picked up 37 wickets during the Test series against England, will now be favourite to be obtained through 'Right to Match' cards that the franchise can exercise during the two-day auction on February 12 and 13.

"The formidable combination of these five players - Rohit, Pollard, Malinga, Bhajji and Rayudu - forms the nucleus of Mumbai Indians. They have exemplified the spirit of Mumbai Indians and are match-winners in their own right," Nita Ambani, owner of MI, was quoted as saying in a press release.

"With the retention of the core players, Mumbai Indians look forward to build a stronger, well-knit teamand share the joy of an enthralling and entertaining performance with its ever-growing fans in the coming season," she further added.

Dinesh Karthik missed out on retention to Rayudu, whose ability to do a decent job behind the stumps and being a specialist batsman tilted the scales in his favour.
As far as Malinga is concerned, he has been a 'Game Changer' for MI at the death overs and the possibility of some of the matches being played in Sri Lanka may have prompted the team management to take a call in the slinger's favour.

Mumbai Indians have had phenomenal success over the last four years, both on and off the field, emerging as one of the most successful and followed teams.

As a favourite sports team, Mumbai Indians is closely followed by 4.2 million fans across the globe.
Brand Mumbai Indians was ranked No.1 cricket club in India and 146th among the 250 best sports brand in the world (BrandFinance pls, UK 2012).
In the Social Media space, Mumbai Indians featured among the top ten most followed Indian brands (INCITE 2012 by Nielsen & McKinsey).

Senior TV journalist 'joins' Aam Aadmi Party

NEW DELHI: Ashutosh, managing editor of Hindi news channel IBN7, has called it a day. Since Wednesday evening, social networking website Twitter was abuzz with news of a senior journalist quitting his job and joining Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party.

In a series of tweets, Ashutosh announced his resignation on Twitter.

On Jan 8, he tweeted: "Journalism, my passion, IBN7 my baby! When I look back I remember the week I joined profession, Nelson Mandela was released, history changed."

"These are again historic moments, societal churning is on, everybody has to contribute to make the change robust and beautiful."

"Life is beautiful and unpredictability makes it more enchanting. I am living one of those moments."

"Eight years back I changed my course, now there is another time, another call of destiny, have to swim - have to swim."

"IBN7 is my blood. IBN7 is my bones. It's my body, it's my soul. It's me."

On Thursday afternoon, he tweeted, "Yes I have resigned".

While Ashutosh has confirmed his resignation, he has not yet confirmed that he will be joining A

He told ANI, "I have resigned from IBN7, can't say about joining, but I am a great fan of AAP, they are agents of change".

Ashutosh, who has done his MPhil in Soviet Studies and MA in International Studies, has also written a book on anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare's movement.

Prior to joining IBN7, he was the member of Hindi news channel AajTak for more than ten years.

Other former journalists in the AAP include Manish Sisodia, who is presently education minister of Delhi and Shazia Ilmi. Delhi minister Rakhi Birla, too, was an intern at a news channel.

 

BJP condemns attack on AAP

BJP today condemned the attack on Aam Aadmi Party office near New Delhi allegedly carried out by some right-wing activists, saying no one has any right to resort to violence. "We surely condemn the attack on AAP office, because no one has any right to take the law unto their hands. We will never support anyone doing such an act," party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. She was commenting on an attack on AAP office in Kaushambi in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi this morning, apparently to protest against its leader Prashant Bhushan's comment that deployment of army in Jammu and Kashmir should be on the basis of opinion of the people of the state. Sitharaman at the same time slammed Bhushan for the comments on Kashmir. "We also should remember Prashant Bhushan's comments on Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. What Prashant Bhushan has said on Kashmir, we condemn that also," she said. Around 40 activists of Hindu Raksha Dal broke flower pots kept outside the AAP's office and tore party posters. Some glass doors were also smashed in the attack. Police said no one was injured in the attack. "We today staged a protest against AAP's stand on Kashmir. AAP leader Prashant Bhushan's remark on Kashmir are very sad for Hindus due to which we staged a protest outside the party office," said Pinky Choudhary, national convenor, Hindu Raksha Dal.

Salman Khan 2002 hit-and-run case to be heard today

MUMBAI: A sessions court will hear the case against actor Salman Khan in the 11-year-old hit-and-run case today. The court had earlier ordered for a fresh trial in the case. The new trial will require that witnesses and evidence be examined again.
The Bollywood superstar — who is accused of driving an SUV onto five sleeping men in 2002-had to face a fresh trial after prosecutors succeeded in substituting the charge of 'causing death by negligence' with the graver 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder'. The new charge attracts a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail.

The trial had commenced before the magistrate court in 2006. Over the years, the prosecution had examined 17 out of 39 witnesses. Among them was the complainant, police constable Ravindra Patil, who was assigned to protect Khan after the actor complained of underworld threats.

The policeman was with Khan in his car when the incident occurred on September 28, 2002, and gave two statements to the police. He stood by the second statement, where he said he had warned a "drunk" Khan to drive slowly, but the actor paid no heed. The first statement had no mention of Khan's inebriation. Patil died during the course of the trial.

Telugu hero Uday Kiran commits suicide

In a shocking incident, Telugu cinema hero Uday Kiran died by committing suicide. Initial reports say that the actor died after taking the extreme step in his flat at Srinagar colony on Sunday night. Later, he was rushed to a private hospital where the doctors declared him dead. The reasons for Uday Kiran's death are yet to be known.

Uday Kiran shot to fame with the films like Chitram, Nuvvu Nenu, Manasantha Nuvve, Nee Sneham, etc. The actor was last seen in the action entertainer Jai Sriram. Uday Kiran married Vishitha in October 2012.

Zol, Samson star as India beat Pakistan to lift U-19 Asia Cup

MUMBAI: The World champions of junior cricket have roared at the perfect time. With less than two months to go before they begin defending their Under-19 World Cup crown, India made an emphatic statement by winning the Asia Cup in Sharjah on Sunday, beating arch-rivals Pakistan by 40 runs in a thrilling final.

Put into bat, the Indian colts made 314 for four, with skipper Vijay Zol and Sanju Samson - two of the hottest young talents in India presently - smashing hundreds after India enjoyed a 65-run stand in just 6.4 overs, largely due to opener Ankush Bains, who smashed 47 (34b, 7x4, 1x6). Both made exactly 100.

While Zol's effort took him 120 balls, and included seven fours and a couple of sixes, Samson's knock came off merely 87 balls (8x4, 4x6). Both added 180 for the third wicket to ensure India finished with a massive total. Pakistan, in reply, were restricted to 287 for eight, as Kamran Gulam (102 not out) and skipper Sami Aslam's (87) efforts went in vain. For India, left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav took three for 72.

It is a triumph that should stand India in good stead for the forthcoming World Cup which will be held in UAE too.

"Ankush gave us a fabulous start and then both Samson and Zol, whose roles were critical, batted brilliantly before losing concentration on getting their hundreds. We should have got 360-odd but still got a reasonable total. We then bowled and fielded well to defend our score successfully against a very good Pakistan side. Even beating Sri Lanka in the semis wasn't easy. It was an excellent all-round performance by the boys and an ideal exposure to the conditions that will be prevalent during the World Cup. Both the teams enjoyed tremendous crowd support and the atmosphere of the final was electric. It was a joy to win this tournament with this lovely bunch," an elated Bharat Arun, coach of the India U-19 team, told TOI moments after the victory.

It was redemption time for the colts too. In the last Asia Cup, back in July 2012, India had to share the trophy with Pakistan after the final finished in a tie. In this edition, India had already lost to the Green Brigade once in the league stage - on December 31 - by two wickets.

"Pakistan won that game by a whisker. Before the final, our boys were fired up in the team meeting. I'm glad we pulled off a comfortable win in a tough match," Arun said, revealing an interesting fact - this team has as many as seven left-handers!

While the coach understandably chose to praise all his wards, he conceded that Maharashtra's Zol and Kerala's Samson were 'special boys.' "Both are technically sound. They don't play rash strokes. They have tremendous power and the gift of timing which enables them to clear boundaries comfortably. They have the experience of the IPL and the Ranji behind them now. They are in for a bigger league," Arun gushed.

Amongst the bowlers, he singled out Kuldeep Yadav and medium-pacers Deepak Hooda and pacer Avesh Khan for special praise.

"Yadav is a real talent. He has great attitude and he is a wicket-taking bowler. He can bowl well under pressure and batsmen would find it tough to hit him out of the attack."

Arun revealed that his wards were "too tired right now to celebrate". "They will turn out for their Ranji sides after returning. We will then have a camp for the World Cup before launching into the campaign."

Brief scores: India Under-19 314 for 8 (Zol 100, Samson 100) beat Pakistan Under-19 274 for 9 (Ghulam 102, Aslam 87*) by 40 runs.

BlackBerry sues American Idol host’s firm

TORONTO: BlackBerry said it has filed a lawsuit against a company co-founded by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest that offers a physical keyboard that can be attached to some iPhones.

The company, Typo Products, is currently taking pre-orders for the $99 keyboard, which features angled miniature keys similar to those used on many of BlackBerry's devices.

Canada's BlackBerry, a once dominant smartphone maker that has lost market share to the iPhone and other touchscreen devices, said Typo's keyboard infringes its own design.

The allegation has not been proven in court. Typo and Seacrest could not immediately be reached to comment on the legal proceedings.

"We are flattered by the desire to graft our keyboard onto other smartphones, but we will not tolerate such activity without fair compensation for using our intellectual property and our technological innovations," Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry's chief legal officer, said in a statement.

BlackBerry posted billions in losses in recent quarters as its latest devices sold poorly, but it has maintained a loyal niche of customers who prefer to type on a physical keyboard.

The BlackBerry complaint is case no. 3:14-cv-23 in the United States District Court for the northern district of California.

BJP defends Modi, calls PM's tenure 'wasted opportunity'

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday lashed out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his remarks that Narendra Modi as Prime Minister will be disastrous for the nation, saying it is unfortunate that such language is used even after a court and SIT have given the BJP leader a clean chit.

The Prime Minister's words did not add to the dignity of the high office he holds, it said.

Attacking Singh for not taking steps to curb inflation, corruption and not create employment oppotunities during his 10 years of prime ministership, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley termed his tenure as a "wasted opportunity" and accused him of not providing any direction to a developing society like India.

BJP president Rajnath Singh while condemning the remarks also said that the Prime Minister had admitted to the dual power centre that existed in the UPA government, a contention that the saffron party has been making for quite some time.

"The use of such language against Narendra Modi does not add to the dignity of Prime Minister's office. The dirty tricks department of the Congress party has carried out certain tricks against Narendra Modi. If the dirty tricks department used such language, it was understandable. I am sure the Prime Minister of India is not a party of that dirty tricks department," Jaitley said.

Rajnath Singh said that the Prime Minister has accepted that the next government is not going to be that of UPA and that is why is has opted himself out for a third term.

"I condemn this statement(on Modi) of the Prime Minister. It is very unfortunate that the Prime Minister is saying this even when the SIT and court have given him a clean chit," he said.

The BJP chief said it was "laughable" to make such a statement even when Modi as chief minister has presented Gujarat as a model state in the country through the development work initiated by him there.

"It is a laughable statement to say that he should not be the Prime Minister as during his tenure riots have taken place in Gujarat. Modi in his tenure as chief minister has presented Gujarat as a model of development and a model state in the country," he said.

"Whatever has happened in 2002 is unfortunate and painful," he added.

Jaitley hit out at the Prime Minister for using the logic of 2009 Congress victory to brush aside charges of corruption during UPA 1 and said this can be used as a logic by criminals after they win elections.

He said Singh's government has failed to deliver on its promise of curbing corruption and inflation and increasing employment opportunities.

"He ( PM) manufactured a new logic. This new logic that electoral sanction of a corrupt government wipes out the allegations of corruption ... The logic of Manmohan Singh can be used by criminals also when they win elections. There is anger in society that criminals are entering politics," he said.

With its failure to tackle corruption, mounting inflation and unemployment, the government has prepared a "perfect recipe for disaster," he said.

Reacting to the statements made by the Prime Minister during his press conference, Rajnath Singh said he has admitted that his government has failed to control rising prices and corruption and could not create enough employment opportunities.

"Instead of listing out his achievements, the Prime Minister has instead listed out the failures... This government has proved a failure on all fronts. The Prime Minister has admitted that there is a dual power centre...

"The Prime Minister has tried to justify whatever BJP has been saying that due to dual power centre you cannot expect anything good from this government. That the freedom to take decisions has been completely eroded," he said.

Lamenting that the Prime Minister did not talk about national security during his press conference, he said this government has also proved a "failure" on the issue of internal and external security.

The BJP president said it was "laughable" to say that UPA has done better than NDA and claimed that India had become current-account deficit, growth rate had reduced and economic disparity had increased and employment opportunities had reduced during this government.

AAP government wins confidence vote in Delhi Assembly

New Delhi: The minority Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government today won a critical trust vote in the Delhi assembly after all eight Congress legislators extended their support to it.

With only 28 legislators in the 70-member house, the AAP needed the backing of the Congress - whose 15-year rule ended in December - to remain in office.

Eventually, the confidence vote moved by AAP leader and Education Minister Manish Sisodia was passed 37-32. The 31-strong Bharatiya Janata Party and the sole Akali Dal legislator voted against the government.

Breaking Afridi’s record, New Zealand’s Corey Anderson hits fastest ever century in ODI

Queenstown/New Delhi: Giving New Year gift to his country, New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson set a new world record by hitting fastest ever century in one-day International cricket format, making a ton off 36 balls against the West Indies in Queenstown.

Anderson broke the previous record set by Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi who hit century on 37 balls against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996.

The young New Zealand all-rounder hit 12 sixes and 4 fours in his 100 runs.

Anderson was unbeaten on 131 runs off 47 balls with 14 sixes and half a dozen fours.

The 23-year-old left hander batsman has played 6 ODIs so far for the Kiwi team. West Indies lead the five match series by 1-0.