Relief for Azharuddin as court strikes down ban

Twelve years after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) imposed a ban for life-time on former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, the Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday struck it down as "illegal".

In a major relief to the cricketer-turned-politician, a division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the order of a lower court which had upheld the ban.

It was on Dec 5, 2000, that the BCCI banned Azhar from playing professional cricket for the rest of his life after he was found guilty of match-fixing charges.

The Hyderabadi had challenged the Indian cricket board's decision in the city civil court, which upheld the ban. He then moved to high court against the lower court's order, his lawyers arguing that BCCI imposed the ban without any evidence.

The 49-year-old is currently a member of the Lok Sabha from the Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

The court verdict has come as a major relief to Azhar, who had always maintained that the ban on him was unfair and the BCCI's decision was unilateral. The BCCI then had banned Azhar and Ajay Sharma for life and imposed a five-year ban on Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar.

The BCCI move came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the match-fixing scandal, accused these players of having links with bookies and of under-performing in return for huge sums of money.

The match-fixing scandal came to light after then South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, in his confession, claimed that Azhar had introduced him to the bookies.

Azhar, one of India's most successful captains nd prolific batsmen, played 99 Tests and scored 6,215 runs during his career. He also played 334 One-Day Internationals scoring 9,378 runs in his 15-year international career.

The wristy batsman had taken the world of cricket by storm in 1984-85 with a world record of three consecutive centuries in three Tests on his debut against England.

He entered politics a few months before 2009 elections by joining the Congress party and was elected to the Lok Sabha.

No prime ministerial ambitions: Advani

 On his 85th birthday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Thursday brushed away suggestions of his wanting to be the party's prime ministerial candidate.

"The party and the country have given me so much, it is much more than becoming the prime minister," Advani told reporters.

Advani is known to nurse prime ministerial ambitions and during the 2009 general elections he had gone on a countrywide rath yatra to connect with people.

Among those who went to greet Advani were party chief Nitin Gadkari, who is under attack for alleged financial impropriety in the funding of his Purti Group.

Advani had not gone for the BJP core group meeting on Tuesday to decide on the future of Gadkari in the wake of allegations against him. The party has reposed faith in Gadkari's leadership and said he has done "no legal or moral wrong".

However, Advani supported Gadkari in a blog last month, where he congratulated the BJP chief on saying he was open to a probe.

Government approves one-time spectrum fee on operators

The cabinet Thursday approved a one-time levy on existing telecom operators which hold 2G spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz at a price to be discovered by next week's auction.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) had earlier recommended the levy which would help create a level-playing field between old and new operators.

Briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said while GSM operators would be asked to pay for airwaves they hold beyond 4.4 MHz at a price determined by the auction starting Nov 12, CDMA carriers would pay for holdings beyond 2.5 MHz for the remaining validity of their permits.

GSM operators holding more than 6.2 MHz of spectrum will pay a retroactive fee for airwaves from July 2008.

No charge will be levied on operators who hold up to 4.4 MHz of spectrum.

Chidambaram said while the price discovered in the auction would apply for the one-time fee to be charged from incumbent GSM operators, the Department of Telecom (DoT) would work out the basis for the same for CDMA carriers as there are no bidders for CDMA auction and thus there will be no auction determined price.

There is no bidder left now for the CDMA auction after Tata Teleservices and Videocon Telecommunications withdrew from the spectrum sale.

Chidambaram said the DoT had been asked to get back to the cabinet about implementation of the decision regarding CDMA.

The government had planned two separate auctions for GSM and CDMA players. And the DoT had estimated that the levy would generate Rs.30,927 crore. But with the exact quantum of levy onCDMA operators yet to be fixed, the government's net revenue could not be ascertained.

Chidambaram also said licensees "will be given an option to surrender spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz for GSM" if they don't want to pay the one-time fee.

Also, payments can be made in monthly instalments at an interest of 9.75 percent.

"Licensees will be allowed equated annual instalments for the balance number of years of license at the rate of 9.75 percent," said an official statement.

For spectrum held above 6.2 MHz, the one-time charge will be applicable from July, 2008 onwards and linked to the price at which spectrum will be sold at the auction.

The statement said that the one-time charge calculations shall be based upon a pro-rated price for the period July 2008 up to the date of fresh auction's determined price.

"This (charge) would be the 2001 entry fee divided by 6.2, duly indexed using State Bank of India Prime Lending Rate (SBI PLR)," it said.

The cabinet also accepted the proposal by the ministerial panel to allow operators to share airwaves.

It also decided to do away with the provision to levy a special levy on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the sector.

Sandy forces three carmakers to scrap 15,000 cars

 Toyota Motor, Chrysler, Nissan and Honda plan to scrap about 15,000 vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy as automakers and dealers continue assessing the storm's impact, said media reports.

Travis Parman, spokesman of Nissan Motor Co, said late Tuesday it is estimated more than 6,000 Nissan and luxury Infiniti brand cars and light trucks are "un-saleable" due to the storm. As many as 200,000 may have to be replaced, said Larry Dixon, a senior analyst for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Sandy, the biggest Atlantic storm in US history, impacted New Jersey, New York and the surrounding region, leading to at least 100 deaths, reported Xinhua.

According to the Detroit News, Fisker Automotive Inc., a startup maker of luxury plug-in hybrids, lost 320 of its $103,000 Karma sedans at the port of Newark, New Jersey, that burned in a fire triggered by salt water, said Roger Ormisher, a spokesman for the California-based company.

"We don't have a full estimate of the cost to replace them yet," Ormisher said. The cars were being processed at the port for delivery to Fisker dealers when the storm arrived.

Some 4,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles were at the company's port facility in Newark when the storm hit, said Jana Hartline, spokeswoman for Toyota's US unit in Torrance, California.

Chrysler lost about 750 vehicles in dealer stock due to the hurricane damage, said Ralph Kisiel, a spokesman for the Auburn Hills-based carmaker that's majority-owned by Fiat SpA. Ford Motor Co.could not immediately provide estimates for storm damage.

Kingfisher Airlines posts net loss; pressure mounts

Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines put on a brave face on Thursday after announcing a record loss for the second quarter, saying a recovery plan is in the works and its grounded jets will take to the skies soon.

The airline, which has struggled to pay its staff for most of the year and has not flown for over a month due to protests and safety concerns, has never turned a profit in its eight-year history. According to one estimate, it is saddled with roughly $2.5 billion in debt.

The figures got even worse on Thursday for a company that has been on life support for months.

Second-quarter results showed a loss of 7.54 billion rupees, compared with a loss of 4.69 billion rupees a year earlier. Revenue declined 87 percent to 2 billion rupees.

Despite the company's pledge on Thursday to produce a comprehensive recovery plan, some analysts doubt that what was once India's second-largest carrier will fly again.

Creditors have set a November 30 deadline for Kingfisher to bring in fresh equity or an investor, the chairman of State Bank of India, its lead lender, told Reuters. He did not say what would happen if the demand was not met.

"Options? It is already bankrupt, I don't think there is any option," said a Mumbai-based aviation analyst with a local brokerage.

"If a promoter can put in money, then possibly the company can be revived, but we are talking about very large amounts of money, 30-40 billion rupees," said the analyst, who did not wish to be identified because he no longer covers the company.

A Kingfisher spokesman refused to comment.

Kingfisher has been scrambling without success to find fresh investment. No global airline has publicly expressed an interest in buying a stake.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has said a fully funded turnaround for Kingfisher would cost at least $1 billion.

First Look: Salman Khan back as Chulbul Pandey in DABANGG 2

After making Eid special with super successful EK THA TIGER Bollywood's hot favorite, Salman Khan is back to sway us and make this Christmas a grand celebration with his upcoming film DABANGG 2, sequel to 2010 blockbuster DABANGG. The much awaited first look poster of the sequel is out!

Retaining the style of prequel, the poster shows Salman Khan's back posture and his famous glasses, which was there in the first part as well. However, this time around in the poster Salman is seen sporting broken glasses. Is it an indication about the film or Salman Khan's character?

There's also a marginal note on the poster saying: Here comes Chulbul Pandey.

Salman's character - Chulbul Pandey, from the first part, won the hearts of many and soon became a household name and now get set for some more antics from the colourful character!

While DABANGG was directed by Abhinav Kashyap, the sequel is helmed by Salman's brother Arbaaz Khan. Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha will be seen in the lead roles once again. It also stars Vinod Khanna, Prakash Raj, Deepak Dobriyal, Sandeepa Dhar and Nikitan Dheer. Kareena Kapoor will be seen in a special appearance song.

DABANGG 2 is slated for December 21, 2012 release!

'Dabangg 2' trailer to be launched on 'Bigg Boss 6'

The trailer of the much-awaited "Dabangg 2", a sequel to the 2010 blockbuster "Dabangg", will be launched on reality show "Bigg Boss 6", which is hosted by the film's lead actor Salman Khan.

Arbaaz Khan, the producer and director of "Dabangg 2", will join his elder brother Salman Friday on the sets of "Bigg Boss 6" to launch the trailer, a source told IANS.

The special episode will be telecast on Colors Saturday.

"Dabangg 2" will see Salman return as corrupt policeman Chulbul Pandey, and Sonakshi Sinha once again plays his wife. Southern star Prakash Raj plays the antagonist.

Arbaaz's wife Malaika, who gyrated to "Munni badnaam" in "Dabangg" is said to have done an item number for the sequel. Kareena Kapoor too will be seen in an item number.

The movie is slated to release around Christmas this year.

Its first poster features Salman with his trademark shades placed on the back of his collar.

Why vampires? Book looks at science behind monsters

The suave and sensitive Edward Cullen of "Twilight" may be the norm for vampires these days, but fictional monsters such as Dracula originally sprang from the fear of inexplicable diseases and the mysteries of death in the natural world.

So argues science journalist Matt Kaplan in "Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters," an examination of monsters around the world and throughout history - the science behind their origins, and why they matter to us even now.

"When our kids ask for monster stories around the campfire, they are behaving in a way that is not dissimilar to lion cubs," Kaplan said in an email.

"Lion cubs play fight so they can test out their skills in a safe place where nobody is going to get maimed or killed. Monster stories serve a similar purpose, they allow us to face our worst fears without the risks that are normally associated with them."

Some are simple. The Kraken tales of mammoth monster squid, along with the Leviathan of the Bible, are most likely based upon the existence of real creatures such as whales.

The terrifying Medusa of Greek myths, with her hair made of snakes and a gaze that could turn things to stone, may have been distantly connected to the idea of fossils for ancient people, with the snakes in her hair an example of pure fear.

Though mentions of vampire-like creatures exist as early as ancient Greece, it took hundreds of years for tales of the creatures to gradually evolve into the haunting undead of more recent history.

Accounts of people found in their graves with blood on their lips and their stomachs seemingly full, as if they had just eaten, may be explained by simple decay, with gas buildup throughout the body sometimes pushing blood up from the lungs. Elongated canine teeth and fingernails was due to skin shrinking after death and pulling away, making both more prominent.

Later, greater awareness of contagious diseases such as influenza and tuberculosis - which could cause people who came in contact with the ill person to also sicken and die - further contributed to the myth. This was especially true due to incubation periods that weren't understood at the time, making it unclear how the diseases were being spread.

"One death would follow another in a dominolike progression," writes Kaplan. "In a morbid sense, these patients were literally killing their friends and relatives, but from their deathbeds rather than the hereafter."

But vampires have now undergone a radical transformation, a process that began with the publication of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" but has speeded up in recent years.

"If tuberculosis, influenza, rabies and bloated bodies are the human experiences from which Dracula came, how have we now ended up with the kind, honourable and handsome Edward Cullen?" Kaplan said.

For one thing, modern science has uncovered the mechanism of various diseases, which remain a fear but now appear as their true selves, as in stories such as "The Andromeda Strain."

Vampires have also become increasingly charming, transforming their original monster nature into something else.

"In a world where the seemingly most virtuous individuals all too often fall prey to vice, public interest in good souls battling their own bestial natures is higher than ever, and vampires provide exploration of this," Kaplan added.

In the future, fears are likely to focus on things like genetic manipulation - think Jurassic Park - and also from technology, with worries about what computers might do with true artificial intelligence looming large.

"What I find most interesting here is that these monsters really require human participation in their creation," he said, noting the popularity of films like "Avatar" and "Planet of the Apes," where monsters are the heroes and the humans, monsters.

Why are we so comfortable with feeling elated as inhuman beasts rip apart people? I think a long, hard look in the mirror can provide a lot of answers," he said.

Karisma to endorse McCain Foods

 Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor has been roped in as the brand ambassador of McCain Foods India Pvt. Ltd.

"I look forward to partnering with McCain. Being a true-blue Kapoor, I love good food. And being a mother, I know the importance of being able to create appetizing snacks for my kids in a few minutes," Karisma, 38, said in a statement.

"With McCain's easy-to-prepare frozen products, I can serve up popular snacks like french fries and aloo tikki as well as innovative snacks like potato bites and veggie nuggets. McCain is a great solution for women, whether working or homemakers," she added.

The company will shortly roll out a new campaign featuring Karisma as a smart woman who delights her family and guests with quick snacks.

'Skyfall' has bumper opening, has Rs.27.5 crore windfall

 The much-awaited 23rd James Bond movie "Skyfall" has grossed approximately Rs.27.5 crore ($5.1 million) in four days, making it the second biggest opening weekend ever for a Hollywood film in India.

The opening collections of Daniel Craig starrer "Skyfall" are said to be best so for a Bond film in India.

"'Skyfall' has not only continued India's fascination with the James Bond franchise, but also expanded it...," Kercy Daruwala, managing director, Sony Pictures India, said in a statement.

"Extremely positive reviews and word-of-mouth will ensure that the film has a long and successful run at the box office and will garner repeat viewings as well," Daruwala added.

Sony Pictures India released "Skyfall" Nov 1 with 907 prints. It hit the Indian screens in four languages - English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The opening collection of the film has exceeded the earnings of Craig's last two Bond movies - "Casino Royale" (2006) and "Quantum of Solace" (2008).

Karan Johar: Encourager of new talent!

It has been a great year for Karan Johar and Dharma Productions as they released some of the biggest hits of the year like EK MAIN AUR EKK TU, AGNEEPATH and STUDENT OF THE YEAR. Karan is also back on his director's chair with three newcomers - Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in STUDENT OF THE YEAR. The film was undoubtedly a success at the box-office and Karan is overwhelmed with the response.

The last two years saw Dharma Productions in a complete different light as they introduced varied genres of films. Karan has valiantly attempted to experiment across genres along with encouraging fresh talent. Karan Malhotra and Shakun Batra have stood by their producer's expectations and have kept up the Dharma legacy by delivering successful films like AGNEEPATH and EK MAIN AUR EKK TU. Karan is known to have complete faith on his directors and go all out there to help them deliver their best.

Karan Johar has launched many new directors in the last couple of years, including Ayan Mukerji with WAKE UP SID, Rensil D'silva with KURBAAN, Tarun Mansukhani with DOSTANA, Siddharth Malhotra with WE ARE FAMILY and Punit Malhotra with I HATE LUV STORYS. After making their successful debuts in Bollywood, most of these directors are already geared up for their second projects.

The coming year has an exciting lineup of films for Dharma Productions with a range of genres including Ranbir-Deepika starrer YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI, GIPPI and 2 STATES. Here's hoping that Dharma Productions continues to entertain the audiences by encouraging new talent in Bollywood!!

Bigg Boss 6: Sapna manhandles Urvashi

It all started with a friendly task assigned by Bigg Boss. The team under vrajesh was assigned the task of putting gulal on rival team leader Sidhu's face.

5 Desserts You Shouldn’t Be Eating

Let’s have a look at five desserts you should definitely avoid at all costs.

1. Fried Desserts

No matter how tasty banana fritters or churros might be, they are nothing but a sweet treat filled with unhealthy ingredients and oodles of calories. The batter, which is used to make this dessert, only consists of fat and heaps of sugar. Also, it is important to note that it does not give your body any kind of nutrition at all.

2. Doughnuts.

The doughnut bug bit India just a few years ago. However, this circular sweet treat is not doing the right things to your system. These tiny desserts are made from flour, sugar and cooking oil; everything is refined. Doughnuts are filled with large quantities of calories since they are also deep fried.

3. Muffins

There are a variety of muffins that are available in bakeries today. However, the muffins that are even labeled ‘low-fat’ contain a lot of sugar, thereby filling your body with a lot of calories. In order to ensure that you control the calorie intake, eat it in smaller portions and consume it after short intervals.

13 best foods you must start eating

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1. 

   Yahoo Lifestyle Entertainment Photo by ThinkstockFri 5 Oct, 2012 3:30 PM IST

   Pumpkin: Pumpkins are fibrous, and boosts immunity.

4. Ice cream

Ice creams have been a favorite dessert of everyone. It tops the list of favorite desserts and is also used as an integral part of many other desserts. Innovative toppings like whipped cream, sauces and coulis are added to ice creams too. This makes this, the already high calorie dessert, increase in the amount of calories thereby making it unhealthy for your body.

5. Packaged baked foods

Convenience foods and packaged cake mixes are considered to be extremely unhealthy for your body because of the trans fat content in them. To increase its shelf life, producers add a large amount of preservatives, colors and artificial flavors to it. This addition made to the mix makes it harmful and is bad cholesterol for the body.

Eating desserts completes the meal for the most of you. However, making the right choices and consuming healthy substitutes for the same is very crucial for the well-being of your body.

Americans choose Obama over Romney

US President Barack Obama claps as he arrives on stage to deliver his acceptance speech on November 7, 2012 in Chicago. Obama swept to re-election, forging history again by transcending a slow economic recovery and the high unemployment which haunted his first term to beat Republican Mitt Romney

Barack Obama wins election for second term as president

President Barack Obama handily defeated Gov. Mitt Romney and won himself a second term on Tuesday after a bitter and historically expensive race that was primarily fought in just a handful of battleground states. Obama beat Romney after nabbing almost every one of the 12 crucial battleground states.

The Romney campaign's last-ditch attempt to put blue-leaning Midwestern swing states in play failed as Obama's Midwestern firewall sent the president back to the White House for four more years. Obama picked up the swing states of New Hampshire, Michigan, New Mexico, Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Ohio. Of the swing states, Romney picked up only North Carolina. Florida is still too close to call, but even if Romney wins the state, Obama still beat him in the Electoral College vote. The popular vote will most likely be narrower than the president's decisive Electoral College victory.

In a sweeping victory speech early Wednesday morning, Obama thanked every American who voted, and vowed to work with leaders from both parties to tackle the country's challenges.

"Our economy is recovering, a decade of war is ending, a long campaign is now over," he told a crowd of cheering supporters in Chicago. "And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you and you have made me a better president." Obama added he has "never been more hopeful about America. ... We're not as divided as our politics suggest. We remain more than a collection of blue states and red states."

Obama win: What it means for India, markets and economy

Barack Obama's anti-outsourcing ads have helped him in being re-elected as US President. Over the past few months the US president has released waves of advertisements against his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. 

These have claimed "Romney outsourced call center jobs to India" and was a "pioneer in outsourcing". President Barack Obama has said that he wants to give tax breaks to companies that are investing in the United States, but will this spell out bad news for our economy and jobs market?

• View Photo
  U.S. President Barack Obama (R) celebrates with Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden and their son Beau (L) at their election night victory rally in Chicago, November 7, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Katrina Kaif's sister Isabelle in Bollywood

Isabelle Kaif to make her Bollywood debut

Katrina Kaif's sister Isabelle is all set to make her big screen debut opposite Anil Kapoor's son Harshvardhan. The young pair will be seen in a yet- untitled short crossover film directed by Steven Roy Thomas. 

Say no to flaky hair!

You cannot be prone to dandruff if you keep your scalp immaculately clean. If you wash your hair less often, then it can lead to accumulation of more dead skin cells and oil which can cause dandruff. Wash your hair gently and allow it to dry before you brush or comb it 

Shah Rukh's 47th birthday with his fans

"I never had big dreams and I just wanted to work hard and be accepted and act in films. I got more than what I had wanted. I will not do anything to tarnish this happiness," Shah Rukh told reporters at his birthday celebrations at his house here.

What you didn't know about Obama, Romney

Barack Obama has a personal background like no other president in U.S. history. His mother, Ann Dunham, was a white woman from Kansas and his father, Barack Obama Sr., was a black Kenyan who saw little of his son after a divorce when the boy was a toddler. Obama spent much of his childhood in Indonesia and then Hawaii, where he lived with his maternal grandparents.