Latest News

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• Sreesanth should not cross limit, says Dhoni
• Dhoni wants warm up match performance replicated in World Cup
• Munda wins Jharkhand by-poll
• Berlusconi says he isn’t worried about upcoming sex trial
• Israel committed to peace treaty with Egypt: Netanyahu
• BlackBerry stock shoots up on Citigroup upgradation
• I wasn’t nervous performing with dad Naseer: Vivaan Shah
• Cheryl Cole has girl crush on Rihanna
• Sheen needs to help himself: Richie
• Hilton’s beau gifts her ruby, diamond necklace on V-Day

Sreesanth should not cross limit, says Dhoni Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:30 PM PST Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has drawn a Laxman Rekha of sorts in front of the temperamental seamer Shantakumaran Sreesanth who has been involved in onfield arguments with rival players in the recent times. When asked how he intended to control Sreesanth who Sunday had a run-in with Australia team captain Ricky Ponting during a warm-up game in Bangalore, and exchanged a few words with Kiwi opener Brendon McCullum Wednesday night, Dhoni said he has had a word with his fast bowler, letting him know the limits he cannot cross. “I have told him that there are a few boundaries he should not cross and also that he should not get personal. If anyone wants to irritate, then let it be the opponents and not him. “He was ok today, just a bit of chit-chat. There is no game where chit-chat doesn’t happen, but so long as he keeps within the boundaries (limits), it’s ok with me,” the skipper said.

Dhoni wants warm up match performance replicated in World Cup Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:26 PM PST Two easy wins in as many warm-up games notwithstanding, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that the Indian team needs to replicate these performances in their opening ICC cricket World Cup group match against Bangladesh in Dhaka Saturday. Speaking to the media after the 117-run win against New Zealand here Wednesday, Dhoni said that the Indian team had also achieved almost everything they wanted to as part of the preparations for the World Cup and that was the biggest gain from the two practice games. “Against Australia, we did not show much intensity, but tonight’s game being the last match before the World Cup, our intensity was up. “Also, we have achieved whatever we wanted to and now, we have to replicate the effort in our first match against Bangladesh,” he said. Dhoni, who scored a swashbuckling 108 not out, attributed his success with the bat to his approach that called for a cautious start before going for the big shots. “In the previous games, I was pushing myself too much to score runs off every ball that I faced and was getting out in the process, but tonight, I was determined to play myself in regardless of the situation before attempting the big shots. “But it was Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli who gave us the platform and it helped the big shot players who followed them,” he said. Regarding the Indian bowling attack, Dhoni expressed satisfaction at the manner in which the slow bowlers, notably leggie Piyush Chawla and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin were shaping up besides the contributions by part-time left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh. “Chawla again bowled well and so also Ashwin. When we are playing with four bowlers, whether it is 3 (seamers)-1 (spinner) or two and two, the part-time bowler has an important role to play. “Yuvraj, with his left-arm spin, has been contributing a lot in recent times and that gives me more options,” Dhoni opined. When asked about the batting slots with specific reference to the choice between Yuvraj Singh, Kohli and Suresh Raina for the two batting positions, Dhoni felt that it was not much a fight for a berth in the playing eleven as the slot. “It is a slot war rather than a fight for a place in the eleven. As of now, Virat has been showing good form and scoring runs coming in at No.4 which I think is a very important slot. Our dilemma will be when Yuvraj also begins to score 50s. “Yuvraj has a lot of experience and is a match-winner. He has been contributing with his bowling too and so has a lot of value for the team. “If it is a choice between Raina and Kohli, then I think, Virat has an edge because he is in good form and scoring a lot of runs,” Dhoni said. Earlier, Ross Taylor, the Kiwi middle-order batsman, all but conceded that his side was outplayed by the Indians on a pitch that held no terrors. “I think, 500-odd runs would say that the pitch was good, but when you are chasing at seven or eight runs an over, it needs a complete team effort. We need to get boundaries off good balls,” he said. Looking ahead, Taylor said that he was confident the team would put behind the big defeat and their first game against Kenya here Sunday presents an opportunity to regain confidence besides momentum. “We need to erase this performance. Our game against Kenya is an opportunity for us to get some momentum. We have to win three matches to qualify for the quarter-finals and I am confident that we can achieve that,” said Taylor. He complimented the Indian team for its balance and the powerful spin attack that he said would play a key role in the World Cup.

Munda wins Jharkhand by-poll Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:13 PM PST Arjun Munda won the Kharsawa by poll in Jharkhand by over 17,000 votes Thursday, clearing the way for him to continue as chief minister. He defeated Krishna Gagarai of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P). Munda secured 71,701 votes while rival Gagarai got 44,335 votes.

Berlusconi says he isn’t worried about upcoming sex trial Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:09 PM PST Embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he was unperturbed by the approaching trial for his suspected involvement in an underage prostitution case and dismissed political observers who said his government is on the verge of collapse. “It’s something that doesn’t worry me in the least,” Berlusconi said Wednesday during a press conference, responding to a question about the trial that is slated to begin in a Milan court April 6. Prosecutors allege Berlusconi paid for sex with teenage Moroccan nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, nicknamed Ruby, on several occasions when she was 17-years old. He also abused his office by pressuring police in Milan to release her on theft charges in order to cover up their relationship, according to prosecutors. El Mahroug, who is now 18, denies she had sex with Berlusconi, but admits receiving thousands of euros, an Audi car, jewellery and other gifts from the billionaire media tycoon. Berlusconi denies paying El Mahroung or any other woman for sex, and claims he merely tried to help the vulnerable teenage runaway. Berlusconi said he has a solid enough majority to complete his five-year mandate which expires in 2013. “Our majority is strong enough to continue to govern,” he said, adding that his Northern League ally would not pull the plug on the alliance it is keeping alive. The 74-year-old premier is already facing three trials on embezzlement, corruption and tax fraud–charge and denies wrongdoing in all, claiming he is the victim of a conspiracy of leftist magistrates.

Israel committed to peace treaty with Egypt: Netanyahu Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:05 PM PST Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Egyptians that his country was committed to its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, and urged any new Cairo leadership to uphold it as well. “Every single Egyptian should know that the people of Israel are committed to the peace,” he told a conference for Jewish-American leaders in Jerusalem Wednesday. “Israel wants Egypt to succeed in its quest for genuine and lasting democracy,” he said, but reiterated warnings of a worst-case scenario in which a non-democratic, Islamist militant government would replace ousted president Hosni Mubarak. A democratic Egypt would be good for peace, Netanyahu said. “As prime minister of Israel, I am responsible for the security of over 7 million Israelis who live in the one and only Jewish state. I cannot simply hope for the best. I must also prepare for the worst,” he said. “Part of that preparation is to alert the leaders and policy makers of the world to the possible dangers that lay ahead.”

BlackBerry stock shoots up on Citigroup upgradation Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:02 PM PST Buoyed up by big gains by energy, financial and tech stocks Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) surged over 14,000 points for the first time since July 2008. Among the major gainers was BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) which jumped 4.2 per cent to close at $67.25. There was a virtual rush for RIM stock after the Canadian wirelessly technology giant was upgraded from ‘sell’ to ‘buy’ by Citigroup. This is the biggest one-day leap in RIM stock in recent months. Citigroup changed its rating on BlackBerry stock with a price target of $80 in the light of Nokia’s deal with Microsoft Corp which will force carriers to switch from Nokia smart phones to BlackBerry. Nokia’s adoption of Windows Phone 7 will lead to ‘multi-quarter gap in Nokia products and carrier promotion support,’ according to Citigroup’s analysis. As a result, Nokia, which controls 35 percent share of smart phone market compared to 3 percent for RIM, will lose market to BlackBerry. “This promotion commotion shift away from Nokia to other OEMs … will take center stage as Nokia loses share in the quarters ahead. While RIM’s market share has seen some pressure of the last two quarters due to Android, we nonetheless believe that RIM should be able to capitalize on a confusing Nokia strategy,” said Citigroup analyst Jim Suva. The gains by RIM stock were line with those by other major tech shares in New York, including Dell which zoomed 12 percent to $15.56 to post its biggest one-day surge since 2008 after the Texas-based computer giant reported almost three-fold jump in fourth-quarter profits. The stock of major Canadian energy companies also surged on the Toronto market – Suncor Energy up by 3.7 percent to $43.45 and Canadian Natural Resources up 4.6 percent to $46.55 – after reports of rising oil inventory by the US Energy Information Administration. Major Canadian banks, including the Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, and Scotiabank and CIBC were also up on Toronto and New York exchanges. The strong Canadian dollar, which is already floating above parity with the US currency, rose further 0.49 cents US to close at 101.53 cents US despite a slight downturn in the Canadian manufacturing sector in December. The Toronto Stock Exchange had reached Wednesday’s levels in mid-2008 just before the global meltdown started. At the end of the day, the TSX composite index closed at 14,059 points – up 129.83 points.

I wasn’t nervous performing with dad Naseer: Vivaan Shah Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:58 PM PST His father is an award-winning actor and is known for his powerful performances but Naseeruddin Shah’s college-going son Vivaan was not at all nervous while sharing screen space with his veteran dad in his debut film “7 Khoon Maaf”. “Our characters are interesting and both the characters have very colourful picturisation; yet there is a huge contrast between the two characters. I was not nervous while performing with my father. Every time he was there on the set, I was motivated and charged up even more,” said Vivaan, 21, who feels “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai” is his father’s best film and his favourite. “With my father being such a big actor, there will be a pressure on me. I will try my best to look at it in a healthy way so that the pressure will have a constructive influence on me and help me to do better and be better.” Vivaan, younger son of Naseer, plays Priyanka Chopra’s fourth husband in director Vishal Bharadwaj’s dark thriller “7 Khoon Maaf”. Talking about his character, he said: “My character ages from 17 to 40 years. I grow up to be a forensic scientist and all through I build a relationship with Susanna. I had to put on five kilograms to fit the bill of a 40-year-old. My character goes though a huge contrast.” And Naseer too plays one of the seven husbands of Priyanka in the movie. Based on author Ruskin Bond’s short story “Susanne’s Seven Husbands”, the film captures the romantic misadventures of Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes, a beautiful woman who over the course of 35 years gets married seven times and all her spouses mysteriously die. Working on this film was a learning experience for this student. “I learnt everything about professionalism; work ethics, about how the industry works, about acting; shooting and how so many efforts combine in making films. I think that’s the biggest lessons I have learnt,” said Vivaan who is in the final year of graduation. “7 Khoon Maaf” is set to release worldwide Friday. How did the role come to you? “It’s a complicated affair. Vishalji had seen me and observed me when he was still in the process of casting and was contemplating whom to cast for the crucial character. One day he calls me to his office and asks me if I want to audition. Again he sort of observed me and told me that I have been considered for the character,” said the actor who wants to dip his fingers in both the flavours of movies – art house and commercial cinema. Though he has started his acting journey, the youngster wasn’t interested in facing the camera at all. “No, I never wanted to get into acting. I always had this strong determination that I don’t want to be an actor because ever since I was a kid, my parents being in the industry, it was always something that was expected from me. So there was a determination that I will show them (friends) by not being an actor. I thought I will be an engineer or anything, but never an actor. But this determination evaporated when Vishalji called me.”

Cheryl Cole has girl crush on Rihanna Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:55 PM PST Singer Cheryl Cole has revealed that she has a girl crush on R&B singer Rihanna. Cole gave Rihanna a cheeky pat on her bottom as she presented the Best International Female solo artist award to her at the Brit Awards, reports dailymail.co.uk. The “Parachute” singer announced at the function: “And the winner of the Best International Female solo artist is, my girl crush, what’s her name? Rihanna.” Later backstage, Cole continued to praise the star, saying: “Rihanna was smoking hot. I love Rihanna.”

Sheen needs to help himself: Richie Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:51 PM PST Socialite Nicole Richie has blasted Charlie Sheen for his recent drug troubles and says he is the only person who can get himself sober. The 29-year-old has previously been to a rehab to be treated for drug dependence. “I don’t think he should make it somebody else’s responsibility to keep him sober. If he wants (his sobriety) to last for a long time, it’s up to him. He’s an adult and he needs to take responsibility for his actions,” contactmusic.com reports her as saying. Sheen was recently hospitalised with an apparent hernia after going on a 36-hour alcohol and cocaine binge.

Hilton’s beau gifts her ruby, diamond necklace on V-Day Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:46 PM PST Paris Hilton’s boyfriend Cy Waits bought her a ruby and diamond necklace for Valentine’s Day. The hotel heiress admitted she was spoilt by Cy Waits on the romantic day as the nightclub mogul treated her to expensive gifts as well as taking her for a romantic meal at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles, reports femalefirst.co.uk. Speaking about her Valentine’s treats, Paris tweeted: “Just got home from a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with my love. He gave me the most beautiful ruby and diamond necklace. Loves it. (sic)” “I love Valentine’s Day! So romantic and sweet! Hope everyone is having a lovely evening. xo Paris (sic),” she added.

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