Madonna’s son to be richest celebrity in next 20 yrs

London, Nov 20 (PTI) ‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna’s son Rocco and soccer star David Beckham’s son Cruz are predicted to become the richest celebrities in UK when they grow up. Rocco Ritchie, nine, and Cruz Beckham, four, are tipped to have the most earning power in a new report compiled by Cartoon Network.

The report assessed the estimated worth of today’s celebrity children in 20 years time, Contactmusic reported. Rocco, son of the ‘Celebration’ singer and film director Guy Ritchie, topped the four categories in the report – star quality, likely inheritance, talent and love of the camera – getting ratings of ten out of ten for each.

The report also estimated Rocco to be worth 376 million pounds before he reaches 30. “Rocco will earn a fortune from his mother and a fair bit from dad. But it’s the other three rankings that power him to the number one place,” Celebrity expert Mark Frith said.

Cruz, whose mother is former Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham, beat siblings Romeo, seven, and Brooklyn, ten, to second place in the list. Both Rocco and Cruz scored highly because they have been spotted dancing at their mother’s concerts.

None of Rocco’s other siblings, sister Lourdes and adopted brother and sister David and Mercy, featured on the list. British royals, William and Harry, came ninth and tenth on the list with estimated fortunes of just under 200 million pounds each, but were both awarded zero out of ten for showbiz talent.

Afghanistan is world’s worst place to be born: UN

Geneva, Nov 20 (IANS) Afghanistan is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born, the UN has said.

It is especially dangerous for girls, the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) said Thursday, in launching its annual report: The State of the World’s Children, the Online news agency reported.

Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world — 257 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water, the agency said.

As Taliban insurgents increase their presence across the country, growing insecurity is also making it hard to carry out vital vaccination campaigns against polio, a crippling disease still endemic in the country, and measles that can kill children.

‘Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born,’ Daniel Toole, Unicef regional director for South Asia, told a news briefing.

A Taliban-led insurgency and militant attack on an international guesthouse in Kabul that killed five UN foreign staff last month prompted the world body to evacuate hundreds of international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks.

Some 43 percent of the country is now virtually off-limits to aid agencies due to insecurity, according to Toole. The Taliban have been building their forces in their traditional southern and eastern Afghanistan stronghold and are increasing attacks in the north and west.

Teaching girls is one of the practices they forbid. Some 317 schools in Afghanistan were attacked in the past year, killing 124 and wounding another 290, Toole said. ‘We have seen a drop in the number of children who are attending schools and particularly young girls,’ he added.

School enrolment in Afghanistan had risen to five million, including two million girls, against one million with virtually no girls in 2001 when the Taliban were ousted from power, he said.

‘In Afghanistan and Pakistan we’ve made some progress but we’re starting to worry about back-tracking on that progress given the high rates of insecurity and the ongoing conflict,’ Toole said.

Meanwhile, Unicef has urged the world to help the one billion children still deprived of food, shelter, clean water or health care – and the hundreds of millions more threatened by violence.

Kasab’s lawyer wilts in the harsh spotlight

Spotlights can often be welcome but not this one. The notoriety that came with having as a client the lone terrorist caught alive after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks has left S.G. Abbas Kazmi weary, insecure and financially spent.

Defending Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab during the seven-month high profile trial has taken its toll, said Kazmi, who was appointed by the court for the task after the woman lawyer before him was removed over issues of clash of interests.

It has been a financial drain, has left him too busy to take up other cases and has led to 24X7 security for him and his family.

In a free-wheeling chat with IANS here, the 55-year-old lawyer said the case brought him fame — and many problems too.

‘For one, you all know what a hostile atmosphere I had faced from all quarters and communities when I was appointed for the trial,’ he said with a tired smile.

The hostility has dissipated to a large extent, he added, because he has conducted the trial in a most professional manner and even people who were protesting now accept he was merely doing a job assigned to him by the Special Court.

Kazmi, a known face in legal circles having defended some of the accused in the other high profile trial of the March 1993 Mumbai serial bombings, said the 26/11 trial turned out to be more than what he had expected.

‘It has regular hearings, which I cannot afford to miss. So, all my other work and cases got affected. I had to pass them on to my colleagues; till this trial gets over I have no time to take up new cases.’

‘All for Rs.2,500 ($55) per day’s hearing,’ Kazmi added ruefully. A pittance for a nationally known criminal lawyer.

The constant security that has come to be a part of their lives is new for the family that lives in Mahim, central Mumbai – and is also unwelcome.

‘But my family has been extremely understanding and supportive. They understand the sensitive nature of the trial and its implications; so they bear with everything,’ he smiled.

Commenting on Kasab, Kazmi said his interactions were always of a professional nature.

‘I get to meet him around once a week or so. From day one I have maintained that I would like this case to get over quickly so I can get on with other things, I have never tried to delay the trial in any manner.’

This was an oblique reference to Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam’s accusations that the defence was attempting to delay the proceedings.

Kazmi listed out the difficulties in the trial, and the differences between the hearings of the March 1993 bombings in which 257 people were killed, and the 26/11 attacks, where the three-day terror siege claimed 166 lives.

‘The first and foremost is that in the March 1993 case, all the accused were Indians. In this (26/11), the sole prime accused is a foreigner, from Pakistan. Then, there are two co-accused accomplices (Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed) who are Indians,’ he said.

In the previous trial, there were a total of 123 accused, including several women, a Bollywood star (Sanjay Dutt), police and customs officials, mafia operatives and businessmen.

‘In this case, there is only Kasab, the prime accused,’ he pointed out. The other two – Ansari and Ahmed – had provided background support and were not directly involved during the terror attacks.

In both instances, 13 locations, including government buildings and luxury hotels, were targeted.

Discussing the number of witnesses in the two trials, Kazmi said it worked out to barely five witnesses per accused in the March 1993 case, compared to 250-plus against Kasab.

‘In my professional career, I have never seen so many witnesses against a single accused in any case. I do not recall any similar precedent in India in the past,’ Kazmi said.

The March 1993 trial went on for nearly nine long years under different judges; 26/11 has been on since the past seven months with only one Special Judge, M. L. Tahilyani, presiding.

It is likely to go on for some more time. At the present pace, Kazmi feels the trial may continue well into 2010 – before the final sentencing ends it

25 hurt as Shiv Sena attacks IBN Mumbai office

Mumbai, Nov 20 (ANI): At least 25 people were hurt when Shiv Sena allegedly attacked the offices of IBN7 and IBN Lokmat, the Hindi and Marathi news channels of the IBN Network on Friday afternoon.

According to sources, several journalists were beaten up and office property was damaged.

CNN-IBN sources quoted Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and State Police Chief D.Shivanand as saying that action would be taken promptly against the attackers.

The attack on the IBN offices was in response to the channel airing negative reports about the Shiv Sena and its chief Bala Saheb Thackeray.

Media networks across the country have condemned the incident, saying it amounts to a clear attack on press freedom. (ANI)

ANIFacebook, MySpace, slammed for not introducing ‘help button to protect kids’

Popular social networking websites Facebook and MySpace have come under fire for failing to introduce a help button for children being bullied online.

The outrage comes after rival networking site Bebo adopted the button that allows users to contact trained child protection officers and also provides details of local police and links to 10 other sources of help.

Jim Gamble, from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), criticised MySpace and Facebook for not following the same example of Bebo.

He said there was “no legitimate reason” for not doing so and that social networking sites were raking in money through advertising by attracting children and teenagers to join.

“We applaud that but do not forget while you do that there is a responsibility, a duty of care, to the young and the vulnerable,” The BBC quoted him as saying.

He added, “[The button] is tiny and does not take up any significant real estate. The bottom line is there is no legitimate reason for not taking it and placing it on a site.”

Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, also said: “I can see no reason why other sites would not consider adopting the same approach and would encourage them to embed the Ceop Report button for the benefit of all users.”

A Facebook spokesman, on the other hand, explained: “The safety of Facebook users is the top priority for the company, which is why we have invested in the most robust reporting system to support our 300 million users.

“We also work closely with police forces in the UK and around the world to create a safe environment. Our teams are manned by trained staff in two continents giving 24-hour support in 70 languages.

“We look forward to hearing about the experience of Bebo using the Ceop button and will take account of their experience in any future evaluation of our reporting systems.” (ANI)

Google Image Swirl: A New Way To Browse For Similar Images

The newest addition to Google Labs is a mashup of Google Images, Google Similar Images and the visual query refinement tool, the Google Wonder Wheel. Called Google Image Swirl, the new tool clusters similar images based on characteristics found in both the text surrounding images, as well as using some of the visual analysis techniques that I wrote about in Google Adds Search By Similarity To Image Search back in April.

Image Swirl results look a lot like the thumbnails presented in regular image search results, but you can see that there are many images stacked behind the topmost result.

 

Click on a thumbnail, and the stack expands to show you a cluster of images, related by visual characteristics. Click on one of those, and you’ll get a further expansion, this time based on textual or conceptual relationships.

 

Image Swirl currently works for about 200,000 of the most popular queries. You can tell which queries have Image Swirl results when you start typing in the search box, as available searches will auto-complete, similar to Google Suggest. Google said it plans to expand the number of Image Swirl results available in the future.

Yahoo Brings ‘Real Time’ Updates To News Shortcut

Yahoo has enhanced its News shortcut with real-time feeds and updates. The idea is to make the News Shortcut more current and more social with Twitter content in the form of videos, photos and tweets. The new shortcut has a horizontal tabbed interface that offers access to each category of information (see screens below). According to Yahoo this is the first such integration with Twitter, although both Google and Bing are starting to integrate Twitter feeds.

The Yahoo Search Blog explains:

Starting today, you can see relevant photos, videos, and tweets about a breaking news story on the Yahoo! News Shortcut. Many of you are already familiar with the existing Yahoo! News Shortcut, which displays headlines on our Web search results page when you look for news stories. The enhanced shortcut with these new tabs will now display for many breaking or major news searches.

Images make the implementation self explanatory:

The enhanced shortcut seeks to make Yahoo Search the first place to go find the most current information on a range of news stories. Apparently there’s no comparable Yahoo News integration on the immediate horizon although it’s being considered. In terms of the “noise” that often shows up in Twitter, Yahoo is running a separate algorithm to filter the content and make sure that it’s free of irrelevant information.

When asked about whether users will take advantage of these content tabs, given that historically tabs are not widely utilized, Yahoo’s Larry Cornett told us that in user testing Yahoo was “very pleased” with the reaction to the new shortcut and its format.

News is a context in which “real-time” information makes perfect sense, unlike a range of other contexts where I may not need or want to know — right now.

Events And Movies Today in Hyderabad

Art	Top
The Juicy Pink Appy Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  6 p.m. Diara Art Gallery, 100A, Banjara Petals, Road No.5, Banjara Hills. An exhibition of paintings and clay works by 537 students of Slate School. The show is conceived and presented by artist P Naveen Kumar. As the great master Picasso said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”, very truly the innocence and beauty which reflects in the artworks of these young students under their ever enthusiastic mentor Naveen Kumar is amazing.
Basically Hyderabadi Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  6 p.m. ICONART, 1672, SBI Building, Road No.12, Banjara Hills. An exhibition of drawings and paintings on the minutes, transcripts, proceedings of life in the old city by Syed Rayees Ahmed will be on display. The paintings capture unhurried moments of burkha clad women, relaxed and leisurely in the comfort of their homes, in bazaars, tea stalls and on the streets and everyday life is captured in an honest effort.
Dhyan Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  7 p.m. Alankrota Art Gallery, Madhapur. An exhibition of paintings titled Dhyan by J Suryanarayan.
Special Events	Top
Bonjour India Friday, November 20th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  7 p.m. Kalakriti Art Gallery 468, Next to Elahe, Road No.10 , Banjara Hills French Ambassador of France to India presents a preview of Bonjour India – Festival of France in India by French Embassy in India and Cultures France. This festival features over 150 events and 250 artists, designers, musicians, researchers and entrepreneurs, creating a vibrant platform for exchange and collaboration between the two countries.
Eating Out	Top
Evening Snacks Friday, November 20th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  6 p.m. Promenade, Aditya Park, Ameerpet. An array of South and North Indian snacks and light meals at the Promenade.
Midnight Biryani Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11:30 p.m. to  3 a.m. Tulips, Hotel Greenpark, Greenlands, Begumpet. Tulips is serving an array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryanis. Other delicacies like Haleem, Sheermal, Paneer Burjee and desserts are also available.
Southern Delicacies Friday, November 20th, 2009. noon to  3 p.m. Deccan Pavilion, Hotel ITC The Kakatiya, Begumpet. The coffee shop is offering authentic Hyderabadi biryanis and delicious kebabs along with other Chinese and continental cuisines. Also on the menu are soups, salads, cold cuts, pastas and desserts.
Snacks and Desserts Buffet Friday, November 20th, 2009. 4 p.m. to  7 p.m. Sweet Nirvana, Kavuri Hills, Madhapur. A variety of savoury snacks like chicken barbecue and even desserts are up for grabs.
Lunch Buffet Friday, November 20th, 2009. 12:30 p.m. to  3 p.m. Tandoor, White House Building, Begumpet. An authentic North Indian buffet – peas pulao, paneer tikka, biryanis, desserts and more.
Awadh Food Festival Friday, November 20th, 2009. 5 p.m. to  11 p.m. The Great Kebab Factory, Next to MLA Colony, Road No.12, Banjara Hills. Some of the famous dishes on menu are smoked Kebabs like Kakori Kebab, Lucknowi Chaamp, Murgh Wajad Ali, Dum ki Nalli with vegetarian delights like Dahi ke Kebab, Dohra Kunbh, Makkai ki Tikki and desserts like Apple jalebi, Rabdi Lachchadar and others.
The Cocktail Festival Friday, November 20th, 2009. noon to  11:45 p.m. Novotel Hyderabad, Hitech City, Madhapur. The factory is ready to churn vivid cocktail mixes all through the month. The festival is in contrast to the regular Oktober festival celebrated across the globe. The USP of the drinks will be matching with the days of the week, like Mojito Mondays, Tropical Tuesdays, Whiskey-mixed Wednesdays, Tequila Thursdays, Frozen Special Fridays, Sangria Saturdays and Shooter Sundays and also on the changes and the preferences of the crowd.
Kerala Food Festival Friday, November 20th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Novotel Hyderabad, Near Hitech City, Madhapur. Novotel Hyderabad brings the city a festival that celebrates the rich culinary tradition of Kerala offering the prolific and authentic tastes of Kerala delicacies.
Steak And Grill Festival Friday, November 20th, 2009. Alfresco, Taj Krishna, Road No.1,Banjara Hills Enjoy a romantic evening under the stars and relish an array of juicy Steaks and Grills from America and Mediterranean region at the Al Fresco.
Dim-Sum Festival Friday, November 20th, 2009. 7 p.m. to  11 p.m. Golden Dragon, Taj Krishna, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. The menu consists of a wide-range of Dim Sums in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options like baby spinach and spring vegetables dim sum, five spiced mushroom dim sum, garlic and cabbage dim sum, burnt garlic fish dim sum, chicken dim sum, crispy shrimps dim sum and delicious desserts from Executive Chef Nitin.
Nightlife	Top
House Music Night Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  1 a.m. Dublin, Hotel ITC The Kakatiya, Opp. to Walden, Begumpet Rocking party tracks by in-house DJ Daman.
From Goa With Love Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Seasons Bar, Taj Krishna, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Singer Wahida belts out hit songs from 70s, 80s to latest chart busters.
Russian Melodies Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Atrium Bar, Taj Deccan, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. Russian singer Polina will perform at the bar. She is versatile and covers a wide variety of world styles, from contemporary popular repertoire to retro and hip-hop.
Club Nights Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Escape, Hotel Greenpark, Greenlands, Begumpet. DJs Sunny and Moiz will entertain the crowd with rock, house and Bollywood music tonight.
Corporate Nights Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Venom, Lumbini Jewel Mall, Road No.2, Banjara Hills. Venom is offering attractive packages for the corporates. The packages vary and includes unlimited drinks and snacks. Hip-hop by the in house DJ will entertain the crowd.
Rock and Retro Night Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Firangi Paani, City Centre Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. In-house DJs Christy and Amar are all set to play rock, retro, house and desi tonight. Drinks will be on the house for the ladies.
Karaoke Nights Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Xtreme Sports Bar, Plot No.76, III and IV Floor, Bear Image Gardens, Madhapur. Karaoke music on the house with DJ Kranthi spinning some famous songs for the ladies. Watch FIFA Futbol Mundial on large screen.
Barbie Fridays Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Liquids Again, Bhaskar Plaza, Road No.1, Banjara Hills. DJ Ajay will play house, hip-hop and Bollywood music tonight for the ladies night.
Rock and Retro Night Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Rattle and Hum, IV Floor, Jaya Chambers, Plot No.102, Road No.36, Jubilee Hills. DJ Swadeep is all set to play rock, retro, commercial and trance music tonight.
Retro Night Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. 10 Downing Street, Begumpet. Swing down in to the memory lane with DJ Gavin from Chennai.
Music	Top
Pentagram Live! Friday, November 20th, 2009. 8 p.m. to  11:45 p.m. Live Antiquity presents a musical evening with desi rock band Pentagram.
Shopping	Top
Season Sale Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. Planet Sports, Shop No.1-2, Afzia Towers, Opp. Lifestyle, Begumpet. There is a 20% discount on apparel, footwear and other sports accessories for women and men.
Festive Collection Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. New Meena Bazar, Abids. The store is has an exclusive range of reviting kurtas, pyjamas and sherwanis, featuring Lucknowi, Chikandari, Kashmiri works, Brocades and thread embroidery in exotic range of colors and designs. The fabrics used to create these masterpieces include plain cotton, crushed cotton, cotton silk, linen tissue silk and ploy silk.
Designer Jewellery Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  8 p.m. Musaddilal Jewellers. Designer jewellery collection for Diwali and the wedding season. The collection specialises in diamonds, ruby, antique jewellery like satlada, chokers and much more.
Designer Collection Friday, November 20th, 2009. 11 a.m. to  8 p.m. Personna, Road No.8, Banjara Hills. The store is displaying formal and party wear apparel from famous designers like Manoviraj Khosla, Troy De Costa, Wendell Rodricks and many more.

 

 

Movies Today

 

English	Top
Fly Me To The Moon
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 16:45
2012
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 11:45 and 22:45
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:10, 13:40, 16:15, 18:30, 19:15, 21:40 and 22:20
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 10:15, 16:00, 19:15 and 22:30
Cine Planet Multiplex Kompally., 2765-4321 10:15, 16:00, 18:30 and 21:30
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 10:30, 13:30, 16:35, 19:40 and 22:45
Talkie Town Shetty’s Complex, Aland Road, Bombay Highway, Miyapur., 11:30, 14:30, 18:15 and 21:15
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 10:40, 13:20, 16:20, 19:00 and 22:30
A Christmas Carol
PRASADS IMAX NTR Gardens, LIC Division PO, Hyderabad, 500-063. , 2344-8989 14:45, 18:45 and 20:45
Twilight
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 16:50
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 12:00 and 23:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:45 and 19:30
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 20:30
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 13:40 and 20:00
Whiteout
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 13:10
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 20:30
Hindi	Top
London Dreams
Padmavati Cineplex Kachiguda, Opp: Suprabhat Hotel, 11:30, 14:30, 18:00 and 21:15
Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 16:45, 19:45 and 22:45
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:20, 13:00, 15:20, 19:05 and 21:50
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 13:15, 17:45 and 23:00
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 11:00, 16:00 and 22:00
Tivoli Secunderabad, 2784-6747 11:30, 14:20, 18:30 and 21:30
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 10:50, 13:45 and 22:20
Ramakrishna Glitterati NTR Estate,J N Road, Abids., 2474-1699 11:30, 14:30 and 18:00 and 21:15
Kurbaan
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 20:00, 22:00 and 23:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:00, 12:40, 13:15, 15:50, 16:25 and 22:15
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 10:00, 16:25, 19:20 and 22:20
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 10:00, 13:00, 16:15, 19:30 and 22:45
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 10:40, 13:40, 16:45, 19:20 and 22:30
Talkie Town Shetty’s Complex, Aland Road, Bombay Highway, Miyapur., 11:30, 14:45, 18:00 and 21:30
Sensation Insomnia Next to Police station, Lakdi-ka-pul, 2323-3455 12:00, 15:00, 19:00 and 21:45
HITECH 70mm Near Cyber towers, Hitech City, 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 and 21:00
Anand Opp. Wesley Boys College, S.P.Road, 2790-6405 10:30, 14:30, 18:00 and 21:00
Priya 70mm Mallepally, 10:30, 15:00, 18:45 and 21:30
Tum Mile
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 22:30
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 10:00 and 22:45
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 14:00
Ramakrishna-70 mm NTR Estate,J N Road, Abids, 2474-1699 11:30, 14:30, 18:00 and 21:15
Telugu	Top
Magadheera
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 17:00
Bendu Appa Rao
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 20:00
Odeon 70mm RTC X Roads, 2765-1438 11:15, 14:15, 18:00 and 21:00
Ek Niranjan
Cine Planet Multiplex Kompally., 2765-4321 15:45 and 21:30
Shanti Narayanguda., 2322-3580 11:15, 14:15, 18:00 and 21:00
Village Lo Vinayakudu
BIG Cinemas Gs 24 Carat 8-3-949/1, Goldspot Area, Ameerpet., 040-3989-4040 17:00
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 20:15
PVR Cinemas Hyderabad Central, Panjagutta., 6662-1115/6662-1116 13:30
Cinemax RK Cineplex, Road No.2, Banjara Hills., 4456-5555 17:00
INOX GVK One Mall, Road No.1, Banjara Hills., 4476-7770 13:45, 16:30 and 19:20
Devi 70 mm RTC ‘X’ Roads, 2763-7811 11:15, 14:15, 18:00 and 21:00
Kurradu
Prasads Multiplex Necklace Road, 2344-8888, 3989-5050 14:15
HITECH 70mm Near Cyber towers, Hitech City, 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 and 21:00.

 

Google Removes Offensive Obama Image; Was It Justified?

Saying the host site was serving malware to users, Google has removed a controversial photo of First Lady Michelle Obama from Google Image Search. The site itself, however, remains listed in Google web search results without any visible malware warning.

Welcome to the murky world of free speech, politics, and Google.

It began last week, when Search Engine Roundtable pointed out a racist image showing as the number one result in Google Image Search for the term [Michelle Obama]. The image was apparently removed yesterday.

In a Google Web Search Help Forum thread discussing the image, a Google employee named Jem explained yesterday that there are three reasons why Google would remove content from its index:

“… Google views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority. Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results, or images from our Google Images results, simply because the content is in very poor taste or because we receive complaints concerning it. We will, however, remove pages from our results if we believe the image, page (or its site) violates our Webmaster Guidelines, if we believe we are required to do so by law, or at the request of the webmaster who is responsible for the image.“

(emphasis mine)

An offensive photo of Michelle Obama doesn’t obviously violate any of those three guidelines on its own. Google’s press office has yet to respond to our request for an official statement. But in the comments of today’s Search Engine Roundtable post, Google’s Matt Cutts says the site was violating Google’s webmaster guidelines:

“… that page did violate our webmaster guidelines because it was serving malware to users, which violates the quality guideline that says ‘Don’t create pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other badware.’ I believe that the Images team did a general anti-malware sweep.”

Sure enough, a [site:] search for the site in Google Images produces no results. But the malware sweep apparently didn’t reach the main web search index. As Michael Gray points out on SER, the site itself is still listed in Google.com search results with no malware warning.

Making matters slightly murkier is that, as you see above, the image was hosted on Google’s own blogging platform.

Google’s critics will no doubt call this favoritism toward the Obama administration and be quick to point out the company’s ties to Washington, DC. Google CEO Eric Schmidt endorsed Obama for president, later campaigned with him, and then turned down an offer to join the administration. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Google was the fourth-largest corporate contributor to Obama’s presidential campaign. And we’ve reported about a few notable Google employees who’ve left to work for the Obama administration.

On the other hand, we’ve also written more than once about potential friction between Google and the Obama administration. Christine Varney, the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust has been quoted as saying that Google “has acquired a monopoly in internet online advertising.” See our stories Will Obama Be The Downfall Of Google? and Google’s Anti-Trust Problem Appears Very Real for more.

If, in fact, the blog hosting the offensive image of Michelle Obama also hosts malware, Google’s removal of the image seems justified in light of the company’s stated policies. But, in that case, a malware warning should also be placed on the site itself in Google’s main search results. Until that happens — and perhaps even after — Google’s critics are likely to question the decision to remove this image.

While today’s episode may be a case of Google looking for an excuse to remove an image from the index, it should be said that the same exact image of the First Lady can be found on other sites and remains in Google Image Search because those sites apparently don’t meet the criteria for content removal. There are similarly offensive images of the President himself that can be found quite easily in Google Image Search, too.

Google Builds Out A National Real Estate Search Engine

While the National Association of REALTORS® is planning to launch its own national property database sometime next year, Google seems to have just stolen the NAR’s thunder. How? By rolling out individual “place pages” for every property that’s listed in Google Maps. Like this one for a home in Seattle:

 

The real estate listing place pages include property information, photos, map placement, Street View imagery and functionality, nearby public transit details, and even AdWords ads. Google has added links for “Directions” and “Search nearby,” as well as a “Send” link that opens an outgoing email with the place page link embedded inside. The property details in the example above are sourced from two separate Prudential Real Estate web sites, and from NWSource.com, which is the Seattle Times’ web site. It’s all presented just as you’d see on any standard MLS web site, though it lacks some of the deep information (such as square footage of individual rooms) available in a typical MLS listing.

There’s no announcement of this new feature yet on the Google LatLong blog, but it was announced today on the official Google Australia blog. That post says the real estate place pages may also include things like videos and inspection times. Left unsaid is that the place page format gives Google the space and flexibility to add new types of information in the future.

Google Maps has, of course, shown individual property information for some time. But it was relegated to the old, small, somewhat user-unfriendly info pop-up windows. The new place pages offer more information, are more user-friendly, and have short, clean links (like http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=18428966863334951733) that home buyers can easily pass around.

It’s the latest in a string of upgrades that Google has made to how it presents real estate information in Google Maps. For more, see Land Grab: Google Expands Real Estate Listings from July and Google Maps Makes Real Estate Search More Visible from last month. Add them all together, along with other updates that are sure to come, and it’s obvious Google is on its way to building what amounts to a national MLS-like database of property listings.

Moldova feeds soldiers garlic, onion to beat swine flu

Moldovan soldiers have been issued with an extra ration of onions and garlic to ward off swine flu, according to the defence ministry’s chief doctor. Skip related content

Extra garlic and onions for Moldovan soldiers to ward off swine flu Enlarge photo

“We have introduced an extra 25 grams (one ounce) of onion and 15 grams of garlic in their daily ration,” Sergiu Vasilita told AFP.

So far, 24 soldiers have completed treatment for swine flu, while 19 are in hospital with acute respiratory infections, he said.

Moldova has registered more than 900 cases of the A(H1N1) virus infection.

This week, most schools and universities reopened after a quarantine period was lifted, but five schools and one university remain closed.

Homes flooded as UK storms continue

Homes flooded as UK storms continue

With the downpour predicted to continue overnight, the Environment Agency warned that more properties were at risk from the rising floodwater.

Rain battered parts of northern England, north-west Wales and western Scotland.

Worst hit was Cumbria, where main roads were blocked, 21 schools were closed, and scores of people had to flee their homes and take shelter in emergency evacuation centres.

The Met Office said the village of Seathwaite in Cumbria recorded 6.8in (173mm) of rain in 24 hours. Another 5.9in (150mm) could fall on the Lake District’s higher fells by noon on Friday. Flooding was also reported in north-west Wales and in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.

As night fell, the Environment Agency had in place six severe flood warnings – all in Cumbria – 25 flood warnings, and 51 less serious flood watches. The rain was accompanied by severe gales, with gusts of 65mph to 75mph in western coastal areas and up to 95mph over the mountains.

Not even the Queen escaped the bad weather – she had to keep a firm grip on her hat in strong winds as she arrived at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire for a service today.

The Environment Agency said hundreds of properties in Cumbria were flooded, with the towns of Cockermouth, Kendal and Keswick worst affected. A spokeswoman said: “The ground’s already saturated and the rivers are really high, moving very fast, and with more rain we will likely see more flooding.”

Homes in the lower lying part of Keswick were evacuated after the River Greta burst its banks at about 9am, rising to about 5ft (1.5m) higher than normal. Fire crews were called in from surrounding towns to help pump water out of flooded homes and get trapped householders out of their homes.

The town’s mayor, Andrew Lysser, said: “It is all hands to the pump, really. The emergency services are well co-ordinated and have been fantastic. The fear is if it stretches out. It is raining now and we have got another 10 hours of rain forecast. The water will still run off the fells and into the valleys.”

Mukesh Ambani is richest Indian

New York: With a fortune of $32 billion, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the U.S. business magazine Forbes’ annual list of richest Indians. His brother, Anil Ambani, figures at number three.

Mittal second

Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in London but holds an Indian passport, is sandwiched between the Ambani brothers with a net worth of $30 billion. The magazine put Anil Ambani’s net worth at $17.5 billion.

Marked growth

Together, the three saw their wealth grow by over $25 billion to $79.5 billion on the back of a rebound in the stock market over the past one year, but were still far shy of their record total of $145 billion at the peak of the stock market boom in November 2007.

The list of India’s richest 100 people included 52 billionaires, nearly double from 27 a year ago and just short of 54 in November 2007. However, there were only six women in the list.

Collective wealth

The collective wealth of these 100 is $276 billion (nearly Rs. 13 lakh crore), which is almost one- fourth of the country’s GDP.

While the top three in the pack have retained their respective positions for the second year in a row, telecom czar Sunil Mittal has slipped from fourth to eighth place and IT veteran Azim Premji has moved up to fourth.

Besides, Adi Godrej, who heads a diversified conglomerate, has moved out of the top-10 league and Essar group’s Ruia brothers have entered the top-five club.

Ahead of China

India, which lags behind China in terms of economic growth rate, has beaten its neighbour when it comes to the wealth accumulated by its richie-rich club.

India’s 100 richest command a total fortune of $276 billion, which is $100 billion more than the total net worth of their Chinese counterparts, despite the fact that China has a higher number of billionaires at 79.

The top 10 richest Indians have a fortune of $155 billion, almost four times that of China’s top 10, Forbes said-PTI

 

 

Growing CO2 could cause 6 metre rise in sea level: A study

If the world fails to get the growing carbon emission under control, sea levels could rise by up to six metres, said a new study.

According to the study by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), temperatures in the Antarctica were increased by six degrees Celsius during the past periods when the volume of high carbon dioxide (CO2) was high in the atmosphere.

This could cause a sea level rise of up six metres, threatening coastal cities like London, New York and San Francisco, it said.

Louise Sime, who led the BAS study, looked at ice cores to see how temperatures changed during periods of high carbon dioxide.

During the last period of high CO2, 125,000 years ago, she found temperatures were up to 6 degrees Celsius higher than present day levels.

Such a hike in temperature could lead to a rise in sea levels of between 4 to 6 metres over hundreds of years as the ice sheets melt, The Telegraph reported.

“We didn’t expect to see such warm temperatures, and we don’t yet know in detail what caused them. But they indicate that Antarctica’s climate may have undergone rapid shifts during past periods of high CO2.”

Dr Sime said the study suggests that current high levels of CO2 could also cause a rise in temperature. She said further research could predict the affect on sea level rise.

“If we can pin down how much warmer temperatures were in Antarctica and Greenland at this time, then we can test predictions of how melting of the large ice sheets may contribute to sea level rise.”

It is the latest research to warn of the consequences of increased greenhouse gases on the Earth’s climate, The Telegraph Reported.

All the recent studies are adding pressure on world leader to agree in international deal on climate change at a UN summit in Copenhagen this December.

A recent study appeared in in Nature Geoscience found that carbon dioxide levels rose by almost a third in the last seven years. It warned that if the world continues to pump out pollution at such a rate it will cause temperatures to rise by six degrees Celsius, causing massive droughts, extinction of species and sea level rise.

Another study yesterday added to the urgency by claiming that the oceans are losing their ability to absorb CO2. Samar Khatiwala of Columbia University, found that the proportion of fossil fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans since 2000 may have decline by as much as 10 per cent.

“What our ocean study and other recent land studies suggest is that we cannot count on these sinks operating in the future as they have in the past, and keep on subsidising our ever-growing appetite for fossil fuels,” he said.

But, Dr Wolfgang Knorr, of Bristol University, who has been studying the same subject said there is not yet enough evidence to prove that the Earth is losing its ability to absorb CO2.

Women use 515 chemicals on face and body every day: Study

Modern women apply over 500 chemicals daily on their face and body in the form of various beauty products to look beautiful, a new study claimed.

 The beauty-conscious ladies apply up to 13 products, most of which contain more than 20 ingredients, including additives that could lead to cancer and various skin problems, a survey done by deodorant firm Bionsen said.

 “Beauty regimes have changed dramatically from a simple ‘wash & go’ to daily fake tan applications, regular manicures, false lashes and hair extensions,” Charlotte Smith of Bionsen was quoted as saying by ‘The Sun.’

 “The new ‘wonder treatments’ contain more chemicals to provide better results, which means that women are more at risk,” Smith said.

 Lipstick, the most commonly used cosmetic, contains on an average 33 chemicals, body lotion 32, mascara 29, and hand moisturiser 11, the study found.

 Most perfumes contain an average cocktail of 250 chemicals with some containing as many as 400.

‘Glowing’ bacteria to act as mine-detectors

Washington: Students from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, have created a custom-made bacteria that glows green when it comes into contact with chemicals leaked by buried explosives, which would provide for a simple, cheap, accurate test to find undetected landmines.

 The bacteria can be mixed into a colourless solution that, when sprayed on to the ground, forms green patches to indicate the presence of landmines.

 According to researchers, the organism, which is cheap to produce, could be delivered from the air onto areas thought to contain landmines, with results available within a few hours.

 The bacteria is not dangerous to people or animals.

 Scientists and engineers were able to create their bespoke bacteria with an emerging technique known as BioBricking.

 The tool enables bacteria molecules to be assembled from a range of tiny parts called, like a very small-scale machine.

 Researchers involved in the project said that although as yet they have no plans to make their product commercial, they believe it could form a cheap, accessible and easy-to-use alternative to existing landmine sensors.

 According to Dr Alistair Elfick of the University’s School of Engineering, who co-supervised the students’ project, “This anti-mine sensor is a great example of how innovation in science can be of benefit to wider society. It also demonstrates how new scientific techniques can allow molecules to be designed for a specific purpose.”

 Between 15,000 and 20,000 casualties are caused each year by landmines and unexploded ordnance, according to the charity Handicap International.

 

‘Green’ tyres to boost mileage, cut pollution

A new generation of ‘green’ tyres that will boost fuel efficiency without affecting safety or durability is in the pipeline.

 

They could help add an extra mile or two per gallon (3.78 litres) to a car’s fuel economy, says a new study, reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases in the process. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are leading to global warming.

 

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) senior editor Alexander Tullo explains that rolling resistance, the friction that tyres encounter when rolling, are a major factor in a vehicle’s fuel economy.

 

For years, tyre makers and their raw material suppliers have been eyeing lower rolling resistance as a way to boost fuel economy and promote a cleaner environment.

 

But they have been thwarted by a principle called the “magic triangle of tyre technology”. It holds that an improvement to rolling resistance has to come at the expense of wet-road grip and durability.

 

That barrier is now falling, thanks to the development of new materials, including new forms of silica and nanomaterials.

 

These new materials include a nanogel that improves abrasion resistance, grip and rolling resistance of tyres as well as a newly-developed resin that helps tyres retain air longer, said a release of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

 

But there’s a catch: Motorists still will have to keep tyres properly inflated to take full advantage of the new technology, the article notes.

 

These findings have been featured on the covers of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, (C&EN).

 

Symantec warns of rogue security software

Company study detects more than 250 such programmes.

Symantec Corp. has stated that cyber criminals are employing increasingly persuasive online scare tactics to convince users to purchase rogue security software. Rogue security software or ‘scareware’ is a software that pretends to be legitimate security software. These applications provide little or no value and may even install malicious code or reduce the overall security of the computer, according to Shantanu Ghosh, Vice-President, India product Operations, Symantec.

Launching the report here on Thursday, Mr. Ghosh said rogue security software was detected in a recent study conducted by Symantec based on data obtained during the 12-month period July-June 2008-09.

The study stated that with the rapid growth of Internet infrastructure and increasing broadband population the presence of “Scareware” was an impending concern that would critically affect consumers and enterprises alike.

According to the study, 93 per cent of the software installations for the top 50 rogue security software scams were intentionally downloaded by the user. As of June 2009, Symantec had detected more than 250 distinct rogue security software programmes.

The initial monetary loss to consumers who download these rogue products ranges from $30 to $100. However, the costs associated to regain one’s identity could be far greater.

Not only could these rogue security programmes cheat the user, but the personal details and credit card information provided during the purchase could be used in additional fraud or sold on black market forums.

The report said that rogue security software would be advertised through web sites such as blogs, forums, social networking sites and adult sites.

Of the top 50 reported rogue security applications observed in the 12 months under reference, 61 per cent of the scams observed by Symantec were attempted on users in North America, 31 per cent occurred in the Europe, Middle East, and African region, 6 per cent in the Asia-Pacific/Japan region and 2 per cent in the Latin American region.

Azharuddin Ismail ,Slumdog boy has turned author at 10!

New Delhi: Azharuddin Ismail has turned author. Following the footsteps of his co-star Rubina Ali, the 11-year-old actor of Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire has penned his autobiography. “Slumboy: L’extraordinaire destin d’un enfant de Bombay” was published in September by French publisher Michel Lafon. “Azhar has been paid 6,500 euros for the 285-page book and he will earn further royalty on it,” says Dinesh Dubey, Azharuddin’s spokesperson.

Rubina’s autobiography, “Slumdog Dreaming: My Journey to the Stars”, was also commissioned by a French publisher, and the rights were sold to Random House India. The English book was released in India in July. Interestingly, like Rubina, whose autobiography was co-written with journalist Divya Dugar, Azharuddin’s ‘autobiography’ too is co-authored by 36-year-old Mumbai-based French journalist, Mouhssine Ennaimi.

Ennaimi says he spent five months interviewing Azharuddin and his family in their tarpaulin tent, where they were living before the success of Slumdog Millionaire, as well as in their hometown, Jalna. So far, the rights have been sold to an Italian publisher, but the book has not been translated into English, nor have the rights been sold to an Indian publisher.

More than 10,000 French copies have been printed. Azharuddin and his mother were flown to Paris for the book launch, where the child star gave interviews.

Actress-author Suchitra Krishnamoorthy says, “People are only milking their new-found stardom. That someone else has come forward to write the book proves that. And they don’t mind it either.”

Emcee and actress Shivani Wazir Pasrich says, “The kids should definitely write what they have been through so far, but it should not be called an autobiography. It is a unique childhood and would make for an interesting read, but it just should be a book on their life so far.”

Hindustan Times

Rest, first

Lisa J.Hamlin of Aerobics and Fitness Association of America in Hyderabad on Saturday

 Important as strength training programmes are, the factor of rejuvenation is not to be ignored.

While more has been written about how to design strength-training programs than how to recover from practice and training, working with youth of any age involves balancing the demands of training with recovery. Although some parents, teachers, and coaches still have a “more is better” attitude, the perception that boys and girls can recover from hard workouts faster than adults is not supported by research.

What is recovery

When following any type of training programme, one of the most important aspects of that program is the planned rest and recovery necessary to achieve maximum gains. . Proper recovery should allow the body to repair muscle and connective tissues broken down during training as well as restore energy stores that have been depleted.

Rest between sets:

The amount of rest necessary between sets varies depending on the type of exercise being performed, the individual performing it and the goal of the training program. The rest interval between sets allows for the recovery of the anaerobic energy systems and determines the amount of lactic acid produced during exercise that will be removed. Lactic acid build up in muscles inhibits muscle contractions. Larger athletes, with more muscle mass will require more rest time for adequate recovery.

Short and long term recovery

Short-term recovery, sometimes called active recovery occurs in the hours immediately after intense exercise. Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts during the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout.

Long-term recovery techniques refer to those that are built in to a seasonal training program. Most well-designed training schedules will include recovery days and or weeks that are built into an annual training schedule. This is also the reason athletes and coaches change their training program throughout the year.Through the course of a workout, a young athlete’s body becomes depleted of vital fluids and nutrients faster. Everything used must be replaced so that the body can be prepare to go to work the next time. The two nutrients that the body needs most post-exercise are proteins and carbohydrates. Active muscles use a form of stored glucose called glycogen as energy for work. During and immediately following a workout, the body releases insulin, which promotes the uptake of glucose from the blood, to replace depleted glycogen stores. Also, protein is needed for the repair of damaged muscle tissue as well for the interactive effect on insulin secretion.

Another important factor affecting recovery is sleep. It has been noted that there is an increase in growth hormone secretion immediately following sleep onset in humans, which may be particularly beneficial to athletes who regularly participate in strenuous activities. Sleep also has a significant impact on a youngster’s psychological state. When the body is fully rested it tends to have a greater overall sense of well being.

When allowed to get 7 – 9 hrs of sleep, the body tends to be at its peak in terms of overall function.

The writer is sports fitness performance enhancements, Fitness One