Rayo Vallecano 0-7 Barcelona

Barcelona ended one of the most disappointing weeks in their recent history with a thumping 7-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.

The win ensured Real Madrid will have to wait at least a few more days to win La Liga.
With Madrid beating Sevilla earlier on Saturday to move 10 points clear at the summit, Jose Mourinho's men would have been crowned champions if Barca had lost at Rayo but the Catalan giants were not about to relinquish their title with a whimper in the capital.
Lionel Messi started and finished the scoring, with Barca's other goals coming from a Pedro Rodriguez brace, Seydou Keita, Thiago and a Robert own goal.
The result leaves Barca seven points behind Madrid with three games remaining and was the perfect response to a week that has rocked the Nou Camp club.
As if last weekend's home defeat to Madrid, which left their arch rivals on the verge of the title, was not bad enough, Barca then saw their Champions League defence come to an end after they were dumped out by Chelsea in the semi-finals in midweek.
Perhaps the biggest blow came on Friday though, when coach Pep Guardiola announced he would be stepping down in the summer after a record-breaking four years in charge which has seen him lead Barca to 13 titles - with a 14th on offer in next month's Copa del Rey final.
Losing Guardiola is a blow for Barca, but the man who is going to replace him, his assistant Tito Vilanova, will inherit one of the greatest teams in history - and one that Rayo simply could not live with.
The hosts, who remain in serious relegation trouble after suffering a seventh defeat in eight games, had early claims for a penalty turned down following a mistake by stand-in Barca goalkeeper Jose Pinto, but after that it was all one-way traffic.
Messi opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he tapped in Pedro's pass across the face of goal and, after Pinto had parried Diego Costa's glancing header to keep Barca ahead, the visitors went 2-0 up in the 26th minute.
Messi robbed a Rayo defender of possession and Alexis Sanchez was immediately sent through into the area. The Chilean was pushed wide as he skipped past Rayo goalkeeper David Cobeno but his low cross-shot was deflected into his own net by Robert.
To add injury to insult for the Rayo defender, he collided with the post in trying to keep out that Alexis cross and he had to be substituted soon after.
Pinto made another good save to push away Roberto Trashorras's superb curling free-kick but it was Barca back on the attack in the 38th minute when Keita made it 3-0 after good work by Messi.
Rayo would have hoped for better fortune after the break, but it took Barca just 60 seconds of the second half to increase their lead with Pedro tapping into an empty net after Messi had struck the underside of the crossbar with a side-footed effort.
Thiago curled an effort just wide as Barca sought a fifth, and it was the young playmaker who did make it 5-0 in the 77th minute with a downward header from Dani Alves' right-wing cross.
Barca then added two more goals late on to compound Rayo's misery and wrap up a one-side victory - with Messi and Pedro once again involved in both.
Pedro made it 6-0 in the 87th minute after being found unmarked in the area by Messi, and then the two reversed roles two minutes later for Barca's seventh, Pedro laying the ball back for Messi to side-foot into the net for the Argentinian's 43rd league goal of the year.

RWB opens Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia

Romance was Born opens Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (30 April to 4 May) in front of a celebrity studded front row. RWB has collaborated with comic house “Marvel” for this collection. Highlights: • Lisa Maree – Circus acts in the show • Celebrities onsite: Whitney Port, Rachel Taylor, Lara Bingle, Charlotte Dawson, Natalie Gruzlewski, Terry Biviano, Erika Heynatz, April Rose Pengilly, Nikki Phillips, Lynette Bolton, Maude Garret, Zoe Balbi, Michelle Bridges, Julia Morris, Laura Dundovic, Deborah Huton, Jodi Gordon, Magdalena Roze, Alexandra Richards, Sarah Blasko, Anthony Minichiello, and Gracie Otto. • Notable delegate’s onsite – Candice Lake, Bryan Boy, Elin Kling, Rumi Neely, Yasmin Sewell, Susie Bubble. • International celebrity and designer - Whitney Port showing her collection – “Whitney Eve” • Kirrily Johnston showing at hot new restaurant Neild Avenue • Ksubi – Celebrity favourites will show their luxe street wear range • Dylan Cooper -Project Runway winner • Ginger and Smart - closing the day with a 10 year anniversary show and celebratory after party MBFWA hosts the world’s most influential buyers, media and industry players during the 5 day event and bring Sydney city to life with Fashion Week fever. With the support of our official partners, and showcasing designers, the 2012 season will be a standout year showcasing the creative energy and raw talent that Australia has to offer. RWB opens Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia in no doubt a seamless display of utter creativity. RWB has collaborated with comic house “Marvel” for this collection, being allowed in to the company’s archives to pull comics to use for their prints. They will show this collection in front of a star studded front row.

Google's latest Easter Egg will "zerg rush" your search results

Any Starcraft fans out there? You apparently have a kindred spirit with some of the HTML 5 programmers at El Goog, as the latest Easter Egg to grace the search giant’s website starts when you, erm, google the term “zerg rush”. Upon hitting enter you are thrust into a game, as rushing Os attack and then blow up your search results. You can click on them with your mouse (or finger) to eliminate them, but ultimately you get overwhelmed by the unending onslaught of bloodthirsty letters.

It’s a nice way to ensure this Friday is less productive than most, and Google tallies the number of kills you achieve and gives you a score at the end, which adds a bit of replay interest to it (aside from just amazing friends and family). Mobile users with HTML 5 compliant browsers aren’t left out either, though you need to either select “request desktop site” from your options menu, or browse to the bottom of the Google results and switch the page to “classic view” for the magic to happen.

It’s actually an interesting test of browser prowess – running the game side by side on Chrome for Android and the original Android 4.0 browser shows just how big of a speed gain Chrome has brought to the little green robot platform – the Os seemed lethargic on the original browser, and targeting seemed to be impacted as if the rendering engine was not keeping up with the target location.

Many of the current mobile browsers use WebKit, which should properly display the game as long as your CPU can keep up. One probable exception is Windows Phone, as the lack of HTML5 support in IE Mobile is a deal breaker.

Anyhow, what are you waiting for? Time’s awasting on you time wasting adventure!

Cong taps Karunanidhi on Prez poll, to consult others soon

Congress leader and defence minister AK Antony on Sunday met DMK chief M Karunanidhi as part of consultation process among UPA allies on the Presidential election to arrive at a consensus leader to succeed incumbent Pratibha Patil, who is retiring on July 25.

After more than an

related stories

• Kalam says wait, as search for consensus candidate on
• Prez poll: Govt for consensus, SP suggests Kalam

hour-long meeting, Antony told reporters that he would convey the DMK leader's views on the issue to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "It was a very, very fruitful meeting. I will report to the Congress president whatever he said," he told reporters, refusing to disclose details about his discussion.
Observing that Gandhi had asked him to meet the DMK chief to discuss about the "present political situation", he said "What we discussed, I will convey to the Congress President".
He said Karunanidhi is one of the seniormost leaders in the country and "we always value his advice".
DMK Parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and Karunanidhi's daughter and party MP Kanimozhi were also present.
Antony's meeting with Karunanidhi comes close on the heels of agriculture minister and NCP leader Sharad Pawar's consultation with the Congress president a few days ago.
Pawar was understood to have urged the Congress chief on the need for a consensus on the choice.
Congress sources said that a meeting between Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Gandhi is also expected.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee are among the names doing the rounds in the ruling party circles for the top post.
Talks with parties outside UPA would be held after completion of the consultations in the ruling alliance, the sources said.
Gandhi, as also Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is expected to have interaction with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati.
UPA as well as NDA leaders admit that support of Mulayam, Mamata and Mayawati could be crucial for the Presidential election.

India, Japan to hold economic dialogue tomorrow

India and Japan will hold their first economic dialogue and sixth strategic talks on Monday that are expected to impart a renewed momentum to burgeoning multi-faceted ties and explore ways to start civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

External affairs minister SM

Krishna will co-chair the two dialogues with his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba, who begins a two-day visit to New Delhi on Sunday. The strategic dialogue will encompass a range of bilateral and global issues, including the prospects of civil nuclear cooperation, maritime security and the evolving East Asia regional security architecture.
"In the strategic dialogue, the two sides will review all aspects of the bilateral strategic and global partnership and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest," said the external affairs ministry ahead of the talks.
Many senior ministers and officials from both India and Japan will participate in the ministerial-level economic dialogue, a new initiative that enjoys the backing of the prime ministers of the two countries.
Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma and Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry Yukio Edano will participate in the economic dialogue.
The two sides will also hold a separate energy dialogue, to be led by deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia from the Indian side, to explore ways to enhance cooperation in renewable energy and clean coal technologies.
The economic dialogue is aimed at imparting "strategic and long-term policy orientation to their bilateral economic engagement… and to coordinate economic issues of cross-cutting nature, including infrastructure development and financing."
The dialogue will focus on expanding trade and investment which got a big boost after the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement came into force in Aug 1 last year. Bilateral trade is currently around $15 billion, with both sides setting a target of $25 billion by 2014.

Samsung records record profit for latest quarter, becomes world's top smartphone manufacturer

Thanks to some hefty profits in the division that makes smartphones, Samsung hopped above Apple to become the global leader in smartphone production in the first quarter of 2012. The Korean based manufacturer had profits of $5.2 billion for the three month period. According to Strategy Analytics, for the first quarter of this year Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones. That topped the 35.1 million Apple iPhone units that the Cupertino based firm reported it sold during its fiscal second quarter. During the first quarter last year, it was Nokia that led all smartphone manufacturers with 24.2 million phones shipped. Apple was second with 18.6 million followed by the 12.6 million shipped by Samsung. Nokia's smartphone shipments dropped by more than half in the first quarter of 2012 to 11.8 million.

Samsung owned the largest marketshare of smartphone producers in the first quarter with a 30.6% slice of the pie. Combined with Apple's 24.1% share, the two rivals control more than half of the world-wide smartphone market.  Lee Sei-Cheol of Meritz Securities says, "The smartphone market has almost only two players, Samsung and Apple." Nokia, which had the largest marketshare in the 2011 first quarter, saw it's ownership of the global smartphone market drop from 23.5% to 8.2%.

Including featurephones, Samsung took over the top spot in the global handset business with a 25.4% marketshare. That edged out Nokia's 22.5% cut of the global handset business and allowed Samsung to take the top spot for the first time ever. Alex Spektor, associate director at Strategy Analytics said, "Five years after it captured the number-two spot from Motorola, Samsung has finally become the world’s largest handset vendor in volume terms." Apple, with its lack of featurephones, finished third in total handset marketshare with a 9.5% reading.

According to Strategy Analytics, year over year growth in smartphone shipments dropped from 86% in the first quarter of 2011 to the 41.1% growth recorded in the opening quarter of 2012. Looking at the raw numbers, 145.3 million smartphones were shipped in the first three months of 2012 compared to the prior year's 103 million. Total handset shipments globally were 368 million, ahead of the 356.4 million handsets sold in Q1 of 2011. Growth in handset sales slumped to 3.3% during this year's opening quarter from 19.4% growth last year.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i+ Free Enter Bluetooth Worth

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i is a stylish smartphone with a slide out QWERTY keypad. Just slide out the keyboard and type away with the easy-to-use QWERTY keys. Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro is unbeatable in more than one ways. Its slide-out keypad for optimum messaging, the vivid screen display, user-friendly touchscreen and bright 3” Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine sets it a class apart.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro is backed by the Android (Gingerbread) Operating System and 1 GHz Processor for faster, quicker and more powerful navigating experience. It has a dual camera that allows you to experience 3G benefits including video chat and video conferencing. The primary camera is of 5 Mega Pixel resolution (with 16x Digital Zoom) and the secondary camera is of VGA resolution. It also has Wi-Fi capability with DLNA. This stylish and feature-rich phone has limitless possibilities offered by a smartphone.

Experts’ Speak:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro mobile phone lets you do all tasks that you expect from a smartphone. You can send an email on the fly, schedule and re-schedule a meeting from anywhere, lets you type with less fuss and fewer typing error and capture photos in sharp HD video. Do this and lot more with the versatile Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro SK17i.

India remains an attractive place to invest, says Pranab

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said the country remains an attractive place to invest, despite controversial plans to make foreign companies retroactively liable for taxes.

Mukherjee sought to calm the row over proposed legislation to chase overseas firms for taxes on mergers involving Indian assets by saying investment decisions are not made solely on the basis of "tax concessions".

Deciding whether to put money into an economy is "based on what's the size of the market, whether the systems are transparent and what's the purchasing power of people," Mukherjee was quoted on Saturday by the Indian media as saying.

India, with its increasingly affluent population of 1.2 billion people, remains an attractive country in which to invest, he told an audience on the sidelines of meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"From all these standpoints, India appears to be a good investment destination," Mukherjee said on Friday in Washington.
India's cash-strapped government had been widely expected to plug merger tax loopholes in its budget last month.

But the retrospective nature of its tax legislation has stirred an international outcry at a time when India urgently needs big-ticket foreign investments to upgrade its dilapidated infrastructure and spur slowing economic growth.

Vodafone -- India's biggest foreign investor -- faces a $2.2-billion tax bill over its 2007 purchase of the Indian unit of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa.

It threatened to take India to international arbitration earlier this week.

The changes would allow India to tax the sale of Indian assets, even if both seller and buyer are foreign and the deal is concluded abroad, and has left firms facing prospects of massive bills they had not anticipated.

Mukherjee said that no tax case that is over six years old would be reopened under the legislation expected to be passed in coming weeks and promised "transparent" discussions with companies that object to the measure.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told his Indian counterpart earlier in the week that US businesses are worried about changes in India's tax rules and that they had dampened enthusiasm about India's investment climate.

Samsung Galaxy S III specs out: 4.7-inch screen, 12-megapixel camera, 599 Euros

After weeks of speculation, the Samsung Galaxy S III specs are finally out thanks to Amazon Germany.

According to the website, the Samsung Galaxy S II successor will feature a 4.7-inch screen, a 12-megapixel camera and will retail for 599 Euros (inclusive of VAT).

Full specifications courtesy Amazon Germany:

• 4.7-inch Super AMOLED touch-screen with 16 million colors
• 12-megapixel camera with auto focus, LED Flash and face detection
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System
• 16 GB of internal memory, expandable to up to 32 GB

Soweto rape case on hold

ohannesburg - A man accused of kidnapping and raping a Soweto teenager, who is also the victim of a video-taped gang rape, appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court on Friday.
The case was postponed until May 4 for further investigation, said Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou.
The 37-year-old man is accused of holding the 17-year-old against her will at his house in Bramfischerville, Soweto.
A report said that the man was not asked to pleadAsked what language he spoke, he replied "Setswana".
He said he understood English.
He was told to hire a lawyer or to submit a request for legal aid.
The girl went missing on March 21 and was found at the man's house in a search launched after police became aware of the rape video.
Five men and two youths matching the descriptions of the rapists in the cellphone video appeared in court on Thursday.
The case was postponed until April 25 for further investigation.
The rape video went "viral" on the internet on Wednesday and was one of the main topics trending on the social networking site Twitter.
The National Prosecuting Authority has requested a psychiatric report on the girl.

Raped maid rescued in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: A minor girl working as a domestic help raped by two men on several occasions was rescued Thursday from Sushant Lok area in Gurgaon by activists of NGO Shakti Vahini, police said. One of the accused, a driver, was arrested.

The 16-year-old girl from Punjab, employed at school teacher Nansy Singh's house, said in her complaint that she was last raped a week ago, police said.

She was raped by 24-year-old driver Sandeep and another man living in the same neighbourhood. Sandeep was arrested.

District child protection officer and Sahkti Vahini's executive director Nishikant recommended to police to file a case for rape and under the Juvenile Justice Act, a police official said.

Aniston happy about Pitt's engagement

Los Angeles: Actress Jennifer Aniston has no hard feelings about her past. She is happy that her ex-husband Brad Pitt has finally got engaged to his lady love Angelina Jolie. The 43-year-old, who is currently dating actor Justin Theroux, believes her divorce from Pitt was destined. "She is not a bitter person and she has always wanted Brad to be happy. Jennifer spent many happy years with Brad and thinks their divorce was meant to be," people.com quoted a source as saying.

Aniston is content with her life with Theroux. "She is very happy with Theroux, and that's what she is focusing on right now. Jennifer moved on a long time ago, and she is trying to just focus on her own happiness," the source added.

Paoli Dam's steamy posters painted in blue

Kolkata: As Bengali actress Paoli Dam makes her Bollywood debut in Vikram Bhatt`s erotic thriller `Hate Story`, her posters are being painted blue in Kolkata to hide her bare back following orders of the Calcutta High Court. The film`s regional distributors Kushagra Arts and cinema hall owners are now covering the bare skin of the Bengali bombshell by colouring it with blue ink.

Justice Dipankar Dutta of the High Court on Wednesday refused to stay an order by the West Bengal Board of Censorship, which had directed the distributors not to display the posters showing the actress in sensuous positions. Describing them as "obscene and provocative", the Censor board had banned two posters - one showing Paoli`s bare back and the other of her in a compromising position with a man. Six other posters were cleared only after blotting out the bare body of the actress with blue ink.

Admitting that the posters of his film are being modified with ink, director Vivek Agnihotri said from Mumbai that the move by the state government run Censor board would only help in the publicity of his film. "I am getting more publicity because of this. My film is now bigger than it was earlier," he said.

With only her bare back visible, and a strategically placed gun and tattoo in the main poster of the film, Paoli created a tremendous buzz all over the country. "If I make a film on football, I will have football in the posters. But this is about sex and so a bare body will be on the posters to tell people what my film is all about," Agnihotri said.

`Hate Story` is based on a woman`s vengeance and how she uses her sexuality as a lethal weapon as she transforms herself from a simple middle class journalist to a sex worker. The film, which also stars Nikhil Dwivedi and Gulshan Devaiah, hits theatres this Friday.

Tendulkar practises for 90 minutes, raises MI hopes

Sachin Tendulkar

Mumbai: Raising hopes about his availability for the rest of IPL season V after a lengthy absence from the event due of a finger injury sustained a fortnight ago, Sachin Tendulkar today practised for about one-and-a-half hours at the nets ahead of Mumbai Indians' next game against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.Tendulkar faced regular bowlers in the MI ranks like Pragyan Ojha in a serious net session and did not appear to be in any difficulty while playing a number of lofted shots at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex Ground.
After hurting his index finger in the IPL opener against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on April 4, Tendulkar had missed MI's subsequent four games that had affected the team's balance at the top of the order.
He missed the games against Pune Warriors, Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils andthe result was MI could not get off to the start they were looking for and slumped to defeats in two out of the four ties.Tendulkar started practising against throw-downs on April 14 prior to the home tie against the Daredevils but did not feel comfortable enough to take the field on April 16 at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Mumbai Indians were shot out for a paltry 92, their second-lowest ever IPL score and the lowest by any team this season, which the Daredevils easily overhauled.
"Of course, it will be nice to have Sachin Tendulkar back. I'm sure he will be back by the next game if nothing goes wrong by the net session. If he is batting with any of the foreigners it makes it easier for them to score runs. He can take a lot of pressure from the other partner," team captain Harbhajan Singh had said after the humiliating defeat against the Daredevils.

Woman allegedly poisoned for giving birth to girl

New Delhi:  A 30-year-old woman in the capital was allegedly poisoned by her husband for giving birth to a girl child, police said on Friday.

Ishak Parveen, a resident of central Delhi's Lahori Gate, was admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital on Thursday night by her husband, Javed Tariq who claimed that she had consumed a poisonous substance.

Parveen's father Malik Sikandar, however, got registered a case against Mr Tariq alleging that he gave the poison to his daughter and absconded after leaving her at the hospital.
 In his complaint, Mr Sikandar said Mr Tariq had poisoned Mrs Parveen because she had given birth to a girl one-and-half months ago. He further claimed that Mr Tariq had been assaulting Mrs Parveen ever since she conceived.

Mrs Parveen's condition continued to be critical at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital where she has been kept under observation.

"Police are waiting for the victim's statement to ascertain the facts. As soon as she gains consciousness, we will record her statement," said a police official.

Pakistan: Bhoja Air plane crash kills all 127 on board; black box found

Islamabad:  Pakistani authorities have recovered the black box flight data recorder of a passenger jet that crashed in Islamabad on Friday, killing everyone on board.

The Bhoja Air plane was carrying 127 people on a flight from Karachi to Islamabad.

It crashed into a muddy wheat field on Friday while trying to land in a violent thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport. (First pictures of the crash)The government said there appeared to be no survivors in the crash of the Boeing 737-200 near Benazir Bhutto International Airport - the second major air disaster in the Pakistani capital in less than two years. (Top sites on crash) | (Buzz on Twitter)


The Chairman of Islamabad's Capital Development Authority, Farkhand Iqbal, said the black box would be handed to Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority.

"They will investigate what really happened to the plane during the last moments before it crashed," Iqbal said.

Bhoja Air, a domestic carrier that has just four planes, only resumed operations last month after suspending them in 2001 due to financial difficulties.

Bhoja administrative director Javed Ishaq told reporters and relatives of those on board that the jet was in good condition and was brought down by heavy winds.

The plane had been given clearance to land, said an air traffic controller who did not give his name because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

A violent thunderstorm was lashing Islamabad at the time of the crash, about 6:40 p.m. (1340 GMT) local time.

Islamabad police chief Bani Yameen said nobody on the ground was reported killed, but all on board had perished.

In a statement, the Boeing Company extended its condolences to the families of the victims and offered technical assistance to Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority in investigating the crash.

The last major plane crash in the country - and Pakistan's worst - occurred in July 2010 when an Airbus A321 aircraft operated by domestic carrier Airblue crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad, killing all 152 people aboard.

A government investigation blamed the pilot for veering off course amid stormy weather.
Bhoja Air started domestic operations in Pakistan in 1993 and eventually expanded to international flights to the United Arab Emirates in 1998.

New LiquidMetal casing iPhone may debut in October - Reports

Independent reports suggest that the next iPhone may debut in October and use LiquidMetal for its outer casing.
Korea IT News quotes "industry sources" to suggest that the next next iPhone is likely to adopt LiquidMetal for its outer body. LiquidMetal is an alloy of zirconium, titanium, nickel, copper and an iPhone made out of this material would have an "outer surface smooth like liquid", according to the publication.
The report also suggests that the next Samsung Galaxy phone to be unveiled on May 3 has a body made of ceramic.
Meanwhile Businessweek quotes Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, saying that Qualcomm is having trouble meeting demand for components it is expected to supply for the new iPhone. This, according to Jaffray, indicates that the new iPhone is unlikely to release before October, considering Qualcomm will have to sort out any supply issues before production can begin.
Jaffray has a decent record with Apple related predictions before, correctly anticipating the release date of a few Apple products.

Norway mass murderer studied Al Qaeda attacks before rampage

Oslo:  Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik took to the Internet to learn how to carry out a bombing-and-shooting rampage, studying attacks by Al Qaeda, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

On Friday, the fifth day of his trial, the The 33-year-old confessed mass killer told a Norwegian court he paid close attention in particular to the World Trade Center bombing in New York and McVeigh's 1995 attack on an Oklahoma City government building, which killed 168 people and injured over 600.

He also said he had read more than 600 bomb-making guides.
 He called the Islamist group "the most successful revolutionary movement in the world" and said it should serve as an inspiration to far-right militants, even though their goals are different.

"I have studied each one of their actions, what they have done wrong, what they have done right," the mass murderer said of the terror organisation. "We want to create a European version of Al Qaeda."

Anders Behring Breivik has admitted to the July 22 attacks last year, that killed 77 people in Norway, but pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, saying his victims had betrayed Norway by embracing immigration.

His lack of remorse and matter-of-fact description of weapons and tactics during his testimony have deeply disturbed families of the victims, most of whom were teenagers.

The 33-year-old Norwegian said he was deliberately using "technical" language as a way to keep his composure.

"These are gruesome acts, barbaric acts," he said. "If I had tried to use a more normal language I don't think I would have been able to talk about it at all."

A lawyer representing the bereaved, who are watching the proceedings in the Oslo court and in 17 other courtrooms in Norway, asked Breivik why he didn't show any empathy for his victims.

"I can choose to remove the mental shield, but I am choosing not to do it ... because I would not survive," he said.

Comparing himself to a Japanese "banzai" warrior during World War II, Breivik said too many Norwegian men were "feminized, cooking food and showing emotions."

The victims' lawyer noted that he showed emotions on the first day of the trial, when he cried as prosecutors showed an anti-Muslim video he had created.

"I wasn't prepared for that film," Breivik said. "It's a film that represents the fight and everything I love."
Christin Bjelland, a spokeswoman for a massacre support group, said she was "quite upset" by Breivik's testimony.
"I'm going back to my hometown tonight and I live by the sea, so I have arranged with my husband, he's going to drive me out to the sea, and I'm going to take a walk there and I'm going to scream my head off," Bjelland told The Associated Press.

Breivik has admitted to the bombing in Oslo that killed eight people and the shooting massacre at the Labor Party youth camp that left 69 dead. He claims to belong to an alleged anti-Muslim "Knights Templar" network. Many groups claim part of that name, but prosecutors say they don't believe the group described by Breivik exists.
The main goal of the trial is to figure out whether Breivik was sane or insane - two official reports from experts have come to opposite conclusions on that point.

If declared sane, Breivik could face a maximum 21-year prison sentence or an alternate custody arrangement that would keep him locked up as long as he is considered a menace to society. If found insane, he would be committed to psychiatric care for as long as he's considered ill.

Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev to fast on June 3

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev smiled a lot as they shared stage in Delhi today to announce that they would fast together on June 3 to bring back focus on the Jan Lokpal and the issue of black money. They have applied for permission to hold the fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi; a venue where Anna has held quite a few protests since last year.

With the anti-graft Lokpal Bill still to see light of day at the Centre, Anna Hazare has changed tack. So his new ultimatum is - bring Lokayukta in Maharashtra. Once a lokayukta law is in place in the state, ruled by the Congress, which also rules at the Centre, Mr Hazare reckons an anti-graft law will be brought at the Centre too.

So beginning May 1, the septuagenarian Gandhian said, "We will visit 35 zillas in Maharashtra....to awaken people against corruption."Baba Ramdev, meanwhile, will tour other places in the country. The month-long effort, Mr Hazare said, was just the beginning of a crusade. "Post June, we will tour the country together...In the next one and a half years, the more we come together, the more we will be able awaken people by 2014, the next general elections," he said.

The social activist had yesterday advised the Congress-led UPA government to "shed its ego" and get the Jan Lokpal bill passed in the current session of Parliament.

There have been reports of friction between the Anna Hazare camp and Baba Ramdev for some time, but the popular Yoga guru sought to rubbish those, saying the two were very much together, in his words, "till the last breath."

Both slammed the Central government but insisted their efforts were not aimed at felling it but rather at re-awakening the people. "This is related to the people of this country, not any party or group," Mr Hazare said.

He also said that he was in good health and he would ensure that it would not let him down. Anna had to call off his fast at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai in December last year due to reported health problems.

IPL 5: Gayle powers Royal Challengers Bangalore to 5-wicket win

Mohali: Chris Gayle struck a brilliant 87 as Royal Challengers Bangalore comfortably beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here on Friday.
Scorecard
Gayle and AB de Villiers (52) added 131 runs for the fifth wicket as Royal Challengers Bangalore, set a target of 164, made 166 with three balls to spare.

Gayle was also adjudged the man-of-the-match for his brilliant 56-ball innings that was studded with eight fours and four sixes.

With their second consecutive win, Royal Challengers Bangalore got their campaign back on track after having suffered three losses on the trot.

They move up a place to the seventh spot with six points from six matches while Kings XI slipped a spot to the eighth with four points from six matches.

Asked to bat first, Kings XI Punjab, who were without their captain Adam Gilchrist, again made a poor start but crucial innings from stand-in skipper David Hussey (41) and former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (33 not out) helped them get to a competitive score of 163 for six in 20 overs. Gilchrist missed the match nursing a hamstring injury.

Kings XI pacer Parvinder Awana (4-34) raised hopes for the hosts. He bowled a brilliant first spell in which he picked up the crucial wickets of opener Mayank Aggarwal (1), Virat Kohli (4) and Saurabh Tiwary (4) to reduce Royal Challengers to 25 for three inside six overs.

But Gayle played a patient knock and took his time to settle down before an onslaught. He took 28 balls to score 31 runs but once he took off, there was no stopping him.

Gayle completely dominated the century-run stand between him and De Villiers. The duo always kept Royal Challengers at pace with the required run rate as boundaries came regularly.

The match looked evenly balanced till the 17th over as Royal Challengers needed 24 runs off the last three overs. But Awana, who was the best bowler for the Kings XI till then, bowled a pathetic 18th over that made things easy for the visitors.

Gayle smashed Awana for 17 runs in the eight-ball over before departing on the fourth ball but by then he had taken Royal Challengers to the threshold of a win. Hussey took a brilliant catch at extra cover to end Gayle's whirlwind knock.

Leggie Piyush Chawla gave Kings XI a glimmer of hope after he dismissed De Villiers, trapped leg-before in the penultimate over. The South African hit six fours in the 39-ball innings.

However, Andrew McDonald (8 not out) and skipper Daniel Vettori (2 not out) took the team home safely without further damage.

Earlier in the day, Kings XI again made a poor start losing openers Nitin Saini (14) and Paul Valthaty (6) inside the first five overs.

A 30-run stand between Australians Shaun Marsh (26) and Hussey got Kings XI innings back on track.

Mahmood, who registered himself as a British citizen, made a memorable debut in the IPL smashing 33 off 14 balls that helped Kings XI get a competitive total on board. Mahmood's arrival to India was delayed due to visa issues. The 37-year-old, who has played 21 Tests and 143 ODIs, had surprisingly applied for visa in his Pakistani passport that delayed his arrival.

My brother was dying, nobody helped: Murdered college student's brother

  Nine people, arrested in connection with bludgeoning Class XI student Ansh Agarwal to death in Mumbai, have been sent to police custody till April 25. The other three arrested, who are minors, have been sent to juvenile custody.

According to the police, 16-year-old Ansh was beaten up by around 30 boys from his college because he objected to a lewd SMS that the main accused in the case sent to his girlfriend. Police say the main accused and Ansh were from the same tuition class.

On Tuesday evening, the boys landed up at Ansh's house and when his father - a wealthy businessman - said Ansh was out, they asked his elder brother, 19-year-old Akarsh, to come down for a chat. Outside the building they kidnapped him.Ansh was then told to come to a particular place where the boys were waiting for him. He was then beaten up and later succumbed to his injuries.

Recalling the incident, his brother says only one person came forward to help his brother.

"It is like the Keenan-Reuben case. Thirty people assaulted me and then Ansh followed me and was beaten up. They chased Ansh and beat him. They then smashed his face with a pavement stone block. This happened at around 10.30pm on Tuesday and only one person came to help me take Ansh to hospital, but I knew he was dead," said Akarsh.

"He (the main accused) had sent an SMS to a female friend and Ansh told him not to bother her, they had a tussle over this. Later, Ansh apologised to the main accused and asked him to end it here saying it's a trivial matter," Akarsh added.

Ansh's family is in deep shock after the incident. "Nobody came to help them. This is Mumbai, not a village," said his sister Harshi.

Suhas Warke, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, said the police have arrested them on charges of murder, unlawful assembly and rioting.

Ansh's murder is almost a replay of the horrific murders of Keenan and Ruben -  young men who were killed in front of a crowded bar for putting up a fight against a gang misbehaving with their girlfriends.

Ansh's murderers, however, were not gangsters; they were educated, young men from well-off families. But their brutality and lust for bloody revenge is inexplicable.

And their open attack on a busy Mumbai road is holding up a mirror once again to Mumbai's apathy.

Bank of America puts non-US wealth arm up for sale

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has put its wealth management units outside the United States up for sale, three sources familiar with the situation said, hoping to bring in up to USD 3 billion for the sub-scale business.
Bank of America is the world's largest wealth manager, but its non-US arm - which two of the sources said manages some USD 90 billion for rich clients -- is not large enough to generate enough money for the US bank.
"There is a lot of soul-searching going on by a lot of US players as to what to do with their non-US private banking operations," said a fourth person, an investment banker who has knowledge of the financial sector.
Bank of America declined to comment.
The second-largest US bank has lagged peers in recovering from the financial crisis, largely because of huge losses and lawsuits tied to its 2008 acquisition of subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.
Bank of America's non-US private banking business targets so-called "mass affluent" clients whose wealth is measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars, rather than super-rich private banking clients worth tens of millions.
But outside the US it has never been able to build up the business to match the scale of its home market, meaning it is far less profitable.
Across the world, it manages close to USD 2 trillion of client assets, according to an annual benchmark study issued by consultancy firm Scorpio Partnership.

HANDFUL OF BIDDERS
The bank had asked potential suitors to put in first-round bids this week, according to one of the three sources, who spoke on condition of anonimity.
"The people I spoke to are not expecting this to be a particularly rapid process, just given the broad scope of the operations' geography and the relative skinny information that was made available," the source said.
Bank of America was looking to sell the unit as a whole and the deal could bring in up to $3 billion, the source said, or more than 3 percent of assets under management.
"Three percent of assets under management (is high) in Europe, but it is low in emerging markets. In Asia it is perfectly possible to raise 4 to 5%, and the same thing goes for Latin America," the source added.
There was only a handful of possible bidders who could spend money on the business, this person said, naming UBS , Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank , JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo.
Wealth management businesses do not generally contain equity capital, and there was no transfer of a legal entity, so the purchase price consisted entirely of goodwill. This reduces the buyer's regulatory capital, the source said.
"There are not that many buyers who could take a two-to-three billion dollar hit against their core tier I," capital ratio, the person said.
In more than two years under chief executive Brian Moynihan, Bank of America has shed non-core businesses and investments in other companies, in a bid to boost capital and streamline the financial behemoth.
BofA has sold its Canadian and Spanish credit card businesses in the past year, and in March reached an agreement to sell its Irish credit card portfolio. The bank has also said it intends to sell its card business in Britain.

Memorials mark 100th anniversary of Titanic sinking

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic was being remembered at events across the world Sunday, including in Belfast, where the fateful ship was built.
A memorial store featuring the names of those who died was unveiled in the Northern Ireland city on Sunday morning.
It is the first Titanic memorial to list all victims alphabetically, with no distinction between passengers and crew members, or between first- and third-class travelers.

On Saturday, a concert featuring a performance by Bryan Ferry was followed by a torch-lit procession to the memorial site.
Meanwhile, a service was held at the North Atlantic wreck site on cruise ship MS Balmoral, which is retracing the Titanic's route, the BBC reported.
A minute's silence was held and wreaths cast into the sea at the moment it sank.

Multiple blasts rock Kabul; gunmen attack Afghan parliament; 17 dead

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks across the Afghan capital and at least three eastern provinces on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, parliament and foreign embassies in a complex assault that shows the insurgents can still penetrate Afghan security and hit Western and government targets in the heart of Kabul.
Suicide bombers and insurgents wielding heavy weapons and rocket-propelled grenades executed the near-simultaneous attacks in what the Taliban called an opening salvo ahead of the spring fighting season, when warmer weather typically brings increased attacks.
The attacks, the most widespread in the Afghan capital since September, came as the U.S.-led international force is speeding up the transfer of security responsibility to the Afghans in preparation for an end to NATO's combat mission in 2014. The scale and scope of the violence underscored the challenge that Afghan security forces have in protecting even the country's centers of power.
The Taliban claimed that Afghan and foreign troops suffered heavy casualties, but reports from Afghan authorities showed the assaults were noisy, but not deadly.
The Ministry of Interior reported that 17 militants were killed in the attacks in Kabul, Paktia, Nangarhar and Logar provinces. Seventeen police - 11 in Kabul and three each in Logar and Paktia provinces - were wounded, the ministry said. Fourteen civilians also were injured in the attacks.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the attacks were a kind of "message" to the Afghan and foreign forces, warning them the insurgents remain strong and resilient.
He said the assaults were the Taliban's response to recent statements by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and NATO spokesman Carsten Jacobson, who claimed the insurgents were weak and that there was no indication they were planning a spring offensive.
"Our mujahedeen fighters are fighting with the Afghan forces in all four provinces," Mujahid told The Associated Press by phone as loud explosions rocked Kabul. "It was well-coordinated and planned for almost two months. It took two months to transfer the weapons and explosives and set up fighters in the specific areas that we planned to attack."
The attack in Kabul began Sunday afternoon with more than a dozen explosions in the central neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan, where a NATO base and a number of embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, are located.
Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people caught in the street to scramble for cover.
Militants fired in several directions from a building under construction near an intersection of roads that lead to the presidential palace, various ministry buildings and several Western embassies.
"I saw two Land Cruisers pull up and two militants jumped from the car," said Mohammad Zakar, a 27-year-old mechanic who has a shop near the building commandeered by the militants. "They opened fire on an intelligence service guard and killed him. They also fired and killed an Afghan policeman and then they jumped into the building. All the shops closed. I ran away."
Heavy gunfire crackled through the streets for hours as smoke rose over the skyline and sirens wailed. A loudspeaker at the U.S. Embassy could be heard barking: "Duck and cover. Move away from the windows."
Residents reported a blast near parliament as militants opened fire from the building under construction.
Mohammad Nahim Lalai Hamidzai, a lawmaker from Kandahar, said he climbed the tower of the parliament building and fired on the insurgents.
"I shot up to 400 or 500 bullets from my Kalashnikov at the attackers," Hamidzai said. "They fired two rocket-propelled grenades at the parliament. The fight was around the parliament, the Russian Embassy and Vice President (Mohammed Karim) Khalili's house."

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/militants-launch-series-of-attacks-in-kabul/1/184593.html

Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni: Tale of two of India's greatest captains

 While Pune Warriors India went about upsetting the Chennai Super Kings, the world had their eyes set on two the captains who altered the course of Indian cricket. As Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh led their sides against each other, a debate ensued: Who has had a greater impact on Indian cricket?

Sourav Ganguly took over the reins of captaincy during a very tumultuous period in Indian cricket. Early into his captaincy, he had to lift a team that had to bear the brunt of the match-fixing controversy and lost credibility. It was a tough task considering the alleged involvement of former captains such as Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja. In the company of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble, Ganguly had to pick the pieces and rebuild the side reeling from the fallout.

It wasn’t just the tarnished reputation that Ganguly had to restore; he also had to battle the odds stacked against the Indian team. In the 1990s, India were tigers at home and lambs away – a trend that plagued them mentally more than anything else. It was Ganguly’s responsibility to change this perception and inspire the team perform outside their comfort zone.

With passage of time, Ganguly’s character rubbed off on the team. The flamboyant captain who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind or take his shirt off at the Mecca of cricket transformed the team into a confident and aggressive unit. Even in the face of adversity, this team didn’t surrender – the Kolkata Test of 2001 being the most memorable example. As a result, the mental block of playing away from home was torn down as India were up for anything thrown at them even in the most alien conditions.

The emergence of players such as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh, to name a few, had a to do with the way Ganguly backed them. These players represented the youth of India and took the burden off their illustrious seniors. Dravid and VVS Laxman blossomed under Ganguly and scripted epics that would be etched in memory for time immemorial. A team that was heavily dependent on Tendulkar in the 1990s evolved into a cohesive side with players ready to rise to the occasion.

The mixture of youth and experience revolutionised India’s fortunes in the One-Day International (ODI) arena. The spectacular run-chase in the NatWest series final of 2002 was probably their greatest performance that defined their character. However, there was one fly in the ointment. The NatWest Series triumph was a rare occasion when India tasted victory in a tournament final during that phase. They would dominate such competitive tournaments and invariably falter at the most critical juncture. The most pertinent example is the 2003 World Cup when they were brilliant in the lead up and couldn’t get their act together when it mattered most.

This is where Dhoni comes into the picture. The baton of leadership didn’t directly pass from Ganguly to Dhoni as Dravid and Kumble (only Tests) held the reins in the interval between the two. Under Dhoni’s leadership, India went on to add a finishing touch to what Ganguly started. The trend of losing in the finals was broken as the Indian team went on to clinch a number of tournaments. The No 1 ranking in Test cricket was achieved under the leadership of Dhoni, who strived to maintain consistency in the classical format.

Dhoni’s biggest contribution to Indian cricket is the fearlessness he instilled into the team. During the biggest of games, the team has always maintained its high standards and didn’t crumble under pressure. In the finals of the ICC World T20 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India handled the humongous pressure and tackled the testing phases with clinical skill. The rest, as they say, is history.

Players like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina (ODIs), to name a few, have grown under Dhoni. These men have enjoyed the confidence of the captain - something that has allowed them to express themselves at the highest level. Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman defied the age barrier and brought back memories of the Ganguly era. It is only during the last year that India have struggled as the defeats in England and Australia have hit them hard.

Ganguly and Dhoni have contributed in their own right and to compare them is absolutely unfair. The challenges the two had to face were not the same and it needed different approaches and skills set to tackle them. Indian cricket is blessed that they had the right men leading them through those phases. Ganguly has left a rich legacy that saw India challenge their limitations. Dhoni, on the other hand, has some distance to go; his legacy is still work under progress.

Dhoni’s real test as a leader begins now as India’s horrendous run away from home has brought back unwanted memories of the old. It took years for Ganguly to transform India into a winning unit overseas. Under Dhoni, that team did well away from home, but off late that record has taken a huge beating. Having been tremendously successful for a major period of his captaincy, Dhoni faces a very different task. His leadership through these troubled waters is what will define his time at the helm.

Big B dances to Kammo in RGV's DepartmentMegastar

Big B dances to Kammo in RGV's DepartmentMegastar Amitabh Bachchan will be seen shaking a leg in his signature style in the forthcoming film Department and actor Anjana says she was stunned to see Big B's amazing energy level. "There is a situational song where Mr. Bachchan is dancing for me and Rana's (Rana Daggubati) wedding. The wedding dance song is called Kammo and is sung by Mika," Anjana, who was earlier seen with the megastar in a Dairy Milk chocolate ad, told IANS.  "The song was picturised before Mr. Bachchan's surgery (in February). It's a fun song choreographed by Shabina Khan. The amount of energy that Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt carry with them is commendable. It is so encouraging," she added.  Composed by Bappa Lahiri, the song is sung by Mika and Sudesh Bhosle. Directed by Ram Gopal Verma, Department is scheduled for a May 18 release.Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be seen shaking a leg in his signature style in the forthcoming film Department and actor Anjana says she was stunned to see Big B's amazing energy level. "There is a situational song where Mr. Bachchan is dancing for me and Rana's (Rana Daggubati) wedding.
The wedding dance song is called Kammo and is sung by Mika," Anjana, who was earlier seen with the megastar in a Dairy Milk chocolate ad, told IANS. "The song was picturised before Mr. Bachchan's surgery (in February). It's a fun song choreographed by Shabina Khan. The amount of energy that Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt carry with them is commendable. It is so encouraging," she added.
Composed by Bappa Lahiri, the song is sung by Mika and Sudesh Bhosle. Directed by Ram Gopal Verma, Department is scheduled for a May 18 release.

India takes up Shahrukh Khan detention issue with US

 



New Delhi, Apr 15: India has taken up with the US the issue of Shah Rukh Khan's detention at a New York airport, conveying its "deep concern" over the incident that "need not have happened".

"We have taken it up with the State Department," Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao told reporters.

Rao, who was in the city for a Columbia University conference on India, said the detention of the Indian superstar is an "incident that need not have happened."

The Indian embassy in Washington has issued a press note on the incident and "we would like to leave it that."

She added that even Khan is no longer in the US and had left for India.

The Indian envoy said there was concern across India over the incident since Khan is an internationally renowned personality.

"It is not merely our concern but the concern of the whole nation which we sought to convey to the State Department and the US authorities so that they understand the depth of the concern that was expressed by us," Rao said.

A press note issued by the Indian embassy in Washington said it has sought the State Department's intervention to put in place measures so that such incidents are not repeated in future.

"In order to convey the deep concern that has been expressed nationwide in India over this incident, the embassy of India has taken up the matter with the US Department of State and sought the State Department's intervention to institute appropriate measures to avoid recurrence of such an incident in the future," the embassy statement said.

Media Tried To Kill Anna's Movement, Says Kejriwal

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Friday blamed the media for Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign gradually losing steam.

Addressing over 300 members of India Against Corruption (IAC) in Santacruz here, Kejriwal said in the race for TRP ratings, the media had initially covered Anna's movement, but later "tried to kill the movement".

Kejriwal alleged that there are  16 "corrupt" ministers in the Union Cabinet,  and the fight against such politicians would be revived soon by exposing them, the Mumbai newspaper DNA reported.

"There are 16 corrupt ministers in the Union cabinet. We plan to hold a few press conferences in the last week of this month to expose these ministers," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal said Anna Hazare's next course of action over the Lokpal Bill would be decided once the Parliament's budget session concludes.

"Immediately after the agitation, Team Anna was targeted and was given anti-publicity. A fake CD related to Prashant Bhushan was run and that too without proper verification. Kiran Bedi and I were also criticised over a few issues," he said.He added that there are some good people in journalism, but they were also "influenced".

"Every week, the editors were called and meetings were held, where the government advises the media-people as what is to be done, which is later followed by the media," he alleged.

Kejriwal also said that there is a need to strengthen the network of people to put up an aggressive fight over the Lokpal Bill.

"There is a need to strengthen the network among Anna supporters. An Anna sms card has started sometime back. Supporters buying the card, would be kept informed about Anna's movement, which ensures that the anger against corruption continues to fire up in the minds of the activists," he said.

He also appealed to the activists to create Anna Charcha Samuh (Anna discussion groups) to hold discussions at local level so that the activists can understand various issues raised by Team Anna.

"There are many people who are participating in the agitation, but they are yet to understand the Lokpal bill properly. I appeal to people to hold discussions at their local level, which will help them figure out various issues. They can also send us suggestions and feed back," he said.

"Only when we understand the issues, a revolution can be brought," he added.Kejriwal urged the activists not to mix up any local issues with that of Lokpal and focus on the bill.

"If you want, you can involve yourself in solving local issues, but you should not divert your mind from Lokpal. Your primary focus should be Lokpal," Kejriwal said.

IAC has decided to start a monthly news letter 'IAC News', which will be circulated among Hazare's supporters as well as common people free of cost.

The eight-page newsletter in Hindi will inform and elaborate the activities and views of the Anna and his supporters.

The newsletter, which will be started by April 21 and there will be 10,000 copies published initially, an IAC member said adding that they had set the target to publish 50,000 copies.If the demand surges for the news letter, then it would also be made weekly, the member added.

Meanwhile, a 'referendum' initiated by India Against Corruption found that over 97 per cent of 28,000 people in Mumbai have backed Kejriwal on his stand that there are 162 MPs with criminal charges against them.Mumbaikars were asked to answer to the query - "Who has insulted Parliament?

The 162 MPs who have serious charges of murder, rape etc and MPs who throw chairs on each other, watch blue films, tear bills, display cash or Arvind Kejriwal who stated the above facts."

Kejriwal had in recent speeches raised the issue of pending criminal charges against 162 sitting parliamentarians.

"Of the 28,470 people polled, 27,672 people supported Kejriwal for his statement while 342 said that Kejriwal had insulted the Parliament with his comment. 456 people said both have insulted the parliament,” a member of IAC said.

Nirmal Baba exposed as a fraud?

New Delhi: In yet another controversy involving Godmen, Rs 109 crore was found deposited in Nirmal Baba’s two bank accounts in just three months, according to a report published in Prabhat Khabar a Jharkhand daily on Friday.

The report further said that Nirmal Baba asks for 10 percent of the salary from all those who visit him for solutions to their problems. Post this diclosure, Baba’s bank account has come under scanner where transactions are made from all over the country.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax department is going through his various bank accounts. The IT department will check whether he has paid his taxes properly on not, if there is any foreign deposits in his account and also if he has transferred any money to foreign countries.


Nirmal Baba charges Rs 2,000 from every participant who wishes to be a part of his commune, 'samagam'. This amount is trasferred directly into Nirmal Baba's three bank acconts — one each in Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank. As per estimates Nirmal Darbar has an annual turnover of approximately 84 crore rupees.

Prabhat Khabar claims that Nirmal Baba transferred Rs 53 crores from one of these accounts into a private banThe newspaper also claims that a fixed deposit of Rs 25 crores is held by Nirmal Baba in a leading bank.

Nirmal Baba holds two accounts - one in the name of Nirmaljeet Singh Narula (Nirmal Baba's real name), and the other in the name of 'Nirmal Darbar'.

Sushma Narula, Nirmal Baba's wife, is registered as the nominee. Prabhat Khabar claims that Nirmal Baba transferred Rs 53 crores from one of these accounts into a private bank.

Meanwhile, Nirmal Baba told a news channel, “I never asked people to deposit money to solve their problems. I never assured them of any magical solution to their woes.”

He also added, “Our aim is not to spread superstition but to lessen it and we don’t provide any amulet, talisman or good luck charm to our devotees.”

He said all the allegations against him were baseless and he was ready to undergo a lie-detector test to prove himself right.

He explained, “I have been paying my income tax regularly. My annual turnover is Rupees 235 crore.”

"People consider God’s blessings as magic and they have godly experience at Nirmal darbar. My promises have passed through the litmus test of science", he added.

He also mentioned that he utilizes the money deposited by his devotees only in the expenditure of samagams and advertising. People send money according to their own veneration. k.

Salman Khan turns trainer for Arjun KapoorFilmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son, Arjun Kapoor,

 Salman Khan turns trainer for Arjun KapoorFilmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son, Arjun Kapoor, 26, is touted to be the next big thing in Bollywood. But, the actor, who is hotting up screens in the promo of his debut flick, Yash Raj’s Ishaqzaade, once weighed 140 kgs and had to lose 68 kilos to make it as an actor. And, it was actor Salman Khan related stories      Arjun, Parineeti in Ishaqzaade     Ishaqzaade's first trailer a hit on Twitter     FIRST LOOK: Yash Raj Films' Ishaqzaade  who made him shed all the flab. Kapoor now weighs a fit 72 kgs.  “Arjun always wanted to become a director. Salman Khan kept observing Arjun on the sets of the 2009 hit Wanted, in which he was an assistant producer. Salman strongly felt that he saw an actor in Arjun Kapoor. He sat down with Arjun and said he shouldn’t waste more time learning direction and production, and should work towards becoming an actor,” says a source.  Arjun apparently had Filmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son, Arjun Kapoor, 26, is touted to be the next big thing in Bollywood. But, the actor, who is hotting up screens in the promo of his debut flick, Yash Raj’s Ishaqzaade, once weighed 140 kgs and had to lose 68 kilos to make it as an actor. And, it was actor Salman Khan related stories      Arjun, Parineeti in Ishaqzaade     Ishaqzaade's first trailer a hit on Twitter     FIRST LOOK: Yash Raj Films' Ishaqzaade  who made him shed all the flab. Kapoor now weighs a fit 72 kgs.  “Arjun always wanted to become a director. Salman Khan kept observing Arjun on the sets of the 2009 hit Wanted, in which he was an assistant producer. Salman strongly felt that he saw an actor in Arjun Kapoor. He sat down with Arjun and said he shouldn’t waste more time learning direction and production, and should work towards becoming an actor,” says a source.  Arjun apparently had
Filmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son, Arjun Kapoor, 26, is touted to be the next big thing in Bollywood. But, the actor, who is hotting up screens in the promo of his debut flick, Yash Raj’s Ishaqzaade, once weighed 140 kgs and had to lose 68 kilos to make it as an actor. And, it was actor Salman Khan

Yuvraj Singh is a fighter, on and off the field: Irfan Pathan

New Delhi: Good wishes continued to pour in for Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering after undergoing treatment for a rare germ cell cancer, with Indian pacer Irfan Pathan saying that his teammate is not just a fighter on the cricket field but also in real life.

"He is a fighter in cricket and on the field. And he is a fighter in a real life too. The whole world is praying for him," the Delhi Daredevils pacer said here.

Yuvraj returned to India on Monday after undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy in the United States. Pathan wished Yuvraj a speedy recovery.

"I'm praying for his complete recovery and am going to meet him soon. My whole family is praying and everyone want him on the ground," Irfan said.

Irfan, who is back after being sidelined for two years due to a back injury, said he is happy with the way his return has turned out so far.

"I'm only focusing on one thing which is contributing to the team and I'm sure that I would give my best. I'm getting better day by day and I'm struggling to become better."

""Cricket is the best education for me... It's been nine years since I've been learning, but for the past two years I'm feeling the change... it is a very good feeling," he added.