King of Pop Michael Jackson Dies

The Original. The Sensational. The King of Pop Music Michael Jackson died of a Cardiac Arrest on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Jackson was preparing for a ‘Final Curtain Call’, his comeback and last public performance in a series of shows in London scheduled for next month. Michael Jackson will always be remembered as a talented singer who started off in the 60’s by being the lead singer (at the age of 4) of ‘Jackson 5’, a group he formed with his other 4 elder brothers. There started a journey of hit music and platinum singles that none can perhaps match in times to come.

Be it the child genius of Michael, his trademark Moonwalk and the scores of hits he gave to his millions of fans, Michael’s accomplishments can’t be undermined considering his enormous global fan following.

The 80’s saw Michael Jackson peak at his best when his 1982 album “Thriller” became the best selling album of all times. Singles from the album like “Billie Jean”, “Beat It” and “Thriller” contributed in making the album “Thriller” 20x Platinum certified.

The death of Michael comes as a shock to his millions of fans across the world and he will always be remembered as an original, sensational and talented performer of all times. Our heart goes out to the family.

Rest in Peace Michael.

Sania Crashes Out of Wimbledon

Sania Mirza Fails Again

Sania Mirza disappointed her many fans by crashing out of the 2009 Wimbledon Ladies Singles event. Sania lost the all important second round as she lost in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to Romanian Sorana Cirstea. Sania was never in control of the match as many unforced errors saw her loosing crucial points in the match.

Sania had reached 78th position (Singles) and 35th position (Doubles) in the recently out WTA Rankings largely because of her semi-final entry in the Singles & Doubles event at the just concluded Aegon Classic. She couldn't live up to all the expectations and lost the crucial Wimbledon encounter without putting up much of a fight.

Sania now needs to pull her socks up, avoid injuries and improve upon her tennis abilities if she has to continue representing India in a more fruitful manner. The fans in India are disappointed as the Golden Girl of Indian Tennis needs to bring back her sharpness on to the Tennis court.

Sania: We fans are disappointed :-(

Dhoni Spells It Out

Captain Charismatic M.S.Dhoni has spelt out in clear terms the need for his team members to not hide any injury details ahead of the 4-match ODI Series.

This warning of sorts from the captain comes close on the heels of the disastrous Twenty20 World Cup campaign by Team India. The loss of Virender Sehwag because of injury ahead of the crucial T20 Tournament in England was a big blow for Team India. Sehwag was carrying an injury from the IPL tournament which was held preceded the World Cup.

Sehwag, Sachin, Zaheer and Suresh Raina will miss the West Indies Tour because of injury and Dhoni has urged his team mates to come out in the open with their injuries in front of the captain or the board.

"If anyone wants to take a break from the game, please let me know or the BCCI". Dhoni is said to have said.

India play their first ODI in West Indies on Friday and we just hope there are no more hidden injuries which play spoilsport in India's campaign before the all important World Cup in 2011.

India Budget

Amidst signs of economic recovery around the globe, India is about to unveil one of the most important and much anticipated Budgets in July, 2009.

The dates are out:

Rail Budget- July 3, 2009
Union Budget- July 6, 2009






The Rail Budget would be presented by the Railway Minister, Ms Mamta Banerjee and the mantle to unveil the Union Budget would go into the hands of the veteran politician and Finance Minister of India, Sh. Pranab Mukherjee.

There are huge expectations this time around with the budget when the middle class reeling under the burden of heavy taxes expects some respite in the tax structure. Also, the corporate India expects good policies which would spearhead the growth in some of the industries majorly impacted by the global recession. It would have to be a good balancing act by the respective ministries to ensure that the economy of India gets the much needed push forward towards economic development.

Let's hope that Budget exercise turns out to be fruitful and takes into consideration all the expectations of the common man as well as corporate India.

Swine Flu ~ Do's & Dont's

By the end of April, 2009 over 100 people have died and more than 1400 have gotten ill in Mexico because of the dreaded H1N1 virus a.k.a. Swine Flu.

Mexico is where it all started and the virus has taken pandemic proportions and spread its tentacles in most part of the world.

Following are the Do's and Don'ts issued by World Health Organisation (WHO) for combating Swine Flu Pandemic:

DO:

* Wash your hands
* Avoid crowded places
* Stay more than an arm's length from persons afflicted with flu
* Get plenty of sleep
* Drink plenty of water and eat nutritious food


DO NOT:

* Shake hands or hug in greeting
* Spit in public
* Take medicines without consulting a physician


For people who are sick:

* Stay home and limit contacts with others as much as possible
* Rest and take plenty of liquids
* Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
* Seek medical advice if needed.

India's T20 World Cup Campaign

It doesn't get bigger than this...

ICC T20 Men's World Cup 2009

We didn't realise when the IPL got over and the World Cup started. Yes, it's a packed cricketing calendar for the year. The cricketers are being over exerted, audiences over-fed with cricket. But who is complaining...

It's a treat for cricket lovers here in India with the defending champions Team India battling it out to retain their 'World Champions' tag. India has started off on the right note in the tournament so far successfully handling their league encounters and making a way to the Super 8s. It becomes interesting from hereon as India will face stiff competition from tournament favorites like South Africa and New Zealand.

M.S. Dhoni will have to ensure that his boys are in the best of shape for this crucial tournament which if India wins will further cement their position as undisputed Kings of Twenty20 Cricket.

This is how the tournament is lined up as of now:

SUPER EIGHT STAGE

Thursday 11 June: New Zealand v Ireland, Trent Bridge (1330)

Thursday 11 June: England v South Africa, Trent Bridge (1730)

Friday 12 June: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Lord's (1330)

Friday 12 June: India v West Indies, Lord's (1730)

Saturday 13 June: West Indies v South Africa, The Oval (1330)

Saturday 13 June: New Zealand v Pakistan, The Oval (1730)

Sunday 14 June: Ireland v Sri Lanka, Lord's (1330)

Sunday 14 June: India v England, Lord's (1730)

Monday 15 June: Pakistan v Ireland, The Oval (1330)

Monday 15 June: England v West Indies, The Oval (1730)

Tuesday 16 June: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Trent Bridge (1330)

Tuesday 16 June: South Africa v India, Trent Bridge (1730)

KNOCK-OUT STAGE

Thursday 18 June: First semi-final, Trent Bridge (1730)

Friday 19 June: Second semi-final, The Oval (1730)

Sunday 21 June: Final, Lord's (1500)

King Khan Gets New Vanity Bus

Shahrukh Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood gifted himself the biggest vanity bus in the Bombay Film Industry. The vanity van will be a personalised vehicle and has been designed by ace car designer Dilip Chabaria.

It took Dilip 4 months to design this bus keeping all the requirements of Shahrukh in mind. The vanity bus is 14 metres in length and boasts of a host of features including a gym, a bar, office space, bedroom, washroom and a shower.

We wonder what his arch rivals namely Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have to say on this.

Any Guesses? :-)

Resurgence of the Financial Markets

India, it seems has successfully managed to fight the on-going economic downturn so far and is now on a course of economic revival.

Signs of this revival are coming from a strong upward rally by the stock market, renewed foreign investor confidence, increased consumer spending, more job creations, etc. These tell-tale signs have all resulted in a renewed hope that Indian Financial Markets such as its Stock Exchanges like the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange will continue this steady upward swing.

The upcoming Union Budget of the UPA Government will be again a good indicator of the course that the Indian Financial Markets take from here onwards and how soon they are able to come out of the economic turmoil that the world faces. The finance ministry will have to ensure that the budget brings out key economic policies which take India into the path of economic prosperity.

We will keep you posted on the India Budget as and when it comes out and will try and capture some of the key Budget Highlights.

Quit Smoking

World No Tobacco Day on the 31st May. brought a new change for the Cigarette (and other tobacco products) lovers in India.

Come Sunday and the Cigarette packs in India will carry compulsory pictorial warnings displaying the health hazards associated with the use of tobacco and related products. Government has made it mandatory to have at least 40% of the displayable area on such products to carry these pictorial warnings.

As per a recent WHO study there has been an increase in India related to tobacco consumption and this new and innovative step by the Government will surely act as a deterrent for existing and future consumers of cigarette and related products.

We give a Thumbs Up to this step by the Government and hope that it curbs the menace associated with tobacco such as smoking to a greater extent.

We urge all our readers to: Quit Smoking!!