Meerabai Not Out - A wrong decision indeed

India – A land of enormous lingos, customs and religions fall invariably become united for 'Cricket'. Perhaps, some could wonder why cricket isn't picked as National Game since passion for this sport goes insatiable amongst millions here. Be a top-charting tycoon or a hapless chap, there are on with more enthuses when there's India in stadium.

Of course, here our Meera of that same sort for who cricket is larger than her life itself. She is so adhered with the sport that she cannot afford to miss the game on her day of engagement. Don't mistake by these vistas, it's a film dedicated to bats 'n' balls. It's a genre of romance all throughout and lacks solidity from-alpha-till-omega.

Well, these days we happen to spot filmmakers brimmed on with new innovative motifs. But appearing on the screen, they're disappointing with ill-timed narration. Naturally, Meera Bhai Not Out is off that sort where a novelty of filmmaker Chandrakanth Kulkarni gets spoilt by Soumik Sen's screenplay.

Meera Achrekar (Meera Bhai), a mathematics teacher at Vishwaprem Vidyalaya, has been a happy single for quite a while now. The great love of her life has been, and will always remain, cricket and Anil Kumble. The meticulous number cruncher is, despite not being the classic eye-candy-teenage-fantasy-fodder, a huge hit in class. And that's because Meera, unlike most teachers of her school, is more fanatical about her religion, cricket than even the school cricket captain! 

Living with her family in their small home in a Mumbai chawl, Meera was initiated into her temple of Wankhede Stadium by her brother, Manoj (Mahesh Manjrekar). Manoj Anant Achrekar played cricket at the Ranji Trophy level. Sadly, middle class making-ends-meet economics got the better of the impressive Maharastrian leggie, and passion had to make way for responsibility. Mahesh is today a cricket cynic. While Meera bunks classes and fights for season tickets to every cricket match that is played at Wankhede Stadium, Mahesh even steers clear off cricket scores! 

While the folk at Bhaktiyog Society have cast aspersions on her craze towards the game, the bigger problem that worries the Achrekar family is Meera's still-single status. Love suddenly blossoms with heart-specialist, Dr Arjun Sachdeva (Eijaz Khan) and Meera realizes that perhaps there is more to life than praying for Team India and Anil Kumble! However, in between this fabulous exchange of text messages, Valentine's Day outings and walks along Chowpatty, she confesses to Arjun that she is already married to cricket! 

So, while the maiden's heart beats for Anil Kumble and India's fortunes, the more important question is: will Meera be able to commit to her non-striker beau and keep her prospective father-in-law at bay?

Meera Bhai is enjoyable in certain parts, but at many intervals there's flimsiness in narration showing up. As mentioned earlier, it's not a flick dedicated to game of cricket but a romance film. Be it the factor of 'Cricket' or 'Romance', everything is unappealing.

What saves Meera Bhai from not getting out duck are the last few minutes of show. Imagine if one can spend couple of hours for experiencing the penultimate sequences. Yup! it's so ridiculous to see that Mandira Bedi on her day of engagement fleets to stadium for cricket match. Even if she's so passionate about it, the better option could've been glimpsing it on TV Box. It's out of the question in reality for a woman would urge herself to watch a match for Indian team, especially Anil Kumble sacrificing her most important occasions.

Don't miss the cricket match between in-laws (Mahesh and Eijaz). It's the only area where auteur is worth winning grand round of applause. Perhaps, it would have been nice if they were spelled still more entertaining.

Mandira does justice to her role and maybe director has tried presenting her with kind of image that many of our Indian women are so. Possibly, not adhered to cricket matches but Saas-Bahu manias.  There is nothing such flaw painted on Mandira's character. Mahesh Manjrekar fails to make it big while Eijaz Khan deserves best credits. Anupam Kher with clichéd performance steals the show and it's merely disappointment from Pratiksha Lonkar. Anil Kumble is fair to middling with his minimal part.

It's dashing down with our hopes with technical aspects. Neither music nor cinematography is so striking. Music Director Sandesh Sandilya seems to have put forth his best efforts on just one number for promos.

On the whole, Meera Bhai Not Out isn't a delightful watch and 'Not Out' on the title maybe a faulty conclusion. Watching this film is alike Sunil Gavaskar scoring 50runs in 50 overs...

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/review/10710.html

'Knighthood' for Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday became the first foreign actor to be conferred the title of Datuk, akin to a British knighthood, at a special ceremony in Malaysia.

Shah Rukh responded by announcing that he would shoot an entire film, tentatively titled 'Happy New Year', in Malaysia next year.

 

"There is a film I am planning some time in August and September and will send a team down to look around," The Star Online quoted him as saying.

 

He would also help develop the Malaysian movie industry that has had directors like Phani Mazumdar and Ritwik Ghatak making films.

 

On how he felt about his Datukship, the actor said that it was an honour not only for him but also for all actors from India.

 

"I am very happy that I have found a big space in the hearts of people here," he added.

 

Resplendent in a black baju Melayu, samping and songkok, the traditional Malaysian attire, he received the state award from Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the royal constitutional head of the state.

 

The 43-year-old actor held the estimated 1,000 guests at the investiture spellbound as he received the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM), conferred on him in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the royal chief on October 11.

 

Shah Rukh was tied down by a busy work schedule and could not fly in from Mumbai to receive the award in October or on the later date, Nov 29.

 

He arrived at the venue, Dewan Seri Negeri, at 10.55 a.m. and kept smiling and waving to his fans as he was escorted into the hall, Bernama, the official Malaysian news agency reported.

 

The actor was the focus of attention of the local and foreign photographers as well as guests who clicked away on their camera phones from their seats in the hall.

 

At the end of the investiture, the guests took the opportunity to have photographs taken with Shah Rukh.

 

He has received over 40 awards in the entertainment and film industry including, the Screen Award, Zee Cine Award, NDTV Award and International Indian Film Award.

 

He had acted in the Hindi film, 'One 2 Ka 4', that has scenes shot in Malaysia, including at the A Famosa Resort in Alor Gajah.

 

At a joint news conference with the chief minister, Shah Rukh Khan repeatedly thanked Khalil and the Melaka state government for the award bestowed on him.


http://entertainment.in.msn.com/bollywood/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1718167

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http://www.cerona.com/technology-xpress-card.html?gclid=CJrAhpe1sJcCFQbPbwodF2Aaig

Life Insurance of India has new Aastha “Jeevan Aastha”

Life Insurance of India (LIC) has introduced a new single premium plan called "Jeevan Aastha" today.  This plan is open only for 45 days. I would suggest this plan for those who prefer Bank Deposit (FD).  Jeevan Aastha is as good as Bank deposit plus Insurance. You need to pay only ONE time premium.
Jeevan Aastha ( Plan No. 195)

Features and details:

1. Availability: 08-12-2008 to 21-01-2009
2. One time payment plan
3. Guaranteed Returns + Loyalty Additions.
4. High Risk Cover
5. convenient Terms (5 Yrs and 10 Yrs)
6. Tax Rebate and Tax Free maturity

Maturity Benefits: Maturity Sum Assured along with Guaranteed Addition and Loyalty Addition, if any, Shall be payable. ( Maturity Sum Assured shall be 1/6th of Basic Sum Assured)

Death Benefit:
During the first policy year: Basic Sum Assured with Guaranteed Addition
After 1st policy year excluding last policy year: 1/3rd of Basic Sum Assured with Guaranteed Addition
During last policy year: 1/3rd of the S.A. Guaranteed Addition and Loyalty Addition, if any.

Guaranteed Addition:
Rs. 100 per thousand of Maturity Sum Assured per year for a policy of 10 years term.
Rs. 90 per thousand of Maturity Sum Assured per year for a policy of 5 years term.

Eligibility Conditions and Restrictions:
a:) Minimum Entry Age: 13 Years completed
b:) Maximum Entry Age: 60 Years ( Nearest birthday)
c:) Minimum Basic Sum Assured: Rs. 1,50,000/-
d:) Maximum Basic Sum Assured: No Limit
j:) Large Sum Assured Rebate: Available
e:) Policy Term: 5 or 10 years
f:) Mode of premium payment: Single Premium
g:) Loans: Available after 1 year
h:) Back dating interest: Allowed @ rate of 10% (for dating back in excess of one month)

Again, this policy is good for 45 days only. Make your decision fast. For more details visit your nearest LIC branch or call your LIC advisor.

http://www.mylicindia.com/life-insurance-of-india-has-new-aastha-jeevan-aastha/

LIC's new plan : JEEVAN AASTHA

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http://www.chennaiclassic.com/1_Chennai/posts/6_Financial_Services/40_Insurance/207936_insurance.html?view=showad&adid=207936&cityid=1

State Election Result for Delhi

!

http://cribb.in/state-election-result.htm

Mumbai Attack: Top LeT man played vital role in training

Investigations into the November 26 terror attack on Mumbai have further established the role of the top leadership of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)

in the grisly crime.

According to sources, arrested terrorist Ajmal has told them in detail about the direct involvement of Zakiur Rahman, alias Chachu, in the assault on Mumbai. Zakiur, one of the senior-most Amirs of Lashkar, has so far been known for keeping a distance from the cells that the terrorist outfit routinely sends to cause mayhem in India. In this instance, Chachu - called so because of his seniority - was at hand to see off the group when Ajmal and his fellow jihadis set out from Karachi's Azizabad to strike at Mumbai.

Top ATS sources said Zakiur's personal involvement denotes the importance that Lashkar attached to the latest of a series of terror offensives against Mumbai.

Sources disclosed that a joint intelligence committee on November 19 had sent a message to the Coast Guard and other authorities concerned saying that they had intercepted a telephonic conversation wherein the caller had said, '' Hum pahunch rehe hain (we are reaching)''. The suspicious call was decoded and an alert was sent to all authorities.

According to police, they found a Pakistan-based mobile number in the satphone seized from Ismail who was killed in an encounter near Girgaum on the night of the blasts. The city crime branch probing the terror attack case called up on that number where the receiver asked in Urdu, '' Who is speaking?'' the officer replied, '' Allah ka banda.''

Hearing this, the receiver hung up the phone. In another find which will further tie Lashkar to the crime, the satphone, which contains several international numbers, has a mobile number on which Fahim Ansari (35), an LeT operative, had made several calls before he was arrested in February by the UP Special Task Force (STF).

Ansari was part of the Lashkar cell which attacked the CRPF camp in Rampur in UP on January 1. His interrogation revealed a Lashkar plot to attack Mumbai. Ansari was also accused of doing a recce of more than 12 places in Mumbai for two months. They included Hotel Taj Mahal, Hilton Tower, the police commissioner's office, the state police headquarters and Churchgate station. Following Ansari's revelations, the anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which later arrested Ansari, had then said that an organised and well planned strategy was being adopted by the LeT to target the country's financial capital.

Ansari had also disclosed that LeT was planning a severe terror strike in Mumbai and that he had been asked to look for two safe houses, one for himself and the other to store weapons.

Crime branch chief Rakesh Maria had said the militants were to return after taking hostages with them. It is also learnt that the GPS on Kuber, the boat which was used by the 10 terrorists, had a set time of 11.30 pm (Friday) in the clock.

Police said that a resident of Motilal Nagar in Goregaon, Ansari had spent six months at a training camp in Pakistan's Muzaffarabad after he went missing from Dubai where he was employed in a printing press.

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Top_LeT_man_played_vital_role_in_training/articleshow/3783711.cms

Mumbai attacks to hit tourist arrivals in India

Tourist arrivals in India are set to take a knock following the deadly attacks in Mumbai last week, which have triggered travel

warnings from the United States to Australia on visiting the country. Vijay Thakur, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said on Monday he expected a 10-15 percent fall in arrivals in the tourist season that runs from October to April.

The attacks by Islamist militants on India's financial hub, which killed nearly 200 people last week, many of them in Mumbai's two luxury hotels

will scare visitors away at least for some time, he said. "This incident is very unfortunate," Thakur said. "Because of the global crisis, there is some decline already."

A global financial crisis had taken a toll on foreign tourist traffic, with arrivals in October up just 1.8 per cent from a year earlier compared with double-digit growth in the last five years. Much of the poor growth was due to rapidly slowing economies in the United States and Britain, whose citizens made up a large portion of the 5 million tourists in India in 2007.

"After the news about the terrorist attack there was a steep decline in bookings from Russian tourists with many cancellations to Goa," an official of the Association of Russian Tour Operators said. One Briton of Indian origin, who did not want to be identified, said she was waiting for further news on the safety of Mumbai and other parts of India before coming over to see family and friends.

"The English media is making you think war is not impossible," she said in an email. The United State, Britain and Canada have cautioned their nationals against visiting India, while Singapore and Australia have asked their nationals to review plans after the attacks, and Thakur said there would be cancellations.

"Looking at the future bookings and the trends, our members feel it is not very encouraging," he said. At least two conferences were rescheduled after the attacks. A private equity meet in Mumbai, scheduled for December 4 and 5, was moved to February, while global consultancy KPMG indefinitely deferred a Dec. 2 conference in New Delhi.

Between January and October, 4.3 million foreigners toured India, 9.4 per cent more than the same period last year, according to tourism ministry data. Tourism contributes more than 6 per cent to India's GDP of $1 trillion, and employs 53 million people directly or indirectly. In 2007, foreign tourists spent $10.7 billion in India.

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Mumbai_attacks_to_hit_tourist_arrivals_in_India/articleshow/3779887.cms

5 terrorists still missing

TODAYS BREAKING NEWS

 

 

Mumbai police to Times Now: 5 terrorists went back to Pakistan | Central agencies differ with Mumbai police over number of terrorists

Captured terrorist says he has no regrets about Mumbai mayhem

Captured terrorist A A Qasab has told his interrogators that he had no regrets about carrying out his mission of mayhem in Mumbai this week,

in which the death toll so far is 195 and the injury toll 295.

On Saturday evening, he told Mumbai Police that the terrorist group that reportedly came out of Karachi via the sea route undertook the terrorist mission to avenge the death of Palestinians, and therefore, one of the main targets identified by them was Nariman House, which housed a Jewish synagogue visited by Israelis.

The landmark Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was also targeted by the Faridkot resident and his fellow terrorists with the objective of attracting the maximum global attention, as the venue had frequent foreign visitors and guests. The terrorists also had plans to enter the Times of India building, but changed it after Qasab was fired upon by the police.

Qasab, the lone terrorist in police custody till the second week of December, said: "We wanted to blow up the Taj," and added that the terror mission was planned at least four months ago.

He said that a detailed recce was undertaken four months ago by another group, which included taking satellite pictures of the hotels and various locations and preparation of detailed maps.

The terrorists, he told his interrogators, booked rooms in the Taj where they kept their ammunition. They booked room 630 for four days using fake identity cards from Mauritius. Posing as Malaysian students, they had many visitors.

The police are now trying to locate these visitors.

He has also said that he and his associate Ismail Khan were the ones who shot Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, and top cops Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamthe. Salaskar was the first to be killed followed by Kamthe and Karkare.

Qasab also revealed names and addresses of at least five locals in the city who helped in facilitating the terror operation. These people are said to have provided shelter, escorted them around and passed information on police stations and check posts, besides prominent landmarks.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said: "We suspect there could be local assistants, but it is subject to verification. It will be very premature to comment on this at this stage as our investigations are going on. "All the (identity) cards are in different names and of different banks. Now, we are at least trying to figure out how they procured credit cards from various banks.''''

Meanwhile, the Internet Protocol address of the Deccan Mujahideen, the group that sent an e-mail claiming responsibility, has been traced to outside India and police are now saying that the involvement of Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind of the 1993 serial attacks in the city cannot be ruled out.

Maria also told reporters here last evening that the police believe there could be another two or more terrorists still in the city.

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Captured_terrorist_says_he_has_no_regrets_about_Mumbai_mayhem/articleshow/3778396.cms

We wanted to hit CST at peak hour: Kasab

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (21), the terrorist arrested by Mumbai Police, has told his interrogators that their plan was to get off the dinghy near the fishing village at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade, at dusk and strike all targets except Nariman House between 7 pm and 8 pm. However, the landing was delayed and they reached at 8.45 pm.

''They knew that the crowds at CST would be thickest at 7.30 pm and their bullets would cause the greatest harm,'' said an officer on condition of anonymity. Kasab told interrogators that Cama hospital and Metro cinema were not in their plan which was to take hostages at CST and return to base by hijacking a boat off the Gateway of India.

The duo opened fire at platform no 13 of CST station, which caters to outstation trains, around 9.45 pm. Then, they walked towards the concourse of the local train station. By then, the commuters had dispersed. Afraid that they would be spotted and shot, they exited the station from the foot overbridge on the Northern end, walked past the Times of India building and went towards Cama Hospital.

According to Kasab, this was not in the plan. At Cama hospital, they encountered a police team led by additional commissioner Sadanand Date. When cornered , they lobbed grenades, injuring Date and two constables, and fled towards Rang Bhavan, where they killed five more policemen , including ATS chief Hemant Karkare.

Their landing was delayed because it took them some time to locate a trawler to hijack off the coast of Porbandar.
 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/We_wanted_to_hit_CST_at_peak_hour_Kasab/articleshow/3782518.cms

Terror mail routed through Pakistan's Lahore

Indian agencies tracing the source of the email

sent by an outfit calling itself Deccan Mujahideen to a TV channel claiming responsibility for the terror attacks on Mumbai have found that the text was routed through Lahore in Pakistan before travelling to different locations through anonymous "remailer" service.

Though other locations are yet to be traced, the experts — who took help of different foreign agencies — found that the terrorists used a Russian server to avail the remailer service which is the most secure and least traceable way to send emails.

An official said the text document sent by the hitherto unknown Deccan Mujahideen was generated using voice-recognition software which allows dictated text to be typed in Devnagri script.

Contrary to the normal Internet service which can easily trace the origin of an email through IP address

of a particular computer, the remailer service not only deletes IP address but also all details including the sources from where someone might have requested for the secret service.

"There are a number of software available for the remailer service that lets one send anonymous email easily through a web interface. Some others make it really easy to send email messages

that can only be viewed for a certain time and one can remain anonymous to boot," an official said.

In the wake of terror attacks on earlier occasions, Indian Mujahideen — a splinter group of the banned SIMI — had sent as many as five emails written in English. While the first two, after serial blasts in UP courts and Jaipur, were sent from cyber cafes in Delhi and Sahibabad respectively, the remaining ones had been sent using Wi-Fi system from Mumbai after serial blasts in Ahmedabad and Delhi.

"Origin of all these emails were traced within hours through the IP addresses. But this time, the terrorists made the task of the cops tough due to use of remailer service," the official said.

Investigators believe that the terror masterminds might have done this knowing the fate of earlier emails -- yet another pointer of their being associated at some level even though the earlier strikes had been carried out by locals in the name of IM.

 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Terror_mail_routed_through_Pakistans_Lahore/articleshow/3782530.cms

Terrorists had several credit cards

  Terrorists had several credit cards

A officer of Indian Navy said on Friday that they recovered several credit cards issued by top Indian and foreign banks from a rucksack of a

terrorist at the Taj while conducting their combing operation on early Thursday morning.

The credit cards were issued by Citibank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBM (State Bank of Mauritius). "We recovered several credit cards apart from US$ 1200 from the rucksack," the Indian Navy officer, who had participated in the operation from early Thursday morning at the Taj said.

"We have forwarded all the evidence to the Mumbai police for further investigations," the officer said on conditions of anonymity due to security reasons.

The marine commandos or Marcos of the Indian Navy also recovered a national identity card issued by the government of Mauritius from the rucksack which contained 400 extra rounds of the notorious assault rifle - AK-47 and Made-in-China grenades.

What has come as a surprise that the terrorists managed to get hold of multiple credit cards in spite of strict Know Your Clients norms formulated by the Reserve Bank of India to avoid money laundering and use of banks by the terror outfits.

When contacted a Citi spokesperson said: "We have not received any information on this from the authorities . Our procedures require validation of identity and address of all our customers, in line with regulatory norms. If we are approached by the authorities, we will cooperate with them fully" .

Other banks did not respond as they had not been officially informed by the police as yet and did not have any details on the cards.

NSG, Army closing in on Nariman House; fresh explosions heard

The NSG Commandos and the army personnel were closing in on the Nariman House, even as three fresh explosions were heard early this morning rom inside the building in Colaba in South Mumbai.

The three explosions, perhaps caused by the grenade blasts, were heard at around 2:30 am from inside the Nariman House. However, the commando force was fully in control of the situation.

The night was by and large peaceful. The entire operation has been slowed down as the commandos are taking precaution for the safety of the holed-up people in the building. There are still some people believed to be holed-up in the Nariman House.

"The operation to clean up the Nariman House was still going on," Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt said, adding the operations would end soon.

Dutt said the operations at Hotel Taj was by and large over with just one injured terrorist still holed-up in the building. "He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," he said.

He said the injured terrorist has not yet been captured but "we will be able to do so soon".

Dutt said two terrorists are holed up in the 8th floor of the Oberoi hotel while in the Trident section the combing operation has been completed.

"As far as Trident is concerned, we have been able to completely clean up and we do not have any report of any terrorist being holed up over there.

"As far as Oberoi is concerned, yes, we have engaged two terrorists on the 8th floor," he said.

The attacks which began Wednesday night has so far claimed 127 lives, including six foreigners.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/NSG_Army_closing_in_on_Nariman_House_fresh_explosions_heard/articleshow/3767580.cms

Mumbai attacks: British tycoon is shot dead – hours after telling his family 'I'm safe'

Andreas Liveras: Ranked No265 on rich list

A WEALTHY British businessman was among those killed in the attacks on Mumbai, it emerged last night.

Andreas Liveras, 73, had earlier spoken on his mobile phone of how he and other guests were locked in the basement of the five-star Taj Palace hotel after it was stormed by terrorists.

Mr Liveras, who was ranked 265 in the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £315 million from wholesale food and yachts, was said to have suffered several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on arrival at St George's Hospital.

A family member in Cyprus told The Scotsman: "We're a large extended family and we're all in shock. I haven't spoken to any of his four children yet, but I heard they are all devastated."

Last night, Mr Liveras's brother claimed that he could have escaped death if he had been carrying his Cypriot passport.

"But he never took it with him," his brother, Theophanis, said.

The terrorists had separated British and American passport holders and chose six to shoot, he said.

Mr Liveras's British assistant, who has not been named, was one of the hostages singled out for cold-blooded execution, but he managed to escape despite suffering two gunshot wounds. He was being treated for serious wounds in hospital last night.

The assistant called Mr Liveras's family in England to alert them to his plight without knowing his fate.

Theophanis, who lives in Nicosia, Cyprus, promptly called Liveras's mobile phone, which was answered by an Indian woman who stunned him by shouting: "He's been shot."

A Cypriot foreign ministry official, Phaedonas Anastasiou, said: "He was executed in cold blood, and he was carrying a British passport."

Before his death, Mr Liveras had described the chaos in a telephone interview recorded as he and others were still in one of the buildings. "All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off," he said.

Before he was killed, the self-made millionaire, who emigrated to Britain from Cyprus, told the BBC he was with more than "a thousand people living on their nerves".

He said he had visited the Taj Palace hotel for a curry after hearing it served the best food in Mumbai. "I think it's got the best restaurant here, but as soon as we sat at the table, we heard the machine-gun fire outside in the corridor.

"We hid ourselves under the table and then they switched all the lights off. But the machine-guns kept going, and they took us into the kitchen, and from there into a basement, before we came up into a salon where we are now.

"There must be more than 1,000 people here. There are residents and tourists and locals. We are not hiding, we are locked in here – nobody tells us anything, the doors are locked and we are inside."

The Cypriot foreign ministry said Mr Liveras had gone to India on business. He was in Mumbai for a yacht show, family members said.

Mr Liveras's story is a classic rags-to-riches tale. After his family moved to London in 1963, he worked as a bakery deliveryman for a patisserie in Kensington. Within five years, he had bought the company.

Another British entrepreneur, Sir Gulam Noon, known as Britain's curry king, spoke yesterday of how he escaped the attack. He booked a table, but opted to order room service.

"He said the restaurant was the first place that the terrorists went to."

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Mumbai-attacks-British-tycoon-is.4741506.jp

Bollywood Explore Movies

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Hollywood Explore Movies

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Mama Mia!

Wall-e

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Madagascar 2

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Harry Potter and half blood prince


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Terrorists came from Karachi via sea routes to Mumbai

The terrorists who attacked Mumbai came via sea routes from Karachi in Pakistan, according to an intelligence report.

Militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades attacked Taj and Oberoi hotels, hospitals and a famous tourist cafe in Mumbai late on Wednesday, killing more than 100 people.

* WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACKS?

Witnesses say the attackers were young South Asian men speaking Hindi or Urdu, suggesting that they are probably members of an Indian militant group rather than foreigners.

The attacks were claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen in an e-mail to news organisations. Deccan is an area of southern India.

Analysts say that while it is not clear whether the claim is genuine, the attacks were most likely carried out by a group called the Indian Mujahideen. The name used in the claim of responsibility suggests the attackers could be members of a south Indian offshoot or cell of the Indian Mujahideen.

* WHO ARE THE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN?

Indian police say the Indian Mujahideen is an offshoot of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), but that local Muslims appear to have been given training and backing from militant groups in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh.

SIMI has been blamed by police for almost every major bomb attack in India, including explosions on commuter trains in Mumbai two years ago that killed 187 people.

Police said the Indian Mujahideen may also include former members of the Bangladeshi militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami.

* WHY ARE THEY SUSPECTED OF BEING BEHIND THE MUMBAI ATTACKS?

The Indian Mujahideen have made credible claims of responsibility for most of the recent major attacks on civilian targets in India over the past two years.

The Mumbai attacks appear to have been carefully co-ordinated, well-planned and involved a large number of attackers. A high level of sophistication has also been a hallmark of previous attacks by the Indian Mujahideen.

The Mumbai attacks also focused clearly on tourist targets, including two luxury hotels and a famous cafe.

In May, the Indian Mujahideen made a specific threat to attack tourist sites in India unless the government stopped supporting the United States in the international arena.

The threat was made in an e-mail claiming responsibility for bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the tourist city of Jaipur. The e-mail, signed by "Guru Al-Hindi", declared "open war against India" and included the serial number of one of the bicycles on which the bombs were left.

Witnesses in Mumbai say the attackers in Mumbai singled out Americans and Britons in their attacks.

* WHAT OTHER ATTACKS HAVE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN CARRIED OUT?

The group first emerged during a wave of bombings in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in November 2007, sending an e-mail to media outlets just before some of the bombs exploded.

Their next attacks were the Jaipur blasts.

On July 25, eight small bomb attacks in the IT city of Bangalore on July 25 that killed at least one person and wounded 15. There was no known claim of responsibility.

But a day later, at least 16 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, killing 45 and wounding 161. Shortly before the blasts, an e-mail in the name of the Indian Mujahideen was sent to local media warning that people would soon "feel the terror of death" in the name of Allah.

It said the attacks were revenge for the Gujarat riots of 2002, when around 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, were killed by Hindu mobs. A later e-mail accused several state governments of harassing, imprisoning and torturing Muslims and threatened consequences if they did not stop.

In September, at least five bombs exploded in crowded markets and streets in New Delhi, killing at least 18 people.

The Indian Mujahideen sent out an e-mail moments after the first blast in New Delhi, saying the explosions were to prove its capability to strike in the most secure of Indian cities.

* WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE MUMBAI ATTACKS?

All previous incidents in which the Indian Mujahideen are suspected of involvement involved co-ordinated serial bombs.

The Mumbai attacks also show clear signs of coordination but were carried out by gunmen, some carrying grenades.

The tactics -- a military-style assault on soft targets, singling out foreigners, and taking hostages -- is rare and does not fit the usual methods of militant attacks on civilian areas.

However, similar attacks have been carried out before, notably the May 2004 attacks in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar.

Gunmen attacked two oil industry installations and a foreign workers' housing complex in the city, taking more than 50 hostages and killing 22 of them. The attackers asked hostages whether they were Christian or Muslim before deciding whom to kill.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081127/804/tnl-terrorists-came-from-karachi-via-sea_2.html

Deccan Mujahideen' claims responsibility for Mumbai terror strike

A little-known militant group going by the name of "Deccan Mujahideen" today claimed responsibility for the coordinated terror strikes in Mumbai on Wednesday night.

The previously unknown or little known group sent an e-mail to news organisations claiming responsibility.

Indian journalist Ameet Sha told a private TV channel there was no confirmation but the pattern suggested involvement of Laskar-e-Toiba.

She said terrorist attacks of such a magnitude and the participation of such a large number of gunmen raised questions on the security situation in India.

The identity and nature of the attack has left security agencies baffled.

In the camera shots of a suspected terrorist show him with an AK-47 assault rifle, dressed in a black half T-shirt and jeans with a blue rucksack hung over his left shoulder and red sacred thread tied on his right wrist.

What has left security agencies baffled is the sacred thread tied on his wrist which many say could be a plot to show that the attack was undertaken by probably an extreme Hindu group, but the claim of the Deccan Mujahideen has put this view in doubt.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has told the media here that the terrorists came in boats and struck at 10 places but their number is not known immediately.

The terror attacks began between 9 pm and 9.15 pm with indiscriminate firing and bomb blasts, Deshmukh said.

At least two sten guns have been recovered from the terrorists, the Chief Minister said.

To a question, he said it was not immediately known as to who was involved in the attacks as the entire police force is concentrating on saving lives.

He said around 200 National Security Guard (NSG) commandos had been dispatched from Delhi for the operation to flush out terrorists.

Asked whether foreigners were the target of the attacks, the Chief Minister disagreed, saying it could not be said.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20081127/808/tnl-deccan-mujahideen-claims-responsibil.html

Cricket: England cancel tour mid-way

The Mumbai terror attacks had high resounding repercussions for the country's cricket as, in an unprecedented move, the touring England squad refused to continue with the tour and decided to head back home.

England were scheduled to play a Test match in Mumbai beginning on December 19.

Team's media relations manager Andrew Walpole had earlier refused to confirm speculation about the team returning home immediately, even as the England team management held talks with BCCI.

"We are speaking to Mr Srinivasan and we will wait before any decision is taken," Walpole said. "Let's wait for the meeting to end." Walpole also refused to comment on television news reports that England have refused to go Guwahati for the sixth one-dayer on November 29.

Guwahati had been rocked by terror attacks last month when more than 60 people were killed by blasts in the city.

The seventh and final ODI was in Delhi next week.

No one from the Indian board was available for comments. However, one official was quoted as saying: "This has been a terrible day for India but at the moment it's far too early to talk about cancelling England's tour or the Champions League," by a British newspaper.

England's High Performance squad, which is currently training in Bangalore, is also waiting for guidance from the British government on the future of its tour. The squad, which includes Michael Vaughan, Monty Panesar and Andrew Strauss, was scheduled to reach Mumbai on December 3 to play a practice game and train with the England Test squad.

Earlier, English county side Middlesex had cancelled their flight to India on Thursday for the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League after a series of attacks in the financial capital Mumbai.

Middlesex captain Shaun Udal told reporters on Wednesday the team would not be travelling as planned on Thursday.

"All we know is our flight has been cancelled in the morning," Udal said.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) has instructed the Victorian and Western Australian sides, participating in the Twenty20 Champions League scheduled to begin next week, not to travel to India following the series of terrorist attacks.

The Victoria team was to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, one of the two hotels that were targets of the deadly assault.

The terror attacks that left 90 people dead in the country financial capital, have put the ongoing tour of England and the upcoming Champions League T20 tournament in jeopardy.

Five suspected terrorists were killed in two separate incidents overnight including two during a gun battle in the country's iconic landmark Taj hotel, police said.

Little known Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the terror strikes in e-mails sent to some media organisations.


http://www.zeenews.com/archives/2008-11-27/486774news.html

Photo Gallery

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A literal blast from the past.........

Woke up this morning... Mum told me, "There were blasts in Bombay last night". I shrugged it off in my just-woke-up-so-am-still-groggy state, thinking, oh well, they always happen don't they...

Then I saw the news for myself. Pictures. Accounts. The places mentioned that were attacked last night...all places I frequent when I'm in Bombay. That scared me. Especially the Taj Hotel. When I'd gone to Bombay this time in July-August...I had gone to the Taj specifically for the Sea View Lounge because it's amongst the best (and therefore very expensive :P) cafe style food I've ever had. Since I was a child, I would go there very often. When my aunt was going out with my uncle (before they were married ie), he'd take her to that Lounge and I'd tag along as well... good memories.

Then, I see these pictures.

That is not how I want to remember Bombay. Not how I want to remember the Taj and the Oberoi or Colaba.

This is the road that the Taj is situated on... a busy road... always been busy...

This is how I remember the view from inside the Taj... Gateway of India... the sea... I used to love just gazing out from the Lounge windows while hogging on the super food...
Inside, the Taj was beautiful as well.


Senseless isn't it? Now people will bandy around the words "Hindu militant attacks" or "Islamic fundamentalist blasts" ... who gives a f***ing shit? At the end of it, to me, it doesn't matter whether a freaking Scientologist did this... the point is, someone did. People always do stupid things like this. And more often than not, the causes have been labelled as being religion-based. I don't know any religion that encourages violence. So the idiots who harm others like this and proudly claim their religion and say they did it for their religion no less... are the most foul people ever. They first of all kill people, take another person's life...and then tarnish the name of whatever religion they belong to.

This one hit close to home. It made me remember that if they'd done this in the first week of August...I could've been inside the Taj and become one of the statistics in the news.
It could've been me. Could've been anyone from my family... Bombay, especially South Bombay is full of them...


http://big-fat-ego.blogspot.com/2008/11/literal-blast-from-past.html

Mumbai Attack

200 people held hostage in Taj Hotel

 

About 200 people were on wednesday night holed up inside a hall in the Taj Hotel in Mumbai as they were advised by the hotel staff not to go out because of the attack by terrorists.

They are holed up in the hall in the old wing of the hotel since 9.30 PM, when terrorists struck.

Krishna Das, MP, who was among those held up, said they had been advised not to move out of the hall till the police clears the place of terrorists.

He was having dinner with some friends in a restaurant of the hotel when he heard gunshots. The guests ducked under the table from where they had fleeting glimpse of terrorists who were firing indiscriminately.

At least 10 top business executives are also stuck on another floor of the hotel.

7 foreigners among 15 taken hostage by 2 gunmen in Taj Hotel

Two terrorists carrying guns tonight took 15 people, half of them foreigners, hostage on the roof of the luxury Taj Hotel here, one of the hostages who managed to escape said.

Two youths in their 20s came to the restaurant of the hotel and took 15 people to the roof of the hotel, Rakesh Patel, a businessman from London who lives in Hong Kong, told NDTV giving the first eyewitness account of what happened in the five-star hotel in South Mumbai.

"The two young boys came to the restaurant and took us upstairs. We were taken to the 18th floor from where we escaped", he said.

Replying to a question, Patel said the terrorists wanted to know if any one of the hostages was carrying American and British passports.

 

Bush, Obama condemn Mumbai attacks; offer assistance

The Bush Administration and President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday strongly condemned the deadly attacks in Mumbai, offering assistance to the Indian government and convening defence and intelligence officials amid a "grave and urgent threat" of terrorism.

"President (George) Bush offers his condolences to the Indian people and the families of the innocent civilians killed and injured in the attacks in Mumbai, India," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

The United States condemns this terrorist attack -- which left at least 80 people dead and over 275 injured -- and will continue to stand with the people of India in this time of tragedy, she said.

"This afternoon, the White House National Security Council convened officials from counter-terrorism and intelligence agencies as well as the State and Defence Departments," Perino said.

"The US government continues to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of our citizens, and stands ready to assist and support the Indian government," the senior White House official said, adding the President has been updated regularly.

Strongly condemning a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai's financial hub, Obama said it only demonstrated "the grave and urgent threat" of terrorism and nations must work to "root out and destroy terrorist networks."

"President-elect Obama strongly condemns terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India," Obama's Chief National security Spokesperson Brooke Anderson said in a statement.

 

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=ce1a21eb-2e47-451a-a53f-9978dc3fb654&ParentID=55740c3c-fcd5-46a4-9820-5f2d9272063a&&Headline=Bush%2c+Obama+condemn+Mumbai+attacks%3b+offer+assistance

Indian Commandos Battle to Free Hostages at Elite Mumbai Hotels

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Indian commandos battled to free hostages held by gunmen at two luxury hotels in Mumbai, after terrorist shootings and blasts across the city killed 101 people and left 287 injured.

Militants armed with grenades and rifles stormed into the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel and the Trident Oberoi complex late yesterday, saying they were targeting Americans and Britons, according to witness reports.

"The terrorists are still hiding," said Mumbai Police Sub- Inspector S.D. Tarwadkar as security forces swept through the hotels. The officer said he didn't have details of the number of hostages or their nationalities.

Targeting foreign nationals at key tourist hotels and restaurants adds a new dimension to a wave of bombings in India this year that has killed more than 300 people. Multiple attacks have rocked India's cities with bombs planted in markets, theaters and near mosques.

A little known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahadeen claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks, the Press Trust of India reported. Gunmen may have come from Pakistan, the Times Now television channel reported, citing an unidentified intelligence official.

"Mumbai is the New York of India and this is a clear attack on Westerners," said Clive Williams, a terrorism specialist at the Australian National University. "The targeting of British and Americans means there is a new modus operandi."

'Sheer Chaos'

"It was sheer chaos," said Manuela Testolini, a Canadian businesswoman who was dining at the Oberoi when gunmen burst in hunting for foreign nationals. "Every time we heard gunshots they were right behind us," Testolini, who escaped through the kitchen with guests and hotel workers, told CNN television.

President-elect Barack Obama led global condemnation of the attacks as his transition team said the U.S. would work with "India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the attackers to be "brought to justice swiftly."

Six foreigners, 14 policemen, including the head of India's anti-terrorism unit, and 81 members of the public were killed, according to police.

The U.S. State Department said it wasn't aware of any American casualties in the attacks "at this point." Two Australians were among those injured, according to the government in Canberra. One Japanese citizen was killed and another injured, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said.

Explosions, Gunfire

The attacks, the worst in the city since train blasts in July 2006, began late yesterday with explosions and gunfire ringing out across the city. Shootings occurred outside Cafe Leopold, in the Colaba district of south Mumbai and at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, CNN-IBN television reported.

There was an explosion near a junction in Vile Parle, near the airport, where the remains of a taxicab were strewn across the road. Another explosion in a taxi was reported at Mazgaon dockyard road, according to PTI.

As smoke from a fire billowed from the 565-room Taj hotel, emergency services evacuated guests via ladders. All of the 26 South Koreans at the Taj were rescued, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in a statement.

Previous guests at the Oberoi have included News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, according to the hotel's Web site. The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, also operates the luxury Trident hotel brand.

Schools Closed

Schools and colleges in Mumbai will be closed today, the PTI news agency reported.

The attacks come as India accelerates efforts to prop up a slumping economy battered by the global financial crisis.

India's central bank said last month that growth in the $1.2 trillion economy may be as little as 7.5 percent in the year ending next March, compared with 9 percent in the previous 12 months. That would be the weakest pace since 2005 for what is Asia's third-largest economy after Japan and China.

The attacks may affect tourism, which climbed 10 percent in the first nine months of the year to 3.87 million visitors, generating $8.8 billion in revenue, according to government figures. Foreign direct investment into the country more than doubled between April and August to $14.6 billion.

Death Toll

Between January 2004 and March 2007 the death toll from terrorist attacks in India was 3,674, second only to Iraq during the same period, according to the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington.

The government has previously blamed terrorist attacks on organizations linked to foreign powers, without offering evidence or making arrests. Local media often blame the attacks on groups backed by Pakistan or Bangladesh, without identifying the security officials who provided the information.

India's capital, New Delhi, was rocked by five blasts during an evening rush hour in September, killing as many as 26 people and injuring about 133. Indian Mujahadeen, which claimed responsibility for similar attacks in Ahmedabad and Jaipur, said it was behind the blasts.

Sixteen bombs exploded in Ahmedabad within 20 minutes late on July 26, a day after seven bombs tore through India's technology hub of Bangalore, killing two. At least 20 devices hidden in cars and garbage cans were discovered and defused in the Gujarat city of Surat, days after the Ahmedabad blasts.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a4xVI.iOytRk&refer=europe

Troops confront Mumbai attackers

Employees and guests of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel are rescued by fire crews

Indian security forces have been exchanging fire with gunmen holding dozens of hostages in two luxury hotels in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay).

Troops surrounded the premises shortly after armed men carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the city, killing 101 people and injuring 287.

The hotels were among several locations in the main tourist and business district targeted late on Wednesday.

Police say four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.

The situation is still volatile in two of the most high-profile targets of Wednesday's attacks - the Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi Trident hotels, where armed men are believed to be holding about 40 hostages.

There are reports of intermittent exchange of fire between security forces and the armed attackers barricaded inside both hotels.

Correspondents say security personnel have so far not stormed the premises perhaps for fear of endangering the lives of hostages, some of whom could be Westerners.

There are also unconfirmed reports that five gunmen have taken hostages in an office block in the financial district of Mumbai.

The city's main commuter train station, a hospital, and a restaurant were among at least seven locations caught up in the violence

Police declare curfew around Taj in Mumbai

 

MUMBAI: Police with loudspeakers are declaring a curfew around Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel, as fresh gunshots ring out from the area, in what could

signal the start of an assault on gunmen who have taken hostages in the hotel.

Ambulances are driving up to the entrance to the hotel and journalists have been moved even further back from the area.

Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station late Wednesday in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing at least 82 people, taking Westerners hostage, police said.

A group of suspected Muslim militants has claimed responsibility.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7751707.stm

Computers That Can Think Like Humans

By seeking inspiration from the structure, dynamics, function, and behavior of the brain, the IBM-led cognitive computing research team aims to break the conventional programmable machine paradigm. This team led by Dr. Dharmendra Modha, manager of IBM's cognitive computing initiative, hopes to rival the brain's low power consumption and small size by using nanoscale devices for synapses and neurons. This technology stands to bring about entirely new computing architectures and programming paradigms.

Cognitive computing offers the promise of systems that can integrate and analyze vast amounts of data from many sources in the blink of an eye, allowing businesses or individuals to make rapid decisions in time to have a significant impact. For example, bankers must make split-second decisions based on constantly changing data that flows at an ever-dizzying rate. And in the business of monitoring the world's water supply, a network of sensors and actuators constantly records and reports metrics such as temperature, pressure, wave height, acoustics and ocean tide.

In such cases, making sense of all the input would be a Herculean task for one person, or even for 100. A cognitive computer, acting as a global brain, could quickly and accurately put together the disparate pieces of this complex puzzle and help people make good decisions rapidly. The end result of this research is to ubiquitously deploy computers imbued with a new intelligence that can integrate information from a variety of sensors and sources, deal with ambiguity, respond in a context-dependent way, learn over time and carry out pattern recognition to solve difficult problems based on perception, action and cognition in complex, real-world environments.
 

http://www.enterpriser.in/India/Know_It/Computers_That_Can_Think_Like_Humans/551-95616-449.html

Six problems with iPhone OS 2.2

Could not Connect to Internet'   `SIM card not inserted'       Problems in deleting emails   App Store extremely slow KM instead of miles in Google Maps

Are you an iPhone owner? Read this carefully before jumping to the new iPhone upgrade, OS 2.2. Remember, it is prudent to wait a while, rather than struggle with the bugs that may come with the new update. Apple's just released update for iPhone and iPod touch adds several features to both the devices as well as a number of security improvements. However, according to iPhone Atlas, several users who have updated to iPhone OS 2.2 are facing serious issues, including problems with third-party apps, Internet connection and email. Here's a listing of the major bugs being faced by users.       Several users have complained of some third-party apps not functioning properly with iPhone OS 2.2. These include a number of applications that make use of CoreAudio. This is due to API changes and other modifications. These applications will need to be updated by their developers. Users can look forward to fixes from developers to roll out over the next few weeks. In the meanwhile, users can try uninstalling then reinstalling applications for issues that do not involve API or other strict compatibility.                                                                Several users are experincing issues with their SIM card not being recognised. Some updated iPhones are giving errors that the `SIM card not inserted' or that a PIN lock is in place (where it has not been set). The SIM recognition issue can be resolved by removing the iPhone's SIM card, then connecting it to the user's PC and restoring. iTunes may then reload the iPhone software successfully, after which the user can re-insert the SIM card and attempt synchronisation with iTunes.     Many iPhone users are unable to connect to the internet over EDGE or 3G cellular networks. In certain cases, manually switching between 3G and EDGE can resolve the issue.                       Several users, specifically AOL users are facing trouble deleting email from their accounts after OS 2.2 update. According to the report, 'this problem can generally be resolved by navigating Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > (your account name) > Advanced > Deleted Mailbox, then setting for the `On My iPhone' Trash for a POP account, or `On the Server' for an IMAP account.'                           Some users are reporting an extremely slow experience while browsing or trying to use the App Store after the iPhone OS 2.2 update. This may be a server-side issue that Apple is working to resolve                       Google Maps is displaying kilometers instead of miles for various countries. Here, selecting `USA' in International Settings can resolve the issue. However, this may lead to other issues for users outside US. There has also being reports of users not being able to use Google Street View. If Street View doesn't appear on the desktop version of Google Maps, it won't show up on your iPhone.

http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3750382.cms