Mohammad Asif fails IPL dope test

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been named by the Indian Premier League as the player who failed a drugs test.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed on Sunday that a player tested positive for a banned substance during the first edition of the tournament, but did not reveal who it was.

However, Asif, who played for the Delhi Daredevils, was named in a statement from the IPL on Monday as the player in question.

The statement read: "The Indian Premier League compared the result from the WADA-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden-based independent agency which organised the anti-doping testing in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards, to confirm the player in violation is Mr Mohammad Asif."

The Indian Premier League has found itself in the wrong foot, as it is being rocked by a doping scandal involving an Asian pace bowler. A sample taken during a random dope test in the inaugural edition of the IPL has turned out to be positive. Source TOI and Press Association

Hottest curry in the World

This is Real Masala News - an Indian chef has created Bollywood Burner –the “hottest curry in the world” – which contains the Dorset Naga, a chilli that is 100 times hotter than a regular jalapeno as well as lamb and other peppers.

The ‘brain storming’ dish has been created by executive chef Vivek Singh, of London’s Cinnamon Club restaurant, for a contest that marks the launch of Virgin Media’s Bollywood Movies on Demand service.

The dish is so hot that it comes with a health warning.

“In my opinion, it is the hottest curry ever. When Virgin Media approached me, I saw it as a challenge,” the Daily Star quoted Singh, as saying.

“Doing research, I was astonished that one of the world’s hottest peppers came from Dorset. It’s a fantastic traditional Indian recipe mixed with something English to create something new.”

Source Sify.com

England planing a rival league to IPL

In a bid to pose competition to the Indian Premier League, England may "effectively abolish" its traditional county cricket structure and stage a 50 million pound Twenty20 tournament from June 2010.

Although its architects will deny the charge of plagiarism, the similarities between the radical new Twenty20 competition leaked yesterday and the Indian Premier League (IPL) are so clear that it seems the ground-breaking tournament has simply been transported thousands of miles from Bombay to London.

"A blueprint has been prepared for a 50 million pound Twenty20 tournament to be staged in England which will rival the Indian Premier League. The radical proposal would see the county structure replaced by nine franchises based on the grounds that already stage Tests and one-day games," the 'BBC Sport' reported.

For more Info Check out : Inspired by fear of losing out to Indian Premier League riches

England could stage rival league to IPL

SRK to stay away from IPL Matches

In an emotional outburst, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan today said that he would stay away from the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League till he understood the code of conduct expected of him at the matches, a statement which has the potential to throw the Indian Premier league into a fresh controversy.


Making an oblique reference to his being debarred from the players' dugout at the Eden Gardens by the ICC Anti Corruption officials, Shah Rukh said in a sms to his Kolkata Knight Rider players that he was still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of him at the matches.

"I am still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of me at the matches of the IPL.... ICC... Etc.... After I understand it, I will decide whether to accept it or not. Till such time, I will be with you guys at the hotel, in the meeting etc., but wont come for the matches," he said.

Denying suggestions in a section of the media that his absence from the field had something to do with the team's poor performance, he said "please dont ever feel it is anything to do with us as a team.... I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids.... Only, I wont be coming to the class room till the headmasters rules are understood by me.... I am a bit anti-Establishment kind of a guy, so I apologise for this quirk to u all." Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team, also denied any rift involving him, captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Buchanan saying such things are normal when the scale is not tilted in one's favour. ...PTI

Priyanka Chopra is the New Face of Pond's

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Tuesday, May 06, 2008 -- (Business Wire India) -- Amidst much excitement and anticipation, Pond's, one of the worlds leading and most respected skincare brands today announced its new brand ambassador, the beautiful Bollywood actress Ms. Priyanka Chopra as the new face of Pond's across all the brand's ranges in India.

From her stunning dimpled smile to her immaculate skin, the former Miss World personifies everything that Pond's stands for - sophisticated beauty and charming ...something that everyone loves to love.. This stunner, who represents the hope of love and romance in our lives, will now embrace the hopes and aspirations of thousands of Indian women across the country through her association with Pond's.

As brand ambassador, Priyanka Chopra will play a key role in brand and product communication across various platforms on television, in print and outdoor media. Commenting on Priyanka Chopra as brand ambassador for Pond's, Mr. Venkat Sridhar General Manager, Skin Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited expressed, "There is a perfect fit between Priyanka Chopra and Ponds - their timelessness and their ability to touch the lives of millions of women which makes this an ideal association. Moreover, Priyanka has an international appeal that extends to women across all age groups, just as our skincare solutions do. The gorgeous Priyanka seems like the perfect ambadassor for Pond's, the brand that stands for beauty and romance. We are privileged to have Priyanka Chopra, one of India's most beautiful woman endorse our brand.

Commenting on her association with Ponds, Brand Ambassador Priyanka Chopra said "Being the face of Pond's is a big honour for me. It makes me nostalgic, as I have used Pond's as a child. The brand has become extremely international; these are international range of products being offered to you. They not only look different they feel different on your skin. They are top of the line quality products catering to every age group, weather it is an anti ageing cream, skin lightening cream or a face wash. They all say love is what makes the world go around and Pond's is Love's helping hand. It is all about romance and making you feel lovely." The association with Priyanka Chopra is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come for the brand as it globally relaunches itself in a brand new avatar with superior and holistic face care solutions. Over the years ,Pond's has gained the reputation of a brand synonymous with skincare the world over owing to its pioneering leadership in skincare technology and commitment to providing women the world over with innovative breakthrough in skincare solutions and delivering superior products.

ABOUT POND'S: Pond's is a global face care expert that has a presence in 58 countries and strong presence in the three top face care countries - Japan, Korea and the US - making it a skin care brand to reckon with. The Pond's International skincare range is already a confidante and advisor of women who are in control of their lives, looks and environment. The brand boasts of state-of-the-art R&D facilities led from New York, Tokyo, Madrid and Mumbai helping it create international beauty solutions for the discerning woman. The Pond's philosophy is based on the application of leading-edge technology to face care. By combining this with an intimate understanding of the woman's skin care needs and requirements, Pond's delivers results women can see and feel.

The Great Indian Premier League (IPL) - Dates

Schedule of Indian Premier League (IPL)

IPL kicks off today - Check out the IPL Match Schedule:

April 19 : Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai;Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai;Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai;Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
May 28 and 29: Rest days
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
June 1: Final at Mumbai

The Indian Premier League has launched its website iplt20.com, developed by Live Current Media (LCM), a Canadian company which bought the portal rights for the next ten years

Sania Mirza moves up in singles and doubles WTA rankings

Sania Mirza, struggling to recover from a wrist injury, moved one place up to 31 in singles and gained three spots in doubles to be 22 in the latest WTA tennis rankings.

Sania, who withdrew from the on-going Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, made the singles pre-quarterfinal at the Pacific Life open and reached doubles semi-finals with American partner Bethanie Mattek at the same event.

In men's section, Mahesh Bhupathi continued his rise in the ATP ranking charts and stands 13th with a gain of four spots while his estranged partner Leander Paes dropped to 19, losing two positions (Source sports.indiatimes.com)

Akshay Kumar is Delhi Daredevil's brand ambassador

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was on Monday ropped in as brand ambassador of the Indian Premier League's 'Delhi Daredevils' team.

Akshay, born and brought up in the capital's Chandni Chowk area, surprised a packed room at a five star hotel when he emerged in dim light making a batting gesture with helmets and a willow in Daredevils' red and black shirt.

"My heart beats for Delhi. I consider myself a pucca Dilliwalah. I would like to thank the GMR Group (team owners) for choosing me as the first fan of Delhi Daredevils. I hope I become a lucky mascot for the team," the actor said with his trademark mischievous smile.

The actor, who gave to big hits recently, advised probing journalists not to think of his involvement in IPL as taking on fellow actor Shah Rukh Khan and think of him as a Delhiite, who wish to bring success to the team.

SC dismisses case against Amitabh Bachchan

Supreme Court of India on Monday threw out a case against Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who stood accused of illegally buying farmland by falsely declaring he was a farmer, a report said.

Bachchan's ownership of land in Uttar Pradesh state -- which his wife represents in parliament -- came under scrutiny after claims he had used his political connections to be designated as a farmer.

In December, the state's high court dismissed the case, citing a lack of evidence, but the state's government appealed to the Supreme Court.

The country's top court rejected the appeal on Monday, the Press Trust of India news agency said, without giving further details.

Many Indian states allow only farmers to purchase agricultural land.

Australian Cricket now wants BCCI to discipline Harbhajan

CRICKET Australia has finally abandoned diplomacy and demanded that India discipline Harbhajan Singh for his latest outburst in an increasingly tiresome feud, after the spinner questioned the credibility of Matthew Hayden and the ethics of Adam Gilchrist.

CA chief executive James Sutherland yesterday wrote to Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah expressing exasperation with the controversial spinner.

"Enough is enough," Sutherland wrote. "Despite assurances that you have instructed him not to fuel this issue any more, Harbhajan continues to say whatever he wants. When will it ever end? Could you please deal with your player in regard to these comments." reports Sydney Morning Herald, Australia >> Read More

Times Now Video accuses Aussies of cheating

IndiaTimes video accuses Andrew Symonds of cheating

A VIDEO on Indiatimes Online makes an extraordinary attack on Andrew Symonds and accuses the Australian cricket team of cheating. The video, produced by Indiatimes online & TimesNow , says Symonds knew the ball had touched the ground when he claimed a catch in a recent one-day match in the tri-series involving India, Australia and Sri Lanka.

The commentator, Boria Majumbar, says of Symonds: "The controversial Andrew Symonds is at it again ... once unethical, always unethical."

And he says of the Australian team: "Sport ceases to be sport when its very essence, sportsmanship, is taken away from it. And the Aussies, its seems, to me, are doing exactly that.

"Their win-at-all-costs mentality is robbing cricket of its very charm."

click here to see the video

Source : www.news.com.au

TCS asks 500 to resign - More layoffs at TCS shortly

India’s leading software services company, TCS, have announced that around 500 employees have been asked to resign due to their poor performance.

With the American economy in deep trouble, Indian IT sector is in trouble. It has been speculated that IT companies have started actually tough regarding employee productivity as a result of the rupee rising against the dollar.

Tata Consultancy Services, which employs over 100,000 workers, has said it would cut 1.5 per cent from employees' salaries in the fourth quarter, as it fell short of certain financial targets following a sharp rise in the value of rupee against dollar and the slowdown in the US economy.

TCS' decision comes on the heels of global IT major IBM getting rid of a large number of its entry-level trainee programmers across major offices in the country on the grounds of performance.

Sania Mirza ranked No.1 in Asia

India's Sania Mirza on Monday climbed three places to 29 on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and now she is Asia Number One for the first time.

The WTA website shows Sania, ranked 32nd before the Australian Open, has 931 points. This is, however, not the 21-year-old player's career-best ranking as she was 27th in August.

Na Li of China at 32nd is the second best Asian on the WTA ranking list with 882 points.

Sania, who was seeded No. 31 at the just-concluded Australian Open, lost to eighth seed Venus Williams in the third round of the singles competition in Melbourne. Venus Williams won 7-6 (0), 6-4, but not before Sania led 5-3 in the first set.

Sania, who has a forceful forehand, and Mahesh Bhupathi then reached the mixed doubles final. The Indians lost to Tiantian Sun of China and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-7, 4-6 in the final Sunday.

The Hyderabad-based Sania, who is also a member of the Indian Fed Cup team, turned professional in 2003 and has earned $1,045,416 in prize money so far.

Sania reached quarter-finals of the Hobart tournament this month, going into the Australian Open.

In 2006, Sania won the WTA Newcomer of the Year Award.

Indian Premier League (IPL) Teams Auction Results

BCCI vice-president and chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council Lalit Modi disclosed the names of the winning bidders of IPL Teams

Mukesh Ambani wins the bid for the Mumbai team for $111.9 million.

Vijay Mallya gets Bangalore team, for US $111.6 million.

Shah Rukh Khan, joining hands with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team, for US $75.09 million.

Preity Zinta and her boy friend Ness Wadia won the bid for the Mohali team for $76 million.

Deccan Chronicle won the bid for the Hyderabad team for US $107.01 million

GMR Holdings was successful in bidding for the Delhi team 4 US $84 million

India Cements gets the Chennai team for US $91 million

Emerging Media won the bid for the Jaipur team for $67 million.

TATA Motors One Lakh Car - "NANO"

India's Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled its much anticipated Rs. 100,000 ( US$2,500) car, an ultracheap price tag that suddenly brings car ownership into the reach of tens of millions of people across the world. While the price has created a buzz, critics say the vehicle, called the Tata Nano, will lead to possibly.

While critics had been skeptical throughout about the car meeting safety and emission norms, coming as it is at that price, Mr Tata said he was happy to announce that Nano meets all norms, as would a modern car....Dispelling myths that the car was not safe enough Tata said, 'The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash''. He also side stepped emission concerns and said the car will meet Euro IV norms

The car is eight per cent shorter than Maruti 800 on bumper-to-bumper length, but is 21 per cent more spacious, claimed Mr Tata.

The Nano is spare, with many features shaved off: there's no radio, no air conditioning, no passenger-side mirror, and only one windshield wiper.

The company has said they expect the car to revolutionize the auto industry, and analysts believe the Nano may force other auto manufacturers to lower their own pricing.

The TATA Nano will come in three variants -- standard and two deluxe models with AC. The standard car would be available for Rs 1 lakh (ex-showroom), while VAT and transportation costs are extra.

Steve Bucknor removed as umpire for Perth Test

West Indies umpire Steve Bucknor has been replaced for next week's third Test between Australia and India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday.

The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) had requested that the Jamaican umpire be replaced after a series of poor decisions in the controversial second Test in Sydney.

ICC president Mal Speed told a news conference that New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden would stand in his place.

Earlier too there were reports that the controversial umpire is most likely to sit out of the third Test at Perth after a livid Indian team went public with their grouse against the veteran West Indian.

It is learnt that ICC is favorably inclined to agree with the request of the Indian team that Bucknor does not stand in any other match of the ongoing series.

SWIFT SEDAN coming soon

Bye, Bye Esteem - Welcome Swift Sedan - Maruti Udyog is all set to launch a new sedan based on the Swift platform shortly - "Swift Sedan", to replace one of its most successful models - Esteem.

The company has already halted production of the car model - Esteem, and will be shortly replacing it with a sedan version of its run away success, the Swift.

The new Swift sedan would most probably be seen on Indian roads by March 2008, powered by a 1.3 litre petrol engine just as the Esteem was. Later in the year, the diesel version will also come to market.

With the increasing dieselisation of the Indian small cars, Suzuki is already witnessing a demand for its Swift diesel far outstrip what it can supply. Reasonably, the company would not like to cannibalise its sales pipeline for the diesel Swift by bringing out a diesel Swift sedan at this time, industry sources said.

The company would initially launch a petrol variant of the Swift sedan sporting a 1.3 litre engine and is likely to introduce a diesel version later in the year.