THE SOCIAL NETWORK movie review

English (U/A)
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Director: David Fincher

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dubbed Ben Ben Mezrich’s non-fictional novel, “The Accidental Billionaries” a “fiction”. “The Social Network” based on the novel, dwells on the price of success.

An angry undergrad and computer geek Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) works on a new website with best friend Eduardo Saverin (Garfield). Zuckerberg’s website that ranks female classmates’ hotness at Harvard soon catches the eyes of the rich Winklevoss twins (both characters played by Armie Hammer) and their business partner Divya
Narendra.

They hire Zuckerberg to create a social networking site for Harvard students. However, Zuckerberg “has a better idea” and goes for a bigger pie. Saverin agrees to fund what the duo called “thefacebook” project.

The popular website soon spreads to other universities and when it opens at Stanford University, Zuckerberg and Saverin strike a deal with Napster co-founder Sean Parker (Timberlake) to expand their horizon. But Parker works behind Saverin and helps Zuckerberg get the funds to transform “thefacebook” into Facebook! However, as Zuckerberg stands at the gate of success, lawsuits come flying in from his Harvard rivals and his former best friend...

For a success story that is well known all over, it was expected that “The Social Network” would be a dumb biographic. Yet, this true life story based on the Facebook founders, of course with some factual errors, has the audience’s rapt attention.

Director David Fincher has created a praiseworthy film, where he ensures that Zuckerberg and all the others get their fair share, at least on the screen. There’s something to look forward to in Eisenberg who plays Zuckerberg, proving that Eisenberg is not just another actor good at slapstick comedies. Garfield is a perfect co-star. And yes! Another reason to look forward to this film is Justin Timberlake, who’s fine-tuned his acting skills well.

On the other hand, this film is not interested in telling you what is correct and what is not true. The makers know that Facebook’s “history” and “status” will always be “online” for truth seekers. All they care is giving you an engrossing story. And they succeed.

Reviewed by Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

The Best Western Movies

Here are some of the best western movies I’ve seen in years. Enjoy!  

• The Good, Bad and Ugly
• The Big Country
• Broken Trail (this is a mini-series)
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
• The Claim
• Dances With Wolves
• The Grey Fox
• Into the West (also a mini-series)
• Heartland
• Hidalgo
• High Noon
• Jeremiah Johnson
• Lonesome Dove (mini-series)
• McCabe and Mrs. Miller
• Open Range
• Shane
• She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
• Silverado
• The Three Burials of Malquiades Estrada
• Tom Horn
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
• Unforgiven

DESPICABLE ME film review

English (U/A)
Cast: Jason Segel, Kristen Wigg, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Carell
Director: Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin

There’s a new villain Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) in town and self-proclaimed ‘king of villains’ Gru (Steve Carell), who has already stolen the Statue of Liberty and others, feels that he must outdo the new arrival. Gru seeks Bank of Evil’s funding to steal the moon.
But, when Vector manages to steal the shrinking ray machine vital for the moon mission Gru adopts three orphans – Margo, Edith and Agnes – to get back the device.

However, with time a strange bond develops between him and the girls and he must decide whether to forgo his moon mission or be the father the girls never had.

The movie is perfect for all members of a family. Everybody can learn something while enjoying the adventure. From an overtly critical mother to responsible kids, this film has the right formula to present a sense of realistic issues.

It is also perhaps the first animated film solely focusing on a villain star — Gru. More refreshing is the voice of Carell. Gru’s voice is villainously accented and rough but it still sounds adorable.

Besides, the three young girls’ voice-acting render a clear sense of joy, sorrow and disappointment.

The most striking feature of this film is having good villain and bad villain. Vector is a total nerd and arrogant brat and in front of him, Gru looks like a heavenly angel. So, kids instantly love Gru and root for him despite his evil design to steal the moon.

“Despicable Me” is a family treat with the right music and fantastic graphic creation which must be seen on a 3-D screen to get the right
intensity.

Robert L Sungte

PREDATORS film review

English (A)
Cast: Sadrien Brody, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Nimrod Antal

The “Predator” series that began in 1987 has come a long way after several glitches with the sequels. Now in “Predators” Adrien Brody takes over Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role and finds himself in a new land along with seven others.

Despite their killer’s instincts these mercenaries must fight together against deadly ‘aliens’ who have the power to hide themselves and read heat signals to spot their enemies.

The film is comparatively a simpler form of other “Predator” films. The jungle setting remains a vital part of the show and the pace of the story is given a push up.
However, the script includes many unnecessary scenes which only add to the already humdrum franchise. New characters have also been introduced to add interesting turns in the plot but they never really generate enough pressure to please the audience.

Despite several shortcomings one can still enjoy the far-fetched action scenes where there are large guns and gadgets.

“Predators” is not twice the fun watching “Predator”, yet if you shut your sense of reality you can be pretty satisfied.

Robert L Sungte

CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KATTY GALORE

The 2001 hit sequel of “Cats & Dogs” features live action animal talking and involving in hi-tech action adventure. The inter-species battle flick brings out all the silly side jokes that will get kids giggling and bored parents rolling their eyes.

Bette Midler voices the evil-minded cat Katty Galore whose latest plan is to drive all dogs insane and then take control over mankind. To foil this nefarious plan former police dog Diggs (James Marsden) and DOGS agent Butch (Nick Nolte) must work together with Catherine (Christina Applegate), a spy from MEOWS to maintain the balance of nature. Along the way they find themselves becoming friends despite their initial hard feelings against one another.

The animals do find themselves in scary situations. With explosions, a couple of near disasters and 3-D intensifying the effects, the film has everything for kids. There are silly gags and stereotypes as well. What ultimately wins in the end is the spirit of friendship. However, this film is too childish for young teens and adults because of the the stale one-liners and the not-so-new CGI effects.

By Robert L Sungte

English (U/A)

Cast: Bette Midler, Chris O’ Donnel, James Marsden, Nick Nolte

Director: Brad Peyton

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE (3D) film review

English (U/A) 
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Sienna Guillory, Spencer Locke
Director: Paul WS Anderson

The fourth edition of ‘Resident Evil’ series is literally an extension of the tired effort to keep the computer-game woman-hero’s character alive. The story continues from where the third part ends in a virus-infected world and with Alice (Milla Jovovich) attempting to get back her freedom.

The film makes a visual impression. However, director Paul Anderson is left with few things to experiment as the script lacks imagination and originality. Most of the action sequences are mixture of popular action stunts, notably that of ‘The Matrix’. The only difference being the 3D effects.

Despite the striking visual interplay, ‘Resident Evil: After Life’ has little to offer except zombies and Ali Larter who look like they really need some medicines to get their acts together. And most of all, there are no surprises.

Milla Jovovich can still breathe easy as the film ends somewhat inconclusively. But how long the threadbare adventure will last is hard to say if film makers continue to fall ill due to the technology bug — 3D.

Robert, Deccan Herald

THE LAST AIRBENDER film review

“The Last Airbender” is the story of airbender Aang (Noah Ringer), the avatar who helps maintain the balance of life among Fire, Water, Earth and Air nations. When Aang disappears for a 100 years, all the other Airbenders are killed by Fire Lord Ozai (Curtis). To make sure that no airbender is left, he sends his son Prince Zuko (Patel) to track down Aang. Meanwhile, a frozen Aang is found by the last Waterbender, Katara (Peltz), and her brother, Sokka (Rathbone). Now, they must find a way to bring back order.

Shyamalan’s adventure with “The Last Airbender” falls short of just being a big flop. It is not clear as to which audience he is catering to. There are in fact no thrilling or humourous moments which are essential in making kids laugh and awestruck. The film also lacks strong characters to please adult movie goers.

The dialogue is one of the worst in any of Shyamalan’s films. It makes even those supposed to be funny moments rigid and still. The only saving grace is little Noah Ringer as the Avatar. Otherwise, “The Last Airbender” is dull.

By Robert L. Sungte, Deccan Herald

THE OTHER GUYS film review

English (A)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell
Director: Adam McKay

Allen (Will), a NYPD forensic accountant contented with paperwork, is persuaded by his frustrated partner Terry (Mark) to fill in the shoes of deceased NYPD supercops (played by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson). But they soon find themselves in a thick financial scam which seems way out of their reach to crack the case.

“The Other Guys” plot is minimalistic and crumbles even as the script has funny gags about women and cops. However, the cast is good enough to pull out the funny stuffs in all seriousness. Overall, there is action, comedy, hilarity and attractive women in the lives of ‘the other guys’. The presentation may not be amazing, yet Mark and Will make a good pair.

By Robert L Sungte, Decccan Herald

The American film review

English (A) 
Cast: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli
Director: Anton Corbijn

George Clooney plays “The American”, involved in supplying guns to assassins and sometimes taking part in the action as well.

The promos focussed on action but in reality this is a big disappointment for Clooney fans as he is reduced to a man who is really not comfortable doing what is given to him. Even thou-gh he tries hard to look artistic, Clooney’s looks make him unrealistic, which, incidentally may be a big relief for his fans.

This film is one of the most confusing thrillers. Despite a killer beginning, it slumps into hollow and painfully slow pace till the end. The script and scre-enplay never lift up the suspe-nse. If you are one who expected hot action flick, you are in for big disappointment.

By Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

DEVIL film review

English (A) 
Cast: Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green
Director: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle

Promoted as M Night Shyamalan’s baby, Devil is a film where you get to see toned-down version of a horror flick. It tells a story of an event during a normal day in Philadelphia when five people with dark pasts are trapped in an elevator with a possible devil among them.

The devil turns them against one another with an ultimate aim of killing them one by one. Can they solve the mystery before they all die?

Co-written and produced by Shyamalan, Devil does not live up to expectations though tightly packaged in terms of ideas and screenplays. The directors also employ rarely-seen screen angles to build up enough tension. Devil also has its share of gore. Though actual killing scenes are not visible, one gets a clear idea of what the killer would look like.

So, there’s a creepy feeling all the time at the thought of who would be the next target. It does get a bit out of focus towards the end but by then Shyamalan’s mind seems to have controlled everything. The injection of human values like team work and forgiveness make this Devil worth watching.

By Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

Grown ups: Keeping up with the past

Brought back together by the death of their favourite college basketball coach, ex-buddies Lenny (Sandler), Eric (James), Kurt (Rock), Marcus (Spade), and Rob (Schneider) try to rekindle their childhood bonds. However, their wives and children soon find out new things about of their big daddies’ romps and fantasies which put them in an awkward position. Will the guys be able to take grown up decisions to keep up with their love ones this time?

If you go by the trailer ‘Grown Ups’ will be a big disappointment considering a big cast of who’s who in comedy. The script is also fomulaic where you have nothing new to laugh about. With too many scenes already seen in some films only reminds you how you miss of the good old comedies.

Even as the cast share a good onscreen rapport they lacked that spark to make the film shine. ‘Grown Ups’ is sexily flavoured extravaganza where women are stereotyped with a dose of chauvinistic jokes.

Despite these there are some good moments about childhood and young adolescent jokes. Overall, ‘Grown Ups’ needs to grow a bit more mature.

Review by Robert L. Sungte, Deccan Herald

English(A)

Cast: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Dabid Spade, Kevin James, Rob Scheinder

Director: Dennis Dugan

The Expendables Review: Little room for too many cooks

There are times when too many and too much are simply not good. “The Expendables” is one film that has too many stars and too much action that they kill the thrill out of this mega-budget star-studded action film.

Barney Ross (Stallone) and his team of mercenaries called “The Expendables” attempt to overthrow the ruler of a small island who is supported by a rogue CIA agent initially looks promising.

However, the firepower and extreme action sequences are the only things that one can remember after the climax. Directed and written by Sylvester Stallone, the film has Stallone himself, Jet Li, Jason Statham with action stars Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke.  Guest appearances come notably from musclemen Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
The gigantic proportion of the film becomes a major problem in itself as there are just not enough room for the characters develop a bond with themselves and with the audience. We have characters with girlfriend problems, inferiority complex, drug abuse, self opinionated individual and so forth.

If the film had some pinch of that extra whoa effects in the form of friendship and bonding we could have a truly epic action film.

Technically, the film’s action sequences are good yet the camera tends to be too shaky for proper viewing. It disturbs the eyes as it becomes difficult to make out whose hand or leg was hit.

There are also few surprising turns toward the end as this film is about mercenaries. The final ruling on “The Expendables” is: An outlandish and damp action movie where too many cooks spoil the broth.

Review by Robert L. Sungte,

English(A)

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke

Director: Sylvester Stallone

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Review with Trailer

The film is another addition to the super-hero fantasy genre. It centres around a simple story about sorcerer Balthazar’s (Cage) attempts to find a person who could defeat Morgana (Alice Krige) who had tried to unseat Merlin a millennia ago. To add a love story, we have Balthazar’s beloved Veronica (Belluci) trapped by the bad guys. Finally, Balthazar picks a student Dave (Baruchel) who he thinks can finally help defeat Morgana and the baddies.

Like any youth-oriented fantasy films, ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ has everything from adventure, mythology, comedy, wizardry and romance tightly packed. You have similar scenes over and over again that kids could well relate to.

The cast combination is also good with excellent show by Molina as villain. Refreshing, and relieving, is Baruchel’s looks, which is not exactly of the hero next door. There are some classic shots with a good dose of graphic effects.

Overall, the film has too much jumping from characters and at times, the ‘childish script’ falters too long. ‘The Sorcerers’ Apprentice’ is a not a work of art, but will certainly be a hit with kids.

Reviewed by Robert L.Sungte, Deccan Herald
English (U)
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci

INCEPTION (U/A)

Mind games can be quite entertaining onscreen when presented in a straight forward manner and with most of the players masters in their respective roles.

In this sci-fi thriller Dom (DiCaprio), an expert “extractor”, is capable of entering people’s dreams to fish out any data. So, a top investor hires him to plant a thought into the mind of a competitor. The task seems almost impossible, but Dom with two other accomplices work to create dreams-within-dreams to accomplish the job. However, their target has been well-trained to thwart such attacks, and to make their task more difficult, Dom’s dead wife appears in their dreams unleashing a trail of disaster. Will Dom and his teammates wake from the dreams that’s so real or be trapped forever in their subconscious world? Well, to know that you have to see it for yourself.

We have seen Leonardo playing with minds and dreams in the recently released ‘Shutter Island’ and now with this film, he has matured to prove to the world that he can deliver romance and action without a hitch.

With director Christopher Nolan of ‘The Dark Knight’ fame behind the camera, the film juggles time cleverly. In fact, there are no pretensions of trying to tell the conflicting mind game in any particular order. Balanced treatment and clarity are the film’s hallmark. They make the complex story vivid and rational while remaining creative and most of all entertaining.
However, on the minus side, ‘Inception’ is unsympathetic towards the emotions of the audience, it being all about speed. So, there’s little time to know and associate with each of the characters. Otherwise, the film is a terrific sci-fi drama meant to take you on a roller coaster ride. And, on the technology front, no one was complaining that the film is not in 3D, as the screenplay itself is a tech driven-visual treat.

Review by Robert L.Sungte, Deccan Herald
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy
Director: Christopher Nolan

‘Zoram Khawvel’ eBook release on July 15

New Delhi: The 1991 Mizo Academy of Letters ‘Book of the Year’ ZORAM KHAWVEL (PART I) which took Mizo literary world by storm is all set to be released in an eBook) format on July 15, 2010. The day also marks the author Pu L.keivom’s 71st birthday celebrations during which a website would also be launched.

“The world is progressively shrinking and the gap of communication is bridging up day by day as we advance in tehnological knowledge and wisdom. Innumerable new websites open up daily…. Our Zoram khawvel is getting closer day by day. One of the key steps we thought will be useful in bringing the people of Zoram khawvel closer is to open Zo Basket where we will put all available works of Zo literature and music as much as possible and turn the site as a major source of information on Zo life, culture and literature,” said  Pu L.Keivom.

The purpose of releasing this eBook and the website is to treasure all works of literature in different Zo dialects, including dictionaries, Bible translations and recorded songs and music.

“To start with, I have gladly donated my book Zoram Khawvel-1, winner of 1991 Book of the Year in Mizoram and it can now be accessed and downloaded free. I also take this opportunity to invite writers and publishers and people in the music world to donate their works to the Zo Basket… It is my hope and trust that this website will be a blessing to all visitors and users, increasing oneness and better understanding amongst them,” the former IFS officer said in a statement.

Zoram Khawvel Part 1 was published 19 years ago with just 3000 copies. Since, there were no reprints many youngsters who wanted to read the book never had the chance to lay their hands on it. This would be a big free birthday gift to all Mizo book lovers.

‘Zoram Khawvel’ series (Vol I-VIII) is authored by the noted Mizo litterateur and retired Indian Foreign Service officer, Pu L.Keivom in Mizo (Duhlian).

The eBook was supposed to be released during the second week of June but was delayed due to re-editing works.

It may also be noted that Pu Keivom’s book NUN RAM was released by Inpui.com and Indin last year. The e-book is available for free download here.

While NUN RAM is a collection of short essays, ZORAM KHAWVEL (PART 1) will be the first Mizo hardcover book to be released in the e-book format. However, the style and format of the new e-book is not yet known.

To get your Free copy Visit: ZORAMKHAWVEL.COM

The Last Airbender

Cast: Noah Ringer, Cliff Curtis, Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz , Director: M Night Shyamalan

Based on Nickelodeon’s TV hit cartoon series “The Last Airbender” is the story of airbender Aang (Noah Ringer), the avatar who helps maintain the balance of life among Fire, Water, Earth and Air nations. When Aang disappears for a 100 years, all the other Airbenders are killed by Fire Lord Ozai (Curtis), who is not satisfied with his enslavement of Earth and Water nations. So, to make sure that no airbender is left, he sends his son Prince Zuko (Patel) to track down Aang. Meanwhile, a frozen Aang is found by the last Waterbender, Katara (Peltz), and her brother, Sokka (Rathbone). Now, the three must find a way to bring back worldly order.

Shyamalan’s adventure with “The Last Airbender” falls short of just being a big flop. It is not clear as to which audience he is catering to. There are in fact no thrilling or humourous moments which are essential in making kids laugh and awestruck. On the other hand “The Last Airbender” also lacks strong characters to please adult movie goers. Over emphasis on visual effects have proved that 3D flicks can still be painfully boring.

The dialogue is one of the worst in any of Shyamalan’s films. It makes even those supposed to be funny moments rigid and still. The only saving grace is little Noah Ringer as the Avatar. Otherwise, “The Last Airbender” is dull.

Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

Knight and Day: Love and spies are unpredictable

Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard , Director: James Mangold

June (Diaz) is an ordinary woman who is set to fly to her sister’s wedding until she ‘accidentally’ gets entangled in a web of cat-and-mouse spy game after meeting ‘rogue agent’ Roy (Cruise). The two are bonded instantly and are chased by FBI agent Fitzgerald (Sarsgaard) and his men over a new invention, a powerful battery and its inventor. As the plot gets thicker June is clueless on whom to trust. Her heart races to be on the right side but finds that she is falling for the hunky Roy who drugged her time and again.

This romantic spy thriller is fresh and most of all cleverly cheerful and playful with the right dose of humour, romance, and violence. Unlike many in its genre, the action sequences are not crude or over-rated, yet the connecting fadeouts connect the progress of the story quite well. This time Tom does a bit of cruising around but the central theme remains focused on Diaz’s character which is a refreshing touch from many male-centric spy flicks.

There is an interesting perspective in characters over mindless action sequences. Tom and Cameron look lovely and they share the chemistry resulting in bright sparks. ‘Knight and Day’ proves to be one good entertainer where action matches with romance and comedy.

Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

Iron Man 2 Film Review

Rating: Good
English (U/A)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau

Multi-millionaire inventor and hunk Tony Stark’s identity (Robert Downey Jr.) is now known to everyone and the US government wants to ‘clone’ him even as he remains the broker of world peace. In addition to Congressmen’s pressure there’s trouble coming from a dying Russian physicist’s son to avenge his father and destroy Howard Stark’s (Tony’s father) legacy. There is also trouble with Tony’s health as the Palladium, the element that’s keeping him alive, is poisoning his blood. Thinking that his life is just numbered, Tony goes into self-destruct mode, drinking and leaving his long-time girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to look after Stark company. Will ‘Iron Man’ have the guts of steel to overcome his troubles this time?

The answer is a definite and predictable, yes! The 2008-sequel fires more blasts on all fronts. The franchise has the right mix of men and women running around to save ‘Iron Man’ and ultimately the world. Downey Jr. still manages to look interesting with his tech savvy super-hero projection. We have sexy Scarlett Johansson playing a spy, Don Cheadle taking over as Tony’s pal Lt Col Jim Rhodes, and Samuel L. Jackson as eye-patched agent Nick Fury. The best of them all is sweet, yet convincingly sophisticated Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts who tries to save Tony’s company. Rourke as the villain does a lot with his thick Russian accent.

However, there is also some absurdity in relation to Tony and his father. The plot is also plain simple – no big turns and twists. But, nobody is complaining here, as there are enough comedic adult remarks embedded throughout that will keep you grinning. ‘Iron Man 2’ is a welcome summer relief.

Robert L. Sungte, Deccan Herald

Watch Youtube’s first video

The first YouTube video was uploaded at 8:27PM on Saturday April 23rd, 2005 and was shot by Yakov Lapitsky at the San Diego Zoo. Youtube recently celebrated it fifth birthday.

Watch the video… nothing special, but it’s a small step with which the company began! The guy in the video has become history maker… :)

Tips on writing press releases

Guest writer Mr. Eric.

Press releases have been a method of marketing since before the internet was ever used for marketing. The benefits of a good press release are numerous when done well.

Benefits Available Through Press Releases

Knowing how to properly write a press release can make the difference between publishing a mildly informative document and getting solid branding with several benefits, including:

• Distribution – Reach areas of your market that you would otherwise never be able to get in contact with.
• Reputation/Credibility – When your information and quotes are seen in the news, you often gain large amounts of respect. This can improve your reputation in many people’s eyes.
• Branding/Expertise – You’ll often be seen as more of an expert in the market you speak on, especially if some of your achievements can be touched on in your releases.
• SEO Benefits – Online press releases, when done right, can be posted on several web sites on publication. These sites are usually news sites which have a much better reputation to search engines than average, and are crawled more often. The number of links and quality of links make online PR a valuable tool for SEO.

Just putting together a press release is not enough. Putting together a good press release will make the difference between being viewed as an expert or as a joke.

Here are 6 tips on how to make sure your press releases are quality ones.

1) Keep your story “news friendly”

Be careful to not write on any random topic you want published. Talking about how great the product you’re trying to sell is is not good press release material. Find a topic that a news publication would want to publish. It’s a story of some kind that people will want to read about. Keep that in mind and you’re already a step ahead.

2) Do proper quality checking

Review your press release for any possible spelling or grammar errors. Either of these will not do well to improve readers’ opinions of your level of professionalism. In addition to this, be sure that the facts you state in your story are true. Any false information in a news publication is a big no-no.

A good way to check your story is to pass it on to a friend or colleague and ask them to judge your whole story, as well as checking it for errors. If they find it interesting, that’s a good sign.

3) Put links in place appropriately

The SEO benefits of online press releases are great. Just make sure you use your links properly. Do not put more than one link for every 100 words in your release. When you use paid press release services you can choose to put links with the anchor text of your choice.

Make sure that your keywords fit seamlessly into your copy. Putting a link with anchor text mentioning a local service does not fit so well in a press release about a national issue, unless you can tie it well to a person you are quoting or a specific example for the story that is in that local area. Keep it relevant.

4) More is not better

Anyone who is thinking of putting a press release into publication will not want a long story. For reporters, they’ll want to be able to analyze the story and hook as quickly as possible. Shorter stories are easier to digest.

In addition to that, don’t put out several similar press releases in quick succession. There is no reason any publications will want to put out similar stories rapidly.

5) Aim for proper timing

Timing your press release on a specific day can make a big difference in the effectiveness and impact of it. Most press releases are slated for Monday publications. In some cases the weekend is the best bet for your market. Research your particular market, see when most news stories are published. More readers will look for stories during those times, so you’d benefit more from timing your release during these days.

Also be careful about putting out your release at the same time as another story in your market that is bigger than your story. Putting a release out about the growth of your cell phone store will likely not do as well if you timed it to release the same day the as the official iPad release.

6) Choose the right press release service

There are many choices on how to do press releases. If you only want local coverage and don’t care so much about the SEO benefits, then you can often go to local newspapers with your story and submit it directly for little or no cost. You can also go with a paid service like PRWeb to distribute widely and with SEO benefits.

There are several services available, it’s best to find one that has all the benefits you are interested in that have a cost you can afford. Free press release services will not have the same benefits as paid ones but still will produce results.

Putting a press release together well by following these tips can make a large difference in how effective your release works for your company and site. Put press releases together with care and spend time to keep the quality up and you will see the benefits.

This guest post is by Eric Gesinski who does Tulsa web design and internet marketing, including press releases. You can also write a guest article and share your favorite tips.

Hot tub time machine

 

English(A)

Cast: John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry Director: Steve Pink

Three friends, Adam (Cusack), Nick (Robinson), and Lou (Corddry), to escape from their bored adult lives take a trip to their favourite ski resort. But when they jumped into the hotel’s hot tub they are transported back to the summer of 1986 along with Adam’s nephew Jacob (Duke). Now, the three best friends are given a chance to either walk the same path or to re-do things to make their lives perfect.

Adam must find a way to get a perfect girlfriend and Nick should find a way to have control over his nagging wife while Lou, a party guy must get his mojo back for Jacob’s existence. In the process we have ‘hard decisions’ taken, including whether to dump or not dump an old girlfriend, or stand up to a bully. How will the guys steer their fate now seem a bigger challenge than their year 2010 lives.

If “The Hangover” was hot, “Hot Tub Time Machine” is even hotter and also cleverly executed with raunchy dialogues, yet minus the vulgarity. The film at first seems to be a yet another teen-movie, but the movie-goers are treated with a sense of seriousness with its ‘Poison’-era music and the period setup. The summer of ’86 seems to be a carefree period, but this film takes a look at it from the present time. It finally dawns that it was also an era of multitude errors.

Director Steve Pink also brings in a new lease of life to John Cusack’s career. Who could  have thought John Cussak will ever be funny? See it for yourself.  However, the guys’ problems are sometimes projected as either too simple to be bothered about or the solutions are stupidly solved. Besides, the slow pace in the second half, the essence of time is also a bit phony even as the director fails to dig deeper into the time machine itself. Yet, the final product we get is still refreshing and consumable for young adults.

Robert L. Sungte, Deccan Herald

Manipur CM apprises PC on Churachandpur ADC polls

Imphal, April 28 2010: Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh called on Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today evening and apprised the latter of the preparations being made by the State Government for the election to the Autonomous District Councils.
The Chief Minister also reportedly urged the Union Minister to provide additional security for the second phase of the election.

The Chief Minister called on the Union Home Minister at around 4.15 pm today.
Apart from apprising the Union Minister about the preparations being made by the State Government for the election to the Autonomous District Councils, the meeting also discussed issues related to the ongoing economic blockade along the National Highways, according to information received by the press.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister also urged the Union Minister for providing additional Central forces in connection with the second phase of the election, the notification of which is expected to be issued on May 3 .

Earlier during the day, Chief Minister O Ibobi visited Parliament House at around 12.30 pm and met the Union Water Resource Minister PK Bansal.

In the morning, the Chief Minister called on the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Gulam Nabi Azad at the latter's office in connection with starting the session of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences from this year.

Source: The Sangai Express

MoU signed for Tipaimukh dam project

Silchar, April 28: The 1,500MW Tipaimukh hydroelectric project in Manipur may finally see the light of the day. A memorandum of understanding was signed in New Delhi today by Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN), NHPC Ltd and the Manipur government to jointly develop the project.

The project has witnessed stiff opposition from Bangladesh, intense diplomatic parleys between India and its eastern neighbour and protests by tribals in Manipur and Cachar.

At the centre of controversy is a proposed dam for the hydel project to be built on Manipur’s Barak river that branches into the Surma and the Kushiara rivers after entering Sylhet district of Bangladesh.

The dam could affect water flow into Bangladesh. It will also impact the livelihood of around 60,000 people.

The Bangladesh government had been voicing its concerns since the project was conceived.

In July last year, a 10-member joint parliamentary committee from Bangladesh had visited the project site and studied the possible impact of the project.

Bangladesh Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to go ahead with the project.

In a joint communique issued after the three-day visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January, Manmohan Singh had reiterated that “India would not take steps on the Tipaimukh project that would adversely impact Bangladesh”.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh had also said the central government would take a fresh look at the project following protests in Manipur and Bangladesh.

By regulating excess water, the Tipaimukh project is expected to help control floods in Sylhet, western Manipur and southern Assam.

It will also open a new waterway from Haldia port in Bengal to the Northeast via Bangladesh.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 8,138 crore. NHPC will pick up a 69 per cent stake in the joint venture, while 26 per cent will be held by SJVN and the remaining 5 per cent by the Manipur government.

The NHPC stock gained marginally by Rs 0.15, or 0.50 per cent, to close at Rs 30.40 on the BSE.

“After a meeting of the shareholders at New Delhi today, the MoU was signed in the afternoon,” a source close to the development said.

A detailed project report will now be prepared after which the final impact of the project could be known.

Earlier, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation had also prepared a project report.

“However, a fresh study will be done,” the source said.

Courtesy: Telegraph

IAS officer’s surprise visit to Parbung sub-division gets people talk development again

  *Hmar students want link-bridge over Tuivai river to facilitate links with Mizoram during monsoon

By Lalmalsawm  Sungte

April 24, 2010: Churachandpur district commissioner Ms Jacintha Lazarus’ surprise one-day visit to Hmar villages in Manipur’s Parbung sub-division on April 21 has set people talking about development issues again and the Tamilian IAS lady officer herself.

According to reports received here, the people were so impressed by Ms Jacintha’s desire to meet them that in very villages she was “warmly received by the locals who aired their grievances without any reservations.”

Sources said that Ms Jacintha was scheduled to attend only the District Level Co-ordination Committee Review Meeting at Thanlon sub-divisional headquarters on April 20. But on the morning of April 21, she changed her plan and headed for Parbung sub-divisional headquarters, which is some 80-plus km away from Thanlon.

“Ms Jacintha told her team to take her to Ruonglevaisuo (Tipaimukh) area where there is practically no functional government machinery. She had always wanted to see for herself the ground realities,” the source added.

The commissioner’s team made brief stoppages at Pherzawl, Damdiei,Taithu, Parbung, Lungthulien and Senvon villages.

At Parbung sub-headquarters representatives of Hmar Welfare Association and Hmar Students Association met Ms Jacintha at the IB Center and submitted their grievances in writing. “We asked her to speed up the reconstruction work of NH-150 connecting Mizoram and Manipur,” they said over phone.

Members of the Tipaimukh Area Development Front (TADF) also asked Ms Jacintha to take up re-construction work of Tuivai Leilak (bridge) to facilitate links with Mizoram during the monsoon season. Another prominent demand of the representatives was the construction of a Mini-Sport Stadium at Parbung.

The sub-divisional staff members who accompanied Ms Jacintha literally turned purpled when they were openly snubbed by HSA leaders during the reception function held at Parbung. “The SDO and TD Block staff members and the medical officials are present today here just because of you. We don’t even know their names,” they told the district magistrate, who looked stunned.

And in Lungthulien village, the TADF members informed Ms Jacintha that Tipaimukh constituency never got the 9000-metric tonne rice sanctioned by the Central government last year in view of mautam. “In the Agriculture Input Subsidy people in Tipaimukh area are given just Rs.1000/-while other subdivisions got Rs 2000/-approx,” Ms Jacintha was informed.

To take action

Listening patiently to the people and their angst against state government officials, the district commissioner assured them that she will take necessary steps to make corrective changes once she is back in office.

An analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Ms Jacintha’s approach and strategy is completely different from her predecessor Mr Sumant Singh. “Mr Sumant Singh was like a stamp sent by vested groups. This young lady is his opposite,” another observer said.

Ms Jacintha had already visited Vangai TD Block under Tipaimuk sub-division last month to take stock of the ground realities. It may be mentioned that Churachandpur district was and is still the stronghold of militants. However, if one is to go by the current situations, Ms Jacintha has garnered an unwavering support of all sections of the people with her USP- development. But, the question in everyone’s mind is whether this “brave” Indian civil servant from Tamil Nadu has the guts to carry forward her development plans in this trouble-torn part of the country. Only time will tell.

Mumbai thrash Bangalore to enter IPL final

Kieron Pollard produced a splendid all-round display as Mumbai Indians thumped Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs to storm into their maiden Indian Premier League final on Wednesday.

Pollard struck a 13-ball 33 to help his side make a splendid recovery from early jolt in company of Saurabh Tiwary (52 not out) to post 184 for five after batting first and then snared three wickets for 17 runs as the home side restricted Bangalore to 149 for nine in the first semifinal at DY Patil Stadium.
With the win on Wednesday, Mumbai, who failed to reach the semi-finals in the last two editions of the IPL, also became the first team to qualify for this year's Champions Twenty20 League.
Chasing a stiff 185 for a win, last year's losing finalists Bangalore were never in the game with wickets falling at regular intervals and no substantial partnership coming up, the highest being a 34-run stand between Rahul Dravid and Robin Uthappa from 20 balls for the third wicket.

Full Scorecard | Statistics | Match in Pics
Ross Taylor top-scored for Banaglore with a 30-ball 31. Jacques Kallis (11), Rahul Dravid (23), Kevin Pietersen (19), Robin Uthappa (26) could not convert the starts to big scores.
Lasith Malinga bowled beautifully by taking two Bangalore wickets and conceding 24 runs from his four overs. Harbhajan Singh took two wickets but was expensive, giving away 44 runs from his four overs.

At the end it was a comfortable win for Mumbai, who had topped the league tables with 20 points, the only point of concern was that captain Tendulkar, who is the top scorer in the tournament, suffered a right hand webbing split while taking a dropped catch of Dravid in the fourth over.

Kallis and Dravid gave a strong start in Bangalore's run chase scoring two fours each in the first two overs bowled by Zaheer Khan and Dilhara Fernando before the former fell in the third over edging Malinga to Ambati Rayudu for 11.

Run rate came down after the first jolt but Bangalore were dealt another blow in the form of Kevin Pietersen who danced down the track to hoist Harbhajan Singh only to completely miss it and Rayudu making no mistake of the stumping chance.

Robin Uthappa was not the one to be lie low and he hit Harbhajan for two sixes in the ninth over which cost 18 runs to take the asking rate down below 10 an over.

But it was not Uthappa's day and in the next over he was caught by Shikhar Dhawan while trying to hoist Kieron Pollard for a 13-ball 26 which was studded with two fours and two sixes.
More woes awaited Bangalore as Dravid, who was surprisingly sent to open with Kallis instead of Manish Pandey, was run out in the next ball due to a horrible miscommunication with new batsman Ross Taylor.

Dravid did not call for a run after punching Pollard to point but Taylor came down charging in and Pollard whipped the bails to reduce Bangalore to 81 for four in 9.4 overs. From a dominating position when Uthappa was at the crease the game shifted quickly to Mumbai's favour.

Pollard, who was limping a bit while batting, removed Virat Kohli in the 12th over for just nine, extracting an edge from the batsman for Raydu to do the rest.

Two overs later, the West Indian put Mumbai in complete control of the match by removing Manish Pandey for just five with the batsman holing out to J P Duminy near the boundary while trying to hoist a Pollard slow ball out of the park.

Harabhajan sealed the fate of the match in Mumbai's favour by cleaning up Parveen Kumar's furniture with a straight and full delivery which the batsman missed completely.
The asking rate over 13 after the 15th over, Taylor was the only ray of hope but the New Zealander did not find any support from the lower order batsmen as Bangalore ended at 149 for nine in their 20 overs.

Earlier, Tiwary struck a breezy unbeaten 31-ball 52 while Pollard used his long handle to telling effect to guide Mumbai Indians to a challenging 184 for five.

Mumbai lost in-form skipper Tendulkar (9) and other opener Shikhar Dhawan (12) cheaply but they recovered splendidly thanks to some sensible batting by Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu (40 in 38 balls) and through some big hitting by Pollard towards the end.

Abhishek Nayar (22) and Rayudu first steadied the innings and then the latter put on 67 runs in 49 balls with Tiwary for the fourth wicket to take Mumbai close to the 150 mark in the 18th over.

Towards the end, it was Pollard's powerful bat that did the damage as he slammed 33 in only 13 balls with three sixes and a four to take the score past the 180 mark.

The last five overs produced 77 runs and the last three 43 as Mumbai batsmen went hammer and tongs. Mumbai scored 103 runs from the last 10 overs after they were 81 for four at the halfway mark.

Dale Steyn took two wickets but was expensive, conceding 43 runs from his four overs. Anil Kumble and Kevin Pietersen got a wicket each giving away 30 and 20 runs respectively.

Visit: NDTV for more cricket news

Children’s Stories on Reliance Communications’ Voice Portal

Bangalore: Enter the world of imagination with Reliance Communications’ latest offering of Children’s stories on its voice portal. Making another fantastic addition to its bouquet of VAS service, India’s largest and only nationwide operator offering both GSM and CDMA mobile services, today announced the launch of its story portal on voice. The portal offers tales that retell some of the most popular stories, on Reliance Communications.

Through the Voice Portal, customers can listen to folk stories of the brilliant and witty court-poet of the Vijayanagara Empire - Tenali Raman, the famous Indian animal fables in Panchatantra Ki Kahaniyan, Vikram aur Betal - the spellbinding stories narrated by the wise King Vikramaditya, the epic story of Ramayan, Shri Krishna Bal Leela – narrating the childhood adventures of the charismatic Lord Krishna, Mahabharat and Tale Toon. Subscribers can also choose to set these tales as their caller tunes. 

Mr. Anil Pande, Head – VAS, Reliance Communications, said, “It is always a happy and delightful reflection for any individual who has been associated to these tales as a child. The essence of these stories lie in their timelessness as, even today, they can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. We are pleased to recreate this experience on our voice portal and let them take a trip down memory lane.”

Mobile customers need to dial 51234 234 from their mobile phones to enter the wonderful world of these amazing tales at browsing charges of Rs. 3/min. Subscribers can also choose to set these tales as their caller tunes at a basic cost of Rs. 10 per tune. The portal also gives users the choice of language including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati and Punjabi.

While the voice portal offers access to a lot of free content, Reliance Mobile customers can also download various services at minimal charges for various applications and services including caller tunes, ringtones, games etc.

Sex tainted Swami Nithyananda arrested

Shimla, April 22, 2010: Swami Nithyananda — who faces charges of rape, criminal intimidation and cheating and has been absconding for over a month — was on Wednesday arrested along with four others from village Mamleeg in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh.

The Karnataka-based Nithyananda has been on the run since March 23, when the Karnataka High Court rejected his application for anticipatory bail and quashing of criminal cases against him. He was nabbed from the sleepy Mamleeg, which is near Arki town in Solan district, about 50 km from here.

Swami, along with his close associate Gopalsalesh Reddy and three others, was arrested by a Bangalore Police team with assistance from the State police. He would be produced in a local court on Thursday and taken to Karnataka for interrogation.

“Swami Nithyananda was arrested by a joint team of Himachal Pradesh and Bangalore Police from Mamleeg village. He was staying in a house there for the past few days,” said Additional Director General of Police ID Bhandari.

Two of those arrested belong to Delhi. “The Himachal Police got a fax from Karnataka Police on April 17, stating they had information that Nithyananda was hiding in Himachal Pradesh. Subsequently, two DSPs reached Shimla for investigation,” Bhandari said.

“The Karnataka Police came to know of Nityananda’s whereabouts through a mobile call he had made. The accused may be taken back to Karnataka on Thursday morning,” Bhandari added.

“The police have recovered three laptops and eight mobile phones from Swami and his associates. A SIM card, procured in Himachal Pradesh, was also in their possession but it was seldom used,” Bhandari said, adding that Swami also made some international calls.

Rajinder Singh, who headed the Himachal Police team, said Swami’s location was traced with help from a local taxi driver, who had ferried the five to a nearby place some days back.

Swami Nityananda and Reddy never moved out of the rented house, while the other three used to visit the nearby market for buying groceries etc. Moreover, police said, Nityananda did not stop donning his saffron robe.

MS Hussain, a police officer from Karnataka, disclosed that Nityananda and Reddy reached Himachal Pradesh via Haridwar and stayed in the village. The police also recovered $7,000 and Rs 3 lakh from Nityananda and Reddy, who have been booked under Sections 295A, 376, 377, 420, 506 and 120B of the IPC.

After the Karnataka High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, Nityananda had quit as head of his ashram, Dhyanapeetam, located about 35 km from Bangalore. Swami has been maintaining that he had done nothing illegal.

Pioneer

Over 30 houses destroyed in Manipur

Senvon, April 21, 2010: More than 30 houses were damaged by heavy rain and storm yesterday night in Senvon village situated along the Mizoram-Manipur border, villagers said over mobile phone which was cut off intermittently due to inclement weather conditions.

As mobile phone connectivity could not be re-established due to the heavy rain and storm, no detailed information could be confirmed with regards to the exact number of houses destroyed and number of persons injured in many of the remote villages of the sub-division.

Till date, the Government of Manipur is yet to take stock of the situation and to determine the extend of damages done to the people in the area. Also, no relief materials has been sent or compensation given to the victims or people of the area as been provided to victims in other parts of the State.

Senvon is the largest village in Manipur and is inhabited by the Hmar Mizo community.

Source: MizoramExpress.com

Way2SMS now crosses 10 million mark users

As of April 14, 2010, Way2SMS now serves 10 million people across the country. Just 8 months ago the company served less than half as many people and it is trying to reach every corner of the country by this year end.

“The rapid pace of  our growth is humbling and exciting for us, and it affirms that people everywhere are realizing the power of staying connected to others via Way2SMS. So today as we celebrate our 10 millionth user,  we’re doing what we like doing most—building and launching new products for users. This week we’ll host a celebration at our headquarters, and we’ll release a handful of new things that will improve users experience on way2sms, including a couple that users  have requested a lot,” the company said.

Several facts behind way2sms

• The site we all use every day is built by a relatively small group of the smartest engineers who are solving substantial problems and each making a huge impact for the 10 million users using way2sms.
• Way2SMS is the 5^th largest most visited domestic internet property in India.
• Way2SMS is generating over 250 million page views every month
• Way2SMS is reaching over 28 million unique mobiles every month
• Way2SMS is delivering over 225 million messages every month.
• Way2SMS has delivered over 3000 million messages so far.
• Way2SMS is reaching over 10% of total internet audience in India according to comscore
• Way2SMS is managing over 170 million contacts on its platform.
• Currently way2sms is the fastest growing portal in India with a new acquisition rate of over 25000 new users a day.
• Way2SMS has delivered over 800 million IMs(gtalk, yahoo messenger) so far.
• Every way2sms user is recommending “way2sms” to atleast 2 other people.

IPL popularity undented though MPs want it banned

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) The fast paced Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament h as its popularity quotient undented, even though several MPs Monday demanded it should be banned and probed following Shashi Tharoor's exit from the government Sunday night over his controversial link to the IPL Kochi franchise.

Most people, young and old alike, were strongly of the opinion that IPL should not be banned.

'IPL brings together Indian and international cricket players on the same platform and provides us with some great matches to enjoy. I agree that it's a commercial product, but instead of doing away with it, the corruption in the model should be curbed,' Kedarnath Jha, a school teacher, said.

Similarly, student Himanshu Sharma said: 'Just because there is a controversy surrounding two-three individuals, why should the entire IPL model be scrapped off? It's a great source of entertainment and we really enjoy it'.

Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha Monday termed IPL as 'gambling' in the name of cricket and alleged that black money stashed in foreign banks was invested in it.

'The minister's resignation is not the issue. The issue is the IPL. We have not gone into the route. Issue is laundering of money. All this is happening under the nose of the government of India,' said Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Gurudas Dasgupta.

'Cricket is being maligned in the country. Wrong message is given to the budding cricketers to join the Twenty20 and earn crores. The IPL may be banned and a thorough probe ordered,' he said.

Similarly, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad said: 'Why target Tharoor only? The main culprit is this IPL. This is a gambling and betting business. There are bigwigs involved. The entire network should be probed'.

The demand from the opposition came after embattled Tharoor Sunday night stepped down over his links to the IPL Kochi franchise. He resigned after a weeklong drama after it was disclosed that his friend Sunanda Pushkar had received a sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore in the deal.

Reacting to the entire controversy, a number of people said that while it's important to have transparency and curb corruption, banning the IPL was no solution.

'IPL is a good source of entertainment - very fast paced, unlike the test and one day matches. It should definitely be probed into, so that the corruption can be curbed, but not banned!' said Anupama Dey, a student.

But there were a few voices that said the game model should be done away with.

'The spirit of cricket is missing in IPL. With the recent revelations, it just proves that in the name of game, a lot of money laundering and other murky things are going on behind the scenes. For the sake of the game therefore, IPL should be scrapped,' said Randhir Verma, a lawyer.

3G auction brings 66% of target in 7 days

Anandita Singh Mankotia

Within seven days of 3G spectrum auction, the government has netted Rs 23,000 crore, with one provisional bid for pan-India spectrum touching Rs 5,710.36 crore on Saturday. In a nutshell, the government has already mopped around 66% of the budgeted Rs 35,000 crore.

So far, 40 rounds of bidding have taken place with nine operators in the fray. Analysts feel that the auctions could be completed this week with the expectation that one provisional bid for pan-India spectrum would be around Rs 8,000-9,000 crore which would be around 2.5 times of the base price of Rs 3,500 crore.

Romal Shetty of KPMG said he expected one provisional "bid to be around Rs 7,000 crore after which competition would thin out with only bigger players being able to sustain".

Prashant Singhal, telecom analyst with E&Y, said, "We see the bid price closing between 2.5 to 3 times of the base price, which would be around Rs 8,500 to Rs 10,500 crore".

However, Manoj Mohta of Crisil Research said that "the 3G auction itself will dilute the margins of the companies and if a pan-India bid closes beyond Rs 6,200 crore, then the pressure on margins will be greater".

After having lost its numero uno position to Gujarat in terms of the highest bid, Delhi has regained its position with a bid of Rs 626.37 crore.

Mumbai had the second-highest bid at Rs 598.59 crore while Tamil Nadu logged in the third-highest bid of Rs 549.24 crore, followed by Gujarat that experienced negative demand at Rs 533.40 crore.

Maharashtra got a bid of Rs 533.37 crore, while Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh received bids worth Rs 507.97 crore and Rs 493.50 crore, respectively.

The bid for UP (East) was at Rs 228.59 crore, Uttar Pradesh (West) at Rs 225.74 crore, Rajasthan at Rs 220.70 crore, Madhya Pradesh at Rs 218.23 crore, Kerala at Rs 190.52 crore and Haryana at Rs 170.69 crore.

Kolkata and Punjab circles saw bid prices of Rs 174.25 crore and Rs 132.51 crore, respectively.

West Bengal saw a bid price of Rs 123.63 crore, with one circle witnessing negative demand. Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East and J&K too continued to see negative demand at Rs 30-crore bid levels, except Bihar and NE where it was Rs 32.44 crore and Rs 30.30 crore, respectively.

The Centre is auctioning three 3G slots in 17 service areas.

Yahoo News

Shashi Tharoor innings end

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted the resignation of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, as per reports. His meeting with the Prime Minister lasted for over thirty minutes.

Official word is awaited from the Prime Minister's office early morning on Monday.

Full story: Tharoor - Modi controversy

The minister who became popular more for his tweets than political moves has been embroiled in the controversy around the new IPL Kochi team.

Tharoor drove to the prime minister's 7, Race Course residence in his private vehicle soon after after Manmohan Singh held a meeting of the Congress core committee including Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The meeting was held to decide the minister's future in the government in the wake of controversy over an ugly IPL franchise row in which his friend Sunanda Pushkar was given a sweat equity worth Rs.70 crore.

Tharoor, who has been in the firing line of a united opposition demanding his removal, met Manmohan Singh earlier in the day for over 50 minutes to explain his side of the story.

BJP's first reaction says that it's the 'victory of truth.' Congress maintains that there is no deliberate attempt to delay Tharoor's resignation.

The parliament on Monday is set to see some fireworks as Tharoor's resignation puts opposition on the back foot. Some of the important bills including the Finance Bill are likely to come up for debate

IBN Live in a new avatar! Also introduces Blaze

Mumbai, Maharashtra, April 12, 2010: IBNLive.com part of Web 18 Group, one of India's most popular/ leading online sources for general news and information launches path-breaking and technologically equipped feature named 'Blaze' on their site. 'Blaze' enables the end-users to shortlist or finalize their favorite celebs, anchors, presenters and reporters, post which users will get real-time up-to-date information on their activities(what they're reading and watching). This feature will give one an opportunity to validate or question their favorite anchor on their source of information and grow from their observations and learnings. One can even follow their updates and share comments on them as well as chat, ask and answer questions.

IBNLive has added a prominent section Blaze, which allows their users to directly connect with all anchors of their channel- IBN on their site and ask for answers on issues/ queries relevant for them. For eg. consumers/ investors can approach Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor in chief, on this page and ask questions related to current/ burning issues of the day. Or catch up with the latest bollywood related gossip/ news with Celebrity and Entertainment expert- Rajeev Masand.

The site now also offers in depth detailed news on areas of maximum interest, through special sections on the site

· IBN Politics - all the news and updates in the world of politics

· IBN Movies - Bollywood, Hollywood, Sandalwood... it's all there

· IBN Sports - news, images and stories pertaining to the world of sport

· IBN trends - an interesting new section that focuses on current topics of interested - from health, to fashion to careers etc

IBNlive.com receives 30 million page views per month and offers real time news in a variety of formats including video-on-demand, audio- and live-streaming. The website is also one of India's first major Web 2.0 news site with blogs, podcasts and citizen journalism.

IBNlive.com key features are

· Core Offering: Live News

· Multi-platform (Anytime news)

o Web, mobile, e-mail

· Multimedia content

o Video on demand, audio, live streaming

· Exclusive content

o Blogs, podcast, expert chats and analyses, investigations

o Blaze

Commenting on the launch of Blaze Lakshmi Narasimhan, CEO, Web18 said, "IBN News Live is the only complete Indian news-site which offers its viewers a diversity of features like VOD, podcasts, live streaming, blogs, interactives, e-mail, mobile etc. We are extremely interested in knowing our viewers point of view which has led us into the introduction of the new feature - Blaze on IBN Live.com.

Check out the 'Blaze' which kicks -off live on 12th April, 2010 onwards on IBNlive.com.

Notes to Editor

About Web18

Web 18 is the Internet and Mobile arm of Network 18, India's leading Media conglomerate. It is India's fastest growing internet company with leading portals such as MoneyControl.com, Cricketnext.com, CommoditiesControl.com, PowerYourTrade.com, Tech2.com, Biztech2.com.IBNLive.com, Compareindia.com, Storeguru.com, Indiaearnings.com, JobStreet.com, Indiwo.com, Buzz18.com and Josh18.com. The recently launched In.com, has rapidly grown to become India's second largest horizontal portal.

Massive rally against proposed Tipaimukh dam in Ukhrul

Imphal, April 16, 2010: A huge protest rally was taken out in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Friday demanding scraping of Mapithel and Tipaimukh dam projects in Manipur and other mega dams in the north eastern region of the country. Over 2000 people of Ukhrul including affected people of the Mapithel Dam (Thoubal Multipurpose) projects, Tipaimukh Hydro (Multi-purpose) project, students and general public of Ukhrul carried out the protest.

Marching through different streets of the town in the district headquarters, the rally originated from two points, Hundung Junction and Kharasom Junction and concluded at Tangkhul Ngana Long Ground after submitting a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of the district for onward submission to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohon Singh to scrap the two mega projects.

The protestors alleged that constructions of the dams were “blatant violation of rights to life and livelihood”. According to them, the Tipaimukh Hydro (Multi-purpose) project was opposed from its very conception but the Manipur government passed it through without people’s free, prior and informed consent.

Speaking at the public meeting, president of the Tangkhul Katamnao Sanglong (Tangkhul Students Union), Wungnaoshang A Shimray said the construction of the Mapithel Dam without proper rehabilitation on resettlement programme based on expert review committee constituted by the government of Manipur was a clear disregard to the voice of the affected people.

Today’s protest rally was organised by the Tangkhul Katamnao Shanglong (TKS) under the sponsorship of the Citizen Concern on Dam and Development, Imphal, Mapithel Dam Affected Village Organisation, Mapithel as part of International Day of Action for Rivers.

Courtesy: Nagaland Post

Cop Out review

Cast: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Guillermo Diaz, Ana de la Reguera Director: Kevin Smith.

If there is one thing audience loves about comedy based on cops, it’s usually the unmatched spirit of friendship as seen in ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘Rush Hour’ series. Sadly, the relationship of two NYPD cops Jimmy (Willis) and Paul (Morgan), even after being partners for nine years in the film, hardly generates any such chemistry.

After a botched attempt to get the baddies, the two cops are suspended and with no pay Jimmy decides to sell a family a prized baseball card to pay for his daughter’s wedding. But, baseball-obsessed drug kingpin Po’ Boy (Diaz) is interested in the card for reasons known to him. He tells Jimmy and Paul to retrieve his stolen Mercedes in exchange for the card. However, when they realise that there is kidnapped woman Gabriela (Reguera) in the car, their focus shifts to rescuing her.

This film is one of the worst comedies about cops bonding. Willis and Morgan fail to bring out the Chan-Tucker comedic touch or the camaraderie shown by Gibson and Glover in ‘Lethal Weapon’. The script tries its best injecting some winking moments but is sapped by the slow pace.

‘Cop Out’ is childish and sloppy like the two main characters.

RLS, Deccan Herald.com

India has more mobile phones than toilets

Far more Indians have access to cell phones than to toilet and basic sanitation, a new United Nations report has said.

"It is a tragic irony to think that in India, a country now wealthy enough that roughly half of the people own phones, about half cannot afford the basic necessity and dignity of a toilet," said Zafar Adeel, director of United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.

For a rising economic power like India, such statistic reveals misplaced priorities and unequal distribution of the fruits of liberalisation.

"Popular education about the health dangers of poor sanitation is also needed. But this simple measure could do more to save lives, especially those of young people, improve health and help pull India and other countries in similar circumstances out of poverty than any alternative investment. It can also serve as a very significant boost to the local economy," he added.

The report is produced by experts who prescribe ways to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation by 2015.

Research shows roughly 366 million people (31 per cent of the population) in India had access to improved sanitation in 2008. Other data, meanwhile, shows 545 million cell phones are now connected to service in India's emerging economy.

The number of cell phones per 100 people has skyrocketted from 0.35 in year 2000-01 to about 45 today.

Worldwide, some 1.1 billion people defecate in the open and data shows progress in creating access to toilets and sanitation lags far behind world MDG targets, even as mobile phone connections continue to a predicted 1 billion in India by 2015, according to the study.

The report says it costs about $300 to build a toilet, and worldwide an estimated $358 billion is needed between now and 2015 to reach the MDG for sanitation.

"The world can expect, however, a return of between $3 and $34 for every dollar spent on sanitation, realised through reduced poverty and health costs and higher productivity, an economic and humanitarian opportunity of historic proportions," said Adeel.

If current global trends continue, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, in a report titled 'Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water' in March, predicted a 1 billion person shortfall from the sanitation goal in 2015 -- in all, 2.7 billion will lack access.

"This report notes cultural taboos surround this issue in some countries, preventing progress," said Adeel. "Anyone who shirks the topic as repugnant, minimises it as undignified, or considers unworthy those in need should let others take over for the sake of 1.5 million children and countless others killed each year by contaminated water and unhealthy sanitation."

The nine recommendations to meet the MDG include addressing sanitation in the context of global poverty, making sanitation a primary focus within the broader context of water management and access to safe water and integrating sanitation into community life.

Another report released last year by the WHO and UNICEF found that India has the largest number of persons that defecate in the open worldwide -- around 665 million.

Betwa Sharma in United Nations

Safeguard yourself from credit card frauds

In recent times, there have been a spate of news items revealing a credit card fraud. In one such item, two youngsters were caught duping credit card holders by offering them new credit cards with higher credit limits by trading in their old credit cards. The youngsters then used the old cards to make their purchases, mostly electronics. This is how they laid the plot.

They would call up credit card holders representing themselves as employees of the credit card company. They would inform these clueless customers about a new scheme about new credit cards with greater purchase limits in exchange of old ones. Then they would also inform customers that the company's representative would soon visit them with the new card, which would be activated as soon as they filled in a form!

This news only reinstates the importance of being a vigilant customer and using credit cards with utmost prudence. Here are a few things one can do:

1. If you lose your credit card, it is necessary to inform your credit card company immediately. This will enable the card issuer to freeze the card with immediate effect and prevent any purchases on the card. The important thing for you is that your liability is limited once you inform the credit card issuer.

2. Destroy your old card completely before you begin using your new card. This is important even if your old card has expired or you are upgrading your card.

3. Keep your card in a safe place and do not allow other people to handle it.

4. Be prudent about signing up for new offers. Double-check the genuineness of the scheme. A simple way to verify genuineness of any scheme is to call up the credit card company and inquiring with them.

5. Change your PIN at regular intervals. Do not use obvious PIN like birth dates.

6. Inform your credit card company immediately if you do not receive your monthly credit statement. It could be a case of identity theft where the fraudster has changed your billing address.

7. Use chip based credit cards. These cards offer better security than credit cards with black magnetic stripes. This is because in a chip based card, all information is stored in the small chip in encrypted format and it also uses a PIN. This makes changing or copying this data extremely difficult.

8. So, the chance of data being misused while swiping the card is very remote. It is the highest level of security that credit card companies can offer at present. Citibank and Kotak Mahindra issue chip based cards to select high range customers. Axis bank's VISA Platinum card is also chip-based. HDFC Bank also has begun issuing these cards.

9. Be careful while shopping online. This is because you are required to give the CVV number for making purchases over the Internet. For this, be sure you shop only from secure websites. Ensure that the website is certified by VeriSign. Look for a yellow lock on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

10. If you have a large credit limit on your card and use it frequently for several purchases including online and telephone purchases, it is a good idea to get your card insured. You cannot prevent credit card fraud but at least minimize its impact on your financial stability! You can protect yourself from fraudulent charges on your card up to 12 hours before reporting the loss to the credit card issuer.

By BankBazaar.com - an online marketplace for your personal loan and home loan needs.