Filmfare awards 2011 winners

Filmfare awards 2011 winners:While Hollywood has its 2011 Oscars and Golden Globes, Bollywood has its 56th Filmfare Awards to honor the best in their film for the past year. Among the 2011 Filmfare winners are "Udaan" and "Dabangg."

Coming in a close second place was the blockbuster "Dabangg" which grabbed six awards, while it was noted that "My Name is Khan" won awards for the Best Actor (Male), Best Actor (Female) and Best Director.  These are three of the more popular and prestigious of the Filmfare awards given away.

In one of the more touching reception speeches of the evening's event, actor Shah Rukh Khan won the Best Actor award for his work in "My Name is Khan."  Khan noted in his emotional speech, "I want to take this award for my daughter. I wanted to make her wear a red gown and walk in with me on the red carpet. But she's unwell."  Hopefully Khan's win will help to lift the spirits and speed up the recovery of his daughter so she can enjoy time with her father and savor his victory.

Also given out at the 56th Filmfare awards was the Lifetime Achievement Award.  This went to Prabodh Chandra Dey, also known as Manna Dey, who has been instrumental in many songs and the music for a variety of films.  This was his second Filmfare award, as he won his first back in 1970 for "Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo," a song from "Mera Naam Joker."

Congratulations are in order to all of tonight's big winners as well as those who graced the red carpet!  You can see more of the Bollywood ceremony's results and 56th Filmfare Awards winners at The Times of Inda's special report.

WWE Royal Rumble 2011 results emerge with shocking surprises:

WWE Royal Rumble 2011 results emerge with shocking surprises:The Royal Rumble 2011 is scheduled to be held on this Sunday, January 30, 2011, starting at 8PM EST on Pay-Per-View. The event will take place in Boston, MA. The main event just takes place to have a few ties to Oklahoma also, in the form of Royal Rumble contestant Jack Swagger and former commentator, Jim Ross.

There are 28 of the 40 Royal Rumble contestants name for 2011 have been declared, check out the list:
Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, David Hart Smith, David Otunga, Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Husky Harris, Jack Swagger, John Cena, John Morrison, Justin Gabriel, Mark Henry, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, Primo, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Ted DiBiase, Tyson Kidd, Wade Barrett, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder.
The list includes some first-time contestants include the members of The New Nexus and The Corre.
In this year’s Royal Rumble matches the past year’s favorites champions like John Cena, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Wade Barrett and John Morrison is likely to participate.
Some names of the previous year’s Royal Rumble winners includes Stone Cold Steve Austion a record 3 times, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Randy Orton, Edge, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Batista, Brock Lesnar, and Vince McMahon.

The 2010’s winner was the Rated-R Superstar, Edge, who came back from wound for winning the Rumble. It is likely to be very exciting. The results of Royal Rumble 2011 will be most probably surprise to everyone. Don’t miss it.

Australian Open win for Andy Murray would transform his global appeal:

If Andy Murray is finally able to scratch a 75-year itch and end in Melbourne the long wait for a British man to win a grand slam title, his advisers are standing by to brand him like Beckham and capitalise on the boost to his earning potential and global appeal.
Victory against Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final is likely to catapult the Scot into a select band of British sportsmen able to command significant global advertising deals, sports marketing experts say.
Murray has come close on several occasions, reaching the finals of the US Open and the Australian Open and was twice a beaten semi-finalist at Wimbledon. Victory could also be the springboard for the Scot to activate long-held ambitions to inspire a new generation of players beyond the sport's traditional middle-class heartland.
Murray's biggest desire, say those close to him, is to use his "street fighter" appeal to inspire youngsters to choose tennis over football in inner-city areas. That could result in Murray-branded academies or forging closer links with local authorities through Adidas, which already provides a network of outdoor gyms through its adiZone project.
Tim Crow, chief executive of sponsorship agency Synergy, said: "He and his mother are genuinely passionate about that and it's wonderful to see. He is very comfortable in his own skin and with his own voice. Andy is carving out his own niche and, love him or hate him, it is working for him. For him it is all about getting together with brand partners who will help him leave that legacy. That's terrific and it's very rare." Both Murray and his mother Judy have had a chequered relationship with the Lawn Tennis Association ever since they turned their back on Britain to seek coaching in Spain when he was a teenager.
The LTA, which gets a £31m windfall from Wimbledon each year, has faced persistent criticism for failing to expand the talent pool at the top end of the game, but has recently made strides in boosting the number and quality of junior players coming through the ranks.
In December last year, it said it would make widening participation a priority, giving a particular focus to park tennis. Like other sports, tennis has seen participation figures decline, despite multimillion-pound investment.
A first British grand slam triumph since Fred Perry in 1936 would inevitably see Murray's annual earnings – currently estimated at about £7.6m – approach those of the elite top two of tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. "It will take him to a different level, no question," said Crow. "It will put his earning potential up a notch but he is still in a bracket below Federer and Nadal. This would be the next stage in the journey."
Still only 23, Murray split from advisers Ace Management in 2009 and rejected more traditional sports agency giants such as IMG in favour of signing up with Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls and Pop Idol impresario who turned David Beckham into a global brand. Fuller has advised Murray to focus on a handful of global brands. Fred Perry, the British clothing brand, has been ditched in favour of a £10m deal with Adidas.
Using the greater global reach of the sportswear giant, Murray has vastly boosted his profile around the world. It is expected that the company, a sponsor of London 2012, will raise his profile even further in the runup to the Olympics. It is believed XIX, the company that Fuller launched last year, will sign a deal with another global brand in the next two to three months after Murray's long-standing contract with Highland Spring reached a "natural end". Tennis is considered one of few sports where an athlete can build truly global appeal, alongside golf and a handful of top names in boxing and athletics.

Chelsea To Come At Liverpool With £60 Million Bid For Fernando Torres

Chelsea To Come At Liverpool With £60 Million Bid For Fernando Torres:The record-breaking bid comes after the Spanish striker told his current team that he wants to leave via a written transfer request.

His representatives have also apparently written to the club's new American owners stating all the reasons why the player should be allowed to leave, including the fact that the forward has been let down over promises made last summer to keep him  at the club after Rafa Benitez's departure.

The West London club are also prepared to throw in young striker Daniel Sturridge, a player Liverpool wanted to take on loan earlier this season, and the Reds look to have an offer they can't refuse.

Any completed deal will probably see Torres become Chelsea's highest ever earner, but the negotiations will need to gather momentum quickly given that there are only three days left for such a big transfer to go through before deadline.

Looters rip heads off 2 mummies at Egyptian Museum

Looters rip heads off 2 mummies at Egyptian Museum:
CAIRO (AP) — Would-be looters broke into Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum, ripping the heads off two mummies and damaging about 10 small artifacts before being caught and detained by soldiers, Egypt's antiquities chief said Saturday.
Zahi Hawass said the vandals did not manage to steal any of the museum's antiquities, and that the prized collection was now safe and under military guard.
With mass anti-government protests still roiling the country and unleashing chaos on the streets, fears that looters could target other ancient treasures at sites across the country prompted the military to dispatch armored personnel carriers and troops to the Pyramids of Giza, the temple city of Luxor and other key archaeological monuments.
Hawass said now that the Egyptian Museum's collection is secure from thieves, the greatest threat to the collection inside is posed by the torched ruling party headquarters building next door.
"What scares me is that if this building is destroyed, it will fall over the museum," Hawass said as he watched fire trucks spray water on the still smoldering NDP headquarters.
The museum, which is home to the gold mask of King Tutankhamun that draws millions of tourists a year, also houses thousands of artifacts spanning the full sweep of Egypt's rich pharaonic history.
"The significance of the collection of the Cairo museum cannot be understated," said Thomas Campbell, the director of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art by telephone. "It is the great repository of Egyptian art. It is the treasure chest, the finest sculptures and treasures from literally 4,000 years of history."
"If it is damaged through looting or fire, it would be a loss to all humankind," he said.
The museum is located near some of the most intense of the mass anti-government protests sweeping the capital, and Egyptian army commandoes secured the building and its grounds early Saturday.
Before the army arrived, young Egyptians — some armed with truncheons grabbed off the police — created a human chain at the museum's front gate to prevent looters from making off with any of its priceless artifacts.
"They managed to stop them," Hawass said. He added that the would-be looters only vandalized two mummies, ripping their heads off. They also cleared out the museum gift shop.
The prized King Tutankhamun exhibit had not been damaged and was safe, he said.
An Associated Press Television News crew that was allowed into the museum saw two vandalized mummies and at least 10 small artifacts that had been taken out of their glass cases and damaged.
Fears of looters have prompted authorities elsewhere to take precautions to secure antiquities at other sites.
The military closed the pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo to tourists, and armored personnel carriers could be seen outside the famed archaeological site.
Archaeologist Kent Weeks, who is in the southern temple town of Luxor, said that rumors that attacks were planned against monuments prompted authorities to erect barriers and guard Karnak Temple while tanks were positioned around Luxor's museum.

Regional Reaction Mixed For Egypt Protests

Regional Reaction Mixed For Egypt Protests:The mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are drawing mixed reactions in the region.

In Iran, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry called on Egyptian authorities to follow what he called the "rightful demands" of the people and avoid any violence against them. The spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said Saturday that the Egyptian protests are based in Islam and aimed at gaining justice. He made no reference to the Iranian government's crackdowns on opposition.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah criticized the protesters and expressed support for Mr. Mubarak. The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted King Abdullah calling the organizers of the demonstrations "infiltrators" and accusing them of trying to destabilize Egypt in the name of freedom of expression. The report said the Saudi king made the comments in a phone call to the Egyptian president.

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt are key allies of the United States, which has called on President Mubarak to fulfill his promises of reform and refrain from violence against the demonstrators.

Israel, another key U.S. ally in the region, was said to be monitoring the situation in Egypt, although its officials are not making public statements.

News reports highlighted concerns that the unrest could threaten Israel's ties with Egypt, which has played a major role as a regional mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Israeli reports say if Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood were to gain power in the turmoil, that could strengthen militant group Hamas, the brotherhood's Palestinian offshoot in the Gaza Strip. Hamas draws its support from Iran, Syria and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah, while the rival Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, receive support from the West.

The African Union also expressed concern about Egypt's political unrest. The French news agency, AFP, quoted the head of the AU commission, Jean Ping, as saying the situation is "worrying" after protests in Tunisia.

India stops Hindu nationalists, separatists from raising flags in troubled Kashmir

India stops Hindu nationalists, separatists from raising flags in troubled Kashmir:
SRINAGAR, India — Thousands of police in Indian-controlled Kashmir prevented a Hindu nationalist party and a separatist group from raising flags for their opposing causes in a central square Wednesday to mark India's Republic Day.
Leaders of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had planned to hoist the Indian flag in Lal Chowk, a Srinagar square that is a frequent site of anti-India protests.
In reaction, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, a legal separatist group, said it would raise its party flag in the square.
However, a swarm of armed police sealed off the square, allowing no one in.
Republic Day commemorates India's adoption of a democratic constitution 61 years ago. India gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947.
One BJP activist was arrested a few hundred yards (meters) from Lal Chowk after he began waving a small Indian flag, police said.
S.M. Sahai, an inspector-general of police, said six other BJP activists were arrested elsewhere in the city. IN addition, three separatist leaders were arrested as they tried to march to the square, he said.
Officials in Kashmir as well as in New Delhi had been pressing the BJP for days to drop its plans for a flag raising, fearing it would spark more violence in the troubled Himalayan region, which is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both.
Hundreds of members of the BJP, the main opposition party in the national Parliament, have been detained in the last two days as they tried to make their way to Srinagar.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where separatist groups are fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan.
More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the region since an armed revolt erupted in 1989.
In the Pakistani portion of Kashmir, hundreds of people held an anti-India protest, demanding an end to "state terrorism" against Muslims on the Indian side. The demonstration was organized by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely believed to be a front for the militant group blamed for attacking Mumbai in 2008.
Protesters marched through the streets of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, shouting "burn the Indian parliament" and "any friend of India is a traitor." Some burned the Indian flag while others threw it on the ground and danced on it.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Maulana Abdul-Aziz Alvi called India's independence "a black day" and The Associated Press that if the country wants peace, it "must give freedom to Kashmiri Muslims."
Several groups in India's restive northeast and in Indian-controlled Kashmir called general strikes to mark the day, but parades by security forces in both places were held without incident.
In New Delhi, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the chief guest at a parade by thousands of Indian soldiers displaying the country's growing military might. The parade also showcased the country's cultural heritage with thousands of young people dancing in the streets.
Security personnel turned the parade route into a fortress, allowing in only those carrying special passes.

The XATtack 2011 review!

XAT 2011 managed to spring a surprise and how. Five minutes into the test and all prep work meant nothing. Read below for what the first comments were like
“For 20 mins I was trying to guess whether there is any option which says ‘Cannot be solved’”.
“The most absurd the most weird and the toughest paper i have given in the last 3 years.”
“The first time I was actually moved to tears..then started laughing..then silent..then again started laughing after seeing the essay.”
“Just appeared in IIT-JEE’11 and I screwed it.”
“Even if I had 4 hours, I would have had the same number of attempts.”
“XAT ni. XAT di. XAT ci.”
The paper was a big deviation from the reputation it has earned last few years. The difficulty level was high and the differential marking scheme forced all the pre-determined strategies out of the window. After an eventless season where there weren’t any major changes in the pattern of all the other entrances, XAT showed that even the best of the candidates could be left dumbfounded by a change in the pattern.
Marking Scheme:
There were questions ranging from 1 markers to 5 markers. The negative marks deducted for each incorrect answer were one-fourth of the marks allotted to the question. The section-wise distribution of marks and questions were as follows:

Section	1 markers	2 markers	3 markers	4 markers	5 markers	Marks
DI & QA	7	14	14	0	8	117
VA & LR	13	8	12	1	0	69
AR & DM	1	8	12	1	2	67
Total Questions	21	30	38	2	10
Total marks	21	60	114	8	50	253

DI & QA: Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability
VA & LR: Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning
AR & DM: Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making
Section-wise analysis:
Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability  (43 questions, 117 marks):
There was a good distribution of questions in this section both across the two areas and also topic-wise. There were a couple of fifers based on Josephus’ problem which could have been a cakewalk if one knew  the concept.
The couple of Data Interpretation sets on CSR and Maxam Glass were easy but then, they were  fewer marks against them. Greed had to be curbed in this kind of paper and one should have gone for easy questions irrespective of the marks allotted to them. These two sets could have been finished in 5-7 minutes and one could have scored a cool 9 marks in this.
There were 7 questions from Geometry and almost all were tough. There were a couple of doable questions which could have been attempted. The one question from trigonometry required knowledge about the concept and could have been a cakewalk if one knew it. There were 5-6 questions on permutations and combinations out of which a couple could be done. The question on functions were difficult. The remaining 3 DI sets were huge to read and so, reading them, comprehending and then solving them took time.
There were a couple of Data Sufficiency questions in which the answer options were slightly tweaked. The last option statement said that: Neither Statement I nor Statement II was necessary to answer the question. That was a statement many probably missed.
Overall the section almost weighed half of the paper in terms of marks and even though most of the questions were outright undoable for an exam of 2 hours, one could have scored around 12-15 in this section. A score of above 18-20 would be a very good score in this section. The sectional cut-off for 95 percentile might hover around 13-14 marks for this section.
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning (34 questions, 69 marks) :
There weren’t any 5 markers in this section and there was only a solitary 4-marker. So, the distribution of marks across the various question types was more or less uniform. There were two Reading Comprehension passages which were doable if one selected the right questions to attempt.
The fill-in-the-blanks questions were easy to do and one could have attempted all of them. The analogies were difficult and better left alone. Both the parajumbles were doable and atleast one could have been attempted. The question on punctuation was doable. The questions on ideas implied in the passage were a bit difficult and the options combining the various statements made it all the more difficult.
One could have left these questions. The questions on short passages (Paradox-Heredox, the kept in the dark passage, the passage on media) were slightly difficult and a careful reading was required. The three questions on the critics were sitters while the three questions on critical reasoning were huge and so many might have left these questions. Plus they had multiple statements and the right combination had to be selected.
Overall, if one could have attempted the easy questions, one could have scored around 14-15 marks in this section. A score of above 18-20 marks would be a very good score. The cut-off for 95 percentile will probably hover around 14 marks and for the 90 percentile mark, it would be around 12 marks.
Analytical Reasoning and Decision Making (24 questions, 67 marks):
With most of the questions being either for 2 or 3 marks, choices about which questions to attempt were easy to make in this section. The difficult thing was to attempt these questions. At first glance, except one reasoning set (the manager of Alex Company and the rooms), nothing was outright doable in this section. All the other three reasoning sets were high on difficulty level and if one couldn’t get through these, it would have eaten into the time allotted for this section. There were no easy decision making caselets as seen last year.
The single question on the number of pieces of silver was a sitter and should have been attempted. The decision making sets required time to read and then choosing one amongst similar sounding options would have been difficult as there would have been a thought at the back of one’s mind that an error in these questions would lead to a bad performance in this section.
The Chetan Textile Mills set was doable and could surely fetch a few marks. The decision making set on Gagan and the air travel was difficult and one should not have attempted this set upfront. The ABC and LMN merger set was again difficult and the multiple statements made it painful to read. The decision making singlet on the top executives in companies was difficult.
Overall, this was the toughest section in the toughest paper of the season. One could have scored around 12-13 marks by choosing relatively easier questions. A score of above 18 marks would be very good. The sectional cut-off for 90 percentile can be expected to be somewhere around 13-14 marks in this section.
Essay:
To add to the aspirants’ woes, the essay topic was weird and almost incomprehensible for many. A statement picked from Adam Smith’s ‘The Wealth of Nations’ made the topic. The essay was argumentative in nature and one had to analyse the statement, take a stand on it and justify it with examples. The essay statement was:
“The statesman who would attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals would not only load himself with most unnecessary attention but also assume an authority which could safely be trusted to no council and senate whatsoever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of man who has folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it. “
If someone has not performed well in the essay and is expecting a call, it would be a good idea to go through the book once and try to gather ideas about the topic. It might just save you in the interview.
Strategy:
The only strategy which was required was to be persistent throughout the two hours without getting awed by the difficulty level of the paper. Picking the relatively easy questions (there weren’t any straightforward questions) and cracking them with a high accuracy was very important in this paper. Alloting almost equal amount of time towards each section was important and one should not have got tensed seeing that s/he was unable to attempt anything in a section. Going for easy 1s and 2s and not worrying about the 5s was important in building a good score. If a 5 marker has boosted your score, it is also possible that it will bring your score down by 1.25 marks.
Shock Value:
If progressive negative marking was the area of concern in yesteryears’ papers, this paper shocked everyone with the high difficulty level and the number of marks awarded for a question ranging from 1 to 5. Incidentally, for the last few years XAT papers hadn’t exactly mentioned the number of marks awarded per question, ,  was ponder if XAT has been indeed following this pattern all way along.
Cut-offs:
The overall cut-off for the HR programme has been around 95% ile and can be expected to be around 45-47 marks. The cut-off for the BM programme can be around 55-57 marks. The cut-offs might be affected due to the fact that it would have been challenging with such a drastic change in pattern to get balanced sectionals. Plus with such a subjective paper, there are differences in the keys which are bound to happen. As announced at the center, the results are to be expected by the last week of January. It was a similar case last time around but, the results were out on 22^nd of January.
The discussions thread for the scores, predicted cut-offs, analysis and application related queries has been put up here.

Padma Awards 2011: Govt finalises names

Padma Awards 2011: Govt finalises names:According to the sources, actress Waheeda Rehman Shashi Kapoor and renowned musician Khayyam will get the Padma Bhushan awards 2011. Ex-planning panel chief LC Jain will get the Padma Vibhushan

Indian cricketer VVS Laxman, shooter Gagan Narang, wrestler Sushil Kumar, actress Kajol, Tabbu and actor Irfan Khan will be conferred of Padma Shri awards.

However, the name of Bharat Ratna will be discussed in a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee at 4.00 pm on Tuesday.

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu are in the race for the country’s highest civilian honour.

Sources said that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) has recommended the name of Indian batting maestro for the Bharat Ratna.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni has also favoured Tendulkar’s name for the Bharat Ratna. However, there are some reservations over Sachin’s name as he is too young for the award.

Earlier, BCCI had forwarded Sachin Tendulkar’s name on Monday. 

On the Other hand, government has also announced the gallantry awards. 21 armymen will get Shaurya Chakra and five will get Kirti Chakra this year. Major Lass Ram will confer Ashoka Chakra posthumously.

United Technologies profit rises 12 percent

United Technologies profit rises 12 percent:

Wednesday reported a 12 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter on higher revenues. Earnings per share for the quarter topped analysts' expectations. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2011, the company affirmed its earnings per share and revenue guidance.

The Hartford, Connecticut-based parent company of jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, Otis elevator, and Sikorsky aircraft reported net income for the fourth quarter of $1.20 billion or $1.31 per share, up from $1.07 billion or $1.15 per share in the prior-year quarter.
The results for the latest quarter include net charges for restructuring and one-time items of $0.03 per share, while the year-ago results include restructuring and one-time items of $0.08 per share, respectively.
Before these charges, earnings per share for the quarter increased 9 percent year over year. Currency hedges at Pratt & Whitney Canada, net of all foreign exchange translation, contributed $0.02 to the earnings per share increase, the company said.

Revenue seen rising in 4Q for United Technologies:

United Technologies Corp., which makes jet engines, elevators, heating and cooling equipment and other aerospace and building components, reports its fourth-quarter earnings before the markets open Wednesday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: FBR Capital Markets analyst Ajay Kejriwal said in a recent note to investors he expects strong fourth-quarter and 2010 results due to improved revenue at United Technologies Corp. and other companies in the multi-industry sector.
Sales trends are ahead of expectations, Kejriwal said. In addition, consensus estimates imply an average increase in earnings per share of 23 percent for 2010 and 17 percent this year, which he said can be achieved, but could limit the potential for "significant upward revisions."
LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: United Technologies earned $1.07 billion, or $1.15 per share, in the last three months of 2009, down from $1.15 billion, or $1.23 per share, a year ago. Revenue fell to $14.1 billion from $14.8 billion in the year-earlier quarter