India hopes for grand F1 finale

CHENNAI: India’s top drivers said on Monday they were upbeat about the country holding a spectacular inaugural Grand Prix to complete the 2011 Formula One season after the race was pushed back to December.

The sport’s governing body, the FIA, unanimously voted last week to reschedule the Bahrain race, which was cancelled in March due to civil unrest in the Gulf state.

The Bahrain GP will now be held on October 30, the original slot for the Indian GP which will now be the season-closing finale on December 11.

The Indian race is set to be staged at a new $350 million 5.14-kilometre (3.2-mile) circuit designed by renowned German architect Hermann Tilke in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Karun Chandhok, a Team Lotus reserve driver, said the decision to postpone India’s race provided an opportunity to put together a show worthy of a season climax.

“On one hand it is tough for the people in the teams as this extends the championship and gives them very little time before the next season,” he said in a statement.

“But on the other hand it will be an honour for our entire nation to host the season finale in the inaugural year of the Indian GP.”

Chandhok is hopeful of getting a one-off race seat ahead of regulars Jarno Trulli or Heikki Kovalainen after being limited to practice duties this season.

Hispania Racing Team driver Narain Karthikeyan, from Chennai, said the cool weather conditions in December could have a bearing on the race.

“The one concern is the morning fog. That could make things a little more testing,” said Karthikeyan, 34. “But to host the season finale is very prestigious.”

Karthikeyan, making a comeback to the F1 circuit after six years, is looking forward to driving before home fans although Hispania are struggling at the bottom of the table.

The under-construction circuit is part of an ambitious 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) sports complex being built by the Jaypee group, a fast-rising business conglomerate run by the Gaur family.

The race will be followed by the FIA General Assembly and the prize-giving gala.

Vicky Chandhok, president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), said it would be challenge to rework planning for the event.

“By rescheduling the race, we now have to address logistical issues such as hotel re-booking and flight tickets. But we are ready to put up a great show,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity to prove what India’s capable of.” AGENCIES

Hungama Mobile introduces ‘Koffee with Karan’ archived Mobisodes

Hungama Mobile introduces an exciting service that enables viewers to get archived mobisodes of ‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 3 on their mobile anytime, anywhere. This service has already been launched with various mobile service providers, including Reliance (GSM & CDMA), Vodafone & Tata Indicom. This is yet another product in Hungama Mobile’s content catalogue that will give consumers access to fun and entertaining content on their mobile phones.
Hungama Mobile is also giving consumers an opportunity to take part in the ‘Koffee with Karan’ rapid fire round on mobile. Lucky winners of this mobile rapid fire will win the coveted ‘Koffee with Karan’ gift hamper. Consumers simply need to answer eight questions in 5 rounds each. Each correct answer comes with 5 points. Users can play the quiz as many times as they wish; the more they play, more are the chances to win ‘Koffee with Karan’ hamper.
With an exclusive guest list, the show goes beyond the glitterati of B-town. This season, ‘Koffee with Karan’ unveils the closely guarded secrets of the most sought after celebrities. Consumers can now catch up on missed episodes and revisit their favorite episodes directly from their mobile phones.
Speaking on this initiative, Albert Almeida, COO, Hungama Mobile, said, “We are very excited about our association with ‘Koffee with Karan’ Season 3, which is certainly piquing the viewers interest with its content. As a leader in the mobile VAS entertainment space already serving a major share of film entertainment content, our association with Star World and ‘Koffee with Karan’ now sees Hungama mobile take a significant step into mainstream television entertainment as well.”
To get the archived mobisodes, users need to follow a simple four step process:
1. Dial 5464646
2. Select the option
3. Archived Mobisodes start playing with On-Demand option to the customer to skip to next mobisode at any point of time
4. Once the call is over, the cost is deducted from the subscriber’s account @ Rs.3/- a minute

Five cable series that nudged brilliance in 2010

LOS ANGELES: Five excellent cable series just ended their runs — one of them forever — leaving a gaping void on television schedules.

Three acclaimed freshman series — HBO”s “Boardwalk Empire,” AMC”s “The Walking Dead” and FX”s “Terriers” — joined Showtime”s Season 5 of “Dexter” and FX”s Season 3 of “Sons of Anarchy” in providing viewers an almost unheard-of opportunity to explore excellence.

Unfortunately for the private eye noir “Terriers,” which FX canceled because of extremely low ratings, its finale will be just that. The four others will return, and though they demanded attention and proved worthy of devotion, each has issues to address.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE

The expectations on this series were probably unmatchable. It wasn”t the hype so much as the lineage. The “Sopranos” fruit tree is impressive — already, former writer Matthew Weiner has delivered “Mad Men.” Terence Winter got his shot with not only a cache of Sopranos directors but with a pilot directed by executive producer Martin Scorsese. Sprinkle in amazing actors, a huge HBO budget and — let”s not kid ourselves here — the bar was too high. Yet “Boardwalk” impressively laid the groundwork for a series that should be engaging and expansive for years.

Full-on greatness in Season 1? Pretty close but not quite. The pacing might have put people off. The series swiveled on backdoor deals, and those don”t always come with machine-gun fire. But there was much to love here. Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Kenneth Williams, on down the line — top-notch actors fleshed out nuanced and intriguing characters. “Boardwalk” was a flat-out success creatively, and Season 2 should go a long way toward cementing its reputation. Especially if it attains the urgency viewers are seeking.

THE WALKING DEAD

Could this be the first crossover zombie hit? If any series managed to pull in people who wouldn”t normally dabble in a big-screen gore-fest, this was the one. Leave the big screen to cheap thrills. “Walking Dead” managed to prove that not every arm will grab a throat, not every bit of evil lurks near a snapped twig in the forest. In fact, the real fear factor here is human behavior in the face of the collapse of civilization. Beyond that, sure, who doesn”t want to see some splattered zombie brains? The challenge next season — when “Walking Dead” moves up to 13 episodes from a mere six — will be to keep the story interesting, fresh and relatable.

TERRIERS

Blame the name, blame the branding or whatever might come to mind. But television is littered with wonderful shows that never caught on. The best way to eulogize “Terriers” is to liken it to a British series: they often come out, display their brilliance and disappear (usually as planned). In time, you”ll get the “Terriers” DVD — with, one would assume, some nice extras — and it can stand on your shelf as a monument to a story well told.

DEXTER

It”s almost impossible not to like America”s favorite serial killer, Dexter Morgan. It has been an incredible journey for the series and, even when it strains credibility — which happens often — “Dexter” never fails to entertain. But it”s pretty clear that if this series wants to stay in that rare stratosphere of being a hit that also has critical acclaim, it needs to change the formula.

Putting Dexter in situations where he”s almost found out but manages to slow his breathing and avoid detection is becoming tiresome. Repetitive patterns are emerging, such as Jaime Murray feeling strong emotions toward Dexter”s dark lifestyle in Season 2, just as Julia Stiles did in Season 5. Maybe those are minor quibbles. Besides, just when you thought “Dexter” was out of ideas, John Lithgow came around and made Season 4 the best ever.

SONS OF ANARCHY

Of all the excellent dramas here, fan reaction to “Sons of Anarchy” in Season 3 is the most interesting, and baffling. This outlaw biker-club series from Kurt Sutter embraces its heightened gangster mentality, its Hamlet-on-a-Harley agenda. You”ll find few series whose fans are as rabid and outspoken.

The story line that took the club from the fictional northern California town of Charming to Northern Ireland had a lot of viewers and critics claiming it meandered and that the skillfully riveting first and last episodes held together a soft middle. It”s too tough on Sutter; any creator/writer/showrunner ought to take chances — that”s essential to greatness. Had he kept “Sons” in Charming for a third year, playing the same tune, the backlash would rightly have been more fierce. Fans ultimately might look back at this ambitious season as instrumental in the series achieving brilliance.

Rajasthan Royals Retain Warne and Watson

Preparation for IPL season 4 is going on and franchises are waiting for auction dates. Suspended Franchises Ragasthan Royals has retained Shane Warn and Shane Watson. Both Australian players are key for the franchise. According to new rule every team can retain 4 players and it is necessary that there should not be more then 3 Indian players.

RR spokesman said that it is very good for then that they have retained their top players. He added that Watson’s batting and Warne’s leadership skills will help their cause. $1.8 million per year is retainer-ship for 1st player and $1.3 million per year for the 2nd player.

The auction date for the IPL 4 was 6th December but it was extended to 8th December by BCCI as they want the auction to be conducted after the decision of King XI Punjab case.

Shane Warne led RR team well in 2008 season and took them to finals. He took 19 wickets in the season and was the 2nd highest wicket taker. Watson scored 472 runs and also took 17 wickets in the season. Both Australian players were brilliant and it led RR to pick them for season 4. If RR gets clearance to play IPL the Warne and Watson will be in RR team.

Malaika to judge Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 4 with Madhuri

MUMBAI: ”Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 4”, dancing with the stars, will start airing from December 12 The show had roped in dancing diva Madhuri Dixit and choreographer Remo D”Souza as its two judges of the season. While the third judge to the panel will be Malaika Arora Khan.

The Dabangg Munni is very excited about the venture and says that the format of the show is very interesting and above all she will get the rare opportunity to share a plat form with the beautiful Madhuri. She said that she had to manage her time to make space for the show, but the hard work is worth doing for ”Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 4”.

Cotton sale reduces by 17pc

Cotton production remained lower due to devastating floods and cotton sale witnessed 17 percent downfall this year. Only 42000 bales have been prepared till now in the ginning factories of the country which are lower than last years by 8.75 lakh bales.
Domestically, the recent floods have damaged around two million bales of cotton, prompting ginning mills to rush for purchase. Total consumption of cotton is around 16 million bales compared with the expected production of 12.6 million bales this season.
According to a report of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, textile mills have purchased 32 lakh bales.

Roy Halladay Perfect Game

Roy Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history tonight as he dominated the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS. The first postseason no-no was Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956. It was Halladay’s second no-hitter of the season. He walked 1 batter and struck out 8, using just 103 pitches. Perhaps most impressive? This was the first postseason start of Halladay’s career. Oh, and he drove in a run.

Cotton price surges by Rs 200 per maund

Cotton prices have started to soar in Pakistan after its increase in the international market. Cotton price has been surged by Rs 200 per maund in Sindh and Rs 100 in Punjab.
According to Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association executive member Ehsanul Haq said that cotton price in Sindh has reached Rs 7,350 per maund while it reached Rs 7,150 per maund in Punjab. For the first time, difference of cotton price in Sindh and Punjab is Rs 200 in this season.

T S Slways Sunny Season 6

It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 6 Episode 1 - Watch Mac fights gay marriage on the Internet S06E01 – ‘It’s always Sunny’ Season 6 Episode 1 is called “Mac is fighting gay marriage,” which was directed by Randall Einhornand written by Becky Mann and Audra Sielaff broadcast this evening on the foreign currency.

“It’s always Sunny,” it is not likely to succeed when for the first time. He said that many critics thought that the exhibition does not have a chance to make it past the first season, and here we are preparing for the sixth season premiere. For the first time this season tonight on FX, and it chocked full of all of the laughs and gags that we used to see on the program.

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T S Slways Sunny Season 6 was first posted on September 17, 2010 at 3:45 am.
Copyright @ A Pakistan News.Com

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Neelum Valley receives season’s first snowfall

Staff Report

MUZAFFARABAD: Neelum Valley with all of fountains, springs and waterfalls lies north-south of Muzaffarabad, and has received its first snowfall of the season, SAMAA learnt Tuesday.

The valley received rain with lightning last night. Mild spells of snowfall started in the mountains which made the weather pleasant in upper parts of the valley.

Meanwhile, minimum temperature in most parts of the state fell due to rains and snow.

Snowfall and cold weather has made the problems of homeless flood victims worse as the entire 90 mile long Neelum Valley is the worst hit by flash floods. SAMAA

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