GENERAL QUESTION

AppHits300: Java Runtime Environment 1.7.0.17 (32-bit)

2013-03-21T00:07:00.001-07:00

AppHits300: Java Runtime Environment 1.7.0.17 (32-bit): Description: Java software allows you to run applications called "applets" that are written in the Java programming lan...

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal returned to winning a historic bronze medal at the ongoing Olympic Games.

2012-09-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

Gkquestion : Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal returned to rousing receptions first at Delhi airport and later at Hyderabad airport as she arrived here from London on Tuesday after winning a historic bronze medal at the ongoing Olympic Games.

At Delhi airport, the Hyderabadi was greeted by a large number of fans and well-wishers who had gathered to get a glimpse of her.

The 20-year-old was flanked by father Harvir
Singh, coach Pullela Gopichand and scores of security personnel on her arrival in the national capital early in the morning.

She later took a flight to Hyderabad where a huge felicitation ceremony was planned at Gopichand Academy, where Saina trains. She headed straight to the academy from the airport.

Open bus parade goes awry
On her arrival at the Hyderabad airport, an open bus parade was lined up for the Indian badminton queen. However, the bus broke down even before leaving the airport as it was overloaded.

The major glitch in the bus for an elaborate victory parade saw Saina being shifted to a car in which she left for Gopichand Academy.

Saina's feat
Saina had bagged the bronze medal when her opponent -- world No 2 Xin Wang -- conceded midway despite winning the first game and take initial lead in the second because of her knee problem.

Saina thus became only the second Indian woman after weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, who won a bronze in Sydney Games in 2000, to clinch an Olympic medal. She was also the first Indian shuttler to make it to the last four stage of Olympics.

announcement of retirement by VVS Laxman

2012-09-19T03:17:00.004-07:00

Gkquestion :

The sudden announcement of retirement by VVS Laxman has sparked off a controversy amid talk that the stylish batsman was not treated well by the Cricket Board and the selection committee.
Laxman created a flutter by deciding to quit international cricket with immediate effect despite being selected in the team for the two-match Test series against New Zealand, beginning in his hometown Hyderabad f
rom August 23. What came as a major surprise was that Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests during which he won many a match for India, turned down the opportunity to play a farewell Test in front of his home crowd.
What prompted Laxman to take the decision immediately was not known but it is being speculated that the Hyderabad stalwart had been 'hurt' by some of the developments in the last few weeks.

Laxman, on his part, did not give any clue as to why he called it quits but all that he said was that he listened to his "inner voice" to come to the conclusion that it was time to move on.
A day after the announcement, there was intense speculation on what led him to hang his boots. The BCCI, on its part, insisted that there was no pressure on Laxman to retire.
"The BCCI President was aware of Laxman's decision to quit before the two-Test series. He took the decision after talking to the BCCI President," Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale told PTI.
However, the BCCI was taken aback by his decision to not play a single match in the series against New Zealand.
"We really had no clue, may be something happened which made him take that decision but we have never put any pressure on him," a top BCCI official said on condition on anonymity.
"Maybe some negative comments in columns by former cricketers hurt him and it could be that the BCCI did not defend him which could have added to his hurt," he added.
"Obviously he was not thinking about retirement. No one discussed anything with him. Maybe he wanted to show that he could retire on his own terms," the official said.
"The selectors had picked him for the series against New Zealand so there was no question of putting pressure on him.
Why he chose not to play, only he can explain," said another official.
Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who will relinquish office next month, is also being blamed for his role in Laxman's retirement.
"We respect his decision to retire with immediate effect. We wish him and his family all the best after retirement. He was a team player. He played with great deal of pride for his country. He won many matches for the country, his contribution has been great," Srikkanth said.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly had alleged that Srikkanth did not have the communication skills to deal with seniors.
"Srikkanth has a big problem in communicating. A player like Laxman would not train so hard just to keep himself fit for two Tests. If they (selectors) conveyed their opinion to Laxman earlier, this situation would not have surfaced. Why they stretched till August? Probably, the selectors' judgement has hurt him (Laxman) the most," Ganguly said. .
Ganguly also felt that Srikkanth's selection policy would be detrimental to Indian cricket's progress.
"They don't select a team taking the future of Indian cricket into account. They merely do a balancing act by means of removing and adding somebody. Indian cricket will not progress this way," he had stated.
It is also being speculated that one of the selectors had called Laxman after picking the team and told him that this would be his farewell series. That hurt the veteran and is believed to be the main reason for his decision.
"In a way he wanted to hit back at the selectors and tell them that 'I would retire on my on terms'," a source said.
That the selectors did not have a clear communication with the senior players had earlier come to light when they had picked in the ODI team for the series against England last year.
Rahul Dravid, who was in form in the Test format, was surprisingly picked despite not playing in the ODIs for two years, which prompted Dravid to retire from ODIs immediately.
In a way, it was a snub to the selectors who had dropped him from the ODI team even when he was delivering.
Like in case of Dravid, even Laxman's teammates were taken aback and it was evident from their reactions.
Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh have all expressed surprise at the decision through twitter.

Nehru Cup final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 2012

2012-09-19T03:08:00.001-07:00

Gkquestion: Embrace New India. On Sunday in the Nehru Cup final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, India played like a team for the future. Paint the larger picture, that of the entire 12-day meet, and there are bright spots and only bright spots!

Keeping in mind Lakshya 2022 in Technical Director Rob Baan’s Master Plan, India is indeed going in the right direction as Coach Wim Koevermans always ma
intains.

India did not blink from the first whistle. They not only closed down the Indomitable Lions well but also intercepted expertly in the middle of the park. One such instance saw Indian Captain Sunil Chhetri get past his markers to shoot. Every move was being cheered by the 25000 plus crowd that had turned up to watch ‘New India.’ And they did not have to wait too long to celebrate.

India beat Cameroon 5-4 (2-2) on penalties in ther Nehru Cup final to emerge champions for the third time in a row. After both teams were tied 2-2 despite 120 minutes, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Denzel Franco, Mehtab Hossain and Clifford Miranda scored from the spot while for Cameroon, Makon Thierry muffed – he hit the post.

India broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Gouramangi Singh nodded home from a Clifford Miranda free kick with goalkeeper Ngome Lawrence out of his line. Lawrence picked up an injury soon after and was replaced by Nkessi Hosea.

While Lawrence was being nursed, India lost the momentum and the Indomitable Lions capitalised on that to get the all important equaliser. Makon Thierry’s powerful shot from just outside the box beat Subrata Pal. The scored remained one-all till the interval.

Changing over, India almost scored. A diving Gouramangi could not connect after Nabi had floated the ball inside the 28-yard box from the middle of the pitch.

Minutes later, Cameroon took the lead in the 52nd minute through top scorer Kingue Mpondo. The African giants were using their physical superiority coupled with never ending stamina to bog the hosts down. But India refused to surrender.

They fought like tigers creating chances one after the other. Their perseverance finally paid off.
Chhetri was brought down by substitute custodian Hosea after Mehtab Hossain had set him up beautifully. The diminutive India Captain equalised from the spot to set the crowd on fire. From then on it was India all the way. Chhetri almost doubled his tally after Francis Fernandes played a delightful cross into the area in the 83rd minute. The teams could not be separated in regulation time.

India enjoyed the upper edge in the first half of the extra time and should have taken the lead again — Robin Singh’s free header sailing over the bar in th2 105th minute. As time wore on and penalties loomed large after the breather, the tension was palpable on the field. Finally the whistle blew for the final time and it was time for the penalties.

As drama encumbered the Nehru Stadium, India won 5-4 in the tie-breaker. Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Denzel Franco, Mehtab Hossain and Clifford Miranda scored from the spot. For Cameroon, Makon Thierry muffed – he hit the post.

India win the Nehru Cup for the third time.

INDIA: Subrata Pal; Nirmal Chhetri (Denzil Franco 90’), Gouramangi Singh, Raju Gaikwad, Syed Rahim Nabi; Sanju Pradhan (Robin Singh 63’), Mehtab Hossain, Lenny Rodrigues, Clifford Miranda; Francis Fernandes; Sunil Chhetri

News for india under 19 cricket team win 2012 world cup

2012-09-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

India's Under-19 cricket team was swamped with congratulatory messages from politicians, cricketers and corporate bosses on twitterati for lifting its third U-19 World Cup title after a gap of four years at Townsville on Sunday.

From senior cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh to union sports minister Ajay Maken, corporates Anand Mahindra and Vijay Mallya - all came together on Twitter to congratulate the Indian colts on their remarkable achievement.

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly

2012-09-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Personal information

Full name	Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
Born	8 July 1972 (age 38) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Nickname	The God of the Off Side, The Prince of Calcutta, The Maharaja, Dada
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Right arm medium
Role	Batsman
Relations	Snehasish Ganguly (broth

Highlights of Union Budget 2010-11

2012-09-17T23:35:00.003-07:00

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2010-11 in parliament on Monday(28-02-2011).

Here are some of the highlights:

· Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers enhanced from

Rs 1,60,000 to Rs 1,80,000. For senior citizens, the qualifying age reduced to 60 years from the present 65 years and exemption limit raised to Rs 2.50 lakh. Citizens over 80 years to have exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh. No Change in women tax exemption limit i.e1,90,000.

· Total expenditure proposed at Rs 12, 57,729 crore. Increase of 18.3 per cent in total Plan allocation i.e Rs 4, 41,547 crores . Increase of 10.9 per cent in the Non-plan expenditure i.e Rs 8, 16,182 crores.

· Indian economy expected to grow at 9 per cent with an outside band of +/- 0.25 per cent in 2011-12. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated to have grown at 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 in real terms.

· Fiscal Deficit brought down from 5.5 per cent in BE 2010-11 to 5.1 per cent of GDP in RE 2010-11. Fiscal Deficit kept at 4.6 per cent of GDP for 2011-12. Fiscal Deficit to be progressively reduced to 3.5 per cent by 2013-14.

· “Effective Revenue Deficit” estimated at 2.3 per cent of GDP in the Revised Estimates for 2010-11 and 1.8 per cent for 2011-12.

· Priority sector home loans limit raised to Rs. 25 lakh from Rs. 20 lakh.

· Current surcharge of 7.5 per cent on domestic companies proposed to be reduced to 5 per cent.

· Rate of Minimum Alternative Tax proposed to be increased from 18 per cent to

18.5 per cent of book profits.

· Central Excise Duty to be maintained at standard rate of 10 per cent.

· Disinvestment in 2011-12 seen at 400 billion rupees.

· Provision of Rs 1,64,415 crore, including Rs 69,199 crore for capital expenditure to be made for Defence Services in 2011-12.

· Rs 6,000 crore to be provided during 2011-12 to enable public sector banks to maintain a minimum of Tier I CRAR of 8 per cent.

· Rs 500 crore to be provided to enable Regional Rural Banks to maintain a CRAR of at least 9 per cent as on March 31, 2012.

· Rs 5,000 crore to be provided to SIDBI for refinancing incremental lending by banks to these enterprises.

· Rs 3,000 crore to be provided to NABARD to provide support to handloom weaver co-operative societies which have become financially unviable due to non-repayment of debt by handloom weavers facing economic stress.

· Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased from Rs 6,755 crore to Rs 7,860 crore.

· Credit flow for farmers raised from Rs 3,75,000 crore to Rs 4,75,000 crore in 2011-12.

· Allocation of Rs 2,14,000 crore for infrastructure in 2011-12. This is an increase of 23.3 per cent over 2010-11.This also amounts to 48.5 per cent of total plan allocation.

· National Food Security Bill (NFSB) to be introduced in the Parliament during the course of this year.

· Allocation for social sector in 2011-12 (` 1,60,887 crore) increased by 17 per cent over current year. It amounts to 36.4 per cent of total plan allocation.

· Allocation for social sector in 2011-12 (` 1,60,887 crore) increased by 17 percent over current year. It amounts to 36.4 per cent of total plan allocation.

· Allocation for Bharat Nirman programme proposed to be increased by ` 10,000 crore from the current year to Rs 58,000 crore in 2011-12.

· Plan to provide Rural Broadband Connectivity to all 2,50,000 Panchayats in the country in three years.

· From 1st April, 2011, remuneration of Anganwadi workers increased from Rs 1,500 per month to Rs 3,000 per month and for Anganwadi helpers from Rs 750 per month to Rs 1,500 per month.

· Allocation for primitive Tribal groups increased from Rs185 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 244 crore in 2011-12.

· 21,000 crore allocated to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which is 40 per cent higher than Budget for 2010-11.

· Target of providing banking facilities to all 73,000 habitations having a population of over 2,000 to be completed during 2011-2012.

· Eligibility for pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for BPL beneficiaries reduced from 65 years of age to 60 years. Those above 80 years of age will get pension of Rs 500 per month instead of ` 200 at present.

· Rs 200 crore proposed to be allocated for Green India Mission from National Clean Energy Fund.

· Rs 200 crore proposed to be allocated for launching Environmental Remediation Programmes from National Clean Energy Fund.

· Special allocation of ` 200 crore proposed to be provided for clean-up of some more important lakes and rivers other than Ganga.

· Rs 8,000 crore provided in current year for development needs of Jammu and Kashmir.

· Allocation made in 2011-12 to meet the infrastructure needs for Ladakh (` 100 crore) and Jammu region (` 150 crore).

· A new scheme with an outlay of ` 300 crore to be launched to provide assistance to States to modernise their stamp and registration administration and roll out e-stamping in all the districts in the next three years.

· A new simplified form ‘Sugam’ to be introduced to reduce the compliance burden of small tax payers falling within presumptive taxation.

QUESTION FOR PSC EXAMS

2012-09-17T23:35:00.002-07:00

Q? : Who is called " FRONTIER GANDHI"
Ans: KHAN ABDULGAFAR KHAN

Q? : Who is " INDIAN SHAKESPEARE "
Ans: KALIDASA

Q? : Who is called " LION OF THE PUNJAB "
Ans: LALA LAJPAT RAI

Q? : " MOTHER " IS THE FAMOUS WORK OF
Ans: MAXIM GORKY

Q? : Who is called "CROCODILE HUNTER"
Ans: STEVE IRWIN

Q? : "I KNOW ONLY ONE CULTURE THAT IS AGRICULTURE" Word By
Ans: Vallabai Patel

Q? : "INTERNATIONAL SHRINE OF PEACE" Is
Ans: HIROSHIMA

Q? : "JUNGLE BOOK" IS WRITTEN BY
Ans: RUDYARD KIPLING

Q? : "JAI JAWAN JAI KISSAN" IS ASSOSIATED WITH
Ans: LAL BAHADUR SASTHRI

Q? : RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Ans: 1917

Q? : "UNIT OF LOUDNESS OF SOUND" Is
Ans: DECIBEL

Q? : "UNIT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT " Is
Ans: AMPERE

Q? : DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN C LEADS TO
Ans: SCURVY

Q? : PROLONGED BLEEDING DUE TO
Ans: DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN K

Q? : LAND OF RISING SUN
Ans: JAPAN

Q? : CHARLS DARWIN BELONGS TO
Ans: BRITAIN

Q? : Who is the father of computer
Ans: Charles babbage

Q? : THE GOLDEN TEMPLE LOCATED AT
Ans: AMRITSAR

Q? : BULAND DARWAZA IS AT
Ans: FATHEHPUR SIKRI

Q? : INDIA - PAKISTHAN BOUNDARY LINE
Ans: RAD CLIFF LINE

Q? : FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN STARTED IN
Ans: 1951

Q? : INDIA EARNS MAX FOREIGN EXCHANGE FROM
Ans: TEA

Q? : TEN RUPEE NOTE BEARS THE SIGNATURE OF
Ans: RBI GOVERNOR

Q? : CURRENCY OF JAPAN
Ans: YEN

Q? : FILM DIRECTED BY M.T VASUDEVAN NAIR
Ans: KADAVU

Q? : THE LARGEST GLAND IN HUMAN BODY
Ans: LIVER

Q? : PERSON WHO HATES WOMAN
Ans: MISOGYNIST

Q? : INDIAS NATIONAL FLOWER
Ans: LOTUS

Q? : INSTRUMENT MEASURE HIGH TEMPERATURE
Ans: PYROMETER

Q? : DOCTRINE OF LAPSE
Ans: LORD DALHOUSIE

Q? : FIRST WAR OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
Ans: 1857

Q? : PARTITION OF BENGAL
Ans: 1905

Q? : UNIT OF LOUDNESS OF SOUND
Ans: DECIBEL

Q? : UNIT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT
Ans: AMPERE

Q? : STEAM ENGINE
Ans: JAMES WATT

Q? : RADIO ACTIVITY
Ans: HENTRY BECQUEREL

Q? : FIRST HEART TRANSPLANT OPERATON
Ans: CHRISTAIN BARNARD

Q? : THE FIRST INDIAN SATELLITE
Ans: ARYBHATTA

Q? : THE GOLDEN TEMPLE LOCATED AT
Ans: AMRITSAR

Q? : BULAND DARWAZA IS AT
Ans: FATHEHPUR SIKRI

Q? : INDIA - PAKISTHAN BOUNDARY LINE
Ans: RAD CLIFF LINE

Q? : FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN STARTED IN
Ans: 1951

Q? : INDIA EARNS MAX FOREIGN EXCHANGE FROM
Ans: TEA

Q? : TEN RUPEE NOTE BEARS THE SIGNATURE OF
Ans: RBI GOVERNOR

Q? : CURRENCY OF JAPAN
Ans: YEN

INDIA WON 3rd TIME NEHRU CUP FINAL (2012)

2012-09-17T23:23:00.001-07:00

Gkquestion:

Embrace New India. On Sunday in the Nehru Cup final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, India played like a team for the future. Paint the larger picture, that of the entire 12-day meet, and there are bright spots and only bright spots!

Keeping in mind Lakshya 2022 in Technical Director Rob Baan’s Master Plan, India is indeed going in the right direction as Coach Wim Koevermans always maintains.

India did not blink from the first whistle. They not only closed down

the Indomitable Lions well but also intercepted expertly in the middle of the park. One such instance saw Indian Captain Sunil Chhetri get past his markers to shoot. Every move was being cheered by the 25000 plus crowd that had turned up to watch ‘New India.’ And they did not have to wait too long to celebrate.

India beat Cameroon 5-4 (2-2) on penalties in ther Nehru Cup final to emerge champions for the third time in a row. After both teams were tied 2-2 despite 120 minutes, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Denzel Franco, Mehtab Hossain and Clifford Miranda scored from the spot while for Cameroon, Makon Thierry muffed – he hit the post.

India broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Gouramangi Singh nodded home from a Clifford Miranda free kick with goalkeeper Ngome Lawrence out of his line. Lawrence picked up an injury soon after and was replaced by Nkessi Hosea.

While Lawrence was being nursed, India lost the momentum and the Indomitable Lions capitalised on that to get the all important equaliser. Makon Thierry’s powerful shot from just outside the box beat Subrata Pal. The scored remained one-all till the interval.

Changing over, India almost scored. A diving Gouramangi could not connect after Nabi had floated the ball inside the 28-yard box from the middle of the pitch.

Minutes later, Cameroon took the lead in the 52nd minute through top scorer Kingue Mpondo. The African giants were using their physical superiority coupled with never ending stamina to bog the hosts down. But India refused to surrender.

They fought like tigers creating chances one after the other. Their perseverance finally paid off.

Chhetri was brought down by substitute custodian Hosea after Mehtab Hossain had set him up beautifully. The diminutive India Captain equalised from the spot to set the crowd on fire. From then on it was India all the way. Chhetri almost doubled his tally after Francis Fernandes played a delightful cross into the area in the 83rd minute. The teams could not be separated in regulation time.

India enjoyed the upper edge in the first half of the extra time and should have taken the lead again — Robin Singh’s free header sailing over the bar in th2 105th minute. As time wore on and penalties loomed large after the breather, the tension was palpable on the field. Finally the whistle blew for the final time and it was time for the penalties.

As drama encumbered the Nehru Stadium, India won 5-4 in the tie-breaker. Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Denzel Franco, Mehtab Hossain and Clifford Miranda scored from the spot. For Cameroon, Makon Thierry muffed – he hit the post.

India win the Nehru Cup for the third time.

INDIA: Subrata Pal; Nirmal Chhetri (Denzil Franco 90’), Gouramangi Singh, Raju Gaikwad, Syed Rahim Nabi; Sanju Pradhan (Robin Singh 63’), Mehtab Hossain, Lenny Rodrigues, Clifford Miranda; Francis Fernandes; Sunil Chhetri

Dada Saheb Phalke Award recognition of my hard work: Soumitra

2012-03-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee said his being named for the Dada Saheb Phalke award - the highest honour in Indian cinema - is a recognition of his hard work in the last 53 years and expressed gratitude to directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and others for honing his acting

Chatterjee, 77, said it was an “emotional moment” for him and he would receive the award on behalf of the doyens of the Bengali movie industry whose guidance helped him evolve as an actor.
“I am very happy. It is an emotional moment for me. I thank everybody. It is a recognition of the hard work I have put in for the last 53 years. The people of my country have recognised my toil,” said Chatterjee.
The Padama Bhushan awardee expressed his gratitude to directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and veteran actors like Chabi Biswas and Tulsi Chakraborty for honing his acting skills.
“I would like to thank many old people of this industry like (legendary movie directors) Satyajit Ray and Tapanda,” he said.
“Right now my mind is on a flashback mode. I would thank actors like Chabi Biswas and Tulsi Chakraborty. It would have been great if I could have handed the award to them. It is on their behalf that I will receive the honour,” he said.
Chatterjee regretted that the sublime work of actors like Biswas and Chakraborty went unrewarded.
One of India's most talented actors, Chatterjee made his debut in 1959 with Ray's super-hit movie "Apur Sansar". The film gave him the much needed platform, and he never had to look back.
Chatterjee soon became Ray's favourite, and played the lead roles in most of the movie maker's classics including "Sonar Kella", "Charulata", and "Ghare Baire".
Chatterjee's association with Ray is often compared with the chemistry between famous actor-director duos of the world such as Akira Kurosowa-Toshiro Mifune and Marcello Mastroianni-Federico Fellini.
Apart from Ray, Chatterjee has worked with all internationally acclaimed directors of his time, including Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar.
Some of his notable movies are "Jhinder Bandi", "Koni", "Kaapurush", "Akash Kusum", "Aranyer Din Ratri", "Joy Baba Felunath", "Teen Bhubaner Pare", "Ganashatru" and "Sakah Prashakha".
The Padama Bhushan awardee has also worked with other famous directors such as Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh.
Besides films, Chatterjee is also known for his passion for the stage where he has both acted and directed plays. He is also one of the all-time best elocutionists of Bengal.
He has also received 'The Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts from France and lifetime achievement award from Italy.

Mumbai crime reporter killed in broad daylight

2011-06-14T09:05:00.004-07:00

Mumbai crime reporter killed in broad daylight

New York, June 13, 2011--Jyotirmoy Dey, a senior journalist and special investigations editor at Mumbai's afternoon daily Midday, was killed last week, in broad daylight. His murder must be fully investigated as soon as possible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

On Monday, Maharashtra State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan denied demands from Dey's journalist colleagues to take the investigation out of the hands of the Mumbai police and hand it over to the State's Central Bureau of Investigation, local media reports said. The choice to keep the investigation of the journalist small disturbs CPJ.

"Too many Indian journalists can be killed without repercussions: it has become a national embarrassment," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "India's authorities need to act quickly to address this impunity."

International and local media reports and colleagues at Midday say Dey was killed on Saturday afternoon. His murderers were four men. Some of them fired at him from two motorcycles, as Dey himself drove past them on his motorcycle. They were driving through Powai suburb of Mumbai. They fired a total of eight shots at him: five landed in his head and chest. He died at the scene of the attack, Midday colleagues told CPJ.

Dey was known for his hardline coverage of Mumbai's crime world -- a beat he had covered for 22 years. He had written two books, Zero Dial: The Dangerous World of Informers and Khallas and had worked earlier for the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times. His colleagues told CPJ his intense work style had helped set a tone for investigative reporting in India's vibrant media environment. These same colleagues are convinced that Dey was targeted by a criminal organization. They remain concerned local authorities will not fully investigate. On Sunday, the police announced, the authorities had formed a special team for the case, but concern lingers among his colleagues that this team will be a mere half measure.

Although it is the world's largest democracy and there hasn't been a huge number of journalists killed, India ranks 13th in CPJ's global Impunity Index. The government apparently lacks the political will to address the problem, CPJ research has found.

2011-05-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

GO GREEN

SAVE FUEL

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through combustion, or nuclear fission. An important property of be useful fuel is that its energy can be stored to be release is controlled in such a way that the energy can be harnessed to produce work.

FUEL SAVING TRIPS

Slow down.
Check your tier pressure.
Check your air filter.
Accelerate with care.
Don’t overdrive.

QUESTION FOR PSC EXAMS

2011-03-03T09:15:00.001-08:00

Q? : Who is called " FRONTIER GANDHI"
Ans: KHAN ABDULGAFAR KHAN

Q? : Who is " INDIAN SHAKESPEARE "
Ans: KALIDASA

Q? : Who is called " LION OF THE PUNJAB "
Ans: LALA LAJPAT RAI

Q? : " MOTHER " IS THE FAMOUS WORK OF
Ans: MAXIM GORKY

Q? : Who is called "CROCODILE HUNTER"
Ans: STEVE IRWIN

Q? : "I KNOW ONLY ONE CULTURE THAT IS AGRICULTURE" Word By
Ans: Vallabai Patel

Q? : "INTERNATIONAL SHRINE OF PEACE" Is
Ans: HIROSHIMA

Q? : "JUNGLE BOOK" IS WRITTEN BY
Ans: RUDYARD KIPLING

Q? : "JAI JAWAN JAI KISSAN" IS ASSOSIATED WITH
Ans: LAL BAHADUR SASTHRI

Q? : RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Ans: 1917

Q? : "UNIT OF LOUDNESS OF SOUND" Is
Ans: DECIBEL

Q? : "UNIT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT " Is
Ans: AMPERE

Q? : DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN C LEADS TO
Ans: SCURVY

Q? : PROLONGED BLEEDING DUE TO
Ans: DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN K

Q? : LAND OF RISING SUN
Ans: JAPAN

Q? : CHARLS DARWIN BELONGS TO
Ans: BRITAIN

Q? : Who is the father of computer
Ans: Charles babbage

Q? : THE GOLDEN TEMPLE LOCATED AT
Ans: AMRITSAR

Q? : BULAND DARWAZA IS AT
Ans: FATHEHPUR SIKRI

Q? : INDIA - PAKISTHAN BOUNDARY LINE
Ans: RAD CLIFF LINE

Q? : FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN STARTED IN
Ans: 1951

Q? : INDIA EARNS MAX FOREIGN EXCHANGE FROM
Ans: TEA

Q? : TEN RUPEE NOTE BEARS THE SIGNATURE OF
Ans: RBI GOVERNOR

Q? : CURRENCY OF JAPAN
Ans: YEN

Q? : FILM DIRECTED BY M.T VASUDEVAN NAIR
Ans: KADAVU

Q? : THE LARGEST GLAND IN HUMAN BODY
Ans: LIVER

Q? : PERSON WHO HATES WOMAN
Ans: MISOGYNIST

Q? : INDIAS NATIONAL FLOWER
Ans: LOTUS

Q? : INSTRUMENT MEASURE HIGH TEMPERATURE
Ans: PYROMETER

Q? : DOCTRINE OF LAPSE
Ans: LORD DALHOUSIE

Q? : FIRST WAR OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
Ans: 1857

Q? : PARTITION OF BENGAL
Ans: 1905

Q? : UNIT OF LOUDNESS OF SOUND
Ans: DECIBEL

Q? : UNIT OF ELECTRIC CURRENT
Ans: AMPERE

Q? : STEAM ENGINE
Ans: JAMES WATT

Q? : RADIO ACTIVITY
Ans: HENTRY BECQUEREL

Q? : FIRST HEART TRANSPLANT OPERATON
Ans: CHRISTAIN BARNARD

Q? : THE FIRST INDIAN SATELLITE
Ans: ARYBHATTA

Q? : THE GOLDEN TEMPLE LOCATED AT
Ans: AMRITSAR

Q? : BULAND DARWAZA IS AT
Ans: FATHEHPUR SIKRI

Q? : INDIA - PAKISTHAN BOUNDARY LINE
Ans: RAD CLIFF LINE

Q? : FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN STARTED IN
Ans: 1951

Q? : INDIA EARNS MAX FOREIGN EXCHANGE FROM
Ans: TEA

Q? : TEN RUPEE NOTE BEARS THE SIGNATURE OF
Ans: RBI GOVERNOR

Q? : CURRENCY OF JAPAN
Ans: YEN

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Hosni Mubarak

2011-03-02T09:09:00.001-08:00

4th President of Egypt
Hosni Mubarak
Mubarak in 2009
In office 14 October 1981 – 11 February 2011
Prime Minister	Ahmad Fuad Mohieddin Kamal Hassan Ali Ali Lutfi Mahmud Atef Sedki Kamal Ganzouri Atef Ebeid Ahmed Nazif Ahmed Shafik
Vice President	Omar Suleiman
Preceded by	Sufi Abu Taleb (Acting)
Succeeded by	Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Acting)^[b]
Prime Minister of Egypt
In office 7 October 1981 – 2 January 1982
President	Sufi Abu Taleb (Acting)
Preceded by	Anwar El Sadat
Succeeded by	Ahmad Fuad Mohieddin
15th Vice President of Egypt
In office 16 April 1975 – 14 October 1981
President	Anwar El Sadat
Preceded by	Hussein el-Shafei
Succeeded by	Omar Suleiman^[a]
Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
In office 16 July 2009 – 11 February 2011
Preceded by	Raúl Castro
Succeeded by	TBD

Born	4 May 1928 (age 82) Kafr-El Meselha, Egypt
Birth name	Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak
Political party	National Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Suzanne Mubarak (1959–present)
Children	Alaa Mubarak Gamal Mubarak
Alma mater	Egyptian Military Academy Frunze Military Academy
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Egypt
Service/branch	Egyptian Air Force
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
a. ^ Office vacant from 14 October 1981 to 29 January 2011 b. ^ as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces

Mubarak was born on 4 May 1928, in Kafr-El-Meselha, Monufia Governorate, Egypt. Upon completion
of high school, he joined the Egyptian Military Academy, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Military Sciences in 1949.On 2 February 1949, Mubarak left the Military Academy and joined the Air Force Academy, gaining his commission as a pilot officer on 13 March 1950 and eventually receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Aviation Sciences. Hosni Mubarak is married to Suzanne Mubarak, and has two sons: Alaa and Gamal.

As an Egyptian Air Force officer, Mubarak served in various formations and units, including two years when he served in a Spitfire fighter squadron. Some time in the 1950s, he returned to the Air Force Academy, this time as an instructor, remaining there until early 1959. From February 1959 to June 1961, Mubarak pilot training school in Moscow and another at Kant Air Base, near Bishkek inKyrgyzstan (then a Soviet republic), an airfield that is today home to the Russian 5th Air Army's 999th Air Base.

Mubarak undertook training on the Ilyushin Il-28 and Tupolev Tu-16 jet bomber, and then joined the Frunze Military Academy in 1964. On his return to Egypt, Mubarak served in wing and then base commander appointments, taking up command of the Cairo West Air Base in October 1966 before briefly commanding the Beni Suef Air Base. In November 1967 Mubarak became the Air Force Academy's commander^[8] and two years later he became Chief of Staff for the Egyptian Air Force.

Mubarak became Commander of the Air Force and Egyptian Deputy Minister of Defence in 1972. In the following year his military career reached its pinnacle when he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in recognition of service during the October War of 1973. Mubarak has been credited in some publications for Egypt's initial strong performance in the 1973 war against Israel.. As Mubarak was only in post for about a year when the war erupted his role with the Egyptian airforces was disputed by many. Among those who disputed the role of Mubarak was the know Egyptian analyst Mohamed Hasanain Haikal, whose evaluation of the role of the airforce in 1973 was different from that of Mubarak and his supporters. Haikal, in a television interview dated February 19, 2011 argued that the airforce had mostly a psychological function to the Egyptian forces in 1973, providing blanket coverage for the ground troops that carried the crossing of Suez Canal. Haikal argued that this blanket coverage was for psychological reassurance to the ground troops, not due to any military necessity . The role of Mubarak was further disputed by Shahdan Elshazli the daughter of the former Egyptian military Chief of Staff Saad Eldin Elshazli. She alleged that Mubarak altered the representation of a number of events pertaining to the 1973 war to show a magnified role for himself. In an interview with the Egyptian independent newspaper Almasry Alyoum (Feb 26th 2011), Elshazli claimed that Mubarak altered documents to take credit for the initial success of the Egyptian forces in 1973 from her father. She alleged that even photographs pertaining to the discussions in the military command room were altered, so that the pictures of Saas Eldin Elshazli was erased and replaced by Mubarak. She stated that she intends to take a legal action with this regard

Vice President of Egypt

In addition, Mubarak was sent by Sadat to numerous meetings with foreign leaders. Mubarak's political significance as Vice-President can be seen from the fact that at a conversation held on 23 June 1975 between Foreign Minister Fahmy and US Ambassador Hermann Eilts, Fahmy said to Eilts that "Mobarek [sic] is, for the time being at least, likely to be a regular participant in all sensitive meetings" and he advised the Ambassador not to antagonize Mubarak, as he was Sadat's personal choice.As part of his support for Sadat's policies, he went in early September 1975 on a mission to Riyadh and Damascus, in order to convince the Saudi and Syrian governments to accept the disengagement agreement signed with the Israeli government ("Sinai II"), but was refused a meeting by the Syrian president.

President of Egypt

Following the assassination of President Sadat in October, 1981 by a Jihad cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli, Hosni Mubarak became the President of the Arabic Republic of Egypt, and the Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP). He was the longest serving President of Egypt, his term lasting 29 years.

Egypt's return to the Arab League

Mubarak in Berlin in 1989

Egypt is the only state in the history of the Arab League to have had its membership of the League suspended, due to President Sadat's peace treaty with Israel. However, in 1989, eight years afterSadat's assassination, Egypt was re-admitted as a full member, and the League's headquarters were relocated to their original location in Cairo.

Wars and the monetary gain from the Gulf War of 1991

Egypt was a member of the allied coalition in the 1991 Gulf War, and Egyptian infantry were some of the first to land in Saudi Arabia to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Reports that sums as large as $500,000 per soldier were paid or debt forgiven were published in the news media. According to The Economist:

The programme worked like a charm: a textbook case, says the IMF. In fact, luck was on Hosni Mubarak's side; when the US was hunting for a military alliance to force Iraq out of Kuwait, Egypt's president joined without hesitation. After the war, his reward was that America, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and Europe forgave Egypt around $14 billion of debt.

Assassination attempts

According to the BBC, Mubarak has survived six assassination attempts. In June 1995 there was an alleged assassination attempt involving noxious gases and Egyptian Islamic Jihad while he was in Ethiopia for a conference of the Organization of African Unity. Upon return Mubarak is said to have authorized bombings on Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya which by 1999 saw 20,000 persons placed in detention related to the revolutionary Islamic organizations. He was also reportedly injured by a knife-wielding assailant in Port Said in September 1999.

Stance on the invasion of Iraq in 2003President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 Iraq War, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should have been resolved first. He also claimed that the war would cause "100 Bin Ladens." However, as President he did not support an immediate US pull out from Iraq as he believes it will lead to probable chaos.

In July 2004 Mubarak accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and most of the cabinet. He then appointed Ahmed Nazif as the new Prime Minister. The new cabinet was generally viewed with optimism. Economic conditions were starting to improve considerably after a period of stagnation. The new cabinet headed by Ahmed Nazif had some success in overcoming the grim economic situation. The Egyptian stock market had the greatest percentage increase of all emerging markets for the fiscal year 2004/2005. However, unemployment persisted and Mubarak came under criticism for favoring big business and privatization as opposed to workers' rights. All this was a consequence of the wide use of privatization policy, by selling shares in most public sector companies, but it was widely believed that this reserve of previously nationalized capitals would end soon, leaving Nazif's government broke.

2005 elections

With the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, in 2003

With the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, in 2008

With the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, in 2009

President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999. The referendum in itself and its results are of questionable validity^[who?]. No one could run against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptianconstitution in which the People's Assembly played the main role in electing the President of the Republic.

After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament on 26 February 2005 to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005. Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.

The September 2005 ballot was therefore a multiple candidate election rather than a referendum, but the electoral institutions, and security apparatus remain under the control of the President. The official state media, including the three government newspapers and state television also express views identical to the official line taken by Mubarak. In recent years however, there has been a steady growth in independent news outlets, especially independent newspapers which occasionally criticize the President and his family severely^{[citation needed]}. Satellite channels beaming from Egypt such as the Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network for example, also exhibit relative openness as exhibited in their flagship program Al Qahira Al Yawm. In the last few years however, the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif has been somewhat successful in turning things around. According to the List of countries by Human Development Index Egypt ranks 111th out of 177 countries, and rates 0.702 on the index.

On 28 July 2005, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for 7 September 2005 involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections. Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for him. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote. On 8 September 2005, Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the El-Ghad Party ("Tomorrow party"), contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.

In a move widely seen as political persecution, Nour was convicted of forgery and sentenced to five years at hard labor on 24 December 2005. On the day of Nour's guilty verdict and sentencing, the White House Press Secretary released the following statement denouncing the government's action:

"The United States is deeply troubled by the conviction today of Egyptian politician Ayman Nour by an Egyptian court. The conviction of Dr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule of law. We are also disturbed by reports that Mr. Nour's health has seriously declined due to the hunger strike on which he has embarked in protest of the conditions of his trial and detention. The United States calls upon the Egyptian government to act under the laws of Egypt in the spirit of its professed desire for increased political openness and dialogue within Egyptian society, and out of humanitarian concern, to release Mr. Nour from detention."

According to Reporters Without Borders; Egyptian media ranks 133 out of 168 in freedom of the press, showing an improvement of 10 places from 2005.

State corruption during Mubarak's presidency

While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior rose dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency. Such corruption has led to the imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer is allowed to violate citizens' privacy in his area using unconditioned arrests due to the emergency law.

In 2005 Freedom House, a non-governmental organization that conduct research into democracy, reported that the Egyptian governments, under Mubarak expanded bureaucratic regulations, registration requirements, and other controls that feed corruption. Whenever Egyptians face such controls, money is what ultimately triggers the requisite signature or relevant approval. Compounding the normal bureaucratic culture is the state ownership of many or most of the primary economic levers - banking and financial institutions, tourism, oil, the Suez Canal, manufacturing, the media, and so on. Furthermore, government employees receive insufficient pay, while a decreasing minority of Egyptians achieve increasingly vast wealth, thus creating a growing income gap between the classes and causing the supposed middle class to be squeezed to the smallest minority between the rich and the poor. Freedom House claimed that corruption has remained a significant problem under Mubarak, who promised to do much, but in fact neither has done anything significant to tackle it effectively .

In 2010, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index report assessed Egypt with a CPI score of 3.1, based on perceptions of the degree of corruption from business people and country analysts, with 10 being very clean and 0 being highly corrupt. Egypt ranked 98th out of the 178 countries included in the report.

Emergency law rule

Egypt is a semi-presidential republic under Emergency Law (Law No. 162 of 1958) and has been since 1967, except for an 18-month break in 1980s (which ended with the assassination of Anwar Sadat). Under the law, police powers are extended, constitutional rightssuspended and censorship is legalized. The law sharply circumscribes any non-governmental political activity: street demonstrations, non-approved political organizations, and unregistered financial donations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people are detained under the law, and estimates of political prisoners run as high as 30,000. Under that "state of emergency", the government has the right to imprison individuals for any period of time, and for virtually no reason, thus keeping them in prisons without trials for any period. The government continues the claim that opposition groups like the Muslim Brotherhood could come into power in Egypt if the current government did not forgo parliamentary elections, confiscate the group's main financiers' possessions, and detain group figureheads, actions which are virtually impossible without emergency law and judicial-system independence prevention.Pro-democracy advocates in Egypt argue that this goes against the principles of democracy, which include a citizen's right to a fair trial and their right to vote for whichever candidate and/or party they deem fit to run their country.

Presidential succession

Gamal Mubarak, son of Hosni Mubarak

In 2009, US Ambassador Margaret Scobey reported uncertainty regarding presidential succession, stating "Despite incessant whispered discussions, no one in Egypt has any certainty about who will eventually succeed Mubarak nor under what circumstances." She listed likely candidates, saying, "The most likely contender is presidential son Gamal Mubarak (whose profile was ever-increasing at the ruling party, until that party collapsed during The Egyptian Revolution of 2011); some suggest that intelligence chief Omar Suleiman might seek the office, or dark horse Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa might run. Mubarak's ideal of a strong but fair leader would seem to discount Gamal Mubarak to some degree, given Gamal's lack of military experience, and may explain Mubarak's hands off approach to the succession question." President Mubarak and his son denied this, "saying [that] a multi-candidate electoral systemintroduced in 2005 has made the political process more transparent."Nigerian Tribune journalist Abiodun Awolaja described a would-be succession by Gamal Mubarak as a "hereditary pseudo-monarchy". Ambassador Scobey summarised Mubarak's vision of the presidential succession, stating, "Indeed, he seems to be trusting to God and the ubiquitous military and civilian security services to ensure an orderly transition." The National Democratic Party of Egypt continued to state that Hosni Mubarak was to be the party's only candidate to the 2011 Presedential Elections. Mubarak declared on February 1st 2011 that he had no intention to run in the presidential race at the end of 2011. When this declaration failed to ease the protests, Mubarak's vice president stated that Gamal Mubarak, the son, will not run for president. With the escalation of the demonstration and the fall of Mubarak, a former influential figure in the National Democratic Party Hamdy El-Sayed, claimed that Gamal Mubarak intended to forcibly take over his father's position, assisted in that by the then Interior Minister, Habib El-Adly.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hosni Mubarak is generally supportive of Israel. As he has been involved intensely in the Arab League, he has supported Arab efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region. The current position of the League is that which was endorsed at the Beirut Summit, on 28 March 2002. At the summit the league adopted the Arab Peace Initiative,^[43] a Saudi-inspired peace plan for the Arab–Israeli conflict. The initiative offered full normalization of the relations with Israel. In exchange, Israel was demanded to withdraw from all occupied territories, including the Golan Heights, to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a "just solution" for the Palestinian refugees. The Peace Initiative was again endorsed at 2007 in the Riyadh Summit. In July 2007, the Arab League sent a mission, consisting of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, to Israel to promote the initiative.

1 September 2010. During Middle East negotiations, Mubarak and Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu of Israel look at their watches to see if it is officially sunset; during Ramadan, Muslims fast until sunset.

On 19 June 2008, the Egypt-brokered "lull" or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The term "lull" is a translation of the Arabic term Tahdia. According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire.

The agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza. In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to 2005 levels, which was between 500 and 600 trucks per day. Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day.Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.

However, when conflict again ensued during the Gaza War, Egypt's foreign minister stated that Hamas had brought it upon itself.

In 2009, Mubarak's government banned the Cairo Anti-war Conference, which has criticised his lack of action against Israel.

Revolution and resignation

Main article: 2011 Egyptian revolution

A few hours prior to the resignation announcement, reports surfaced suggesting the ousted president and his immediate family had left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh.Mass protests against Mubarak and his regime erupted in Cairo and other Egyptian cities on 25 January 2011. On 1 February, Mubarak announced he would not contest the presidential electiondue in September. He also promised constitutional reform. This did not satisfy the majority of protesters as they expected Mubarak to depart immediately. The demonstrations continued and on 2 February, violent clashes occurred between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak protestors.Most of the pro-Mubarak protesters were found to be thieves and police in plain clothes inorder for them to do the dirty work as if the nation was split. This was recognized by Britain's minister On 10 February, contrary to rumours, Mubarak asserted that he would not resign until the September election, though he would be delegating responsibilities to Vice President Omar Suleiman. The next day, Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned. The announcement sparked cheers, flag-waving, and celebrations from protesters around Egypt.

Reports and speculations about condition following resignation

Since his resignation, Mubarak did not make any media appearance, which led to some speculations about his real condition. Some reports claimed that he went into a coma. Other suggest that because he is still present in Egypt he is still playing a role in the government in secret. Whether that is the case or not, the former President's presence in Sharm el-Sheikh is stopping much of the tourism that is going on there because of security reasons .

Mount Abu

2011-03-02T08:44:00.001-08:00

Mount Abu situated at a average height of 1,219 mtr's above sea level is the oasis in the deserted land of Rajasthan and posses the honor of being the only hill-station in Rajasthan as well as north-west India, The world famous tourist destination is known for its Delwara Jain temples and natural beauty world over, situated amidst lush green forested hills on the highest peak in the Aravali range is also the summer capital for the Indian state of Rajasthan, home to lakes, waterfalls and green forests, the hill retreat, has a very cool and soothing climate thanks to its rich flora covering the entire hillside that includes coniferous trees and flowering shrubs. Mount Abu with its word-class tourist facilities with hotels ranging from budget class to three star and heritage provides a great holiday escape and honeymoon attraction. Every year more then three million national and international tourists visit mount abu enjoying its scenic beauty, rich flora & fauna as well as the marble art of delwara jain temples.

Mount Abu is declared closed area since 1965. Although, complete area of 328 sq. km. of Abu Hills is declared protected but officially 112.98 sq. km. is under unnotified sanctuary area (Anon., 2003). In shape, Mt. Abu Wildlife Sanctuary is long and narrow but the top spreads out into a picturesque plateau, which is about 19 km in length and 5-8 km in breadth. Once home to the meditating rishi and munis, the legend has it that Mount Abu is home to 33 crore Gods and Goddess. According to the legend the name Abu means son of Himalayas (or Ar-Booda, "the hill of wisdom"), deriving its name from Arbuada - the powerful serpent, which rescued Nandi the sacred bull of Lord Shiva. Mount Abu has been home, to many rishis and munis (sages and saints), including the famous Rishi Vashishtha, who is believed to have created four Agnikul Rajput clans, from a fire- pit, by performing a yagna or fire sacrifice, to protect the earth from the demons.

In historic times, Mount Abu was leased by the The East-India Company (British empire) from the Maharajah of Sirohi, Mount Abu was used as the headquarters for the resident of Rajputana until 1947, and as a sanatorium for troops.

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly

2011-03-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

Personal Information

Full name	Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
Born	8 July 1972 (age 38) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Nickname	The God of the Off Side,^[1] The Prince of Calcutta, The Maharaja, Dada
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Right arm medium
Role	Batsman
Relations	Snehasish Ganguly (broth )

International information

National side	India
Test debut (cap 207)	20 June 1996 v England
Last Test	6 November 2008 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 84)	11 January 1992 v West Indies
Last ODI	15 November 2007 v Pakistan

Domestic team information

Years	Team
1989/90–2009/10	Bengal
2000	Lancashire
2005	Glamorgan
2006	Northamptonshire
2008–2010	Kolkata Knight Riders

Career statistics

Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	113	311	242	426
Runs scored	7,212	11,363	14,933	15,278
Batting average	42.17	41.02	43.92	41.51
100s/50s	16/35	22/72	31/85	31/94
Top score	239	183	239	183
Balls bowled	3,117	4,561	10,968	7,949
Wickets	32	100	164	168
Bowling average	52.53	38.49	36.82	38.41
5 wickets in innings	0	2	4	2
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	3/28	5/16	6/46	5/16
Catches/stumpings	71/–	100/–	166/–	129/–
Source: CricketArchive, 28 February 20

DETAIlS INFORMATION

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (Bengali: সৌরভ গাঙ্গুলী)( pronunciation (help·info)) (born 8 July 1972) is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He started his career by playing in state and school teams. Currently, he is the 5th highest run scorer in ODIs and was the 5th person in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark and only the 2nd Indian to cross that landmark after Sachin Tendulkar. Wisden ranked him the sixth greatest one day international (ODI) batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan. ^[2]
After a series of plays in different Indian domestic tournaments such as the Ranji and Duleep trophies, Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Ganguly's place in the team was assured after successful performances in series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, winning the Man of the Match awards. In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he was involved in a partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid, which remains the highest overall partnership score in the World Cup tournament history.
Due to the match-fixing scandals in 2000 by other players of the team, and for his poor health, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar resigned his position, and Ganguly was made the captain of the Indian cricket team. He soon received media criticism after an unsuccessful stint for county side Durham and for taking off his shirt in the final of the 2002 Natwest Trophy. He led India into the 2003 World Cup final, where they were defeated by Australia. Due to a decrease in individual performance, he was dropped from the team in the following year. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest awards. He returned to the National team in 2006, and had successful batting displays. Around this time, he became involved in a dispute with Indian team coach Greg Chappell over several misunderstandings. Ganguly was again dropped from the team, however he was selected to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Ganguly joined the Kolkata Knight Riders team as captain for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in 2008. The same year, after a home Test series against Australia, he announced his retirement from cricket. After his retirement, Ganguly continued to play for the Bengal team and was appointed the chairman of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Cricket Development Committee. The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International (ODI) batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. He is India's one of the most successful Test Captain to date, winning 21 out of 49 test matches. An aggressive Captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him.

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi

2010-05-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

(Nov. 19, 1917, Allahabad; d. Oct. 31, 1984, New Delhi), in full Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi , politician who served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966-77) and a fourth term (1980-84). She was assassinated by Sikh extremists.

Born to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, and Kamla Nehru, Indira attended the Vishva-Bharati University, West Bengal, and the University of Oxford, in England. In 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (d. 1960), a journalist and a fellow member of the Indian National Congress. Elected to the largely honorary post of party president in 1959, she had been a member of the working committee of the ruling Congress Party from 1955. Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru as Prime Minister in 1964, named her minister of information and broadcasting in his government.

On Shastri's sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi became leader of the Congress Party (and thus also prime minister) in a compromise between the right and left wings of the party. Her leadership, however, came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party, led by a former minister of finance, Morarji Desai. Winning on a slim majority in the election of 1967, she had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister. Triumphing on a sweeping electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties in 1971, Gandhi strongly supported East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in its secessionist conflict with Pakistan in late 1971, and India's armed forces achieved a swift and decisive victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

After India's victory over Pakistan in March 1972, Gandhi once again led her New Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections. Charged by her Socialist opponent for violating the election laws, on June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her, which meant that she would be deprived of her seat in Parliament and would have to stay out of politics for six years. Retaliating, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned her political opponents, and assumed emergency powers, passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. During this period she implemented several unpopular policies, including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth control. When long-postponed national elections were held in 1977, Gandhi and her party were soundly defeated, and the Janata Party took over the reins of government.

Spliting from the Congress Party in early 1978, she and her supporters formed the Congress (I) - "I" for "Indira" - Party. Gandhi was also briefly imprisoned (October 1977 and December 1978) on charges of official corruption. Regardless of these setbacks, she won a new seat in Parliament in November 1978, and her Congress (I) Party began to gather strength. Dissension within the ruling Janata Party led to the fall of its government in August 1979. The January 1980 Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) elections saw Gandhi and her Congress (I) Party sweep back into power in a landslide victory. Her son, Sanjay Gandhi, who had become her chief political adviser, also won a seat in the Lok Sabha. All legal cases against Indira, as well as against her son, were withdrawn.

But, Sanjay Gandhi's death in an airplane crash in June 1980 eliminated Indira's chosen successor to the political leadership of India and Indira started grooming her other son, Rajiv, for the leadership of her party. During the early 1980s, Indira Gandhi was faced by threats to the political integrity of India. Coveting a larger measure of independence from the central government, the Sikh extremists in Punjab used violence to assert their demands for an autonomous state. In response, Gandhi ordered an army attack in June 1984 on the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the Sikhs' holiest shrine, which led to the deaths of more than 450 Sikhs. Five months later Gandhi was assasinated in her garden by a fusillade of bullets fired by two of her own Sikh bodyguards in revenge for the attack on the Golden Temple.

Adhering to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development started by her father, Indira Gandhi established closer relations with the Soviet Union, depending on that nation for support in India's longstanding conflict with Pakistan.

AMITABH BACHCHAN

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megastar of Indian cinema, who continues to dominate the Hindi film industry over three decades after he made his debut.

Born to renowned Hindi poet Harivansh Rai, Bachchan studied at Sherwood College, Nainital, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi. A former stage actor, radio announcer, and freight company executive in Shaw Wallace, Calcutta, Bachchan shifted base to Bombay (now Mumbai), making his acting debut in Saat Hindustani (1969), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. However, it was not until the commercial success of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand (1970) that the nation sat up and took notice of this gawky, gangly youngster who was soon to become a one-man industry. The Bachchan screen persona - that of the angry young man - evolved in the mid-1970s with his roles in Zanjeer (1973), Deewar (1975), and Sholay (1975). It was this persona that was responsible for most of his big hits - Trishul ( 1978), Muqaddar ka Sikandar (1978), Kala Patthar (1979), and Shakti (1982).

The comic Chupke Chupke (1975) and the romantic Kabhi Kabhi (1976) provide a glimpse of the actor's versatility. The Bachchan magic held sway until the late 1980s but after Shahenshah (1987) his popularity went into sharp decline. The early 1990s, however, did see him deliver three significant hits - Agneepath (1990), Hum (1991), and Khuda Gawah (1992). After a self-imposed break from films, Bachchan sought to make a comeback with Mrityudaata (1997), but the film and several subsequent, rather feeble, attempts, including the much-hyped Major Saab (1998), failed to recapture the box office clout of his past glory.

Bachchan bounced back in 2000, hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati , the Indian version of the American television series Who Wants To Be A Millionaire . Following its phenomenal success, Bachchan was back in demand for endorsements, advertisements, as well as movies. He has had a series of hits including Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), Baghban (2003), Khakhi (2004), Black (2005), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Viruddh (2005), and Sarkar (2005).

Apart from winning 14 awards in various categories in the popularity-based Filmfare Awards, Bachchan has claimed the National Award three times: for Saat Hindustani (Best Newcomer) in 1970, for Agneepath (Best Actor) in 1991, and for Black (Best Actor) in 2006.

With his films reinforcing his larger-than-life persona, Bachchan has achieved an iconic status. He was voted as the millennium's biggest superstar in an online BBC poll in 1999. In recognition of his contribution in the field of performing arts, the Indian government honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1985 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005.

Bachchan was briefly member of the Indian Parliament, elected from Allahabad in 1984. Married to actress Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan), he has two children, daughter Shweta and son Abhishek, who is also a well-known actor.

SAARC

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In full South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation , organization of South Asian nations, founded on December 8, 1985 and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasizing collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal, meetings of heads of state are scheduled annually and their foreign secretaries convene twice annually. SAARC provides a platform for the peoples of South Asia to work together to accelerate the process of economic and social development in member states.

The stated areas of cooperation are agriculture and forestry, health and population, meteorology, rural development, telecommunications, transport, science and technology, postal services, women in development, drug trafficking and abuse, sports, and arts and culture. Other concerns, such as tourism and terrorism, however, have also been targeted. The charter stipulates that decisions are to be unanimous and that "bilateral and contentious issues" are to be avoided.

ABDUL KALAM (A.P.J)

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(b. Oct. 15, 1931, Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu), Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, , eminent defence scientist, and the man responsible for building India's missile muscle. Dr. Kalam was India's eleventh president from 2002 to 2007.

Kalam was born to a Tamil Muslim family. His father rented boats to fishermen to pay his school fees at St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. After completing school, Kalam studied aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology. He began his career in 1958, at the Defence

Research and Development Organization (DRDO). From there, in 1962, he moved on to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where he led several landmark projects, includingone to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), with which the 35-kg Rohini I satellite was positioned in the near earth orbit in July 1980, making India one of the world's few developing countries to join the space club.

After 19 years at ISRO, Kalam returned to the DRDO to take charge of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme in 1982. Under his leadership, ISRO indigenously developed and operationalized several strategic short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, including Agni and Prithvi. Due to his success in consolidating India's missile repertoire, he is often referred to as the "Missile Man of India".

In 1998, Kalam was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He was earlier awarded the Padma Vibhushan (1990) and Padma Bhushan (1981).

From 1992 to 1999, Kalam was scientific adviserto the Department of Defence Research and Development, and later principal scientific adviser to the Government of India from 1999 to 2001. Among his various visionary strategies and missions in this period were the weaponization of strategic missile systems, the self-reliance of defence systems (through missionprojects such as development of light combat aircraft), and the Pokhran II nuclear tests, rendering India a nuclear weapon state. Kalam was also ex-officio chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet and led the formulation of the India Millennium Mission 2020. As chairman of the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council, he helped draw up "Technology Vision 2020", a road map to transition India from developing to developed nation. Appointed professor of technology

A multifaceted personality, Kalam has written several books, including India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium (2002), Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power within India (2003), and the autobiographical Wings of Fire (1999), which have been widely acclaimed and translated into several languages. He is accomplished at playing the rudra veena and is interested in poetry, especially that of poet-saint Tiruvalluvar and nationalist writer Subrahmanya C. Bharati. In fact, Kalam too has a collection of poems to his credit, titled The Life Tree (2005). Kalam has received honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions.

IDIOMS

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Hobson's choice -- Acept or leave the offer

Up & doing -- Eagar to do a work

Pine away -- Become very sick & weak

null &void -- Having no legal force

In the teeth of -- Aginst

In the red -- Enrich

Under a cloud -- disfavor

To & fro -- looking around

Beside the mark -- Irrelevsnt

At sixes & sevens -- Disorder

By dint of -- By help of

To a degree -- Excessively

To the utmost of -- My best

Tooth & Nail -- Strongly

At one's arm's length -- Keep a distance

At a pinch -- Discount

At a low ebb -- decreasing

A Blu stocking -- learnt woman

Under to the mark -- besides

CITY AND CALLED

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Rose Pink City - Jaipur (Rajastan)
Garden City - Bangalore (Karnataka)
Diamond City - Surat (Gujarat)
Egg city - Namakkal (Tamilnadu)
Lake City - Udaipur (Rajastan)
Sun City - Jodhpur (Rajastan)
City of Palaces - Kolkata (West Bengal)
Bangle City - Hyderabad (Andra Pradesh)
Golden City - Jaisalmer(Rajastan)
City of Dawn - Auroville (Pondichery)
White City - Udaipur (Rajastan)
City of golden Temple - amritsar (Punjab)
Twin Cities - Hyderabad and Secundarabad(Andra pradesh)
Pearl City - Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)
Weavers city - Panipat (Haryana)
Temple City - Bhuvaneswar (Orissa)
Sandal Wood City - Mysore (Karnataka)
City of Blood - Tezpur (Assam)
Orange City - Nagpur (Maharashtra)
City of seven Islands - Mumbai (Maharashtra)