WorldToday

Mammootty chief guest at IFFI closing ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:10:28 PST

Mammootty would be the chief guest at the concluding session of the prestigious International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

It is another feather on Mammooka’s cap, as normally only Bollywood stars are given the honor by the organisers to be present at the valedictory function.
It also shows the growing influence of Malayalam films at the national level.
Mammootty is on a roll as two of his finest movies are getting screened at IFFI starting on November 23.
His Kutty Sranku will be premièred for the first time in India at the Indian Panorama section and the stars critically acclaimed box-office hit Pazhassi Raja will only be screened at the festival.

Dravid joins 11,000 Test run club

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:19:30 PST

Senior batsman Rahul Dravid on Monday added another feather to his cap by becoming the second Indian, fifth overall, to score 11,000 runs in Test cricket.

Dravid went into the three-match series against Sri Lanka needing 177 runs to reach the milestone and he achieved it in
the opening day itself with an unbeaten 177.

It was an elegant innings that not only earned him an individual record but also came at a time when the team needed
it most.

Dravid's moment of glory came in the 89th over when he cut pacer Chanaka Welegedara for a single at deep point and he
raised his bat in acknowledgment of the cheers at the Sardar Patel Stadium.

The Karnataka batsman now joins the elite list which has compatriot Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 12,777 runs in
Test cricket.

West Indies batting great Brain Lara is second in the list with 11,953 runs from 131 matches, followed by the
Australian duo of Ricky Ponting (11,345 runs from 136 Tests) and Alan Border (11,174 runs in 156 matches).

Nicknamed as 'The wall', Dravid has an awe-inspiring Test career where he scored 27 hundreds and 57 half-centuries
at an average of 53.39 in 135 Tests.

The 36-year-old batsman also has a whopping 10,765 runs from 339 ODIs at a average of 39.43 where he scored 12 hundreds and 82 fifties.

Meanwhile, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni crossed 2,000 runs in Tests cricket in company of Dravid. Dhoni reached the mark during the course of his second Test century.

Gambhir and Dhoni win ICC top awards

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:29:01 PDT

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year at a pleasant ceremony here on Thursday.

“It’s been a dream run for me. It’s wonderful to be a part of the Indian team and contribute to its success,” the left-handed opener said after receiving the award from Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was adjudged the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, while Mitchell Johnson won the Cricketer of the Year award.

Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan was adjudged the ICC Twenty20 International Performer of the Year. Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 off 57 balls against the West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal at The Oval clinched it for the aggressive batsman.

The awards were given away for performances between August 2008 and August 2009.

The winners were selected by an elite panel that included Clive Lloyd, Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar, Stephen Fleming and Bob Taylor.

Dilshan said, “It is great to receive the award from Yuvraj Singh. I can not forget the innings against the West Indies. My career changed after I began to open the innings.”

About his innovative scoop shot over the ’keeper off pacemen, Dilshan said, “I first tried it during the IPL. It enabled me put pressure on the bowlers.”

Rahul Dravid announced Australia’s Peter Siddle as the ICC Emerging Player of the Year. The Aussie paceman said, “We are a young pack, myself, Mitchell (Johnson) and Ben (Hilfenhaus). We helped each other, enjoyed each other’s company.”

Kiwis claim award

New Zealand bagged the Spirit of Cricket award. Receiving the prize from Haroon Lorgat, CEO, ICC, Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori said, “There is so much scrutiny on the game these days. Every time we step on the field, we play the game in the right spirit. Maybe we are a little bit too nice!”

Pakistan’s Aleem Dar walked away with the Umpire of the Year prize. Simon Taufel of Australia had won the honour on four occasions.

Ireland captain William Porterfield was named the ICC Associate Nations’ Cricketer of the Year.

The ICC Test team of the Year: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), G. Gambhir, A. Strauss, A.B. de Villiers, S. Tendulkar, T. Samaraweera, M. Clarke, Shakib-ul-Hasan, M. Johnson, S. Broad, and D. Steyn; 12th man: Harbhajan Singh.

ODI team of the Year: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Yuvraj Singh, Martin Guptill, Andrew Flintoff, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ajantha Mendis and Umar Gul; 12th man:Thilan Thushara.

Ponting's three-word recipe for Trophy success

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:25:47 PDT

CENTURION, South Africa — Skipper Ricky Ponting needed only three words to explain why Australia crushed England by nine wickets and qualified for the Champions Trophy final here Monday.

"Respect every ball," was the message the 34-year-old leader drilled into his team-mates at SuperSport Park Friday before the eighth ODI clash between the countries in the last two months.

And this was the most humiliating of seven England losses with Australia scoring 258-1 off 41.5 overs to surpass the 257 of England in 47.4 overs that owed much to 80 runs from bowler Tim Bresnan after a top-order implosion.

This was not a match, nor even a mismatch. It was a massacre as Ponting (111 not out) and man-of-the-match Shane Watson (136 not out) created a record Australian one-day partnership.

Now the world champions are just one match away from becoming the first country to successfully defend a competition that brought the best eight countries to South Africa for a mini-World Cup.

Pakistan, beaten by a last-ball Aussie bye in the group stage, are favoured to defeat New Zealand at the Wanderers in the other semi-final later Saturday and set up a potentially fascinating climax.

"I told my boys to take nothing for granted against England - to respect every ball. We were pretty good and very good with the bat," Ponting told reporters.

"We were really looking forward to this game because playing in the big ones is what it is all about. We stood up and got the job done and now we look forward to getting our heads together before the final."

Tasmanian Ponting always seems uncomfortable when his personal achievements are raised and it was no different in Centurion after being quizzed about his latest milestone.

When one of the great skippers struck a boundary by pulling Graham Onions to deep square, he became only the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar of India and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka to amass 12,000 ODI runs.

"It is a nice achievement, but I had no idea before the game how many runs I had scored. I hit runs for my country and when my career is over I can reflect on the successes," he said.

Ponting preferred to laud Watson, who began the Champions Trophy with ducks against the West Indies and India, before getting into the groove by scoring 24 off the Pakistani bowlers.

"Shane has been through a lean patch but is peaking at the right time. He and I went through a few critical overs before the runs started to flow," admitted Ponting of the star who also snapped up two wickets.

England skipper Andrew Strauss offered no excuses despite the absence of injured bowler Stuart Broad, who took 10 wickets in three group games, and virus-struck wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

"This was a thoroughly professional job from Australia. Shane and Ricky battled magnificently well after we fell about 40 runs short of the total needed to be competitive on that track," he confessed.

Fossilised eggs found in Tamil Nadu belonged to large dinosaur species

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:17:56 PDT

Indian geologists have found a cluster of dinosaur eggs, said to be about 65 million years old, in a village in Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu, media reports said.

“We found layer upon clusters of spherical eggs and body parts of dinosaur and each cluster contained eight eggs,” M U Ramkumar, geologist at Periyar University in Salem who led a survey team, told reporters on Thursday.

The eggs, each about 13 to 20 cm in diameter and lying in sandy nests about 1.2 metre wide, were discovered during a study funded by Indian and German scientific institutions.

The clusters were under ash from volcanic eruptions on the Deccan plateau and geologists said the eruptions might have caused the dinosaurs to become extinct.

The nesting site, about two sq km in area and located at northeast of Ariyalur, was found along the banks and channel bottom of streams in the Cauvery basin. The stream section was found having clusters of fossilised eggs, casts of eggs, dung and bone remains of dinosaurs.

“Occurrences of unhatched eggs in large numbers at different stratigraphic levels indicate that the dinosaurs kept returning to the same site for nesting,” Mr. Anbarasu, another team member pointed out.

Mr Ramkumar said: "We submitted the photographs of these eggs to a research centre at Pudiyarturiyal in India and to Dr. Kelmer of the International Dinosaur Research Centre. We have received details from all the research centres confirming these as dinosaur eggs."

“Since we lack facilities for further study, we are collaborating with the scientists in the U.S., Germany and Switzerland to study the fossils in the site. We will also be submitting a paper based on our research to the international journals such as Nature,” Mr. Ramkumar added.

The researchers have requested the Ariyalur district administration to cordon off the site since a similar discovery in Jabalpur led to a plunder of the fossilized treasure.

- Asian Tribune -

Death Toll Rising from South Pacific Tsunami

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:35:24 PDT

Authorities say the death toll has risen to more than 110 after a powerful undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit South Pacific islands.

The majority of the fatalities occurred in Samoa, where rescue workers say at least 84 people have been killed.

Another 24 people are confirmed dead on American Samoa, while at least seven fatalities have been reported in nearby Tonga.

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says he is shocked by the devastation. He added "so many people are gone."

Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in American Samoa and is sending federal aid to support local recovery efforts in the U.S. territory.

In a Wednesday statement, Mr. Obama also said the U.S. is ready to assist "friends" in Samoa and the neighboring region.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 struck early Tuesday local time.

They say it generated waves that devastated coastal areas, knocked down buildings and sent cars floating out to sea.

Strong aftershocks followed the initial earthquake, with at least one measuring a magnitude 5.6. Tsunami alerts were issued for the entire South Pacific region but were later canceled.

Survivors fled to high ground and stayed there for hours.

Several villages were destroyed on the southern Samoan coast of Upolu, which is also home to many tourist resorts.

At the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, the tsunami measured 1.57 meters in height. The superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa (Mike Reynolds) reported four waves as high as six meters.

People who experienced the quake said it was long, lasting from 90 seconds to three minutes.

Reliance, Airtel, Infosys, TCS in Forbes Asia's 50 Best

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:13:57 PDT

Washington, Sep 24 (IANS) Reliance Industries (RIL), Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services are among the 13 Indian companies that have made it to the list of Forbes' 50 Best companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

'Our list is a mix of giant, established companies this year which includes Australian miner BHP Billiton, Hong Kong conglomerate Noble Group and Indian oil and gas heavyweight RIL - and smaller outfits such as Agile Property Holdings, Anhui Conch Cement and Digital China Holdings,' Forbes Asia said in a statement.

The Forbes list has four Indian entities - RIL(2), Bharti Airtel (4), Infosys Technologies (8) and Tata Consultancy Services (10) - among the top ten firms in terms of market value, while RIL and Tata Steel feature in the top ten league in terms of sales.

The Indian league has four newcomers this year - Adani Enterprises (46), Axis Bank (36), Jindal Steel & Power (25) and Tata Consultancy Services (10) - and among the Indian firms returning to the list include Bharat Heavy Electricals (11), Larsen & Toubro (13) and RIL(2).

Other Indian companies on the list are Wipro (18), HDFC Bank (22), Tata Steel (32) and Mahindra & Mahindra (41).

China has again outdone the rest of the Asia Pacific with the most number of firms (16) represented in the league, followed by India with 13 entities.

'The mainland firms together with five from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong account for almost half of the entries, giving Greater China the biggest regional representation on the list,' Forbes said.

The list included companies that have revenue and market capitalisation of at least $3 billion and a five year record of operating profitability and return on equity.

The other criteria for being in the list include long term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation, projects earnings, quality of management and entrepreneurial skills.

U.S : : Children under 10 need 2 doses of A/H1N1 vaccine

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:52:01 PDT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Children under age 10 would need two doses of the A/H1N1 vaccine while children ages 10 and older would need just one shot, a U.S. health official said Monday.

Early trials show that younger children are not having a robust immune reaction to the A/H1N1 flu vaccine, and that they would likely need to have their doses 21 days apart, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Protection kicks in for older children within eight to 10 days of the shot, just like it does for adults, Fauci said. These results were similar to those recently reported in the clinical trials of healthy adults.

"This is very encouraging news," Fauci announced. "As we had hoped, responses to the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine are very similar to what we see with routinely used seasonal influenza vaccines made in the same way."

It seems likely that the A/H1N1 flu vaccine will require just one 15-microgram dose for children 10 to 17 years of age, he added.

Fauci said these were welcome results, as the A/H1N1 flu was causing widespread infections among children.

The vaccine being tested in this trial is manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur Inc. Like inactivated seasonal flu vaccines, the vaccine contains a purified part of a killed virus and cannot cause flu.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved four vaccines against the A/H1N1 flu virus on Sept. 15. The vaccines are made by CSL Ltd., MedImmune LLC, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Ltd., and Sanofi Pasteur Inc. All four firms produce the vaccines using the same process, and have a long record of producing safe seasonal influenza vaccines.

The U.S. government has ordered 195 million doses of A/H1N1 vaccine from the five drug makers.

Chinese are working to an India centric plan

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:55:55 PDT

A day after India downplayed the China threat, calling it a media creation, CNN-IBN has access to a confidential intelligence note that suggests that Beijing is acting on a definite military plan on the border.

“There is no mutually agreed or delineated line of actual control between the two countries,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said underscoring why intrusions take place.

According to the Government, no defined border exists and the armies of both countries follow a vague and illogical line where hostilities ceased in 1962.

But the perils of this situation cannot be minimised. A confidential intelligence note with CNN-IBN suggests the Chinese are working to an India centric plan:

In Arunachal Pradesh, the behaviour of Chinese troops has become more aggressive. Border pillars in some areas have been deliberately broken and bunkers have been built on the Indian side of the McMahon Line.

Opposite Sikkim's eastern border a new highway and permanent army structures have come up. Chinese forces are now positioned to cut the strategic Siliguri corridor in India in the event of hostilities.

A joint command of the Lanzhou Military Region opposite Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Chengdu Military Region opposite India's North-east have come up.

From Tibet, China can airlift 20,000 troops to anywhere along the frontiers with India in two hours.

By comparison the infrastructure in India's north-east remains poor. A key highway in Arunachal Pradesh has only now received environment clearance. In Ladakh, the pace of road construction linking key points along the Line of Actual Control is laggard and Chushul remains without an all-weather road link.

The only silver lining here is that hostilities of any kind could rebound on China. It would confirm suspicions about Beijing's intentions and reinforce moves in South-East and North-East Asia to form powerful new coalitions against the expansion of Chinese power.

Microsoft to business users: deploy Windows 7 now!

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:56:23 PDT

Microsoft has once again started pushing for business users to deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The company also unveiled that Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 is coming in late October.

Windows 7 may be set for an October 22 consumer release, but Microsoft is starting to push businesses towards the idea of deploying the operating system now, since they already have access to it. In a post titled "No need to wait—begin your Windows 7 deployment now!" on the Windows for your Business blog, Microsoft lays out its rationale.

"Deployments are happening right now and your company can begin deployment as well! Several of our early adopters are already having great success with Windows 7... We are happy to see so much excitement from early Windows 7 adopters, showing the real value Windows 7 provides enterprises... Now is the time to begin testing and deploying Windows 7 with MDOP and Windows Server 2008 R2!"

While that was the main message Redmond wants IT to hear, it also had an announcement to make. A 2009 R2 version of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), a set of desktop management tools that is designed to make it easier for IT managers and system administrators to manage and maintain large PC environments, is slated for release in late October 2009. In the new version, server and management components will support Windows Server 2008 R2 while Windows 7 support will be available for all components except for Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V). MED-V 1.0 will support Windows 7 via SP1, slated for the first quarter of 2010.

In addition, Microsoft also took the time in the blog post to outline key Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) findings from studies of three enterprise customer deployments: 2,200 users at Baker Tilly (Professional Services - UK), 2,235 users for the City of Miami (Local Government - US), and 14,300 users at Getronics (IT Services - Netherlands). If your setup is similar to any of these, Microsoft wants you to check out the studies to see the savings you can be making by moving to Windows 7.

Microsoft also referred to findings from Forrester Research, which surveyed over 318 senior IT decision makers and C- level IT executives in the US, Germany, and Japan (78 percent of respondents had over 500 PCs) to take a closer look at what the challenges are for enterprises today. Again the key findings are in the blog post, but the general gist is that costs are increasing each year. Microsoft's answer to this problem is of course to deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 using MDOP.

Microsoft began to urge business users to forget about Windows 2000 and Windows XP with the launch of the Windows for your Business blog in February 2009. Microsoft's announcement today to push out a new version of MDOP next month is great news for businesses, and shows that Microsoft really wants them to upgrade, given that MDOP 2009 was released just a few months ago in April 2009.

There have been more recent related developments, too. Two weeks ago, Microsoft posted a 90-day trial of Windows 7 Enterprise on TechNet. Last week, the company released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010, which is optimized to support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 deployments, and has built-in capabilities to support customers migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Tendulkar's record-breaking run continues

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:56:42 PDT

Statistical highlights of the ODI tri-series final between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo.

# Sachin Tendulkar's 133-ball 138 is his highest against Sri Lanka. The hundred is also his highest in a final and his 44th overall.

# Tendulkar became the first player to have recorded eight hundreds against two nations -- Australiaand Sri Lanka.

# Tendulkar, in the course of the knock, became the first visiting batsman to aggregate 1,000 runs at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.

# Tendulkar also top-scored in the series and received his 14th Player of the series award.

# Tendulkar, with another Man of the Match award against Sri Lanka, has taken his tally to 59 in ODIs -- the most received by any player.

# Sanath Jayasuriya is now the only batsman in ODIs to make 2500 runs at one venue, aggregating 2514 (ave. 38.67), including four centuries and 19 fifties, in 71 matches at Colombo RPS.

# Sangakkara became the seventh skipper to be dismissed 'hit wicket'. Australia's Allan Border has recorded this dubious distinction twice.

# Kandamby's excellent knock of 66 off 94 balls is his third fifty against India -- his fourth in ODIs.

# Kandamby has recorded two fifties in a row for the first time. He had recorded a match-winning innings of an unbeaten 91 off 73 balls against India at Colombo RPS on September 12, 2009.

# After winning the Independence Cup in 1998 and Singer Cup in 1994, India have registered their third championship win (Compaq Cup) in Sri Lanka.

# Harbhajan has registered his third five-wicket haul in an innings.

# Harbhajan (5 for 56) has recorded his best figures on foreign soil, bettering the 4 for 46 against Sri Lanka at Bristol on July 11, 2002.

# India (319 for five) posted their highest innings total against Sri Lanka in a Grand Final. Only once they have recorded more runs in a tournament final -- 326 for 8 against England in the NatWest series at Lord's seven years ago.

# In terms of runs conceded in an innings, Lasith Malinga (10-0-81-1), has recorded his worst figures.

# Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captain's knock of 56 off 62 balls is his 32nd half-century in ODIs. The said knock is his 11th against Sri Lanka.

# Against Sri Lanka, Dhoni enjoys an excellent record of 1298 runs in 34 matches at an average of 61.80 at a strike rate of 90.70.

# Yuvraj Singh's brilliant knock of 56 off 41 balls is his 41st fifty in ODIs -- his eighth against Sri Lanka.

# Harbhajan Singh became the third Indian bowler after Anil Kumble and Ashish Nehra to take five wickets or more in innings in a tournament final.

Vintage Tendulkar | hits ton against Srilanka

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:58:27 PDT

Colombo: Cometh the hour, cometh Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. On a glorious sunny after noon at Colombo when entire world questioned India’s one night stand at the top, Tendulkar scripted a fairy tale century to give a foundation from where Team India looked like creating a history in emerald islands.

India managed to score 180/1 at the end of 32nd over, a foundation which puts India in great position to lift the tri-series in Lanka.

Earlier, India strolled past the 150 runs mark in the 27th over as they tightened their grip firmly on the final.

MS Dhoni, who came in at the fall of Rahul Dravid’s wicket continued the good work along with Sachin Tendulkar as India pulverized the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Sanath Jayasuriya provided Sri Lanka with the all important breakthrough as he removed Rahul Dravid after India got off to a brilliant start.

Dravid was caught by Dilshan at short extra cover as he tried to hit a slow paced delivery from the veteran Sri Lankan. Dravid made 39 including 2 fours and a six.

Helped by Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant half-ton, India took control of the Compaq Cup final being played here on Monday. The Tendulkar-Dravid opening duo ensured that the visitors kept the scoreboard ticking with some brilliant display of aggressive and sensible batting.

Tendulkar’s 92nd ODI fifty came in just 47 balls and included 6 sparkling shots past the boundary ropes.

The experienced pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid took the Indians off to a good start after the visitors elected to bat first in the final of the tri-series.

Both Tendulkar and Dravid were looking solid as they took India past the 50 run mark in just the 7 over.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first in the final of the Compaq Cup 2009 here on Monday.

The Indians have brought in Virat Kohli in place of Dinesh Karthik while Sri Lanka are playing the same eleven that thrashed the Indians on Saturday.

The Indians will be opening with Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara(w/c), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedera, Thilina Kandamby, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga

India: Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma

Gambhir ruled out of tri-series with groin injury

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:22:35 PDT

Gautam Gambhir will miss the Compaq Cup after straining a groin muscle, the Indian board announced on Thursday. He has been advised 10 days' rest, and is returning from Sri Lanka ahead of the tri-series.

The selectors will announce his replacement later in the day, the BCCI statement said, and he will join the squad on Friday, the day India play their first game of the tournament.

Two of the possible contenders for Gambhir's slot, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, undergoing rehabilitation for shoulder injuries. M Vijay is another possible replacement. Gambhir is expected to report at the NCA for assessment and rehabilitation.

Gambhir's injury means India will be without two of their three established openers in Sri Lanka: Virender Sehwag is already out with shoulder injury and will miss the Champions Trophy too. Gambhir's replacement notwithstanding, Dinesh Karthik, who opened in the ODIs in the West Indies in the absence of Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, is in the squad and likely to make the starting XI.

India will desperately want Gambhir back in time for the Champions Trophy, where they play their first match on September 26, against Pakistan in Centurion. They would ideally want at least a week's acclimatisation in South Africa, which means there will be a degree of risk involved should India take Gambhir to the Champions Trophy. It will be a tricky decision to make, because one such choice recently went wrong. Sehwag, who was injured but hoping to recover in time when the squad for World Twenty20 was announced, was taken along to England, but is yet to recover from his shoulder injury.

Ash more dangerous than Katrina!

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:00:00 PDT

Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai beats Katrina Kaif as the most dangerous Indian celebrity to search in cyberspace, according to Internet security company McAfee, Inc.

The top 10 celebrities include:

Yuvraj Singh - His super sixes and his very controversial relationship status makes Yuvi an easy target for spammers and hackers.

Aishwarya Rai - Her marriage has not affected her popularity at all. Inputting 'Aishwariya Rai screensavers' or 'Aishwarya Rai wallpapers' into a search engine yielded a dangerous Web site linking to a distributor of adware and spyware.

MS Dhoni - The cricket heartthrob should be searched with caution. 'Dhoni wallpapers' and 'Dhoni videos' led to websites containing spyware which could make changes to a PC's browser settings.

Namitha - The sexy siren from south seems to attract many fans including the hackers. But fans rarely know that their favourite could land them on Web sites containing browser exploits, as identified by McAfee SiteAdvisor technology.

Shriya Saran - The beautiful actress is as dangerous to search online as she is famous. Searching for 'Shriya Saran' or Shriya Saran videos'' can mislead unsuspecting surfers to sites with potentially damaging downloads.

Harbhajan Singh - Our very own spinner, Bhajji is a popular target for cybercriminals as well. A search for 'Harbhajan Singh screensavers' can direct users to red-ranked sites that breached browser security and other unwanted programs in McAfee's tests.

Sania Mirza - India's No. 1 tennis star, who hit headlines recently with her engagement news, must have really broken a number of hearts. Fans searching for 'Sania Mirza wallpapers/images' could be led to websites link to other harmful sites containing spyware and browser exploits.

Asin - When searching the latest B'Town damsel Asin, users could be lead to risky download Web sites, proving cybercriminals are in the business of capitalizing on the world's most famous faces.

Bipasha Basu - The Bengali Beauty is a popular search term when it comes to searching for videos. A host of red and yellow rated sites show up containing numerous malware-laden downloads when searched for 'Bipasha Basu videos'.

Shahid Kapoor - Appearing in the second spot last year, the heartthrob fell towards the tenth position in this year's list. However, the Kaminey star's photos are the most searched for on the web and lead to sites promoting free files with hidden malware or browser exploits.

Here is McAfee's list of the Hollywood's "Riskiest Celebrities to Search on the Web":
1. Jessica Biel
2. Beyonce
3. Jennifer Aniston
4. Tom Brady
5. Jessica Simpson
6. Gisele Bundchen
7. Miley Cyrus
8. Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie (tie)
9. Ashley Tisdale
10. Brad Pitt (he was first last year)
11. Reese Witherspoon
12. Britney Spears
13. Rihanna
14. Lindsay Lohan
15. Kim Kardashian

HTC Hero Launched in India

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:17:39 PDT

HTC has launched its second Android OS-based smartphone, the HTC Hero, in India. This handset will come loaded with intuitive HTC Sense user interface. The phone was first launched in June at an HTC event in London. Airtel customers are offered 100MB free data transfer for six months and pack of Airtel apps like Portfolio Manager, Hello Tune Manager, Weather Channel, Mobshare, In-Mobile search and City Search.
Most importantly, HTC Hero will have Android Market preinstalled. It comes with the support for Google apps like Gmail as well as Google Maps which isn't offered in Airtel exclusive HTC Magic handset. HTC will offer Hero for Rs. 31,990 in India but for Rs. 34,600 in Maharashtra; blame it on the 12.5 percent VAT rates in the city.

HTC Hero has 3.2-inch HVGA (320x280) TFT-LCD touchscreen that will add to HTC's new intuitive mobile interface dubbed HTC Sense. Well, as we noted earlier, HTC sense is the same Android UI that was dubbed as Donut/Rosie when it leaked. Hero packs Qualcomm 528MHz MSM7200A processor with 512MB ROM and 228MB RAM, all together promising a zippier UI navigating experience. Hero supports Adobe Flash which will aid the users for easy mobile web browsing and enjoy Flash-based multimedia content.

The best part is that HTC will integrate HTC Sense UI to the portfolio of its phones and hence, HTC Magic customers can expect new Sense update for their handsets too. HTC will also push firmware updates for Hero since many users had reported lagging and speed issues.

HTC Sense UI boasts of three major features - gesture control, widgets support and integration of different apps in single view. Gesture control offers features like the phone can be turned over to put into silence mode. Slew of widgets for social networks and productivity can be set to the homescreen - like Nokia and Samsung smartphones now allow. Single view of contact specific interaction is enabled by integrating the history of calls, SMS, and mails with the respective contact photos and Twitter/Facebook updates.

Boasting a 5 megapixel camera, Hero also has a built-in internal GPS antenna which can be used in future for geo-tagging the pictures clicked. HTC has added digital compass and accelerometer in Hero just like Apple had digital compass along with Accelerometer in iPhone 3GS.

Unlike in HTC Magic, music fanatics can hook up any headphones with 3.5mm audio jack in Hero and store more music on media card in microSD memory expansion slot. HTC assures a battery life of 7.8 hours with a 1350mAh lithium-ion battery.

Technical Specifications of HTC Hero:

Processor: 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A -
Memory ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 288 MB
Operating System: Android
Display: 3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution
Network HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz - Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Device Control: Trackball with Enter button
GPS: Internal GPS antenna
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
Data connection interface: HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera: 5.0 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio slot: 3.5 mm audio port
Expansion Slot: microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Special Features: G-sensor, Digital Compass,
Audio supported formats: MP3, AAC (AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media" Audio 9
Video supported formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows Media Video 9
Dimensions (LxWxT): 112 x 56.2 x 14.35 mm (4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches)
Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces) with battery
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1350 mAh
Talk time:
Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 470 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
Up to 440 hours for GSM

HTC has smartly priced Hero lower than the iPhone 3G model and offers a number of features that puts the phone head-to-head with it.

Rahul reaches out to connect in | TN

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:00:21 PDT

In an effort to repeat in the south the rejuvenation of the Congress he has achieved in Uttar Pradesh, AICC general

secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday embarked on a mass-contact exercise in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. In a move reminiscent of his father, Rahul steered clear of party paraphernalia and rallies, preferring to interact with people on the roadside by making unscheduled stops in between meetings with groups of students, farm labourers and fisherfolk.

The approach was aimed at garnering views to understand issues which mattered most. “He listened carefully to tales of atrocities on fishermen by Sri Lankan navy,” said a student after a meeting with a group from Nagercoil’s villages. The great rural-urban divide was an oft-repeated theme. Speaking with concern for the poor, Gandhi urged the youth to pass on the benefits of education to the underprivileged.

Week later, mystery of YSR chopper crash | unsolved

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:01:57 PDT

A week after the helicopter crash that killed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and four others, there is still no light on the circumstances that led to the accident.

It is still not clear if it was a human error or a technical failure that led to the crash of the Bell 430 on a hillock in the dense Nallamalla forests, 40 nautical miles from Kurnool, last week on Wednesday.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and state police's Crime Investigation Department (CID), which were the first to launch the probe, are still struggling to find answers to key questions.

The state government Monday announced two more parallel probes by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a two-member expert committee.

Officials engaged in the four parallel inquiries are looking into all angles, including sabotage. There are many questions that need an answer -- was the weather warning issued, was the chopper properly checked before it took off, was it carrying an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and whether there were any lapses on the part of pilots or Air Traffic Control staff in responding to the requests by the crew to help them.

The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) or black box recovered from the wreckage is yet to be decoded. "If necessary the CVR would be sent to the United States for decoding," said state Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy.

Hoping to find the answers, the probe panel of the DGCA was in Kurnool on Wednesday along with Chief Secretary P. Ramakant Reddy and Director General of Police S.S.P. Yadav to visit the crash site.

The panel headed by RK Tiyagi, chairperson and managing director of Pawan Hans, will be divided into two groups. While one team will make an aerial survey, the other will make a ground inspection of the crash site to understand the circumstances that could have led to the crash.

The DGCA officials will also meet local police and civic officials and forensic experts who conducted autopsy on the five bodies in Kurnool.

YSR, as the chief minister was popularly known, his special secretary, chief security officer and two pilots were killed on Sep 2, an hour after he took off from Hyderabad for Chittoor district to launch a mass contact programme.

The helicopter crashed in bad weather minutes after it lost contact with Air Traffic Control at 9.12 am. The charred bodies of the victims with the wreckage were found 24 hours later after one of the biggest searches in India's aviation history involving Indian Air Force helicopters, fighter jets and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The ground search operation involved army, paramilitary forces, police and even tribals living in the forest.

YSR death kills 142

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:27:06 PDT

As many as 142 people across Andhra Pradesh reportedly have died of shock or committed suicide after the death of their chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, claimed Telegu television channels yesterday.

"I appeal to all of you to be brave in this hour of tragedy. He (YSR) wanted to see a smile on the faces of all and this will hurt him," his son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy appealed to the people.

"He used to smile even in difficult times and I am sure he is still smiling. I request you to follow his principle and not to commit suicide," added Jaganmohan.

The charred bodies of YSR and four others were found on Thursday in the Nallamala forest in Kurnool district, almost 24 hours after their helicopter went missing.

YSR Crash Photos | YSR Deadbody Photos | Chopper Found

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:27:28 PDT

YSR Crash Photos.. YSR Deadbody Photos.. YS Jaganmohan Reddy the son of Late Andhra CM Ys Reddy is an industrialist. He runs ‘Sakshi’ a news daily and a television channel.With the death of Andhra CM YS Reddy a vacuum has been created in the political landscape of Andhra Pradesh Congress, many MPs and MLAs from the state are to support YSR’s son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as the next Chief Minister of the state. At least 30 MPs and over 50 MLAs have launched separate campaigns to garner support in favour of Jaganmohan Reddy.
As Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh are expected to visit Hyderabad tomorrow to attend YSR’s funeral, the MPs and MLAs are planning to take up their demand to the Congress High Command.Jaganmohan was elected from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency during the 2009 general elections.

A torch extinguished - YSR Reddy (1949-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:01:45 PDT

The tragic death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader YSR Reddy, who devoted his entire life to the people of his state and the country, has come as a major shock to the entire nation.

The nation has for sure lost a great leader who was known for his administrative skills, his ability to feel the nerves of the masse and his strong conviction to transform Andhra Pradesh into a developed and progressive state.

The untimely death of YSR has also dealt a major blow to the ruling Congress party, which managed to bring down the TDP’s rein in 2004 polls under his able leadership.

Hailed as peoples’ popular leader, YSR took over as Chief Minister of the state for the first time on May 14, 2004. Since then, there was no looking back for the mass leader who hailed from the most backward region of Rayalaseema.

YSR’s belief in the grass-root politics and his peoples' welfare agenda helped him clinch power when he was sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for the second successive term in the 2008 Assembly Elections.

Congress’ biggest regional face

With his death, the Congress party has surely lost one of its biggest regional faces. YSR’s remarkable electoral victories in the 2004 elections - against the government of Telgu Desam Party (TDP) chief and his friend-turned-foe N Chandrababu Naidu - played a vital role in resurgence of the Congress party both in the state and at the Centre. With a slew of sops and public welfare schemes, YSR silenced both TDP and the Naxals, who were trying to take advantage of N Chandrababu’s urban-centric approach in the poverty-ridden regions of the state.

He was one of the top favourites of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, as he rightfully delivered what he promised elections after elections. The able governance and huge popularity of YSR helped Congress increase its 2004 tally from 29 to 33 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. With his electoral success YSR also proved wrong his contemporary Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar, who once said “There was no place for genuine mass leaders. There is only the party high command and a brigade of loyalists.”

YSR proved that it was still possible for any one with a mass appeal to carve a niche for himself and rise high in the party’s hierarchy defying an undercurrent of hostility.

Poster boy of Congress’s aam admi campaign

The magical persona of the “Lion of Kadapa” also had a Midas touch. He was a leader of the common masses in real terms since he succeeded in overcoming the caste factor and regional divides through his highly praised welfare schemes. His popularity among masses can be gauged from the fact that he clinched power even without promising free TV sets, cash doles and without banking on big filmstars.

Though the aam admi campaign helped Congress retain power in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, no other leader than YSR actually promoted its core philosophy that it was a pro-poor party, which was dedicated to the empowerment of the most backward sections. The success of YSR’s health insurance scheme, irrigation projects, expansion of NREGS, Rs 2/ kg rice, etc convinced the Andhra voters that only Congress can bring a remarkable change in their lives.

A great organiser

YSR was mainly regarded for his great organising skill, which came to the fore in 2004 and 2009 polls when Congress’ victory in Andhra Pradesh eventually helped it to wrest power from the ruling BJP at the centre. Thus Congress high command rewarded YSR by giving him the full authority in shaping the party’s future in his own distinct style and crushing all discordant voices with a firm hand. He single-handedly ran the Congress party’s Lok Sabha campaign beating the hectic electioneering by top stars of the tinsel world in favour of TDP and megastar Chiranjeev’s Praja Rajyam.

YSR tasted success despite lacking the larger-than-life persona of his predecessor NTR. He brought to dust the hostile poll campaign from both the TDP-led four-party Grand Alliance and Praja Rajyam, and proved his detractors wrong.

His bottom-to-top approach helped Congress garner huge support of the aam admi and he thus managed to beat the anti-incumbency factor. YSR succeeded in highlighting the achievements of his government in his first five year term versus the 'poor credibility record' of his main rival TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu.

A real winner

As a true winner in his political career spanning three decades, YSR was elected to the State Assembly five times. YSR was also a four-time Lok Sabha member and never lost an election.

The 60-year-old leader also broke a 53-year-old jinx for the Congress party by becoming its first Chief Minister to retain power - a feat achieved before only by legendary NT Rama Rao of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the 1980s.

He also had the credit of becoming the first Chief Minister in the state’s history to complete a full five-year term.

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Formative years

Born in a middle-class family at Pulivendula, a small town in Kadapa district, on July 8, 1949, YSR had a modest beginning. He was the eldest of the five sons of YS Raja Reddy, a dynamic local leader in his heydays.

His inclination towards politics started while he was pursuing his MBBS course at MR Medical College, Gulbarga in Karnataka.

He entered active politics in 1978 and was elected to the State Assembly from Pulivendula. He served as a state minister from 1980 to 1983 and retained the Assembly seat in 1983 even when NTR swept to power with a historic victory.

YSR was appointed as president of the state unit of Congress at the age of 34 by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, who saw in him the potential of a great leader.

In 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa and held the seat till 1999 when he shifted again to state politics. From 1998 to 2000, he again served as president of the state Congress.

Though the party lost the 1999 state elections, YSR emerged as the strongest leader of the party and became the Leader of Opposition.

The year 2003 was a turning point in his political career as he rose to national fame following his 64-day padyatra across the state. Covering 1,500 km under the scorching sun, he received petitions from people about their problems, mainly relating to agriculture and unemployment.

His experiences during the padyatra helped him shape his future policies after assuming office as he gave free electricity to farmers, waived their loans, introduced several welfare schemes like pension for the aged, widows and handicapped, housing for poor, Rs 2/kg rice, Rajiv Arogyasri or community health insurance scheme and a massive programme to build irrigation projects.

His sincere efforts bore the fruits as the Congress party managed to win as many as 156 of Andhra Pradesh's 294 seats and bagged 33 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats this time.

YSR’s untimely death is an irreparable loss to the entire nation and has created a void, which only time can fill. It is yet to be seen how the Congress party manages to find a suitable replacement for YSR and whether the new leader be able to carry forward legacy? Nonetheless, YSR will be remembered as a dynamic leader, a great visionary and a humble man forever.

'Five die' in China ethnic unrest

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:00:36 PDT

Five people have been killed in ethnic unrest in China's western city of Urumqi this week, officials say.
It was unclear how the deaths happened, but thousands of Han Chinese have been protesting over an unexplained spate of stabbings with syringes.
Many of the protesters blame ethnic Uighur Muslims for the stabbings.
Riot police used tear gas to disperse angry crowds earlier, and China's top security official has arrived in Urumqi to try to restore order.
In July about 200 people - mostly Han Chinese - were killed in ethnic riots in the city, the capital of Xinjiang region.
Beijing blamed exiled Uighur separatist groups for July's violence.
Xinjiang's population is evenly split between Uighurs and Han Chinese - the country's majority ethnic group. But Hans make up three-quarters of Urumqi's population.
'Undermining unity'
Zhang Hong, vice-mayor of Urumqi, confirmed to reporters that there had been casualties in the latest unrest.
"On Thursday, 14 people were injured and sent to hospital and five people were killed in the incidents including two innocent people," he said.

Hundreds of police fanned out across Urumqi on Friday
Mr Zhang gave no further explanation of how the people were killed.
Meanwhile, Beijing has sent its top security official, Meng Jianzhu, to Urumqi.
On his arrival he was quoted by state-run news agency Xinhua as saying the syringe attacks were a continuation of the July unrest.
He said the attacks were instigated by ethnic separatist forces seeking to undermine ethnic unity and urged local officials "to restore social order as soon as possible".
But analysts say Mr Meng's visit reflects Beijing's desire to take control of the situation - and suggests the central government no longer trusts local officials.
'All marches banned'
The BBC's Michael Bristow, in Urumqi, says hundreds of police fanned out across the city on Friday, breaking up angry crowds gathering at road junctions.
Tear gas was fired to disperse one group of protesters and there were scuffles at a crossroads as police moved in to arrest several demonstrators.

Xinhua reported that the authorities had banned "all gatherings, marches or protests on roads or other public venues".
The crowds demanded more protection amid media reports saying more than 500 people, almost all Han, have sought treatment for stabbings in the past few weeks.
There is also anger over what many perceive as official slowness in punishing suspects charged over July's riots.
Tension between Xinjiang's Uighur and Han communities has been simmering for many years, but July's ethnic unrest was the worst in China for decades.
It began when crowds of Uighurs took the streets to protest about mistreatment - but their rally spiralled out of control and days of violent clashes followed.

Admirers, friends and rivals pay homage to YSR

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:41:52 PDT

First baby born from new egg-screening technique

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:32:05 PDT

Meet Oliver, the first baby in the world born using a new egg-screening technique that could double the odds of an implanted embryo taking hold in the womb, unveiled by British experts on Wednesday.

Baby Oliver was born in Britain to a 41-year-old woman after 13 failed attempts at in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The new technique, called array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH), makes it possible to ensure eggs have a normal number of chromosomes, boosting the likelihood of a successful pregnancy.

Simon Fishel, managing director of the CARE Fertility Group, which oversaw the procedure, said chromosomal abnormality plays a major part in the failure to establish a pregnancy. Full chromosome analysis may double the chance of success in couples who have a poor chance of conceiving or a history of failed treatments and miscarriage.

The technique has the potential to dramatically reduce the incidence of miscarriages and multiple pregnancies in IVF patients.

It could also help screen against birth defects. The most common cause of failure in IVF in which a woman's eggs are fertilised outside the body and then placed in the womb is an abnormal number of chromosomes in the egg, studies have shown.

The new screening technique is faster that conventional CGH, which means that the embryo does not have to be frozen. The results come back in 24-to-48 hours rather than five days or a week.

Campaign for making YSR's son chief minister

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:11:08 PDT

Within hours of the official confirmation on Thursday that chief minister Y S RajasekharaReddy had indeed died in a helicopter crashin the forests of Kurnool district a day earlier, a public clamour and a silent campaign has begun for making YSR’s son and Kadapa Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy the next CM of the state.

While several senior leaders including a Rajya Sabha member are said to be carrying out the silent campaign, several MPs, MLAs, party leaders and workers who had assembled at the Secretariat, the CM’s camp office and Gandhi Bhavan (state Congress headquarters) publicly demanded that Jagan be made CM.

At the CM’s camp office, which houses the YSR residence and where his body was expected to arrive later in the day, at least 22 Congress MPs told reporters that they wanted Jagan to be the next CM and that they would submit a memorandum to this effect to the Congress high command. The MPs included Lagadapati Rajagopal, Anjan Kumar Yadav, G Sukhender Reddy, Suresh Sheckar, Nandi Yellaiah, Sarve Satyanarayana, P Prabhakar and L Rajaiah.

Congress workers, who had pitched up tents at various major intersections of the city, held up portraits of YSR and shouted slogans in favour of Jagan as CM. Sources told TOI that a silent campaign is also on within a section of the party to ensure that Jagan succeeds his father.

Thirty-six-old Jagan is a first time MP and is only a little over 100 days old in politics. The sources said the group that is campaigning for Jagan as CM is doing so because it wants the status quo to continue, by which they can ensure that their interests are not destabilized with the death of YSR.

But analysts were aghast at the campaign. "How shameless can they be? YSR's body has not arrived in Hyderabad and these selfish fellows are lobbying for YSR's son so that their interests are not affected," a political analyst said.

ANDHRA CM YSR REDDY DIES IN | CHOPPER CRASH

noreply@blogger.com (SURYAN) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:12:17 PDT

The helicopter was traced in mangled state on Rudrakonda hill, 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool..

Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, known better as YSR, died in a helicopter crash on Thursday after his helicopter carrying him went missing over a dense forest area dominated by Maoist rebels.

Bodies of YSR Reddy and four others werer found, according to PTI.

The helicopter was traced in mangled state on Thursday on Rudrakonda hill, 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool.

The state-owned twin engine, seven-seater helicopter, Bell-430, he was flying in disappeared over the Nallamalla forest area in heavy rains at 9.35am on Wednesday, about an hour after it started, state officials said.

The chief minister was on his way from Hyderabad to Chittoor in Rayalaseema region in southern Andhra Pradesh on an official programme.

Reddy, 60, a powerful politician who had never lost an election during his 30-year political career, led the Congress party to victories in both state and Parliament elections in May, and was just months into his second term as chief minister.

He had won his first term as chief minister in 2004, defeating N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party, or TDP, son-in-law of the popular actor-politician and former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao.

Reddy, a second generation Roman Catholic Christian, was born on 8 July 1949 in Pulivendula, a small town in the stateâ€™s Kadapa district. Before taking a plunge into politics in 1978, Reddy served as medical officer at CSI Campbell Hospital in Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district after graduating in medical science from the MR College of Gulbarga.

The four-time Lok Sabha member has served in various capacities both in the state government and in the Congress party. He served the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee as its president twice, once in 1983-85 and then in 1998-2000.

Between 1999 and 2004, he was the leader of the Opposition in the eleventh State Assembly. And earlier, from 1980 to 1983, YSR had also served as a minister in the state government, holding portfolios of rural development, medical and health and education.

Becoming chief minister was a long cherished dream for YSR. Prior to the 2004 state elections, he led an unprecedented 1,400km-long paadayatra covering all the backward areas in the state. He said he was on a mission to understand the ground realities of the people.