salman

Salman's spat with Shah Rukh Khan seems to have a series of repercussions.

Earlier in the day, Salman had broken his silence about the much written-about war of words with SRK, saying "I don t understand the language of dogs".

Who's he referrring to on his blog is anybody's guess!

He further added, "I chose to remain silent. I do not have the time to spend reacting. But even silence speaks. Silence makes more noise than thunder...When the Lion roars, a whole pack of monkeys fall from trees!"

Looks like Salman's thunderous silence is affecting someone else's peace as well.

Rumours are rife that one of the hottest couples in Bollywood, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, is heading for splitsville. The final blow to their relationship seem to have come in the form of the spat between Salman and Shah Rukh Khan on Katrina's birthday.

After his break up with Aishwarya, Slaman seem to have found new hope in Katrina. They were declared a couple after their numerous appearnces together, and Salman's keen interest in everything that Katrina did.

Looks like Salman might just get another time unlucky.

Industry sources said Katrina is no mood to forgive him for his behaviour with Shah Rukh on her birthday which attracted much media attention.

The sources said that after the incident Salman and Katrina are not on talking terms.

"Katrina is blaming Salman for the entire episode," said a common friend.

Katrina opined that Salman should have restrained himself as he was playing the host. "But certain things are not in anyone's control and it is destined to happen," Katrina told a leading TV channel in an interview.

A close friend of Salman said: "He is good at heart. He took initiative for the party to please Katrina. But everything went wrong."

Salman and Katrina's relationship was already going through a rough patch. Lately, Katrina had stopped depending on Salman for making choices in Bollywood. She had completely come on her own, and succeded as well, delivering such hits as Welcome and Namastey London.

This slow distancing of Salman from Katrina's life, irked the actor and he suddenly started to behave possesive, commenting on her dress lengths and co-actors.

In wake of the recent Salaman - Shah Rukh spat, things seem to have taken a far severe turn between Katrina and Salman.

Is this just another tiff between the two lovers or is this the beginning of an end?

Only time can tell!

joke: Bush

While visiting India , George
Bush is invited to tea with Abdul Kalam. He Asks Kalam what his
leadership philosophy is. He says that, it is to Surround him with
intelligent people.



Bush asks how he knows if they're intelligent. "I do so by asking
them the right questions," says the Kalam. "Allow me
to demonstrate. "



Bush watches as Kalam phones Manmohan Singh and says,

"Mr. Prime Minister, please answer this question:



Your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is
not your brother or sister. Who is it?"

























Scroll down

























Manmohan immediately responds, "It's
me, Sir!" "Correct. Thank you and good-bye,
sir," says Kalam.



He hangs up and says, "Did you get that, Mr. Bush?"



Bush nods: "Yes Mr.
President. Thanks a lot. I'll definitely be using that!"





Bush, upon returning to Washington ,
decides he'd better put Condoleezza

Rice to the test.



Bush summons her to the White House and says, "Condoleezza, I wonder
if you

can answer a question for me."



"Why, of course, sir. What's on your mind?"



Bush poses the question: "Uhh, your mother has a child, and your
father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister.

Who is it?" Rice was puzzled and finally asks, "Can I think
about it and get back to

You?" Bush agrees, and Rice leaves.



Rice immediately calls a meeting of senior senators, and they puzzle
over the question for several hours, but nobody can come up with an
answer.



Finally, in desperation, Rice calls Colin Powell and explains the
problem. "Mr. Powell, your mother has a child, and your father
has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister.



Who is it?"



Powell answers immediately, "It's me, of course."



Much relieved Rice rushes back to the White House, finds George Bush,
and exclaims, "I know the answer, sir! I know who it is!

It's









































our Colin Powell !"



And Bush replies in disgust, "Wrong, it's manmohan singh

Estonia win Carmel EuroTwenty20

Estonia clinched a tense last-over victory over the Czech Republic to lift the inaugural Carmel and District Cricket Club EuroTwenty20 trophy and provide a fitting end to a week-long fiesta of international cricket.

In what was the first ever meeting between the two nations on the cricket field, Estonia were set 123 to win from their 20 overs by the Czech side who opted to bat after winning the toss.

The Baltic state chased down the total with three balls to spare to take victory which sparked wild celebrations among their players, supporters and coaching staff.

It was the icing on the cake for the Estonian Cricket Association who were awarded affiliate status by the International Cricket Council earlier this month.

The exciting finale also capped a great week for Flintshire village club Carmel who had organised the tournament which also included the national cricket teams of Croatia, Slovakia, Russia and a team from the Cricket Board of Wales.

EuroTwenty20 organiser Timothy Abraham, who came up with the idea after leading Carmel on a tour to Eastern Europe last year, admitted it was an honour for North Wales to host the event.

“It was only when Croatia arrived at our Pen-y-Gelli ground in their chequered tracksuits and Slovakia in their team blazers that it really dawned on me what a prestigious event this was for the area,” he said.

“The majority of the games were the first time most of the teams had met each other in the history of cricket so for a small village cricket club to host that is a huge honour for us.

“Fortunately we had a pretty good week of weather and the final was really exciting but it wasn’t just about the cricket. It is great to build friendships with other European countries and sample the colour and culture of different nationalities.

“This event was probably the first time a lot of the local population had ever met people from say Slovakia and Estonia - it was great for some of our younger players to broaden their horizons.”

The Croatia and Slovakia squads mix together as they line up for a team photo ahead of their match

Carmel chairman Charlie Bass said it had been tough for the club to undertake such an ambitious project but admitted giving the club the chance to play international cricket had kept everyone going.

“A European Twenty20 tournament of this magnitude has never been staged in Wales and the club’s committee have put in a lot of work over the past few months,” he explained.

“There was a lot of work behind the scenes to raise the finances required to cover the accommodation costs of the competing teams and we are thankful to Robin Hood Camp in Rhyl who were very understanding in helping us with this.

“We also received support from Flintshire Tourism, Whitford Community Council, Holywell Town Council and Tourism Partnership North Wales alongside local businesses which was crucial.

“Likewise Kimmel Bay church lent us their minibus for the week which really helped when it came to picking up the players from the airport and the daily transfers.

“And our groundsmen Neil Taylor and Tony Ryles also deserve a special mention - they both took a week off work and were the first people at the ground in the morning and the last to leave.

“The teams certainly appreciated their effort and they have since been inundated with offers to lay grass batting pitches in Bratislava, Prague and Moscow.”

Slovakia captain Vladimir Chudacik, who picked up the tournamen’s ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award for the sportsmanship and spectacular fielding shown by his side, thanked Carmel for hosting the event.

He added: “The tournament has been important for the development of the national cricket team of Slovakia and we would like to thank Carmel for staging it.

“We have never played on a grass wicket before and our players learned a lot about how to adapt to these conditions. All of the players really enjoyed their time in North Wales.”

Johnny Depp to play Tommy Lee?

Motley Crue rocker Tommy Lee desperately wants Johnny Depp to portray him in a movie based on the former’s band.

Lee, who has two children with ex-wife Pamela Anderson, insists Oscar-nominated Depp would be the perfect choice to play him, reports China Daily .

"Johnny Depp would be my choice to play me. He''s the best ever," Tommy Lee said.

Lee also stated that he is presently in talks with movie producers to begin the shooting of the film based on his band Montley Crue.

"We're working on it. Trying to find the right producers and director and all that sort of stuff!" Lee said.

Lee, who recently reconciled with ex-wife Pamela, has naked pictures of Anderson on his cell phone.

"Lee is as proud to be Pammie's man as he was when they first got together. Pammie may be 41 but she still looks every inch the Playboy bunny she was and Tommy has the proof. If you're really nice to him, apparently he'll even show you!" a friend of the rocker said.

CherryPal Launches Cloud Computer

CherryPal, Inc., today launched its CherryPal cloud computer, touted to be the most energy efficient and affordable desktop computer available. CherryPal is a radical concept of a PC in that it has no moving parts, contains 80 percent fewer components, uses only two watts of power, and is highly secure.

Currently available at the CherryPal website for pre-orders at $249, the CherryPal requires no monthly subscription fee and has no other hidden costs.
CherryPal CEO, Max Seybold, has this to say about the radical concept, "Today's typical PC is based on a computing model created 25 years ago, before the Internet, web browsers and global warming. We have developed a new computing model that makes CherryPal the easiest to use, greenest, most affordable computer available today."
Consuming just two watts of power, as opposed to the 65 watts of power used by the average desktop machine, the CherryPal delivers a 97 percent decrease in energy consumption. In addition, it also uses 80 percent fewer components, dramatically reducing the amount of resources it takes to manufacture a PC. As there are no moving parts, the CherryPal desktop can last a decade or longer, eliminating the need to replace a computer every 2-to 3 years.

CherryPal HyperCloud Technology
CherryPal is the only company that provides a patent-pending combination of both hardware and software encryption, making it highly secure. The CherryPal also offers a patent-pending single software layer technology.

CherryPal is also the first company since Apple Computers to use a Power Architecture-based processor in a personal computer by employing the Freescale MPC5121e mobileGT processor. This chip allows for built-in graphics and audio processing, all while consuming only 400 MHz of power.

Specifications

Freescale's MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800 MIPS (400 MHz) of processing

256MB of DDR2 DRAM

4GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive

WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi

Two USB 2.0 ports

One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack

One VGA DB-15 display out jack

Headphone stereo audio out 3.5mm jack

9vDC 2.5mm10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply

10.5 ounces

1.3" high, 5.8" x 4.2" wide

50 GB storage limit

OpenOffice.org office suite

iTunes

CherryPal-brand media player that supports all common files formats

CherryPal-branded instant messenger that supports all common IM programs

Court Tosses $550,000 Fine Against CBS for Janet Jackson's 'Wardrobe Malfunction'

PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court on Monday threw out a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS Corp. for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction."

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity.

The 90 million people watching the Super Bowl, many of them children, heard Justin Timberlake sing, "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song," as he reached for Jackson's bustier.

The court found that the FCC deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience."

"Like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing," the court said. "But it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure."

The 3rd Circuit judges -- Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell and Judge Julio M. Fuentes -- also ruled that the FCC deviated from its long-held approach of applying identical standards to words and images when reviewing complaints of indecency.

"The Commission's determination that CBS' broadcast of a nine-sixteenths of one second glimpse of a bare female breast was actionably indecent evidenced the agency's departure from its prior policy," the court found. "Its orders constituted the announcement of a policy change -- that fleeting images would no longer be excluded from the scope of actionable indecency."

A CBS spokeswoman said the company was working on a statement Monday morning. Messages left for an FCC spokesman were not immediately returned.

The FCC argued that Jackson's nudity, albeit fleeting, was graphic and explicit and CBS should have been forewarned. Jackson has said the decision to add a costume reveal -- exposing her right breast, which had only a silver sunburst "shield" covering her nipple -- came after the final rehearsal.

At the time, broadcasters did not employ a video delay for live events, a policy remedied within a week of the game.

In challenging the fine, CBS said that "fleeting, isolated or unintended" images should not automatically be considered indecent.

But the FCC argued that Jackson and Timberlake were employees of CBS and that the network should have to pay for their "willful" actions, given its lack of oversight.

In June 2007, a federal appeals court in New York invalidated the government's policy on fleeting profanities uttered over the airwaves. The case involved remarks made by Cher and Nicole Richie on awards shows carried on Fox stations.

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood enters rehab

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has entered rehab for a drinking problem, his spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

"Following Ronnie's continued battle with alcohol he has entered a period of rehab," said the 61-year-old's spokeswoman in London. "His close family and friends say he is seeking help and look forward to his recovery."

Abishek keeps his promise to Ash after 5 years

Five years ago, when he had no clue that he would one day marry her, Abhishek Bachchan had made a promise to Aishwarya Rai .

It happened during the making of their film Kuch Na Kaho in 2003 when Ash was headed for a world tour and tipped the organizers of the shows to ask Abhishek to be a part of the tour. Abhishek turned down the offer because he had no dates to spare. Since then Ash has been taunting him for that. But Abhi made a promise to her that one day he would definitely accompany her on a world tour.

Years passed and their lives turned out such that they ended up falling in love and getting married. Now, what did not materialize five years ago is finally going to happen.

For, Abhishek and Ash are headed to the ‘Unforgettable’ tour that will travel to Canada, the US and the UK. This is the couple’s first tour together. They, along with Pa Amitabh Bachchan , are at the helm of the tour.

The tour begins with a concert in Toronto on Friday.

While Aishwarya could not fully rehearse her dance steps for the first concert because she fell ill, Abhishek has assured the organizers (Wizcraft) that he is more than willing to step in for Ash or dad Big B if any of them feels unwell during the tour. The trio will perform solo as well as together in concerts.

Apart from the Bachchans, the tour features Preity Zinta , Ritesh Deshmukh and music composer duo Vishal-Shekhar.

Other Bollywood stars like Madhuri Dixit, Akshay Kumar and Shilpa Shetty would join the troupe on different legs of the tour.

Britney Spears is working on new album

Britney Spears is working on a new album, her label said on Wednesday, as the U.S. pop star seeks to rebound from a period of troubling behavior and hospital stints for psychiatric evaluations.

Spears, 26, has spent much of the past 18 months in the headlines for an ugly divorce, losing custody of her two sons, rehab treatment, and erratic behavior like shaving her head and attacking a photographer's car with an umbrella.

But in the past six months Spears father Jamie has taken over management of her personal and business affairs and she has also been mentioned as a possible Emmy award nominee for two guest appearances on U.S. television series "How I Met Your Mother."

Now her manager, Larry Rudolph, and label, Jive Records, said in a statement that Spears, one of the world's most successful pop stars of the early 2000s, "is spending her summer in the recording studio, working on a brand new album."

"She's working with a team of top-notch producers and songwriters and we're very excited about what she's accomplished so far. No album release date has been confirmed yet," the statement said.

Spear's last album, "Blackout," debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last November, but quickly slid down the chart.

Spears and her former backup dancer Kevin Federline, 30, were divorced last summer after two years of marriage. The couple have two children together, Sean Preston, 2/12, and James Jayden, 22 months, and have started mediation sessions to work out custody and avoid a trial set for August.

If you are fat, weather might be to blame

Everything under the sun has been linked to obesity. Now the sun itself, or the lack of it, is being blamed for people being fat.

A team of scientists at Aberdeen University has found that Scotland’s dismal weather makes it more difficult for people to shed those extra pounds.

Their study suggests that overweight people tend to have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood than their slimmer counterparts, the Sunday Times reported.

The most natural source of vitamin D is from sunlight but, because the sun makes such a rare appearance in Scotland, fat people are less likely to benefit from this slimming aid.
But even when it is sunny, excess body fat absorbs and holds onto vitamin D, preventing it from entering into the bloodstream. The absence of enough vitamin D in the blood interferes with the functioning of a hormone called leptin, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full.

The research used questionnaires completed by 3,100 women living in northeast Scotland between 1998 and 2000.

The data included estimates of how long the women had been exposed to sunlight over the previous year and the amount of vitamin D obtained from food sources such as eggs and oily fish. Researchers found that those with an average BMI of 34 produced 10% less vitamin D than people of average weight.

But Michelle McManus, 28, the Glaswegian singer who won Pop Idol in 2003, is not convinced. “Look at America. The sun is splitting trees over there but there’s still an awful lot of overweight people.”

England frustated at the Lords.

England toiled all day at Lord's for just one wicket as South Africa dug in resolutely in pursuit of a draw in the first Test.

Starting the fourth day on 13-0 and facing a deficit of 333, openers Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie batted together for nearly five-and-a-half hours in a stand of 204, before Smith was out facing the second over of the second new ball.

But England were unable to make further inroads in the remaining 65 minutes of play, as McKenzie battled through to the close to finish unbeaten on 102, with Hasim Amla alongside him on 20.

Finishing the day on 242-1, South Africa are 104 runs behind and look set to escape with a draw after being asked to follow-on.

More follows...

Ganguly to check out Soccer!!!

Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly would now be seen in another role - on the football field. He is slated to turn out for Chirag United in a match in the ongoing Kolkata Premier League.

The team is owned by the RP group - makers of Chirag brand of computers, for which Ganguly is the brand ambassador.

'He will play in one match, may be for two minutes. His presence will motivate our players and help promote Indian football in the country and outside. Finally, he will ensure a strong fan following for us,' said RP group chairman Koustav Roy.

However, Chirag's efforts Saturday to register Ganguly as their player proved unsuccessful.

Officials of the Indian Football Association - the game's governing body for West Bengal - did not accept Ganguly's signed registration form as he did not make a personal appearance.

'He will sign for us on his return from Sri Lanka after playing the Test series,' Roy added.

Ganguly, who has had a glittering cricketing career, is also known for his passion for football. In fact, Ganguly was a promising striker during his college days.

He was torn between his allegiances to football and cricket in college, but finally decided to make a career out of the willow.

De Villiers - Now for the title

South Africa centre Jean de Villiers insists the Springboks can go on and win the Tri-Nations after their stunning success in Dunedin.

The Springboks beat New Zealand 31-27, avenging a 31-27 defeat to the All Blacks at the same ground in the 2005 Tri-Nations.

"When we scored the try I got the guys together and said three years ago we were in the same position with four minutes to go and let it slip and the All Blacks came back," De Villiers told Sky Sports. "We stuck to our guns so we're ecstatic.

"It took 100 years to win here and hopefully it won't take another 100 years to win the next one."

The All Blacks beat the world champions 19-8 in last weekend's Tri-Nations opener in Wellington and de Villiers added: "The guys have been working hard on what we did wrong last week to get it right this week. We're very happy.

"Last year after winning the World Cup we had to set new goals for us as a team - winning in New Zealand was one of them. We have achieved that. Now to our next task which is winning the Tri-Nations."

Mistakes

New Zealand captain Rodney So'oialo admitted his side had made tactical mistakes.

"It was about territory. We played at the wrong side of the field and got punished," said So'oialo, whose side were hit hard by the loss of Ali Williams in the 29th minute.

That left the hosts with Anthony Boric, making his first start, and substitute Kevin O'Neill, making his All Blacks debut, in the second row.

"The two guys who came in and took over did good but obviously the experience of Ali in there is pretty huge," said So'oialo.

Pakistan Pacer Asif set to be pardoned

: Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif is likely to be pardoned in a drug case in a bid to feature him in this September's Champions Trophy to be played on home soil.

It has been learnt through reliable sources that there is a consensus within the top bosses of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that a ban on Asif will only compound the problems of the national team that made an early exit from the Asia Cup played in Pakistan from June-24-July 6. Pakistan failed to qualify for the final following a pathetic bowling display during the tournament.

Asif, who was detained at Dubai airport for carrying 0.24 gram of opium in his wallet last month, missed the Asia Cup because of the detention.

The Board has ordered a probe into the incident, but that is yet to begin as the PCB has not obtained the documents relating to Asif's arrest from the authorities in Dubai.

A top PCB official said that if the Board failed to obtain the documents then it will have to give Asif, who claims to be innocent, the benefit of doubt.

"Our entire investigation into the Asif issue has to be based on the report over the incident. If we cannot get those documents from the Dubai authorities then we will give Asif the benefit of doubt," said Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's Chief Operating Officer.

Naghmi said that he had tried to get the report on the incident during the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual conference last week.

The PCB has already made it clear that if the report says that Asif did carry a banned drug then he will be in trouble.

Earlier this month, reports emerged that the PCB has received documents from the Dubai authorities but was unable to review them as they were in Arabic. The reports had added that the PCB is getting them translated. But now the Board is claiming that it never received those documents.

The PCB had appointed a three-man committee that includes Naghmi, Zakir Khan, PCB's Director of Cricket Operations and Nadeem Akram, Director of human resources, to investigate the incident.

Asif was detained in Dubai while on his way home after playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over possession of a banned drug. He was released after remaining in custody for almost three weeks.

The Sheikhupura-born pacer never admitted to the offence and has claimed that the banned substance that the police recovered from his wallet was a herbal medicine given to him by a hakim as pain killer.

While Asif was busy fighting his case, his teammates flopped miserably in the Asia Cup mainly because of a poor pace attack that was without Asif, Shoaib Akhtar and injured Umar Gul.

Pakistan are now scheduled to host the Champions Trophy in September and are hoping for a better showing from their team in the elite eight-nation contest. The Board believes that Asif's return can help the team's cause which is why there is a strong possibility that Asif will be let off the hook.

SRK, Aziz Mirza and Juhi together again

One actor who is completely dependable is Shah Rukh Khan. The moment the superstar learnt that Aziz Mirza wanted him to do the voiceover for Tips Films Kismat Konnection, Khan, who had just returned from the UK, not only did he instantly met the director but also completed the dubbing in a matter of few hours.

"Shah Rukh is amazingly energetic," said Aziz Mirza. He added, "He had just returned from London. Any actor in his place would have made an excuse of jetlag and said 'I want to go home', but not Shah Rukh! His car took the road that led to the dubbing studio. That too at 1.30 in the night. He saw to it that he completes the voice over for my film that very night."

Interestingly it was Juhi who was to do the voice over initially. Aziz Mirza said, "Juhi plays a crystal ball reader in my film and since her character talks about life and relationships I thought she was apt to do the voiceover for the film. But Juhi felt that the content of my film was too strong and female's voice in the background would not be able to do justice to it."

Aziz Mirza said with Shah Rukh now having lent his voice to the film, the circle was complete. "I am glad that Shah Rukh is a part of my film. I can always depend on him. When I told him about the voice over he immediately agreed. Shah Rukh did not question me even once about it."

Update: London launch of iPhone 3G marred by software problems

Compatibility issue between IE and Safari browsers disrupts activation

• iPhone 3G, the unexpurgated arrival-day FAQ
  
  
  
• Apple squeezes iPhone 3G costs down to $173
  
  
  
• iPhone 3G's business-readiness still in question, Gartner says
  
  
  
• iPhone 3G not there yet for widescale business use
  
  
  
• iPhone 3G may be Apple's most profitable product, says analyst
  
  
  

July 11, 2008 (IDG News Service) LONDON - Software compatibility problems marred the launch of the iPhone 3G at Apple's flagship store in London, where customers had difficulty activating their new phones.

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Apple has an exclusive deal with network operator O2 in the U.K., but O2's Web-based activation system requires the use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to register a new phone: It won't work with the Safari browser bundled in Apple's Mac OS X.

In its Regent Street store, Apple had installed VMware Fusion desktop virtualization software on some of its Macintosh computers, allowing them to run Internet Explorer on Windows, but the activation process was still not working.

"It just goes dead," said would-be customer Mark Phipps, who left the store frustrated and without an iPhone 3G.

"They wouldn't reserve us one, which is a real kick in the teeth," he said.

Phipps is one of at least three customers that left the store disappointed by the delays.

Another, Josh Young, said the activation process was completely broken. He planned to return later.

The short line that had formed outside the store by the time it opened at 8 a.m. quickly moved inside, but two hours later the line had lengthened and extended out onto the street again.

Further details were hard to come by. Store staff would not allow journalists inside the building.

The launch went more smoothly in Japan, where the iPhone went on sale for the first time. The first new iPhone owner emerged from the store of Apple's local partner, Softbank, within 20 minutes of the launch.

Liverpool sign Brazilian goalkeeper Cavalieri

London, July 11: Liverpool have signed Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri from Palmeiras on a four-year deal, the Premier League club said on Friday. The 25-year-old was born and brought up in Brazil but recently gained an Italian passport. He becomes Liverpool's third signing of the close-season following the arrival of defenders Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena. "I know it won't be easy to get into the team," he told reporters. "I watched some Liverpool games in both the Premier League and Champions League last year and I know Pepe (Reina) is a very good goalkeeper. But everyone has to fight for their place and I'm sure we will have a healthy rivalry.” "Iknow I will have to be patient and work very hard to achieve my aims - but it is always like that when you come from another country.” "My confidence has got me where I am today and maybe people are aware of what I did at Palmeiras in Brazil. I am sure that one day I can get the number one position but that will only come with hard work." Cavalieri should be helped to settle in by Liverpool's other two Brazilians, Fabio Aurelio and Lucas.

Govt job distant dream for some Madras Univ students

Chennai: Dreams of thousands of students to get a government job after completing a distance learning course from the Madras University might be shattered.

The staff selection commission says their degree isn't eligible. A letter sent by the commission says, “For purpose of Employment in Central Government the degrees obtained through distance mode of education should also have the approval of the Distance Education Council. As per our records, such approval for the Madras University is available only for a period of one year in 2007 to 2008."

While universities across the country were asked to get the DEC's approval in 1995 itself – it was implemented across the board with a circular in 2005 – the Madras University says it got an approval only in 2007.

Two students of the university who graduated before 2007 and have now been rejected by the Staff Selection Commission on these grounds have now moved the Central Administrative tribunal.

"It's absolute carelessness on part of Madras university. Smaller universities like Annamalai University and Madurai Kamaraj Universities have taken approval," says the lawyer of the litigants, Shyam Sundar.

Laxman to join Nottinghamshire

VVS Laxman will join English county Nottinghamshire next month as a replacement for Adam Voges of Australia.

Laxman, who had a brief stint with Lancashire last season, will make his Nottinghamshire debut against Sussex at Hove on August 27.

"I've heard lots of great things about Nottinghamshire and I'm really looking forward to playing there at the end of the season," said Laxman, who was named in the Indian Test squad for the Sri Lanka starting July 23, even though his ODI career seems all but over.

"Hopefully it will be a successful time for the Club and I can make a positive impact. I've played at Trent Bridge a few times and want to score a lot of runs for the team," the wristy Hyderabadi said.

Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket, said Laxman's arrival would boost the side.

"Laxman is a world class player and he doesn't play one day cricket for India so he can commit to us at a time when a lot of players will be involved in international tournaments," he said.

"He is an accomplished international batsman with excellent footwork and he reads spin very well. He is a big name and we're pleased that he has agreed to join us," Newell added.

Sachin dropped from Pepsi ads

New Delhi: Completing a phase-out of its aging cricket brand ambassadors, soft drinks major Pepsi has dropped master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, whose long-standing contract with the company expired in May. Tendulkar’s dropping comes in the backdrop of Pepsi axing the other two members of the Indian batting troika - Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly earlier this year. Industry sources said Pepsi did not renew the contract with Tendulkar, who has been their brand ambassador since the 90s, following its decision to focus on younger cricketers. "The decision was also influenced in a big way by a premium demanded by the batting maestro," the sources added. As per market estimates, Tendulkar with a fee ranging between Rs 3-4 crore for endorsement per brand annually, has been the most highly paid cricketer of his generation. When contacted, Pepsi officials refused to comment or clarify if the company has not renewed the contract. Tendulkar's manager, the World Sport Group, was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.

Tour de France 2008

Britain's David Millar remains within touching distance of the yellow jersey after he finished third in Tuesday's Tour de France individual time trial.

The Garmin-Chipotle rider clocked 36 minutes 2.52 seconds, 18 seconds behind stage four winner Stefan Schumacher.

The Gerolsteiner rider stunned the favourites, crossing the line in 35 minutes 44 secs for the yellow jersey.

Millar and Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen, who finished second in Cholet, trail Schumacher by 12 seconds overall.

The 29.5km course produced one of the biggest shocks of the four-stage Tour so far as Schumacher produced an incredible performance.

The German was the only rider to dip under the 36-minute mark as pre-stage favourite and world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara could only finish in fifth.

Overnight leader Romain Feillu - who took the yellow jersey after a dramatic stage on Monday - finished nearly five minutes behind Schumacher.

Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish finished over four minutes behind Schmacher in 143rd place.

Oil price plunges by $8

The price for a barrel of oil fell nearly $5 on Tuesday, a two-day swing of more than $8 as traders took profits and fears of a supply disruptions eased.

But analysts warned the pullback could be fleeting.

"The plunge is really a temporary bull correction and is viewed by the market as a buying opportunity," said Victor Shum, an analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "We are also seeing the US dollar easing a bit ... and that has helped support oil pricing."

Trader and analyst Stephen Schork said the expectation just a few days ago that crude prices would touch $150 this week now "does not look like the proverbial done deal."

"Be that as it may, we have seen this movie before, i.e. crude oil weakens a little and the bubble-bears jump in," he added in his Schork report, suggesting the price respite might be temporary.

Internet abuse and Cloud Computing

Yesterday, Americans celebrated Independence Day - and I got to spent too much of the day loafing around paging lazily through a whole bunch of more or less nutty political sites.

One of things I noticed was the marked difference in treatment accorded a particularly nasty little controversy around whether or not google was purposely shutting down anti-Obama sites on its blogger.com network.

Here’s the salient bit from what appears to have been the first blast of the whistle - by Warner Huston

It looks like Google has officially joined the Barack Obama campaign and decided that its contribution would be to shut down any blog on the Google owned Blogspot.com blogging system that has an anti-Obama message. Yes, it sure seems that Google has begun to go through its many thousands of blogs to lock out the owners of anti-Obama blogs so that the noObama message is effectively squelched.

A bit after writing this he added this update above his original story:

Update: Perhaps it isn’t google, but Obamaniacs taking advantage of google’s faulty sytem. A commenter explains:

The problem with blogger is that a group of people with an ax to grind can report any blog as spam and after enough complaints, it’s automatically suspended until a real live human being can get around to examining it. If enough complaints are registered with blogger, you might get a response within 5 days but it takes a concerted effort. This is a huge problem with blogger and something google needs to get a handle on.

Regardless who is at fault, this shutting down of free speech is disturbing.

As it turns out the person who wrote the comment appears to have been correct: blogger.com, and many of its righter users, seem to have been the victims of a co-ordinated attempt to silence perceived opponents.

At the personal level the resemblence to groklaw’s policy of presuring editors to shut up writers critizing them struck me as “a birds-of-a-feather” problem, but what was actually most interesting about the whole mess was that it produced an uproar in the right wing blogosphere but went largely unmentioned, and certainly uncondemned, in the much more populous liberal blogosphere.

The story made headlines, for example, at hotair but appears to have gone unmentioned on dailykos, the huffingtonpost, and moveon.org.

The specific issue is unimportant to most technology managers, but in more general terms this is a problem affecting all of cloud computing: trust your business to an Amazon, a Microsoft, or a Google, and you become vulnerable to a wholly new kind of denial of service attack - one that can be triggered by essentially unrelated employee actions or opinions and hold your entire business hostage to the service provider’s business processes.

“Five days” with “a concerted effort” is the guy’s description of google’s remediation process - and if you don’t think a business contract on something like email will ever be treated the same way: think about your business relationship with monopoly suppliers from telcos to Microsoft.

Man fakes heart attack to avoid paying bills

WAUKESHA, Wisconsin: A 52-year-old Milwaukee-area man has been accused of faking heart attacks to avoid paying restaurant bills and cab fares.

Police say the Waukesha man took a cab to a mall on Monday and pretended to have a heart attack. The cab driver left unpaid.

Authorities say the man then ran up a $23 bill when he had a steak dinner at a restaurant. He again pretended to have a heart attack.

This time the fire department took him to a hospital. A doctor there recognised the man as having pulled the same stunt in the past few weeks.

He was charged on Thursday with defrauding a restaurant as a habitual criminal. He could get up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Italian players charged after match-fixing probe

Rome: Five players have been charged over alleged match-fixing in last season's home and away Serie A fixtures between Atalanta and relegated Livorno, Italy's football federation (FIGC) said on Friday.

Atalanta's Gian Paolo Bellini and former Livorno captain David Balleri have been charged with seeking to fix the results of the games on Decemberwhich ended in a 1-1 draw, and May 4, which Atalanta won 3-2, the FIGC said.

Livorno brothers Emanuele and Antonio Filippini, along with team mate Alessandro Grandoni, have also been reported by the federation's prosecutor to the national disciplinary commission for a failure to inform the authorities about the events.

The two clubs were also reported to the commission over the behaviour of their players.

"I don't think there was any type of agreement at all," Luigi Del Neri, the coach of Bergamo-based Atalanta, was quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport's website. "Atalanta played to win, as always."

Italian soccer has only just got over the 2006 match-fixing scandal, which led to Juventus being relegated to Serie B and AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina being deducted league points.

Juventus, whose former general manager Luciano Moggi was accused of being at the centre of attempts to secure compliant referees for some teams' games, won promotion back to Serie A at the first attempt and finished third last season to win a place in the Champions League qualifiers.

2008 Mid year Top 10 actors

When first half of the year is dominated by actors like Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, and Amitabh Bachchan, it is expected that they would deliver in each of their films. This is what one saw in 2008 as well, which hasn't really seen great box office returns but has been a witness to some decent performances. We look forward to far more eventful second half of the year though!

[In alphabetical order]

Akshay Kumar [Tashan]

'Maa, Picture To Achchi Thi Par Main Flop Ho Gaya' - So were the famous opening words of Akshay Kumar at the recently held IIFA, where he was spoofing the box office failure of Tashan. Of course he was kidding when he said so because in reality it was just the opposite. Akshay Kumar was the best part about this Yash Raj Film for which gigabytes have already been spent on its countless weaknesses. It is to the credit of Akshay Kumar though that he still lighted up the proceedings whenever he appeared on the frame. Have a full fledged 'Ramleela' that takes on from where his 'Ravan' act left and we won't really mind a sequel to Tashan.

Amitabh Bachchan [Sarkar Raj, Bhoothnath]

After Cheeni Kum in 2007, Amitabh Bachchan was again seen playing a pivotal role in Bhoothnath. Though Sarkar Raj didn't quite have him roaring the way he did in the prequel, the pre-climax and the climax sequences reinforced the fact that Big B's presence in a project can never be discounted. He may have been getting some nasty reviews for his performances in a section of media while the other may not be really happy with him getting into an angry old man mould with his Blogs, but who really minds that? Getting to sink his teeth into something unconventional with Bhoothnath while also making sure that third in the series of Sarkar Raj may just have a lot more of him, Amitabh Bachchan continues to make a statement.

Bipasha Basu [Race]

One still doesn't know whether Bipasha Basu was indeed in love with Saif Ali Khan when both walked away into sunset in the climax of Race. Such was the beauty of the role that she enacted so very well that one continues to be intrigued about this lady who got together elements of Ajnabee as well as Jism and bluffed the audience from the first till the last frame of the film. Carry on with stylish roles like these lady; we would love to see much more of you in the coming years!

Devgans [U Me Aur Hum]

After going through their share of conventional love stories with Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha and Raju Chacha, Ajay and Kajol Devgan had to do something really path breaking with their prestigious U Me Aur Hum. First half of the film was hardly path breaking but Devgans caught the bull by its horns the moment they got into a dramatic mould. With a complex subject revolving around Alzheimer's disease, the film could have fallen flat had the performances been any weaker but Devgans made sure that they give it all to a film which was a complete in-house product.

Emraan Hashmi [Jannat]

Emraan Hashmi's top performance would always stay on to be Awarapan but 5 years down the line when his successful films would be listed; Jannat would be remembered more. This year's biggest hit if one considers the ROI (Return on Investment) factor, Jannat also owes its success to the fact that Hashmi played to the gallery and gave his audience what they expect out of him. He used his mischievous streak to the maximum and didn't mind playing the bad-good young man yet again!

Hrithik Roshan [Jodhaa Akbar]

From sheer effort perspective, Hrithik would lead the charge for giving his all to make sure that his 'Akbar' act looked convincing enough on the big screen. It is quite a difficult task to leave behind an image created by a Krrish or a Dhoom 2 but Hrithik still managed to achieve that and the results were seen. Hrithik worked hard on his diction, body language and presentation and succeeded well. Second half of the year could see numerous good performances coming in but Hrithik would still find himself as one of the Top-5 contenders for the Best Actor.

Rahul Bose [Shaurya]

If Hrithik made a big impression in a big film like Jodhaa Akbar, Rahul Bose too achieved something similar in one of the smallest films of the year so far! Rahul has been a consistent performer ever since the days of Thakshak and though a notable act by him is a given for each of his films, Shaurya was special. Not just did the film feature him as a central protagonist, it also allowed him to demonstrate various facets of his personality. The film not only turned out to be a 'choti si success story' but also further increased the fan base of Rahul Bose.

Rajeev Khandelwal [Aamir]

In a year, which has seen some inconsequential, debuts so far (with only Sikandar Kher coming close), Rajeev Khandelwal has made everyone stand up and take notice of his bravura performance in Aamir. And to think of it, this by no means was a conventional 'hero' debut since Rajeev was shown as a man on the run for the entire length of the film who ultimately turns into a victim of circumstances. One just hopes now that Rajeev continues to make good choices and instead of being slotted as a 'thinking actor', he gets to play a variety of characters in films to come!

Ranvir Shorey [Mithya]

Talking about 'thinking men' and enacting the role of a 'fall guy', Ranvir Shorey was just perfect in Mithya. Yet again, he played a character who was a victim of circumstances and got embroiled in a series of events which ultimately led to his downfall. If at all an actor has come close to getting Charlie Chaplinsque comic-tragedy on screen in Bollywood, it has been Ranvir with Mithya. He is a man for all seasons, an ingredient for all recipes and an actor who can be handed over any part!

Riteish Deshmukh [De Taali]

Everyone loves Riteish. And there would hardly be anyone who could dislike his performance. Or to put it differently, there is hardly a reason why anyone would love to hate him! He is a man who can be trusted to give a good performance every time and the same happened very recently with De Taali too. Consistently delivering successful films year after year and upping his popularity quotient with every release of his, Riteish has been quietly forming an alternative market for himself.

New Delhi: With business phones ringing in a new tone for handset makers, Nokia India today launched two new models in its E-series catalogue — Nokia E71 and Nokia E66.

The two models — E71 and E66 are priced at Rs 22,949 and Rs 23,689 respectively and target the growing number of customers looking for anywhere access to internet.

''The high-end models are meant for people who lead a mobile lifestyle and want quick and easy access to their personal and work email,'' Nokia India Director-Marketing Devinder Kishore told reporters here.

The company now has nine phones in its E-series segment.

The E71 features a full BlackBerry-esque Qwerty keyboard and handset styling, while the E66 slider gives email connectivity options, including Gmail and Windows Live.

The E66 has HSDPA connectivity for speedy downloads and has both Wi-Fi and Assisted GPS on board.

The phones are equipped with a 2.4 inch screen and a 3.2-megapixel camera.

The memory is expandable up to 8GB, and the battery will hold out for at least 7.5 hours.

The Finnish firm also released a report on 'Mapping the Enterprise Mobility Adoption in India' that mapped the behavioural and usage of 1,500 consumers and over 200 enterprise users in five locations of the country (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai).

The research illustrates a strong adoption of mobile solutions for communication with enhanced productivity being seen as the most important perceived advantage of using Mobility Applications (59.6 per cent).

Mr Kishore, however, did not divulge any details on the investments being made or the capex earmarked for the year.

Nokia has earlier said it will invest $75 million dollars in its manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

Love Story 2050 Review

Cast: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Archana Puran Singh, Dilip Tahil; Director: Harry Baweja; Rating: **1/2

It’s a beautiful dream for those who love living in the dreamlands only; but what about the audience who are quite bored with repetitive Bollywoody love stories!

Karan Oberoi (Harman Baweja) is the only son of famed businessman Mr. Oberoi (Dalip Tahil). Karan is not happy with his father as because his father is more interested in cars, business and achievement than his only son. Being very lonely and having the thought in mind that his unfortunate accidents would bring no loss to anyone, Karan always prefers to play with danger. In the course of the mundane story, Karan meets Sana (Priyanka Chorpa) and for obvious reasons (love, I mean to say) they decide on getting married. And here comes the twist. Sana meets an accident and she dies leaving Karan all alone.

On the other hand the Love Story has Karan’s uncle, Dr. Yatinder Khanna (Boman Irani), who by profession is a scientist. Dr. Khanna has been working on a time machine for last fifteen years so that he can poke into the future to how the things will change (obviously).

Karan meets Dr. Khanna and recapping Sana’s dream about entering the year 2050, they go to the year 2050 with the time machine. Entering the future Karan comes to know that Sana is now the best rock-star of the world living in Mumbai and is named as Zaisha. Ultimately Karan succeeds in getting his love, Sana alias Zaisha, back to the present with the help of QUTY and BOO, two robotic dolls taking care of Zaisha.

Harry Baweja has beautifully taken care of direction as well as the story but at some places the story becomes little slow. Music and lyrics of the film looks nice but at the same time it appears little difficult to say that songs will look something like that with flying cars in the year 2050. Priyanka has worked well in accordance with her character. Whether Harman’s resemblance with Hrithik is a bane or boon is a quiz immaterial but his impact on the screen is quite impressive. Boman Irani has depicted his character quite well. Archana Puran Singh looks good in her character of Priyanka’s mother.

The first part of the film is based on the love story between Priyanka and Harman and the funny thing is the second part of the film is also based on their love story. The only difference is the second part happens in the year 2050.

Coming to the much hyped special effects, Harry has proved it a mark in Indian film history but it’s quite difficult to say whether the world, especially Mumbai, will look somewhat like that in the year 2050. This possibly is the first Indian film that marvels in special effects and people seem really amazed but at the same time few people are inclined to believe it a copy of some Hollywood flick. Being neutral it’s better to buy both the opinions. One funny thing is, even in 2050, corruption remain our inseparable characteristic. On the other hand the robot snake shows the fatal future of today’s reptiles (?).

QUTY and BOO show the great creative status of the director but the size of BOO is little small than what people have expected it to be. The film, flaunting a budget of fifty crore, must have earned a cool amount from Lux and Lawman. At the same time, the brand owners must be feeling good thinking about how their brands will be famous among stars even in 2050.

Well, it’s time to say adieu to you all but before signing off it’s better to say that you must watch the film once to witness Harman’s acting, special effects and not to forget, Mumbai in 2050.

Fuel Shortage continues in Chennai

Most fuel outlets in Chennai remained closed for the third day, Wednesday, with long queues of vehicles lined up everywhere at the city's filling stations that were open. The government continues to monitor the shortage.

As trucks were off the road due to a nation-wide strike, the demand for diesel was considerably less, and oil companies claimed that 'the situation has been managed'.

Companies like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) rushed supplies throughout the city from their storage depots in the suburbs and about 200 outlets were open.

The situation is expected to improve further with the expected arrival of the Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) vessel, Sampurna Swaraj, with 12,000 tonnes of high speed oil in Chennai port Thursday.

BPCL sources attributed the scarcity to the delay in the arrival of a cargo vessel carrying 15,000 tonnes of diesel from Lebanon, which was expected at Chennai port June 20.

Hey Dada, Jammy, Sachin, long time, no see…

A couple of years ago cricket stories that didn't feature Sourav, Dravid and Sachin would have been useless. But that's a thing of the past with the emergence of a new era in Indian cricket.

There is no denying the fact that cricket in India shot into the limelight when the 'Haryana Hurricane', Kapil Dev, and his 'Devils ' picked up the World Cup in 1983, beating the mighty West Indians. From there on the face of Indian cricket changed forever. We were looked upon as a force to reckon with.

The World Cup feat has never been replicated. The closest India came was at the 2003 edition of the World Cup in South Africa. It was Sourav Ganguly and his boys who went on to beat every team on its way to the finals against the reigning champions Australia. Those were the days of the 'Big Three': Sachin, Sourav and Dravid. The 'Big Three' have not been in the news much recently. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) the 'who-you?' became heroes and many heroes became 'who-you?'

For 'Bengal Tiger' Sourav Ganguly, his comeback has been his crowning glory. In 32 ODIs he got 12 half centuries with 98 being his highest score, at an average of an enviable 44.28. In Test matches, his return to international cricket was front-page news of every newspaper in the country. In 10 Test matches played in 2007, he amassed 1106 runs at a staggering average of 61.44. The tally included three centuries and four half-centuries.

Even after the amazing run, Dada was ignored for the ODI series played in Australia. His last newsworthy knock was against Australia in Nagpur where he scored 86. The last time he played an ODI was on November 15, 2007, against the touring Pakistan team in Gwalior.

For India's text-book batsman, Rahul Dravid, life has not been that easy. In 2007 he played 31 ODIs wherein he notched up a mere 823 runs with a not-so-bad average of 37.40 and eight half centuries. Cricket burdened its scrupulous student and even Test cricket provided no respite. He could manage only two centuries from the beginning of 2007 until the last test he played in April, 2008.

Sania-Mattek in Wimbledon quarters, to face Williams sisters

LONDON: Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek set up a quarterfinal clash with American sisters Venus and Serena Williams after getting past the Uzbek-Belarussian pair of Akgul Amanmuradova and Darya Kustova in the third round of Wimbledon Championships here.

The 13th seeded Indian-American pair was leading 4-6, 6-4, 2-0 when their opponents forfeited the match.

The Williams, seeded 11th and both of whom are already in the singles quarters, swept aside the fifth seeded Spanish pair of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascul 6-1, 6-4 in their third round match.

With Monday's win, Sania has reached Wimbledon doubles quarters for the first time.

The best that she had managed before this win was a third-round appearance last year, when she had teamed up with Israeli Sahar Peer.

Aamir and Imran on 10 Ka Dum

They say 'practice makes perfect'. And it's obviously understood that Aamir Khan hates flaws when it comes to work. His perfectionist nature is not unknown to anyone, be it when he is acting, producing or directing films. Recently, when he shot for game show 10 Ka Dum with nephew Imran, he requested Salman Khan for a mock rehearsal before playing the final game. Busy with the promotions of Imran's debut film Jaane Tu�Ya Jaane Na, the duo (Aamir and Imran) turned up on the sets of 10 Ka Dum and came in straight for a rehearsal. Salman explained the format of the game and how it is played! In the knock out round (two contestants play against each other for five questions, the contestant that gives the maximum right answers plays the game for 10 crores) Aamir and Imran were pitted against each other, and as expected, Aamir would think through his answer well before finally pulling the trigger. However, the young lad Imran won against Aamir and proceeded to play the game. During the rehearsals, Salman asked Imran, "Aap Aamir ko kya bulate ho?" Imran replied Aamir mamu. Salman asked, "Toh aap mujhe kya bulaoge?" Imran said, "Chachu" and Salman immediately countered asking, "Toh aap shaadi ke maamlein mein apne mamujaan par jayenge ya phir aapke chacha pe" (Would you go to mamujaan or chacha when it comes to marriage). The audience broke into a laugh and the game continued. Witness the action of between Salman, Aamir, and Imran this Friday, July 4 on 10 Ka Dum on Sony.

Hail Federer the fencer, Serena the figure skater

LONDON (Reuters) - Serena Williams glides across the skating rink. Ana Ivanovic leaps to the net in beach volleyball.

Roger Federer poses as a fencer. Rafael Nadal fulfils his boyhood dream as a soccer player.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of tennis being reinstated to the Olympics, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) persuaded 40 of the world's top players to dress up as athletes from other sports.

The result, launched at Wimbledon on Tuesday, made for some intriguing choices in a glossy coffee table book "Journey to Beijing: Tennis Celebrates the Olympics."

As befits a truly international sport, the photo shoots spanned the globe.

Chile's Olympic champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez became marathon runners on the streets of Santiago.

Maria Sharapova tried rhythmic gymnastics in Los Angeles, while Williams tried out figure skating at her local rink in Palm Beach, Florida.

Sharapova recalled dressing up as a child in the team's white beret and marching beside the television as the Russian team appeared at the opening ceremony.

Nadal, glued to the television as a six-year-old, will never forget Fermin Cacho winning the 1500 meters at the 1992 Barcelona Games. "The last few meters were unbelievable," he recalled.

While playing at The Masters in Shanghai, Nadal snatched a few quick minutes to pose as a footballer down a back alley.

He was the first player to commit to the book and others swiftly followed.

ITF spokesman Nick Imison told Reuters at the launch: "Every one of the men players wanted to be a footballer.

"For the modern-day player, the Olympics is a real career goal," Imison said of the top-ranked players who now need much less persuading to appear at the Games.

The millionaire players, who jet round the world leading a cocooned lifestyle from one five-star hotel to another, rave in the book about the joys of mingling with other athletes in the Olympic village.

But Williams did admit that she and her sister Venus could not stay in the Sydney Olympics village too long in 2000 because "It was crazy... Everyone came over and overcrowded us. There's a lot of excitement."

Federer can perhaps lay claim to the fondest of Olympic memories -- he met his long-time girlfriend and manager Mirka Vavrinec at the Sydney Olympics.

Little wonder that the Swiss champion, who happily signed autographs for three hours at the opening ceremony, said of the Games "I loved every minute of it."

Deutsche Post to get over bn euro cashback from EU ruling

BELGIUM: Deutsche Post AG will get more than euro1 bn (US$1.57 bn) back, the company said Tuesday, after an EU court ruled that regulators were wrong to make it return a German government subsidy. The European Court of First Instance, the EU's second-highest legal authority, backed the German delivery business' challenge to a European Commission decision that fined Deutsche Post euro572 mn in 2002. The court said the EU's antitrust authority had not proved its case that Deutsche Post misused public funds _ intended to pay for the country's postal service _ to unfairly undercut private sector rivals on door-to-door parcel delivery services from 1994 to 1998. The German federal government should now return that money to the company with interest _ which should total more than euro1 bn, the Bonn-based company said in a statement. But Deutsche Post is not out of the woods yet. EU regulators opened a new state aid probe last September to check if the company bolstered its commercial operations with any of the German state subsidies it received as far back as 1989. The EU said rivals had complained that Deutsche Post used government money to muscle into the private sector and sell services ``too cheaply'' to banking arm Postbank and parcel service DHL _ one of the world's three biggest delivery companies. It did not say how much money might be at stake, and stressed that its investigation may well clear Deutsche Post. Deutsche Post denies receiving any illegal subsidies. Governments usually pay postal operators to run the costly mail delivery service for the country, but EU rules forbid them giving more than is needed or allowing money be used for other services.