Hurricane Irene Approaching to New York, Transit System Closes

Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the U.S. East Coast and has turned into a frightening storm, according to NASA astronaut Mike Fossum on the International Space Station.

Hurricane Irene Approaching by NASA

“Hurricane Irene, a large, powerful Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, continues to plow through the northwest Bahamas, with the U.S. in its sights.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg sternly warned New Yorkers to follow the city's unprecedented mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday, saying approaching Hurricane Irene is "life-threatening" - "Staying behind is dangerous, staying behind is foolish, and it's against the law, and we urge everyone in the evacuation zones not to wait until gale-force winds," he said at a news conference from Coney Island. "The time to leave is right now."

Areas under a mandatory evacuation include Coney Island, Manhattan Beach, Far Rockaway, Broad Channel, South Beach, Midland Beach, Battery Park City, as well as the entire Rockaway peninsula.

As Hurricane Irene spins toward New York and New Jersey, more than 1 million tri-staters in vulnerable coastal areas are under evacuation orders -- and many say they won't leave.

Many bridges and streets were nearly empty across the city, where warnings about approaching Hurricane Irene resonated as the city's major utility weighed whether to cut power to parts of lower Manhattan.

The city does not have enough resources to evacuate the majority of the 370,000 affected residents after the weather worsens, he said.

Consolidated Edison said it would decide Saturday whether to shut off power in the evacuation zone in low-lying areas of lower Manhattan. Salt water can cause substantial damage to power lines running currents, Bloomberg said. "It's conceivable in downtown Manhattan there will be no electricity," he said.

For those who choose to stay in the city, it won't be a picnic, Bloomberg said. Elevators in public housing apartments would be shut down, and other high-rises may choose to do the same. Residents were urged to stay indoors once the weather started to get worse.

Bloomberg said he hoped the evacuation wasn't necessary but regardless the storm was expected to be serious enough to cause major damage.

The five main New York City-area airports were scheduled to close at noon Saturday to arriving domestic and international flights. Three of them, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty, are among the nation's busiest.

Messi leads Barca to Super Cup win over Porto: Barcelona 2 - Porto 0: match report

Read a full match report of the European Super Cup match between Barcelona and Porto in Monaco on Friday August 26 2011.

Europe continues to reverberate to the patter of tiny feet. Fine goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas brought Barcelona a deserved, often thrilling Uefa Super Cup victory over nine-man Porto. Fabregas has now won two trophies in 10 days, a contrast to his barren, six-year run at Arsenal.

The Europa League champions lost their shape, resilience and discipline late on but Barcelona were again magnificent.

Messi’s first was sumptuous and Fabregas’ second was expertly taken, and brilliantly made by Messi.

The DJ played “Mr Brightside” at the break and it must have been in tribute to Messi, who changed his boots on Stade Louis II’s poor pitch and was soon seizing on Fredy Guarin’s nightmare backpass.


Messi ran straight at Helton, seemingly turning the Porto keeper to stone as he dropped a shoulder and swept the ball effortlessly around him. Messi’s finish was typically accurate, the ball stroked at an angle in to the net.

Barcelona’s fans loved another reminder of their No 10’s brilliance, celebrating wildly, some lighting flares, others waving their shirts manically above their heads.

They had enjoyed other first-half moments as their idols racked up 70 per cent possession, notably a wonderful dribble by Andres Iniesta when he seemed to use Porto players as cones in a training session.

English interest in proceedings strayed further than the sight of Fabregas starting on the bench. Joao Moutinho’s involvement did not cup-tie Porto’s attacking midfielder as Uefa designate the Uefa Cup a “free match”, effectively a friendly. This may surprise Paul Scholes, who was sent off in this fixture and served his suspension in the Champions League.

Moutinho would be eligible for the Champions League if Chelsea decided to quicken their interest this week. Moutinho certainly impressed in the opening stages, one curling shot bringing a fine save from Victor Valdes.

Chelsea are also pursuing Alvaro Pereira, Porto’s talented left-back, who was rested here.

Fabregas eventually arrived with 11 minutes remaining, and was promptly felled by Guarin. The former Arsenal midfielder was again used in a more attacking role, pushing on to support Messi and Alexis Sanchez.

Porto cynically tried to stop Barcelona, and Rolando departed for two yellows, both fouls on Messi.

Before Guarin also departed, for a straight-red offence on Javier Mascherano, Barcelona had added a second, a thrilling moment for Fabregas. When Messi crossed from the right, Fabregas chested the ball down and belted it right-footed into the net.

Somdev to play Murray, Sania faces Peer in US Open

New York: India`s top singles player, Somdev Devvarman has drawn world No 4 Andy Murray, while Sania Mirza will face Israeli Sahar Peer in their first-round matches of the US Open beginning on Monday.

Ranked 64th in the world, 26-year-old Somdev will face an uphill task to advance beyond the first round against the in-form Murray.


The one at the Flushing Meadows will be the first meeting between the two.
The Indian`s record this year is solid, with a run through qualifying to the third round in Indian Wells in March the highlight, while last year he won the gold medal in the men`s singles tournament at the Commonwealth Games.His fighting ability and a liking for hardcourts should pose a few problems for Murray, who has again been placed in Rafael Nadal`s half of the draw.

Mirza, who is coming to New York following a string of losses in first rounds and qualifiers since her comeback post Wimbledon, is also expected to find the going tough against Peer.

Tendulkar, Zaheer in 2011 ICC Test Team of the Year

Dubai: Senior Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan earned a place in the ICC Test Team of the Year, chosen by a specially appointed selection panel headed by West Indian legend Clive Lloyd on Friday.

Four countries are represented in the 12-man line-up and Tendulkar made the side for the third year in a row, having appeared in the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2009 and 2010.

South African fast bowler Dale Steyn also featured in the World Test team for the fourth year running. He was a member of the ICC World Test Team of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2010.


Steyn`s fellow teammates -- Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis -- along with Sri Lanka`s Kumar Sangakkara, and England duo of Graeme Swann and James Anderson all appeared in the side for the second year in a row.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Sangakkara is named as captain of the team.

"The selection of this year`s Test team was a difficult one with so many worthy candidates available to fill just 12 places," said Chairman of the LG ICC Awards selection panel, Clive Lloyd in a media conference while announcing the short-lists for the LG ICC Awards 2011 scheduled to be held in London on September 12.

"The team has a formidable line-up that bats well down the order and has bowlers with the ability and form to dismiss any opposition twice on any surface," he said.

The shortlists of the Annual Awards, to be held in association with the Federation of International Cricketers` Associations, was announced after vote by an independent 25-person academy in each category.
The academy includes a host of former players, respected members of the media as well as representatives of the Emirates Elite Panels of ICC Umpires and ICC Match Referees.

The long-lists were made by a five-man ICC selection panel chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd. The panel also includes former captains Zaheer Abbas of Pakistan and England`s Mike Gatting and New Zealand`s Danny Morrison and South Africa`s Paul Adams.

Based on the period between August 11, 2010 and August 3 2011, the LG ICC Awards 2011 take into account performances by players and officials in a remarkable period for the game.

Shortlists of nominees for LG ICC Awards:
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Alastair Cook, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonathan Trott.

ICC Test Player of the Year: James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Jacques Kallis, Jonathan Trott

ICC ODI Player of the Year: Hashim Amla, Gautam Gambhir, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson

ICC Emerging Player of the Year: Azhar Ali, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Wahab Riaz

ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Hamid Hassan, Kevin O`Brien, Paul Stirling

ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Tim Bresnan, JP Duminy, Tim Southee, Shane Watson.ICC Women`s Cricketer of the Year: Charlotte Edwards, Lydia Greenway, Shelley Nitschke, Stafanie Taylor

David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Ian Gould, Simon Taufel

ICC Spirit of Cricket: M S Dhoni, Jacques Kallis

LG People`s Choice Award: Hashim Amla, M S Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Jonathan Trott.

UEFA Champions League Draw: Manchester City Given Tough Group, Arsenal Face Marseille, Manchester United Welcome Benfica, Chelsea Clash With Valencia

Manchester City avoided a group of death in their first Champions League draw but Roberto Mancini’s side still face a baptism of fire.

City will come up against three tough opponents in Group A in Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli.

Manchester United were given an easy draw, in Group C alongside Benfica, Swiss champions Basle and unknowns Otelul Galati from Romania.

Arsenal have to overcome Marseille, Greek champions Olympiakos and a potentially tricky test against Borussia Dortmund – the club in pot four to avoid – in Group F.

Chelsea will face Valencia, the former club of new signing Juan Mata, plus Bayer Leverkusen – where Michael Ballack is now playing – and Genk from Belgium in Group E.

Group A:

Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli.

Group B:

Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor.

Group C:

Manchester United, Benfica, Basle, Otelul Galati.

Group D:

Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb.

Group E:

Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk.

Group F:

Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund.

Group G:

FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, Apoel.

Group H:

Barcelona, Ac Milan, Bate Borisov, Viktoria Plzen.

National Cricket Academy has become a joke: Kiran More

New Delhi: Former national selector and wicketkeeper Kiran More lashed out at the Indian cricket board stating that National Cricket Academy has become a "joke".

"The biggest review the Indian board needs to do is at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). It has become a joke. The last time I was there, all the bowlers and batsmen were being just cloned mechanically. I was shocked. You can`t have everyone do the same thing," More lashed out during an interview with a sports website.

More questioned as to how many great players have NCA produced who are in the league of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar.

"How many cricketers has the NCA helped produce who are at the level of Anil Kumble or Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar? The NCA has failed in feeding good talent to the national team. It is time the Indian board seriously rethinks how the NCA is run," the former stumper didn`t mince words.

More feels that chairman Anil Kumble should get a free hand in running the NCA.

"Kumble should be given a free rein. He will make sure the right structure is put in place. You can`t just have coaches who are equipped with Level 1, 2 certificates. To an extent these guys can help, but you need national cricketers playing a bigger role," he said.

Roddick and Isner to meet in semi-finals of U.S. Open tune-up

(Reuters) - Andy Roddick and John Isner set up a mouth-watering semi-final between two big servers after the Americans won their respective quarter-final matches at the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday.


Top-seeded Roddick crushed seventh seed Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-1 6-4 while fourth seed Isner recovered from a shaky start to beat eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 1-6 6-3 6-4.

Roddick enjoys a 3-1 advantage in career meetings with the towering Isner but he predicted a tough encounter in the last four with his six-foot nine-inch compatriot.

"It's just whoever can scrape a return back on a big point and hope that something good happens," Roddick told reporters after keeping his U.S. Open preparations on a smooth winning track.

"The biggest thing is you've just got to try and take care of your own serve. I don't often go into a match with the second-best serve but that will be the case tomorrow."

Roddick, whose buildup to the season's final grand slam had been interrupted by an abdominal injury, is bidding to reach his third ATP World Tour final of the year.

Isner was delighted to turn his match around against Baghdatis, who will be his first-round opponent at the U.S. Open starting at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

"It was the second time I've played him this summer and I've had good success," said Isner. "For sure I don't give any players rhythm because on my serve I'm keeping the points short.

"A lot of the guys like rhythm and Marcos is one of those guys. When he gets into a groove from the baseline, that's when he plays well and has good results."

Ninth-seeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, who upset fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the previous round, ended his golden run on Thursday when he was beaten 3-6 7-6 6-2 by French qualifier Julien Benneteau.

Spanish Super Cup Final: Barcelona 3 Real Madrid 2; (agg 5-4): match report; A Dream Return Of Cesc Fabregas

Read a full match report of the Spanish Super Cup second-leg game between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Wednesday Aug 17 2011.
Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to make his Barcelona debut, but it was a familiar figure who inspired Barcelona to a thrilling yet bad-tempered Spanish Supercopa victory over Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.

Lionel Messi made one and scored two, including the winner two minutes from time, as the Catalans claimed a 5-4 aggregate win.

With the scores level at 2-2 from the first leg last week, the Argentinian set up Andres Iniesta for the opener only for Cristiano Ronaldo to equalise five minutes later.

Messi himself restored Barca's lead, but Karim Benzema brought the visitors level eight minutes from time as Madrid made their pressure pay.

Fabregas came on moments later for his first appearance for the club he left as a 16-year-old following his return from Arsenal.


The match looked headed for extra-time until Messi volleyed a late winner before Marcelo's sending off for a reckless scissor tackle on Fabregas sparked an injury-time brawl in which Mesut Ozil and David Villa, both of whom had already been substituted, were shown red cards, and Madrid boss Jose Mourinho appeared to tweak the ear of one of the Barcelona staff.

But if the game ended in ugly scenes, it started with one of beauty as Barcelona went ahead in the 15th minute with a goal of simplicity and brilliance.

Messi escaped his marked in midfielder for long enough to slide a perfectly-weighted through-ball into the path of Iniesta, who waited for goalkeeper Iker Casillas to go to ground and coolly dinked the ball over him.

Madrid levelled five minutes later when Ronaldo diverted Benzema's deflected low cross into the net, despite claims of offside.

Casillas then turned over Pedro's goalbound curler from the edge of the area before opposite number Victor Valdes kept out a fierce Ronaldo strike.

Messi had a sight of goal when he burst through the middle but, under pressure, his shot was weak and Casillas saved with his legs.

Madrid could not contain the Argentina forward, though, and on the stroke of half-time he seized on Gerard Pique's backheel and clipped a finish into the far corner.

The hosts continued to threaten after the break, Messi's chipped free-kick picking out Villa, but the Spain striker could not direct a difficult header on target.

Iniesta then laid the ball off to Messi, who burst into the area down the outside of the Madrid defence before his low shot was pushed away at the near post by Casillas.

Madrid were lucky to have 11 players still on the pitch with Pepe committing foul after foul, but Sergio Ramos should have brought them level only to send a free header wide.

Benzema levelled in the 82nd minute when Barcelona failed to clear a poor Kaka corner and the France striker scrambled the ball home.

Fabregas came on for Pedro moments later to make his debut following his long-awaited homecoming and was able to celebrate a Barcelona winner in the 88th minute.

Messi played a one-two with Adriano, playing the Brazilian in down the right and then stretching to volley his low cross inside the near post as he burst into the area.

The Argentine was denied a hat-trick by the feet of Casillas before Marcelo was deservedly sent off for an unnecessary and dangerous tackle on Fabregas.

The incident provoked a heated confrontation between both sets of players and their benches, which saw Ozil and Villa, both taken off in the second half, also shown red cards.

Mourinho also got involved, appearing to tweak the ear of one of the Barcelona staff and smiling as he walked away, but it was Barcelona who had the last laugh.

Pep Guardiola's shirt signed to 'Barcelona's future No 4', Cesc Fabregas

PEP GUARDIOLA first handed Cesc Fabregas a Barcelona shirt 10 years ago.

Across the front the Barca midfielder had written: "To Francesc Fabregas, waiting a couple of years to see you wear the No 4 at Camp Nou. Health. Good luck. Pep Guardiola."


A decade on and Guardiola is the boss at the Nou Camp welcoming Fabregas home to the club where all began.

The signed shirt was the idea of Rodolfo Borrell, coach of the Barcelona youth side at the turn of the century.

Young Fabregas — the No 4 in that successful junior team — had been upset by the news that his parents had begun divorce proceedings.

Borrell asked Guardiola, the club's defensive midfield rock and regular No 4, if he would sign a jersey for the vulnerable 13-year-old.

Not only was the Spaniard happy to oblige, he's now made his own prophecy come true with the £40million capture of the Arsenal captain.

Kapil slams seniors for not motivating youngsters

Chennai: Former captain Kapil Dev on Tuesday lashed out at the Indian players for lacking team spirit in the ongoing Test series against England and also criticised senior cricketers, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, for not motivating the youngsters in the team.

The former all-rounder, who led India to its maiden World Cup title in 1983, slammed Dhoni`s men for "going through the motion more than their love for the game" during the ongoing four-match series which England have already pocketed 3-0.

"Indian players did not play as a team. I am not trying to blame anybody but I think they played too much cricket. Within four days of winning the World Cup you play IPL. They then travel to West Indies for a tour and then from there to England. I think our players were going through the motion more than their love for the game", Kapil said in an interview.

Asked whether there were any other reason for the humiliating defeat against England which has dislodged India from the number one position, Kapil said the seniors have not played a role in guiding the youngsters during the tour.

"No cricketer walked up to young bowlers to advise them on what line to bowl. Dhoni could go up to Ishant and tell this. Media termed him as `Captain Cool`. He says everybody should know their job.

"In Indian sports, we have not reached that level where all the players know what they should do. We still look up to captain and senior players. We need somebody with aggression. All the senior players have become so senior that they do not want to be aggressive", he said.

Following are the excerpts from Kapil Dev`s interview.

Q: What is your take on Dhoni and team spirit?

Kapil: Everybody go ga ga about Sachin Tendulkar that `I learn from him and so on`. If you ask Virender Sehwag who is your guru he will say Sachin. If you ask Yuvraj, he will say Sachin. But I have never seen Sehwag or Sachin or Laxman, with their bundle of experience in batting, walking up to the bowlers to advise them the correct line to bowl. I do not know whether I am making sense or not.

But in my opinion, the new theory in Indian cricket is that bowlers have to work themselves and batsmen need to do everything by themselves. The required guidance is not there. May be I cannot see that what they talk about. I was not on the ground or in the dressing room. My observations are totally based on what I see on television.

Q: Are the Indian cricketers too tired now ?

Kapil: No. Not tiredness. When you play well there is nothing like you are tired. When you don`t play well then all those negative thinking sets in your mind. England played very good cricket, perhaps it is after 15 or 20 years that England looks like an English team in every sense. The difference between England and India is that England has great all-rounders, who can bat in between and bowl well. They have two or three such cricketers in their team. They are the trump cards in their team and they are the strength. From 80 for eight they were good enough to make 250 or 270. Unfortunately our team looked totally lost because we do not have a single all-rounder.


Q: Do you think the selectors should have given rest to some of the players by picking youngsters who had played for India earlier?

Kapil: If players are injured, what can you do. All such questions are raised when we fail to perform. If youngsters are given chances and still we lose, you would ask why Sachin or Rahul are not played and why all youngsters to England. Such arguments will become endless. It is easy to talk all these things from outside. Easiest thing in this world is to do post-mortem.

Q: Do you think the conditions in England were to the disadvantage of India?

Kapil: The bottomline for the series loss is that the English bowlers were attuned to their job and they bowled together and did not give up their goals. We have five cricketers who have on average played more than 15 Tests in English conditions and they have not delivered.

Q: Any other reason for India`s poor performance?

Kapil: The sad part throughout the series was that on the second day of a Test, Dhoni was bowling. I am not saying whether should he bowl or not. But, the situation when he bowled was different when you are having four bowlers. You are not playing in the sub-continent where after 70 or 80 overs you can say light is bad and match could be called off. We have to play 90 overs and all the main bowlers have to bowl minimum 20 overs each. Are they used to bowl 20-overs each? Unfortunately, they are not used to. If one bowler is injured then other main bowlers should bowl at least 25 overs each. Then the captain has to call the all-rounder to bowl for a brief period. In the past, Sehwag or Ganguly used to bowl when the pressure was less. Neither them nor Sachin could bowl 20 overs on the trot.


Q: Why India did not cash in on the chances they got?

Kapil: We did get our chances. In the second Test also, we had a chance but we did not avail those chances. We were totally lost and England outplayed us in every department.

Q: The blame game has started and who do you think is responsible for the debacle?

Kapil: I do not want to get in to that. Only thing is that these boys are good enough and they are still doing well. As long as they can play, we should support them. I think that that call has to be taken by the Board and the selectors.

Q: What is your advise to the players?
Kapil: Ten years ago, I said to Sachin to enjoy his game. He has said to newspapers that he is enjoying his game. But according to me he is enjoying his game only during the last two years. I think Sachin played his best cricket during the last two years. His knocks were unparallelled in the manner in which he set new records. Had he not been enjoying his game, there would have been few runs but his approach to the game would have been different. Now I can see that he is enjoying. So, it is entirely up to him to decide as to what to do and achieve it too.

Q: What do you think is needed in order to reduce the
number of matches played by India in a season?

Kapil: The fixture of four years is already set. I had talked to Rajiv Shukla on this and he says that the players are at liberty to take rest whenever they require to. But, nobody would like to take rest because they are unsure of their place in the team if they opt out as the next player would seal his berth. It is for the Board to decide as to how much cricket that they want to give to players.

Q: What is your view on setting norms for becoming Selection Panel members that he should have played for India?

Kapil: I think it is not a bad idea to set some qualification norms for such posts. It always gives you better results. People who have played for the country also deserve to be in the other posts in the Board.

Anna Hazare's War For Lokpal Bill Fight Against Corruption

Kisan Baburao Hazare(Anna Hazare) born 15 June 1937 at Bhingar, Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, is an Indian social activist. A former soldier in the Indian army he has no Spouse he's unmarried . Anna Hazare’s journey of four decades has been unprecedented in terms of a non-violent yet effective campaign. His efforts to empower grampanchayats, protect efficient government officers from frequent transfers and fight against the red tapism in government offices have also received accolades. That Hazare has given his life for social betterment is reflected thus.

Today, Anna Hazare is the face of India's fight against corruption. He has taken that fight to the corridors of power and challenged the government at the highest level. People, the common man and well-known personalities alike, are supporting him in the hundreds swelling to the thousands.

For Anna Hazare, it is another battle. And he has fought quite a few, Including some as a soldier for 15 years in Indian Army. He enlisted after the 1962 Indo-China war when the government exhorted young men to join the Army.

In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion and returned home to Ralegaon Siddhi, a village in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmadnagar. He was 39 years old.

He found farmers back home struggling for survival and their suffering would prompt him to pioneer rainwater conservation that put his little hamlet on the international map as a model village.

The villagers revere him. Thakaram Raut, a school teacher in Ralegaon Siddhi says, "Thanks to Anna's agitations, we got a school, we got electricity, we got development schemes for farmers.'' While in the army, Hazare used to visit Ralegan Siddhi for two months every year and used to see the miserable condition of farmers due to water scarcity. Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall. There were no weirs to retain rainwater. During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water. Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work and some of them had opted to open country liquor dens as a source of income.

Anna Hazare's fight against corruption began here. He fought first against corruption that was blocking growth in rural India. His organization - the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan (People's movement against Corruption). His tool of protest - hunger strikes. And his prime target - politicians.

But his weapon is potent. In 1995-96, he forced the Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra to drop two corrupt Cabinet Ministers. In 2003, he forced the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state government to set up an investigation against four ministers. In April 2011, four days of fasting brought thousands of people out in support of his crusade against corruption. They also made the government realise it could not be dismissive about Anna Hazare and his mass appeal.

Now you hear about Anna Hazare’s fasting until death and most of us were not aware who is Anna Hazare and what is this Lokpal Bill about?

Lokpal Bill and Jan Lokpal Bill

Lokpal bill at the current state has lots of loopholes and does not serves the purpose. The Lokpal cannot, under the proposed Bill, investigate any case against the Prime Minister in the arena of external affairs and defence. As a part of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill. We need to get this bill passed and implemented with all the loopholes closed, independent from Politicians and bureaucrats, like the Supreme Court of India. This movement from a person like Anna Hazare should be supported by each and every citizen of India and compel the responsible people to take an accepted decision at the earliest.

History of Lokpal Bill
This bill has taken 40 years, still not passed by elected representatives. Among different government in power, but none wanted this to come up as this would be the biggest hurdle for the corrupt politicians. India has changed, the young India, wants a clean India and will do anything and everything to get this done.

The bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969. However, it did not get through in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. Subsequent versions were re-introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008. But these never passed.

Renewed calls for the bill arose over resentment of the major differences between the draft 2010 Lokpal Bill prepared by the government and that prepared by the members of the associated activists movement - mainly comprising of N. Santosh Hegde a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Shanti Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement.

The bill's supporters consider existing laws too weak and insufficiently enforced to stop corruption

On the day the Lokpal Bill was tabled in Parliament, Anna Hazare burnt copies of the government's draft of the legislation along with his supporters in his home town Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.

Members of Team Anna - Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Swami Agnivesh, Kiran Bedi and others - too burnt copies of the Bill at Kaushambi in Ghaziabad and accused the government of cheating the common man.

The social activist, who has been campaigning for a stronger anti-graft legislation, exhorted people across the country to do the same.

Cesc Fabregas will ‘regret never lifting trophy’ for Arsenal

CESC FABREGAS admits the biggest regret of his career will always be never lifting a trophy as Arsenal captain.

The midfielder was welcomed by 30,000 Barcelona fans at the Nou Camp yesterday after he passed a medical and completed his £40million move.
Fab's signature on the five-year deal brought a close to one of the longest-running transfer sagas of recent seasons as Barca finally got their man after a three-year chase.

And for the World Cup winner it completed a dream move back to his boyhood club.


Fabregas was just 16 when he left Barca's academy to join Arsene Wenger's side in 2003.

In an emotional Press conference at the Nou Camp, he admitted: "The biggest regret I will have in my career is I did not lift a trophy as Arsenal captain.

"More than just not winning trophies and medals, it was the routine fact of doing the same things over and again, trying to win and then always finding, one way or another, that we just didn't have enough to get over the finishing line.

"We just didn't seem to have what it took in the final sprint for a trophy. But Arsenal are a great club and they will push on without me just like they did when Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry left.

"The club is always bigger than the player and I am sure they will be strong again."

Barca have paid £29m with add-ons of £6m and £5m in the future to take the total for the 24-year-old Spaniard to £40m.

Fabregas admitted it was never a question of money after spending many, long painful hours talking over a move with Emirates boss Wenger.

Fab added: "I have a special relationship with Wenger. We have talked for hours and hours about this move.

"He did not want me to leave for £80m but, in the end, I think my own will convinced him. I am grateful that he respected the wishes of his player.

"Wenger is a special person. He will always be like a second father to me.

"I will never have enough words to describe what he has done for me. I will always have him in my head and my heart.


"People who ask about why I renewed my contract with Arsenal for so long need to know I renewed four years ago when I was only 20. Pep Guardiola was not in charge at Barca then and there was no 'sign of life' in terms of what Barca thought about me. I was still just a kid."

Fabregas insisted he had been unable to tell Arsenal fans what was happening and claimed the Londoners had effectively gagged him.

He said: "I'm sorry I could not speak to them and I'm sad about leaving as I spent one third of my life there.

"It was a sad moment for me but life goes on. It was very emotional saying goodbye to my team-mates and particularly when I said farewell to Arsene.

"Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are great players and one day Jack will be England captain.

"I wish them well, especially in qualifying for the Champions League against Udinese and I thank the fans and club for the last few years.

"And I also want to thank Pep Guardiola for the effort he made and the confidence he gave me.

"I wasn't ready two or three years ago but I'm prepared now.

"But I knew I wanted to be with the best in the world. I've waited a long time for this but it was worth it. It's a special day, one of the best of my life."

Fabregas, who will continue to wear the No 4 shirt, is available for tomorrow's Spanish Super Cup second leg against arch-rivals Real Madrid. Sunday's first leg ended 2-2.

He said: "It all depends on the coach but I am prepared to fight for everything.

"I'm ready for a more secondary role if I have to fight for my place. I have chosen the biggest possible challenge to get into this team with such great players - but that's part of the attraction."

Serena rising: Second tourney win makes Williams Open favorite

Serena Williams is back, maybe not better than ever, but certainly better than the rest of the WTA. The 14-time Grand Slam champion earned her second straight tournament title this weekend in Toronto and moved up to No. 31 in the rankings, virtually assuring her of a seed at the U.S. Open later this month.

Serena getting back to peak form and dominating matches against the best players in the world comes as no surprise. When she's on the court and moderately healthy, she's the best in the game. It's where she's doing it that's unexpected.

For the past half-decade, Serena has made it clear that her focus is winning Grand Slams. The win in Stanford was her first regular victory on U.S. soil since 2008. The Toronto victory gave her a second victory for the year in a non-major or year-end tournament. She's only done that once since 2004.

It's a run partially borne out of necessity; in order to earn a seed at the Open, Serena probably had to win two tournaments beforehand. Still, she had to play six matches to win in Toronto and will have to do the same to win in Cincinnati. (Heck, the Serena of old would have already dropped out of the tournament in Ohio.)

Her stats since returning to tennis in mid-June are remarkable considering that in March there was a legitimate worry that she may not play at all this year:

• 15-2 record

• current 11-match winning streak

• 6-1 in three set matches

• 4-1 after losing first set

• 3-0 in tiebreakers

• 3-2 against top 10 players

• 8-2 against players in the top 30

• 3/2 odds on winning the U.S. Open (Petra Kvitova has the next best odds at 9/2)

To call her the favorite in New York might be an understatement. Getting seeded certainly helps, although, to be honest, Serena being seeded benefits the other 31 seeds more than her. You think it would matter to her if she had to play Roberta Vinci in the first round? Or let's say she were unseeded and drew Vera Zvonareva in the second round. Nobody would be saying "poor Serena," they'd be saying that Vera got a tough break.

Her serve is dominant and her power hasn't diminished at all. The conditioning problems she showed during the grass court events are all but forgotten.

It may say No. 31 next to her name in the rankings. Everyone on the WTA knows who's really No. 1.

Chelsea Make Cheeky and Pointless £30m Plus Player Offer for Tottenham Star Luka Modric

Chelsea are prepared to use Yossi Benayoun as bait in their attempt to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has long been an admirer of Benayoun, and showed interest in the creative midfielder when he left Liverpool last year.

The Israel captain moved to Stamford Bridge instead but failed to make an impression in a season wrecked by a heel injury.

He has been bright during pre-season but it is indicative of Chelsea’s desire to land Modric that Andre Villas-Boas is prepared to sacrifice Benayoun.
Since arriving from Porto in June, Villas-Boas has spoken many times about the importance of players who can operate ‘between the lines’, bringing fluidity and unpredictability to Chelsea’s rigid system.
Benayoun fits into this category, not to mention the fact that he is perhaps the only player to have displayed any chemistry with Fernando Torres.

Spurs, who have rejected bids of £22m and £27m, are optimistic that they can fight off Chelsea’s interest and convince Modric, who is in Ireland with Croatia, to commit to at least one more year at White Hart Lane, even though he has already said he wants to leave.

Chamakh expects duo to depart

Arsenal forward Marouane Chamakh believes both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will leave the club before the end of the transfer window.

Intense transfer speculation continues to surround both players, with Fabregas still being pursued by boyhood club Barcelona and Manchester City keen to do a deal Nasri.

Intense transfer speculation continues to surround both players, with Fabregas still being pursued by boyhood club Barcelona and Manchester City keen to do a deal Nasri.

But despite their inclusion, Chamakh believes the Gunners will lose the midfield pair once Arsene Wenger has lined up their replacements.

"I think Cesc and Nasri will probably leave the club," the Moroccan said.

"I do not believe that the money available for these two players is really the crux of the problem. I just think the manager wants to find reliable replacements."

Meanwhile, Gunners forward Andrey Arshavin has shrugged off claims that he is poised to join Russian side Anzhi.

He said in The Times: "It's not true, just rumours."

Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas crushing illegally parked Cars with Tank

"Local citizens of the town (Vilnius, Lithuania) are reportedly tired of luxury car owners constantly parking in the various cycleways and have requested the local council do something about it.

So, as reassurance that the public can rely on the council to clear up such matters, mayor of Vilnius, Arturas Zuokas, jumped in an tank and drove over a Mercedes-Benz S-Class that was parked in the lane."

According to Metro.co.uk, the mayor's stunt was set up by members of his office, who recently received over 100 complaints of parking woes. "I want to point out that if you have a car and more money it doesn't mean that you can park it everywhere. Zuokas was quoted by the Irish Times as saying. "Recently there's been an increase in this type of parking violations, and it shows a lack of respect for others."

And just like John Wayne the mayor explains, "I’ve had enough of these drivers parking their luxury cars on bike lanes and pedestrian crossings. This tank is a good tool to solve the problem of parking in the wrong place.?

Zuokas, a former leader of the Liberal and Centre Union, who gave up his MP mandate and the party at the end of 2009, formed his own not affiliated movement.  His movement received the largest amount (12 out of 51) mandates at the municipal elections in March 2011.

Zuokas is one of the most charismatic Lithuania’s politicians but also one of the most controversial.  In 2008, Zuokas was sentenced for an attempted bribery of former council member. Vilnius Mayor is also allegedly named as having links Icor business companies.  ‘Zuokas is an experienced politician, with many labels, however, the experience he has should not go unused. As a mayor in the new tenure, he should be far more cautious and, on the other hand, he will probably be energetic and active,’ political scientist Algis Krupavicius was quoted by Alfa.lt saying to the Baltic News Service.

Romeo Beckham ignores dad David Beckham's glittering football career, wearing Man U shirt with Wayne Rooney's number instead

David Beckham must be guilty of putting on an All Saints record when he could have picked a Spice Girls one.

And now the father-of-four has got a taste of his own medicine with son Romeo opting to wear a football shirt hailing one his rivals on the pitch.

The eight-year-old proudly wore the Manchester United top with Wayne Rooney's surname and number 10 etched on the back.

Despite his controversial wardrobe choice, Romeo spent most of the day in his wetsuit catching the waves in the Malibu surf.

Along with dad and brothers Brooklyn, 12, and Cruz, 6, the boys played on their surfboards, toying with the paparazzi as they struck various poses.

The Beckham clan were joined by a host of famous faces, including Gordon Ramsay and his family and later Chelsea Manager Carlo Ancelotti.

David kept his tattoos under wraps as he hid behind maroon board shorts and a long-sleeved white T-shirt.

It's a surprise he wasn't parading around in his smalls, after launching a new fashion line with H&M.

The LA Galaxy star shared the news with his 13 million Facebook followers last Thursday.

He wrote: 'Hi guys, today I'm pleased to announce a new long-term partnership with H&M to sell my new underwear range.

'It won't be available until February next year but I'll keep you updated with details and pictures nearer the time....'

The family are currently in America while Victoria recovers from the birth of daughter Harper Seven.

They are renting the luxurious $150,000-a-month mansion from director Steven Spielberg for the summer.