YSR Chopper crash -- Probe points to pilot error

The report which has been long awaited is finally out. The CBI took over the
investigation of YSR chopper crash. The late chief minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Rajashekhara Reddy was killed when the helicopter he was flying in crashed as the pilots lost the control because they were engrossed for six vital minutes in locating a flight manual.

The four member inquiry commission investigating the cause of helicopter crash that killed YSR along with four other people says that bad weather and strong winds forced the pilots into a descent they could not manage.

"The probable cause of the accident is – accident occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent in the terrain at a very high rate of descent due to entry into severe down draught," the report said.

According to the report the pilots were using flying instruments but their flight plan was cleared for Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

It also claims that the pilots on noticing a snag were engrossed for vital six minutes with the flight manual and were therefore distracted from the poor weather conditions.

Data recording shows that there was a snag in the helicopter and the pilots were busy for six minutes trying to rectify it looking at manuals and only lost vital time but also the control of the helicopter.

But interestingly even though the report does talk about a snag but it does not specify the kind of snag.

he four-member Committee of Inquiry was set up by the government a day after the crash and on the day that YSR was found dead. The committee headed by Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited CMD RK Tyagi included senior aviation and air safety experts.

Rahman -- Once Again in the Oscars queue

Music Maestro, A .R. Rahman has been nominated for Oscar for "Na Na" song in the movie "Couples Retreat" under the original song category for 82nd Academy Awards. This song will be competing with 62 other songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures for nomination which will be announced on feb 2.

This comedy movie directed by Peter Billingsley revolves around four couples who take a vacation to tropical island resort.

Rahman is getting many offers from Hollywood. Inorder not to spend more time in foreign countries, he is rejecting.

Remix era continues

Nagarjuna's forthcoming movie Kedi has a remix song "Mu Mu Muddante Cheda" which was originally acted by his father , ANR in Andrustavantudu. Nagarjuna plays a role with negative shades opposite Mamtha Mohan Das.

Nag's favourite music director, Sandeep Chowtha rocks the audience with melody again. Hope this movie works out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soundarya Rajanikanth to marry Ashwin

Soundarya Rajanikanth, younger daughter of Tamil superstar Rajanikanth is getting married to Ashwin, son of Ramkumar, a businessman in chennai.

The engagement is likely to happen on Feb 14th and the marriage is yet to be decided on the suitable muhurtham.

Soundarya, chief of ocher productions is a graphic designer and is working on an animation movie "Sultan the Warrior" with Rajanikanth in the lead role .The film is expected to hit the sets worldwide in April ,2010 with 3500 prints in 18 different languages.

Adurs Adiripoyindhi

Inspite of the contravercies, Adurs turned to a blockbuster. People from all over the world are watching it. Brahmanandam endless comedy added to it. The vaishnava role of NTR broke the bellies with laughter. Not to degrade the vaishnava community, some changes were made to the "where is that song". The song looks still great with the replaced tag "pilaka juttu" with "Patha bike".

Glamorous heroine Nayanatara in "langa-ooni" became a heartthrobe for many youngmen.

IT raids in the houses of Surya, KS Ravikumar and Vadivelu

Popular Tamil hero Surya's houses at Tnagar and Adyar were raided by Income Tax Officials on 18th January, 2010 .The raids commenced simultaneously in all the three houses at 7 a.m. According to a report, no information was available on what the officials recovered from them.

Kollywood was stunned by these sudden raids by the IT officials on the film industry personalities.

SP Mulayam Accepts Amar's resignation

Things are getting more sour between SP Chief Mulayam and the SP's poster boy Amar Signh. In the on going spat between Ram Gopal and Amar Singh, Ram Gopal seems to have gained the upper hand. While Amar Singh remained adamant on his resignation, Ram Gopal said the former had lost his mental balance. The SP chief had maintained that he would convince Singh to take back his resignation, but failed to sway him.

Ram Gopal has held Singh responsible for SP's association with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, which, he felt led to the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls and the Ferozabad by-election.

SP leaders including Jaya Prada, Jaya Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt had threatened to quit their party posts in the wake of Singh's resignation.

Google to make first big job cuts

Google has announced its first sizeable cuts, with the axing of 300 jobs at its online advertising unit DoubleClick.

The lay-offs make up about a quarter of DoubleClick's 1,200-strong workforce in the US. Worldwide, DoubleClick has about 1,500 employees.

Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt has suggested that overseas operations, employing a further 300 people, will also be affected at a later date.

It is a first for Google and perhaps not one they want to trumpet too much.

In a statement, Google said: "Since our acquisition of DoubleClick closed on March 11, we have been working to match and align DoubleClick employees in the US with our organisational plan for the business.

"As with many mergers, this review has resulted in a reduction in head-count at the acquired company."

Saif-Kareena to wed?

The latest bit of rumour that we heard on April Fool's Day is that Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan plan to wed after their film, Tashan, releases on April 25. And no, this is not a joke, insist all.

Kareena is quoted as having told Zee News that she will get married 'very soon,' adding, 'So maybe, post the release of Tashan this month, you all can see us wedded.'

The actress also told Zee News that there was nothing wrong with getting married at the peak of her career, especially after the success of Jab We Met .

'I didn't say I'd stop working after marriage,' she is quoted to have told Zee News. "Today, I've already reached the Rs 3.5 crore package, and I hope to work and earn more in the coming years.'

So will we hear wedding bells soon? Let's wait and watch.

SRK Smarter than a 5th Grader?

The smoke was not emanating from his trademark cigarette but from Shah Rukh Khan’s ears yesterday. A furious SRK stalked out of the sets of Star’s ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai?’ a television gameshow featuring him. Apparently a 10-year-old student sprang up and fielded a question which left the actor flummoxed.

In the show, based on the international ‘Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader’ in which grade-school level questions are put to adults. Contestants are presented with the chance to win up to Rs 5 crore by answering questions taken from the syllabus of the fifth grade level or lower. Children are part of the show and are the contestant’s ‘classmates’. The show is to air on Star Plus soon.

SRK was filming at the Haji Ali studio Letsroll yesterday. All seemed well five minutes into the shoot with the parents of the kids watching intently in the audience, adult contestants and the children all eating out of SRK’s hands already.

Then, a student got up and asked SRK rather insolently if he knew to which cricket writer one could attribute the quotation: ‘What do they know of cricket who only cricket know.’ SRK was taken aback. He said hesitantly, “Neville Cardus.” He was hooted down and some students who shouted, “No. It is CLR
James.” A voice shouted from the back: “People who do not know their cricket should not own teams.”
This referred obviously to SRK’s acquisition of the Kolkata team for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As SRK protested that he did know his cricket, other bouncers were hurled at him: “When did Graham Gooch lead a rebel tour to South Africa?” and “Which cricketer was forced to flee Zimbabwe fearing Robert Mugabe’s wrath?” SRK did not know the answers to both which were incidentally 1982 and Henry Olonga. More booing followed, with somebody shouting, “Go and dance at weddings.”


The superstar stormed out and has left the programme in the lurch refusing to return today for shooting. The buzz is that SRK has left the show for good. The actor refused to comment on the issue yesterday.

Meanwhile, the student who was later identified as Amit Buch from Eklavya High School, Cuffe Parade, told MiD DAY that he was a big fan of SRK and thought he could earn some brownie points by asking questions. “I have seen all of SRK movies and one day want to enter movies. I thought this is a way to impress him. I had studied up stuff for the shooting. I hope he is not too angry with me.”

Buch’s parents said that King Khan had behaved rather immaturely in front of the children and should learn to take jokes better.

Asha Saini arrested

Heroine Asha Saini was arrested in Chennai on Tuesday (Mar 11, 2008) when she tried to get visa using forged documents at American Embassy. She had gone to American embassy along with her assistant Sri Latha (35) to obtain visa and the officials found that she is using forged documents.

Police suspect she is trying to take Sri Latha into USA with her. The officials found contradictory details on the documents and questioned them. However not convinced with the reply, they questioned the actress' agent Venkat Reddy and he too said to have given misleading details that prompted the Embassy officials to report to police.

Following the complaint, the police had arrested Asha Saini and the two others. Asha

Saini reportedly told the officials that she is leaving for USA for 'consulting some producers’ about a Telugu film. Chennai police headed by Deputy Commissioner Mourya, Assistant Commissioner Ravindran and Inspector Irudhayam are investigating the case.

Singapore least corrupt among major Asian economies

While Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan are considered the least corrupt among 13 major Asian economies, India, ranked 8th, fared better than 10th-placed China in a survey conducted by a regional think-tank.

The annual survey by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy excludes countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh, notorious for corruption.

On a scale of zero to 10, where zero is the best possible score, Singapore topped the list with 1.13, followed by Hong Kong (1.80) and Japan (2.25).

India was ranked 8th with a score of 7.25, faring worst than last year, when it scored 6.67.

China was placed at number 10 at 7.98, compared to the previous year score of 6.29.

The Philippines was considered the most corrupt economy with a score of 9.00, followed by Thailand (8.00).

Andhra Pradesh High Court sends notices to hero Pawan Kalyan and Megastar Chiranjeevi

Andhra Pradesh High Court today (Monday, March 10, 2008) sent notices to hero Pawan Kalyan and Megastar Chiranjeevi and 11 members of their family on the petition filed by Pawan’s wife Nandini. After a magistrate court in Vizag dismissed her charges of Pawan Kalyan marrying Renu Desai without giving her divorce, she filed the case in High Court and the court has taken her petition.

The court has asked Chiraneevi family members to respond to the notices in four weeks. On other hand, there is another case - divorce case - is also going on in Vizag court. Pawan refuses to live with her and seeks divorce from Nandini whereas she prefers to lead life with him.

High Court taking up the case and sending notices has further complicated Pawan's saga of seeking divorce from Nandini. And he has been going through these court cases for over six months and there seems to be no respite for it, at this moment.

EU fines Microsoft $1.3 Billion

The European Union's decision to fine Microsoft with $1.3 billion comes as a big blow to the company. Microsoft is being fined for charging rivals too much for the software information.

Microsoft fought hard against a March 2004 decision that led to a 497 million euro ($613 million) fine and an order that the software maker share interoperability information with rivals within 120 days. The company lost its appeal in that case in September.

Microsoft was fined $357 million in July 2006 for failing to obey that order.

Microsoft had initially set a royalty rate of 3.87 percent of a licensee's product revenues for patents and demanded that companies looking for communication information — which it said was highly secret — pay 2.98 percent of their products' revenues.

The EU complained last March that the rates were unfair. Under threat of fines, Microsoft two months later reduced the patent rate to 0.7 percent and the information license to 0.5 percent — but only in Europe, leaving the worldwide rates unchanged.

Bollywood item girl arrested

An actor, who featured in Bollywood item numbers in the 1990s, has been arrested by the Thane police in a case of alleged abetment of rape and the kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl.

The arrest came after the victim's mother filed a complaint against the 'item girl' at the Mira Road police station. The victim worked as a maid at the actor's home. Mira Road is a township close to Mumbai.

In the complaint to the police, the girl's mother alleged that the actor forcibly kidnapped her daughter with the help of her (the item girl's) brother, who then allegedly raped her. The mother also claimed that after the rape, her daughter was forcibly sent to Pune to have sex with some clients.

The actor and her brother have been arrested and will be produced in the Thane court later on Wednesday.

Hayden to face CA charge after 'weed' comment

The Australian opener Matthew Hayden has been charged with breaching Cricket Australia's code of conduct after calling India offspinner Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious weed".

Hayden also said he liked the idea of "getting into the ring" with Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma during a lively radio interview that has almost inevitably brought official sanction.

"Rule guidelines prohibit public denigration of other players against whom they have or will play," said Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young.

A Code of Conduct commissioner will appointed later today to hear the charge against Hayden, which comes a day after he was voted Australia's limited-overs player of the year.

Kareena called her ex-boyfriend, Shahid Kapur on his birthday

If Saif Ali Khan can do it, why shouldn’t Kareena Kapoor? According to reports, Saif called his ex-girlfriend Rozza Catalano several times on her birthday last month. On Monday, Bebo called ex-beau Shahid to wish him on his birthday.

Says a source close to Kareena, “Though Shahid and Kareena have parted, they have kept in touch with each other. Kareena remembered his birthday on February 25 this year and called to wish him.

When she spoke to him, he was in Goa with close friends, Ahmed Khan and Lovely Singh. Bebo wished him and then they continued to talk for sometime. The conversation flowed very easily, just like in the past, when they used to have long chats.”

Gene - Hair loss culprit

Here is good news for those thinning at the top - a gene that prevents regeneration of hair has been identified. People losing their hair can now hope for medicines to inhibit this gene.

A healthy individual loses about 100 hairs daily. That's okay, as the bulk of them are replaced. The problem begins when the shedding goes beyond that number, and replacement lags.

Now, scientists at the University of Bonn have, after six years of research, identified a gene that causes a rare hereditary form of hair loss - Hypotrichosis simplex - throwing open the possibility of regenerating hair.

The defective gene was found to inhibit receptor structures on hair follicle cells from forming correctly. Such receptors play a specific role in hair growth that was previously unknown.

As part of the study, dermatologist Khalid Al Aboud of the King Faisal Hospital in Makkah examined a Saudi Arabian family with Hypotrichosis simplex.

DNA samples from the parents and from nine of their 10 children - including four sufferers - were analysed, providing the researchers the key to understanding some of the fundamental mechanisms of hair growth and loss.

The researchers now hope that this individual genetic case will lead to developments that can benefit more patients.

'Although Hypotrichosis simplex is uncommon, it may prove critical in our search to understand the mechanisms of hair growth,' said project leader Regina Betz.

Bangalore and Hyderabad (Shamshabad) airports to close

he existing airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore will be closed once the new airports are commissioned, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

The two projects at Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are at various stages of completion and steps have been taken by the state governments for providing connectivity at Shamshad (Hyderabad) and Devenhalli (Bangalore), Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said while replying to a query.

"Commissioning of the new airports is pursuant to the provisions of the contractual agreements with the concerned airport companies," he said.

The existing airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore would be closed for commercial operations once the new airports become operational, the Minister added.

53rd FilmFare Awards

Best Actor: Shahrukh Khan - Chak De India

Best Actress: Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met

Best Film: Taare Zameen Par

Best Director: Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actor: Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actress: Tabu - Cheeni Kum

Critics' Award For Best Film: Shimit Amin - Chak De India

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Irrfan Khan - Life in a... Metro

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Konkana Sen Sharma - Life in a... Metro

Best Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi - (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)

Best Playback Singer (Male): Shaan - (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghosal - (Barso Re - Guru)

Best Music: A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Story: Amol Gupte - Taare Zameen Par

Best Screenplay: Anurag Basu - Life in a... Metro

Best Dialogue: Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met

R. D. Burman Award: Monty Sharma (Saawariya)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Rishi Kapoor

Power Awards: Yash Chopra & Aditya Chopra

Best Debut (Male): Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Best Debut (Female): Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om

Best Special Effects: Red Chillies Entertainment - Om Shanti Om

Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award: Deepika Padukone

Best Background Score: A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Editing: Amitabh Shukla - Chak De India

Best Choreography: Saroj Khan (Barso Re Megha Re - Guru)

Best Action: Rob Miller - Chak De India

Best Art Direction: Samir Chanda - Guru

Best Sound: Leslie Fernandes - Johnny Gaddaar

Best Cinematography: Sudhip Chatterjee

Best Costumes: Sujata Sharma - Gandhi My Father

Indian IPL Teams so far

Jaipur Shane Warne (US$450,000), Graeme Smith (US$475,000), Younis Khan (US$225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$675,000), Munaf Patel (US$275,000), Justin Langer (US$200,000)

Chennai MS Dhoni (US$1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$600,000), Matthew Hayden (US$375,000), Jacob Oram (US$675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$225,000), Albie Morkel (US$675,000), Suresh Raina (US$650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$200,000), Michael Hussey (US$350,000)

Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$150,000), Loots Bosman (US$175,000)

Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$450,000), Mark Boucher (US$450,000), Cameron White (US$500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$150,000), Dale Steyn (US$325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (US$200,000)

Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist (US$700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$675,000), Scott Styris (US$175,000), VVS Laxman (US$375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$750,000), Chamara Silva (US$100,000), RP Singh (US$875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US$110,000)

Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000), Brett

Manchu Manoj -- Nenu Meeku Telusa

Get ready for another Jalak from the Manchu family. This time it's from Manchu Manoj Kumar, in his never relenting raids on telugu film industry for a success. Till date Manoj hasn't tasted success in his filmi career. His previous film Raju Bhai was a comprehensive debacle. He is going to appear with a toned body and complete image change in the movie 'Nenu Meeku Telusa' which is being shown during the interval of his brother Vishnu’s film 'Krishnarjuna'. The shooting has already begun. Ad man-turned-filmmaker Ajay Sastri is making his debut and is very exuberant of the project.Hope it doesn't end up like 'KrishnaArjuna'.

Allu Arvind -- Sharp business man

It's known fact that Allu Arvind is producing the hindi version of Ghazani, starring Amir and being directed by MurugaDas. It's reported that the theaterical rights were sold at whopping Rs.53 Cr and the DVD,satellite rights for Rs.40 Cr. The movie budget is Rs.40 Cr. He is making a profit of Rs.50 Cr even before the realease of the movie. No wonder he is a trusted and time tested lieutenant for Chiru.

Jodhaa Akbar -- Maham Anga Vs Jodha , Jodha - The bahu

Maham Manga Vs Jodha or Jodha - the bahu would have aptly suited rather than Jodha-Akbar. All the excitement and hype surrounding the movie is no match to the actual movie. With no doubt the saving grace for the movie is the ever-beautiful 'AISH' and the songs. The costumes, ornaments supplemented Aish's beauty. Needless to say, she was the perfect fit for the character.The movie completely fails in justifying the marriage between a Rajput Princess and the Mughal Emperor. If the movie continues to run it, the credit will go to Aish. Hristhik's performance was nothing special. He failed to match the persona that we would expect from the Shehanshah of Hindustan. The movie also lacks any war depictions in contrast to the trailers floating around.Clearly the director was 'inspired' by 'Kyon ki Saas bhi Kabhi bahu thi'.

AP budget bigger than Bangladesh's !!!!

The finance minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Saturday presented a Rs 1-lakh crore budget which eclipses even the outlay for small countries such as Bangladesh. The total outlay is put at Rs 1,00,436 crore. This is not only the biggest budget of the state but also the highest for any state in the country in the last two years. Speaking later, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, said, “Uttar Pradesh with the largest population has a plan budget of Rs 25,000 crore and financially strong Maharashtra Rs 20,000 crore.” The figure for AP is about Rs 43,000 crore, the highest in the country.
The fiscal deficit for this year is estimated to be Rs 9,657 crore, which would be 2.82 per cent of gross state domestic product. “After taking into account the overall transactions of the year, we will have a net surplus of Rs 134 crore,” said the finance minister. “The financial year 2008-09 is expected to end with a cash balance of Rs 120 crore.” The GSDP during 2007-2008 is likely to be Rs 2,29,461 crore, which is an increase of 10.37 per cent over the previous year’s quick estimates.
In its last full-fledged Budget before the Assembly elections, the Congress government has allocated Rs 51,885 crore under non-plan expenditure and Rs 48,551 crore under plan expenditure for the next 12 months. An amount of Rs 2,277 crore has been allocated for infrastructure which is 73 per cent more than the previous allotment. Further, the government plans to invest Rs 38,671 crore in the industries sector creating 1.30 lakh jobs. Special economic zones coming up in the State will employ 25 lakh persons.