RSA thrash India Down to Nine wickets

South African pacer Dale Steyn removed dangerous Sehwag on duck. India was 1/1. Dravid (0) and Gambhir (1) were at the middle.

Indian skipper out 136/9.South African skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and invited India to bat first in the first Test match of three-match series at Super Sport Park in Centurion on Thursday.


Indian pacer Zaheer Khan was ruled out due to hamstring injury and is replaced by debutant Jaidev Unadkat.

Earlier, an entire first session was washed out due heavy downpour and wet ground field.

The Test series is believed to be series of the year and India will definitely try to break its past record in the South African soil.

Ind: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, JD Unadkat

SA: GC Smith, AN Petersen, JH Kallis, HM Amla, AB de Villiers, AG Prince, MV Boucher, LL Tsotsobe, PL Harris, DW Steyn, M Morkel

Audi India's sales zoom up

German luxury car manufacturer's subsidiary Audi India Friday reported a 153 percent rise in its sales during November - 256 cars against 101 in the same period last year.

"We attribute this success to our customers as well as our business partners who truly appreciate our luxurious sporty design and progressive cutting edge technology," said Audi India head Michael Perschke.

The company's sales dudring January-November jumped 80 percent and stood at 2,791 cars from 1,550 cars in the same period last year.

The company expects to continue on its growth trajectory in 2011 with new launches and opening of new showrooms.

"We are confident that we will further this positive trend in 2011 with the opening of our new showrooms in Delhi and Chennai early next year," Perschke said.

According to him, the product line would also be enhanced with the launch of flagship - the Audi A8 L and the all new super sports car Audi R8, equipped with the powerful V10 engine.

Globally the company reported that the first eleven month of the year were its best ever in terms of sales with a growth of 15.3 percent and which stood at over one million cars.

"Between January and November 2010 the brand sold around 1,003,900 cars, beating the sales figures of the previous best year in the company's history (1,003,469 cars in 200")," the company said in a statement.

"This upturn was driven by high growth rates in China and the growing success in the United States. Audi continues to hold its No.1 position in China and Europe and retain its market leadership in the SUV segment in India," the statement added.

Currently Audi offers a range of models in the country which includes Audi A4, Audi A6, Audi Q5, Audi Q7, Audi TT and the super sports car Audi R8.

Skoda roll out 'Yeti'

Wait is over. The much talked SUV from Skoda is all set to hit the Indian roads on Monday.

Skoda Yeti will be rolled out for India’s Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) lover. Skoda Yeti was displayed in January Delhi Auto Expo this year.



SUV Skoda Yeti is priced at Rs 17 lakh onwards. The crossover from Skoda sported 2.0 TDI common rail diesel engine. The 2.0 TDI common rail diesel engine will allow Skoda Yeti to produce 140 bhp of max power and 32.4 kgm of peak torque at 1750 rpm.



Skoda Yeti also offers a six-speed manual transmission option. According to the company, Yeti is capable to mover 0 to 100 kph within 11 seconds.



Speed lovers in India will have a good Choice in form of Yeti. The mileage of the Yeti is also quite good. It is expected to produce 11.2 kpl.

Building collapses in Delhi

At least 36 people were killed scores of others injured when a five-storey residential building collapsed in east Delhi on Monday, police and hospital authorities said.

Some 60 people were rescued from the building in Lalita Park area of Laxmi Nagar, but several others are still feared to be trapped, a senior police official said.

Doctors and officials at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital said 13 dead people were brought to the two centres.

R A Gautam, Medical Superintendent of LBS, said 20 injured were brought to the hospital, of which 13 are in a critical condition.

Fire brigade, police and MCD officials were engaged in the rescue operation and removal of debris with the help of local residents.

Finance minister A K Walia, who rushed to the spot, said the foundation of the old building could have weakened due to the heavy rains in the Monsoon season when water of the Yamuna river flooded the area.

Locals said some water was still there in the basement of the building. Some eyewitnesses also claimed that construction of an extra floor was going on when the incident took place. Many of the injured were labourers.

"Such a large building just went down in minutes," an eyewitness said.

People gathered in large numbers in the area. Locals complained that initially there were no power and no cranes to help in the rescue efforts. Ambulances and PCR jeeps were seen rushing the injured persons to hospitals.


Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said that rescue work has been launched on war footage. She said that free treatment has been ordered and hospitals are put on high alert.

BlackBerry enters Nepal

Even as neighbour India laid down an Aug 31 deadline for Black Berry to provide law agencies access to its encrypted data or face the closure of its secure email service, the smartphone wiz has entered Nepal via a tie-up with the first private mobile telephone service provider.



Spice Nepal Private Ltd, Nepal's first private mobile phone operator offering its services under the brand Ncell, has now added BlackBerry services to its menu following a no-objection certificate from the regulating authority, the Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA).

Keeping in mind the security concerns in India, the NTA said it has issued the no-objection certificate conditionally.

"If the government of Nepal wants to monitor or intercept calls or other services, Ncell has to make the provisions," NTA official Kabindra Shrestha told IANS.

Also, Spice Nepal will not enjoy exclusivity, Shrestha said.

If the other mobile phone operator in the country, the state-run Nepal Telephone, wants to offer BlackBerry services in future, it too will have the right to do so.

Also, Spice Nepal will have to provide BlackBerry services even to people who have bought the phone sets from other places.

A BlackBerry handset will cost about NRS 50,000 and the monthly charge is NRS 1,000.

A customer who has bought his BlackBerry phone set from elsewhere will also be entitled to Ncell's BlackBerry services.

Spice Nepal entered Nepal controversially with the launch of its services in 2005 when Nepal's then king Gyanendra staged a bloodless coup and shut down telephone services.

In 2008, Spice Nepal acquired a boost with Nordic telecom giant TeliaSonera, obtaining controlling interests and the old brand, Mero Mobile, was repositioned as Ncell.

Anil enters in TV Broadcast venture

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) forayed into television broadcasting Wednesday, setting up a joint venture with US media company CBS to launch general entertainment channels in South Asia.

ADAG firm Reliance Broadcast Network (RBN), known so far as Reliance Media World, formed a 50:50 joint venture, BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd, with CBS Studios, a division of CBS, to beam channels to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Both parties, however, refused to divulge the financials involved.

"The venture is more about the assets that both companies are bringing to the table," RBN Chief Executive Tarun Katial told reporters, announcing the formation of Big CBS.

Earlier in the day, in a regulatory filing Reliance Media World said: "Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has successfully completed its final negotiations with CBS Studios Inc, a division of CBS Corporation, and executed the joint venture agreement in connection with owning and operating, a portfolio of television channels."

To start with, Big CBS will launch three channels-- BIG CBS Spark, BIG CBS Love and BIG CBS Prime. The channels are expected to be beamed in the October-December quarter.

BIG CBS Spark will be targeted at the youth, while BIG CBS Love will be aimed at women. BIG CBS Prime will be a general entertainment channel, both companies said in a statement.

"The channels will be English entertainment channels, customized for the Indian market offering audiences immediate access to new and current CBS programmes, including some of the most popular television programmes in the world," the statement added.

According to a recent KPMG and FICCI report, the media and entertainment industry is likely to grow at a rate of 12.5 percent annually, over the next five years and touch $20.09 billion by 2013.

Television was the largest segment of India's entertainment industry, with revenues of 257 billion rupees ($5.6 billion) in 2009.

"It (India) is the third largest television market in the world, the largest Indian speaking population in the world, the economic power of the middle class, the youth demographic and many, many more statistics that all substantiate the tremendous opportunity in India," said Armando Nuñez, president of CBS Studios International.

Katial said the venture will also get some CBS show formats and localise their content for the Indian audience.

BIG CBS will also look at setting up Hindi and regional language general entertainment channels in the next phase of expansion.

At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Reliance Media World scrip closed near the day's high of Rs.81.45, up 4.96 percent from its previous close at Rs.77.60.

Apple to launch mini iPad soon

Technology giant Apple Inc. is reportedly planning to release a mini iPad this December, a media report said Wednesday.

Details of a smaller version of the iPad were leaked in a Chinese newspaper that had also correctly predicted the specifications of the iPad months before its release.

Apple intends to launch the smaller iPad this December in time for the Christmas shopping season, Sky News reported citing sources.

The rumoured version is predicted to be 200 grams lighter than the standard iPad, which was released in April this year.

A report in the Economic Daily News said Taiwanese companies have won contracts to make components smaller than those used on the current iPads.

Mercedes launches E-class Cabriolet

Mercedes-Benz Tuesday launched Cabriolet, another version of its E-class sedan, priced Rs.65 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and said it would launch more models this year to reinforce its leadership in the Indian luxury car market.

The Cabriolet comes with a new technological innovation called AIRCAP which provides the four seater convertible the option to deflect the air out of the car when the hood is down.

"The Cabriolet will herald in a new era of open top motoring with its new and innovative features. We are confident that it will reinforce the present brand of E-class in the country," said Managing Director Wilfried Aulbur.

The car is Mercedes's seventh offering in the E-class range.

The German car maker is very bullish about its growth prospects in India and is preparing to launch few more models soon.

"Till date we have launched 17 models in the country and we expect to launch a few more by the end of the year," Aulbur said.

The company's sales grew by a whooping 80 percent in July this year at 2,524 cars as against 1,629 in the like period of previous year.

"This signifies the fact that mindset of people regarding luxury is changing like in places like Aurangabad where people have money and now they are coming out to buy, plus infrastructure is also improving," Aulbur added.

About AIRCAP, Aulbur said the technology works best at 40 km per hour speed. "You can enjoy the open air experience and won't worry about messing your hair with this feature."

Some 12,700 E-Class cars, which include Saloon and Coupe, have been sold since the first car rolled out of the Indian manufacturing plant in Chakan, Maharastra, in 1995.

coca cola to produce dairy products

Coca-Cola India Tuesday entered the dairy business launching Maaza Milky Delite, a blend of mango pulp and milk.

It plans to test market the product for two months in the city before launching it nationally.

"We at Coca-Coca India are constantly evaluating and exploring opportunities to expand and further diversify our beverage portfolio," Ricardo Fort, vice president, marketing, Coca-Coca India said at a press meet.

The product would be manufactured at the Taratala bottling facility, Diamond Beverages Pvt Ltd, in the city and would be made available across 3,000 outlets in the city.

Maaza Milky Delite is being made available in a 200 ml slim tetra pack, and has been priced at Rs 15.

The product is targeted at teenagers and young adults who are on the lookout for a refreshing milky mango juice drink.

Abu Dhabi to launch new building rules next year

The Abu Dhabi government will train representatives of construction industry on new building rules to be enforced in the emirate next year.

The Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) has started workshops that will run till November. Experts from International Code Council (ICC) will conduct the sessions.

"The new building codes warrant largest training of its kind to take place in the UAE," said Ahmed Shareef, under-secretary of DMA and member of Abu Dhabi Building Codes Higher Council.

Shareef added: "We are working hard with all stakeholders to identify their roles and responsibilities in adopting and implementing new codes.

"The workshops will bring world-class standards and practices to the emirate of Abu Dhabi and will help us achieve a sustainable environment and the Emirate's 2030 vision at large."

NMDC's steel plant to be ready by 2012

Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh announced Tuesday that India's top iron ore producer NMDC Ltd would complete construction work for its integrated three million tonne steel unit in Chhattisgarh by 2012.

The minister, along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, had visited the proposed plant site at Nagarnar, some 300 km from Raipur, in the state's restive but impoverished Bastar district Tuesday and inaugurated a DAV Residential Public School and DAV Industrial Training Centre.

The construction work for Rs. 15,000 crore plant is expected to begin by November or December this year.

"The construction work for the plant is to be completed on scheduled time by 2012 and the prime minister will be urged to dedicate the plant to the nation," Virbhadra Singh said at the function, according to an official statement.

The release added that land acquisition for the plant has been completed, and the unit will provide direct and indirect employment to about 20,000 people.

Lesbian vying Katy to kiss her

London: Just two months away from her wedding to comedian Russell Brand, singer Katy Perry gatecrashed a lesbian party full of 400 Australian women, with some vying to kiss her.

Many excited clubbers lined up to lock lips with the "I Kissed A Girl" singer, reports the sun.co.uk.

"Katy didn't mind being recognised. She was so sweet. Girls were pretty much lining up to meet or kiss her. I went to tongue kiss her and she said 'I won't be doing this in a few weeks after I'm married, unless of course Russell is watching!' She was just a lot of fun," said Muffy Reagan, a party goer.

Party organiser Lia Tilson, added: "Katy proved herself to be very down to earth and gay-friendly, dancing on stage and getting up close and personal with lots of local lesbians."

Women will distribute power bills

New Delhi: In a unique initiative, a private power company has decided to deploy women as bill distributors in its central and east Delhi area of operations. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flagged off the first batch of 28 of them Monday.

The BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) said 150 women will be deployed as bill distributors in the two areas, adding that 150 women meter readers will also be subsequently deployed.

The company's initiative is designed to empower women, mainly from the economically weaker sections, BYPL CEO Ramesh Narayanan said.

"The initiative is also to improve field level customer engagement and sensitivity, increase efficiency besides increased understanding," he said.

Dikshit said: "Engaging women from the economically weaker sections for distributing electricity bills will go a long way in empowering them. It will help bring about a change in the attitudes and mindsets of people."

A BYPL spokesperson said that the women bill distributors will have their own identity and will don a special orange-coloured jacket with BSES logo. They will also carry a photo identity card for easy identification.

Being feminist help me have successful relationships

London: Singer Beyonce Knowles has revealed that her feminist values have helped her have successful relationships with men.

The "Halo" singer - who is married to hip-hop superstar Jay-Z - says she's always had good friendships with females and thinks that has played a big part in her never falling for the wrong type of man, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"I think I am a feminist in a way. It's not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it's because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me. It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships," she said.

"My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women. I think we learn a lot from our female friends - female friendship is very, very important," she added.

August is Kelly Brook's 'naked' month

Brook recently made headlines for her topless photoshoot for Playboy magazine and has also stripped for the movie "Piranha 3-D", and says she is readily embracing the idea of going nude, reports thesun.co.uk.

"Playboy is something that I always wanted to do but I wanted to make sure it was the right time, the right concept and everything. Having this movie coming out where I get to make out underwater with a porn star naked, I just thought, 'Why not just embrace it and make this month my naked month where everything I do is naked?'" she said.

Brook also recently wore a scandalous red and black gown with a plunging neckline, leaving little for imagination.

Re.1 subsidy on diesel in WB

Kolkata, Aug 16 (IANS) The West Bengal government Monday declared a further subsidy of Re.1 on a litre of diesel meant for buses, mini buses and taxis.
Making the announcement at the state secretariat here, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said the subsidy would entail an annual cost of Rs.280 crore.

Following persistent demands from the operators to raise bus and taxi fares, the state government last month announced a subsidy of Re.1 per litre on diesel used for public transport. But the operators felt the relief was inadequate.

The central government has hiked the price of diesel by Rs.2 a litre.