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Loop PR: Do Something Less Fattening Instead This Weekend – `Group-Donate` via Keynoir and Be Part of a New Phenomenom

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Group-Donate £5 to Children’s Charity Kidsco and Keynoir.com will add a further
£5
LONDON–(Business Wire)–
Join together with your friends this Easter to give vulnerable inner-city
children and young people a boost. Throughout the Easter weekend Keynoir, a new
site which enables young professionals to link together via social networks and
`group-purchase`, will give £5 to the Kids Company – www.kidsco.org – for every
£5 which is `group-donated`. Instead of buying a deal for yourself, you`ll be
able to make a difference to a young person`s life this weekend and donate via
the www.keynoir.com website. The more you group donate – the more Keynoir will
add. Become part of a new wave of `social-giving`, spread the word around your
networks and make sure as many people as possible have a chance to do something
less fattening instead this weekend!

Visit www.keynoir.com for more information on how to get involved while
membership is still free

Keynoir.com is the creation of Philip Wilkinson, Kelkoo director and pioneer of
the first online price comparison site in the UK, Glen Drury, former CEO of
Kelkoo and VP, Yahoo! Europe and Jan Riem, a technology corporate financier.
Launch offers included offers at 2 star Michelin restaurant Tom Aikens, Hanmade
Chocolate from Melt and mojitos and tapas at an uber cool London hotel.

It has secured a first institutional funding of £ 1.3m from top venture capital
firms Index Ventures and PROfounders Capital, the entrepreneurial venture
capital firm backed by Brent Hoberman from Lastminute.com, Michael Birch from
Bebo, and others. In addition, serial entrepreneurs Paul Birch and Andrej
Henkler participated in the investment. Dominique Vidal from Index Ventures and
Sean Seton-Rogers from PROfounders Capital will be joining the board of Keynoir.

Biographies

Glen Drury Glen is an experienced executive with a proven track record whether
as a business starter or as the entrepreneurial spirit in large organizations.
His extensive network includes technology, retail, automotive and travel
industry professionals. Prior to co-founding Keynoir, Glen was CEO of Kelkoo,
helping the company rebuild itself. Leading the carve-out of the business from
Yahoo! created many challenging opportunities which culminated in finding new
funding, setting the company on a new strategic path, and returning it to
profit. Before Kelkoo, Glen held several roles at Yahoo! the last being Regional
Vice President for Yahoo! Europe with responsibility for UK, IE, NL, NO, SE, DK,
and FI. When he moved into the RVP role, he gave up his product responsibilities
(which included the Cars and the Travel Channels that he had led) to be in the
European top 3 audiences. A graduate of Grand Canyon University with a BA in
International Business management, he also studied French and Art.

Phil Wilkinson Aged just 21, Phil launched his first business after studying for
his degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Psychology at
Nottingham University. As the founder of Shopgenie (now Kelkoo.co.uk) , Phil
became the first person to launch an online price comparison site in the UK ,
sparking the initial growth of this now booming sector. He later became
Commercial Manager at Telewest Broadband (now Virgin Media) and was responsible
for the company`s wireless broadband proposition and Internet applications. He
left to pursue another entrepreneurial ambition founding Genie Ventures, a
vertical comparison engine network now covering multiple sites and with a
multi-million pound turnover. During this period, he became a seed investor and
marketing strategy advisor for the online outdoor retailer webtogs.co.uk, which
has grown in under two year from a ground-roots small operation to a household
name in its sector. The London-based entrepreneur later founded the product
research engine crowdstorm.co.uk, which helps people find the right product to
buy through an aggregation of knowledge from online experts. Aside from his
penchant for the finer things in life – fine wine, gourmet food, and gadgets to
name a few – 32 year old Philip is a keen `angel` investor in budding
businesses.

Andrej Henkler Former Bertelsmann Executive, TV-Turnaround Leader and serial
entrepreneur. Since 2005 successful entrepreneurial investor in High-Tech and
Digital Media Start-Ups in the US and Europe. He is or has been involved in
numerous successful investments including Worldmate, Palantir Technologies,
Studio Babelsberg and Kiala.

Investor background PROfounders Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm
backed by successful entrepreneurs, with a focus on the digital media and
technology space. PROfounders` investors number some of the best-known players
within the digital media space, including Michael Birch (founder of Bebo) and
Brent Hoberman (founder of lastminute.com). The fund`s aim is to invest in and
support new businesses with capital plus proactive advice and expertise in order
to create long-term value and promote entrepreneurism. Founded in July 2009,
PROfounders Capital`s focus is on capital efficient, early-stage companies
operating in the digital media and technology space. PROfounders looks for
companies that have disciplined and innovative management and which address
large potential markets, using technologies that are new or clearly
differentiated from any incumbents to generate identifiable revenue streams that
can be scaled. www.profounderscapital.com

About Index Ventures Index Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm
active in technology venture investing since 1996. The firm is dedicated to
helping top entrepreneurial teams in the Information Technology and Life Science
sectors build their companies into market defining global leaders. The firm has
offices in Geneva, London an

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com

Loop PR
Paul Johnson, 01252 725 346 or 07979 592 252
www.loop-pr.co.uk

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British troops far from defeating Taliban, says Brit Defence Secretary

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.16 (ANI): British troops are a long way from winning the battle against a resilient Taliban in Afghanistan, and the conflict in the country could lead to “major shifts” in military spending, said British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth.

“We are facing a resilient enemy which we are far from succeeding against yet,” he told an audience of defence experts at King’s College London.

“I reject the proposition we are not making progress. I also reject the proposition a reduced military presence will lead to less Taliban success,” The Telegraph quoted Ainsworth, as saying further.

A leading thinktank warned earlier that the presence of large numbers of foreign troops in Afghanistan made it harder to achieve a political settlement to the conflict.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said western forces in Afghanistan needed a “more cunning” strategy if they were to achieve their aims.

Ainsworth said a military failure in Afghanistan would have “profound consequences for our national security” and “undermine the Nato alliance”.

He also called for an open debate about future defence policy and how money for the military should be spent before the government publishes a defence review green paper in advance of next year’s general election. (ANI)

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Delhi Stock Exchange teams up with IBM to re-start its operations

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 15 (ANI): IBM today announced that it has signed a 10-year information technology (IT) services agreement with Delhi Stock Exchange, one of the leading stock exchanges in India. As part of this Rs 11 crore agreement,

IBM will provide business continuity and disaster recovery services to DSE as well as remotely host and manage its IT infrastructure.

This will help the exchange meet the stringent business continuity guidelines as laid out by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) before it could resume its operations after a hiatus of six years. By engaging with IBM in a complete operational expenditure (pay-as-you-go) model, DSE will also save 100 percent capital expenditure on IT.

Signed in June 2009, this agreement demonstrates IBM’s focus to help clients ‘Do more with Less’ by engaging in an increasingly popular operational expense (opex) model. It also leverages IBM’s global experience of over 40 years to provide business continuity and resiliency services to help clients minimize the costs and time-frames associated with recovering business operations in the event of a disaster.

DSE was one of country’s largest stock exchanges – almost at par with Bombay Stock Exchange in the 90′s, and has been in existence for over 60 years.

In 2002, however, the exchange became inactive due to negligible trading volumes. Seven years later, the exchange is now looking at resurrecting itself to its former glory-one where it used to be bustling with over 2,800 companies listed.

IBM will play a key role in helping DSE go live for trading by providing a highly secure environment and a robust resiliency solution with the goal of zero data loss once the exchange becomes operational later this year.

“As DSE looks to claim back its position as one of country’s leading stock exchanges, the agreement with IBM couldn’t have happened at a better time,” said Mr HS Sidhu, Executive Director and CEO, Delhi Stock Exchange. “As the world’s leading IT services company, IBM will bring immense value to the exchange by providing time-tested and world-class managed services-that would help DSE become operational and successful once again.”

Vijay Gupta, Chairman – Business Development Committee, Delhi Stock Exchange remarked, “DSE will play a key role in the stock trading landscape of India, once re-launched. IBM’s commitment to helping DSE achieve that goal is commendable. IBM’s strong value proposition of providing managed services in an opex model was also one of the key reasons why DSE decided to choose IBM for this strategic relationship.”

Under this agreement, IBM will build, host and manage the entire disaster recovery infrastructure for DSE from its data center. IBM will also provide 24×7 monitoring services for hardware and networking devices from its command center.

Neeraj Sharma, Director, Integrated Technology Services, IBM India/South Asia, “Companies today want to do more with less in these economically challenging times. DSE’s trust in IBM is a testament to IBM’s value proposition and world-class capabilities to help its clients improve the operational efficiency and cost effectiveness as well as accelerate time-to-market for services.” (ANI)

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Local law firm keen to back Alec Baldwin as Ohio’s Governor

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Jul 1 (ANI): American actor Alec Baldwin has revealed that he was made a proposition by a local law firm in Ohio, who are keen to support him, to run for Governor.

Baldwin, 51, had spoken out about his political aspirations, and after he made public his plans to retire from acting in 2012, he was approached by a group of leading Ohio businessmen who want him to consider running for office there.

“A law firm in a liberal Democratic bastion in Ohio state politics sent me a binder with a cover letter that read: ‘Mr. Baldwin, here’s who we represent, the kinds of cases we handle, our credentials in Ohio state politics. We want you to move to Ohio and run for Governor. We will launch your career’,” Contactmusic quoted him as telling Playboy magazine.

And Baldwin admits that he has been tempted by the offer to join the ranks of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura and become a celebrity Governor – or simply run for political office elsewhere.

“The desire is there,” he added. (ANI)

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Richard Gere speaks in support of homosexual unions

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 28 (ANI): Richard Gere has spoken out for gay marriage rights in the U.S. in support of his brother, who married during the brief period when gay unions were legal in California.

Gere is furious over California Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold a gay marriage ban, which came into effect under the Proposition 8 legislation late last year (08) – six months after homosexual unions were declared valid.

And he is adamant there is “no reason” why individuals like his younger brother David should be denied the same rights as straight couples.

“My brother is gay and he got married in that brief period when gay marriage was allowed in California. He has two great kids and is a wonderful father,” the Daily Express quoted him as saying. (ANI)

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Continuing to work in later life may help ‘avoid dementia’

May 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 18 (ANI): Alzheimer’s disease may be kept at bay by continuing to work later in life, say scientists.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London came up with proposition after analysing data from 1,320 dementia patients, including 382 men.

The researchers found that continuing to work even in old age helped men to keep their brains sharp enough to delay dementia.

Dementia is caused by the mass loss of cells in the brain, and experts believe one way to guard against it is to build up as many connections between cells as possible by being mentally active throughout life. This is known as a “cognitive reserve”.

While a good education is known to be associated with a reduced dementia risk, the latest study suggests that mental stimulation continued into later years may also have a positive effect.

The study showed that people who retired late developed Alzheimer’s at a later stage than those who opted not to work on.

According to the researchers, each additional year of employment was found to linked with around a six week later age of onset.

“The possibility that a person’s cognitive reserve could still be modified later in life adds weight to the “use it or lose it” concept where keeping active later in life has important health benefits, including reducing dementia risk,” the BBC quoted researcher Dr. John Powell as saying.

Researcher Professor Simon Lovestone said: “The intellectual stimulation that older people gain from the workplace may prevent a decline in mental abilities, thus keeping people above the threshold for dementia for longer.”

He, however, added: “Much more research is needed if we are to understand how to effectively delay, or even prevent, dementia.”

A research article on the study, funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, has been published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. (ANI)

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Music of bollywood film ‘Detective Naani’ released in Mumbai

May 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, May 14 (ANI): The music of bollywood film ‘Detective Naani’, in which a seventy-two-year old lady is playing the leading role, was recently released in Mumbai.

Noted bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar released the music of the film. The film stars Ava Mukherjee, Shweta Gulati, Amit Verma and Ankur Nayyar.

Romila Mukherjee and Jolly Mukherjee besides producing the film have also penned the lyrics of the film.

“I got the inspiration from my mother, who is quiet. But otherwise, she is a very interesting lady. I could see a very intersecting character in her,” said Mukherjee.

Amit Verma said that the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of the film was the entire film itself.

“I think the USP of the film is the entire film itself. It’s interesting, gripping and a thriller. It is unique in a sense that a seventy-two-year old lady is leading the film and is solving a very big thing. How three generations children, grandmother and the teenagers get together and solve a racket,” said Verma.

The film is slated for a late July or early August release. (ANI)

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Jet Airways, Kerala Tourism announce the launch of ‘Jet2Kerala’

May 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kochi, May 13 (ANI): As part of its ongoing effort to boost tourism within India, Jet Airways and Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, have announced the launch of ‘Jet2Kerala’, a new domestic travel initiative at the Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

Jet Airways and Kerala Tourism, two super brands, will leverage their respective brand equities to boost tourist traffic into ‘God’s Own Country’.

With its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, be it the sandy beaches of Kovalam, blue Lagoons at Veli, hill stations at Munnar, backwaters of Kollam and Alappuzha, spice plantations in the high ranges of Wayanad, wildlife, high mountain peaks, picturesque valleys, magnificent forts and intricately decorated temples, Kerala has emerged as arguably the leading travel destination in India.”

The package offers travelers unmatched pan-India connectivity from all major parts of the country to three key cities in Kerala – Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

Travelers can enjoy a range of accommodation options to suit every budget- from luxury properties to budget hotels and houseboats.

According to Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways has always sought to promote tourism both internationally, as well as within India, by leveraging its unmatched pan-India and growing international network.

We are delighted to partner with Kerala Tourism to launch our new ‘Jet2Kerala’ initiative, as part of our ongoing efforts to boost domestic travel and tourism. We are confident that the compelling value proposition on offer will spur more travelers to visit Kerala this year.”

Dr. V Venu, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Kerala, said, “Kerala has been positioned as an upmarket and high quality international destination. Despite the challenges posed by the global economic downturn, the international tourist arrivals continue to be impressive, with a 16.11 per cent increase in visitors in 2008.

The new Kerala packages will further complement the range of exciting domestic and international JetEscapes holiday packages already on offer by the airline.

International travelers to and from Kerala may connect onto Jet Airways’ daily, direct services to Kuwait, Doha and Muscat in the Gulf, as well as to several destinations in North America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf via the airline’s three international gateway cities in India – Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Kerala Tourism has won several prestigious international and domestic awards for its outstanding work in promoting tourism in Kerala. It is acclaimed as ‘one of the ten paradises in the world’ by the National Geographic Traveler. By Juhan Samuel (ANI)

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Strong social networks benefit baboons

May 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 9 (ANI): A monkey communication expert at the University of Pennsylvania has suggested that baboons benefit from strong social networks.

Robert Seyfarth came up with this proposition while delivering a lecture on May 5, the kick-off of the University of Delaware’s Year of Darwin celebration, where he told a true story about a female baboon that herded goats in an African village.

He revealed that the baboon knew all of the relationships between the goats so well that at night she would carry a bleating kid from one barn directly to its mother in another barn.

“For all the centuries we’ve bred dogs, no dog has exhibited this knowledge of kids and mothers. The question is where does this mind come from?” said the Psychology professor at the university.

Seyfarth revealed that he and his research partner Dorothy Cheney, who happens to be his spouse, studied the baboons of Botswana’s Okavanga Delta from 1992 to 2008.

He said that his study suggested that the baboon’s ability to recognize social relationships was due to natural selection.

The researcher revealed that the baboons studied live in groups of 80-90 individuals. Males would leave the group in which they were born, while females stayed in the group for their entire lives, with close bonds to female relatives.

He said that the females were arranged in a matrilineal hierarchy of families, with ranks maintained for years. Although once in a while a coup was attempted, such moves were not often successful.

In their experiments, the researchers observed that baboons with names like Sylvia, Champagne, and Helen, and recorded their language, which consisted of no more than 18 sounds, and the interactions of their families.

They found that baboons used certain calls only in certain contexts. Screams and fear barks were only given from a lower-ranking to a higher-ranking baboon, while threat grunts were given only from a higher-ranking to a lower-ranking baboon.

The researchers recorded the various calls, played them in situations that “break the rules”, and determined from the animals’ behaviour that baboons were able to put together the discrete elements of identity, kinship, and rank.

“The animals somehow see this world in all of its complexity. It’s an innate property of the baboon mind — done instantly and unconsciously,” Seyfarth said.

He and Cheney were also able to measure the animals’ stress levels by analysing faecal samples for gluccocorticoid stress hormones. They found that pregnancy and incidences of predation to be major stressors.

Also, some high-ranking males practice infanticide, targeting infants by rank. Mothers may form relationships with lower-ranking males who will help look after their babies.

“Females respond to stress by associating with their closest grooming relationships. They turn to their support network if they lose someone. They broaden and extend to replace old relationships with new ones. Female baboons with strong social bonds survive better,” Seyfarth said.

Seyfarth and Cheney’s work is highlighted in the award-winning book Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2007. (ANI)

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Russia plans to build five floating Arctic nuke stations

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tromso (Norway), May 3 (ANI): Russia is planning to build a fleet of floating and submersible nuclear power stations to exploit Arctic oil and gas reserves.

This is causing widespread alarm among environmentalists, reports The Guardian. prototype floating nuclear power station being constructed at the SevMash shipyard in Severodvinsk is due to be completed next year.

An agreement to build a further four was reached between the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and the northern Siberian republic of Yakutiya in February.

The 70-megawatt plants, each of which would consist of two reactors on board giant steel platforms, would provide power to Gazprom, Russia’s largest oil firm.

The building of the nuclear power stations would allow Gazprom to power drills needed to exploit some of the remotest oil and gas fields in the world in the Barents and Kara seas.

The self-propelled vessels would store their own waste and fuel and would need to be serviced only once every 12 to 14 years.

In addition, designers are known to have developed submarine nuclear-powered drilling rigs that could allow eight wells to be drilled at a time.

Bellona, a leading Scandinavian environmental watchdog group, yesterday condemned the idea of using nuclear power to open the Arctic to oil, gas and mineral production, terming it as a highly risky proposition.

Environmentalists also fear that if additional radioactive waste is produced, it will be dumped into the sea.

Russia has a long record of polluting the Arctic with radioactive waste.

Countries including Britain have had to offer Russia billions of dollars to decommission more than 160 nuclear submarines, but at least 12 nuclear reactors have been dumped, along with more than 5,000 containers of solid and liquid nuclear waste, on the northern coast and on the island of Novaya Zemlya.

The US Geological Survey believes the Arctic holds up to 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves, leading some experts to call the region the next Saudi Arabia.

The technological exploitation of the region is next to impossible due to sea ice, strong winds and temperatures that can dip to below -50C.

Russia, Norway, Denmark, Canada and the US have all claimed large areas of the Arctic in the past five years. But many countries bordering the Arctic see climate change as the chance to exploit areas that were once inaccessible and to open trade routes between the Pacific and Atlantic. (ANI)

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US model Shanna Moakler stands up for gay marriage

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 30 (ANI): American model Shanna Moakler has decided to make it very clear that she was “hurt and upset” by first runner up in Miss USA 2009 pageant Carrie Prejean’s comment about gay and lesbian marriage.

Moakler, 34, was upset by Prejean saying that a “marriage should be between a man and a woman”, and she has decided to make a stand for what she believed in – the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry.

The model was in North Hollywood on April 28 with co-executive state pageant director Keith Lewis as they prepared Miss USA 2006 first runner-up Tamiko Nash and last year’s Miss California Raquel Beezley to shoot a NO H8 Campaign.

The campaign hopes to raise awareness and eventually have Proposition 8 over-turned in California.

“It’s important for us right now to participate in this, especially given the conversation surrounding Miss California. We’re here showing we’re a family, we agree to disagree and support our beliefs,” Fox News quoted Lewis as saying, as Moakler nodded in agreement.

“It’s been a difficult time but we want to show that there are a lot of different families, I was raised by a single mom, and I am dad to two children that are being raised by two moms. Can’t we all just love each other and get along and celebrate the fact that people are able to find true love?

“We are working through it; we’re a family in resolution. We really want to give Carrie an opportunity to express her beliefs, the Miss California system is about empowering women to be strong and independent and stand up for whatever they believe in.

“So as soon as Carrie is done explaining her beliefs we really look forward to her coming back to our platform. I’m proud that she was able to stand there and utter whatever it was that came out of her mouth. I’m a 45-year-old man and I don’t think I could explain myself to millions of people,” he added. (ANI)

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Madge ‘bans father of the Malawian girl from visiting the tot’

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, April 20 (ANI): Madonna has prohibited the father of the Malawian girl she was seeking to adopt from visiting the tot, according to reports.

The Queen of Pop had been preparing to adopt four-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James but her application was rejected by a court.

The 50-year-old had to face dejection as she was told that prospective parents had to be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months.

Mercy was then taken back to Kondanai Children’s Home after the failed proposition.

And now her dad James Kambewa, who was slated to meet the little girl last week, claimed he had been prohibited from visiting his daughter.

“I don’t have any money and influence like Madonna, but I do have something that she doesn’t… I am the child’s flesh and blood,” the Daily Star quoted him as telling Britain’s Sunday Mirror.

“I’m sure Madonna thinks she has my daughter’s best interests at heart, but here in Malawi we value more than just money and power.

“I want to show my child love and to bring her into my home. Until I knew I was a father, I felt like a boy. But I feel like a man and I know my life must change.

“Imagine knowing you have a daughter but not being allowed to meet her. It’s too much pain for me to cope with. I am not going to give up my daughter without trying to be her father.” he added. (ANI)

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Man U says it is ready for a scrap with Porto

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr.14 (ANI): Manchester United has warned Porto that they are ready for a scrap and won’t loosen their grip on the Champions League crown.

United go into tomorrow’s quarter-final second leg knowing no English side have beaten Porto at home in 12 attempts.

Alex Ferguson’s men were held to a 2-2 draw by the Portuguese side at Old Trafford last week.

Midfielder Michael Carrick insists the holders have a determination to win back-to-back Euro titles.

“We’re English and European champions and we don’t want to let either trophy go – we’re probably even more determined than we were last year to stay on top. There’s always a real determination for success and thankfully we’ve had that in recent years. But we want it again. We can beat anyone on our day, so we will go to Portugal with confidence and believing we can win,” The Sun quoted Carrick, as saying.

The last time United went to Porto five years ago they lost 2-1 and then drew 1-1 at home as they were dumped by Jose Mourinho’s team in the first knockout stage.

Boss Ferguson said: “They are a different proposition now with an introduction of Brazilian and Argentine players into their team. This has given them both a flair and toughness that is very much in evidence when they play at home.” (ANI)

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Fortune Hotels opens Fortune Inn Grazia Hotel in Noida

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Noida, Apr 10 (ANI/Business Wire India): Fortune Park Hotels Ltd., today announced the opening of its property, ‘Fortune Inn Grazia’, in the centrally located Sector 27 of Noida.

Fortune Inn Grazia is the second operational Fortune Hotels property in the NCR region after Gurgaon and there are five more to open in the near future.

The Fortune Inn Grazia is located next to the commercial and shopping hub of Sector 18. With the Fortune Inn in Noida, the total number of l Fortune Inn category hotels in the country now stands at four with Jammu, Pune and Visakhapatnam hotels already operational.

Targeted at businesses travelers, the hotel offers a choice of 42 well appointed rooms including 30 standard rooms and 12 Fortune Club Rooms, equipped with all modern amenities to ensure pleasant stay for travelers.

Other offerings at Fortune Inn Grazia include a gym, spa, swimming pool and two restaurants, Earthern Oven and Fortune Deli for the perfect dining experience. It offers free Wi-Fi connectivity in the lobby, restaurant areas and also in the rooms.

Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Verma, Senior Executive Vice President, ITC Ltd.-Hotels Division, said, “We currently have 26 operational Fortune Hotels in India and 52 alliances across the country and our Noida property is placed to strategically serve the NCR region. We will be expanding our presence in key markets with our different brands of Fortune Hotels in accordance to market demand. We are all set to launch our new properties in Mussoorie, Jaipur, Bangalore and Manipal in the next two months.”

Suresh Kumar, President, Fortune Hotels, said, “We are delighted to announce the launch of Fortune Inn Grazia in Noida and expect to bridge the existing gap with our excellent service and hospitality commitment. We will be able to redefine service standards available to the business traveler in this region. With a large number of corporate and other institutions based in the region we are sure of receiving good response for our hotel. Overall, the responses to all our properties have been excellent. We are looking forward to taking our services to other cities across India.”

“Fortune Inn Grazia is an effort to reinvent the experience of hospitality for the corporate segment and the new age travelers in this region,” said Rahul Agarwal, Director, Angel Baby Products Pvt. Ltd..

“Our variety of services caters to the evolving needs of the guests. We are committed to offer excellent services at good value proposition to the business and leisure travelers. Also since our hotel is centrally located we expect it to become an ideal place to host business meetings and in-house conferences,” he added. (ANI)

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France, Brazil to propose system of world governance

April 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Paris, April 1 (DPA) French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that their countries were preparing a proposal for a new world governance to prevent future economic crises caused by a lack of regulation.

‘We want (at least) a minimum of regulation in the face of the disaster that has been caused by total deregulation,’ Sarkozy told journalists in Paris after a meeting with Lula just hours before the two were to travel on to London for the G20 summit.

The proposal will be a ‘joint contribution’, Sarkozy said, to be prepared and presented by the foreign ministries of the two countries.

Lula said that the current crisis was ‘the result of a lack of governance, a lack of responsibility’.

The Brazilian president also said that the task of politicians was ‘to restore credit in the world. Only this will restore confidence to consumers in the world’.

But he cautioned that the G20 summit will not be easy.

‘The meeting will be a meeting of friends, but a difficult meeting, because all the friends do not necessarily think the same way,’ he said.

A successful result, Lula said, would be to leave the summit with ‘at least one proposition that would encourage the millions of human beings who expect… us to take measures that will lead them to believe that, in a few days, the economy will find its normal way again, and that they will find work, and have the means to eat and to dress themselves.’

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Credit and honour for both Australia, South Africa after series

March 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Cape Town (South Africa), Mar.25 (ANI): The double series score line of 3-3 should be seen as a befitting result for the heavyweight encounter between Australia and South Africa, as it went the distance, and allowed both combatants to emerge with credit and honour.

According to Fox Sports, the larger question that arises is the International Cricket Council rankings. For the moment, Australia is the number one Test side in the world, but South Africa is nipping at its heels.

Just as one series cannot make a team good or bad, Australia will take positives from the recent series to convert itself from an apparently transitional outfit into world beaters again.

With the Ashes next on Australia’s Test radar, there is as much to look upon with concern as there is confidence.

Australia rolled the dice in South Africa with four debutants – Phillip Hughes, Marcus North, Ben Hilfenhaus and Bryce McGain. In most instances the punts paid off, none more so than the 20-year-old opener Hughes.

The ability, style and maturity shown by Hughes suggests Australia have found a talent worth persisting with in England and beyond.

To come back from his debut duck, and the near-comedy nature of his dismissal, to go half-century, century, 150 shows a young man with unshakable self-belief and thirst for a scrap.

Hughes’s technique will be tested in a different way on the seaming decks in England, but he will cut his teeth for Middlesex beforehand – much to the old foe’s chagrin – and offers an X-factor to Australia’s top order. His panache is as refreshing as it is effective.

According to Fox Sports, Marcus North is an interesting proposition. In scoring a debut century in Johannesburg, Australia have unearthed a ready-made No.6 who can offer a few overs of useful spin.

” With Johnson an absolute must at No.8, Australia have been presented with the opportunity to take the bull by the horns and play four specialist pacemen. ”

His three subsequent failures (aggregate 43 runs) temper enthusiasm somewhat, but North, much like Mike Hussey before him, is an experienced cricketer who knows his game. He must go to England, where he has garnered a wealth of know-how from several years playing county cricket.

With Hughes and Simon Katich looking set, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke scoring runs and Brad Haddin finding his feet at No.7, Australia’s batting is looking rock solid. The only issue is Hussey.

Hussey has shown glimpses of a revival in South Africa, but not enough to suggest the worst is behind him.he rise of Mitchell Johnson, with both bat and ball, means Australia’s desolate search for an all-rounder should be over. Andrew Symonds is not an option, Shane Watson’s fitness can’t be relied on and, as serviceable as Andrew McDonald was with the ball in South Africa, his batting was generally poor. More importantly, his position should go to a bowler who can do more than hold up an end.

With Katich, Clarke and North all capable of helping out in this area, Australia might be tempted to cut their losses and travel to England without a frontline spinner.

But history, not to mention prudence or England’s habitual shakes against the turning ball, suggests they will at least take one, even if the names Nathan Hauritz and Jason Krejza do not inspire great confidence. (ANI)

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Portia De Rossi apologises for marrying DeGeneres in video spoof

March 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 24 (ANI): Aussie actress Portia De Rossi has issued an apology for marrying comedienne Ellen DeGeneres in a video spoof that is taking aim at supporters of the same-sex marriage ban in California.

The two had tied the knot in August last year, when the Supreme Court had in May legalised same-sex unions in the state, but the ruling was revoked a few months later with the passing of the Proposition 8 bill.

While DeGeneres was able to voice her opinion on her U.S. talk show, De Rossi voiced hers through a public service announcement (P.S.A.) “Paid for by married gay people who are sorry and The National Coalition of Bonobo Chimps”.

“I was just very sad and very surprised at the time. Ellen has her own talk show, and she was able to tell people how she felt about it and I’ve never been able to talk about it from my perspective, so I shot a P.S.A. that talks about how I feel about it,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

“When I got married, all I was thinking about was my own joy at committing to love my partner for the rest of my life.

“I didn’t think about all the people I was hurting by getting married. That was selfish. So I want to apologise to all those people whose lives have been affected by me getting married,” she added. (ANI)

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Upbeat India targeting Test redemption

March 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Auckland (New Zealand), Mar.16 (ANI): The Indian cricket team will look to alter its far from satisfactory Test record in New Zealand when the first Test gets underway in Hamilton from Wednesday.

Having already won their first one-day cricket series on New Zealand soil, their upgraded squad is now confidently seeking to right another imbalance in the Test arena.

Until Virender Sehwag’s century powered India to victory at Hamilton last week, India had not won an ODI series here in six attempts harking back to the mid 1970s.

Their record in Tests makes equally grim reading – five fruitless journeys since the class of 1967-68 triumphed 3-1.

The current tour party, reinforced by batting luminaries Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman, promise to pose a tough proposition on wickets unlikely to be as treacherous as during their 0-2 series loss in 2002-03, reports the NZPA.

India’s batsmen have already prospered against the cream of New Zealand’s bowling apart from James Franklin, and possibly Chris Martin.

And with Dravid already acclimatised thanks to a century as a ring-in for Canterbury, impressive tyro Suresh Raina should not be missed.

Laxman, opener Murali Vijay plus bowlers Lakshmipathy Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni and Amit Mishra will also join the squad as the ODI specialists head home.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni welcomed the test players merging into an already buoyant squad who are at least publicly unaffected by the emphatic defeat in the dead rubber yesterday.

“It’s not about what you have done, it’s about starting from scratch again,” Dhoni said.

“In tests you need good consistent cricket over a period of time, not just one session.”

India seem in tune with that philosophy.

They have lost just two of their last seven series – a sequence that sees them ranked third in the International Cricket Council’s test rankings. (ANI)

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Arnie memorabilia smashed by protesters angry at tax increase plans

March 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 9 (ANI): People in California staged protests against governor Arnold Schwarzenegger over his plans to increase taxes.

Fuming protesters smashed Hollywood hardman’s videos and DVDs in a protest against his Proposition 1A budget plans to increase sales tax and motor license payments across the state in Fullerton, reports Contactmusic.

The activists waved placards and also decapitated latex Schwarzenegger heads.

However, Schwarzenegger insists his initiative, which will be voted upon in May (09), is “absolutely essential” for the short-term and long-term survival and prosperity of cash-strapped California. (ANI)

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Mickey Rourke celebrated Bafta win by trying to bed Abi Titmuss

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Feb 10 (ANI): American actor Mickey Rourke was at an all time high after he won the Best Actor award at the BAFTAs, and he ended up making a proposition to Abi Titmuss to join him in bed.

Rourke, 52, who received the gong for his film ‘The Wrestler’, was answered a definite no by Titmuss, 32, who had met him two years ago.

“The last thing I said to him was, ‘No, I won’t be sleeping with you tonight, Mickey’,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“I think he was surprised I wasn’t just a typical glamour girl with big boobs and no brain,” she added. (ANI)

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