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One out of two Brits think England will win 2010 World Cup: Poll

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 13 (ANI): One out of two British nationals believe that England can win the 2010 Soccer World Cup, a Sunday Times poll has revealed.

According to the YouGov poll, 49 percent of people believe England’s chances of winning are “excellent” or “good.”

The survey also revealed 20 percent nationals think the team’s chances are “poor,” while 12 percent say they are “hopeless.”

The new found confidence reflects the team’s 5-1 victory over Croatia this week, which sealed qualification for next year’s tournament in South Africa.

Times Online quoted England’s Italian manager Fabio Capello as saying that his minimum target is to reach the World Cup final on July 11 in Johannesburg.

And his dream final would be between England and Italy.

England’s success is being attributed to the discipline Capello has imposed on players, which includes limiting the attendance of WAGs. (ANI)

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Capello says England can win World Cup

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 10 (ANI): England coach Fabio Capello after watching his team crush Croatia 5-1 has said that now they can win the World Cup.

“If we can keep everyone fit and play with the spirit we showed against Croatia, then we can be real contenders. We are one of the best teams in the world and can play against all the sides out there,” said England’s boss.

Capello’s Lions made it to South Africa by crushing Slaven Bilic’s side at Wembley on Wednesday, The Sun reports.

“Expectations will be high in South Africa but we have to play to win it because we are England. We have achieved our first target and that is to get to the finals. Now we have time to prepare for the World Cup.

“All the players who have been selected in the squad are very good and I am a very happy man. The first 20 minutes of this game were the best we have played throughout qualification,’ Capello added.

Two goals each from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard plus Wayne Rooney’s ninth goal of the qualifying campaign gave England eight wins from eight games in Group Six.

Croatian boss Bilic admitted that his team was totally outclassed.

He said: “This was not a defeat, it was a humiliation. Not in our worst nightmares were we expecting such a defeat. Based on this performance, England can definitely win the World Cup next year. Definitely!” (ANI)

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Capello to remain England team’s boss until 2012

September 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 5 (ANI): Fabio Capello will be England football team’s manager even after next year’s World Cup finals.

There are fears that he will quit as boss if England fails to reach the quarterfinals. But the Italian has a 6 million pound-a-year deal with the Football Association until 2012.

“The target is to respect my full contract. It ends in 2012 and I want to respect it.

It is not only a matter for me but also for the FA,” The Sun quoted Capello, as saying.

Capello has led England to the brink of World Cup qualification with seven straight wins.

But after last month’s 2-2 friendly draw in Holland, the Three Lions chief has warned that there can be no more slip-ups against Slovenia today.

“We have defended very well in all of the competitive games but in the friendly matches we have been so-so. We have made mistakes and I have discussed this matter with the team,” he said.

Skipper John Terry revealed: “The manager is very strong-minded and if he sees a mistake he will sit there for 30 or 40 minutes in the team meeting until the message is clear.” (ANI)

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Your computers may soon be having ‘rich interaction’ with you as a partner

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 20 (ANI): A computer similar to the Hal 9000 system in the movie ’2010′, which claims enjoying working with human beings and having stimulating relationships with them, may soon be created, thanks to a new research project.

Oregon State University researchers are pioneering the concept of “rich interaction” that can pave the way for computers that do want to communicate with, learn from and get to know humans better as persons.

The idea behind this “meaningful” interaction is one of the latest advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, in which a computer doesn’t just try to learn from its own experiences, it listens to the user, tries to combine what it “hears” with its internal reasoning, and changes its program as a result.

When ordinary users spot the machine’s errors they should be able to step in, and explain directly to the machine the logic it should be using.

“There are limits to what the computer can do just by its own observations and efforts to learn from experiences. It needs to understand not just what it did right or wrong, but why. And for that, it has to continue interacting with human beings and make constant changes in its own programming, based on their feedback,” said Margaret Burnett, an associate professor of computer science at OSU.

According to the researchers, for a computer to be of optimal help to its user, it has to customize itself to the end user and get more personal.

“We all have fairly specific life experiences, personal preferences, ways of doing things, different types of jobs. For machine learning to reach its potential the computer and the user have to interact with each other in a fairly meaningful way, the computer really needs to get to know your situations and understand why it made a mistake, so that it can try not to make the same mistake again,” Burnett said.

The researchers say that a major part of this challenge is to create interactive systems that are easy enough to operate without one needing a computer programmer’s qualification, which they believe may be possible.

Another challenge before the researchers is to ensure that the learning in such systems happens to be a two-way street, as a stubborn human user may insist that the computer “learn” something that is incorrect.

Having recently received a 1million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation for their research, the OSU researchers now believe that the era of humans as passive observers in the field of artificial intelligence may be coming to a close.

“In the future we believe the computer should be like your partner. You help teach it, it gets to know you, you learn from each other, and it becomes more useful,” Burnett said. (ANI)

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Samsung Introduces New “Rugged” High-capacity 500-Gigabyte 2.5-inch Hard Disk Drive for Mobile Computing

April 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

SEOUL, South Korea–(Business Wire)–
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics
and information technology, today introduced their new 500-Gigabyte (GB)
2.5-inch hard disk drive with a shock operation tolerance of 400G/2ms. The
Spinpoint M7 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive with 250GB per platter features a rugged
base and cover design, offering better data protection for road warriors and
other mobile laptop users.

“Our customers have been requesting hard drives with higher density, lower power
and greater reliability for their mobile applications,” said C.H. Lee, vice
president, Storage sales and marketing, Samsung Electronics. “The Spinpoint M7
answers these needs with a high-speed operating shock specification and
extraordinary drive capacity for storing large data files, music, photos and
videos.”

The Spinpoint M7 is available in 250-, 320-, 400-, 500-GB capacities. A new
controller has been adopted to reduce power consumption in seek mode to up to 25
percent over conventional 2.5″ drives. In particular, internal test results on
PC Mark show an 18 percent improvement in overall performance over 2.5″ hard
drives.

“Samsung`s M7 will appeal to notebook PC customers who want to have a hard drive
operating shock tolerance for mobile applications in tough environments,”
commented John Chen, senior director, TRENDFOCUS.

The Spinpoint M7 utilizes Samsung`s proprietary SilentSeek and NoiseGuard
technologies to minimize the noise-level of the mechanical drive operation. The
halogen-free drive complies with the European Union`s Restriction of the Use of
Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS)
regulations.

The Spinpoint M7 500GB hard drive is lightweight and durable, featuring a
5400rpm spindle speed, 8MB cache, native command queuing and a 3.0Gbps SATA
interface. The perpendicular magnetic recording technology enables the 500GB
drive to store 160,000 digital images, 125 hours of DVD movies, or 60 hours of
high definition video images.

Qualification samples of the Spinpoint M7 are currently shipping to major OEMs.
Global shipments in the United States and Europe began in April with shipments
to other regions to follow accordingly.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor,
telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008
consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in
134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital
Media and Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest
growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs,
memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit
www.samsung.com.

Samsung Semiconductor Inc.
Chris Goodhart, 408-544-4122
cgoodhart@ssi.samsung.com

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Bent strike deepens Newcastle woes By Jonathan Wilson

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London – Darren Bent got the only goal as Tottenham Hotspur beat Newcastle United 1-0 in the English Premier League on Sunday to heighten the relegation fears of Alan Shearer’s side.

Newcastle lie second from bottom, four points from safety with five games of the season remaining.

Tottenham, meanwhile, are only a point off seventh place and qualification for the Europa League.

Although Newcastle mounted a late rally, Tottenham’s victory was far more comfortable than the 1-0 margin may suggest.

Victories for Sunderland and Portsmouth on Saturday had increased the pressure on Newcastle, and they responded with a sluggish first half.

Tottenham, without really seeming to play at full pace, comfortably dominated possession, and it seemed only a matter of time before they took the lead.

Newcastle centre-back Sebastian Bassong might have been sent off when he seemed to bring down Bent in a goal-scoring position in the first minute, but if he was lucky then, he was unfortunate for Tottenham’s opener, when it did arrive after 24 minutes.

Spurs broke quickly, and as Luka Modric tried to slide in Robbie Keane, Bassong made the interception.

The ball, though, fell kindly for Bent. His initial attempt to cross was cut out by goalkeeper Steve Harper, but he tucked in the rebound.

Tom Huddlestone, who had already hit three sumptuous long passes, then had two long-range drives tipped over by Harper.

A lengthy break for an injury to Spurs centre-back Michael Dawson gave Newcastle the opportunity to switch from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3, but Tottenham’s control of possession continued unabated, and Bent missed a sitter from Alan Hutton’s cross on the stroke of half-time.

Steven Taylor was forced off at the break by an Achilles tendon injury. He was replaced by Alan Smith, with Habib Beye moving into the centre and Damien Duff dropping in at left back.

The bigger change to the flow of the game, though, came with the introduction of Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins on the hour.

Newcastle suddenly offered a threat, although Lennon flashed an effort just wide, having accelerated away from Duff.

They found an unexpected late equaliser against Stoke City last week, and Martins almost repeated the feat, stealing in front of Jonathan Woodgate, only to blaze the bouncing ball over from close range.

This time, though, there was no reprieve. (dpa)

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Australia on brink of World Cup qualification

April 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Australia had one foot in next year’s World Cup finals after beating Uzbekistan 2-0 on Wednesday while South Korea scored a late winner to down rivals North Korea 1-0 and wrestle back the Group Two lead.

Victory in Sydney gave Australia 13 points from five games in Group One, two clear of Japan, but Bahrain’s 1-0 triumph over Qatar prevented the Socceroos becoming the first team to qualify for the tournament in South Africa.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia pulled off a second late fightback in as many games to defeat United Arab Emirates 3-2 and go level on points in Group Two with second-placed North Korea.

Two teams progress from each Asian section and the third-placed sides contest a two-legged playoff for the right to meet Oceania champions New Zealand for a place in the 2010 finals.

South Korea snatched the group lead from their fierce political foes after a free kick wide on the right from Kim Chi-woo with three minutes left floated past a hoard of players into the far corner of the net.

The win put the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists top on 11 points, with North Korea one point behind having played one more game.

After a dour first half Australia took the lead in the 66th minute with a header from the unmarked Josh Kennedy. Harry Kewell then made it 2-0 with a 73rd-minute penalty.

“There was a lot of pressure because we knew we had to win,” Australia captain Lucas Neill said in a television interview.

“We’ve sent a statement out to the rest of the group now, and possibly the world, that we might be the first team to qualify.”

AUSTRALIA WAIT

Australia must wait until their visit to Qatar on June 6 to get the point they need to advance.

Fouzi Aaish’s free kick on 52 minutes gave Bahrain a 1-0 win in Manama and condemned Qatar to their fourth defeat in a row.

“The win hasn’t sealed third place for us (yet),” said Bahrain coach Milan Macala. “We must put a lot of effort in the next matches to win third place.”

Bahrain are third on seven points, with Qatar and Uzbekistan equal bottom on four apiece.

South Korea found it tough against their defensively solid neighbours and almost fell behind soon after the break when Jong Tae-se’s header, which appeared to cross the line, was clawed away by keeper Lee Woon-jae.

Their frustrations were compounded when they squandered a series of scoring opportunities, Lee Keun-ho twice the guilty party.

Park Chu-young’s 66th-minute blocked shot landed at Lee’s feet but he tamely struck the ball into the hands of the goalkeeper. Lee then did exactly the same thing two minutes later to the despair of the packed crowd.

“I expected it would be a one-goal margin,” said South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo. “I felt the North were getting better and better.”

The Saudis, bidding to reach their fifth successive World Cup finals, took an early lead but were stunned by two UAE goals close to halftime.

The hosts levelled on 70 minutes with an own goal from Fares Juma before grabbing the winner 13 minutes later through Naif Hazazi, who also scored on Saturday to spark a last-gasp victory over Iran.

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Now, a two-year course for students to learn how to ride waves

February 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Feb 26 (ANI): Just imagine-a school on the beach that awards degrees. Well, that’s what a new surf course is offering students who love riding the waves.

Costing a good 100,000 pounds, the course will require students to spend much of their “study” time on the beach and to go on numerous residential trips to top surfing locations like Cornwall, Devon and possibly abroad.

And after completing the two-year course, the students will be awarded a BTEC National Certificate in Sport, equivalent to two A Levels.

The training, described by critics as a “Mickey Mouse” course that will be a waste of time and money, will cost 4,012 pounds per student.

The Surf Academy will open in September at the Bournemouth and Poole College in Dorset and will coincide with the completion of Europe’s first artificial surf reef in Boscombe, Bournemouth.

Two tutors, who would supervise the course, will help students hone their surfing technique under the guidance of experts.

They will also take theory lessons in sports science, contest tactics, coaching and other aspects of the surf industry.

“The managers looked at the new surf reef which is to be built in Bournemouth, and realised they could capitalise on it,” The Telegraph quoted Gary Hart, who will be teaching the course, as saying.

He added: “Surfing is a growing industry and there are a lot of opportunities out there. Students could go on to be surfing instructors, work in retail or go onto higher education – there are surf science courses at universities like Plymouth.”

The taxpayer will be funding the further education course via the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
The course will provide students with a chance to obtain a beach lifeguard and an instructor’s qualification.

Terry Crump, 30, chairman of Wessex Surf Club and four times south coast champion, will be teaching the practical part of the course.

Crump said: “I think the course is a brilliant idea. Surfing is a growing industry and it’s always good to see youngsters getting enthusiastic about it. You have to be at a certain level to be able to teach, so for a beginner this course would be ideal.” (ANI)

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Nepal Army chief describe recruitment issue as ‘internal matter’

February 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, Feb 13 (ANI): Nepal Chief of Army Staff General Rookmangud Katawal on Friday said that the ongoing dispute over army recruitment is an “internal matter” of Nepal Army and that the army itself is capable of resolving it.

In response to questions from the members of the National Interest Protection Committee of the Constituent Assembly (CA) about the ongoing row between the Ministry of Defense and Nepal, the army chief said that he can’t speak on the “internal matter” of the army in the meeting called to discuss the future make-up of the Nepal Army.

“I will speak about this issue where it is required,” Nepalnews quoted him as saying.

He also assured the members that the Nepal Army now bears the national flag respecting the changes that have arrived in the country.

“The army is moving ahead as per the law and agrees to people’s supremacy,” he added.

Reiterating that the Nepal Army has been working as per the government directives, he clarified that the army does not have a history of working for vested interest.

Indicating army integration issue, he said that the integration would be done as per military qualification, nor under any pressure or under anyone’s wishes.

Meanwhile, Katawal submitted two documents regarding national key policies and security policies on the behalf of entire army personnel for new Constitution.

The army recruitment dispute amplified recently after the NA carried out fresh recruitment defying the Defense Ministry’s order to stop new enlistment. (ANI)

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Venues and schedule confirmed for ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dubai, Feb.10 (ANI): The ICC today confirmed the schedule for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 to take place from 1 to 19 April in South Africa.

With three ODI venues being used, including Willowmoore Park in Benoni and Potchefstroom for group and Super Eight matches and Centurion for the final on 19 April, the event will enjoy first-class facilities.

In total there are nine venues being used for 54 matches played over 19 days with 12 teams fighting it out for the four qualification places on offer in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, formerly known as the ICC Trophy, incorporates Divisions 1 and 2 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League and is the gateway for the top Associate and Affiliate teams into the premier one-day tournament in the world.

“It looks like it’s going to be a great event,” said ICC President David Morgan.

“Many of the top Associates are very evenly matched and I am expecting some thrilling matches during the tournament. We know from experience that South Africa is a perfect place to host big multi-team tournaments such as this and I know the teams will have some of the best facilities at their disposal,” he said.

“Four years ago, Scotland deservedly overcame the opposition in Ireland so I’m sure they’ll be anxious to hang on to the title. It’s not going to be easy though. Many of the other Associates have made big strides since then so it’s going to be a hard-fought tournament.”

Day one of the event offers up perhaps the most eagerly awaited fixture of all with defending champion Scotland taking on fierce rival Ireland in an ODI at Willowmoore Park in what will be a repeat of the final in 2005.

Among the teams will be Afghanistan and Uganda, which both qualified from January’s Pepsi World Cricket League Division 3 event in Buenos Aires. The WCL was created to provide a clear pathway for teams outside the top 10 towards improvement and ultimately, the ICC Cricket World Cup. This global event gives ICC Associate and Affiliate Members the opportunity to play similarly ranked sides in meaningful competition regardless of where they are located in the world.

The 12 teams taking part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier are split into two groups of six teams. Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Oman, Namibia and Uganda make up Group A while Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and Afghanistan form Group B.

Each side plays the other teams in its group once with the top four from the groups progressing to the Super Eight stage. The teams each play four Super Eight matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage. All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Eight stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group.

The top two teams in the Super Eight stage will contest the final to be played at Centurion on 19 April. The third and fourth-placed sides will play-off at Potchefstroom, the fifth and sixth-placed sides play off at Willowmoore Park while the seventh and eighth-placed teams play off at Stan Friedman Oval, Krugersdorp.

The top four sides at the event qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The top six teams secure ODI status until 2013 and also qualify automatically for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10.

The bottom two teams from the CWCQ, which incorporates Divisions 1 and 2 of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League, will be relegated to Division 3.(ANI)

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PML-N warns disqualification of Nawaz, Shahbaz will lead to chaos in Pak

January 21, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Jan 21 (ANI): The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has warned against disqualification of its top leadership, saying that neither the people of the country nor the party will accept any controversial judgment handed in by the PCO judges.

“Any controversial decision at this point of time would mean another judicial crisis and chaos in the country, the responsibility of which would lie on the Government,” PML-N Central Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal told reporters here.

Ahsan Iqbal said those who were not regarded by the people to be legitimate judges had no right to decide on the qualification of popular leaders.

Dawn quoted him as saying that the Judges who had validated General (retired) Pervez Musharraf’s unconstitutional rule couldn’t hear the case against people who had a record of opposing and rejecting the same.

Ahsan Iqbal said the PPP had made promises for repeal of the controversial 17th amendment, and should fulfill its promise by working together with the PML-N.

He said the bill to repeal the 17th amendment prepared by the PML-N was in line with the Charter of Democracy signed both by the PPP and the PML-N.

Answering a question, Iqbal dispelled the impression that the PML-N wanted a repeal of the 17th amendment, as it was hurdle in the way of Nawaz Sharif becoming Prime Minister for the third term, and pointed out that Sharif was not a Member of the National Assembly. (ANI)

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Delhi Daredevils qualification could see Warner battle home state in Champions League Twenty20

January 17, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Sydney, Jan 17 (ANI): Australia’s new batting sensation David Warner will play a crucial role in getting NSW qualified for the lucrative Champions League Twenty20, but he may end up battling against his Blues teammates in that tournament.

If NSW win tonight’s Twenty20 big bash match against Victoria, they could finish in the top two of the competition and qualify for the Champions League where the winner’s prize is three million dollars, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

However, if Warner’s Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils also qualify for the Champions League, the newly capped 22-year-old international will be forced to play against his NSW counterparts, together with Glenn McGrath.

The IPL franchises are able to gain preference for players by offering states 250,000 dollars as a trade-off and there’s little doubt Warner will be in big demand from Delhi should they reach the Champions League, which will be held in India some time between September 15 and November 15.

But all hinges on the Blues’ performance tonight, with a loss killing off their Champions League ambitions.

First-placed Victoria are kings of the shortened form of the game, but will be missing key players David Hussey and Cameron White, both on Australian duty, and if NSW win they will host the final next Saturday.

“It’s another big game for NSW. Obviously, we’d love to win the Big Bash and win that trophy and can walk around here pretty happy,” Warner said.

“It’s another opportunity to play more cricket, in the subcontinent, if we’re fortunate enough to go over there. Many of us guys haven’t been over there,” he added. (ANI)

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Kim Jong-il’s brother-in-law takes over running of North Korea

January 11, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

London, Jan 11 (ANI): The brother-in-law of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-il has taken over the running of the country, stamping on dissent while the dictator recovers from a stroke.

A stream of reports has reached exiles about the man wielding an iron fist to keep the country under tight control as its 23 million people endure a hungry winter, The Times reported.

Jang Song-thaek, a 62-year-old lifetime party functionary, who was nominated on December 6 as director of the Korean Workers’ party, a title that conceals his role as head of internal security.

His chief qualification for the job is his the fact that he is married to Kim’s younger sister, Kyung-hee.

His mandate is to guarantee control as the regime waves farewell to George W Bush and waits to see what Barack Obama will do about its nuclear weapons.

Accounts filtering out to exiles in the cities of northern China indicate that he is enforcing conformity with such determination that even servants of the system nickname him “the most villainous follower” of Kim, the paper said.

The ruling party has issued a succession of reports and photographs to bolster its claim that Kim, the 67-year-old Dear Leader, who reportedly suffered a stroke last year, is well. But it is Jang whose day-to-day executive decisions have been reported by state media.

Party loyalists may clutch empty bellies, but Jang has forbidden them to buy or sell goods in the country’s few private markets, saying that one cannot trade ideology for survival.

He has stifled commerce with China in the name of doctrinal purity, fearing the influence of cross-border traders. Regulations have been tightened to restrict travel between the two countries, supposedly close allies. (ANI)

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