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Stoner wins at Mugello to take MotoGP champ lead

[Italy - May 31] Casey Stoner held off the fast-finishing Jorge Lorenzo to win the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday and bring to an end Valentino Rossi's seven-year reign.

The Australian also took over the lead in the world championship standings with his second win of the season having also triumphed in Qatar in the opening race of the season.

He now leads Lorenzo, who started on pole here, by four points in the championship standings with Rossi third, a further five points back.

In a dramatic race that began in wet conditions, Stoner seized the advantage when switching bikes after 10 laps for a change of tyres.

He was the fastest man on the track by some margin in those first few laps after the switch and although Yamaha pair Lorenzo and Rossi were quickest at the end, they had both lost too much time and too many places to hit back.

Stoner completed the 23 laps in 45min 41.894sec to win by just over a second to Spaniard Lorenzo.

Italian MotoGP Result
1. Casey Stoner (AUS-Ducati) 45:41.894
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP-Yamaha) +1.001
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA-Yamaha) +2.076
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA-Honda) +2.129
5. Loris Capirossi (ITA-Suzuki) +3.274

Overall Standings
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) 90
2. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) 86
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 81
4. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) 57
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) 56
6. Marco Melandri (ITA) 48
7. Colin Edwards (USA) 45
8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 38
9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) 37
10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) 34

source : sports.yahoo.com
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King Nadal's Paris crown finally slips

PARIS (Reuters) - A seismic shock rippled through Roland Garros at 17.54 pm on Sunday when the unthinkable finally happened -- claycourt king Rafael Nadal's aura of invincibility was pierced, punctured and finally ripped apart.

Robin Soderling was barely known outside tennis circles but the disarming Swede played the match of his life to humble arguably the greatest ever claycourter 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6 in the fourth round of the French Open after 3-1/2 hours of high drama.

Soderling left the world number one and a capacity crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court flabbergasted as he handed the Spaniard his first defeat at Roland Garros and left his dreams of a record fifth consecutive title in tatters.

A disbelieving crowd watched in fascination as the 22-year-old was finally brought to his knees when his attempt at an angled volley looped wide.

As Soderling sealed the champion's fate, the 23rd seed stretched his arms wide open to lap up the applause from the hollering fans before hurling his racket high into the stands.

On the other side of the net, a forlorn Nadal was left to digest his first defeat in 32 matches at the claycourt major.

"This is not a tragedy, losing here in Paris. It had to happen one day," said Nadal, who had not lost a set here since the 2007 final against Roger Federer.

"That's the end of the road, and I have to accept it. I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm."

Soderling added: "This is for sure the biggest moment so far of my career. I couldn't even dream of this before the match, so I will remember this match for the rest of my life."

The result was the biggest upset in the sport since a then little-known Federer snapped Pete Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon in the fourth round in 2001.

On a bad day for champions, women's holder Ana Ivanovic also bade an early farewell but her exit almost went unnoticed as Paris buzzed with the news of Nadal's demise.

The eighth-seeded Serb surrendered her French Open crown with a whimper when she was outclassed 6-2 6-3 by Belarussian Victoria Azarenka. The 19-year-old set up a quarter-final date with champion-in-waiting Dinara Safina.

source : reuters.com
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Noemi Letizia's claims she would not have had a sexual relationship with Silvio Berlusconi

The ex-boyfriend of an 18-year-old woman linked to Silvio Berlusconi says she could never have had a relationship with the Italian Prime Minister because of her 'values'.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera yesterday ran what it said was a letter from the ex-boyfriend, Gino Flaminio, in which he said there never could have been a sexual relationship between Berlusconi and Noemi Letizia "knowing Noemi and her values."

Last week, the left-leaning daily La Repubblica quoted Flaminio as saying Berlusconi had invited Letizia and several other young women to his Sardinian villa for a week over New Year's.

He described what he said were phone calls between Berlusconi and Letizia that he listened in on, saying the premier asked her in one call about her schooling, her interests and what her parents do.

The interview fueled speculation about a possible relationship between Letizia and the premier, particularly after Berlusconi's wife cited the premier's presence at Letizia's 18th birthday party in announcing a few weeks ago she was divorcing the 72-year-old.

The conservative premier has denied any scandalous relationship and said he knows Letizia's father through decades-old Socialist Party circles.

He has said he attended the birthday party because he happened to be in Naples that day.

Letizia's father announced he would sue Repubblica and Flaminio for defamation, and Berlusconi's aides have accused the center-left opposition of grabbing onto gossip to try to discredit him and his party before European Parliament elections this weekend.

Flaminio didn't say he was misquoted by Repubblica in his letter to the rival
publication Corriere, only that he felt used by people who wanted to hurt Berlusconi.

"I'm sorry for what happened, which I never could have imagined," Flaminio wrote, according to Corriere. "I publicly ask for forgiveness from Noemi and everyone, for the clamor that ensued from our love story, and I hope for a world of good for everyone."

"Isn't it possible that the (premier) could have a private life?" Flaminio wrote. "What's wrong with being friends with a normal family?"

On Saturday, Rome prosecutors seized hundreds of photos of the New Year's party in question after Berlusconi moved to block their publication.

They also placed the Sardinian photographer who took them under investigation for alleged violation of privacy laws and fraud, stemming from his efforts to sell the photos to magazines, news reports said Sunday.

source : www.dailymail.co.uk
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Dwight Howard leads Orlando's magicians into NBA finals

ORLANDO, Florida (May 31) - The Orlando Magic crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-90 on Saturday to claim the Eastern Conference championship and set up an NBA Finals showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dwight Howard, who likes to be called Superman, played the role to perfection, scoring a playoff-career best 40 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as the Magic won the best-of-seven Eastern series in six games.

"He was incredible," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters. "I don't know what else he could have done. He was fantastic."

League MVP LeBron James had 25 points for Cleveland, who posted the NBA's best regular-season record but could not overcome match-up problems with the outside-shooting Magic.

"It seemed like they shot 100 percent from three(-point range) for the whole series; it was tough to guard," Cleveland's Mo Williams added.

"Going into the playoffs, we were confident we were going to the NBA Finals, we were confident we were going to win it. Obviously it hurts inside because you know you had the team to get it done."

James, who had seven rebounds and seven assists, did not talk to reporters after the game, heading instead straight to the team bus, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported.

The NBA Finals begin in Los Angeles on Thursday, where the Western Conference champions will make a record 30th Finals appearance. They lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in 2008.

source : reuters.com
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Manohara home safely after dramatic escape

Manohara Odelia Pinot, an Indonesian model who was reported to have been kept and abused by her Malaysian royal husband, joyfully returned to Indonesia on Sunday, after a dramatic escape from a hotel in Singapore.

Speaking to a packed press conference in Jakarta, the American-descent Indonesian model, who speaks fluent English and French, recounted her movie-like escape: she had to stay long in a bathroom to buy time, refused to be injected and repeatedly pressing the emergency button in the elevator before the Singaporean police came to help her.

“They (Singaporean police) brought me to a room. Mother came to me not long after it. I embraced her,” she said as quoted by Detik.com.

Daisy Fajarini told El-shinta radio she flew to Singapore after learning that her daughter was in the country.

The Foreign Ministry said the American embassy was involved in the process of freeing Manohara. “The ministry coordinated with the United States embassy because Manohara’s biological father is a US national which makes her a US national as well,” the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post.

source : jakartapost.com
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Bordeaux clinch first French title in 10 years

Bordeaux has won the French league title for the first time since 1999.

Laurent Blanc's team beat Caen 1-0 Saturday to finish with 80 points, putting it three ahead of Marseille.

Marseille beat Rennes 4-0 in Saturday's final round of games.

Caen and Nantes were relegated along with Le Havre.

It is Bordeaux's sixth league title, and the last, in 1999, was also secured on the final day. The other championships were in 1950, '84, '85, and '87.

Bordeaux scored the only goal in the 49th minute when Yoann Gourcuff's free kick found Benoit Tremoulinas sprinting down the left, and his cross was headed in by Yoan Gouffran, against his former team.

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, a 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner with France, said: “Tonight, it is a great satisfaction for the lads. We did what we had to do to get there, with these 11 wins in a row.”

source : www.cbc.ca
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Luís Figo calls it a day

(Milan - May 30) -- Former World Player of the Year Luis Figo has announced that he will retire from football at the end of this season.
The 36-year-old is hoping to go out on a high note after Inter Milan's match match of the Italian season at home to Atalanta on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho's side have already wrapped up the Serie A title -- the fourth that former Portugal captain Figo has won with the club since joining from Real Madrid in 2005.

"Tomorrow, May 31, 2009 will be my last Sunday as a footballer," Figo said in a statement on Inter's official Web site.

"It pleases me that my last Sunday as a footballer will be a Sunday of festival for the fourth consecutive Serie A title for me and all of us at Inter."

Figo had suggested that he would extend his career in China, Japan or the U.S. but has instead decided to call it a day.

He won the European Footballer of the Year in 2000 and the following year he was named FIFA World Player of the Year after his controversial move from Barcelona to Madrid.

Figo started his career with Sporting Lisbon in 1995, but soon moved to Spain where he won two league titles and the European Cup Winners' Cup with Barca.

He became a hate figure for the Catalan club's fans after switching to bitter rivals Real, where he collected two more Primera Liga titles and also won the 2002 UEFA Champions League.

Figo has been a fringe figure at the San Siro for the past two seasons due to a succession of injuries.

"Winning has always been the only real objective of my career," he said. "The only way to win I have known is sacrifice and work, which they taught me when I was a lad at Sporting.

"That's why today I also want to say sorry if in some matches or in some periods I haven't managed to give my all because of injuries or other reasons. I was the first person to be displeased."

source : cnn.com
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Chelsea win FA Cup 2009 !


* Chelsea fight back after falling behind

* Saha goal quickest ever in a final

* Hiddink departs as a winner

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Chelsea gave departing coach Guus Hiddink the perfect leaving present when they came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Striker Louis Saha put Everton ahead after just 26 seconds — the fastest goal ever scored in the FA Cup final. The previous fastest of 30 seconds was scored by Bob Chatt of Aston Villa in 1895.


Chelsea, playing under Hiddink for the last time before he returns to coaching Russia’s national team, equalised after 20 minutes when Didier Drogba rose virtually unmarked to head past Tim Howard.

Frank Lampard curled in the winner from outside the box in the 72nd minute of a match played in blistering heat.

“It was amazing,” Lampard said on ITV. “To be 1-0 down in one minute, we showed a lot of character. We basically dominated the game.

“The second half wasn’t quite so good, but I was always felt like we could win the game so I’m pleased to get the goal to help us win it.”

Chelsea did indeed deserve the victory, which put England defender Ashley Cole in the record books as the first player since the 19th century to win five FA Cup winner’s medals. He has won three with Arsenal and two with Chelsea.

source : sports.yahoo.com
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Facebook vs Twitter

The phenomenon of social networking is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen exactly which network might become the 800-pound gorilla in the space. It is reminiscent of the dotcom 90s, when I worked in the search industry; dozens of venture-backed search firms battled for dominance and search appeared to become a commodity, with limited monetization potential, or so we all thought at the time.

The Evolution of Social Networking Compared to Search


In the now-infamous dotcom era, Yahoo, Lycos, Excite and others evolved into portals in a desperate attempt to find ways to make money, since nobody had really found effective ways to monetize search. That was, until companies like Goto.com (which became Overture and was eventually bought by Yahoo) and Google invented the concept of paid search and contextual, pay-to-click advertising models. The rest is history and we all knew who won the war.

So it seems today that applications like Twitter and Facebook, while attracting new users at astounding rates have not fully defined their business models and the 800-pound gorilla has yet to emerge. It is still early in the game and, as with search in the mid 90s, the eventual winners in the social networking space may not even yet exist, but I would argue that Twitter and Facebook are emerging as potential contenders to dominate.

The differences between the two networks are substantial and in some ways a direct comparison between the two is actually difficult to make. Twitter is simple and feels like Google did in 1998, while Facebook offers a portal-like interface somewhat reminiscent of Yahoo.

Key Elements of Facebook and Twitter

Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.

Most people can very quickly grasp how to use Facebook to connect to friends and family, using it to share thoughts, images, etc. Like MySpace but more geared to adults than teens, Facebook is a social networking Portal; beckoning you not to leave but rather to stick around and communicate within the network.

Twitter on the other hand, encourages you grab ideals in byte-size chunks and use your updates as jumping off points to other places or just let others know what you’re up to at any given moment.

Why People Love Facebook


Facebook appeals to social animals and can be very addicting to people who have an insatiable appetite to stay connected with friends and make new acquaintances. In fact, some people report they rarely use email or IM tools anymore in their online social communications anymore, relying almost entirely on Facebook for email, chat, image and video sharing.

Facebook addicts prefer the social portal model versus having to log into AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, Hotmail, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc. Instead, Facebook gives them a single alternative to all these applications, with one login and interface to manage their online social interaction needs. This largely explains the explosive growth Facebook continues to experience and why the company reportedly invested $200 million in data center upgrades last year to keep up with demand!

Why People Love Twitter

The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging. Twitter encourages constant “linking out” to anywhere and, in that respect, is more analogous to a pure search engine; another way to find people and content all over the Net.

Twitter has quickly built brand awareness and a loyal following, especially among the technically adept; bloggers, online marketers, evangelists, basically anyone with something to promote seem to find Twitter extremely valuable.

When asked why they love Twitter, users say like “I can ask a question and get an instantaneous response”. They crave the ability to “tap into the collective consciousness” of others on the network, bouncing ideas off others with whom they would otherwise have no means of connecting. Twitter addicts claim it’s like the old fashioned water cooler, where people can gather to shoot the breeze on whatever topic is on their minds. Twitter is like a communications stream you dive into for an invigorating swim.

source : www.twitip.com Read More...

Wikipedia bans Church of Scientology

The collaborative online encyclopedia Wikipedia has banned the Church of Scientology from editing the site. The Register reports Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee, or ArbCom, voted 10 to 0 in favor of the ban, which takes effect immediately.

Wikipedia’s innovative free-encyclopedia draws upon the knowledge of millions of users to create and edit articles on every conceivable topic. Edits appear immediately and do not undergo any formal peer-review process.

Wikipedia officially prohibits use of the encyclopedia to advance personal agendas – such as advocacy or propaganda and philosophical, ideological or religious dispute – but the open format makes enforcing such policies difficult.
According to Wikipedia administrators speaking to The Register:

Multiple editors have been “openly editing [Scientology-related articles] from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities.”

However, Karin Pouw, with the Church of Scientology’s public affairs office, told me she is unaware of any coordinated effort to alter Wikipedia. Instead, she described the edits as individual attempts to correct inaccurate information by impassioned Scientologists and interpreted the ban as a typical Wikipedia response to arguments over content. She noted that even the U.S. Department of Justice received a temporary ban after someone erased references to a controversial scandal from inside the government agency.

One Wikipedia contributor I spoke with that was involved in the Scientology arbitration agreed that some of the edits coming from the church were justifiable, but insisted the ban was necessary after the church refused to follow Wikipedia’s policies:

“The edits coming out of Church of Scientology servers were of the sort that made their organization look better. Up to a point that’s justifiable, when it comes to correcting inaccuracies or removing poorly sourced negative information. There were times when they went beyond that and deleted well sourced information that was unflattering, and there were times when they insulted other editors in a manner that would reflect poorly upon any religion.”

Some see Wikipedia’s decision as a setback to the Utopian goal of Web 2.0 in which every user is allowed to freely contribute.

How do you feel about the ban? Should Wikipedia actively suppress self-serving, misleading or inaccurate information? Or does every voice deserve to be heard?

source : cnn.com Read More...

Mohamed Altoumaimi : Iraqi Boy in Sweden solves 300 year old math mystery

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.

In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.

Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.

"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.

He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.

After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.

But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.

"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.

source : yahoo.com Read More...

Lakers goes to Final !

DENVER, Colorado (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant scored 35 points to guide the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals with a 119-92 rout of the Denver Nuggets on Friday, as the visitors closed out their Western Conference series in style.

Bryant added 10 assists while team mates Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom had 20 points apiece in one of the most complete post-season outings for the Lakers, who triumphed 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.

"We had the effort and the execution to match (tonight)," Bryant told reporters after clinching his sixth career NBA Finals appearance and second straight.

"It's been a physical march back to the finals. We're back to the place where we didn't finish our business last year.

"Hopefully we do it this year."

Los Angeles, who were beaten by the Boston Celtics in last year's title showdown, await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals series between the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Denver's Carmelo Anthony had a team-high 25 points while shooting just 6-for-17 from the field and J.R. Smith chipped in 24 points for the Nuggets, who struggled out of the gate and never recovered.

source : reuters.com Read More...

USA Music Singles Top 40 (Updated Regularly)

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1. The Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
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2. Lady Gaga "Poker Face"
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3. Jamie Foxx "Blame It"
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4. Pitbull "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"
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5. Kid Cudi "Day N' Nite"
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6. Beyoncé "Halo"
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7. Jeremih "Birthday Sex"
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8. 3oh3 "Don't Trust Me"
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9. Katy Perry "Waking Up in Vegas"
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10. Flo Rida "Sugar"
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11. Eminem "Beautiful"
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12. Plain White T's "1, 2, 3, 4"
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13. Ciara feat Justin Timberlake " Love Sex Magic"
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14. Miley Cyrus "The Climb"
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15. Keri Hilson "Knock You Down"
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16.Lady Gaga "Love Game"
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17. Soulja Boy Tell'em "Kiss Me Thru The Phone"
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18. Green Day "Know Your Enemy"
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19. Flo Rida "Right Round"
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20 . Taylor Swift "Love Story"
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21. Kelly Clarkson "I Do Not Hook Up"
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22. Eminem "Old Time's Sake"
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23. Daughtry "No Surprise"
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24. Miley Cyrus "Hoedown Throwdown"
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25. Sean Kingston "Fire Burning"
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26. Eminem "We Made You"
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27. Keri Hilson & Lil Wayne "Turnin Me On"
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28. The Fray "You Found Me"
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29. Jordin Sparks "Battlefield"
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30. T.I. feat Justin "Dead and Gone"
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31. Lady Gaga "Just Dance"
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32. Britney Spears "If U Seek Amy"
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33. Pink "Please Don't Leave Me"
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34. Soulja Boy Tell'em "Turn My Swag On"
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35. Sugarland "It Happens"
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36. Jonas Brothers "Paranoid"
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37. Dave Matthews Band "Funny The Way It Is"
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38. Carrie Underwood "I Told You So"
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39. Jason Mraz "I'm Yours"
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40. Jesse McCartney "How Do You Sleep?"
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Herewith Another New Song :
- Linkin Park "New Divide"
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- A.R. Rahman feat The Pussycat Dolls & Nicole Scherzinger "Jai Ho!"
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- Kelly Clarkson "My Life Would Suck Without You"
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- Taylor Swift "Love Story"
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- U2 "Get On Your Boots"
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- Lily Allen "Not Fair"
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- Coldplay "Lovers In Japan"
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- David Cook "Come Back To Me"
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- Tinchy Stryder Ft N-Dubz "Number 1"
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- La Roux "In For The Kill"
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- Prodigy "Warrior's Dance"
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- Ironik "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)"
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- Calvin Harris "I'm Not Alone"
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- Metro Station "Shake It"
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- Girls Aloud "Untouchable"
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- Noisettes "Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)"
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- Keri Hilson & Timbaland "Return The Favor"
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- Demi Lovato "La La Land"
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- Enrique Iglesias & Ciara "Takin' Back My Love"
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- Pussycat Dolls "Watcha Think About That"
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- Tommy Sparks "She's Got Me Dancing"
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- Akon "Beautiful"
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- Alesha Dixon "Let's Get Excited"
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- Shontelle & Akon "Stuck With Each Other"
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- Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"
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- Deadmau5 "I Remember"
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- Maccabees "Love You Better"
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- Jennifer Hudson "If This Isn't Love"
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- Shinedown "Second Chance"
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Download Top 30 Modern Rock Read More...

Enjoy FA Cup Final 2009 via Twitter

Match commentator of 20 years, Jon Champion will be ‘commentweeter’ when he simulcasts his match report of the final between Chelsea and Everton on the social network site during the game.

Setanta is also running a Cup Final event centre on Setanta.com featuring action roundups, fan blogspots, behind-the-scenes videos, Flickr photo galleries and Twitter feeds from presenters, fans and celebrities.

It’s the first time the broadcaster has provided live tweeting of a sporting event.

Timothy Ryan, marketing director at Setanta, said the commentweeter aimed to provide fans with the full experience of the FA Cup Final by combining traditional TV viewing with a modern twist.

Jon Champion said: “As a commentator you want to communicate with people in a way that helps them enjoy the game as much as possible. If becoming a ‘commentweeter’ is going to help do that, then I think this is a great idea.”

source : www.nma.co.uk Read More...

Gisele Bundchen tops Forbes model earners with $25 million

Forbes has ranked the world's top earning models and Gisele Bundchen is the highest-earning model in the world.

The Brazilian beauty has topped the list compiled by Forbes.com for the third year running after making an impressive $25 million from June 2008 to June 2009.

Despite raking in a fortune, Gisele - who married American football star Tom Brady in February - has been hit by the global economic crisis, making $10 million less than in the previous financial year.

However, the 28-year-old catwalk queen still has lucrative campaigns with Versace, Dior, True Religion jeans and Ebel watches. She also has her own successful shoe line.

Heidi Klum finished in second place with $16 million, earning $2 million more than the previous financial year.

The 35-year-old German-born star’s career has continued to prove lucrative thanks to her ongoing TV and product endorsement deals.

Heidi hosts ‘Germany’s Next Top Model’ and ‘Project Runway’ and is a model for Victoria’s Secret lingerie company. She also promotes Diet Coke, Volkswagen, LG, a range of Birkenstock sandals and her own skincare line In An Instant.

Kate Moss has retained third place with $8.5 million, earning £1 million more than the previous financial year.

Forbes.com highest earning models June 2008-June 2009, top 10:
1. Gisele Bundchen - $25 million
2. Heidi Klum - $16 million
3. Kate Moss - $8.5 million
4. Adriana Lima - $8 million
5. Doutzen Kroes - $6 million
6. Alessandra Ambrosio - $6 million
7. Natalia Vodianova - $5.5 million
8. Daria Werbowy - $4.5 million
9. Miranda Kerr - $3 million
10. Carolyn Murphy - $3 million

source : livenews.com.au Read More...

Former Olympic champion Ruby dies in climbing fall

CHAMONIX, France – Karine Ruby, a former Olympic snowboarding champion, died Friday in a climbing accident on France's famed Mont Blanc. She was 31.

Ruby was roped to other climbers when she fell into a deep crack, police said. Lt. Col. Pierre Bouquin said other climbers fell into the crevasse but provided no further details.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Ruby an "exceptional sportswoman."

"Karine incarnated the emergence of snowboarding in France," Fillon said in a statement. "The people of France will hold on to the memory of her talent and her joie de vivre."

Ruby won a gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and a silver in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She was a six-time world champion with 65 snowboard World Cup victories.

She retired after the 2006 Turin Olympics, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the snowboardcross event.

source : yahoo.com Read More...

Jenson Button takes a romantic dip with girlfriend Jessica Michibata

After winning his fifth Grand Prix in Monaco last week, Jenson Button is taking a well-earned break with his stunning girlfriend Jessica Michibata.

The Brawn racing ace, 29, and Jessica, 24, put on a passionate display in a hotel pool in Portofino, Italy yesterday.
But he's managed to squeeze in a few days holiday in the north west Italian seaside town.

The warm weather gave Jessica the chance to show off the fabulous figure which secured her many lingerie modelling deals as she opted for a leopard-print bikini top and black bottoms.

As the couple strolled around the grounds of their hotel, Jenson couldn't take his eye of his girlfriend's slender physique.

Following his win on Sunday, Jessica squeezed into a glamorous Herve Leger bandage dress and Christian Louboutin heels to join Jenson at the F1 gala dinner to celebrate his triumph. The couple appeared to be getting serious since the started dating in January. Jessica is the latest beauty in Jenson's high-profile love life.

Jessica owes her exotic looks to her Japanese mother and an Argentine father with Spanish and Italian origins.

She regularly appears in underwear and swimwear adverts in her native Japan and has modelled for Evian, Lux, Uniqlo and Reebok.

She also writes a film column for monthly magazine Soup.

Following his win in Monte Carlo on Sunday, Jenson is now preparing for the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul next weekend.

source : www.dailymail.co.uk Read More...

Katie Price shows the strain of split with Peter Andre with her gaunt figure on the catwalk

Katie Price's marriage split from husband Peter Andre appears to be taking its toll physically, given the model's super skinny appearance today.

The glamour model made her catwalk debut in a white bikini at the Clothes Show Live at London's ExCel Centre - her first public appearance since the couple's announcement on May 11.

While the mother-of-three declined to discuss her personal life, fans were stunned by her concave stomach and visible rib-cage as she strutted down the catwalk.

The model has regularly attracted headlines over the last year with her skinny figure, but it appears she has lost even more weight since the split.

Her estranged husband Peter admitted this week he had lost a stone in weight since their relationship broke down.

Showcasing her latest collection of KP Equestrian clothing, Katie also took part in the UK Beauty Awards beauty pageant as 'Miss London', despite coming from Brighton.

Katie was in full-on glamour mode with her skimpy bikini, gold platforms and bouffant hairstyle.

source : www.dailymail.co.uk Read More...

Man fathers 21 children by 11 different women... and he's only 29

A man aged 29 has fathered 21 children with 11 different women, it emerged yesterday.

Desmond Hatchett's brood came to light after authorities in Tennessee in the U.S. took him to court for non-payment of child support.

He has apparently set a U.S. record but said: 'It just happened.'

He added that he would not have any more children. 'I'm done. I'll say I'm done,' he said.

Hatchett, who earns a minimal wage, told TV reporters he knows the names and ages of all his offspring.

Their ages range from newborn to 11 years old.

Authorities in Knoxville said they plan to take half of his monthly salary to pay for the youngsters but officials said that would work out to just over £1 a week for each.

His lawyer Keith Pope said: 'The children can't all be supported by Desmond, so the state of Tennessee has had to step in.'

Many Knoxville residents called for him to be castrated.

He even boasted of fathering four children by different women in the same year.

Hatchett's name appeared on court documents 11 times representing 15 of his 21 children.

U.S. authorities are now braced for more women coming forward to claim Hatchett is the father of their children after he appeared on local TV.

He said the women he was involved with all knew he had other children.

One mother, who has two children with Hatchett, said she should get £44 a month but rarely receives any child support.

'It's frustrating, but usually, when I ask he gives it to me,' she said.

Authorities in Knoxville ordered Hatchett to court to explain how he intends to pay child support.

He arrived for the hearing with just over £300.

source : www.dailymail.co.uk Read More...

Lady Gaga: Nude in Rolling Stone

Lady Gaga frequently channels her inner Britney Spears and walks the street in no pants. Now she’s achieved another Britney feat: the cover of Rolling Stone!

And Britney's covers, while sexy, have nothing on Lady Gaga nude.

She tells Rolling Stone she’s bisexual, but her attraction to women is purely physical. It’s an aspect of her sexuality that makes boyfriends “uncomfortable.”

Watch out, Katy Perry: there’s a new tabloid staple who kisses girls, has Marilyn Manson and Madonna for fans and is on the verge of becoming a pop icon.
While some observers look at Lady Gaga fashion and wild paparazzi shots of her and conclude she must be insane, the 23-year-old singer, born Stefani Joanna Angelina Germanotta, reveals the only thing that drives her nuts is being idle.

Lady Gaga’s slavish devotion to be the best (and fashion) drove her to order bags of cocaine and spend hours perfecting her hair and makeup in a tiny Lower East Side apartment after she dropped out of NYU several years ago.

The savvy Gaga reveals that her real musical goals are quite serious, though: “My true legacy will be the test of time, and whether I can sustain a space in pop culture and really make stuff that will have a genuine impact.”

Music aside, she's certainly having an impact as far as her fashion sense is concerned.

source : thehollywoodgossip.com Read More...

Paris Hilton Has Never Seen The Hills ... But it's Lame

Paris Hilton says her boyfriend, Doug Reinhardt, won't be appearing on MTV's The Hills again. She also thinks the reality series pretty much sucks, and knows a lot about it despite claiming she has never actually watched it.

"The show is, like, so lame and fake. He doesn't even want to be a part of it," the ho-tel heiress told Us Weekly at the Fifi Awards in New York.

Not that he had much of a choice, after The Hills' star, Lauren Conrad, dumped him on the show for being so effing boring. Details, right?

Doug Reinhardt then pursued Stephanie Pratt for reasons unknown to any straight male with a pulse, which pissed off LC and viewers alike.

But Hilton says the show portrayed Doug "in a way he's not."

Mmm. We give this statement about as much credence as Paris' tear-filled recollection of how her most "intimate moments" of night vision sex with Rick Salomon while on the phone were released to the public (making her rich and famous, natch).
"They make up relationships when they’re not there, and he just thinks it's lame," Hilton continued. "I've never seen the show in my entire life. I have no idea what it's about. But he just thought it was cheesy."

True ... it's not nearly hard core enough for Doug. The man likes public bathroom sex, for crying out loud. Dinner and drinks with LC ain't cutting it.

Reinhardt's reality days aren't entirely over, though. He will appear on the second season of Paris Hilton's My New BFF, which debuts June 2 on MTV.

"It was great," the tramp said. "He was always on set every single day, giving fun ideas. With him there, he always gave the most amazing ideas."

They actually hired him as a producer to be on BFF Dubai [Hilton filmed a version of her reality show there]. They loved his ideas so much."

We're not surprised. Doug Reinhardt's charm is quite breathtaking ... according to Doug Reinhardt, on the official website of Doug Reinhardt.

source : thehollywoodgossip.com Read More...

Special BlackBerry Storm packages from Indosat

Gadget freaks wanting to get their hands on the latest BlackBerry Storm are probably screaming in agony now as Indosat’s recent event called BlackBerry Touch Experience has just ended.

It’s painful because at this event, held in Promenade Senayan City from May 18 to 24, Indosat was offering a 50 percent discount on various applications developed specifically for this gadget, including Quick Dial, Anti-Theft Software, i-Berry themes, digital Koran and hadith, IDX Mobile for stock, Arena Games and Arena Music.

Even so, the good news has yet to turn sour, as Indosat is also giving out Storm packages until June. For those intending to purchase a BlackBerry Storm, do so between May 18 and June 30. The price tag during this period is only Rp 8,550,000 and without cash, its one year credit payment program is just as intriguing.

Included in the promo is a price reduction to Rp 1 per month for all BlackBerry services, 100 minutes worth of free calls to Indosat numbers for a month and 100 free SMSes every month for a year. Don’t you just love being geeky? Read More...

Gene for glowing passed along to monkey offspring

This composite photo, provided by Nature magazine, shows newborn transgenic marmoset Kei, left, and Kou. Insets show their feet under ultraviolet light. Under UV light the skin on the soles of the feet glow green.

Scientists gave marmosets a gene that made their feet glow green, and one of the animals passed it along to its offspring - the first time that an added gene has been inherited by a monkey. It was a milestone, experts said, that should make it easier to produce animals with versions of human disease for medical research.

Animals that get added genetic material are called transgenic. While researchers have long created transgenic mice and other animals by giving them extra genetic material, monkeys offer a promising avenue for medical studies because of their similarity to humans.

Researchers have added genes to rhesus macaques before by injecting embryos, but the new work is the first documentation that such genes can be passed along to future generations of monkeys. That's important because it opens the door to creating colonies of transgenic monkeys by breeding, which would be far simpler than the cumbersome process of making each animal from scratch by injecting a gene into an embryo.

The researchers plan to use transgenic marmosets to study such conditions as Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. The work is reported in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature by scientists at the Central Institute for Experimental Animals in Kawasaki, Japan, and elsewhere in that country.

source : www.thejakartapost.com Read More...

Nine Indonesian workers trapped, one dead in Malaysia supermarket accident


Nine Indonesian construction workers were trapped in the rubbles of the collapsed Jaya Supermarket in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after demolition operations went awry on Thursday evening.

One of the nine workers, identified as Maskor, 28, was confirmed dead, Star online reported.

The Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 5:08pm and about 50 firemen immediately rushed to the scene.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Soiman Jahid said the first worker was pulled out of the rubble at 5:45pm and followed by the second about fifteen minutes later.

The two injured victims Suriono, 31, and Salleh, 45 were sent to the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

Rescue workers also recovered the body of a construction worker at 6:44pm.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said Suriono was admitted to the emergency ward while Salleh received outpatient treatment.

“The dead victim has been identified as Maskor, 28,” he said at a press conference at the scene.

He said that six more construction workers were still trapped under the debris.

“We are working on the assumption that they are still alive. The search and rescue operation will continue untill all are accounted for,” he said.

A resident living nearby earlier said he had heard trapped workers shouting “Tolong, tolong (Help, help)” for a while, but there was only silence now.

One trapped worker apparently managed to call his boss on his handphone, and rescue workers are trying to trace him.

By nightfall, an operations centre had been set up and spotlights were used to help with the rescue efforts.

Soiman said the rescue operation involves over 150 personnel from his department, police, the Civil Defence Department, Petaling Jaya City Council and others.

“We are using the tracker dogs to search for the remaining victims,’’ he added.

The building has six storeys, including two basement levels. Most of the workers were on the ground and third floors when the incident, whose cause is currently unknown, occurred.

At one stage, the remaining part of the building was teetering dangerously, reporters on the scene said, with bits and pieces still falling off.

However, the Fire and Rescue Department has confirmed that there are no houses nearby and residents were not in danger.

Lucky survivors

An Indonesian worker Mohamad Iksan, 25, who was carrying out drilling operations in the basement, said he ran out immediately after some concrete slabs fell on the ground not far from him.

“Luckily I was near open space and managed to escape. I only realised part of the building had collapsed after I ran out of the building,” he said.

He said he was working with about eight colleagues during the incident and most of them were at the basement and the highest floor.

Andi, 30, who was on the fifth floor of the building, was taking a break with nine other construction workers when the incident happened.

“I was sitting down when I heard the loud sound of wind rushing past. Then the floor started tilting and we just ran for our lives.

“We rushed to the other end of the building. We are lucky to be alive,” said Andi, who had just started working on the construction site 20 days ago.

Rojak seller Faizal Md Yusof, 25, who was at his van nearby, saw the building “goyang” (sway) and then collapse.

“I saw six cranes falling down along with the building. I just left my van and ran for my life,” he said.

His van was located less than 50m from the collapsed building.

Store manager Lee, 37, said she heard loud booming sounds and looked out of her shoe shop to witness the building collapse.

“There is usually some noise from the construction. When I heard the loud noise, I knew something big fell but I never thought that the whole building would collapse,” she said.

source : www.thejakartapost.com Read More...

Pentagon plans new cyberspace war command


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon plans to create a new military command for cyberspace, stepping up preparations by the armed forces to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare, the New York Times said on Friday.

The military command will complement a civilian effort President Barack Obama plans to announce on Friday that will overhaul the way the United States safeguards its computer networks, the newspaper said on its website.

Citing Obama administration sources, the Times said the president will detail on Friday the creation of a White House office that will coordinate a multi-billion-dollar effort to restrict access to government computers, protect systems that run U.S. stock exchanges, clear global banking transactions and manage the air traffic control system.

The Times said the civilian office would be responsible for coordinating private sector and government defenses against thousands of cyber-attacks mounted every day against the United States, largely by hackers but sometimes by foreign governments.

Administration sources said the president would not discuss the Pentagon plan on Friday. But Obama is expected to sign a classified order in the coming weeks that will create the military cyber-command.

The need for improved U.S. cyber-security was driven home in April when the Wall Street Journal reported that cyber-spies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.

The Times said the United States already has a growing number of computer weapons in its arsenal and must prepare strategies for their use as a deterrent or alongside conventional weapons in a wide variety of possible future conflicts.

Reuters has reported that companies in the cyber-security market range from security-software makers Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc, to traditional defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp, to information technology companies such as CACI International.

The Pentagon had been working on a cyberspace strategy for several months. It was completed weeks ago, but was delayed because of ongoing arguments over the authority of the White House office and budgets for the entire effort, the report said.

source : reuters.com Read More...

Scientists develop new basis for H5N1 vaccine: WHO

GENEVA (Reuters) - Scientists have used bird flu virus samples from Egypt to develop a new basis for a vaccine against the toxic H5N1 strain that continues to circulate, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

Avian influenza kills about half the people it infects, but unlike the quickly circulating swine flu story">H1N1 flu virus has not been shown to pass easily between humans to date.

The WHO said the candidate virus was developed at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta "thanks to the ministry of health and population of Egypt, for providing virus specimens,"

"This recombinant vaccine virus is available for distribution," it said in a statement on its website.

"Institutions, companies and others interested in pandemic vaccine development who wish to receive these candidate vaccine viruses should contact either the WHO Global Influenza Program ... or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Pharmaceutical companies including Novartis are already working on vaccines against H5N1 bird flu, which has killed or forced the culling of more than 300 million birds since 2003 as it spread to 61 countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

While eclipsed on the headlines by the highly contagious swine flu story">H1N1 strain, which proved deadly in its North American epicenter but has caused mild symptoms as it spread, the WHO stressed it was important to remember the risks posed by avian influenza.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization reported 250 outbreaks of H5N1 in birds in February alone -- in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal and Vietnam.

Avian influenza has killed 261 people out of 424 infected since 2003. By contrast, the swine flu story">H1N1 strain, commonly known as swine flu and which has put the world on pandemic alert, has infected more than 13,000 people but killed just 95, according to WHO figures.

Its statement on Thursday said flu experts were continuing to monitor the evolution of avian influenza and other flu viruses and stressed the need for countries to keep providing samples of identified strains.

"Countries are encouraged to share with WHO their specimens and/or isolates, both from humans and animals, for their inclusion in the WHO H5N1 vaccine virus development and selection process, in addition to other activities of public health significance," it said.

Virus sharing is a sensitive topic for developing countries such as Indonesia, who have bristled at the idea of companies using their biological material to manufacture and patent vaccines that are then sold at unaffordable prices.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who raised the United Nations agency's pandemic alert to 5 out of 6 in response to the fast spread of swine flu, is trying to broker an international agreement on the sharing of virus samples by January 2010.

She has called on countries to do all they can to ensure fresh samples of both H5N1 and the new swine flu story">H1N1 strains reach the pharmaceutical community so that their vaccines can offer immunity against the latest forms of the viruses.

The WHO's statement did not include new guidance on the H1N1 virus or vaccines to fight it. WHO officials have said they would offer recommendations "during the summer" about how many pandemic vaccines focused on that strain may needed, depending on whether it continues to cause mild effects as its spreads.

source : reuters.com Read More...

RIM and Google: The Perfect Storm?

A “Perfect Storm”: The Linux-based Android OS, and tight integration with Google’s web services, running on BlackBerry hardware and connected to RIM’s corporate messaging/calendar syncing infrastructure would be an unstoppable mobile enterprise device platform that not even Apple’s iPhone, Windows Mobile or Palm webOS could dare to challenge. But could the marriage ever be consummated? (GoogleBerry Storm concept by Spidermonkey)

In my previous piece about Palm and the potential for webOS to be used for derivative tablet-sized devices, I talked a bit about Google’s problem with having to brand Android and finding a major device manufacturer with brand and sex appeal to attract customers in order to make a major commercial success of the platform.

It occurred to me that the perfect manufacturer, brand and partner for Android devices already exists: Research In Motion.

There is of course, the issue that RIM already has it’s own software platform, the BlackBerry OS, which has been under development for about 8 years.

While Android is Linux based, and Blackberry is completely proprietary, both share quite a bit in common from the developer perspective, in that the applications are written in Java. There are of course some religious differences as to how Java is implemented on both systems — BlackBerry uses a licensed derivative of the Sun J2ME JVM and version 4.x implements a subset of MIDP 2.0, whereas Android’s Dalvik is an Open Source re-implementation of Java that uses a unique Google-developed bytecode that is incompatible with that of J2ME, so it cannot be certified as “true” Java. Nevertheless, from a developer perspective, the two systems are very similar in terms of skill sets that are needed to create software that would run on either device.

Still, in order to develop Android and Blackberry apps today, developers need to maintain separate code bases and separate developer platforms. However, if BlackBerry and Android ran on the same JVM, they could in fact share the same developer environment. Developers would not need to prioritize which platform to develop for — their application development target would in fact be the same.

How could this be done? Either by porting Dalvik natively to the BlackBerry OS, so that Android apps could run side by side with conventional BlackBerry apps and eventually phasing out the licensed Sun J2ME JVM over time, or by having RIM move to Android and port all of their enterprise messaging/calendaring integration services for BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) to that platform, adding any branding and UI customizations required in order to make it more “BlackBerry-like” and including the legacy J2ME JVM on the device to provide legacy app support during that transition period. In terms of level of effort, the second option would probably make a lot more sense.

There are a number of reasons why RIM might want to consider abandoning their own in-house OS for Android. For starters, both RIM and Google are facing three competitors that are encroaching on their space rather quickly — iPhone, Windows Mobile and Palm webOS, and to a certain extent in the European and Asian markets, Symbian. A strategic alliance between the two where BlackBerry becomes the premier mobile Android platform for enterprise and heavy messaging users and would include tight integration with Google’s web services would send shockwaves down Infinite Loop and Microsoft Way.

A RIM/Google alliance would not preclude the existence of other Android devices on the market, such as the T-Mobile G1, but presumably only RIM Android devices would be BES capable. RIM could also run their own Android store with apps that take specific advantage of RIM Android devices, maintaining the unique value of what makes a BlackBerry a BlackBerry.

RIM could also take advantage of Google’s massive datacenter infrastructure, and enlisting Google’s help in order to provide redundant NOCs, as opposed to the single NOC in Ottawa which they maintain now. This would render BlackBerry system outages a thing of the past, or at least much more infrequent than they occur now.

Would a RIM and Google alliance make sense and result in a “Perfect Storm” for their competitors, or are the two companies incompatible?

source : zdnet.com Read More...

Lakers fend off Nuggets to take 3-2 series lead


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers put on a fiery fourth-quarter display to grind out a 103-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, the win earning the top seeds a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference finals series.

All-Star guard Kobe Bryant scored 22 points and reserve forward Lamar Odom contributed 19, along with 14 rebounds, as the Lakers maintained homecourt advantage.

"We played well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters.

"They still hurt us on the offensive boards, the first half particularly. But we were aggressive tonight and that was the best part of it. This Lakers group is really connected.

"They're driven and they're motivated to get to where we were at last year to give us a chance to win," Jackson added.

The Lakers lost 4-2 to the Boston Celtics in last year's NBA championship finals.

Carmelo Anthony poured in a game-high 31 points for the Nuggets, who led 73-66 late in the third quarter before the Lakers finally took control at a packed STAPLES Center.

Spanish forward Pau Gasol recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while guard Derek Fisher and forward Trevor Ariza each weighed in with 12 points as Los Angeles outscored their opponents 27-18 in the final period.

"It was a game you just had to work really hard to be able to get a win and fight through everything," Gasol said. "We were able to get back in the game when we were down, get the lead and really tighten up on defense.

"The defensive effort in the second half was quite outstanding and we're going to have to do that if we want to win the next game or the series, period."

The best-of-seven series shifts to Denver for Friday's Game Six.

source : reuters.com Read More...

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

The tertiary institution on Wednesday held its inaugural Underwater Robotics Olympiad, a competition targeted specifically for secondary school students. The polytechnic had clinched three medals awarded at the country's Singapore Robotic Games (SRG) competition, held earlier this January.

The Underwater Robotics Olympiad is the result of a collaboration between RP and A-Main Objectives, a home-grown enterprise that specializes in robotics technology and building materials. Sixty teams from 42 secondary schools in Singapore participated in the competition.

A-Main supplied the components, hardware, motors and controllers required to build the robots in the contest, while RP provided the software used to operate the robots.

Compared to land-based robotics, underwater robotics expose students to a different set of difficulties and concepts on robot building technology. This urges young minds to be creative in order to solve the unique challenges, said Tan Heap Jui, assistant director of capability development at RP's school of engineering. "[Such] competitions will unleash their creativity," he told ZDNet Asia in an interview Monday.

RP's Underwater Olympiad was held in the school's swimming pool, featuring obstacles around which participants have to maneuver their robots. The different dynamics and density faced by the robot underwater posed a challenge for students.

"When in the water, you are dealing with three-dimensions, on land you are dealing with only two-dimensions. You also need to take care of water proofing," Anthony Ong, managing director of A-Main, explained in the interview. Apart from not allowing water to seep into the electronics compartment, Ong noted that condensation might take place when the robot is submerged. Students were then challenged to think of solutions to prevent such incidents, he said.

Prasanna Kumar, senior manager of RP's robotics laboratory, highlighted the importance of the putting together a sound conceptual design for the robots, including issues such as placements of motors, which affect the propelling motion, and the buoyancy of the robot.

Students will realize how daily household objects, such as plastic storage containers, can also be used in the construction of the robot, said Kumar, adding that these items can be easily found in most hardware shops.

source : news.zdnet.com Read More...

How to Choose Right Perfume for Men

There are varieties of perfumes in the market manufactured by different companies and it is very difficult to choose the perfume that suits to your personality perfectly. You will also come across the types of the fragrance in the perfume purchasing like sweet, exotic and spicy. You should know that all these types of fragrance are used by men in different occasions. Before buying any type of perfume, men usually ask question of what is the use of perfume for men.

Many experts believe that perfumes add an aroma in the personality of the man and mould the outlook of the appearance in new dimension. You can attract any women in first glance if you are well dressed with best choice of perfume for men. Before buying, you visit different websites that are selling perfumes products online. Try to read the reviews about the different perfume products and feedback of the customers. All these details help you to make a precise judgment about the quality of the perfume for men and you are able to know the name of the top ranked firm from where you can easily buy the best perfume for men.

Perfume is considered an essential part of the body accessories for men. You need to be carful in the choice of the perfume for men. It should be based on the social stratum of the man. Sometimes many men prefer to use perfume brands manufactured by well known firms but these products do not suit to their personalities. There is no use of wearing such type of perfume as it just wastes your money. Today buying a perfume is just like buying clothes for men because the choices of the perfect perfume for men enhance the attraction toward opposite sex.

The wise choice of the perfume for men depends on the chemistry of the body and the budget. Some firms supply samples to the customers to buy the best perfume products. Perfumes help you to set your mood toward romance. At the time of midnight dinner, you do not only need candles to invoke the feelings of romance but perfumes also play a vital role to attract your women easily to understand your hot love.

You can enjoy the most pleasurable movements of life if you know the art of buying best perfume for men. If you do not have any idea of buying best perfume for men, you can get the assistance of the shopkeeper from where you are buying perfume. You clearly explain to him the occasion for which you are buying a perfume. All these tips help you to get the right perfume for men.

source : www.articlesbase.com
Read More...

THE PERFUMES WINNERS OF THE 20th INTERNATIONAL AWARD 2009

The Winner Female Perfumes

BEST FRAGRANCE
CHANEL N°5 EAU PREMIERE
The fragrance which re-interprets the never ending spirit of success of Chanel N° 5, created in 1921 by Ernest Beaux, in a pure and transparent key, which highlights the delicate and subtle trace of its predecessor and seduces today’s contemporary woman. Read the following...

BEST PACKAGING
MARK JACOBS DAISY
From a design by Wilhem Liden, ironically impersonates the dualism between sensual and playful, at times even irreverent, of today’s woman. Black, white and gold, dominating chromatic lines, translate the luxurious and spontaneous charm of a creation in total coherence with the stylist’s collections. Read the following...

BEST COMMUNICATION
MA DAME JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
Ma Dame by Jean Paul Gaultier uses the English model Agyness Deyne directed by Jean Baptiste Mondino in a short story about a transformation. Humour and glamour, safety and irreverence, striking sensuality model the Garçonne, metaphor of femininity and individualism which are dear to the stylist. Read the following...


The Winner Male Perfumes

BEST FRAGRANCE
ALLURE HOMME EDITION BLANCHE CHANEL
A creation which highlights a game of contrasts and destined for lovers of art and all things beautiful. The composition revolves around an oriental middle note with an invigorating fresh echo, thus creating an impetuous and explosive hot-cold alchemy which characterises the singularity of the fragrance. Read the following...

BEST PACKAGING
PACO RABANNE ONE MILLION
All the symbols of power, virility and style are to be found in the brand Paco Rabanne and are encompassed in this first creation by Noè Duchaufour Lawrance, a young talent whose experience comes from the world of design and sculpture.

BEST COMMUNICATION
DOLCE&GABBANA THE ONE FOR MEN
It finds an ideal interpretation in the sensual confidence of the Texan actor Matthew McConaughey. The film, directed by Jean Baptiste Mondino who had also given his name to the previous women’s fragrance advert, depicts a fascinating and sportsmanlike virility of a seducer whose self-irony enables him to play with his own vanity, capturing the spirit of the fragrance.

You can see full of this article at the Accademia del Profumo website.
Read More...

AT&T says to double mobile data speeds by 2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it would double its wireless data network speeds as part of an upgrade that it aims to kick off later this year and complete in 2011.

The second biggest U.S. mobile service said its plan, which includes the expansion of its existing wireless data network from 350 metropolitan areas to 370 this year, would be covered by its previously announced capital spending budget of $17 billion to $18 billion for 2009.

The increase to its mobile Web surfing speeds involves an upgrade of a network technology known as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) that AT&T already uses. The upgrade is expected to increase AT&T's theoretical network speed to 7.2 megabits per second from current levels of 3 megabits per second, the company said.

However, actual network speeds can vary hugely once a network is loaded with customers. AT&T said it would have multiple laptop network cards and smartphones available to take advantage of the upgrade later this year.

The company also said it would start tests for its next network technology upgrade with a technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 2010 and plans to start building LTE into its network in 2011.

Its bigger rival Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, plans to already start installing LTE into its network later in 2009, a year ahead of AT&T.

Clearwire Corp is building a rival high-speed network based on WiMax, another emerging technology. Read More...

Microsoft to launch new Zune later this year

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp plans to launch a new version of its Zune portable media player later this year in the United States, incorporating high-definition video, touch screen technology and Wi-Fi connection.

Microsoft said on Tuesday the new Zune, its answer to Apple Inc's popular iPod digital music player, will also come with an Internet browser and a built-in HD radio receiver that offers higher-quality sound than traditional radio.

It did not give a price or a specific date except to say it was due in the fall.

The company added new features to Zune's music service last year, enabling users to download music wirelessly and buy songs they hear on the device's built-in FM radio.

source : reuters.com Read More...

Barcelona wins European Champions League 2009

ROME (AP)—Barcelona gave an emphatic answer to who is the best soccer team in Europe, dispatching Manchester United with a dazzling and dominating display to win the Champions League title for the second time in four seasons.

Samuel Eto’o scored 10 minutes in and Lionel Messi connected in the 70th, leading the Spanish champions to a one-sided 2-0 victory Wednesday night that prevented the English power from becoming the first team in 19 years to win consecutive European titles.

“This is the most important victory of my life,” Messi said. “When the second goal came, that calmed us down a lot.”

Eto’o took a pass from Andres Iniesta, cut around defender Nemanja Vidic and beat Edwin van der Sar from 8 yards. The goalkeeper got a touch on the right-footed shot but couldn’t keep it from going in at the near post.

“The victory is much more important than the goal,” said Eto’o, a three-time African player of the year from Cameroon.

Messi, a 21-year-old star of Argentina’s national team, easily won the glamour duel with reigning FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi, who is 5-foot-7, was wide open when he scored on a header from about 6 yards off a cross from Xavi Hernandez, who had hit a post with a free kick 17 minutes earlier. It was Messi’s tournament-high ninth goal and his first in 11 games against English opponents.

Lionel Messi produced something special to help Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League final and establish itself as the unofficial best team on the planet.

Messi usually uses his head to send instructions to his feet on how to humble defenders, and the combination brought him a season-high nine Champions League goals and 38 in total for Barca.

"This is the most important victory of my life," Messi said. 'When the second goal came that calmed us down a lot."

"When I won as a player I was young and it was magnificent," Guardiola said of his 1992 triumph at Wembley against Sampdoria. "But now winning the treble at the first attempt is marvelous."

United was chasing its fourth European Cup title, and fourth trophy this season after winning the Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup and League Cup.

But United was thoroughly outplayed by the Spanish side, which has 153 league and cup goals this season.

source : sports.yahoo.com Read More...

Nokia starts roll-out of Apple App Store rival

HELSINKI (May 25) - Nokia on Monday began rolling out its much-anticipated online software and content store, Ovi Store, as it aims to follow the success of Apple's App Store.

Nokia said it had started moving Ovi Store to production servers, preparing for the global commercial launch, and the store was opened to users of a few of its phone models in Australia and Singapore on Monday.

Nokia has promised to open the store globally this week.To cope with slowing phone demand Nokia is building a new business from mobile Internet services -- like games or maps -- but is scaling back separate investment plans due to the slowdown, and focusing on merging the delivery of services.

Nokia, which made its first ever quarterly pretax loss in January-March, is cutting annual costs at its key handset unit alone by more than 700 million euros ($979.7 million) to counter plunging phone demand.

The Apple App Store has proved extremely popular, with one billion applications downloaded in less than a year, and operators and technology firms including Vodafone Nokia, and Microsoft now want a piece of the pie.

However, analysts say firms will likely struggle to match the success of Apple's store when creating their own stores, hampered by technical issues, a lack of applications and increased competition.

"Ovi Store is in some ways the last castle for Nokia - both N-Gage and 'Comes with Music' are industry laughing stocks," said Global Crown analyst Tero Kuittinen.

Games and music have been spearheads of Nokia's services push, but its mobile gaming offering has had little success, and its much-hyped music offering, which bundles free music downloads with a sold phone, has also found few clients.

Nokia will also sell games and music through the Ovi Store.

Source : Reuters.com Read More...

Nadal and Safina dazzle in Paris sun


PARIS (May 25) - World number ones Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina dazzled their opponents in the Parisian sun on Monday to blaze into the second round of the French Open.

Brazil's Marcos Daniel fought valiantly for almost 2-1/2 hours before suffering the same fate as four-times champion Nadal's previous 28 opponents at the claycourt grand slam, going down 7-5 6-4 6-3.

Roland Garros also caught a brief glimpse of Safina who white-washed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-0 6-0.

The Paris crowd had barely had time to file into Center Court and settle into their baking-hot plastic seats before the Russian, who looks poised to improve on her 2008 runner-up finish, had dashed back into the cooler confines of the locker room.

So ferocious were Safina's groundstrokes that a linesman was lucky to dodge one of the missiles. Keothavong might have won 33 points but 24 of these came from Safina's unforced errors.

Despite being on the receiving end of the 61-minute hammering, Keothavong at least saw the funny side.

"I'm not going to walk out here and slit my wrists or anything," said Keothavong, who last week became the first British woman in 26 years to reach the semis of a Tour event on clay in Warsaw. "In the end, you just kind of have to find ways to laugh about it. What else is there to do? I'm sure there will be a few jokes about it but I can take it."

Safina's coach, however, was not amused.

"(He felt) I could serve a little bit better and hit the balls a little harder, especially in that love game, 5-0 (in second set), when I pushed a few shots he was angry," said Safina, who has been beaten on clay just once this season.

"He said: 'What's this at 5-0? You have to hit the ball.'"

It is a message Venus Williams could also take on board after her mind went walkabout in the second set during a 6-1 4-6 6-2 win over fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Williams, who owns seven grand slam trophies but has never triumphed at Roland Garros, will next face Czech Lucie Safarova.

Nadal has ruled Roland Garros since 2005 and, as he began his pursuit of a record fifth consecutive title, there was little to suggest that anyone would be able to wrest the title away from him.
source : Reuters.com Read More...

Honoring the fallen on a Google Earth map


Each Memorial Day we honor the men and women in uniform who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy. Traditionally, this is the day many people visit cemeteries and memorials, especially the Arlington National Cemetery. But not all of us can do that. Good news is this year there's an alternative.

Sean Askay, a Google engineer, released on Sunday a Google Earth layer, called Map the Fallen, that contains detailed information of more than 5,700 service members who died in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. This is an interactive tool that allows you to see photos, learn about how each service member died, visit memorial Web sites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died.

Askay has no military affiliation or background and developed the project on his personal time. He said on his mapthefallen blog that he came up with the idea when he was still a student and ran across icasualties.org, a public database of dead soldiers since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan.

According the Askay's blog, the Map the Fallen layer contains information collected from a number of sources, including the Department of Defense's Statistical Information Analysis Division, icasualties.org, MilitaryTimes.com's Honor the Fallen, The Washington Post's Faces of the Fallen, the Iraq and Afghanistan Pages, and Legacy.com.

The layer requires Google Earth 5.0 or later. Once the software is installed, you just need to download the Map the Fallen layer layer and choose to open it. After a few seconds, the layer will be loaded and you can learn so much more about those honorable men and women that you might otherwise don't know about at all.

Personally, seeing the sheer number of human figures closely shown on the surface the Earth is enough to give me somber and humble feelings.

What Askay did shows the true meaning of Memorial Day, and for a lot of us it offers an easy and convenient way to frequently remember and honor those we are often too distracted to do so.

source : news.cnet.com Read More...

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