Route map for Olympic torch relay in London unveiled

The route that the Olympic torch will take through London, carried by stars of sport and screen, was published today. The symbolic flame will travel on foot, by bus, cycle and even the Docklands Light Railway.

It will pass through the capital on April 6 as part of an international relay that will take it to Beijing for the start of the 2008 Games in August.

Konnie Huq, the Blue Peter presenter, Vanessa Mae, the classical violinist, and Kevin Pietersen, the England cricketer, will be among those carrying the torch from its start at Wembley, North London, and on to the arena in north Greenwich where the London 2012 Games will be based.

Other runners include Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Trevor McDonald, actress Amara Karan and Tessa Sanderson, the British Olympic javelin thrower.

In total, there are 80 people bearing the torch in London as part of its 85,000-mile journey around the world in the run-up to Beijing's opening ceremony on August 8.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said the torch-bearing was a "great opportunity for London to experience the excitement and opportunities that the Games will bring us in 2012".

People wanting to attend the event can win 2,000 pairs of free tickets from the website www.london.gov.uk. Others, who do not have tickets, can turn up and view the final stages of the relay along the path towards Peninsula Square.

Schedule for the relay

Wembley 10.30 International dancers on stage at Arena Square, outside Wembley Stadium

Ladbroke Grove 11.00 Mini-carnival with entertainers in carnival masquerade costumes performing to Soca music

Notting Hill Gate 11.20 Carnival del Pueblo Latino carnival band

Oxford Street 12.00 Open-top bus carrying celebrity torchbearer

British Museum 12.20 A fanfare with Greek trumpets in the Great Court

Chinatown 12.30 Costumed dragons and lions perform under Chinese decorations and lanterns on Gerrard Street

Piccadilly Circus 12.40 Convoy passes

Trafalgar Square 12.50 Dance spectacular in front of Nelson’s column, to the accompaniment of a brass fanfare

Southbank Centre 13.30 Spectacular welcome for the torch along the front terraces of the Royal Festival Hall with a choir of 600, Kathak, poetry, circus, hip-hop and beatboxing

Somerset House 14.15 Aletta Collins-choreographed dance accompanied by music from the Bollywood Brass Band

St Paul's Cathedral 14.30 Band of the Scots Guards will welcome the flame with fanfares and music from the cathedral steps

Potter's Fields/More London 15.00 Rhythms of the City and live drumming sessions

Whitechapel Road 15.30 Kinetika perform storytelling, costumes and dance

Stratford 16.00 World-themed carnival with 300 school children, 50 spectacular carnival costumes and nine music floats. An aerial performance will take place at Theatre Square

Canary Wharf 17.00 Carnival themed entertainment including acrobats, jugglers, stilt-walkers, street theatre, music shows, dance performances, face painters, children’s workshops and treasure hunts

North Greenwich 18.00 Grand finale — a free, ticketed event will be a fusion of East meets West, the contemporary and traditional, in a display of Chinese ribbon dancers, an electro-acoustic music act, gymnasts, pyro displays and a performance from the Sugababes.

Asterix,france's most popular cultural hero , turns 50

The last cover: An October 22, 2009 picture in Paris shows the cover of the last Asterix comic book by writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo ‘L’anniversaire d’Astérix et Obélix, le livre d’or’ (Asterix and Obelix birthday, the golden book). The album, marking the 50th anniversary of the character’s first appearance in 1959, was released on Wednesday in 15 countries, with three million exemplaire, including 1.1 million for France.

PARIS: The small, wily Asterix the Gaul and his oversized, clumsy friend Obelix were born under the influence of friendship, desperation and a great deal of alcohol, according to one of their creators.

In August 1959, writer René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo met at the latter’s apartment in the Paris suburb of Pantin, to dream up a story and some characters for a comic strip to be published in the first edition of the weekly magazine Pilote.

The launch was only two months away and the two close friends had no idea what they would do. At the time, aside from the Belgian strips Tintin and Spirou, French newspapers carried primarily American comics. The founder of Pilote wanted French children to be able to read stories in which their own culture dominated.

Mr. Goscinny and Mr. Uderzo, both in their early 30s, had been successfully working together for seven years. On that sunny August afternoon, they “drank a great deal” of Pastis and “smoked enormously,” Mr. Uderzo said.

After considering and eliminating stories set in the prehistoric and Cro-Magnon eras, they hit upon the Gauls. “The Gauls,” they thought, “liked to have a good laugh, to talk big and were bon vivants. I think we’ve got something there.”

That something — the continuing story of a small village of Gauls who resist the mighty Roman legions of Julius Caesar that have occupied the rest of the country — became an immediate hit, and soon, an international phenomenon.

Asterix first appeared in serial form in Pilote on October 29, 1959. Fifty years later, 34 comic albums have been published in 107 languages, including Urdu, Arabic and Latin. More than 325 million copies of the albums have been sold, making Mr. Goscinny and Mr. Uderzo France’s best-selling authors abroad. In addition, the series has spawned 11 films, eight of them animated, a number of games and a popular theme park outside the French capital.

Many fans say that the series lost its heart when Mr. Goscinny died in 1977 and Mr. Uderzo took over the script-writing. But the popularity of the cartoon has not fallen off at all. Eighty-two-year-old Uderzo has ensured that Asterix and Obelix outlive him by selling rights to the publishing giant Hachette and appointing three young artists to take over upon his death.

Mr. Uderzo’s first sketches of Asterix, were of a big Gallic warrior, but Mr. Goscinny saw him differently. They finally came up with a hero who would be small, but wily and tough. “As perceptible as a punctuation mark,” Mr. Uderzo said. The strength would be provided by his best friend Obelix, a roly-poly, red-haired giant prone to pratfalls, falling in love and drinking too much. The obese Obelix has become the reader’s favourite, according to opinion polls. It has also not hurt his allure to be portrayed in two films by French megastar Gérard Depardieu.

The stalwart duo and their friends quickly became a major component of the French culture, so much so that during a meeting of his cabinet in the early 1960s, the then President Charles de Gaulle resorted to calling his Ministers by names taken from the strip. In addition, the first French satellite sent into space, on November 26, 1965, was named Astérix. “When I heard that, I prayed that it wouldn’t break down,” Mr. Uderzo said.

In commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first Asterix comic strip, the daily Le Figaro wrote, “They embody the French spirit as few heroes before them have and none after them!” But that doesn’t explain their worldwide appeal. Mr. Uderzo once told the BBC that their popularity was down to “the revenge of the small against the strong, which the audience can relate to.” The broad popularity of the cartoons can also be attributed to their many jokes, puns, and send-ups of popular figures, such as Sean Connery as Agent Dubbelosix in Asterisk and the Black Gold, and the Rolling Menhirs and Elvis Preslix in Asterix and the Normans. But perhaps, people simply love them because they have a lot of Gaul.

The great cricket umpaiar David shephard was dead

David Shepherd, the former England umpire, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.

Shepherd was a renowned international umpire and much respected by the players. He officiated in 172 ODIs, including three consecutive World Cup finals, and 92 Tests between 1983 and 2005.

We will miss his legendary "nelson" antics.

Former umpire David Shepherd has died after a long battle with cancer, at the age of 68.

Shepherd officiated in 92 Tests and 172 one-day c, including three World Cup finals.

He was appointed as a first-class umpire in 1981 and was a popular figure, not only because of his undoubted ability but the manner in which he went about his job.

Australia starts with an advantage

Vadodara: It is a contest that tickles the senses and largely lives up to the hype. However, when India takes on Australia in the opening game of the seven-match Hero Honda Cup One Day International series at the Reliance Stadium here on Sunday, M.S. Dhoni’s men will be up against an in-form team that also has an historical advantage.

Ricky Ponting’s squad remains the top team in ODIs as evident in the recent title triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. Add to it history’s fine print, which states that when India last played at Vadodara in 2007, the team suffered a nine-wicket defeat against Australia. Australia won that limited-overs series 4-2.

India last won a bilateral series against Australia in 1986 at home when Kapil Dev led the team to a 3-2 triumph over Allan Border’s men.

Subsequently Indian teams over the years have often played catch-up with an upbeat Australia though title triumphs in the Titan Cup at home in 1996 and the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia during 2008, was largely fashioned out by keeping the Aussies at bay though other teams too were in the fray.

Transition phase

Sunday’s game pits two teams that are moving through a phase of transition with different results. Australia seems to be coping better with the exit of giants like Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath and the team has also taken the injury-enforced absence of key players like Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, in its stride.

India meanwhile is waiting for players like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli to meld potential with consistency while a batsman of proven pedigree like Rahul Dravid has been left behind in Bangalore with whispers of his ‘age’ being bandied around as an excuse for his omission.

The explosive duo of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh are just coming back from injuries and until they fire, Dhoni’s headache could get worse. Yuvraj though is a doubtful starter for the first match.

It helps that Sachin Tendulkar, requiring 97 runs to cross the 17,000-mark in ODIs, lends a calm head atop the order though Gautam Gambhir’s mixed returns of just two 50s in his last 10 innings, could be a cause for worry.

Gambhir shadow-played a few shots on the pitch here on Saturday and will be hoping that he will be at his best against an attack that features a rejuvenated Brett Lee, who is enjoying his Champions League heroics for New South Wales, besides Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle.

However it remains to be seen whether Lee, who flew in from Hyderabad later in the night, will be fresh for Sunday’s clash.

The senior role

The Indian attack will bank on Harbhajan Singh to don the senior role while the seamers led by Ashish Nehra have to strike early. Ishant, who is busy searching for confidence and rhythm, had a long spell, focussing on a single stump here on Saturday.

A probing Ishant can fetter the Aussie batsmen guided by Ponting and featuring the likes of Watson, high on his two centuries in the Champions Trophy, besides Cameron White and Michael Hussey, who is just emerging from a slump.

The dry brown pitch promises runs though dew might play a marginal role in the morning while both teams are keen to work up the needed momentum to last a seven-match series.

Meanwhile a slogan — Winning is everything — written on a signboard near the gate leading into the venue, is a pointer to the edge that will linger in the contests between the two teams over the next three weeks.

The teams: India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, A. Mishra and Sudeep Tyagi. Coach: Gary Kirsten.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey (vice-captain), Cameron White, Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wicket-keeper), Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Adam Voges, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Jon Holland. Coach: Tim Nielsen.

Umpires: Mark Benson and Shavir Tarapore; Third umpire: Amish Saheba; Match referee: Chris Broad.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova to win “China Open”

The powerful ground stroke and experience helped sixth seed and Russian tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova to win “China Open” tennis tournament in 2009. In the final match, she was defeated Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska with the score 6-2 6-4. By winning this tournament, she improved her rank position from six to four. Kuznetsova was the winner of 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open singles titles and also the runner-up in singles at the 2006 French Open and the 2007 US Open.

BIOGRAPHY

Kuznetsova was born on 27th June, 1985 in Leningrad, Russia as the daughter of cycling coach Aleksandr Kuznetsov and cycling world champion Galina Tsareva. Her brother Nikolay Kuznetsov is also silver medalist in Atlanta Olympics. Initially, she tried cycling, and later she focussed on tennis and went to spain for tennis training. She started her professional tennis career in ‘ITF Circuit’ in 2000 and won the ‘ITF Circuit’ title in 2001. She made her Grand Slam debut at the ‘2002 Australian Open’ and lose in third round. She won her first WTA single’s title in ‘Nordea Nordic Light Open’ in Helsinki, Finland. In 2003 Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career by defeating Maria Sharapova. However, in the quarter final, she was defeated by third seed Justine Henin. In 2007 seasons, she finished World No. 2 positions. In 2008 Australian Open, she lost in third round, in French Open, she reached the semi final, At Wimbledon, Kuznetsova lost in the fourth round and lost in first round of the US Open. At 2009 Australian Open, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals,but lost to eventual champion Serena Williams. She won ‘2009 French open’ which was the second Grand Slam title of her career. In this tournament, she defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she defeated Samantha Stosur and reached her fourth Grand Slam final. In the final, she defeated top seed Safina. Recently, she won China Open tournament by defeating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska. She is also expert in doubles tennis. She is the winner of ‘2005 Australian Open’ and ‘2009 French Open’ doubles. Kuznetsova is considered to be one of the physically strongest players in tennis along with Venus and Serena Williams.

Chinees open (mens) winner is Novak Djokovic

BEIJING: Novak Djokovic captured his third ATP title of the year at the China Open on Sunday, outlasting giant killer Marin Cilic of Croatia in a blistering baseline battle, 6-2, 7-6(4).

The Serbian second seed took advantage of a 90-minute rain delay, which came at 2-2 in the first set, coming back on centre court at the Beijing Olympics tennis venue with sharper ground strokes and well-placed serves.

The big-hitting Cilic — who beat fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko and top seed Rafael Nadal en route to the final — kept up a barrage of huge shots from the backcourt but Djokovic mixed up the pace to throw him off, forcing errors.

After holding serve to go up 3-2 in the first, Djokovic broke Cilic straight away and then a second time to take the set, with the 21-year-old Croatian the victim of two unlucky net cords in the final game.

In the second, Cilic — a wild card entry here — and the 22-year-old Serb traded breaks three times to force a tiebreak, with the Croatian failing to serve out the set twice.

Djokovic took control mid-tiebreak, winning a rally that left Cilic sitting on the court to go up 4-2. The Serb closed it out on his second match point when the Croatian sent an inside-out forehand sailing wide.

Djokovic, by reaching the final, is assured of taking over the World No. 3 ranking on October 19, surpassing injured Scot Andy Murray. He has already qualified for the season-ending championship in London in November.

Both men will head straight to Shanghai for the next leg of the ATP Tour’s swing through Asia.

Easy for Kuznetsova

In the women’s final Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova crushed Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4 to ensure her return to the WTA’s top five. Kuznetsova, who defeated Radwanska earlier this year en route to the French Open title, dominated the first set, breaking the 20-year-old Pole three times and running her around the court with her penetrating pinpoint groundstrokes.

In the second, the 24-year-old Russian also went up an early break and never looked back, keeping Radwanska on the run by hitting difficult angles from the baseline.

She easily served out the match, ending with a wide serve Radwanska could not handle.

Tsonga triumphs

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put an end to Mikhail Youzhny’s dramatic run on Sunday to become the first French player to win the men’s singles title at the Japan Open tennis tournament. He knocked out compatriots Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet on his way to the final and chalked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Russian.

“I’m very happy to win here. For me, it’s good, because maybe I can play in the Masters event, so I’m really happy to win this tournament,” said Tsonga.

“(Tsonga) just started to serve very well in the third game, and he didn’t give me the chance to break him,” said Youzhny. “(I had) one chance at one-all and one break point, but he hit a second serve and played a very good forehand.

Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO: U.S. President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.

Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.

Some around the world objected to the choice of Mr. Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying “to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now.” It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Mr. Obama’s calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.

The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Mr. Obama’s efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners’ The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.

“He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate,” Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. “Some people say, and I understand it, isn’t it premature? Too early? Well, I’d say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us.”

The selection to some extent reflects a trans-Atlantic divergence on Mr. Obama. In Europe and much of the world he is lionized for bringing the United States closer to mainstream global thinking on issues like climate change and multilateralism. At home, the picture is more complicated. As president, Mr. Obama is often criticized as he attempts to carry out his agenda — drawing fire over a host of issues from government spending to health care to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele contended that Mr. Obama won the prize as a result of his “star power” rather than meaningful accomplishments.

“The real question Americans are asking is what has President Obama actually accomplished?” Mr. Steele said.

Mr. Obama’s election and foreign policy moves caused a dramatic improvement in the image of the U.S. around the world. A 25-nation poll of 27,000 people released in July by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found double-digit boosts to the percentage of people viewing the U.S. favourably in countries around the world. That indicator had plunged across the world under President George W. Bush.

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” Mr. Jagland said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made no secret of his admiration for Mr. Obama, called the decision the embodiment of the “return of America into the hearts of the people of the world.”

But Mr. Obama’s work is far from done, on numerous fronts.

He said he would end the Iraq war but has been slow to bring the troops home and the real end of the U.S. military presence there won’t come until at least 2012.

He’s running a second war in the Muslim world, in Afghanistan — and is seriously considering ramping up the number of U.S. troops on the ground and asking for help from others, too.

“I don’t think Mr. Obama deserves this. I don’t know who’s making all these decisions. The prize should go to someone who has done something for peace and humanity,” said Ahmad Shabir, 18-year-old student in Kabul. “Since he is the president, I don’t see any change in U.S. strategy in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Mr. Obama has said that battling climate change is a priority. But the U.S. seems likely to head into crucial international negotiations set for Copenhagen in December with Obama-backed legislation still stalled in Congress.

Former Polish President Lech Walesa, who won the prize in 1983, questioned whether Mr. Obama deserved it now.

“So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act,” Mr. Walesa said.

“This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let’s see if he perseveres. Let’s give him time to act,” Mr. Walesa said.

Last year’s prize winner, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, saw the award as vindication that Mr. Obama “is ready to seriously seek a solution to the question of Israel and Palestine,” he told Finnish broadcaster YLE.

“Of course, this puts pressure on Obama. The world expects that he will also achieve something,” Mr. Ahtisaari said.

Mr. Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.

NSW Win Champions Trophy in style!

New South Wales 159 for 9 (Lee 48, Rampaul 3-20) beat Trinidad & Tobago 118 (Clark 3-21, Lee 2-10) by 41 runs

Brett Lee hoists David Warner in celebration, New South Wales v Trinidad & Tobago, Champions League Twenty20 final, Hyderabad, October 23, 2009
The big match needed a big performance from a big player and Brett Lee provided it © Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI

Brett Lee starred with a stunning all-round performance as New South Wales beat Trinidad & Tobago to win the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, and with it a jackpot of US$ 2.5 million, in Hyderabad. The 41-run margin of victory, however, didn't mean it was a one-sided contest: T&T dominated initially, reducing NSW to 83 for 6, before Lee's fighting innings lifted his side to a competitive total. He then returned for a fiery spell with the new ball, jolting T&T's chase with two early wickets.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine-review

he character of Wolverine has always been a hard sell for yours truly. As a comic book superhero, Wolverine has always been one of the more overrated in Marvel Comics in spite of his rabid following. Wolverine's progression from this tier villain to top tier superhero has been nothing short of remarkable, so when he received his own spin off that unfolds to tell his story once and for all, I was quite confused. The entire "X-Men" film franchise have already been nothing more than vehicles for the Wolverine with the X-Men taking nothing more than a supporting status to what he can do on screen. We've already had three Wolverine films, did we really need to see another with the furry one front and center? Yes and no. The approach here is basically the approach to Singer's films. Focus on the man and take as little time as possible to tell the story of other characters.
With "Wolverine" we're given the whole kit and caboodle of Wolverine's lifetime and like Captain America he's the super soldier who managed to progress in to the modern world due to secrets, discoveries, and a clandestine government privy to keeping the whole truth in the back burner which is what's covered in all three of the "X-Men" sequels. Though not the first time Wolverine's origin was approached, "X-Men Origins" gives the man's life a good try worth watching. It's imperfect as a production but it manages to make good on most of its promises action wise and it's still fun watching Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine once again to take the character by the throats. Jackman never fails to give a great performance of the raging Canadian beast whose own life is a menagerie of lies and deceit from almost everyone he's ever met.

There's also Liev Schreiber who is fantastic as Logan's brother Sabretooth, a man very loyal to whom ever is willing to allow him to kill and mame. Danny Huston plays a perfect William Stryker, while folks like Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Kitsch get their moments to shine, respectively. Though out of his element, Schreiber's performance is a high point as he conveys a giddy evil and sadism that can only work with a psychotic force of nature like Sabretooth. With that, "Wolverine" punches in some killer action scenes and ace choreography that make the experience worthwhile in the end. There's also a wonderful climax that incidentally parallels the film and adds a reason for the appearance of certain characters. Gavin Hood and co. go to great lengths to connect this story to that of which we saw in "X-Men" and it's pretty stunning that they make it work wonders as compliment to the storyline.

What do we get with this "origin"? Well we learn very little and this is supposed to be who Logan aka Wolverine was in his past. What were his experiences as a teenager, what were the difficulties with his parents that the film barely scratches the surface of? And mostly, why are we told it's his origin when we get very little. We know h e was very sick as a kid, killed his real father, was close to his big brother and basically fought in all the wars. And this is what we get in the first ten minutes. The rest is based around a basically cliché and awfully vague storyline that could possibly have been written all on one page. Any chances of getting to know the deep down Wolverine and his experiences in his life are side stepped immensely just to squeeze in enough time to pass off fight scene after fight scene all with no real bearing on where the movie is going. The pay off is really just the fight sequences and the story is sadly just an after thought through all one hundred minutes of it.

We never get a sense of the brotherly bond he and Victor Creed had as children and young adults and we never understand when or why they drifted apart. The explanation makes the entire script feel incomplete and rather than just admitting it's a Wolverine movie we're given the fallacy that this is all about where Wolverine came from. They don't even chronicle his battles in all of the wars and instead opt for a montage that only breezes through their journeys for a few minutes at a time. There are also a lot of scenes where the movie takes bigger elements from other stories and injects them in to this. For example, who would have guess an old farming couple would stumble upon a naked Logan in their barn? Can anyone say Superman? That's really only the tip of the iceberg for what's essentially a clunky telling of Wolverine's "origin."

It has a clunky pace, derivative story elements and plot holes that are never explained, but through it all it comes up almost fresh as a fun near guilty pleasure that feeds the appetites of X-Men and Wolverine buffs. Hey, it won't win any awards but it does the trick.

Nobel Prize for Literature is Herta Mueller

Herta Mueller, a member of Romania’s ethnic German minority who was persecuted for her critical depictions of life behind the Iron Curtain, won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.

Ms. Mueller was honoured for work that “with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed,” the Swedish Academy said.

Ms. Mueller, 56, made her debut in 1982 with a collection of short stories titled Niederungen. It depicted the harsh life in a small, German-speaking village in Romania. It was censored by the communist government.

3 share physics Noble Prizes

Three scientists who created the technology behind digital photography and helped link the world through fiber-optic networks shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics today.

Charles K. Kao was cited for his breakthrough involving the transmission of light in fiber optics while Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith were honored for inventing an imaging semiconductor circuit known as the CCD sensor.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said all three have American citizenship. Kao also holds British citizenship while Boyle is also Canadian.

The award's $1.4-million purse will be split, with Kao taking half and Boyle and Smith each getting a fourth. The three also receive a diploma and an invitation to the prize ceremonies in Stockholm on Dec. 10.

Kao, who was born in Shanghai and is a British citizen, was cited for his 1966 discovery that showed how to transmit light over long distances via fiber-optic cables, which became the backbone of modern communication networks that carry phone calls and high-speed Internet data around the world.

"With a fiber of purest glass it would be possible to transmit light signals over 100 kilometers (62.14 miles), compared to only 20 meters (65.62 feet) for the fibers available in the 1960s," the citation said.

Boyle and Smith worked together to invent the charged-coupled device, or CCD, the eye of the digital camera found in everything from the cheapest point-and-shoot to high-speed, delicate surgical instruments.

In its citation, the academy said that Boyle and Smith "invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD."

It said that technology builds on Albert Einstein's discovery of the photoelectric effect, for which he was awarded the Nobel physics prize in 1921.

The two men, working at Bell Labs in New Jersey, designed an image sensor that could transform light into a large number of image points, or pixels, in a short time.

"It revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film," the Academy said.

"Without the CCD, the development of digital cameras would have taken a slower course. Without CCD we would not have seen the astonishing images of space taken by the Hubble space telescope, or the images of the red desert on our neighboring planet Mars," it said.

Boyle, in a phone call to the academy, said he is reminded of his work with Smith "when I go around these days and see everybody using our little digital cameras, everywhere. Although they don't use exactly our CCD, it started it all."

He added that the biggest achievement resulting from his work was when images of Mars were transmitted back to Earth using digital cameras.

"We saw for the first time the surface of Mars," Boyle said. "It wouldn't have been possible without our invention."

The academy said digital image sensors are usually involved when photo, video or television are used for medical applications, such as taking images inside the body.

"It can reveal fine details in very distant and in extremely small objects," the academy said.

The physics award is the second of the 2009 Nobel Prizes to be announced.

On Monday, three American scientists shared the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, who also has Australian citizenship, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak were cited for their work in solving the mystery of how chromosomes, the rod-like structures that carry DNA, protect themselves from degrading when cells divide.

Big Ring Found Around Saturn

Saturn's biggest and never-been-seen before ring has been discovered.

The 'super-sized' halo was found by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope. To get a sense of its size it has a vertical height which is about 20 times the diameter of the planet, which is nine times the size of our planet. Furthermore, the entire volume of the ring could hold about one billion Earths.

The bulk of the ring starts about 3.7million miles from Saturn itself and extends outward about another 7.4million miles.

With it being so huge many will ask how come it was not seen before. This is because the ring is extremely diffuse and doesn't reflect much visible light but its dusty particles, despite being very cold, shine with infrared light, or heat radiation which Spitzer is able to see.

3 shares chemistry noble Prize

STOCKHOLM: Two Americans and an Israeli scientist won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for atom-by-atom mapping of the protein-making factories within cells.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath's work on ribosomes has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life and has helped researchers develop antibiotics.

Dr. Yonath, 70, is the fourth woman to win the Nobel Chemistry prize and the first since 1964, when Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin of Britain received the award.

— Photo: AFP

Ada Yonath

"I'm really, really happy," Dr. Yonath said. "I thought it was wonderful when the discovery came. It was a series of discoveries ... We still don't know every, everything, but we progressed a lot."

This year's three laureates, who will share the 10 million kronor ($1.4 million) award, generated three-dimensional models that show how different antibiotics bind to ribosomes.

"These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity' s suffering," the academy said in its announcement.

— Photo: AP

Thomas Steitz

They used a method called X-ray crystallography to pinpoint the positions of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome.

"This knowledge can be put to a practical and immediate use; many of today's antibiotics cure various diseases by blocking the function of bacterial ribosomes," the citation said. "Without functional ribosomes, bacteria cannot survive. This is why ribosomes are such an important target for new antibiotics."

Building on Darwin's theory

Their work builds on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and, more directly, on the work done by James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, who won the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine for mapping DNA's double helix, the citation said.

In 2006, Roger D. Kornberg won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for X-ray structures that showed how information is copied to messenger RNA molecules, which carry information from DNA to the ribosomes.

"Now, one of the last pieces of the puzzles has been added - understanding how proteins are made," said Professor Gunnar von Heijne of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

"This discovery is important not only for science as such, but also gives us tools to develop new antibiotics."

Dr. Ramakrishnan, 57, who was born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India, is the senior scientist and group leader at the Structural Studies Division of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.

Dr. Ramakrishnan said that he wasn't convinced when he got the morning phone call from the academy.

"Well, you know, I thought it was an elaborate joke. I have friends who play practical jokes," Dr. Ramakrishnan told The Associated Press by telephone from his lab in Cambridge. "I complimented him on his Swedish accent."

Dr. Steitz, a 69-year-old born in Milwaukee, is a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University and attached to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Yonath is a professor of structural biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and the ninth Israeli to win a Nobel prize. She told Israel Radio she didn't think her gender played a role in the decision. "It's true that a woman hasn't won since 1964. But I don't know what that means - does it mean that I'm the best woman since then? I don't think that gender played a role here," she said.

She had to end the interview abruptly because Israeli President Shimon Peres, a Nobel Peace prize laureate, was on the other line.

Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite, established the Nobel Prizes in his will in 1895. The first awards were handed out six years later.

Each prize comes with a 10 million kronor ($1.4 million) purse, a diploma, a gold medal and an invitation to the prize ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10.

The Peace Prize is handed out in Oslo.

On Monday, three American scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering a key mechanism in the genetic operations of cells, an insight that has inspired new lines of research into cancer.

The Physics prize on Tuesday was split between a Hong Kong-based scientist who helped develop fibre-optic cable and two Canadian and American researchers who invented the "eye" in digital cameras - technology that has revolutionised communications and science.

The Literature and Peace prize winners will be announced later this week and the Economics announcement is set for Monday.

Ramakrishnan ninth Nobel winner of Indian origin

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan becomes the ninth person of Indian origin or connection to win the coveted Nobel Prize.

Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize, when he was honoured for his contribution to literature in 1913.

Renowned physicist C.V. Raman was conferred the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him.

Hargobind Khorana won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1968 for his interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. He shared the Prize with Robert Holley and Marshall Nirenberg. Born in Raipur in 1922, he migrated to England in 1949 from where he moved on to the U.S. and settled there.

Subramanyan Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of stars. He shared the prize with William Fowler. He was born in Lahore in 1910 and joined the University of Chicago in 1937.

Peace prize

Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Calcutta (now Kolkata) through the Missionaries of Charity, an organisation founded by her. She was born in Skopje (then in Turkey) in 1910 and came to India in 1931.

In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Amartya Sen, while the 2001 Literature Prize went to V.S. Naipaul. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, chaired by R.K. Pachauri, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the former U.S Vice-President and environment activist Al Gore.

In 1989, Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since 1959, got the Nobel Peace Prize.

Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson Win Nobel in Economic Science

The Nobel in economic science was awarded to Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to receive the prize, and to Oliver E. Williamson on Monday.

They share the prize for their separate work on economic governance, organization, cooperation, relationships and nonmarket institutions.

Both professors teach at American public institutions: Ms. Ostrom at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Mr. Williamson at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ms. Ostrom’s work focuses on the commons, such as how pools of users manage natural resources as common property. The traditional view is that common ownership results in excessive exploitation of resources — the so-called tragedy of the commons that occurs when fishermen overfish a common pond, for example. The proposed solution is usually to make users bear the external costs of their utilization by privatizing the resource or imposing government regulations such as taxes or quotas.

Ms. Ostrom’s empirical research has shown that this explanation is “overly simplistic,” the prize committee says: There are many cases around the world in which common property is “surprisingly well-managed.” In these cases commons users “create and enforce rules that mitigate overexploitation” without having to resort to privatization and government regulation (which can both pose their own practical difficulties).

The grasslands in the interior of Asia — shared for centuries in traditional group-based governance — are one such example. They appeared to fare better under group-based systems than under either socialism or privatization.

Ms. Ostrom received her Ph.D. in political science at U.C.L.A., and said in a phone interview during the prize committee’s announcement that she considers herself a political economist. She said she hopes her work may guide policy on climate change.

Mr. Williamson’s work focuses on the boundaries of the firm, and the reasons for economic activity inside of firms: Why is there so much vertical integration in the marketplace? Why don’t we all just work for ourselves and sign contracts with each other instead of working together inside of a big company?

His work argues that “hierarchical organizations sometimes dominate markets because they provide a cheaper way to resolve conflicts,” the committee writes. When two employees quarrel about how best to use resources, a chain of command within the firm — usually leading back to a single chief executive — makes the decision about who is right. In contrast, in the markets, both parties would have to keep negotiating until they reach an agreement of some sort, which takes time and money.

Such a firm-based hierarchy is less necessary, however, if the two parties can easily achieve an enforceable contract, or find new trading partners.

Mr. Williamson was unavailable during the prize committee’s announcement in Sweden.

When asked whether the events of the global credit crisis factored into their choice of prize recipients, a committee official said that the prize is typically not given based upon events of the past year, but rather a body of work.

Rio de Janeiro awarded 2016 Olympics

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge announced on 5th October that the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Rio de Janeiro was victorious following a voting process involving the 106 IOC members at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark. This decision represents the first time in Olympic history that South America will host an Olympic Games.

Fellow 2016 candidate cities Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated in the first two rounds of voting, leaving Rio de Janeiro and Madrid to contest the final round of voting.

Andy Hunt, British Olympic Association (BOA) Chief Executive, said:
“Congratulations to the city and people of Rio de Janeiro on winning the bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. It is four years since we won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games so we know what an exciting and busy time now lies ahead. I am sure that Rio de Janeiro will host a superb Olympic and Paralympic Games for the athletes of the world.
We have been lucky enough to be the host National Olympic Committee for Olympic Games three times and we would be happy to share our experience and knowledge with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, any time they need it.
I wish Rio de Janiero the best of luck over the coming years in their preparations and look forward to having Team GB compete there in 2016.”
Rio de Janeiro will be handed the responsibility of becoming the Olympic Host City at the Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Varsha:Youngest Black Belt Holder

In May, Varsha became the youngest ever girl to get an officially recognised black belt.

High-kicking Varsha faced up to British Karate Federation Champion Juan Moreno in London.
Luckily the match-up was not for real, although dad-of-two Juan, 31 years her senior at 36, admitted he was shocked at just how good Varsha was.

He said: "She is the ultimate karate kid.

"It's hard to remember she is just five. Her skills and concentration are amazing.
"I have two young children myself but I couldn't imagine them putting in the concentration and effort Varsha has.

"I think it is an extraordinary achievement how far she has come in just a few short years.
"Varsha, her trainer and her dad are definitely the real thing."

Juan, who studies Bunjinkai karate, could be fighting for Britain in the upcoming European Championships in 2010.

The five-year-old's talents are so amazing computer game makers and creators of the Lara Croft Tomb Raider series, Eidos, have taken notice.

Her skills have been replicated in the software houses' latest computer game Mini Ninjas released this month.

Varsha has been training since she was just two years old and has already got 15 katas, or disciplines, of karate under her belt.

Her skills also include the mastery of deadly martial arts weapons including the yawara stick, or chinese stick, and the nunchucks.

Varsha, who is a student at the KoInChi Academy of Martial arts in Allappuzha, India, has to train for a gruelling two and half hours a day to keep her skills fresh.

In front of a crowd of thousands the diminutive dan received her official title from state officials in the country in May.
Varsha, who also finds time to attend her local English school when she is not training, said she was very proud of her belt.

She said: "I was very excited when I got my belt and I like karate very much.

"The other children are very proud of me, I don't think they are frightened of me.

"I hope I can get better and I want to keep doing karate."

Her father Viswanathan Vinod, 37, said Varsha's family and the entire neighbourhood were excited about her achievement.

He said: "She was absolutely delighted, but I don't think she has really understood how amazing this thing is for someone of her age.

"She picked it up very well, to everybody's surprise, even though I was a little worried, but she loves it.

"We all are extremely delighted and proud."

"There were thousands of people there and they all congratulated her after her demonstration of double nunchuck rotation and kangudai Katas, which are karate disciplines.

"I never thought that she could handle that much so young and the effort she has put in is amazing.

"Her lifetime ambition is to be a physician, but at the same time she wants to continue to practice more on karate."

Her mother, schoolteacher Sunitha Vinod, 27, said her daughter had a wisdom beyond her years.
She said: "Varsha has always been quite a serious little girl and she knows what she wants, I am very proud of her.

Varsha's coach VZ Sebastian, who has been teaching students for more than 30 years, said he saw something special in Varsha.

He said: "I spotted that this little girl had excellent concentration and dedication at this early stage.
"We trained together and she always puts a great effort in her training.

"I am very proud of her for learning 15 katas and kubudos and I think she is very special student, but I think the best is yet to come from her in future."

Chief instructor Andy Kirby, from the UK's Central Federation of Traditional Shotokan Karate, said Varsha was definitely very unusual.

He said: "She must be exceptionally talented, be very good technically and have a good memory.

"I have never heard of a child this young getting a black belt before; she must be very special.

"I give her a pat on the back for doing this. In the UK we don't even start training children until they are at least five years old because of insurance issues."

The Guinness Book of Records and India's own record book Limica are now looking into Varsha's achievement to create a new world record.

Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix

SEBASTIAN Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix to roar back into the Formula One title reckoning yesterday while Jenson Button had his overall advantage trimmed to 14 points with two races to go.

The Red Bull driver’s third victory of the season left the 22-year-old German 16 points adrift of Brawn’s Button, who crawled agonisingly closer to the crown with a hard-fought eighth place.

“Finally we made it, I was screaming on the radio ... it’s good to be back on first position also on Sunday,” said Vettel, the first German from outside the Schumacher family to win three races in a single season.

“It’s a shame that there’s only two races to go, but that’s life,” he added, pointing out that Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen made up a 17-point deficit on Lewis Hamilton two years ago to take the title.

All smiles: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (centre) celebrates on the podium flanked by second finisher Toyota’s Jarno Trulli (left) and third placed Lewis Hamilton of McLaren at the Japanese GP.

“We’re here to fight. Two more races like this and its looking better,” he added. “Our task now is pretty straightforward, we have to push ourself to the maximum and try to win.”

Button’s closest rival, Brazilian team-mate Rubens Barrichello, crossed the line in seventh on a sunny afternoon at Suzuka. He said his had been a boring race.

“I was struggling big time so it was a difficult afternoon driving the car and the only way I made one more point on Jenson here was the fact I qualified in front of him and that’s what I have to be happy with,” said Barrichello.

“I’ve got to win (the next race in Brazil), win big time.”

Italian Jarno Trulli was second for Toyota, who had just one driver in their home race after Timo Glock crashed in qualifying, to equal that team’s best result.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton hung on for third, with his car’s KERS energy recovery system failing in the closing laps, ahead of Ferrari’s Raikkonen.

Germany’s Nico Rosberg was fifth for Williams, with stewards declining to take action against him for an alleged speeding infringement while behind the safety car, while BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was sixth.

Button respected the decision, even if he did not agree with it.

“Always when you think people have done something wrong and they don’t get penalised, you are disappointed,” he said.

“But it’s not going to change anything massively, I don’t think. The fight goes on.”

Had Rosberg been punished, the sanction would have handed Brawn the constructors’ championship at the home of their former owners Honda.

As it turned out, Brawn were left a tantalising half-point away from becoming the first team to secure the constructors’ title in their debut season.

They now have 155 points to Red Bull’s 120.5, with a maximum 36 still to be won.

Button would have clinched the drivers’ title had he scored five points more than Barrichello but that had looked highly unlikely when both were handed five-place grid penalties after Saturday qualifying.

His chances receded even further when he ended the first lap in 11th place, but he passed BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica and was then gifted two more places when McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Force India’s Adrian Sutil collided just ahead of him.

Vettel had led comfortably from pole position but his advantage evaporated when the safety car was deployed late in the race, after Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari crashed, and stayed out until four laps from the finish.

The Spaniard was unhurt in the accident. — Reuters

HOW THEY FINISHED

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger-Red Bull) 1’ 28:20.443; 2. Jarno Trulli (Ita-Toyota) at 4.877; 3. Lewis Hamilton (Bri-McLaren) at 6.472; 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin-Ferrari) at 7.940; 5. Nico Rosberg (Ger-Williams) at 8.793; 6. Nick Heidfeld (Ger-BMW Sauber) at 9.509; 7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra-Brawn) at 10.641; 8. Jenson Button (Bri-Brawn) at 11.474; 9. Robert Kubica (Pol-BMW Sauber) at 11.777; 10. Fernando Alonso (Spa-Renault) at 13.065; 11. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin-McLaren) at 13.735; 12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita-Ferrari) at 14.596; 13. Adrian Sutil (Ger-Force India) at 14.959; 14. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita-Force India) at 15.734; 15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn-Williams) at 17.973; 16. Romain Grosjean (Fra-Renault) at 1 lap; 17. Mark Webber (Aus-Red Bull) at 2 laps

Retirements: Sebastien Buemi (Swi-Toro Rosso) – lap 12; Jaime Alguersuari (Spa-Toro Rosso) – lap 44.

Overall standings

Drivers

1. Button 85 points, 2. Barrichello 71.0, 3. Vettel 69.0, 4. Webber 51.5, 5. Raikkonen 45.0, 6. Hamilton 43.0, 7. Rosberg 34.5, 8. Trulli 30.5, 9. Alonso 26.0, 10. Timo Glock (Ger) 24.0, 11. Massa (Bra) 22.0, 12. Kovalainen (Fin) 22.0, 13. Heidfeld 15.0, 14. Kubica 9.0, 15. Fisichella 8.0, 16. Sutil 5.0, 17. Buemi (SWI) 3.0, 18. Bourdais 2.

Constructors

1. Brawn 156.0 pts, 2. Red Bull 120.5, 3. Ferrari 67.0, 4. McLaren 65.0, 5. Toyota 54.5, 6. Williams 34.5, 7. Renault 26.0, 8. BMW Sauber 24.0, 9. Force India 13.0, 10. Toro Rosso 5.0

Tsunami kills 113, flattens Samoan villages

APIA (Samoa): A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 113 and leaving dozens missing on Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise.

Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn on Tuesday.

The quake was centred about 192 km south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 1,80,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.

Four tsunami waves 4 to 6 metres high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to 1.5 km inland.

The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, though there was no indication of a new quake.

In American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort continued into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened. Several areas were expected to be without power for up to a month.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa. (People born in American Samoa are American nationals, but are not American citizens. They are entitled to elect one non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives.)

Hampered by power and communications outages, officials in the South Pacific islands struggled to determine damage and casualties.

Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police had confirmed 63 deaths but devastated areas were still being searched.

At least 30 people were killed on American Samoa, Governor Togiola Tulafono said, adding that the toll was expected to rise from searches by emergency crews.

“I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” said Mr. Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference.