Alonso Made First win for Korean GP

A masterclass display in treacherous conditions gave Fernando Alonso a vital victory in Korea.

But he was helped by Sebastian Vettel suffering another car failure late in the race.

Lewis Hamilton finished second but let a chance for victory slip through his fingers by going off the track after the third and final restart.

Heavy rain in the lead-up to the race meant the start was delayed by over an hour. This led to a minor war of words conducted over the team radios between drivers urging a start to the race – mainly Hamilton – and those who opposed it – including the Red Bull drivers, Alonso and Robert Kubica.

The safety car finally peeled off after 17 laps, leaving the Red Bulls at the front of the pack, Vettel leading Mark Webber and Alonso.

Having lobbied for an earlier start to the race Hamilton didn’t get away well at the restart and was quickly passed by Nico Rosberg.

That proved to be a blessing in disguise, for after just two laps of green flag running the championship leader Mark Webber astonishingly lost control of his car at turn 14. His RB6 swung back across the track and harpooned Rosberg.

That brought the safety car out once more, with Alonso now up to second behind Vettel, and Hamilton up to third. Their team mates were behind them, Felipe Massa ahead of Jenson Button, but after the next restart Michael Schumacher neatly lined up Button for a pass.

Button never looked happy on his full wet tyres so he made an early switch to intermediates. But just two laps later the safety car was out again, allowing the cars in front of him to switch to intermediates without any risk of falling behind him.

That included team mate Hamilton, who made it into the pits at short notice first while Vettel and Alonso were already heading past the pit lane.

The safety car allowed Vettel and Alonso past quickly – avoiding a repeat of Valencia – but a slow pit stop for Alonso allowed Hamilton into second.

He didn’t hold the place for long. Before the safety car came in he warned him team he was concerned about grip and at the restart he ran wide at the first corner. That allowed Alonso past, leaving Hamilton defending from Massa.

The top three continued in that order, Vettel pulling away to begin with, then Hamilton catching them back up again. A three-way battle was developing for the lead – but suddenly it was extinguished.

Coming past the pits Vettel slowed and Alonso dived past at turn one. The RB6 came to a stop on the approach to turn three and for the second time in 2010 Vettel had been robbed of a likely win by a car failure.

In the closing stages of the race tyre wear came into play. Alonso seemed to have looked after his tyres beautifully and by the end of the race was up to four seconds per laps faster than the cars behind.

He tiptoed around the final lap to win the inaugural Korean Grand Prix and claim a priceless 25 points on a day when both Red Bull drivers failed to score.

Hamilton salvaged second, and perhaps his only consolation for going off after the final safety car period was that Alonso would probably have passed him anyway.

Massa took third after a quiet race, although he came close to spinning off at the same place as Webber. Schumacher matched his best finish of the year with fourth.

Kubica nicked fifth of Rubens Barrichello in the closing stages, and Vitantonio Liuzzi followed him through for an excellent sixth.

Kamui Kobayashi was fortunate to finish eighth after being hit by Adrian Sutil.

The final point went to Nico Hülkenberg despite a late pit stop for more intermediate tyres after going off.

Jaime Alguersuari was 11th ahead of Button, whose championship chances are in tatters are failing to score. He was another victim of Sutil, who bundled him off the track at turn five before he made race-ending contact with Kobayashi.

The last runners were Heikki Kovalainen and the two HRTs, Bruno Senna ahead of Sakon Yamamoto.

Vitaly Petrov also crashed out of the race, spinning into the barriers at the final corner. Yellow flags remained at the spot for several laps but race control avoided sending the safety car out again.

If they had the race certainly wouldn’t have gone the distance. There were only a few minutes left when Alonso finished the 55th lap of a race that lasted over two and three-quarter hours.

The Ferrari holds the now upper hand with just two races yet to come in 2010.

Naran May be for Force India 2011

Five years after his last Formula One drive, Narain Karthikeyan is working hard to return to the sport's biggest stage.

The 33-year-old was not keen on a comeback this season, though his sponsors were ready to back him, as he did not find driving for a back-end team very appealing.

But with India hosting its first F1 race near Delhi next year, the temptation is just too hard to resist.

The news going around is that Narain is in talks with Vijay Mallya's Force India and has approached the Silverstone-based team with $8 million in his bag.

“I cannot confirm or deny these things. We are in talks with a couple of teams,” said Yohan Setna, who handles Narain's commercial affairs, on Wednesday evening.

“But the $8 million figure looks a bit funny.”

Strong Possibility

There is also a strong possibility that Mallya's United Breweries Group itself could back Narain which, if it happens, could be a very smart move. Tata and Bharat Petroleum, among the corporate majors which supported him in his debut F1 drive, are likely to back him next season too.

Having an Indian driver will also make Force India more attractive for sponsors. There were rumours linking Sutil to Renault next season while Luizzi seems to have a long-term contract in Mallya's team. Di Resta too has also looked very promising in Friday practice.

But Force India's CEO Otmar Szafnauer said “there is a seat available” in an interview early this month, raising hope all over.

Karun Chandhok appeared to be a contender for the berth, but the initial euphoria over his F1 debut vanished soon after his team, Hispania Racing, began dropping him for races.

Not uncomfortable

Despite being away for so long, Narain does not feel that he would be uncomfortable in F1.

“I'm the only Indian driver to have won many races at the highest levels of international motorsport.

“I'm in the best physical shape I've ever been in my career, so I have absolutely no doubts that I can still deliver good results in F1,” said Narain.

So, what sort of preparations will he be putting in over the next few months, in case he gets an F1 drive? Or is he already doing them?

“I never stopped doing them. However, F1 does require some specific muscle development, so I will be modifying my fitness regimen to take care of those differences.”

Source: The Hindu

Paul(the Octopus Who Predicted World Cup Matches)is Dead

Paul the Octopus is dead and even before the ink has dried - in him, not on the contracts that his handlers presumably signed as he became the world's first celebrity cephalopod - a successor has been found, and given the same name. Whether the French-born successor displays the same power of discernment in his mussels remains to be seen, but Diego Maradona is not the only one who is unlikely to shed tears about the earlier Paul passing on. While punters (and the merchandisers who had cashed in on octomania this year) may welcome the arrival of another soothsaying octopus, the betting industry is very unlikely to be enthused. Paul's prognostications and legendary prescience cost that industry an estimated £1 million during this year's FIFA World Cup . So the chances are they will be hoping that Paul II will get his tentacles in a twist, or move to the great aquarium in the sky before the next big sporting extravaganza. Needless to add, if public belief in the infallibility of incorruptible invertebrates rises, successive Pauls must be kept beyond the tentacles of the match-fixing mafia.

It is disappointing, however, that the tentacled tipster's managers have announced that Paul I would be buried in the precincts of the German aquarium where he lived. It would have been far more beneficial to donate his body to science so that light could be shed on his marvellous talent. If it was the result of some cephalopodan genetic peculiarity, a new career avenue could have opened up for squid and octopi the world over. Rather than being the stuff of horror movies or seafood platters, octopus oracles could be a new line of business for coastal communities.

Alonso wins Korean GP

YEONGAM (South Korea):

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won a rain-hit and chaotic Korean Grand Prix to seize back the Formula One World championship lead on a nightmare Sunday for his Red Bull rivals.

In an inaugural race that turned out to be one of the longest in Formula One history — delayed by a downpour, started, stopped and then re-started behind the safety car after a 48 minute wait before ending almost in the twilight — the Spaniard could scarcely believe his good fortune.

With two races to go, and a maximum 50 points to be won under the new 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring system, Alonso celebrated his fifth win of the year to turn a 14-point deficit into an 11-point lead over Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber.

Webber crashed out early on, handing the championship baton to teammate Sebastian Vettel before the German suffered an agonising engine failure nine laps from the end while leading.

McLaren's 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton finished second, 14.9 seconds behind, and moved up to third overall with 210 points, 21 behind Alonso. Brazilian Felipe Massa took the final podium place for Ferrari.

Button 12th

Vettel fell to fourth on 206 points with McLaren's reigning champion Jenson Button finishing 12th. The Briton is now 42 points off the lead and effectively, if not mathematically, out of the title equation.

If events again fall into Alonso's lap, in the most unpredictable of seasons, he could even wrap up his third title in Brazil in two weeks' time at the same Sao Paulo circuit where he won the other two for Renault in 2005 and 2006.

“Beautiful, beautiful. You and the whole team deserved this. Grande!” declared Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali over the radio to Alonso.

Webber, who had started in second place behind Vettel on pole, could testify to that. He skidded on the wet and slippery track, hit the wall and then collided with Nico Rosberg's Mercedes with the race proper barely started after what seemed an eternity behind the silver safety car.

Red Bull's lead cut

It also allowed McLaren to cut Red Bull's lead in the constructors' standings to 27 points. “To be on top all the time and controlling the race, there was nothing we could have done better. We did more or less, a perfect job. The race is still on,” said the 23-year-old.

Webber must surely have had to suppress an inner whoop of joy, despite the blow for his team, even if Alonso is now the man to beat.

Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi was sixth for Force India.

The results: 1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2 hours, 48 minutes, 20.810 seconds; 2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 2:48:35.809; 3. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 2:48:51.678; 4. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), 2:49:00.498; 5. Robert Kubica (Renault), 1:49:08.544; 6. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India), 2:49:14.381; 7. Rubens Barrichello (Williams), 2:49:30.067; 8. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), 2:49:38.699; 9. Nick Heidfeld (Sauber), 2:49:40.917; 10. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams), 2:49:41.661; 11. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), 2:49:44.956; 12. Jenson Button (McLaren), 2:49:50.749; 13. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus), 2:49:27.567; 14. Bruno Senna (Hispania), 2:48:30.504; 15. Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania), 2:48:47.837; 16. Adrian Sutil (Force India), 46 laps; 17. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 45; 18. Vitaly Petrov (Renault), 39; 19. Timo Glock (Virgin), 31; 20. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), 30; 21. Lucas di Grassi, (Virgin), 25; 22. Jarno Trulli (Lotus), 25; 23. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 18; 24. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).

Standings: Drivers: 1. Fernando Alonso (231 points); 2. Mark Webber (220); 3. Lewis Hamilton (210); 4. Sebastian Vettel (206); 5. Jenson Button (189); 6. Felipe Massa (143); 7. Robert Kubica (124); 8. Nico Rosberg (122); 9. Michael Schumacher (66); 10. Rubens Barrichello (47); 11. Adrian Sutil (47); 12. Kamui Kobayashi (31); 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (21); 14. Vitaly Petrov (19); 15. Nico Huelkenberg (18); 16. Sebastien Buemi (8); 17. Pedro de la Rosa (6); 18. Nick Heidfeld (6); 19. Jaime Alguersuari (3); 20. Heikki Kovalainen (0); 21. Jarno Trulli (0); 22. Karun Chandhok (0); 23. Bruno Senna (0); 24. Lucas Di Grassi (0); 25. Timo Glock (0); 26. Sakon Yamamoto (0); 27. Christian Klien (0).

Constructors: 1. RedBull-Renault 426; 2. McLaren-Mercedes 399; 3. Ferrari 374; 4. Mercedes 188; 5. Renault 143; 6. Force India-Mercedes 68; 7. Williams-Cosworth 65; 8. BMW Sauber-Ferrari 43; 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11; 10. Lotus-Cosworth 0; 11. HRT-Cosworth 0; 12. Virgin-Cosworth 0 .

Microsoft software head Ray Ozzie to depart

Bill Gates’ successor as Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie, is leaving the company after five years.

In an e-mail sent to Microsoft Corp. employees Monday, CEO Steve Ballmer announced the change, saying Mr. Ozzie will stay with Microsoft for an undefined transition period.

Mr. Ballmer said the company is not looking for a replacement.

He said Ozzie - whose title translated into the company’s top technical thinker - plans to concentrate on “the broader area of entertainment where Microsoft has many ongoing investments” before he leaves. As for his post-Microsoft employment, Mr. Ballmer said Mr. Ozzie has “no plans at this time.”

He joined the company in 2005 as its chief technical officer when Microsoft bought his collaboration software company, Groove Networks. Already respected for his work with Web computing, Mr. Ozzie was asked to figure out how Microsoft could survive the sea change toward software being delivered online.

Mr. Ozzie, 54, came up with the idea for and helped build out Windows Azure, Microsoft’s system for building and using software over the Internet.

Wes Miller, an analyst for independent research group Directions on Microsoft, said that Mr. Ozzie has long pushed for Microsoft to “run at a much faster pace than they may honestly be comfortable with at their age.”

It’s hard to tell if Mr. Ozzie was frustrated with the pace of change and wanted to leave, or was asked to step down, Mr. Miller said.

In the 1980s, Mr. Ozzie was at Lotus Development Corp., where he led work on Lotus Symphony, a precursor to Microsoft’s Office package, and Lotus Notes, which let people form groups to share documents and e-mail. Notes’ success prompted IBM to buy Lotus for $3.5 billion in 1995.

Mr. Ozzie then started Groove to refine his idea of “groupware” that lets multiple people collaborate. Groove made it possible for people to work together on the same virtual sketchpad, view the same video or edit documents simultaneously, all while chatting by text or voice.

This expertise made Mr. Ozzie a natural replacement for Mr. Gates as the mastermind of Microsoft’s broad software strategy. Shortly after joining the company, Mr. Ozzie wrote an influential memo advocating a shift away from some of Microsoft’s traditional reliance on selling desktop software and toward Web-based and sometimes ad-supported software. He urged Microsoft’s product groups to make software that can run on a computer desktop, in a Web browser, on mobile devices and in game consoles, and to give users “seamless” access to their files no matter where they log on.

In Monday’s e-mail, Mr. Ballmer referred back to that memo, reiterating a previous remark he had made that it “stimulated thinking across the company” and was a catalyst for getting Microsoft to concentrate on so-called “cloud” computing.

ALL 33 miners rescued in Chile

The ordeal of 33 miners trapped for two months underground in Chile ended late Wednesday as the last miner, Luis Urzua, 54 -- the man who guided his men through the ordeal — emerged to safety and ear-splitting cheers above ground.

It took less than 24 hours for the pioneering capsule—and—winch system to hoist the 33 men to safety and joyous welcome by their families.

Urzua was the shift supervisor when the mine shaft collapsed, and set up the rules credited with keeping his men alive in the first 17 days — for example, rationing food to a gulp of milk and bit of tuna every 48 hours and setting up work details.

Urzua was the last to be winched to the surface “like a good captain,” in the words of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who embraced Urzua as he has most of the other miners as they emerged.

“I should hope that this never happens again,” Urzua told Pinera.

“Thanks to the whole of Chile.” Rescue workers joined Pinera and Urzua in singing the Chilean national anthem to mark the end of a historic feat watched round the world. Only about 22 hours earlier, Florencio Avalos, 31, was the first pulled up in the Phoenix rescue capsule.

The miners were trapped when the shaft they were working on collapsed on August 5. For the first 17 days, they had hope, but no sign that anyone would find them. People above ground had in fact presumed them either dead or beyond rescue.

On the 17th day, a drill probe reached them. The miners sent a note back up, reading “All 33 of us are safe in the shelter.” Pinera showed Urzua the note immediately after he stepped out of the rescue capsule at the San Jose copper mine.

Urzua was wrapped in the Chilean flag, bearing autographs, presumably from his comrades in the mine ordeal.

A grinning Pinera told Urzua: “I am taking over your shift, and I congratulate you because you did what you had to do, leaving last like a good captain.” Urzua told Pinera that the miners had difficult times underground, most notably when the dust cleared after the collapse and they saw they were trapped. But they made it through.

“We managed to stay sane,” Urzua, a topographer by training, said.

He set his men to making detailed maps of the shafts they could move through.

Among Urzua’s survival strategies was turning on the lights of underground machinery to replicate daylight for several hours a day.

It was the first known rescue of its kind from that depth in the history of underground accidents.

“Chile reached into the heart of the world, and I think we showed the best of us,” Pinera said.

The health of the men was generally “more than satisfactory” as they emerged, Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said.

“We have had no surprises,” Manalich told reporters at Copiapo Regional Hospital.

Seven required special care, in particular one who suffered from acute pneumonia and two others who needed dental surgery under general anaesthesia.

Manalich said the case of pneumonia had been known to rescue teams for four days and was being treated with antibiotics sent down through the small “pigeon” transport system that carried food, water and other items down a narrow shaft to the men as they awaited rescue.

“All of them are in very good psychological condition,” Manalich said.

After Urzua reached the surface, people poured onto squares across Chile to celebrate. Honking, tears and hugs marked a day which many felt was historic, even if they did not know the miners personally.

“We are doubly proud, of the miners and of the rescue workers,” one of the people celebrating in Santiago said.

An estimated 1 billion people worldwide watched the rescue operations on television, US broadcasters estimated.

The rescue capsule designed and built by the Chilean navy was equipped with oxygen tanks, communication lines and special belts to monitor the miners’ vital signs. The men consumed only a liquid diet to prevent nausea and boost blood pressure during the ascent from the 622—metre—deep launch platform, which took close to 18 minutes for the first miners and nearer 10 minutes for the last.

The rescue in the Atacama Desert took place in an atmosphere of euphoria, patriotism, religious fervour and optimism. While the faces of family members were inscribed with tension while they awaited the first handful of miners to emerge, most traces of anxiety had vanished as it was clear the system worked.

The miners reacted differently as their 70—day shift ended: Some were silent and barely smiled, others joked with rescue workers even before reaching the surface, and still others knelt down to pray.

The miners were examined by doctors on site and had brief meetings with their families, then were evacuated by helicopter to the regional hospital in the nearby city of Copiapo, where they are to remain for at least 48 hours for medical tests and recovery plans.

Several of the rescued miners, including the young Jimmy Sanchez, 19, promised to marry their partners.

“Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, miners of Chile,” crowds cheered at the rescue site, imitating football fans, while some people danced and red, white and blue balloons — the Chilean national colours — rose to the night sky during the first rescues.

Picture of Bopanna, Qureshi wins ‘Image of Year’ award

A picture of ‘Indo-Pak Express’ tennis stars, Rohan Bopana and his doubles partner Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi, taken by the U.S.-based Indian photo journalist Jay Mandal has won the ‘Image of the Year’ prize under the prestigious ‘Peace and Sport’ award.

For the first time, the winner of the award for Peace and Sport’s Image of the Year was chosen by a public voting system on Internet.

The winning photograph of Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Qureshi, submitted by the ATP World Tour, won nearly 60 per cent of the votes.

“The message of peace given by Rohan and Aisam is a unique source of inspiration for young people in their respective countries, but its significance does not stop there,” Joel Bouzou, President and founder of ‘Peace and Sport’ that gives the prestigious award said at a ceremony announcing the 21st edition of the Georges Bertellotti Golden Podium Awards held at SPORTEL Monaco.

“They use their charisma and their sporting success to raise awareness amongst the entire international community, their fellow athletes and political authorities in their countries, as we saw at the US Open. I hope that their appeal will lead the way to new rapprochement initiatives,” Bouzou said.

The picture captured by New York-based Mandal shows the two tennis star from the sub-continent along with Indian Ambassador to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri and his Pakistani counterpart Abdullah H Haroon.

Despite the differences between the two countries, Bopanna and Qureshi have played doubles for three years.

“Sport’s greatest victory is not measured in terms of medals. It is measured by its ability to positively change people’s lives and bring them hope. And that’s exactly what Rohan and Aisam succeed in doing. They demonstrate what champions can achieve when they use their celebrity (status) for a good cause,” Bouzou said.

According to a media release, the two players will be attending the 4th International Forum Peace and Sport on December 2 in Monaco with 450 international leaders.

Sachin Cross 14k Test Runs

The run machine, the little champion and the master blaster are some of the countless titles that have been bestowed upon cricket's favourite son— Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Without a doubt he is the best batsman of the modern era. He is the man who shoulders the expectations of billions of fans when he walks into a cricketing arena. And as Matthew Hayden once said, “everybody has seen God now.” He plays for India and bats at number four, he is the much celebrated— Sachin Tendulkar.

Many laurels

The cricket genius Sachin Tendulkar has yet again set a benchmark by becoming the first to score 14000 runs in the longest version of the game, the test rubber. The Little Master already holds the record for most number of runs in ODI's and Tests. Tendulkar reached the 14,000 runs mark during the course of his double hundred in the second Test at Bangalore. Sachin reached 13,000 runs this January and went past 14000 just nine months later. Tendulkar got to his 14000-run mark when he slapped a boundary off Hauritz through the covers. Outstanding is the word to be used for the amount of hard work that has gone into this achievement, the amount of effort he has put in.

Raising the bar

Tendulkar does not go for records, but records are always fond of this man, who forever will stay the pride and face of Indian cricket. Every time Sachin walks in to bat, it's prayers and prayers all over, just to see this little master score tons and tons of runs. The more you see him play, the more you will want to see him. Sachin also has more than 17,500 runs in ODIs and holds an impressive average of 56 in Test matches and 45 in ODIs. Tendulkar also holds a precious record for being the first and the only man to have scored a double century in ODIs. He also holds a unique record being the first player to score 10000, 11000, 12000, 13000, 14000, 15000, 16000, and 17000 runs in One Day cricket!! He is the most complete batsman one could ever see; the best in the business.

I completely agree with Shane Warne's words – “Technically you never can fault Sachin. Seam, fast bowling, off-spin, leg-spin, leg-break, off-break – nothing is a problem”. When he is out to bat even the best of the bowlers panic and fail to deliver their goods. You should always be mindful of the length and the spot when you bowl to a master blaster like Sachin Tendulkar because he is a man who puts away even the best of your delivery to the boundary and in case you bowl him bad balls? They are hit outside the park!! I truly salute the most impeccable and incredible Cricketing champion, Sachin Tendulkar on his 14,000 runs in Test Cricket!

India's first ever series sweep over Australia

India completed their first ever series whitewash of Australia as Sachin Tendulkar led them to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the visitors in the second and final cricket Test here today.

Tendulkar (53 not out) added a half century to his first innings double ton and capitalised on the foundation laid by debutant Cheteshwar Pujara (72) as India easily surpassed the target of 207 in the final session of the last day here.

Tendulkar hit the winning runs, a two, off Nathan Hauritz half-an-hour into the final session to trigger wild celebrations at the Indian camp and among the Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd.

Rahul Dravid remained unbeaten on 21 and shared 61 runs with Tendulkar from 16 overs for the unbroken fourth wicket.

With the back-to-back victories, having won the first Test at Mohali by a narrow one wicket, India took the two-match series 2-0 though the Border-Gavaskar Trophy had already been in their bag.

With the win in the exciting Test, India strengthened their position at the top of ICC Test rankings while Australia were pushed down to fifth.

For Australia, this was the first time after 1982 that they have been handed a series whitewash by the opposition.

They had lost 0-3 in their 1982 Test tour of Pakistan.

Ricky Ponting will also have to wait for Australia’s first Test victory against India under his leadership.

Chasing 207 for a victory in a minimum of 77 overs on a deteriorating track, India lost opener Virender Sehwag (7) cheaply but debutant Pujara and first innings centurion Murali Vijay held the fort admirably by sharing 72 runs from 13 overs for second wicket to take India on victory path.

Later, the two senior most batsmen Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid combined for to take India to victory in the Test dominated by Tendulkar’s sixth double hundred and stamp their superiority over Australia.

At tea break, India needed just 22 runs for a win.

Pujara, a prolific scorer in the domestic circuit, and first innings centurion Murali Vijay added 72 runs for the second wicket after early departure of dangerous Sehwag.

Pujara struck the ball fluently and made up for his cheap dismissal in the first innings by sharing a crucial stand of 57 with Tendulkar. Having been promoted to number three, Pujara batted with a bundle of confidence and every steer, pull and drive was immaculately executed.

He was stroking well except for an upish shot and was lucky as the ball fell short of Australian captain Ponting at short midwicket. Before being bowled by Nathan Hauritz, he hit seven boundaries in his 89—ball stay at the crease.

Vijay was solid and ran for singles to give more strike to his partner Pujara before he was trapped by Shane Watson.

Tendulkar, who walked in when India needed another 118 runs, played some delightful drives and pulls to speed up the run chase. He smashed Hauritz for two consecutive sixes towards tea break.

Tendulkar reached his 50 with a hard sweep shot dragging the ball from outside the off stump before scoring the winning runs as India surpassed the target in only 45 overs.

In the morning, the Indian bowlers continued their commendable job to bowl Australia out for 223 in 75.2 overs midway into the first session.

The Australians lost three wickets with Zaheer dismissing Mitchell Johnson and Peter George while Sreesanth scalped Hauritz.

Zaheer had a spell of 5.2-1-9-2 while Sreesanth had 5-1-8-1.

Zaheer was able to get the reverse swing quite often and succeeded in dismissing Johnson (11) in his fourth over of the first session. The ball jagged sharply off the pitch to take Johnson’s off stump. The Australian added four more runs to his overnight score of seven.

In the very next over, Sreesanth, who was bowling menacingly, got success for his hard work. A totally dried up pitch was giving some movements and Sreesanth was able to beat the batsmen since morning time and again.

Sreesanth’s full length delivery cut in after pitching on outside the off stump and the ball contacted Ben Hilfenhaus’ pads before hitting the stumps.

Zaheer ended the Australian innings with a short ball that was gloved behind by Peter George (0), and Hauritz remained unbeaten on 21.

Literature Nobel for Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa (74), celebrated Peruvian-Spanish author and one of the most renowned novelists of his generation, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat".

After the award was announced, Peter Englund, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy said that Mr. Llosa was "one of the great Latin American storytellers — a master of dialogue who has been searching for the elusive concept known as the total novel, and who believes in the power of fiction to improve the world."

While Mr. Llosa is known for his prolific writing that included comedies and murder mysteries, his most powerful novels have contained commentary on historical and political conditions in his native Peru and other parts of Latin America. The "monumental" work that Conversation in the Cathedral (1969) represents for example, was deeply concerned with the ravaging of Peruvian politics and government under the dictatorship of Manuel A. Odría in the 1950s.

Mr. Llosa’s first major international breakthrough came in 1963, with the publication of the novel The Time of the Hero. However, the book – which drew upon his military school experiences – also raised a controversy back in Peru and "a thousand copies were burnt publicly by officers" of the school.

His other profoundly influential novel was The Feast of the Goat (2000). This major work was again a political thriller and was loosely based on the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic between 1930 and 1961. Other well known works include Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977), The War of the End of the World, (1981) and, more recently, Death in the Andes (1993).

This last novel — focussing on deaths associated with the militant Shining Path group – also reflected some of Mr. Llosa’s concern for the plight of the downtrodden. In Death in the Andes, Mr. Llosa situated violence "in the context of an older world where life is brutal and in a society which is on the very fringe of the modern world".

Early life

Born in Arequipa, Peru, Mr. Llosa grew up with his mother in Bolivia after his parents were divorced. However, after his family moved back to Peru in 1946, his parents were reunited and they settled in Lima. Mr. Llosa attended both a Catholic school in Lima as well as Leoncio Prado Military Academy – the place that gave him material for The Time of the Hero – following which he studied law and literature in Madrid.

He embarked on a career in languages and journalism after marrying Julia Urquidi in 1955, for which he moved to Paris. In 1965, Mr. Llosa married Patricia Llosa after divorcing his first wife. Moving back to Lima in 1974, he was soon elected to the Peruvian Academy, following which he lectured and taught at numerous universities in the U.S., Latin America and Europe.

In a one-off direct involvement in politics, Mr. Llosa unsuccessfully ran for the Peruvian Presidency in 1990, representing the FREDEMO alliance. In recent years, he was said to have lived in Barcelona, Madrid, Lima, Paris and London.

American and 2 Japanees shares Noble Prize

American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a chemical method that has allowed scientists to test cancer drugs and make thinner computer screens.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the award honors their development of palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic systems.

The academy called that one of the most sophisticated tools available to chemists today, and one that is used by researchers worldwide and in commercial production of pharmaceuticals and molecules used to make electronics.

Heck, 79, is a professor emeritus at the University of Delaware. Negishi, 75, is a chemistry professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and 80-year-old Suzuki is a professor at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.

Professor Negishi told reporters in Stockholm by telephone that he was asleep when the call came.

“I went to bed last night well past midnight so I was sleeping but I am extremely happy to receive the telephone call,” he said.

Officials at Hokkaido University were delighted by the news, said university spokesman Hidetoshi Nakatsuka.

“Professor Suzuki has been mentioned as a candidate in the past few years and we’ve been waiting for this to happen for all these years,” Nakatsuka said. “We were standing by and we are extremely delighted.”

The method has been used to artificially produce discodermolide, a cancer-killing substance first found in marine sponges, the academy said in its citation. It added that no cancer drug based on the substance has been developed yet.

“Only the future will tell if discodermolide turns out to be a life-saving drug,” it said.

The 2010 Nobel Prize announcements began Monday with the medicine award going to 85-year-old British professor Robert Edwards for fertility research that led to the first test tube baby.

Russian-born Andre Geim, 51, and Konstantin Novoselov, 36, of the University of Manchester in England won the physics prize on Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with graphene, an ultrathin and superstrong material that scientists say should be a versatile building block for faster computers, transparent touch screens and lighter airplanes.

The literature prize will be announced on Thursday, followed by the peace prize on Friday and economics on Monday, Oct. 11.

The awards were established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel -- the inventor of dynamite -- and are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of his death in 1896.

2 shares Noble for Physics

Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Manchester University

A day after winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine, two scientists in Britain struck it “rich” again at Stockholm on Tuesday when Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Manchester University were named joint winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics for their “groundbreaking” work on experiments with graphene, a new form of carbon with immense possibilities.

At 36, Professor Novoselov, a British-Russian citizen, has been the youngest physicist since 1973 to win a Nobel, a committee official said.

Professor Geim (51) is a Dutch citizen. Both started their careers in Russia.

Highlighting the significance of their work, the Prize committee said graphene could be put to a number of practical uses.

“Since it is practically transparent and a good conductor, graphene could be used for producing transparent touchscreens, light panels and maybe even solar cells,” it said.

Reacting to the news, an unemotional Professor Geim said he “slept well” and his plans for the day would not change.

“In my opinion, there are several categories of Nobel Prize winners. There are those who, after getting the Nobel Prize, stop doing anything for the rest of their lives, which is a big disservice to their community…There is another type of person who thinks that other people think they won the Nobel Prize by accident. So they start working even harder than before,” he said.

About his plans for the day, Professor Geim said: “My plan for today is to go to work and finish up a paper that I didn't finish this week. I just try to muddle on as before.”

Professor Martin Rees, President of Britain's Royal Society, said there could not be a better example of the value of enabling outstanding individuals to pursue “open-ended” research projects.

“The U.K. must sustain our science at a competitive level in a world where talent is mobile and other countries are advancing fast,” he said.

Professor Peter Main, Director of Education and Science at the Institute of Physics, said: “Following yesterday's [Monday's] win for Professor Robert Edwards [for medicine], there could be no clearer sign of just how much the U.K. punches above its international weight in a very competitive scientific world.”

AFP reports:

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences hailed graphene for its glittering potential in computers, home gadgets and transport.

This novel form of carbon comprises a single layer of atoms arranged in a honeycomb-shaped lattice. Just one atom thick, it is the world's thinnest and strongest nano-material, almost transparent and able to conduct electricity and heat.

3 win Economics Nobel for ‘search theory'

Prof Peter A. Diamond of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prof Dale T. Mortensen of Northwestern University and Prof Christopher A. Pissarides of the London School of Economics have been awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize or the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2010 for their work on “search theory”.

An arcane branch of modern economics, search theory deals with optimal choices.

It has been applied to labour markets where people are looking for jobs and to consumer theory where people are buying things.

The point about such searches is that what a person finally decides depends on what he or she believes are the alternatives available.

So, what happens is that he or she will delay a decision until it becomes too costly to search any further.

A part of the problem is also that buyers don't know fully what is on offer and sellers don't know that there is someone who will buy. This applies to jobs as well as products.

The three economists who have won the prize have created a theoretical framework for search markets.

In the case of labour markets, an important insight is that if unemployment benefits are too generous, the person receiving such benefits will keep delaying accepting job offers, thus pushing up the unemployment rate as also acting as a burden on the exchequer.

This has been known to often happen in Scandinavian countries.

Another important insight comes from the question, “why should the same goods be sold at more than one price?”

Given perfect information, everyone will buy at the same price. But information is not perfect in that the same information is not available to everyone.

Matching theory

Profs Diamond, Mortensen and Pisarides have also a theory called matching theory. One insight from this theory is that because optimal searches take time, everyone who has lost his or her job will go through a period of being unemployed while looking for the best suited job.

British author Howard Jacobson wins Booker Prize

Howard Jacobson, winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize
for fiction, with his book 'The Finkler Question'.

British author Howard Jacobson has won the prestigious Booker Prize for his comic novel ‘The Finkler Question’, beating five others including two-time winner Peter Carey and the bookies’ favourite Tom McCarthy.

It is the first time in the awards 42-year history that a comic novel has been voted winner of the 50,000 pounds prize last night.

The 58-year-old Jacobson, who had been on the list twice but had never been shortlisted until this year, said: “these things get to you. What I wanted to do though is to feel that I can go on writing an entertaining novel even though the light deepens and darkens and this does become a very dark novel.”

‘The Finkler Question’, which follows the friendship between three mature Jewish men, two of whom have been recently widowed, was hailed by judges as ‘a profound and wise book’.

Sir Andrew Motion, chair of the judging panel, said Jacobson’s writing shared qualities with William Shakespeare.

He said, “It would be a bit over the top to say it’s Shakespearean. But he certainly knows something that Shakespeare knew. That the relationship between comedy and tragedy are intimately linked.

“It is a book about Jewishness. But it is so much more than that. It is a book about male friendship -- and how we don’t always like our friends.”

The book tackles the relationship between three friends -- a former BBC producer Julian Treslove, Sam Finkler a popular Jewish philosopher and their former teacher Libor Sevick.

It had been the rank outsider on the six strong shortlist with odds of 10/1 of winning. Tom McCarthy had been favourite to win this year’s award.

Jacobson published his first book at the age of 40 after spending much of his early life in academia.

He also confessed that he gave up writing novels for a time in frustration and was seduced into working for television, including a series about comedy called Seriously Funny and one about Jewishness, named Roots Schmoots.

Of the six shortlisted candidates Emma Donoghue’s Room -- the novel inspired by the Joseph Fritzl case -- is currently the most popular with readers.

It has sold more than 27,000 copies and has jumped to number 14 in the top 20 bestselling fiction books. Andrea Levy’s The Long Song, Damon Galgut’s In A Strange Room and Peter Carey’s Parrot and Olivier in America lost out.

Carey had been hoping to become the first writer in history to secure a third Booker Prize.

Last year’s winning book Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which follows the struggles for power in the court of Henry VIII, has now sold more than half a million copies.

Vettel and Webber leads Red Bull 1-2 in Japan

Germany's Sebastian Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday for the second consecutive year, leading a Red Bull 1-2 at the Suzuka circuit.

The 23-year-old, who started from pole, recorded his third victory of the season, with championship leader Mark Webber finishing second, 0.9 seconds adrift. It was Red Bull's third 1-2 finish of the season after Malaysia and Monaco. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was third, 1.8secs behind Webber, while McLaren teammates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth; with Hamilton nursing an ailing car to the finish with gear selection issues.

Vettel praised his “magnificent” car after his first victory since the European Grand Prix at Valencia in June, which sees him jump to third in the championship standings.

“It's about time,” he said after his third victory of the season. “This track is like it has been drawn for us with all the high-speed corners. It's always a pleasure (to drive). When the car was getting lighter and lighter (with fuel) at the end, it was more and more fun. You want to push every single lap, because the car is magnificent around here.”

Crash on opening lap

Vettel was quickest to react when the lights went out to start the race, leading a slow-starting Webber off the line. The Australian was passed into the first corner by Renault's Robert Kubica, but a safety car period slowed the race as quickly as it had started. Kubica's teammate, Russian Vitaly Petrov, smashed into the wall on the outside of the circuit trying to avoid the slow-starting Williams of Nico Hulkenberg, while Ferrari's Felipe Massa clashed with Force India's Liuzzi at the first turn, both drivers retiring on the spot.

Kubica then retired under the safety car when the right rear wheel of his Renault worked loose on lap three, leaving Webber to chase Vettel when the race re-started four laps later.

Webber pleased

Despite finishing behind Vettel for the second consecutive race, Webber said it had been a “very good day”. “The most important thing is the gap is going in the right way,” Webber said. “I have to keep it like that. We have three races to go and it is a good result for me. Seb deserved the victory, (but) I need to win again in the future. I'm confident I can do that.”

Alonso was upbeat after managing his eighth podium finish of the season on a circuit where Ferrari feared they would be no match for Red Bull.

“This place was maybe our maximum position here,” the Spaniard said. The victory was the eighth of Vettel's career, and he joins Mika Hakkinen (1998, 1999) and Michael Schumacher (2000-02) as the only drivers to win consecutive races at the high-speed 5.8-kilometre track.

With three races remaining, Webber leads with 220 points, while Alonso is second on 206, edging Vettel, also on 206, on race wins for the season. Hamilton drops a place to fourth on 192 points, while Button remains fifth on 189.

The results: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 1hr 30:27.323; 2. Mark Webber (Aus) at 0.905; 3. Fernando Alonso (Esp) at 2.721; 4. Jenson Button (Gbr) at 13.522; 5. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) at 39.595; 6. Michael Schumacher (Ger) at 59.933; 7. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) at 1:04.038; 8. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) at 1:09.648; 9. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) at 1:10.846; 10. Sebastien Buemi (Swi) at 1:12.806; 11. Jaime Alguersuari (Esp) at 1 lap; 12. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) at 1 lap; 13. Jarno Trulli (Ita) at 2 laps; 14. Timo Glock (Ger) at 2 laps; 15. Bruno Senna (Bra) at 2 laps; 16. Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) at 3 laps; 17. Nico Rosberg (Ger) at 6 laps.

Overall standings: 1. Mark Webber (Aus) 220.0 pts.; 2. Fernando Alonso (Esp) 206.0; 3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 206.0; 4. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) 192.0; 5. Jenson Button (Gbr) 189.0; 6. Felipe Massa (Bra) 128.0; 7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) 122.0; 8. Robert Kubica (Pol) 114.0; 9. Michael Schumacher (Ger) 54.0; 10. Adrian Sutil (Ger) 47.0; 11. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) 41.0; 12. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) 27.0; 13. Vitaly Petrov (Rus) 19.0; 14. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) 17.0; 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) 13.0; 16. Sebastien Buemi (Swi) 8.0; 17. Pedro de la Rosa (Esp) 6.0; 18. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) 4.0; 19. Jaime Alguersuari (Esp) 3.0.

Constructors standings: 1. Red Bull 426.0 pts; 2. McLaren 381.0; 3. Ferrari 334.0; 4. Mercedes GP 176.0; 5. Renault 133.0; 6. Force India 60.0; 7. Williams F1 58.0; 8. Sauber 37.0; 9. Toro Rosso 11.0.

Michael Schumacher is protected by past merits in Formula One

Michael Schumacher is protected by past merits in a mediocre Formula One comeback season, but Mercedes GP team boss Ross Brawn is optimistic that the record world champion will be his former self again next year.

The Sport Bild weekly on Wednesday also quoted Brawn as saying that Schumacher is expected to fulfil his contract at the team until 2012.

Schumacher, 41, retired in 2006 as a seven-time world champion. He returned this year at Mercedes GP but is only ranked 10th in the championship with 46 points, 156 points behind leader Mark Webber. He also trails teammate Nico Rosberg by a big margin.

“If Michael was a beginner we would sometimes ask ourselves whether he has the potential to develop. But with Michael we know that it is the case,” said Brawn.

According to Brawn, Rosberg is coping better with the car and the current Bridgestone tyres, but the team boss expects Schumacher to improve in 2011 in a better car and with new Pirelli rubbers.

“We expect different characteristics from the Pirelli tyres, which should suit Michael’s driving style in a better way. We will then know whether Michael is really worse than Nico,” Brawn told Sport Bild.

“I believe we won’t see the true Michael until 2011 when we have built him a better car.” Brawn said Schumacher was dealing well with the poor results and is not expected to quit prematurely because has become “more relaxed” than in the past.

Brawn also dismissed speculation about tensions between himself and the Mercedes leadership over the modest season in which the team trails the big three of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari by a mile.

“Of course no one is happy with our performance this year. But right now there are no problems between myself and Mercedes. They will only come if we don’t improve in the future,” said Brawn.

Endhiran Movie review

Those in the know are aware that ’superstar’ Rajnikanth is perceived to be in the image of god. Rajni makes fewer mistakes during the course of a film, than god. In “Robot” this perception is taken a step further as Rajni creates a robot – in his own image.

Robotics scientist Vashikaran (Rajni) creates a humanoid robot Chitthi (Rajni). After Chitthi’s inability to feel causes him to be rejected from inclusion in the Indian Army, Vashikaran tries to create feelings in him, and thanks to a freak of nature, succeeds. Only it causes problems, as Chitthi falls in love with Vashikaran’s fiancee Sana (Aishwarya Rai). As the creator and creation are locked in a jealous battle against each other, the jealous robotics scientist Dr. Bohra plans to misuse Chitthi for wrong objectives.

Anyone who has seen a Rajnikanth film understands that often it is not the story that makes the film a success, but Rajni’s antics. There are plenty of them in the film. And, for once, his conception as a robot gives Rajni the logic, to lack logic.

There are gravity defying stunts, shooting with a finger, running horizontally at high speed on the side of a train, flying cars and bikes, corny but hilarious dialogues — e.g. after grabbing and pointing scores of guns at the police, he says ‘Happy Diwali’ before firing a salvo of bullets; or when the robot is asked his address and gives his IP address. It’s not just god, the universe and its logic itself is recreated in the film.

Director Shankar who has a penchant for double image, multiple images and split images of his heroes returns this time with hundreds of images of Rajnikanth. The inspiration of Hollywood, most predominantly the “Matrix” trilogy (stunts choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping of “Matrix” fame), “The Mask”, “I, Robot”, and many Frankenstein movies are evident, but not overbearing.

Where Shankar scores is the ingenious conception of stunts. The allegedly ‘poorer’ cousin of Bollywood, the south Indian film industry, has been growing leaps and bounds in the special effects department. And with a little help from Hollywood, like in “Robot”, it soars.

“Robot”, however, cannot boast of good music, so crucial for an Indian film. A.R. Rahman’s decision to rely on robotic sounds, which we have heard close to three decades back in films like “Robocop”, fails to inspire. He could have at least conceptualised them more intelligently.

The Hindi dubbed version is saved by Swanand Kirkire’s translation that prevents the dialogues from becoming jarring like previous dubbings of South Indian films. Yet, he could not salvage the songs, whose gibberish lyrics are seemingly out of a time warp from films in the 1990s (remember the Prabhu Deva starrer “Kadhalan” again directedby Shankar with music composed by Rahman).

Aishwarya’s character is as conventional as expected. She’s the chaste love interest, the damsel in distress who has time and again to be saved from being raped, and who is nothing more than eye candy.

Two words begin with the letter ‘R’ and are synonymous: Religion and Rajnikanth. A third has now been added to cinema folklore, ‘Robot’. And with the largest number of prints ever for an Indian film and a global release, this sexagenarian actor might still enter world cinema folklore. After all, Rajnikanth can make no mistakes.

By Satyen K. Bordoloi

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo wins Nobel Peace Prize

Oslo - Jailed Chinese dissident and writer Liu Xiaobo has been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced in Oslo on Friday.Liu was unanimously chosen for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China, the committee said.Announcing the prize, Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland said the committee wanted to speak "with a strong voice to support human rights". "When a man is sentenced to 11 years in prison for expressing his opinion, it would be impossible for the Nobel Committee not to hand out the prize," he said.The committee had not been in touch with Liu regarding the prize and would approach Chinese authorities to ask them to inform him about winning the prize, according to Jagland.Liu authored Charter 08, a political manifesto similar to the Charter 77 of one-time Czech dissidents. He was arrested at his Beijing home ahead of the charter's planned release.He was jailed in December for inciting subversion of state power in China. He had previously spent some five years in various forms of detention and many more under police surveillance.His efforts have won him many admirers inside and outside the country.Norwegian reporters in the Chinese capital Beijing on Friday said police were preventing Liu's wife, Liu Xia, from leaving her home to talk to them and had posted a sign saying interviews were not allowed.Norway's public broadcaster NRK however reported that Liu Xia had sent a message via Twitter, reacting to the news. The report said she had tweeted: "totally shocked + so happy, regret he can't share moment, great honour but also means great responsibilities."NRK meanwhile also reported that authorities were preventing US and British broadcasters CNN and BBC from transmitting to China.Liu joins a line of dissident voices awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, dating back to 1936 when the award went to German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, followed over the decades by South African opponents of apartheid, Albert Lutuli and Desmond Tutu, were awarded the prize. Beijing was angered when the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader won the prize in 1989.Jagland on Friday stressed that the five-member committee was independent of the Norwegian government and parliament, acknowledging possible fallout from the decision to award Liu since Oslo and Beijing are discussing a free trade agreement."We have a responsibility to speak when others are not able or willing to speak," Jagland said. "It is very important to look at the fact that China has become a big power in economic and political terms," he said. "It is important that big powers should be under criticism and debate... as was the case with the United States after the Second World War."Nobel Committee secretary Geir Lundestad was earlier this year approached by a Chinese official about the possible choice of a dissident, Jagland said, adding that this was "not normal."Liu's nomination was endorsed by among others Tutu and the Dalai Lama.The prize - worth 10 million kronor (1.5 million dollars) - is due to be presented in Oslo on December 10. The Nobel Committee considered a record 237 nominations for the 2010 prize.Last year, US President Barack Obama was a surprise selection, winning the peace prize for "extraordinary efforts" in strengthening international diplomacy.The peace prize is the fifth of the 2010 Nobel prizes to be awarded. The prizes for medicine, physics, chemistry and literature were announced earlier in the week.The prestigious prizes were endowed by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.

Alonso wins Singapore Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won his first race in more than a year on Sunday while Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead to seven points after a sensational Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, a point behind Hamilton before Formula One's first night race, suffered a potential hammer blow to his title hopes after a pitstop blunder sent him from first to last. He finished 13th and out of the points.

Germany's Nico Rosberg finished second for Williams with Hamilton third for McLaren.

The result left 23-year-old Hamilton on course to become Formula One's youngest champion with 84 points to Massa's 77 and three races remaining.

Brazilian Massa had started on pole position and was on course to take the championship lead from Hamilton before a safety car interlude followed by a disastrous first pitstop changed the complexion of the race.

The Ferrari man was given the green light to go but the fuel hose was still connected to the car as he accelerated away.

The Ferrari dragged the hose down the pitlane, knocking over mechanics in the process, before Massa stopped and waited for assistance. After they struggled to remove the hose, the Brazilian rejoined the race at the back of the field.

Alonso, who had started in 15th place, took advantage of a safety car interlude and Massa's pitstop blunder to move up the field and collect the 20th win of his career and first since Italy last year for McLaren.

"Today shows that Formula One is unpredictable," said Alonso, who had been dominant in practice but started way down on the grid after a mechanical problem in qualifying for the sport's 800th grand prix.

"After qualifying our hopes were gone...Obviously we were lucky. I will need a couple of days to realise we have won our first race of the year," said the Spaniard.

LUCK

While Hamilton was disappointed not take full points from the race, he was delighted to extend his lead in the championship over Massa.

"I honestly can't complain," said the McLaren man, who lost valuable time being stuck behind the Red Bull of David Coulthard for a big part of a race that was twice interrupted by the safety car.

"To have a podium finish in the first Singapore night race is a good result. It's all about scoring points."

Both Ferraris failed to score a point and world champion Kimi Raikkonen has now failed to get on the board in four consecutive races, his 27 point deficit to Hamilton all-but ruling him out of the title race.

Ferrari also slipped behind McLaren by a point in the constructors race.

Rosberg had to fend off Hamilton in the closing laps before bagging a career-best second place and he said that Lady Luck had finally smiled on the Williams team.

The German had to overcome a 10-second penalty for making an unauthorised pitstop while the safety car was out after Brazilian Nelson Piquet crashed his Renault.

"I was really annoyed, I thought that was the end of it," said Rosberg, who later took advantage of another safety car appearance to move up the order.

"I think we deserved it, luck was on our side for once."

Toyota's Timo Glock finished in fourth place ahead of Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) and Coulthard. Williams' Kazuki Nakajima picked up the last point on offer in eighth place.

(Editing by Alan Baldwin)